Their Past (2)

"But... even if I do confess... what should I do first?"

"...Well? I wouldn't know either."

"What do you mean by that?!"

After the events of that day, the two met again at a cafe on a weekend when the academy was closed.

Rofel sat with a bitter black coffee in front of him, while Lilit had a fruit-filled ade.

"I've been confessed to by guys plenty of times, but I've never done it myself... so nothing really comes to mind..."

"I don't have any experience confessing to anyone either, so..."

"And yet you had the nerve to tell me to just go confess?"

"It's not like there was any other way, was there?"

"Well, that's true, but..."

At this point, Rofel had no memories of his past life, so he naturally lacked any dating experience or related knowledge.

In fact, even in his past life, his dating experience had converged to absolute zero.

"Still, you're a guy just like Marc. Isn't there some way you'd want to be confessed to?"

"Hey, do you think all guys are the same? Besides, even if you listened to me, it probably wouldn't make much of a difference."

"Stop making excuses and just say something."

"For me... if someone confessed to me, I think I'd just be happy regardless of how they did it."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Well, what I think of as a confession is... the act of revealing the feelings you've harbored—feelings of love you might have been hiding—directly to the other person.

No matter the method or form, that core truth never changes.

Setting aside whether I accept it or not, I think I'd just be incredibly grateful that they gathered that much courage for someone like me."

"...That doesn't help at all!"

"See, I told you. What about you, then? Haven't you made any plans? You've known him for over ten years. You must know what Marc likes."

"Sigh... If I knew that, I wouldn't be worrying like this. Marc is so nice that he'll say he likes whatever anyone ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠gives him.

To put it another way, I have no idea what he actually likes."

"Hmm... That's the most troublesome type..."

Rofel sipped his coffee, while Lilit chewed on the ice from her already empty cup.

"Honestly... I still don't know if confessing is the right thing to do. Marc doesn't seem to think of me as anything more than a friend...

Think about it. How awkward would it be if a friend you've never viewed as a romantic interest suddenly confessed to you?"

"Don't talk like that. Well, to be fair, I'd probably be flustered too if I were in that position.

But if we can at least set the stage properly... Right, is ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠that the only way?"

Gulping down the rest of his coffee, Rofel slammed the cup onto the table and spoke up.

"Startled me! What is it? Did you think of something good?"

"Considering your current relationship with Marc, a simple confession isn't enough. We need to make up for what's lacking with the atmosphere."

"The atmosphere?"

"Yes, the atmosphere. No matter how you do it, he might be taken aback if you, his lifelong childhood friend, suddenly confess.

But if you plan the perfect date beforehand to set the mood, and create a situation where it's hard to say no, wouldn't the success rate go up?"

"...That actually makes sense. So the first step is figuring out how to plan the date!"

"Exactly. And to plan a date course, we need the advice of someone with plenty of dating experience...!"

As mentioned before, Rofel's dating experience was zero. Lilit, who had only ever looked at Marc her entire life, was no different.

"...We're back to square one."

Lilit let out a deep sigh.

"...Nothing else for it, then."

Rofel set down his empty cup, grabbed Lilit's hand, and pulled her out of the cafe.

"Whoa! Wait! What are you doing?!"

"At this point, our only option is to learn by doing! Let's go scout some date spots!"

Why is he so motivated when it's not even his own business? Lilit found Rofel's behavior puzzling, but she couldn't help but feel grateful.

"I wondered where we were going... but this is just the park?"

Led by Rofel, Lilit arrived at a spacious park located within the academy grounds.

It was a famous dating spot where ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠many young couples gathered, not just on weekends but during the week as well.

"Yeah. The scenery isn't bad, and it has a good reputation as a date spot. What do you think?"

"It's not bad, but... Marc and I used to come here all the time."

"'Used to'? Meaning you haven't come here together lately?"

"Well, yeah," Lilit replied, plumping herself down on a park bench.

"We used to come to this park a lot during lunch breaks or on weekends. We'd just take walks or buy snacks."

"But... you know how Marc played a huge role in stopping the terrorist attack when we first entered the academy, right?"

"Of course I remember. It was absolute chaos back then."

The sudden sound of an explosion in the Dandelion Academy Great Hall, where everyone had gathered for the headmaster's speech. The collapsing building, and the dark mages attacking the students as they tried to evacuate.

Sitting down on the bench next to Lilit, Rofel shuddered as he recalled the terrifying incident.

In the midst of that crisis, the one ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠who had provided crucial help in defeating the dark mages and ultimately captured the leader of the dark mage organization with his own hands was none other than a mere student, Marc Visus.

"Even so, at the beginning of the semester, people were skeptical, so Marc didn't get that much attention.

We still came to this park together pretty often back then... But as Marc's actual skills began to shine through his grades, the terrorist incident was brought back into the spotlight.

People's interest in him just skyrocketed."

"And once Marc became an academy celebrity, he got too busy to spend time with you..."

"Exactly. That's why I've been going out of my way to visit the Knight Faculty every single weekday evening just to see him."

"Then... I guess this place isn't suitable for a confession?"

"It might be comfortable because it's familiar, but it's not really special, is it? I think we should look for somewhere else."

Lilit briefly recalled the past.

But thinking about their current situation... she felt a wave of melancholy.

Lilit let out a soft chuckle.

She was supposed to be focusing on how to confess to Marc as soon as possible, yet here she was, wallowing in nostalgia and getting depressed all by herself. She thought she was being ridiculous.

While Lilit was lost in thought, Rofel had gone somewhere and returned carrying paper bags in both hands.

"Here, take this."

Rofel said, handing her one of the paper bags.

It looked like he had bought it from the street dessert shop in the corner of the park.

"It's just a light snack. Don't you crave something sweet when your brain is stuck? Besides, I realized we left without eating breakfast today."

That wasn't the issue. However...

"...A waffle?"

"Why? Do you not like it?"

"No, it's not that. But..."

It was a waffle from the very dessert shop she loved, the one she used to visit often with Marc.

But that wasn't the only thing that surprised Lilit.

"You actually bought mint chocolate? Most people usually hate this flavor."

"That's true, but... well, I just had a feeling you'd like this one."

"Hmph... What's with that? Thanks anyway."

She took a big bite of the waffle.

The cool yet sweet flavor of the mint chocolate cream spread across the tip of her tongue.

Just like Marc, who didn't just dislike it but found even the sight of it unpleasant, some people detested it, but it was her absolute favorite.

Her recent melancholy seemed to melt away.

How did he manage to pick the exact flavor she loved? It was a flavor most people avoided, yet he had somehow known. Lilit was curious about how he knew, but she was also secretly pleased.

Even after that day, Lilit and Rofel's search for the perfect date spot continued.

Since the area surrounding the academy was well-developed, there were plenty of places to visit.

Sometimes they had lunch with sandwiches from a food stall in the city square.

On other days, they stopped by a theater to watch plays and circuses performed by famous troupes.

They also visited clothing stores to look at outfits she might wear for the confession, and browsed jewelry shops to admire brilliant necklaces and rings.

When it grew late, they would find a restaurant with a nice atmosphere and dine together.

Though their meetings had initially started out of Rofel's anxiety that Marc might be taken away from him,

before she knew it, Lilit was enjoying these moments more than anything else.

In fact, Lilit couldn't help but be surprised every time she met Rofel.

Whether it was choosing a play to watch, clothes to wear, or food to eat, Rofel unerringly picked things that perfectly matched her tastes.

Whenever she asked what criteria he used to make his choices, his answer was always the same.

"I just... had a feeling you'd like this."

His trivial words were hardly a proper explanation.

Could he have known me for a long time?

Otherwise, his ability to cater so perfectly to her preferences made no sense.

To be honest, she had even suspected that he might have some hidden agenda under the guise of helping her confess.

After all, he treated her with impeccable manners, looking after her every need.

On sunny days, he would shade her with a parasol he had somehow brought along, and after meals, he would gently wipe away any crumbs from the corner of her mouth with his own hand.

He spoke and acted in a charming, almost flirtatious way, flashing a bright smile whenever their eyes met.

Yet, whenever those doubts arose, one look at his eyes and demeanor made it impossible to hold onto them.

It felt as though he genuinely, purely cherished her.

But ironically, that only made her feel a bit annoyed.

Does he treat other girls like this too?

It was a good thing she already had feelings for someone else. If he kept acting like this, she worried—in a half-serious way—that some girl would snatch him up one day.

And on the day their meetings had continued for exactly a month,

the day of the decisive battle finally arrived.