The Disaster Duo and the Tiger
“This presence?”
“Feels familiar. They’ll notice us soon enough too.”
Rohan relaxed from his low, guarded stance and stood up comfortably.
Ichinose did the same, loosening her grip on her sword.
She closed her eyes and focused on her senses.
…I know exactly who it is.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t Noah.
The sheer weight of the presence gave it away. If it had been Noah, she would’ve picked up on Rohan and Ichinose’s auras from much farther away.
So who were these approaching cadets?
The answer was obvious.
Gilbert Carniat.
The heavy footsteps proportional to his massive height, and that overwhelmingly assertive aura—Ichinose could identify him easily.
The other one had to be his randomly assigned partner, which naturally pointed to Dick Wikitree.
They were both on good terms with Rohan, after all.
It was a relief for Ichinose that she wouldn’t need to stay on high alert when they met.
Rustle!
The bushes parted, and the cadets emerged.
Just as expected. They exchanged greetings as protocol demanded.
“Come on in.”
“Good to see you.”
Gilbert, standing in front, looked healthier than he had back at the academy.
His face was beaming—maybe uninhabited islands were his natural habitat.
“Oh! It’s Rohan and Ichinose Yui, as expected!”
“Ugh… good to… see you…”
The surprise was Dick, Gilbert’s partner—his face was ashen and sickly.
It drew the eye immediately.
“What’s up with that guy? Is he sick?”
“He doesn’t look well.”
As Rohan and Ichinose each tossed out a comment,
Gilbert shook his head with a sigh-laden voice.
“He’s just hungry. Even in that state, he wouldn’t eat the food I scavenged for him.”
“…Fact is, that’s not human food. Even country dogs wouldn’t touch it.”
Dick retorted weakly, his pallid face matching his drained voice.
Rohan could already picture it, but he asked anyway, just in case.
“You scavenged food… from the supply drop?”
“We got to the drop, but someone beat us to it. Everyone’s got quick feet.”
“So what food did you find?”
Gilbert snorted as if it were a great question,
crossing his arms with a shadowed expression before explaining.
“Dick Wikitree may be who he is, but he’s still my partner. When my partner said he was starving, I set aside personal feelings and hunted diligently for sustenance.”
“And the result?”
“I caught three geloi.”
“Geloi…”
Monsters with massive eyeballs and tiny wings.
F-grade small fry that induced dizziness and nausea just from eye contact.
“You’d know, Rohan—how much nutrition is packed into those big eyeballs. Even tuna eyeballs are rich in vitamins and unsaturated fatty acids, aren’t they?”
Ichinose, standing beside Rohan, shuddered at the mere thought, goosebumps rising.
“Well… if you cook it properly, grilled or boiled, it should be fine. There are videos of people eating them.”
“See? He gets it! Now do you understand?”
Gilbert shot a scolding glare at his partner, who was clutching his hunger-panged stomach.
But Dick was resolute.
“I’m not eating that, no way. I’d rather peel off the sticker…”
“Such a weakling! With that mindset, you’ll never save the world!!!”
“How am I supposed to save the world?”
Ichinose felt a dizzying headache from the exchange, suddenly grateful she’d been paired with Rohan.
To Rohan, it was just the usual tedious back-and-forth.
He cut in to ask,
“So you’re out here looking for food now?”
“No! We’re being chased!”
“What? By who?”
A bold voice, but the words didn’t match.
Rohan thought he’d misheard and asked Gilbert again.
“By Noah Frozenheart!”
“What are you talking about?”
“He complained of hunger, so out of goodwill, I even gifted him some food, but he got mad and started chasing us.”
“I thought I was gonna get beaten to death right there…”
Dick and Gilbert recounted how Noah, too starved to run properly, had let them escape like fleeing from a tiger.
Ichinose, who’d been listening quietly, suddenly spoke up in shock.
“You mean the food was…!”
Gilbert nodded vigorously at the girl’s question,
and pulled a gray lump from his inner pocket. It looked squishy just from sight.
“Geloi roasted over pine smoke. I stuffed pine inner bark inside for extra flavor.”
“You’re insane.”
Even if you fed her the eyeballs, why add tree bark?
Noah ate pretty much anything, but she’d probably seen Gilbert’s “gift” as an attempt to poison her.
“Haah…”
Rohan let out a deep sigh amid the various speculations.
Dick seized the moment, his hunger groans turning to an attack on Gilbert.
“See? Even Rohan’s reacting like it’s not food.”
“Hmm… The pine bark adds sweetness for harmony. White tiger beastkin just hate veggies, huh? Maybe this body of mine lacks knowledge.”
“It’s not a race thing. That’s just not edible.”
Rohan finished sorting out the situation as he watched the bickering pair.
“These guys aren’t guests—they’re disasters.”
A starving tiger named Noah Frozenheart.
Wasn’t this mad duo dragging around a clear-cut tiger plague?
“…”
Silence fell. Rohan’s piercing glare.
Gilbert broke it with a booming voice.
“Rohan! What you’ll say next is… ‘Fate brought us together here, so I’ll keep your secret!’”
“What the hell? Don’t drag trouble my way—get lost.”
Rohan shoved Gilbert and Dick back the way they’d come.
“Why?! Take us in!”
“Ugh… so heartless…”
Dick’s plight was pitiful, but the escape route was wide open.
If they couldn’t take it anymore, they could fire a signal flare for an instructor or just peel off the sticker.
“You think I’d shelter a couple of sweaty nuisances? Can’t you see I’m cozying up with Ichinose here?”
“W-what are you saying?!”
Ichinose jumped in place, clutching her sword as Gilbert and Dick’s eyes locked on.
Rohan chuckled mischievously at the sight, then shared the spot where he’d snagged the hoverbird with them.
With that intel handover, he sent the tiger-chased disaster duo packing.
After sending off the visitors, Rohan and Ichinose returned to their shelter and sat down.
Rohan picked up a ramen brick next to the bubbling pot,
but didn’t add the noodles or broth yet, continuing the chat with Ichinose.
“What a storm. At least we know Noah’s nearby now—net gain?”
“Y-yeah…”
“Wanna go find her?”
Ichinose cracked her eyes open slightly to look at Rohan.
He was the same as always—no change in expression, words flowing smoothly.
For some reason, it irked her.
She felt an urge to pinch his cheek and stretch it out.
So he’s been hiding this mischievous side.
Recalling his earlier joke made her frozen expression feel like a loss.
Ichinose quelled the ripples in her heart and spoke.
“I’m fine. She said she’d eat and sleep, right? I can’t let my partner skip rest just for personal ties.”
“Hmm…”
“I worried, sure, but I’m not rushing off now that I’ve heard she’s okay. I gave her plenty of advice too.”
Noah had her partner Corin, after all.
Ichinose barging in on friendly terms could make things awkward.
“Got it—no going. Ramen time?”
At the double-check, Ichinose nodded firmly.
Only then did Rohan dump the noodles and broth into the pot.
“Tch…”
Noah huffed, scanning her surroundings.
The hellish astringency still lingered in her mouth.
If I catch them, they’re done for!
Noah had already decided on punishments for Gilbert and Dick.
If she’d had any strength left, she wouldn’t have let them slip away.
Her body betraying her to hunger like that only fueled her rage more.
“Noah! C-calm down! We’ve gone too far!”
Her partner Corin hurried after her, breathless.
They hadn’t escaped the first day’s downpour in time, leaving Corin just as bedraggled as her.
Seeing that pitiful sight shook Noah’s vengeful fire. It reminded her this wasn’t the time.
In the end, Noah Frozenheart
stopped her reckless pursuit.
“Argh!!! I really need to catch those two…”
Letting emotions sway her in the exam was a loss. She knew she had to drop it.
But Noah’s personality made cool, calculated action harder than it sounded.
“Let’s head back and wait for the supply drop. Yeah? We won’t be late this time.”
“Sorry for running off without a word…”
Noah’s snowy tail and round ears drooped limply.
“It’s okay. We’ve got water left—rinse your mouth when we get back.”
“Yeah…”
Corin was just grateful Noah had stopped here.
Before eating what they’d been given, Noah had tasted it first and asked what it was—that was as good as saving her life.
“I’m hungry…”
As the reluctantly retreating Noah walked back with Corin,
She halted abruptly!
Noah stood still, sniffing the air, and Corin voiced her confusion beside her.
“What’s up?”
“This smell…”
“Find something?”
“Yeah. Think so.”
Focusing with eyes closed on her sense of smell, it was clear. A scent riding the wind.
One incongruous note amid nature’s aromas.
Ramen!? Is this the supply drop?
It was pretty far.
She might’ve missed it if she weren’t starving.
“…”
Enchanted by the aroma, Noah trudged forward,
heading toward the source.