Stealing the Instructors' Bells
Rohan's shooting lessons came to a regrettable halt with the final exams of the first semester.
Ichinose, who had been melting in happiness, snapped back to reality and answered her phone first.
She had a pretty good guess what it was about. Still, just in case, she couldn't ignore it.
"Noah? What's up?"
─ Nose──!!! H-how! Can this! Be happening!!!
The beastkin girl's voice was so loud that it echoed through the room even without the speaker on.
Rohan, standing a few steps away, could hear Noah's shouts crystal clear.
"…."
Ichinose, as if she'd anticipated it, pulled the phone away from her face.
The smartphone thrashed in her palm like a fish out of water, struggling to contain the beastkin girl's intense tone.
Only after confirming Noah had finished venting and gone quiet did Ichinose bring the phone back to her ear.
"Me going out alone happens sometimes. Why get so worked up?"
─ Where are you! You didn't get lost again, right? What if you run into a Monolith!
"I'm not directionally challenged! As for Monoliths… anyway, no need to worry about that, so calm down."
Finishing her words, Ichinose turned to Sion for permission.
She silently mouthed her request and focused on Sion's reaction.
Even if Sion agreed, if there was the slightest hint of burden, Ichinose could just tell Noah she was heading back right away.
The response came immediately.
Sion smiled without a trace of hesitation. There was truly no burden at all.
She'd received favors from Noah Frozenheart and wanted to grow closer.
"Lady Noah is also my benefactor. I'd be delighted if you visited."
"…Thanks."
─ Huh? Nose? Who's with you?
"Noah. I'll share my location via message, so come check it out."
Ichinose shared her position with Noah without any deception.
Even though the three of them had secretly formed a collaborative relationship, she had no desire to exclude Noah.
They'd barely tidied up the shooting range and exchanged a word or two in the living room when—
Ding-dong! The mansion's bell rang, and Noah's face appeared on the camera.
Sion chuckled at Noah pressing her face right up to the lens like she was about to cling on, then opened the front gate and unlocked the entrance.
Moments later, the front door burst open with a bang, and Noah stormed into the mansion.
"Super - cute tiger makes her entrance!"
"You got here fast."
Ichinose greeted her first.
Noah's unique energy and vitality lit up the atmosphere, drawing smiles. She was a girl impossible not to like, all things considered.
"I'm fast, so of course. But whose house is this?"
Noah's round ears perked up proudly as she grinned, her tail swishing as she scanned the people in the mansion.
"Rohan's here? And you two as well?"
"Lady Noah. Please, come in."
"P-please, come in…!"
"I'm the guest here too. This is Sion's place."
Rohan wrapped up the greetings.
Noah apologized to Sion for the sudden visit, then approached Ichinose.
As she spread her arms for a hug, Ichinose sidestepped.
"Nose going out alone! That's too much!"
"I left a note, didn't I? I wrote it so I wouldn't wake you with noise."
"Still, how could you! We had plans for lunch together!"
"Plans? When did we make those?"
"We always eat together, so it's an unspoken promise!"
"What… Noah goes out without a word sometimes too. At least I left a note."
"Fine, then I'll leave notes from now on too!"
Ichinose smiled faintly at Noah wracking her brain for a comeback.
She understood why Noah was clinging so stubbornly.
"Noah."
"Yeah?"
"Don't worry about Monoliths. It's not like you can avoid them just by trying, right?"
"…But if we're together, we'd at least fall into the dungeon together."
Ichinose had heard how Noah had suffered mentally while she and Rohan were trapped in that dungeon.
Seeing the girl, who lived fearlessly without a care in the world, show such vulnerability felt fresh to Ichinose.
In a way, even cute.
"Your method's too extreme, though. Sticking to me 24/7 for life?"
"Yeah!"
"What kind of sunny nonsense is that…?"
Cute? Scratch that.
She felt the need to curb this before it worsened.
"After finals, even during break, I'll be with Nose!"
"You can stay here, no problem. But you should see your parents too, Noah."
"Just come with me, Nose? Mom and Dad miss you too."
"That'd be nice, but…."
Ichinose trailed off, glancing at Rohan.
He was smiling, clearly approving of her bond with Noah.
As Noah tried to hug her again with both arms, Ichinose dodged once more and voiced a sudden curiosity.
"Has Rohan decided on break plans?"
"Me? Was thinking of heading south, but that's on hold. No real plans. Just training?"
Rohan's casual remark sparked a whirlwind of emotions in the girls, each solidifying their resolve in an instant.
Relief that he had no plans to visit the Sepia Archipelago and meet that girl Lete.
Ichinose felt a pang of regret that he wasn't heading to Samhwa Nation or Tigrova.
And shared worry that he was charging ahead without pausing to refresh his mind.
"Rohan… You know rest is a key part of growth, right?"
"That's why I'm resting plenty. This is rest right now."
To Rohan, it was the honest truth.
Just being around these girls cleared his mind.
Noah, who had been tapping the floor with her tail while listening, suddenly made a proposal out of the blue.
It naturally pulled everyone together.
"For break, let's all go to the beach! Finals end around summer anyway!"
"Roughly summer, yeah. But… the beach means swimsuits…."
Ichinose lacked the confidence to boldly bare her skin.
Especially with Rohan around. Sion and Noah's outrageously perfect figures crushed her self-esteem to the floor.
"Or how about Tigrova's snow mountains? We can build snowmen and make igloos!"
"…Noah's options just keep coming."
While Ichinose was getting dragged along by Noah,
Rohan asked the girls flanking him.
"Yeah, holing up for training all break does sound kinda off. Sion, Clara—anywhere you wanna go?"
"As long as… it's with Oppa, anywhere's fine…."
"Same here."
Rohan decided rest was worth serious thought.
His own experiences in this world were still so limited. Ideally, he'd show everyone as much as possible and make memories together.
But for break, heading south when I'm still not strong enough….
Without memories, he'd researched the south's geography and situation.
Beyond the narrow survivor lands crawled with powerful monsters, and the ones appearing were no joke.
Criminals banded together, hiding everywhere, causing daily incidents.
Poking around to unravel the mysteries and info in his head would definitely stir trouble.
So for now, a normal trip made sense.
"A trip, huh…."
Beach or snow mountains—either sounded great.
Like Sion and Clara said, trips mattered more for who you were with than where.
Anyway, nail the finals first, then plan properly.
*****
Days passed, and the weather warmed up.
Pedestrians on the streets mixed short sleeves with long, a cozy vibe.
Spring was fading, summer creeping in—it really hit home.
And with it, Orion Academy cadets got busy.
Finals to wrap up the first semester were right around the corner.
Cadets' focus shifted from written to practical exams.
Written tests would proceed as usual, from what they'd heard. But with major changes to the curriculum now,
practical exams were completely unpredictable.
Class 1's morning assembly.
Juyeon confirmed the cadets quietly awaiting her words, then spoke.
"Orion Academy's final exam practical test will be—."
"““….””"
As Juyeon deliberately paused,
the cadets held their breath, waiting silently for the rest.
Rohan was no different.
In Abyss City, finals were cadets stealing bells from each other on a mountain.
But who knew now. No certainty.
With Omega dead on the uninhabited island, the main story had derailed.
Not just slightly—cadets tortured by Omega, curriculum changes—none of that happened in Abyss City.
So the exam content might have changed too. Rohan figured as much.
Satisfied with their attention, Juyeon curved her lips slightly and jingled a single bell.
"Steal the bells from the instructors."
"…!"
Steal from instructors, not fellow cadets.
Rohan gaped at the absurd difficulty spike.