After Discharge

After explaining the situation to Lucy as well, I was finally able to complete the discharge procedures. Perhaps because my body had recovered considerably, the hospital staff didn’t try to stop me. Of course, I still got a stern lecture from the nurse in the ward. She told me that if I was going to remove the IV myself, I should have called for someone. She scolded me, saying I could easily bruise the vein. And then she really laid into me, demanding to know what I’d done to tear open the wound again. Anyway, because the injury on my right hand had reopened, the nurse ordered me not to use it for a while. Well, there’s nothing I can do about that. I hadn’t taken any healing potions because of the poison, after all. For the time being, I’d just have to avoid using my right hand as much as possible.

In any case, did this mean I could finally focus solely on my own survival? Since I’d been excommunicated from the family, I no longer had to do anything. There was no need to interfere with Jeron’s plans. I could simply think about how to stay alive. All I had to do was survive safely until graduation and find a way to return home.

But that wasn’t possible.

The reason Vern had become the mid-boss surely involved Jeron. Therefore, I needed to uncover the truth. Why had Vern tried to stop Jeron even at the cost of becoming isolated? And I needed to investigate further into both Jeron’s death and Vern’s death.

‘Still, it won’t be easy.’

Vern had become the mid-boss and met his death during summer break of the second year. That left roughly three months. Since summer vacation started in mid-July, there wasn’t much time left. Within those three months, I had to become strong enough to defeat Jeron. To do that, I needed to obtain the hidden pieces I hadn’t gone after before.

Anyway, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the time had finally come for me to grow properly. And before the academy’s dungeon exploration event, there was a place I needed to stop by anyway. In that case, I should head back to the dormitory first. If my room was still available, I could finish collecting the things I hadn’t managed to take yet.

With that in mind, I left the hospital together with the others. Outside, the ground was still pooled with water from the rain that had just stopped. Droplets fell steadily from the fresh green leaves of the trees. The dark clouds were gradually clearing, the sky brightening, and the sun shone brilliantly.

As I gazed up at the sky, Elisha, who was standing beside me, spoke up.

“Vern. So, what are you going to do now?”

“For the time being, I plan to stay in the club room.”

“Really? How about… staying with me in my room until you’ve saved up some coins…?”

Elisha was suggesting that I stay with her in her room. Before I could respond, Silia, who was standing on my other side, crossed her arms and started speaking.

“Hey, silver-hair. What’s with you constantly asking him to live together? You’re really shady, you know that? Do you even understand what it means for a fully grown woman and man to live under the same roof?”

“What did you just say? I’m only doing it because I’m worried about Vern, okay? Honestly, staying in a club room doesn’t make any sense. If you’re a person, you should live like a person—in a proper house!”

“Hah? So it’s fine for a fully grown female student and a vigorous male student to live together?”

“That’s… Wait, you didn’t say anything earlier. Why are you suddenly acting like this now?”

“Because what you’re saying is ridiculous.”

As Silia once again snapped at Elisha, Lucy and Elin stepped in to separate them just like before.

“L-Luna… Elisha only said ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠it with good intentions… Given the current situation… so, just bear with it, okay?”

“Elisha, Flame—I mean, Vern is probably really troubled right now. If you two keep fighting like this, it’ll only make him uncomfortable.”

So Elisha and Silia were the ones fighting, and Lucy and Elin were the ones trying to stop them. Even though the two were calming them down, it looked like it would take a while for things to settle. I quietly stepped back and approached the trio behind us.

When I got closer, I heard them whispering in voices too low for the girls to hear.

“T-They keep fighting… It’s s-scary…”

“I agree. It’s like watching a leopard and a hyena.”

“Those two really fight at the drop of a hat, like water and oil. Well, friends do get closer by fighting, right!”

Well… I suppose fighting does bring people closer. The fact that Silia was grumbling like this probably meant those two had become quite close. In the game, once Silia’s favorability rose high enough, she would grumble a lot too. But by the time her favorability reached that point, it was near the end of Act 2. Which meant Silia would die soon. The problem was that no matter what you did in the game, you couldn’t prevent it.

As the four of us quietly watched the situation, Elisha and Silia suddenly turned to look in our direction. Then both of them started walking toward me. Wait, why were they coming to me all of a sudden?

Both of them were approaching me in a state of extreme agitation. Why were they acting like this? As the two drew closer, the guys beside me began to distance themselves from me. And the things they said were truly spectacular.

“V-Vern, I’m so glad you’ve recovered…! W-We’ll be going on ahead…! Good luck…!”

“Comrade, it will be difficult, but true friends endure hard times together. Therefore, we will always be cheering you on! Hang in there!”

“That’s right, Vern! We all believe in you…! So I’m sure you can overcome even this situation! So, do your best!”

Wait, what the hell were these guys saying? They claimed to believe in me, to be my friends! And yet they were abandoning me in a situation like this? I tried to seize the chance to escape as well, but Silia and Elisha had already closed in too quickly. In the end, I couldn’t run away from them.

Elisha, who reached me first, spoke up.

“Vern. Choose.”

“C-Choose what?”

“Come live with me. Stay in the room next to mine until you’ve saved up enough money. They say security at night has gotten really bad lately. So let’s go together.”

She was pushing me with an unusually coercive tone, very unlike her usual self. Hey, you’re way too worked up because of Silia. You’re getting far too excited.

“Elisha, calm down. Do you even realize what you’re saying right now?”

“…I’m just… worried about you, Vern. You were bedridden for four days this time because of that bastard from Requiem. I don’t want to see you get hurt anymore.”

“…”

Elisha, had I really worried her that much? I could understand why she was speaking so forcefully, but… I still couldn’t quite grasp it. Why was she suggesting we live together? No matter how open this world was, a grown man and woman living in the same house was… a bit much, wasn’t it? I wasn’t some extreme Confucianist, but this was a different matter. I was grateful for her concern, but this wasn’t something I could decide lightly.

As I simply stared at Elisha without saying anything, Silia approached while clapping her hands.

“Wow, here comes the couple. The couple has arrived. Wow, it’s so sickeningly sweet I think my teeth are going to rot. Hey, black-hair. You’re not seriously thinking of going with her, are you?”

Hey, why do you keep doing this? At what point did you get so pissed off? What exactly are you sulking about? ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Although you can’t fully know a person from short sentences, I thought I understood Silia to some extent. It seemed I was mistaken. Silia was the type of girl who could jump in any direction like a wild colt. So let’s think calmly. Why had Silia gotten so angry? I carefully retraced my steps.

‘Hmm…’

I had no idea. I didn’t know why she was acting this way, but the answer had been set from the beginning.

“I plan to stay in the club room. Elisha, I’m sorry, but living together is something that must be decided very carefully. In this case, Luna is right.”

“Vern…”

Upon hearing my answer, Elisha looked at me with sorrowful, regretful eyes. Silia, on the other hand, said, “See? This time you actually make sense, you dense black-hair,” and lightly punched my shoulder with her fist. She only tapped me lightly, but it still hurt a bit.

Then Elin and Lucy also came over and added their own comments.

“Y-Yeah. Vern… This time Luna is right. A fully grown man and woman sleeping in the same room… is n-not okay…!!”

For some reason, Elin’s face was flushed red as she stammered and shouted.

“Wait, why are you all acting like this? Elisha was Vern’s fiancée. If they were engaged, they’ve probably already done… all those things, right? ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠So isn’t it fine? Or… is it not?”

Lucy started spouting strange nonsense as if she had no idea what was going on. What do you mean they’ve done all those things, you idiot? Just what kind of conversation were the four of you having?

“Then I’ll be going now. Let’s meet again later, everyone.”

Anyway, with that kind of atmosphere, I somehow managed to wrap up the situation and we dispersed. As for my excommunication, I told them to keep quiet about it for now since they didn’t know yet. But rumors about it would probably spread no matter what. After all, rumors had a way of spreading without a sound. Still, I suspected Jeron would have already taken measures.

Just like the sight before my eyes right now.

“Sir Vern Flame, as per the family head’s instructions, all items in the room have been disposed of. Thank you for your service until now. That will be all.”

“I see. Thank you.”

Yeah, I had expected this much. It felt like I had returned to the starting village. I had to begin everything from scratch again. In that case, I should go see old man Joseph. But I had skipped work without saying anything. Had I been fired? I’d find out once I got there.

Ha, and there was a mountain of things to do. I had to organize the club room, earn money, obtain hidden pieces, and visit the blacksmith. Plus, the dungeon exploration was only a few days away. Seriously, no rest even right after waking up.

“Still, I have to do my best.”

After all, this was a story I had started myself.