Chapter 52
Chapter 52
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 52
Chapter Title: Discharge
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"Yes, Student Rowen. The visible wounds are... gone, and you don't seem to have any trouble moving around."
The academy infirmary carried its signature herbal scent.
I was on the verge of discharge, wrapped in a strange tension.
'Please, please let me out...!'
It had been a full week since I was admitted.
Estelle, who had been hospitalized with me, had long since returned to her daily routine.
My lonely discharge requests kept getting denied.
-"Hey, Rowen~ Now that you're here, why not rest up completely before leaving~?"
-"...Pardon?"
-"I get that you want to get stronger, but you're pushing too hard. Your body won't hold up at this rate~"
-"No, I'm fine..."
-"Anyway! I've already spoken to Professor Serin, so relax and rest easy~ Well, I'll be off~"
-"Wait...?"
The principal had vanished after that one-sided announcement.
I ended up under intense scrutiny from the watching nurses and healers.
'Fine... when else am I gonna rest like this?'
Having decided to make the most of it, I fully committed to resting.
And it paid off—my body felt in peak condition now.
"You recovered much faster than expected... Well, good things are good."
"So...?"
"No need to stay here anymore. Right, Student Rowen? You're free to go."
The healer, meticulously checking for any lingering wounds, finally permitted my long-awaited discharge with a satisfied smile.
Finally... freedom!
I'd suppressed my urge to train for so long.
I barely held back a cheer.
Creak!
Then the door opened, and two very familiar faces appeared.
"T-ta-da! Surprise! Congrats on the discharge, Rowen..."
"...Idiot."
"...Ugh, Estelle! How do you just fling the door open like that...!"
Lea and Estelle, waiting for my discharge, tumbled in with a crash as the door swung wide.
Of course, up to that point, it could've seemed like a touching scene of uncontainable joy.
"I-It wasn't on purpose..."
"......"
...If not for the cake in Lea's hands.
On a blazing summer day, I'd unintentionally ended up looking like a snowman.
"...Kuhh, ahaha! Sorry, Rowen. But it's just too funny...!"
"......"
"...Lea, that's not nice."
Hearing Lea's signature bright laughter, I just stood there.
...Why did the cake have to taste so good, too.
And so, my welcome-back after a week—
—came to a close between Lea, red-faced from stifling laughs,
and Estelle, wearing a subtly satisfied smile.
Ding-a-ling~
The cafe door opened, bells chiming.
Students inside turned to stare.
"Ugh... sorry, Rowen. That was really an accident earlier..."
"Haha, it's fine, Lea. Accidents happen. I'm just grateful for the thought."
"...Really? Ehehe, thanks, Rowen! Still, to make up for it, today's cafe tab's on me!"
One guy and two girls.
At a glance, just ordinary friends out for fun...
"...Jealous."
"Damn... my side's freezing."
"Wait, isn't that Lady Estelle...?"
But their extraordinary looks drew eyes.
And with the girls linking arms on both sides, vying for the guy in the middle,
it was impossible not to notice.
"Um, Lea. Do you have to cling that much...?"
"Ehe, what, embarrassed? You love it... pervert."
"...What about you, Estelle...?"
"...Don't want me to?"
"..."
The guy, uncomfortable under the stares, spoke up.
But the girls just smiled oddly and pressed closer.
As if flaunting themselves, warning off rivals—like beasts marking territory.
The trio, radiating a weird vibe, ordered drinks.
Soon, they sat at a round table with their beverages.
"..."
Sipping through a straw, I watched Lea and Estelle.
Lea, gazing at me with a sultry expression from some point.
Estelle, giving a shy smile.
Yet they subtly sparred glares at each other.
My mind swirled with complicated thoughts, stuck between them.
'Anyone can see Estelle likes me...'
In the game, she was a high-difficulty heroine, yet she seemed into me.
I couldn't recall charming her, saving her life, or healing her deep wounds...
Hm, when did I pull all that off.
Through entrance exams, midterms—the short yet long times—I'd grown close to Estelle.
In saving the now-precious Estelle, I'd unknowingly met her affection conditions.
Nyaam.
"...Weird. We ordered the same drink, but yours tastes way better than mine."
"..."
Estelle casually stole my drink.
I found it cute, but worry crept in too.
'What if the whole Hero party ends up liking me...'
The Hero and Saintess of the Hero's party.
Frontliner Lea, firepower Estelle.
And Serin, their mental pillar.
Excluding non-heroine Serin, two of three main heroines already showed interest.
I felt a ticklish thrill watching them, yet oddly hollow.
'Why not make the Hero a girl, too.'
Facing trials ahead, bonds with Saintess and Serin were inevitable.
Leaving the Hero alone felt less plausible than Arien being a woman.
Rowen, lost in thoughts that'd horrify any Holy Sword wielder,
just gave a hollow smile at the bickering Lea and Estelle.
Meanwhile, in an academy dorm.
"...What is it."
A silver-haired figure shone.
Arien felt chills, like goosebumps.
Just his imagination, he thought, pacing the room.
He closed the open windows for ventilation, drew curtains to block all light.
Finally, to avoid last time's mistake, he securely locked the front door with a click.
Only then, reassured, did he return to his closet.
Swish, swish.
Finishing training, soaked in sweat, he slowly removed her uniform.
Plop, plop.
Unbuttoning his shirt, he neared seminude.
Her contours in the faint light were firm yet curvaceous—unmistakably feminine.
"Hah... so uncomfortable."
A lovely voice from the boys' dorm.
Arien flopped onto the bed, sighing at her torso.
"...Do I have to live like this forever?"
White bandages tightly bound, hiding something.
Yet still slightly bulging.
Swish, swish.
Arien carefully, delicately unwound them.
Sway-!
They burst free, gulping outside air.
"...Haa."
Gazing in the mirror from the bed, Arien kept sighing.
"Why do they keep growing..."
A few years ago, they weren't this big.
Yet they swelled uselessly bigger each day.
Flop.
Worn out and conflicted, she lay back.
Staring at the ceiling in reverie, she turned to the side.
A tidy spot, yet unmistakably marked by Rowen.
Step, step.
Rising, she headed to Rowen's bed.
Swish.
With a mix of worry and anticipation, she perched on it.
"...Rowen."
The boy approached despite her prickly demeanor.
She'd thought her sharpened personality would drive him away.
But he just looked sadly understanding.
"Friends... maybe."
She'd grown used to solitude.
Since meeting Rowen, odd emotions bubbled up.
Like glimpsing warm childhood parents.
Faint memories resurfacing.
"..."
...Knowing he'd never return.
Arien ignored her stinging heart, staring into space.
"If he saw me like this... what would he think."
If Rowen opened that door.
Saw her on his bed.
Would he understand?
Despise her?
Or something else?
Imagining, her face twisted oddly.
Swish.
"...St-Still. He seemed to like them last time."
Days ago, rushing to the infirmary on hearing he'd been hurt,
she found him asleep, surrounded by girls.
Like a playboy scene—she'd fled, blaming her worry.
Now, maybe those girls toyed with him.
Squish, squish.
"...Is this really that great?"
Just soft mounds, she thought.
Recalling his blissful face buried there,
it baffled her... yet stirred strange anticipation.
"G-Get a grip!"
Snapping from her daze, Arien bolted to the bathroom.
Later, Rowen questioned the lingering warmth on his bed.
Per usual, he puzzled briefly before forgetting.