That Special Day (3)
"…Since it's your request, I'll grant it. But there isn't a single falsehood in what you said, I trust."
"There really isn't. We're only going to fetch something from a warehouse nobody uses. It isn't anything bad — just a hobby of mine, is all."
Hoyeon had slipped back into her imperial-princess demeanor, as if she were once again aware of her surroundings. To me, though, it felt like overkill. She claimed she cared about other people's eyes, yet she'd been holding my hand the entire way — so why insist on the full princess act now just to mind her image?
Come to think of it, from morning until now she hadn't let go of me for a single moment, except during class. At lunch, when she asked me to hold her hand, the stares had been so numerous I'd had to tell her to ease up a little. The way she finally seemed to come to her senses, cheeks faintly pink, and quietly ate her meal after that… it had been adorable.
Everything she'd shown me today felt like watching a little niece. Of course she didn't look like one at all — but the way she acted was pure child. A child who was terribly, terribly lonely.
She was the confirmed heir. Was it really possible she had no friends at all? That didn't seem right. More likely she had been surrounded by people, living just fine — until, for some reason I couldn't know, she came to the Academy and ended up like this. Maybe she'd caused some enormous trouble. Or maybe her father, with his conviction that a child must be raised strong, had sent her alone with only the barest escort.
Thinking of it that way, I could understand, at least a little, the bristling thorns she'd worn from the start — and the fragile side she'd shown only to me. Being far from home was frightening enough; on top of that, the place was full of people of a different kind entirely. The only thing she could rely on was the authority she held, so she'd pushed forward with that hard edge. It was probably the only method she'd ever been taught. Given her parents' temperaments, the idea of settling things with gentle conversation would never have crossed her mind. Her father was a conqueror-king, and her mother had triggered a landslide the moment she met the protagonist, just to "test" him.
Which left one thing I still couldn't understand. After going around bristling like a threatened hedgehog, why had she been kind to me? I hadn't even told her my parents were from the Eastern Continent, and yet she'd called me out of nowhere and handed me bread first thing. I still couldn't make sense of it. Just my face? That seemed impossible. Even in our class alone there were several people better-looking than me.
No matter how I turned it over, no clear answer came. All I could conclude was that her nature itself was simply good.
"If it's an empty warehouse no one uses, you could have gone alone. Was there a particular reason you called me?"
I'm going to get decisive proof that Stephania is creating users of Demonic Energy — evidence I'll hand over to Gloria later. The warehouse is sealed with her magic, so I need you to open it for me.
I couldn't say that. But I did want her to open the door. I'd suspected it since she opened my own room; watching her open someone else's locker after that had confirmed it. For some reason, she could undo any magical lock entirely.
Thanks to Hoyeon's existence, I could skip the entire stretch where Stephania — who never gained a thing and only swallowed bitter potatoes the whole way — was exposed as the mastermind behind every incident. I wasn't about to waste a chance like that. Like the Fruit of the World Tree, it didn't have to be done right this second — but getting it out of the way early would sit better with me. And as it happened, I had the perfect excuse ready.
"There's a rumor that ghosts appear there. Going alone is a little scary — and more than anything, we're friends."
"Friends… Ehehe. Ahem! Mm. That's right. Because we are companions. Very well."
The way she went all soft and silly over a single word — friend — made me wonder if she might actually be an even easier heroine than Exipri. She hadn't even existed in the original story, so calling her a heroine felt strange… but still.
Until a moment ago she'd clearly been coming along only because she had no choice. Now she was moving with a light, cheerful step, as if she were enjoying herself. A thought struck me then: was it really right to lie to someone who trusted me this much?
I had no choice but to convince myself it was unavoidable. Who in this world would believe me if I said it was actually a novel, and that I'd been pulled into it from a place called Korea? Even my own parents would only ask if something was wrong, or tell me I looked exhausted and should rest. With a friend of only a single day, the outcome was obvious.
Later, I promised myself — if the day ever came when I could tell her everything, I would. Matching my pace to hers, I walked on. Of course, our joined hands stayed tightly clasped the whole time.
Even if he was the first friend I'd made in Hoyeon's body, I couldn't help going on guard when Dogeon — the harem protagonist — suggested we go to a deserted warehouse. When I'd stepped into that alley earlier, it had been with the purest of intentions: to apologize and ask his understanding. But if a harem-story lead wanted to head somewhere empty of people, pure intentions were clearly not what was on the table.
Hearing the word friend, though, put me at ease. It wasn't just the heat cycle talking. I had my own logic. Friends wouldn't do that kind of thing with each other.
Honestly… maybe the heat cycle wasn't such a big deal after all? The inner voice screaming at me to beware of baseless confidence never quite reached me.
Still, I hadn't expected Dogeon to be afraid of ghosts. Sure, souls genuinely existed in this world — but most of them didn't do any real harm. Listen to their bitter stories a little, soothe them a bit, and most of them would find peace and move on. Nothing that frightening. And more than that, a man being scared of such things… Well. I was a woman right now, but I still thought of myself as a man.
"Yes. We've arrived."
Why was he asking me to open it, though? There didn't seem to be a padlock or any magical seal. He could just open it himself.
"Something like this, you can open yourself. Do you mean to ask a lady to open a door for you when you're a man?"
"Ah… well… you see…"
He clearly hated the idea, drawing his words out in the most transparent way — as if thinking, Surely Hoyeon will open it for me.
"If I ask… as a friend… would that work…?"
"…Are you serious right now?"
Haa. Just this once. At this rate he'd be saying next, We're friends, so go fetch me some water.
No — thinking about it, he'd done that even when I was a guy. He'd shown up at my place out of nowhere, taken over the computer, started gaming, then asked me to bring him water because he was thirsty. I'd said, Am I your servant? and he'd wordlessly tossed me fifty thousand won. I still remembered answering, I am your servant.
Dogeon was kind, so he wouldn't do that now… right?
I'd expected the door of an unused warehouse to be stiff with rust in every direction — but it was so well maintained that even my ears barely caught the sound of it opening. I knew the Academy was extravagant, but I hadn't imagined they had so much money they maintained even a warehouse like this down to the last detail. Truly, the power of capital was magnificent.
"…It's cleaner inside than I expected."
I knew saying something like that was supposed to invite bad luck, but I'd always wanted to try it once. And for a warehouse no one supposedly used, it was far too carefully kept.
"Yeah, it is."
"There's no one here, so… you can talk casually…"
Outside we'd had to mind other people's eyes. In here it was only the two of us. There was no need to keep playing the imperial princess.
"If you say so. Mm. Then I'll look around for what I need."
The moment he let go of my hand and started to leave, I gave his hand a light tug. He looked back as if to ask why, and I made my intention clear.
"…I'm coming with you!"
"No, you really don't have to…"
"You said ghosts are scary. I can talk to ghosts, so if one shows up I might be able to help…!"
I didn't want to miss a chance to look cool in front of a friend. Only if one actually appeared, of course. More than that — today of all days, I didn't want to be alone. That was definitely the heat cycle. Even as a child, whenever it came around I'd slept beside Father or Mother. This loneliness, at least, I could never do anything about.
"Ah, right. You did say that… Yeah. Thanks. Then shall we look together?"
"Yeah!"
I'd made it sound grand, but the warehouse wasn't that large, and there wasn't much stored inside. We found what Dogeon wanted almost immediately. Some kind of stack of documents. I glanced through them for a moment, but nothing particularly noteworthy stood out.
"…You came all this way for that?"
What a letdown. I'd been imagining a rusted holy sword, or a secret manual some senior had left behind. You know — academy stories were full of that sort of thing. Treasures hidden by seniors or founders. And instead it was a shabby file of papers.
"Yeah. It really was a huge help! Thank you, Hoyeon."
"Hm…? Ah, right… Me too…"
I wasn't sure it was something that deserved this much gratitude — but I was happy. Happy that I seemed to have been of use to someone.
Just as we were about to leave in high spirits, I yanked Dogeon's hand and stopped him cold.
"What is it this ti—"
"Quiet."
He must have sensed something was off as well, because he fell silent at once. Someone — I didn't know who — was walking straight toward this place. I hoped it was a false alarm, but if that person came inside, they'd see us like this. The only door out was the one we'd come through. Where were we supposed to hide?
Even as I fretted, the person outside drew steadily closer. You said no one used this warehouse. I wanted to scold Dogeon for lying, but there was no time for that. Then a locker caught my eye — tall and narrow, just barely large enough for two people to squeeze into.
"…Over here!"
"Wha—?!"
There was no time to explain. I pulled Dogeon with me and we hid inside the locker. And not long after, we heard the warehouse door open.