Chapter 604
Chapter Title: A Couple's Quarrel
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604.
About half a day had passed since they started their sightseeing.
“Leo.”
“What is it?”
“For the first time ever, I think I respect Karl.”
Leo burst out laughing at Chelsea's words.
“Seriously, how does he manage to get things or find a place to stay without any money?”
As classmates in their first year.
And now in their second, as students in the same department, though in different dorms.
Chelsea and Karl had partied up to complete missions or tackle the World of Heroes on several occasions.
Karl's abilities shone brightest when they were in the World of Heroes.
The World of Heroes presented them with all sorts of situations.
Students from prestigious or noble families would then experience the kind of trouble they'd never face from a lack of money in their daily lives.
Having Karl in the party at times like that made things easy.
With his unique charm and friendliness, Karl would quickly befriend people and easily get what they needed in exchange for doing some simple chores.
Most students who teamed up with Karl simply saw this and thought, ‘How convenient.’
Few were ever truly impressed by Karl's negotiation skills.
The same was true for Chelsea, even though she was close friends with him.
But now.
Chelsea was realizing anew just how incredible Karl's abilities were.
“Things always look easy when you’re just watching from the sidelines.”
“Ugh.”
Chelsea flinched, a guilty look on her face.
Leo said to her,
“Well, you two come from completely different backgrounds, to begin with.”
There was no way Chelsea, a direct descendant of a renowned hero family who had been doted on and wanted for nothing since childhood, could easily imitate Karl, who came from a commoner alchemist family and was used to working in a shop.
‘Though in Karl's case, it seems he was born with a natural talent for it, beyond just being used to it.’
Even Leo, who had experienced all sorts of things as a mercenary in his past life, couldn't help but be impressed by Karl's resourcefulness. That said it all.
‘I took this too lightly.’
Being unable to reveal their identities or use magic was a bigger penalty than she had imagined.
Moreover, before they split up,
Leo had confiscated all their accessories that could be sold for money.
He had also made them change into plain clothes made of common material that could be found anywhere.
Of course, it wasn't that no one offered to help.
But they were all people with ulterior motives.
Chelsea punished every single person who approached her with lecherous eyes.
*Grrrroooowl—*
Her stomach rumbled.
Mealtime had long since passed.
Hearing the sound, Leo glanced at her, and Chelsea's face turned slightly red.
‘What should I do?’
Chelsea's first priority was to find lodging.
But it wasn't going well.
Since Retin itself was a tourist city, the accommodation fees were expensive everywhere.
She had tried to get a room in exchange for doing chores, just as Karl would have, but no one accepted her offer.
‘Labor alone isn't enough. What would Karl do?’
Chelsea tried to recall the things Karl had done.
‘How did you get food from a shop without any money?’
‘I acted pitiful.’
‘Pitiful?’
‘Yeah. I told them my little sister had been starving for days because we had no money.’
‘You lie through your teeth so easily.’
‘Well, the starving part was true.’
A conversation she'd had with Karl in the World of Heroes came to mind.
‘I’m not good at telling those kinds of lies.’
It was one thing if she was just playing a prank.
But she had no confidence in her ability to act pitiful.
The atmosphere was crucial for something like this, and it wasn't easy for Chelsea to create the same kind of vibe as Karl.
Just as Chelsea was struggling with this,
“I’m telling you, we have to go this way?!”
“Don’t be ridiculous! We have to go that way!”
Familiar voices echoed from the middle of the street.
*Murmur-murmur-*
A crowd gathered around the sudden commotion.
When Leo and Chelsea approached, they saw Niel and Machel arguing again.
“Oh dear, again.”
Chelsea covered her face with her hands.
Seeing the two of them growling at each other over something trivial again, Chelsea glanced nervously at Leo.
Leo had made it clear he wouldn't let them off if they fought.
“That’s just a clash of opinions.”
Chelsea felt a small sense of relief at his words.
Machel had looked after Abad and Chelsea since they were children.
As such, Chelsea didn't like the idea of Machel getting into trouble.
Chelsea watched the two bickering for a moment before letting out a small sigh.
“Sigh, seeing them like that makes me feel guilty, like it’s our fault.”
“Why? They’re from vassal families of the Jerdingers and the Llewellyns, so it’s natural they don’t get along.”
“Yeah, that’s true. But… I think Niel was Machel’s first love.”
“What?”
Completely taken by surprise, Leo wore a look of utter confusion.
“They actually dated before they enrolled at Lumerne.”
At that, Leo stared at Niel and Machel in disbelief.
“Those two were a couple?”
“Yep.”
“How?”
“Before coming to Lumerne, Machel attended the Rodren Imperial Academy.”
While Lumerne was the best academy, there were several other prestigious academies in human society.
The most notable were the three great class-specific academies: Ikote for knights, Emeral for mages, and Scoun for summoners.
These were typically places where students expelled from Lumerne would transfer, or where new students preparing to transfer to Lumerne would attend.
In fact, Crown Princess Sasha of the Rodren Empire had attended Scoun before transferring to Lumerne.
And the Rodren Imperial Academy, responsible for nurturing the empire's finest talents, was a top-tier academy, even if not quite on the level of Ikote, Emeral, or Scoun.
While the three great academies specialized in their respective classes, the Rodren Imperial Academy, like Lumerne, had students from all classes interacting.
Crucially, it had the advantage of allowing students to commute.
“Machel passed the entrance exam for Emeral, but he chose to go to the Imperial Academy in the capital, saying he had to serve my brother and me. He was the top student in the magic department there.”
Recalling that time, Chelsea shook her head.
“Back then, Machel hid his identity because it was obvious he would receive special treatment as a member of a Llewellyn vassal family.”
Machel attended the school under the guise of a noble from a rural area.
And through his own strength alone, he rose to become the top student of his year.
“Then one day, he came home and told us. He said he’d dueled the top student from the knight department of his year and lost.”
Machel was a traditional-style mage.
In a one-on-one duel, he was naturally at a disadvantage against a knight.
But even so, hearing that Machel had lost to a peer came as a shock to both Abad and Chelsea at the time.
“But he didn’t seem upset about it. In fact, he looked happy.”
‘My lady, Young Master. She, too, is from a rural noble family and rose to the top of the knight department on her own merit. She was an exceptionally brilliant, noble, and spirited woman. It was only natural that I lost. Of course, I won’t lose next time.’
“Don’t tell me the top knight student was Niel?”
“Yep.”
Niel, too, had enrolled in the Rodren Imperial Academy for the same reason.
“I guess they hit it off really well.”
Apparently, they were both looked down upon for being country bumpkins from rural noble families.
Because of that, they naturally started hanging out more and quickly grew close.
And when they talked, they found they had a lot in common.
“He said they got along well because they both served someone from a high-ranking family. He wouldn’t stop talking about Niel, day in and day out.”
‘Young Master! My lady! It’s about her!’
‘I desperately want to introduce her to you both!’
‘Young Master! My lady! I’ve started dating her!’
Niel and Machel, who were just beginning to awaken to the opposite sex, quickly became a couple.
“I remember him saying he was seriously thinking about their future. He said it would be hard to find someone he connected with so well.”
“Well, aside from the fact that they fight to the death, their antics are pretty much the same.”
Leo clicked his tongue.
“Then they took the Lumerne entrance exam, and that’s when they finally learned each other’s true identities.”
“So? What happened?”
Seeing Leo's intrigued face, Chelsea let out a small sigh.
“What do you think happened? All hell broke loose, of course.”
They both passed the entrance exam.
But the moment they discovered each other’s identities, they were shocked.
“In the end, they had a huge fight about not wanting to be in the same year, and Niel gave up on enrolling. Apparently, she hadn't planned on attending Lumerne at all. But the Jerdinger family spent a year persuading her, so she ended up enrolling a year below Machel.”
Neither Niel nor Machel had ever treated the other with a light heart.
But they both had a strong sense of responsibility and deep loyalty to the Jerdingers and the Llewellyns, which is why they broke up.
“You’ve always been like this! Seriously!”
“That’s my line!”
As the two started to bring up old stories in earnest, the onlookers began to murmur.
“A couple's quarrel?”
“Looks like it.”
“They seem like newlyweds. What a sweet time.”
Seeing a young man and woman arguing on the street over a disagreement, they must have looked like a married couple fighting.
Just as the onlookers were watching the pair with warm amusement,
“If you had just been honest, we never would have gotten involved with each other in the first place!”
“Hmph! That's why we broke up in the end!”
The warm atmosphere vanished in an instant.
Watching the two grow increasingly emotional, Leo said,
“I don’t think we can let this go on any longer.”
“Ah! I have a great idea!”
“Hmm?”
Leo looked at Chelsea with a puzzled expression.
***
“And so… because of me, our family trip has been ruined.”
Chelsea’s shoulders slumped.
“I’m sorry, big brother, big sister. For ruining our family trip.”
“Oh dear… you poor thing.”
Seeing Chelsea's pitiful expression, the innkeeper looked at her with sympathy.
The role Chelsea was playing was simple.
She was the younger sister who had come on a trip to reconcile her older brother and his wife, who were on the verge of splitting up after a huge fight, only to lose all their travel money.
Thanks to Niel and Machel's big fight on the street, the nearby innkeepers had also witnessed the scene.
As a result, her story sounded incredibly plausible, and the innkeeper fell for it hook, line, and sinker.
Incidentally, Leo was playing the part of Niel's younger brother.
“You two. Your little sister is apologizing like this, so why don’t you forgive her already?”
At those words, Machel, who had been stone-faced, said as if he couldn’t stand it any longer,
“I’ll tell you the truth. I’m…”
Machel, about to say they weren’t a couple, met the glare of Chelsea, whose eyes had widened.
“You should calm down too, big sister.”
Niel was also about to tell the truth but closed her mouth upon hearing Leo's words.
“Ma’am. Your little brother is right. Please, calm down! The bond between a husband and wife is special! It shouldn’t be broken so easily! Don’t you worry. Stay at our inn for the day. As it happens, we have two rooms available.”
As the innkeeper spoke reassuringly, Chelsea said,
“C-Could you really do that for us?”
Seeing Chelsea’s sparkling eyes, the innkeeper laughed heartily.
“Of course! This old man is touched by the heart of a praiseworthy young lady who cares so much for her brother!”
“Wow! In return, I’ll do my best to help with the inn’s chores!”
“Haha! Having such a pretty young lady working here will be great for business!”
“This big brother here is an amazing cook!”
Chelsea said, pointing at Leo.
“We were short on hands, so this is a great help!”
Having succeeded in securing rooms at the inn, Chelsea received the key and smiled triumphantly.
“Thanks to Machel and Niel, we got a great place to stay!”
“But that scenario was pretty over-the-top, wasn’t it?”
A couple on the verge of breaking up.
The setup was quite dramatic.
“Hmm? Was it over-the-top? I just used it because I’ve seen lots of stories like that in the books Eiran reads.”
At Chelsea's words, Leo narrowed his eyes.
‘Should I give that Eiran a warning too?’
With that thought, Leo glanced behind him.
Seeing the two who looked like they would rather die than be there, he said,
“I’ll let it slide if you fight in here.”
“We will not fight.”
“Yes! We won’t fight.”
Hearing their replies, Leo looked at Chelsea.
“Do you think they won’t fight?”
“They will.”
If there was one thing Niel and Machel couldn't be trusted on, it was this.