Episode 32
Translator: RaidenTL
Episode 32
He quietly looked into the eyes of the woman, who was shorter than him. The color of drenched ashes stared back.
It was a bit ridiculous to be having this conversation, even if he was the one who’d confessed. To have to say “don’t love me” and “I won’t love you” to someone he’d known for barely a month.
Just as a dry laugh was about to escape him, Elysia yanked his wrist, pulling him down, and brought a finger to her lips.
“I think someone’s coming.”
Stumbling, Evan collapsed among a pile of junk, his eyes scanning their surroundings with doubt. He couldn’t sense anyone and was about to question her when he heard the faint sound of footsteps approaching from a distance.
Evan looked at her, astonished. Her instincts were truly animal-like.
As if by silent agreement, they both held their breath and finally took a proper look around. The small space was crammed with enormous piles of trash, including shattered plaster statues and an easel with a broken leg.
Only then did Elysia notice that the space was enclosed by a pale yellow cloth.
“Senior, is this by any chance—”
“Shh.”
As she hastily tried to speak, Evan pressed a finger to her lips in alarm, his expression tense as he listened to the sounds outside.
At that moment, with a lurch, the floor shook. Elysia, who nearly face-planted, was kept from falling by Evan’s arm, which had naturally wrapped around her waist. She nodded her thanks to him.
Hearing the clatter of horse hooves, she furrowed her brow.
“Is this…”
“Yes, it’s a wagon. Seems to be for hauling trash from here.”
“Seems to be?”
He stared at Elysia as she tilted her head, repeating his last words. He sighed and muttered, “I was just wondering what we should do. We’ll have to get off before we get too far from the school.”
“We can just jump off,” Elysia whispered back.
Evan looked down at her, dumbfounded.
“You? The person who faints just from falling on the floor wants to jump out of a moving wagon?”
“…I leveled up, so I’m much better than before. Can’t I?”
He gave her a look one might give a person who had completely lost their survival instinct. His green eyes, which rarely narrowed, were now asking, Are you out of your mind? Shaking his head, Evan added, “You were shot less than a week ago. You should be in bed.”
“That was completely healed the moment you used Heal on me—”
“Even so, no. Do you have… no fear? How can you not know how to be careful—”
Evan cut her off firmly, about to launch into a lecture, when the wagon came to a sudden halt.
Unlike Elysia, who was nearly sent rolling with the jolt, Evan maintained perfect balance and even managed to catch her before she lost her footing. Once again, a firm arm swiftly steadied her. A surge of frustration rose within her.
How is this guy so damn stable? I’m getting motion sick from being thrown around so much.
Her pride was wounded by the sight of Evan standing firm while her own body was tossed about so pathetically. Dammit, I was a big shot back in my day!
Evan noticed her huffing in frustration and couldn’t help but smile. He carefully lifted the cloth to peer outside. After confirming the coachman was walking off somewhere, he immediately extended a hand to Elysia.
Still reeling from the dizziness, she was pressing a palm to her forehead with a grimace. “What is it…?” she asked.
Seeing the exhaustion so clear in her eyes made him laugh for some reason. The moments of despair and anger he’d felt, knowing he was a puppet in a world created for some absurd reason, began to fade.
The woman who had been so guarded with everyone was gone. Without a hint of suspicion, Elysia reached out and took his hand.
“The wagon’s stopped for a moment. Let’s get out.”
Elysia crawled under his arm where he held the cloth open, then stepped out of the wagon. After the dizzying ride, being dropped into the sudden silence of the night made her head spin, and it was hard to get her bearings.
She felt a warm touch on her chilly shoulders. Evan, having followed her out of the wagon, supported her as she swayed. Elysia let her body go limp and allowed him to lead her.
Evan hid Elysia behind a large bush and watched the returning coachman, who was now carrying several sacks. With a great rustle, the coachman emptied the contents of the sacks into the wagon, climbed back into his seat, and departed with the clatter of hooves.
As the sound faded, leaving only the chirping of insects in the night air, the sound of a woman retching echoed.
“Ugh, blegh!”
“Um, you shouldn’t throw up here.”
His voice was troubled. He hesitated for a moment before patting Elysia’s back. The woman swallowed back her nausea, then coughed and took a deep breath. Her eyes, now much clearer, looked up as she muttered.
“Hah, fuck…”
It was just like her, so it wasn’t surprising. Evan watched the woman crouched messily on the ground. Though she hadn’t thrown anything up, Elysia wiped her lips with the back of her hand as if something were there.
“Well, that was a lucky break,” she mumbled.
“What was?”
“We figured out how the culprit smuggled the canvas out. Ah, my head is killing me, but I feel so relieved.”
With her coarse words, Elysia stood up and pointed to a fountain making splashing sounds in the darkness. A massive fountain made of white marble stood at the center of a roundabout. They were at the main entrance of the Main Building.
“So this is the wagon’s route. From the dump at the Art Hall, through the main entrance, and then off campus. And no one would ever know if two people were hiding inside.”
“Then the culprit, just like us…”
“I don’t know if they threw themselves into the chute like we did… but there’s only one way out of the Art Hall grounds, and that’s the main gate. If they moved a canvas that large without being seen by the guards, this would be the only way.”
Taking a notebook from her jacket pocket, Elysia scribbled down the wagon’s departure and arrival times, as well as its route, then muttered with a haggard expression.
“Still, it wasn’t a total waste. We figured out the route used in the crime.”
“Why are you trying so hard?”
The question popped out of him. A question of why she was tackling this with such passion. The woman’s pale face, washed out by the moonlight, seemed lost in thought before she answered lightly.
“Well, for one, I have to clean up the mess I made.”
The woman trapped in a world created purely for entertainment smiled.
“Even trapped in a meaningless world, I want to do something meaningful. And this is that kind of work.”
♥ SYSTEM: Evan Sylvester’s Favorability +20 | Current Favorability 180 | ‘The Only Trusted Person’ route in progress ♥
♥ SYSTEM: Evan Sylvester’s Favorability has reached LEVEL 4! (*´╰╯`๓)♬ | No change in route ♥
As he stared blankly at her smile, a doubtful voice snapped him back to reality.
“Senior, why the hell does your favorability go up at times like this? I seriously can’t wrap my head around it. Don’t you have terrible taste in people?”
He ducked his head to hide his flushing face, his mouth opening and closing before he managed to reply.
“…Please, just stop pointing it out every time.”
“What am I supposed to do if I can see it? Fine, whatever. I won’t say anything from now on.”
She was a truly direct person. To say something like that out loud and fluster someone—she was also surprisingly insensitive.
Because of that nature, Evan was certain that if it weren’t for the system, he would never have realized the affection she held for him.
“Ugh, I’m exhausted. Let’s hurry back to the dorms.”
Grumbling, Elysia turned her back to him and strode forward. Evan let the cool night air soothe his face, which had grown hot from her words, and slowly followed behind her.
Just then, the woman turned back.
“…Hey. Keep your promise.”
“…”
“I like you too, Senior. We’re in the same boat, after all. But love… I hope we don’t go there. That would just be deceiving each other.”
He thought it was a promise he had no reason not to keep. Instead of answering, Evan simply gazed at Elysia.
His only ally, his only comrade. This world had seemed nothing but dark to him, but she was the savior who had pulled him out of the hellish days of trying to live with a brave face while convinced he was going insane.
There was no need to label the way he cherished such a person as ‘love.’ He was deeply interested in Elysia’s perspective and thoughts, and he wanted to be her companion. It had to end there.
A deep trust, where he believed in her just as she believed in him—that was enough. He didn’t want to ruin this camaraderie with something like a foolish, childish kiss. She was far too precious for that.
He watched the back of Elysia as she walked in a straight line, despite her stumbling, and thought to himself.
You are not so trivial to me as to be dismissed with something as simple as love.
So let our relationship be dispassionate, and yet, deep.
*
The weather was pleasant. Perhaps because of all the trouble he’d gone through, he’d slept wonderfully and was in top condition. He smiled, pleased with how refreshed he felt.
With a clean-shaven face, Elysia pulled open the door to the Prefect Office, only to flinch and recoil at the sight of Adrian’s deathly grim expression.
What the hell is with his face?
“Sis, I hear you’ve caused trouble again.”
“I did?”
“Yeah. Who else in the Prefect Office is capable of causing trouble besides you?”
Suddenly, a nasty premonition prickled the back of her neck. That slippery-looking bastard… what was his name again? Ah, right, Rayner Williams. What had he said last night?
“The Prefects are openly protecting a prime suspect. I have no choice but to report it to the Student Council, do I?”
Good morning, cancelled. What a fucking shitty morning.
Her face twisting into a scowl, Elysia asked, “Why? Did you hear something?”
“Senior Ror asked for you to come to the Student Council office.”