Chapter 25
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 25
Chapter Title: Unexpected Dinner Companion
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After lunch and classes, Elric headed to Kuina Rosly's research lab.
And when he opened the door to the lab,
"……."
Kuina Rosly looked even more deflated than last time.
"……What the hell is wrong with her this time?"
"No idea. She's been like this ever since the last club meeting……."
Ever since the last club meeting? That meant she'd been like this for over a day.
"Did you ask her?"
"She wouldn't give a straight answer……."
Now that he looked, Maria Sian's face was equally grim. No wonder—with her professor constantly emanating negative energy in their shared lab, even the sunniest person would end up like that.
"P-Professor Rosly?"
Still, he couldn't just leave her like that when he'd come to talk. Elric swallowed hard and approached, calling out to her.
"……Oh…… Student Elric?"
At his voice, life flickered back into Kuina's dead eyes. She immediately unleashed a torrent of words.
"I mean, everyone joins the Fusion Major Research Club and all they talk about is……."
She latched onto Elric (not literally—she didn't have the energy for that) and whined for a good while. He just nodded along with vague "yeah, yeahs."
It boiled down to this: aside from herself, Elric, and the club president, no one else seemed genuinely interested in the club's purpose.
'Hmm…….'
Elric had nothing to say. She wasn't entirely wrong, honestly.
He didn't know about the friends Irene or Chloe had brought, but those three up front, firing off enthusiastic questions? They were just hungry for food.
With those guys leading the vibe, it was no surprise Kuina felt that way.
"Well, it's just getting started, right? Things'll change once everyone dives in properly."
"R-Really……?"
Hope sparked in Kuina's eyes at his words. He averted his gaze and made a silent vow.
"Yeah, probably. Think of it as an adjustment period for now."
'If those guys have any brains, they'll at least pretend to care.'
Chloe had started the club herself, after all. She had to get her act together soon.
"Yeah…… you're right. It could be like that at first."
Thankfully, his consolation worked—Kuina's expression brightened. With the situation settled, Maria sighed in relief and approached Elric.
"Phew, crisis averted. Elric, you've got a knack for cheering people up."
"……Huh?"
No, he'd just said whatever. What knack? If anything, Maria was the weird one for not even trying…….
"No matter what I said, she wouldn't even pretend to listen. No idea why, but she seems to have a soft spot for you."
Nope. If she ignored everyone else, that was just how it was.
'Why the soft spot, though?'
Sure, they'd clicked last time, but jumping straight to favoritism from one good chat seemed off.
'Of course it's Elric. My soulmate.'
Kuina's thinking was anything but ordinary, so her fondness for Elric was already near max. Not that he knew.
"Anyway, back to the main topic."
"Yes! I prepared something after hearing about you, Student Elric……."
Switching to shop talk, Kuina's words flowed smoothly like magic, and Elric dove into another dense but fruitful discussion.
"Hoo……."
The results of his talk with Kuina weren't encouraging.
'……So, from what I could see, right here, at this exact moment, there was a sudden spike in intense dimensional interference…… But I don't know why or how. If I could crack this part, a lot would fall into place…….'
'Just figure out the why and how?'
'Not completely, of course…… but we'd get a much clearer picture of the key pieces.'
'……I see.'
As expected, the date and time Kuina pointed out lined up roughly with when he'd possessed 'Elric's' body. He hadn't checked the clock right away, so not exact, but the date matched.
Even so, he couldn't tell her that.
'If they find out it's not me, I'll die.'
Those cryptic words Elric had spoken.
Until it was clear whether ignoring them meant actual death or just tough talk, he couldn't risk it.
'Ah…… why's everything so damn complicated.'
Too many needless worries. Unintended relationships piling up, this sudden club, original characters tangled way too deep.
And.
"……Do you need something?"
Asuka Sirun, who'd been trailing him ever since their last talk wrapped up.
"Eek! Y-Yes?"
What kind of reaction was that? She was the one following him—anyone would think he was the stalker.
"You've been following me since classes ended. What's up?"
"Oh, no, it's……."
Asuka mumbled in a tiny voice. Last time she'd been all fire, now she was acting like a shy girl. Unpredictable woman.
"I-I wanted to apologize for overreacting last time……."
"Pardon?"
What was this now? Kasis Sirun had said Elric was rude, and Asuka had stormed off, so he'd figured he was in the wrong and apologized.
"It's fine. That was on me."
"N-No! Sparring's sparring. You fought fair and square and won……."
……Wait, hadn't Kasis called it bad manners? Were those siblings on different pages?
"Anyway, it's water under the bridge. No need to worry."
"O-Oh, okay……."
Asuka bowed her head deep and murmured. Elric started to say something, then just shut his mouth and kept walking.
And Asuka Sirun trailed after him again.
'……Just ignore her and she'll go away, right?'
He'd asked once already—nagging again would be awkward for both. Half-resigned, Elric walked the hall in silence.
"Young Lord!"
That bright voice rang out, and Elric glanced over.
Chloe Fabian, this world's heroine. Such a friendly girl. Spotting him, she came running.
'Why does she keep seeking me out?'
With those three guys glued to her, she shouldn't have time for anyone else. Bizarre.
"There you are!"
"Yes, Lady Fabian. What is it?"
Chloe laughed "ahaha" and held out a paper. He hadn't said anything funny, but she sure laughed a lot.
"Nothing much—just wanted to discuss what we'll cover at the next club meeting before we finalize the agenda! You seem more knowledgeable about this than most……."
She phrased "the others don't give a damn" so elegantly. Elric nodded and stepped closer.
"Sure. Got any ideas?"
"Ah! I sketched something out, but…… it might drag on. So, you haven't had dinner yet, right?"
"Pardon? Oh, no, not yet……."
"Then let's eat and talk!"
"Uh, sure, okay."
Yeah, agenda-setting wouldn't wrap in twenty minutes. He nodded lightly.
"By the way, is the lady behind you with you, Young Lord?"
"Heek! Me?"
Chloe pointed at Asuka, who startled and pointed at herself. Turns out Asuka was shyer than he thought.
"You were together, right? Or not?"
"W-Well, uh……."
"……Yes, we were."
Saying she was stalking him would be weird, so Elric nodded affirmatively. Asuka's eyes went wide like a startled rabbit as she stared at him.
"Wow! Then come with us! We're all clubmates anyway!"
"Uh……."
"No pressure! Come on, let's go!"
Chloe even linked arms with Asuka and dragged her along. Asuka went "eh eh" as she got pulled.
Elric watched them quietly and followed behind.
'……These two never got close in the original story.'
Asuka Sirun was barely a background character, like Princess Irene.
But now they were linking up. It felt like the story he knew was drifting further away.
'Whatever, not my problem.'
He just needed to find a way back. Keep researching hard with Kuina Rosly.
They weren't worth getting attached to anyway—no need to overthink.
Elric followed their backs with a blank expression.