Two Guests Scheduled for the Dormitory
‘If words were enough, why try a grand bow all of a sudden. Such an eccentric thing...’
Juyeon couldn't help but laugh in disbelief at the situation that had just unfolded.
Rohan, on his way back to the dormitory, had suddenly pulled off that bizarre stunt, leaving her genuinely flustered. She'd always thought Gilbert Carniat was the weirdest one in class, but the more she saw of Rohan, the more he seemed like the real oddball.
And so.
After seeing Rohan off, Juyeon turned back from the entrance.
The long corridor stretched out. The path to the living room looked impossibly distant.
"Hm."
She started walking. Reaching the living room, she sank into the sofa as usual.
Before picking up the book with its bookmark still in place, her gaze drifted to the ceiling once more.
‘Was the house... always this quiet?’
Rohan's time in Juyeon's home barely qualified as a day. Just a few hours, most of which he'd spent sleeping.
Yet the silence pressed in strongly.
She hadn't had much to smile about in Academy City, but Rohan's chatter had lifted the corners of her mouth in that bland way. Maybe that was why.
"..."
Juyeon halted her hand midway to the book as her mind grew cluttered, abandoning the idea of reading.
She headed to the kitchen, where the dishes still waited to be cleared.
Chiiiii──!!!
Turning on the faucet, she grabbed the scrubber. She considered playing some music to chase away the loneliness but decided against it—the sound of the water was soothing enough.
She picked up the clattering dishes and scrubbed until they squeaked clean.
A strange feeling.
The rice bowl and soup bowl that needed washing were one more than usual, and so were the chopsticks.
And it was obvious who had used them.
Rohan's rice bowl was scraped clean, not a single grain left, as if he'd tried to shave the bowl itself with his spoon.
"Pfft."
A clear laugh slipped from between Juyeon's lips.
It didn't feel like he'd forced down her cooking out of obligation. Pure joy welled up in her.
"Sion?"
─ ...!
She startled at her name before he could even continue, her breath hitching and betraying her emotions.
"Are you in Academy City right now? Where are you?"
─ Rohan…
"Yeah. Tell me."
Rohan focused intently on the phone while walking down the street.
She was definitely a princess, but he couldn't guess why she'd called.
─ I have one thing I want to ask.
"What's on your mind?"
Spotting a passerby, Rohan ducked into an empty alley.
Leaning his back against the cold wall.
He waited for Sion to resolve her inner conflict and speak.
─ Last time... you told me not to act rashly, even if I felt like my head might explode from anger.
"Yeah."
Sion drew a deep breath over the line.
Then, in a lowered voice, she asked.
─ Am I really... just supposed to keep waiting like this...?
"Yeah. Wait."
It was a heartbreaking answer for Sion, but Rohan had his reasons for telling her to wait for signs like those in Abyss City.
Without overwhelming power, small issues could be brushed off, but avoiding major variables was always best.
Predicting even a little of the thick stem of events directly tied to Sion's safety.
At the same time, he understood why she'd called.
She must have remembered his words: call if it got tough or if she craved something.
The fact that she'd reached out to him—still practically a stranger—meant things had piled up.
─ I thought that if I just steadily hunted monsters and fought as ordered, it would help my kin settled in foreign lands financially...
"..."
He knew the rest without her saying it. She'd concluded otherwise on her own.
Whatever method she'd used, she'd uncovered a lot by herself.
─ I... I just...
"Yeah. I'm listening."
Rohan gave short replies as he listened closely to Sion's rambling.
‘She's a bit unstable.’
Her emotions painted clearly in her voice.
The feelings woven into the girl's tone were more anger than depression—like a volcano on the verge of eruption or thunder-laden storm clouds.
─ You must have found me frustrating and ridiculous too, Rohan. Swayed by the elders' words full of holes...
"No. I don't think that."
─ ...
Rohan cut in firmly to reassure her.
A girl who'd lived without proper exposure to others' malice was mentally stunted, her body grown but her mind not.
Maintaining her humanity and character in such harsh conditions deserved praise.
"The situation around you made it that way. You might hate the pity, but... I think it's unfortunate."
─ ...
Silence fell. The turbulent emotions in Sion had calmed, the ripples fading.
So Rohan asked.
"Sion. You hurting a lot?"
─ ...
"Here's the weird part. It's better to vent honestly than swallow your feelings. Pour your gloom on me—it's like fertilizer."
Rohan raised his voice with some energy, and Sion responded.
─ It... hurts.
"A lot?"
─ Yeah. I don't know where to even start unraveling it...
"Just observe the situation coldly for now. It'll be tough, but hang in there a bit longer."
─ ...
"Don't worry. You'll be smiling again soon."
─ How can you be so sure...?
Though different from now, in Abyss City, Sion in an even more dire state realizes the truth.
Rohan recalled the texts from then. Her powerlessness toward him, self-doubt, fury and sorrow at the elders' betrayal.
For now, planting hope in the girl was priority.
That way, sharing info while ignoring variables had meaning.
"I don't fail when I take on a job."
─ ...
No room for a quip about his confidence, it seemed.
Rohan felt a bitter taste at Sion's different vibe from their last meeting.
─ It's too late, but... I guess I can't resolve this on my own...?
"You hate relying on others?"
─ I know I've already received plenty from you. Still... living off someone else's help like this...
He got it. Some people thought that way when cornered.
Not wrong, of course. A rare, resilient spirit.
But Rohan's experience said otherwise.
No need to taste the worst.
"Sion."
─ Listening.
"No one stands alone without anyone's help."
─ ...
"Accepting help when you need strength isn't shameful. Let's settle that."
Rohan didn't expect a reply to that.
Before Sion could respond, he changed the subject.
"Since you called, wanna chat a bit? Nothing beats gossip for lifting your mood."
─ ...Chat?
Not subtle—her voice was outright flustered.
Seeing something beyond negative emotions in the girl, Rohan smiled.
"I wanted to talk personal stuff last time too. It was all business."
─ Ah!
"Hm?"
Sion reacted like she'd remembered something, so Rohan waited quietly.
A sense of her fidgeting over the line. After that ticklish pause, she murmured softly.
─ The hamburger you gave me last time... was delicious. Thank you.
Feeling Sion was cute, Rohan shifted his posture.
Squatting in the alley, he grinned openly.
"Pretty good, right? I'll get you another next time. Even tastier hot."
─ Come to think of it...
"Yeah?"
─ You said the elders have rigid stereotypes of outsiders, thinking all elves are vegetarians. That was wrong too?
"Not entirely off, but rare to assume it's absolute. Plus, Tigrova elves are distant from that."
─ ...You know the traits of Tigrova elves well, I see.
"Somewhat?"
Tigrova was a land of vast snowfields and coniferous forests.
The elves there differed from the greenwood imaginings.
Elves from warm climates often enjoyed vegetarianism, but the harsh, blizzard-swept environment offered no such choice.
Chatting idly like that, thirty minutes had flown by.
Midway, he heard clinking coins—Sion feeding the payphone, probably.
Having covered the grim mood with lighter talk, he hoped the gossip had eased her.
"Sion."
─ ...
Her weighted tone suggested she sensed a shift to serious topics.
No reply, but she was listening intently. He felt it.
"If something happens and you're struggling or need advice, call like today. Remember the dorm? Come there."
─ Yeah...
"But on weekdays when I'm not there, someone else will be──."
Beep. Beep. Beep.
Right before the most crucial part, the call cut off.
"Sion? Hello?"
Rohan checked his smartphone screen. Battery at half, call time exactly thirty-five minutes.
Flustered, he scratched his jaw.
‘Ran out of coins?’
Tsking, he swallowed hard, stood, and looked at the sky.
"...This is a real problem."
What if Clara, guarding the dorm alone, ran into Sion?
Tell Clara first? Rohan's head already throbbed.
If they met and fought on sight, it'd be trouble.
Wondering if she'd call back, Rohan moved slowly, checking his phone constantly.
But that day, no call came from Sion again.