The Right People in the Right Places - 2
“What are you two doing?”
Rohan’s low voice cut through the air.
Gilbert and Dick, who had been bickering over the Desert Shark, jumped in surprise and looked up.
“A mirage...!?”
“Possible.”
Rohan chuckled at the two spouting their usual nonsense.
He crouched atop the sand dune, tossing out a light scolding.
“You guys are Orion Academy cadets, but your situational awareness is this bad? I should tell the instructors and get you some extra training.”
Only then did Gilbert and Dick realize it.
That running into Rohan in this vast desert was real.
“Rohan! You got dropped into another dungeon!?”
“At this rate, it feels like the Monolith is stalking me.”
“You've gotten even more full of crap during break. The world's just gotten that much harsher and more chaotic. You two won't be exceptions from now on either, right?”
Rohan kept his smile, born of genuine delight.
And tilted his head to the side.
“Lete. These are my friends.”
When he introduced them as fellow first-years from Orion Academy, Lete sprang up from her low stance.
“Nice to meet you! I'm Lete imda!”
“She's a junior prepping for the academy next year. From the Sepia Archipelago too.”
“Ho ho, what a bold spirit I sense in her voice!”
Gilbert's eyebrows twitched at Lete's greeting.
And Rohan bridged the gap with the perfect response.
“Oh, what was the name of Lete's school again?”
“Chroma Vocational School imda!”
“You mentioned a flight school nearby before, right?”
“Ah! You remember imda! Among the schools around here, the flight school's the most famous. Lots of foreigners come for study abroad or tourism imda!”
Both schools were in the capital of the Sepia Archipelago.
Sure, there were plenty of others, but this connection mattered right now.
Because Gilbert and Dick hailed from the Sepia Archipelago's flight school.
Schools in the same capital district...
Rohan watched Gilbert and Dick drag over the Desert Shark corpse.
Hard to believe from their usual antics, but those two were elite among elites from a major power like the Sepia Archipelago.
“Hey.”
“What?”
“Chroma Vocational School?”
“Know it.”
“Close to the flight school.”
Basing it on Dick's offhand addition, Rohan recalled a casual classroom comment from the past.
“Anyone from the Sepia Archipelago capital who's in school would know the name Gilbert Carniat, right?”
“Me? No way! A student like me who graduated quietly—no such thing!”
Gilbert protested vehemently, veins bulging in his neck, but Dick adjusted his glasses and assured otherwise.
“This guy's just oblivious, but most people know him. For bad reasons.”
“To think that I, Gilbert Carniat, who has lived without a single shame toward the heavens, would have such rumors! Retract it at once!!!”
“Heh, a reputation once spread doesn't vanish just because you deny it.”
“You scum! You damn four-eyes!!!”
Gilbert grabbed Dick's collar and shook him like a rattle.
Dick, as if expecting it, gripped his glasses tight to keep them from flying off.
Rohan snickered at the familiar classroom scene.
And Lete sidled up to him, whispering.
“Sunbae-nim.”
“Yeah?”
Rohan leaned in as she beckoned him closer to her ear.
Lete glanced at Gilbert and murmured.
“I've heard the name Gilbert Carniat too... Is he really that guy imda...?”
Lete didn't hide her wonder, her face and voice like she'd spotted a zebra loose on the street.
Rohan rolled his eyes toward Gilbert.
What the hell has this guy been up to?
Sure, he'd heard plenty of wild stories. His actions and thoughts often strayed from normalcy.
Hmm...
Rohan stroked his chin, turning it over.
He'd have to check it out, but running into Gilbert and Dick was definitely a golden opportunity.
“Kuhahaha!!! This fish looks delicious!”
After some thought.
Rohan made an offer no dungeon castaway could refuse to the pair who had hauled the Desert Shark up the dune for food.
“Do a job for me. I'll hook you up with rations and water.”
…
…
While explaining the situation to Gilbert and Dick, Rohan figured success if even one guy recognized Gilbert's name.
But upon arrival, three knew his face directly.
And most of the rest were just one link away. Shame Tom was a total stranger.
“...Big bro Gilbert! It's Mophir!”
“Morphine, you rascal! You've grown! Parents doing well?”
“Yes!”
A face so familiar he'd answer to a morphine nickname.
Whatever their ties, the respect was profound.
“How's sis holding up?”
“Big bro Gilbert! I'm an only child!”
“Kuhaha!!! Right? Yeah!”
Gilbert boomed with laughter, clapping Mophir's shoulder.
Rohan let out a chuckle in solidarity.
That's a first-year academy cadet? Acts like a well-connected uncle.
Watching Gilbert handle the request flawlessly, Rohan glanced at Dick standing quietly beside him.
“No juniors here you know?”
“...I've always preferred being alone.”
“Ah, got it.”
Dick gave off such a vibe that Rohan shut his mouth—no room for jokes.
They kept spectating Gilbert lay down the law.
“You scum!!! My dear friend offered you water out of kindness—how dare you not drink!”
“Th-that's...”
Mophir glanced at Tom in the corner, but infamous seniors trumped classmates in fear.
“If Morphine gets dehydrated like this, how sad would sis be!”
“Bro... I'm an only child...”
“Hey now!”
Gilbert shoved the water bottle forward with a stern glare.
The offered water, ignored, had already warmed to tepid.
“I, Gilbert Carniat, have no memory of an ungrateful junior. Share it with your friends to quench your thirst.”
“...Understood!”
Mophir took the water, ignoring Tom's glare.
But Gilbert's roar didn't end.
“Where are your thanks? No way sis taught Morphine like this! Do you not know water's value in this desert!!!”
Mophir, giving up on the only-child bit, approached Rohan with a bow and thanks.
Satisfied with the smooth resolution, Rohan prepped to leave with Lete.
First step: Fold the loner Dick into the group.
Rohan dragged Dick into Lete's friends' circle, and the chatty girls naturally pulled him in.
“Glasses oppa went from flight school to Orion Academy too, like the loud oppa? Total elite track!”
“Uh... I like studying...”
The girls burst into giggles at the unremarkable reply.
“People who actually like studying exist!?”
“What's your name, oppa?”
“...D-D-Dick Wikitree.”
“Didi Dick Wikitree? Name's hilarious. Real name?”
“...”
The girls took his stutter at face value, no assumptions.
Problem was Dick couldn't correct the chirping girls properly.
The mangled name spread like wildfire.
Rohan didn't correct his friend's name.
Watching Dick flounder amid Lete's friends was entertaining.
Buddy. Dinner's on you when we get out.
Still awkward with girls. But he looked kinda happy too.
“Lete and I'll scout around. Yell if anything happens.”
“Got it.”
“Yeah! Leave it to us! I'll whip up something killer with this Desert Shark!”
Rohan stood, satisfied with the vibe, slinging his sword on his back.
Lete, who had been quietly watching only him, rose naturally too.
“Just check nearby today?”
“Sounds good imda!”
They'd venture farther tomorrow, maybe camp out.
To find the Monolith, they'd have to roam the desert willingly.
As geared-up Rohan and Lete headed for the brick house door.
“Hold up.”
Tom, lips sealed till now, stood and blocked the exit.
Lete scowled and snapped curtly at his move.
“What?”
“I'm going too.”
“Just sunbae-nim and me.”
“Dangerous.”
Rohan caught the thorn in Tom's words fastest.
Meaning Rohan was more dangerous than monsters.
“You...!”
Lete realized it too, eyes flashing fierce.
But Rohan and Lete weren't the only ones who got it.
“You insolent cur!!!”
“!?”
Furious Gilbert bellowed and swung a knuckle sandwich at Tom.
Just before it cracked Tom's slow-reacting skull, Rohan closed in and blocked Gilbert's fist.
Thud!
A shockwave rippled through the brick house.
Rohan calmed the huffing Gilbert, promising to handle it, then smiled at Tom.
“Friend. You hate me that much?”
“...”
Silent as ever, refusing even words. But Rohan's response differed this time.
He'd tried going easy before, but this left no choice.
He knew the grudge blocking his path.
Time to teach how dangerous personal grudges were in a dungeon.
“Answer.”
Slap! Rohan's hand whipped up Tom's cheek.
A freakish slap that lifted his feet slightly. Tom's mouth tore wide, blood gushing between lips.
“You...!”
Tom gripped his hilt, as if to draw.
Rohan watched, unblocking.
“Gonna draw?”
“...”
Tension mounted endlessly.