Precious Guest -2-
Click!
The princess returned from her daily training, having completed it with utmost diligence.
Today had been the worst, covered head to toe in monster blood.
With every step, her shoes squelched disgustingly against the floor.
"...Is anyone here?"
No one greeted her, even after all her hard work.
Lately, she'd started noticing these little things she used to ignore.
Ever since she'd become certain the elders were tracking her location.
'They only call me princess or royalty when they need something...'
Now it was time to head back to her room, rest, inspect her rifle, and maintain it.
The most peaceful time for the princess's mind.
And so.
As she walked to her room with her rifle in hand, her pointed, long ears perked up.
—I've always thought we can't trust those kinds of guys...!
—Even so, can we formally hire someone? If you're going to get mad, at least do it in private...
—Isn't your point purely hindsight?
—You didn't raise any objections when we hired them initially, and now...
…
…
The atmosphere had soured ever since the day the princess returned alone, with no guests.
The heated debate, with voices raised as a baseline, stemmed from a string of failures.
Unable to grasp some unidentified factor, things kept going wrong, and even the elders were losing their tempers.
What kind of people these awaited guests were, and why they'd been invited.
The princess had subtly probed the elders, but they'd brushed it off, saying she didn't need to worry about trivial matters.
"Hoo..."
Ignoring the argument echoing around her, the princess kept walking.
And stepped into her private space.
She set down her sniper rifle and gear on the table.
Wiped the monster blood splattered on her face with a damp cloth, sat down, and opened a drawer.
She had to clean her gear before washing herself.
Swish swish.
The princess continued the now-familiar process—she could do it with her eyes closed—while lost in thought.
—There must be many questions with no clear answers.
—What on earth happened to the elves living in Tigrova's coniferous forests?
Was sending that man a gain or a loss?
She still didn't know. Not enough data to judge.
'Still.'
He seemed to know something about the matters the elders were unanimously keeping silent on.
Thud!
The princess rolled up the cloth she'd used to clean her rifle and tossed it in the trash.
Then she touched the spot sewn under her vest with her finger.
Feeling the foreign sensation of the tracker she'd voluntarily resewn in place, she continued her thoughts.
—Now you'll get a sense of how to use that tracker.
"..."
The clear feeling of being toyed with by that man was unpleasant and off-putting.
But the princess had already made up her mind.
Pop! She opened one of her vest pockets and pulled out her precious memo pad.
The princess double-checked the phone number written there.
'I should go see him once.'
She knew gathering information would take considerable time.
Still, after this much time, surely he'd uncovered something.
Along with her resolve, a subtle excitement about heading to the city filled the girl's heart.
"Hmm humm hum~"
The princess hummed the song she'd heard during her city visit as she prepared to wash up.
'Sleepy.'
Rohan stood at the counter, stretching to chase away the drowsiness.
He'd tried sitting down for some theoretical study since time was on his side, but no matter how hard he focused, nothing stuck.
Right now, he had no room for other tasks. He needed to concentrate fully to avoid mistakes at work.
"Hoo..."
Mana exhaustion had wrecked his condition.
This status ailment was truly awful.
The weather outside was clearly cool, but his body felt limp and soggy, like a humid day with rain pouring down.
Even so, he had to push through.
No one could always work in perfect shape.
Bzzz—!!!
"Hm?"
His phone vibrated wildly in his apron pocket.
Thinking it might be the manager, he hurriedly pulled it out.
Clara peeked her head out from between the bookshelves, blinking at him.
She was fine chatting about games, but for everyday stuff, she preferred messaging over talking.
'Nice. Healing stack one.'
In their still-distant relationship, for Clara to message him about something non-game-related was touching.
Pure emotion.
A refreshing rain on his listless mind.
I sent back a message saying I was fine and gave the girl a small wave.
Once I responded, Clara flitted her eyes around in confusion before slipping away.
Rohan smiled at the sight.
'Twenty more minutes, then cleaning time.'
Today, with his mind a bit loose, he'd scheduled extra buffer for cleaning.
His gut told him he'd need it, or it'd be too tight.
As he steeled his refreshed resolve, the bell tinkled at the entrance.
Rohan turned his head and widened his eyes.
He recognized her instantly.
Even without her usual suit.
Her red hair and striking appearance allowed no mistake.
"Instructor!?"
"Rohan. Doing well at work?"
"What brings the instructor all the way here...?"
"What a strange question. Obviously, to buy books."
Juyeon strode toward the shelves.
She glanced at the recommended books the manager had stacked near the counter and continued.
"And as the instructor in charge of Class 1, I have a duty to oversee my cadets' part-time jobs."
"Ah..."
Rohan nodded in understanding.
Coming from Juyeon, it rang completely true, without a single gap.
"Any improvement in your condition? Your face looks a bit brighter."
"Much better than right after waking up."
Rohan lifted the corner of his mouth to signal he was okay.
Juyeon replied it was a relief and scanned the surroundings carefully.
"Working alone?"
"Yes. The manager's gone home, so I lock up too."
"I was going to greet the owner if they were here... You're trusted. Good for you."
Had she found a book she liked?
Juyeon slightly raised an eyebrow, picked one up, and headed to another shelf.
"Eaten dinner?"
"Planning to grab something at the dorm after."
Normally, he'd eat cheaply at the Orion Academy cafeteria before coming to work.
But today was an exception.
After waking in the infirmary with that blue-glowing IV, he'd had zero appetite and come straight here.
"Straight to the dorm... No plans, then."
"Where would I go at this hour?"
Juyeon met Rohan's eyes as he answered innocently.
"Then eat with your instructor."
"Pardon?"
As Rohan blinked in surprise, Juyeon approached the counter and set down her books.
Mystery novel and historical fiction.
"Too much?"
"No. Just caught me off guard."
Rohan answered while grabbing the scanner for checkout.
Paper bag included: 4 coins, 31 tokens.
He took Juyeon's card and completed the payment.
"I figured it'd fluster a cadet. But I couldn't think of a roundabout way to say it."
"Sudden, but not burdensome."
Juyeon pocketed her card and stared briefly into Rohan's steady eyes before chuckling softly.
"Not lying—surprising your instructor. Aren't you uncomfortable around superiors?"
"Depends on the person. And I never turn down free food."
Lots of qualifiers upfront, but it wasn't a lie.
Pretty older sister buying dinner? No reason for Rohan to refuse time with Juyeon.
"...I'd have backed off saying it was a joke if you seemed burdened."
"No cadet in Class 1 would refuse a meal with you, Instructor."
"Too sweet."
"Instructor, I'm not the sweet-talking type."
Juyeon took her bag of books, unable to hide her smile at how easily it had gone.
"Not special treatment, mind you. I came to supervise, can't just leave empty-handed."
"Understood."
If other cadets were working part-time somewhere and Juyeon visited to check like this, she'd offer and buy them dinner too.
"Any menu preferences? Picky eater?"
"I eat anything except bad food."
"Demanding."
"My standards are rock bottom. Even the burger joint right outside works."
"Hmm."
Juyeon expressed subtle feelings with her lips and brows as she slowly stepped away from the counter.
"Anyway, got it. I'll handle my business. Contact me when your shift ends."
With that, Juyeon took her purchased books and left Flower Lily Bookstore.
Rohan gathered his bewildered wits, then stepped away from the counter to start cleaning.
'What storm just blew in...'
It was good, but confusing. Unreal was more accurate.
As he retraced the conversation for mistakes on his way to grab the mop.
"Hnnngh...!"
He spotted Clara shivering in the corner of the bookstore.