Chapter 71
Chapter 71
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 71
Chapter Title: He Called Me... a Friend
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"...Instructor, I apologize, but just a moment. I need to go have a word."
"Nothing to be sorry about. It seems she came here specifically for you, Cadet Han Cheon-seong."
Kalli's voice was noticeably colder than before, so I immediately started walking.
*Step.*
As I approached Glacia, who was watching me from outside the classroom, I couldn't help but wonder.
‘Why is she here?’
Our meeting time wasn't now, and the location wasn't in front of my classroom either.
I left the classroom and stood before Glacia.
“Glacia. What's going on? Why come all the way here to see me?”
As I spoke first, Glacia stared at me blankly.
She had a look on her face as if my words were strange.
"Am I... not allowed to come see you?"
She responded with an odd question, and I could feel the cadets passing by hesitate.
...In that moment, I gave an awkward laugh and shook my head.
"No, it's not that you can't come see me, but that others might get confused if they see us together."
Strictly speaking, Glacia and I were in no way what you would call a romantic relationship.
The day we spent together last Sunday. What Glacia said to me at the end of it had left me utterly confused, but I had brushed it off, thinking it was just her odd way of speaking.
But now, I felt it again.
Glacia's way of speaking was easily misunderstood by anyone.
"Why would other people be confused if I'm with you?"
It felt like I shouldn't talk for long with Glacia, who was questioning me with such a transparent gaze.
I felt it instinctively.
"Because others might misunderstand the relationship between us. To put it bluntly, there's a high chance they'll see us as a couple, or something similar."
This time, I was completely blunt with Glacia.
If she kept talking like that, others could misunderstand and think we were a couple.
It was also a time when I felt the need to respond properly to her way of speaking.
‘And this might actually be a good thing.’
Even though I had left the classroom, I could feel Kalli's gaze on me now.
So, wouldn't it be a good idea to properly define my relationship with Glacia at this very moment, while Kalli was watching?
If I entered the training room with Kalli today, she would definitely press me about my relationship with Glacia.
Since Kalli practically despised relationships between cadets, it was almost a one hundred percent certainty.
"Han Cheon-seong. But I'm... not... your lover."
Glacia replied, slightly flustered, and I naturally nodded.
"Right. We're not a couple. We're just friends."
It felt a little embarrassing even as I said it.
—Friends.
Hadn't the relationship between Glacia and me reached a point where we could be called friends? Of course, we were meeting like this because our interests were intertwined, but I felt we could be called friends now.
"......"
Glacia blinked blankly, staring at me.
She reacted as if she were utterly shocked by my words, making me wonder if I'd said something that strange.
“Glacia?”
"......Yes."
Her reply was noticeably slower than before. For a moment, I worried she would deny that we were friends, so I quickly asked.
"So, what's the reason you came to see me in person? Is it something urgent?"
First, I needed to figure out why she had come.
"It's not urgent. It's just that today is the day I'm meeting you. As soon as my class ended... I came because I wanted to see you."
"You came because you wanted to see me......"
This time, her words surprised me.
‘Does she... really have no awareness of what she's saying?’
I had already nailed down my relationship with Glacia.
—That we were friends.
And yet, Glacia's way of speaking to me hadn't changed one bit.
To the point where I now genuinely wondered if Glacia truly didn't realize how I would feel when she said things like that...
"...Wow. That's so direct."
"I know, right."
Even now, the female cadets passing by looked as if they'd completely misunderstood. I suddenly let out a small sigh and looked at Glacia.
"I'm really grateful you came to see me like this. But I'm sorry. I have a prior engagement today. I absolutely have to spend time with Instructor Kalli..."
As I turned down Glacia, who said she came to see me, I didn't know why I felt a pang of guilt.
It wasn't like I'd done anything wrong to her, but I still felt sorry as I spoke.
"Oh? If you have a prior engagement, I understand. I was the one who came unannounced. Then... we're still meeting at six, right?"
Glacia spoke with a dazed expression... and seeing her like that made me feel even more sorry for no reason.
Her emotions were written all over her face.
A look that seemed to say she was disappointed and hurt... because I couldn't spend time with her.
"Of course, we're meeting at six. Let's meet at the park where we met last time. I should be able to finish by then."
"Okay. Then... I'll be going now. Han Cheon-seong, see you then."
I nodded, watching Glacia walk past me.
*Click-clack.*
My gaze followed Glacia's slowly disappearing back, and I felt a strange sensation.
The fact that dealing with someone so pure could make me feel this strange...
Even I, experiencing it firsthand, could hardly believe it.
***
Glacia walked past Cheon-seong and left the academy.
When she reached a secluded area, she came to an abrupt halt.
*Rustle.*
Leaning against the academy wall, Glacia let out a soft breath.
Beneath her slightly disheveled blue hair, her blue eyes trembled faintly.
And even that was like the remnant of emotions Glacia was desperately trying to suppress.
"......."
Composing herself was harder than she'd thought.
Feelings of surprise, bewilderment, and embarrassment swirled endlessly in her chest.
Yet, mixed in with them was a small joy.
Yes. It was definitely joy.
"A friend..."
She felt strange as she blankly muttered the word.
The word 'friend' was so ordinary, so insignificant, yet it strangely resonated in her heart.
...It wasn't that she'd never heard similar words before, but this time, it felt completely different.
It was a shame she couldn't be with Han Cheon-seong, who said he had a prior engagement with Instructor Kalli, but that was to be expected from him.
However...
The words he'd said strangely continued to tickle her heart.
"So Han Cheon-seong and I... were friends."
All this time, she had thought her relationship with Han Cheon-seong was something entirely different, but he had already come to see her as a friend.
And she, too, though surprised at the moment she heard it... came to accept it calmly.
That she and Han Cheon-seong were friends.
It was completely different from those who had only called her a friend on the surface.
It didn't feel like he was grudgingly spending time with her. It felt literal.
Because Han Cheon-seong's attitude towards her didn't feel false in the slightest. It really... felt like they were true friends.
"..."
She placed a hand on her chest, her heart fluttering for no reason.
'He saw me as a friend.'
She had been trying to buy her relationship with Han Cheon-seong with money. But he had been seeing her for who she was.
Just today, when she heard talk about the battlefield, she had naturally thought of her older sister.
Her proud sister, who was likely still active on the battlefield, and the thought that she had to become stronger to reach her.
She had to evolve her Trait and move forward. That was why she had sought out Han Cheon-seong.
...And yet.
Unlike her calculating self, Han Cheon-seong had treated her with sincerity.
He had casually called her a friend and looked apologetic that he couldn't spend time with her.
That was why, despite her disappointment, she had been able to accept it calmly. Thinking back on it now, it was almost funny. It wasn't something she should have been so upset about.
"Why am I so foolish?"
The words slipped out unconsciously.
She had tried to buy her relationship with him with money.
It had been like that at the café where she first had a proper conversation with Han Cheon-seong, and it had always been that way since.
Because she believed money was the best thing she could offer, and she thought no one in the world disliked money.
But since their encounter that one night, she hadn't given Han Cheon-seong any money.
She had tried to pay for the dessert during their Sunday meeting, but even that was blocked by Instructor Kalli's goodwill.
And... even Han Cheon-seong hadn't asked her for money.
He had looked at her, speaking lightly and playfully.
Even at the moment she had handed him the gold, Han Cheon-seong had hesitated, wondering if it was really okay to accept it.
All of it was like a sign.
...A sign that he didn't see her in such a calculating way.
"Han Cheon-seong was never with me for the money."
And yet, she was only just now realizing that. And today, she had heard it directly.
‘A friend...’
She had somehow become friends with Han Cheon-seong.
"..."
She hesitated, her lips trembling, as a strange ticklish feeling spread through her chest.
The feeling of having made a proper friend for the first time. It was... not bad.
No, maybe it was even a little nice...
***
*Click.*
Entering Kalli's private training room with her felt surreal.
Even though I had just been here last Friday, Kalli's training room had a special feel to it.
I didn't know if it was the strange sensation from the magitech items, but it was a feeling that filled me with the certainty that I could become stronger. I quite liked it.
"Cadet Han Cheon-seong. Are you that excited?"
My emotions must have shown on my face, because Kalli asked with a small smile. I smiled back at her.
"Yes. I'm really looking forward to it."
And I didn't hide how I felt.
Perhaps my previous conversation with Glacia had reached Kalli's ears clearly, because she was treating me with a much gentler attitude.
With things suddenly going so well, my heart felt like it could fly.
To be able to train with a clear mind, all my worries gone, was even refreshing.
"Then, Cadet Han Cheon-seong, wait just a moment. I'll go get the magitech item right away."
"Yes. Understood."
Watching Kalli move to one side of the training room, I recalled our earlier conversation.
We had talked about various things on the way here and were able to finalize the details for using the training room.
We decided on Mondays and Fridays. I was given the consideration to either receive direct help from Kalli or train on my own.
And today could be considered a substitute for that Monday.
*Click-clack.*
Before long, Kalli turned back toward me.
...And when I saw the familiar pair of ruby earrings in her hand, my heart fluttered even more.
‘Ellimiang's Consideration.’
I knew from experience just how effective the magitech item was.
Then, the image of Kalli putting them on me herself suddenly came to mind.
Her, making contact with me from a distance where our breaths could mingle.
*Click-clack.*
*Click-clack.*
Kalli was approaching me now, just as she had then.
As if it were the most natural thing in the world.
"Cadet Han Cheon-seong. Excuse me for a moment."
At her words, I gulped and accepted it.
*Rustle...*
Kalli's touch, carefully brushing past my hair, was incredibly soft.