A Promise and a Reunion
Generally speaking, large-scale architecture and civil engineering projects require a considerable amount of time. Even though this world had dramatically improved efficiency in those areas thanks to magic, there were still clear limits. If you pushed the workers hard enough, you might shave a fifteen-day build down to a single day. But reducing it to twelve hours instead of even a full day? That was pure fantasy. No—honestly, cutting it to a single day without any countermeasures was already a fantasy riddled with problems. You had to verify the building's structural integrity and design, but doing that in one day was practically impossible. It would end up as Schrödinger's shoddy construction—you'd only find out if it was defective by actually living in it.
"They really did build this at insane speed."
Palaestra Academy had to construct housing for tens of thousands of people in just a few months. Rapid construction was inevitable, and the results stood right before our eyes.
"Damn, did they just slap this together with plywood? It doesn't feel like there's any concrete at all."
A classic American-style wooden house. The frame was one hundred percent likely to be wood too.
"Wouldn't this just blow away in a hurricane?"
"Probably? Maybe that's why they built it this way—because it would fly off anyway?"
Given the Caribbean's nature, hurricanes were inevitable. There was a decent chance they'd chosen to build houses that would dramatically soar away rather than ones that would collapse halfway. It was an ergonomically questionable design that prioritized easier cleanup over human lives.
"Mari, if a hurricane comes, make sure you hold onto the faucet."
"No... you'd be doing the exact same thing..."
"......"
The problem was that I was in the exact same boat as Cheon Mari. To be precise, we even lived in the same place.
"Wasn't this supposed to be our duplex? Why is there only one house?"
"You tell me."
Originally there should have been a separating wall with two distinct units. But what we had now... was just one ridiculously oversized house. I re-entered the address into the map app, but it only confirmed this was the location—whether for Cheon Mari's house or mine.
"They really half-assed this."
Grumbling, I stepped inside. At least the interior was a pleasant surprise: spacious and reasonably well-decorated. I inspected every room and every drawer. After thoroughly looking around, we talked again.
"This looks like a multi-person house meant for seven or nine people."
"Isn't this someone else's assigned house? Shouldn't we tell the academy?"
"We were the ones who picked this location in the first place. The spot itself is correct. They just built the wrong house."
We could always just live here. Honestly, sharing a house with a girl for four years couldn't be that difficult.
"Our academy life feels cursed from the start. Want to head to the Golden Gate Bridge and jump together?"
"Shut up."
Good grief.
'This is going to be harder than I thought.'
How was my roommate Cheon Mari of all people? The disadvantages seemed especially amplified because it was her.
In the end, I let out a hollow laugh and pulled out my phone. I snapped a photo and posted it on social media with a lament about what the hell the academy was thinking.
"Sigh. I'll complain first and if nothing changes, we'll just live with it."
Na Sua would probably worry later. She'd tell me to live somewhere else, warn that it would blow away in a hurricane, or insist I stay at her dorm instead. That might honestly be better, but I couldn't burden someone who was practically a real older sister like that.
Resigned to this depressing reality, I started carrying our luggage inside one piece at a time.
"Oh, it's actually wider than I expected? The last room on the left is mine!"
"Do whatever you want~"
A few hours passed while we organized our belongings.
The phone in my pocket vibrated softly.
"?"
When I checked, someone had sent me a direct message. I opened it immediately and scratched my head.
"Hmm......"
Worry after worry. Even though it was a promise, this was too sudden. Honestly, situations like this called for scheduling in advance. Both sides had their own schedules and thoughts to consider.
Acquaintances were one thing, but my relationship with this person wasn't particularly deep. We'd basically only exchanged introductory pleasantries.
"I didn't expect her to be so direct."
It felt like getting hit square in the face by someone terrible at social cues. Still, putting it off could be a serious breach of etiquette. After all, this was something I'd brought on myself. I'd made pretty good use of her during our escape, and I needed to seriously consider future matters too. There was no need to be overly strict.
I confidently told Cheon Mari.
"Mari, can you handle dinner by yourself tonight?"
"Out of nowhere?"
"Someone just asked me to eat together."
"Oh, you already made a friend? Look at you being a total social butterfly. Girl or guy?"
"Girl."
A subtle tremor crossed her face. But it lasted only a moment before shifting back to her usual bright expression. She waved her hand sincerely, as if wishing me well.
"Have a good date~"
"It's not a date?"
"Have a good blind date~"
"I'm going for business reasons. And it's not like that."
"Take care of your business~ When you get back, you better spill all the details~"
"Ugh, fine."
The city was pitch black. The only illumination came from artificial light sources; natural ones were far too faint.
One might assume it was simply dark. But the sun was definitely still in the sky. The only flaw was that it was close to sunset, yet beyond the heavens, it was still bright.
There was only one reason the city was so dark: the structures humans had piled up blocked out the light.
"This is way too cramped. Do I really have to spend four years here?"
A floor area ratio of ten thousand percent. Even those shameless South Korean construction companies that had abandoned their conscience would scream at a site like this. It was fascinating in many ways. Astonishing in many ways.
The insane person who designed this city and the academy had surely been fired. Or perhaps they'd been hanged by enraged light-school mages who could no longer see the sun.
In the suffocating heart of the city, I calmly waited for a certain woman.
"She's running a bit late......"
I sent a quick reply.
Shannon Redmond. A friend of the game protagonist and the mage who had escaped the academy with me not long ago. I was currently sitting at an outdoor table at a restaurant, waiting to meet her. She'd contacted me earlier to fulfill the promise we'd made during our escape.
It was rather unusual. After the escape, she had added me as a friend on social media and browsed through my posts. Yet she was the one who hadn't sent any messages until now.
Essentially, she had been keeping her distance or treating our connection like a passing acquaintance. So I hadn't held out much expectation. I'd assumed she might reach out once after admission if she remembered.
Not right before admission, in this vague window of time.
Still, it wasn't entirely bad. After all, there were several things I needed to observe during this meeting.
Before long, I spotted a woman with an orange ponytail and a dragon tail approaching from an angle. I stood up to greet her.
"Shannon, it's been a whi— huh?"
"Huk, huk, h-hello!"
But her current appearance was vastly different from last time. It was natural now that we were off the battlefield, but even taking that into account, this seemed excessive. In the game, she hadn't been this extreme either.
I slowly looked Shannon up and down.
"Um."
"Y-yes?!"
She answered, extremely tense. Before asking my question, I had her sit down to ease the tension and took my own seat as well. Pointing at her clothes, I asked carefully.
"Aren't you cold?"
"Pardon?"
"It's getting to be evening, and your outfit looks like it might be a bit chilly."
At my sudden remark, Shannon stared blankly at her own attire. Then, with a face that was either originally flushed or had become so now, she nodded repeatedly.
"I bought these clothes recently! There's magic cast on them, so they don't feel as cold as you'd expect!"
As she spoke, she tugged once at the green crop top that revealed her cleavage and the dull green hot pants. With her thighs, navel, and forearms all exposed, she looked exactly like someone heading out to have fun.
However, it wasn't clothing focused purely on leisure. The pockets were large, and she had something like a military pouch hanging at her waist. In other words, it was clearly an outfit that combined a hunter's style with practicality.
Of course, such attempts usually failed to capture both aspects. Honestly, even from my perspective, it looked very strange. Um... what the hell is that? Why would anyone wear something so embarrassing? For a mage especially, that outfit was just begging to get stabbed.
But I couldn't say that out loud. I couldn't tell someone who'd just bought new clothes that the Eagles ace looked healthier by comparison.
"Is this outfit weird by any chance?"
"No, no, it suits you well."
"Really? That's a relief, hehe."
I closed my eyes and let it slide.
As promised, I let her choose whatever food she wanted. The moment she saw the menu, her eyes sparkled. They lit up at the photoshopped food photos, and then she slowly traced the price tags and let out a sigh.
"It's expensive, but order as many as you want. I'm here to keep that promise from back then anyway."
I had enough dollars to feed her, so I answered with a slight smile. Shannon's eyes sparkled even brighter as she picked out various items. They were dishes I'd never heard of or seen in my life. It had been the same in the game; she was from a rural corner of Ireland with a light wallet.
Shannon was a character who always lived a hard and pitiful life. There had been a past mention in the game that her circumstances improved slightly after meeting the protagonist. But even then, for the player it was essentially the same setup.
It was on the same level as the protagonist's own backstory.
"......"
"......"
After the ordering finished, the atmosphere shifted. Silence settled over us, and she kept stealing glances at my eyes. She looked exactly like a coward who had something to say but couldn't bring herself to speak. For someone who had boldly extracted a promise, her current hesitation was incredibly deceptive.
"Do you have something you want to say? Your expression is giving it away."
If I stayed quiet, the conversation wouldn't progress anyway. Before asking what I was curious about, I gave her a direct opening.
Shannon's tail began to wag faster and faster. It seemed like there was something important she was hesitating greatly to say. Something difficult to tell someone she'd only met recently. Yet something quite important to her personally. Something that needed to be discussed urgently enough to arrange this meeting.
"Um, well... that is......"