Chapter 61
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 61
Chapter Title: The Event Goes Smoothly!
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After school.
Having finished her swimming club activities and returned home, Yume buried her face in her bed and let out a sigh.
"Haa... I barely talked to Rubelt today."
Yume had one nagging worry.
It was about the man she'd harbored feelings for since high school.
Rubelt Eldra—and the fact that she hadn't had any real conversations with him lately.
She'd been shocked on the day of enrollment.
Rubelt had a fiancée.
Her friend Rize and his fiancée Eli had already been physically intimate with him.
Rubelt was into polygamy... in other words, harems, and even his fiancée Eli was positive about it.
And Rize, who was always by his side, had said that if women like her or Kagura tempted him, he'd probably like it.
After hearing all those shocking facts on enrollment day...
Yume had watched Rubelt anxiously, her heart pounding inside.
And that had gone on for over two weeks.
What Yume felt was that Rubelt was just as cool and impressive now as he had been in high school... no different.
He followed classes effortlessly and personally demonstrated techniques to guide the other cadets.
Some cadets had already formed a group admiring and following him.
They were the type who shrieked, "Kyaaah~ It's Lord Rubelt~!"—the same ones she'd seen often in high school.
That crowd could harass or warn women near Rubelt out of jealousy.
Women in positions like hers.
But nothing like that had ever happened in high school.
For her affection points, Rubelt had quietly ordered Rize to prevent any such incidents.
Of course, Yume had vaguely sensed that behind-the-scenes work.
And that's why her feelings for him had grown even stronger.
Over those three years, always in the same class as Rubelt, Yume had become keenly aware of her romantic feelings for him.
But Rubelt was the heir to the world's top conglomerate, the Eldra family—unlike her, a normal commoner.
Plus, he had Rize the maid by his side, so she'd tended to suppress her own heart.
That self-restraint crumbled after his remarks on enrollment day.
Just like in high school.
No, somehow his masculine charm seemed to grow day by day, and Yume's feelings for Rubelt only swelled larger.
She wanted to talk more with Rubelt.
She wanted to get closer to him.
Maybe she'd get a chance too?
No matter what anyone said, Rize—who'd been with him the longest—said it was possible for her too.
And fiancée Eli had loudly declared she welcomed a harem storyline!
Still, Yume couldn't bring herself to make a move on Rubelt so easily.
She was convinced that if she stepped up and got rejected, there'd be no coming back.
With those worries gnawing at her, a string of events kept making her anxious and uneasy.
The first was Chisaki.
After challenging Rubelt to a spar on enrollment day, she'd started eating lunch with him often—the same class cadet.
She was all about combat, but calling Rubelt her priest made their distance feel awfully close.
Even if Chisaki wasn't interested, Rize said Rubelt—with his strong sex drive—might turn his affections her way.
The second was Kagura.
A friend she'd met for the first time at enrollment.
They'd joined the guidance committee together and chatted a lot during breaks, so Yume thought of her as a real friend.
"You know, Yume? If you grill pork belly and then cook kimchi on the leftover heat on the grill... the taste is insane!"
"R-Really?"
"And if you wrap that grilled kimchi with tofu... oh man!"
She had this intense passion and fixation on meat sometimes, but Yume saw it as her unique charm.
And to Yume, Kagura was an even bigger source of anxiety than Chisaki.
She'd sensed it on enrollment day, but it was obvious at a glance that Kagura had feelings for Rubelt too.
Plus, she had big breasts and a kind heart.
Above all, she was the daughter of the shrine Rubelt sponsored.
It'd be weirder if she didn't like him.
And lately, Kagura had more and more contact with Rubelt.
On their first dungeon run, she'd even been carried on his back.
At the academy, she claimed it was consulting about shrine management issues, but seeing them leave the classroom alone together made Yume insanely curious about what they talked about.
'I want to talk more with Rubelt too...'
It even sparked a tiny jealousy in her.
And what amplified Yume's jittery, anxious heart even more was none other than her childhood friend, Isihoon.
Her childhood friend she'd known since they were kids.
The somewhat scatterbrained one she'd always had to look after a bit.
Lately, Isihoon had been getting cozy with their class president, Kim Yesl.
Here she was, heart pounding anxiously over her feelings for Rubelt.
And there he was, in the same club as the class president, getting closer and closer—on the verge of dating, it seemed so enviable.
She felt such personal, selfish spite toward him that even if he overslept and was about to be late, she considered not waking him by phone.
In the midst of all that, Yume hadn't been able to talk much with Rubelt today either, so she moped home and sighed in lament.
"Haaa..."
Right then, her phone rang with an incoming call.
'Who is it? Isihoon...? Huh!?'
She checked the screen, and Rubelt's name lit it up.
"Ru-Rubelt!?"
Yume hurriedly answered.
"H-Hello?!"
[Ah, Yume. Can you talk now?]
"Y-Yeah! It's fine! What's up?"
[Actually, I was planning to do some shopping downtown this weekend.]
"Oh?"
[Yeah. Do you have time this weekend, Yume?]
"I've got plenty of time..."
[Perfect. Want to go shopping together then?]
"Rubelt? W-What did you just say?"
[I mean, let's go shopping together this weekend, Yume.]
"Uh, u-uhhh!?"
Stunned by Rubelt's words, Yume desperately tried to calm her racing heart.
[What's wrong?]
"N-No! Nothing!"
'Calm down! Ju-Just calm down. You knew this might happen! Him suggesting shopping is probably... with Rize and Isihoon too! Yeah! Just like always, hanging out as a group!'
"Shopping! S-Sounds great! Yeah! I wanted to go shopping too!"
[Got it. Then this weekend... around 9? How about our usual meeting spot?]
'Our... yeah, he must've invited Rize and Isihoon too.'
"Yeah! Sounds good! See you then!"
With that, Yume ended the call with Rubelt.
"Phew..."
She let out a sigh, steadying her secretly pounding heart.
"Shopping this weekend... Rize and Isihoon will probably be there too."
'Meeting Rubelt on the weekend again, so I should dress up a bit.'
Even if it was a group thing.
A girl wanted to look good for the guy she had a crush on.
And so time passed, and the weekend arrived.
Yume got herself ready and called Isihoon.
[Hello?]
"Isihoon, you all set?"
[Set? For what?]
"We're shopping with Rubelt and Rize today, remember?"
[What are you talking about? We never made plans like that.]
"W-We didn't?"
[Nope. And I'm doing volunteer work this weekend anyway? Gotta go.]
Click. Isihoon hung up.
"Huh? Uh?"
Yume couldn't wrap her head around it.
'He didn't make plans with Isihoon? Huh? Why?'
Her mind swirled with questions, but she quickly latched onto the most plausible explanation.
'Right! It's just me and Rize shopping today! Rubelt, you jerk! Leaving Isihoon out like that.'
Convinced, Yume headed to their usual downtown meeting spot for group hangouts.
"Ah, Rubelt!"
Spotting Rubelt already there, Yume waved.
Rubelt noticed her too and smiled, giving a small wave back.
And then Yume saw it.
Rize—the one always glued to Rubelt—was nowhere at the meeting spot.
'Huh? Uhhh?'
Her steps toward Rubelt halted, her mind freezing solid.
I could see Yume, who had been approaching, freeze up like she'd been flash-frozen.
I was the only one at the meeting spot, so she must've been shocked.
We usually went out as a group of four.
Suddenly being just the two of us probably made her brain short-circuit for a moment.
But I hadn't lied.
Yume had just assumed it was the usual group outing.
I walked over to her.
"Yume, what's wrong?"
"Huh?! Uh, well! Ru-Rubelt!"
As I spoke, Yume started moving again, clearly flustered as she asked,
"W-Where's Rize! Oh, did you send her on an errand or something? Right?"
"No. Rize isn't coming today."
"Rize... isn't coming?"
"She has plans with Eli today, so they're hanging out separately."
"Th-Then today... it's just you and me?"
"Yeah. Oh, Isihoon's doing volunteer work today."
"I heard that on the phone."
"Yeah?"
Yume stiffened up and fell silent.
She was probably thinking this setup screamed "date."
Best to guide her into responding easily.
I gave her an awkward smile and asked,
"Sorry, did you think it was a group shopping trip?"
"Uh, yeah... y-yeah."
"Hmm, my bad for making you think that. Um... do you not want to shop just the two of us?"