70. Watch Out for Flags Everywhere
“Ooooh…!”
Pop.
“Shut up. Don’t say anything.”
“Ooooh!”
“I said shut up!”
“Ooooh!”
“Ooooh!”
“Ooooh!”
“Ooooh!”
“Ooooh!!”
I knew this would happen. Damn it, why did they have to spot me exactly like this?
I tried to run, but I was too late. Both me and Selene. I was so distracted thinking about finally sorting out our tangled relationship from the beginning.
Embarrassing. My face feels like it's about to burst into flames. Still, I didn't let go of Selene's hand.
Selene must be just as embarrassed as I am. If I let go first, the closeness we've just gained might slip away again. I didn't want that.
“What is this?! How is this possible?! It was supposed to be a rejection, not a confession!”
“Aaaah! If I had known, we would have confessed again!”
“No way, you kids. The train has already passed. Wake up from your dreams.”
I thought my feelings for Selene had completely vanished. I figured the army had neatly sorted them out.
Since there was no more pain or regret left. I thought it was just a brief first love.
But looking at it now, it seems it wasn't gone, just forgotten.
The army life was so tough. I couldn't even recall it because of the damn war.
While rolling on the battlefield, I might have vaguely dreamed of warmth, with Selene in it.
But when I returned to the academy and faced her face, did my heart revive without me knowing? Or was there always a bit of lingering feeling?
She was sobbing, apologizing, while confessing, and I couldn't reject her.
Whatever it was, one thing was clear. Karl and Selene... yes, we're officially dating!
“Tell me! Tell me!! Karl, are you saying you confessed again?!”
“That’s—”
“I did. This time...”
Selene spoke first, her face turning bright red. I was a bit surprised there.
Thinking about her past rejections of confessions, it would be embarrassing, but to say it like that.
“Selene, you...?”
“Yeah. Receiving another confession from Karl is too heartless...”
“Wow. You're crazy. Hey, Karl. You know this is a historic moment, right?”
Why is "historic" coming up in this situation. Alexander.
“Selene has received confessions from hundreds of people.”
“Including me and you guys?”
“Hey, let's put aside the painful past! It's all in the past! Anyway! Selene, the first love of all male students at the academy, confessed to you?!”
Was that it? That's interesting. I glanced at Selene, and she had already lowered her head. Though not visible, heat was probably rising from above her head.
Selene, who wanted to die from embarrassment, wasn't visible, but the Four Idiots were overjoyed.
They kept shouting "Ooooh!" in some alien language and suddenly crowded around me.
“So, when is the wedding?”
“You crazy people. All of you, get lost. What wedding, what wedding.”
“Hah! If men and women with full hormones gather because they like each other, they should get married!”
Damn. I've heard marriage prompts I've never heard from my parents.
Hey, kids? You all were the ones who got rejected by Selene, right? Why are you all so fine?
Originally, the male leads who were obsessed and regretted in romance novels, where did they go? Why are you guys doing what looks like cheering for the rival or side character in shoujo manga?
“Karl. Should we sing the wedding song? I know how to sing.”
“Are you all sane? Weren't you the ones who got rejected by Selene?”
“Well, it's the pain of first love. But men! You have to overcome that pain! You should know how to wish for the happiness of first love!”
“That's right! His Highness said so! Frustration builds men!”
What genre is this world? Romance, fantasy, or comedy?
Um. Everyone here is definitely not sane. If I stay here any longer, I'll go crazy too!
Without more time to think, I grabbed Selene's hand and ran to the opposite side of the Four Idiots.
*
After barely escaping the Four Idiots who kept yelling 'Ooooh!' and catching my breath.
“Um, um. Karl.”
As expected, Selene, panting heavily, spoke.
“Um, is it really... okay?”
“Suddenly. Hoo, what are you saying all of a sudden?”
“So... I'm a bit dizzy. I really couldn't imagine that Karl would accept it so easily.”
Ah, um. That could be. From Selene's perspective, it might be a bit like that.
I scratched the back of my head for a moment, turning over what to say.
But no matter how I thought, nothing came to mind that sounded cool. Honestly, I didn't know either.
'I didn't think I'd be dating Selene.'
Selene rejected me! Now I hate that woman! But instead of that, seeing that I was rejected, it seems I was the one who was hated, stronger than I thought.
So, I thought it was right to distance myself from her. It was natural to think she was avoiding making me uncomfortable.
I never imagined that Selene would apologize first and confess like this.
“I just... got too hasty. I said it without realizing... I really didn't think you'd accept it. So, actually, I wanted to ask earlier, but right before that...”
“The Four Idiots butted in. Those timing bastards are like ghosts.”
Hoo, catching my breath again. My breathing is still heavy, and I need to organize my thoughts.
Why was that. Why did I accept Selene's feelings without any hesitation or other thoughts.
Whatever the reason, there was some fault on Selene's part in me going to the army.
If that made me angry and unfair, I wouldn't have accepted her feelings at all.
Why did I hug Selene and quietly comfort her. What reason was that.
“I'm exactly the same as you.”
“Huh?”
“I'm exactly the same as you, Selene.”
I chose the army to distance myself from Selene. And I spent three long years there.
There, I thought that if I endured a bit of hardship, I would regain my senses. Honestly, who knew there would be a war.
And Selene, on the contrary, chose the academy to get closer to me. She also chose a master's program.
What a coincidence. She also did three years. Until I graduated, she endured it.
“People say similar people meet each other. And that's how they last long. Looking at it this way, it seems I understand why I did that crazy thing of publicly confessing to Selene.”
“Why did I do that?”
“Selene is like me. I guess I had the conviction that being with her would be a very good person.”
And there was one more reason I didn't tell Selene.
Simply, thanks to her, I was able to get some comfort a little. If it were just me, I would have wandered around a lot and been in pain. But thanks to Selene helping me.
Even if it was just a meaningless "it's okay" from someone who didn't know anything. Because it was Selene who said it, I could take one step further.
I can definitely say it. Military life was tough, I got many wounds in the process. But that was never Selene's fault.
It was my decision and my action. It was the weight of responsibility I had to bear.
I don't want to blame others for it. Selene was just a process.
If I blame Selene here, all the things I've gone through so far would seem to fade, or even become meaningless as the time I spent as myself. No matter how painful and hard it was, I didn't want that.
“Honestly, look. Selene.”
With a playful smile, I held Selene's hand.
“If the person I like suddenly confesses to me, who would say no to some crazy guy? Of course, I grab it! With this, I became the one who snatched the first love of all male students at the academy, and I wouldn't date her?”
I wanted an ordinary life. More precisely, to spend the same time as others.
Including among them, the life of having a first love like them, experiencing some pain, then dating, and finally meeting a lifelong partner and forming a family.
“I mean, Selene. I never felt pity for you. Or any other reason. It's simple. I still think Selene is good. At that time, my eyes were spinning so much that I publicly confessed right in front of everyone.”
“Public confession was honestly... a bit too much, Karl...”
I admit. That really, even if I had a hundred mouths, I had nothing to say.
“Still, it's fortunate. I thought you were doing this because you felt sorry for me applying to grad school.”
“...So, saying this, isn't it bad to drop out of grad school now? I really thought about it several times, but grad school seems really not for me.”
Adding a bit of exaggeration, the academy grad school is as hellish as the army, isn't it.
Even in the army, they at least give you vacation, work hours, and personal maintenance time, but in grad school, it's like you're a slave until you finish the master's program?
“Um...”
Selene, pondering for a moment, shook her head, "No way."
“Selene?”
“I want to stay at the academy with Karl. Don't worry. I can do well. And this seems right.”
“This seems right? What?”
“I'm dating a woman who is a Medal of Honor recipient. Unfortunately, I'm too far from the military, so I think I need at least a master's degree!”
Be careful, Selene. Saying that is like implying that a military woman could be your rival. Flags are always to be watched!