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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 42
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Because I need to be with you. Because I want to.
***
After my sparring match with Luna, just as I was trying to collect myself from the daze of an unexpected pre-emptive rejection,
As soon as I left the student cafeteria, I coincidentally ran into Glacia.
And now.
I was facing a completely unexpected situation.
"Please, I'm begging you. Han Cheon-seong... stay with me. I'll pay you whatever you want."
Glacia's words, uttered without any preamble, made my thoughts freeze for a moment.
I had no idea why she was acting this way, and more than anything, her words themselves sounded incredibly strange.
'She wants to buy me with money...?'
While it was a very welcome proposition for me right now, it came out of nowhere, so I couldn't just accept it immediately.
As I'd felt before and was feeling again, Glacia's way of speaking had a lot of problems. I first needed to understand the essence of what she was trying to say.
Even now, she was speaking words that anyone hearing them would naturally misunderstand, without hesitation.
"..."
As that thought crossed my mind, I found myself looking around before I could even reply.
And sure enough.
Thump.
I saw Leonhardt with his striking bright blonde hair and Yumia with her red hair.
As if they had just heard Glacia's words, they were staring blankly at us from a short distance away.
...I instinctively shook my head vigorously.
Whatever you're thinking right now, it's absolutely not that.
"Hey, Glacia, I need you to calm down a bit and speak slowly. Money isn't the issue here. We need to head back to our respective dorms, okay? It's too late today. I'll make time to meet you separately after classes tomorrow, and we can talk then...."
"No! Please, Han Cheon-seong. I'm begging you like this. Even if it's just for a little while, please stay with me."
Click.
Glacia now came so close that our breaths could almost mingle, and she suddenly grabbed my arm, making me blink blankly for a moment.
'Is this really the calm and stoic Glacia I know?'
I hesitated for a moment at her sudden, completely different demeanor. But I could feel the seriousness in her eyes.
She looked at me with such desperate eyes, as if she absolutely had to be with me, and I couldn't simply refuse her.
'I don't know why she's acting like this, but...'
I felt I needed to know why Glacia was doing this.
But Leonhardt and Yumia's gazes felt piercing as they watched us, and I absolutely couldn't continue the conversation here.
If we continued this conversation in an open space, Glacia would likely drop another bombshell, so I had to change locations first.
"Alright. Alright, Glacia. But let's go somewhere else... That much is okay, right?"
When I spoke, gently coaxing her, Glacia gazed straight into my eyes and gave a slight nod.
As I started walking with Glacia, I felt strange.
A day I thought would finally allow me to rest...
What else was going to happen at the end of it?
...
Thud. Click.
As Han Cheon-seong left with Glacia, Leonhardt, who had been staring blankly at their retreating figures, was feeling a strange emotion.
"Wow. Seriously... How can they be nothing when she's speaking that directly? Glacia is truly surprising; I never knew she had such a bold side. 'How much would it take,' she said. It's like she's trying to buy Han Cheon-seong with money."
Yumia let out a small laugh, and Leonhardt, who was beside her, nodded awkwardly.
...
"...Please, I'm begging you. Han Cheon-seong."
"...Stay with me."
"...I'll pay you whatever you want."
And for Leonhardt, every single one of Glacia's words came back to him with striking clarity.
Given the circumstances, he couldn't help but realize it now.
Who Glacia's heart was set on, and how she saw Han Cheon-seong...
"...Still, I feel a little wistful."
Smiling blankly, those words just slipped out for no reason.
Perhaps he had already known.
Right after the last sparring match with Han Cheon-seong.
The moment Glacia approached Han Cheon-seong as soon as the sparring match ended, he had already known it then.
But it seemed he had deliberately ignored the truth all this time. Perhaps even his attempts to show her more interest and extend a little more goodwill...
"Leonhardt. What exactly are you wistful about?"
Then Yumia poked him in the side, and he immediately shook his head.
"It's just... nothing."
Still, perhaps his feelings weren't that strong.
His gaze certainly lingered on the two people walking away together.
And even he felt a lingering regret in his heart.
For him too, he thought she had truly met a special person after a long time.
But he knew better than anyone that he wasn't in Glacia's heart these past few days. So he hadn't expected anything.
'I wouldn't be able to be with Glacia.' He had already prepared himself for that.
He couldn't deny that he felt an attraction to Glacia, and was interested in her unique, mysterious aura.
But now, seeing those two, it was completely settled for him.
...the fact that he shouldn't try to get closer to Glacia.
One-sided feelings only made the other person uncomfortable.
"Nothing, you say... Well, Leonhardt... Is that really true?"
As Yumia glared at him with a strange look, he let out a small laugh and slowly opened his mouth.
"To be honest, I just wished Glacia would show us a little more of that emotional side too. That's what I was wistful about."
The words he spoke now were sincere.
Even if she didn't like him as much as he liked her, he wished she would get along well with everyone else.
That's why he had bothered to approach her and talk.
"Really... Is that all?"
As Yumia pressed him a little persistently, he calmly met her gaze.
Her red hair, red eyes, distinct yet haughty features, and lightly flushed cheeks.
There was nothing about her that wasn't red.
"How do I look to you right now?"
So he asked in return.
If he looked like he had such a big lingering regret. What she thought of it.
"In my eyes, you say..."
"No matter how I answer, it'll depend on how you see it, Yumia. Because what matters most is what's in your heart when you look at me."
Subjective value is very significant when thinking about people. Therefore, if Yumia saw him favorably, then that's how it was, and if not, then it wasn't. He thought it was that simple.
"...Leonhardt."
As she bit her lip for a moment and averted her gaze, his gaze drifted blankly to her.
"Sometimes I feel like... you really have a knack for leaving people speechless."
"Yumia. Did I... say something I shouldn't have? If so, I apologize."
"It's fine! It's late today. Let's head back to our dorms."
As Yumia turned her head sharply and walked ahead, he smiled faintly and matched her pace.
Perhaps every aspect of Yumia, even like this, was part of her shining charm.
As he thought that, the strange emotion residing in his heart seemed to have largely disappeared.
And so, as they spent such different nights.
Their respective nights deepened.
***
The place I took Glacia to was a park within the academy.
Thud. Click.
We walked through the park, where the fresh air circulated, without a word.
"..."
"..."
Glacia seemed to think I was humoring her, quietly walking beside me, and I didn't want to rush into speaking.
Even if I didn't know why Glacia was acting like this right now, I thought it would only be meaningful to have a proper conversation when both our minds had calmed down.
Meanwhile, the park at night, as it came into view, had an unexpected charm.
The subtle moonlight faintly illuminated the ground, and despite it being the middle of the night, the park wasn't too dark under the moonlight.
'The academy at night is quite something to behold.'
I hadn't known this because for the past few nights, I'd returned to the dorms and collapsed into sleep as soon as it got dark, but the academy at night had its own distinct beauty.
And yet, a small laugh escaped me.
I wondered how long it had been since I walked the night streets with a woman so late, and I felt a strange sense of nostalgia.
In this world, or rather, at Groa's dorms, there was no curfew. The rules restricting students weren't particularly strict either.
Yet the dorms were strictly divided by gender. Naturally, entering a dorm of the opposite gender was a serious violation of the rules and absolutely forbidden.
Therefore, if I were to listen to Glacia, I had no choice but to do so outside the dorms.
'Now that I think about it, the academy's regulations have some pretty flimsy parts.'
Although entering dorms of the opposite gender was strictly prohibited, honestly, if students set their minds to it, there was nothing stopping them from having secret rendezvous.
In fact, as time passed, various couples were bound to form among the students, and romance held a significant portion of Groa's novel's plot.
It wasn't for nothing that the academy wasn't the main focus, and that there were multiple heroines.
Furthermore, Leonhardt, the protagonist of this world, was clearly an alpha male to anyone, so it would be strange if women didn't flock to him.
"..."
Thinking about it, that was one of the reasons I liked the novel called Groa.
Rather than extraordinary and beautiful heroines flocking to an ugly or ordinary protagonist, it was better to have multiple heroines for a plausible, confident, and self-assured protagonist.
Moreover, Leonhardt was kind, affectionate, and someone who knew how to care for others, so I felt it was fine for him to be loved by multiple heroines.
"Han Cheon-seong."
Then, the sound of a voice broke my train of thought.
"Hm? Glacia."
As I calmly responded, I wondered if Glacia would finally state a proper reason.
"I think it would be good if we met four times a week."
...But it was yet another string of unexpected remarks.
"...Four times?"
"No matter how I think about it, us meeting twice is too little. That's how I feel."
She was boldly demanding to meet more often, in a resolute voice. Even as I met Glacia's eyes, I couldn't understand.
Her unique blue eyes looked incredibly serious.
And she was looking at me as if I absolutely had to accept her demand.
'...Anyone watching would truly think I was her lover.'
Such a ridiculous thought crossed my mind without me realizing it.
And because I knew Glacia wasn't doing this because she liked me right now, the more I listened to her, the stranger I felt.
"I'm sorry, Glacia, but I don't think that's possible."
So I was able to reply calmly.
"Han Cheon-seong. I can really give you any amount of money. More than you think... I have a lot of money."
"How much money do you even... No, that's not it. Glacia. Money isn't the issue right now. Meeting four times a week is impossible given my circumstances."
Before enrollment, I also thought it would be good to meet Glacia often, but now, a few days after enrollment, my situation has changed a lot.
Building a friendship with Glacia is definitely good. It's certainly beneficial for me.
But, more than that, I had to think about my training.
I've now grasped a clue about my skill, and in the past few days, I've been growing at an insane pace, beyond what I could have imagined.
No matter how important connections are, for now, prioritizing my growth was the right thing to do.
Starting from tomorrow, for instance, I needed to increase my contact with Kali and make it so I could use her personal training room more. Using various magic-engineering items there to conduct my training was the most important thing for me.
So, meeting four times is impossible.
"...Why? Han Cheon-seong. Do you dislike me?"
"Why would I dislike you?"
"Then why? Why can't we? Han Cheon-seong. You just need to stay with me. I can give you money so you won't lack anything."
As she spoke strongly, as if she absolutely had to meet me more often, I was honestly flustered.
Because she was speaking in a way that anyone hearing it would misunderstand....
Even I was starting to get confused about what Glacia was thinking.
"First, Glacia. Before that, please explain why we have to do that. That's the proper order, isn't it?"
"Reason...? That's because I need to be with you. Because I want to."
Glacia, please... don't speak so strangely.
Swallowing my words internally, I inadvertently avoided Glacia's gaze.
Staring intently into my eyes, she was throwing one blunt statement after another that anyone would hear as a direct confession. I couldn't bring myself to meet her gaze.
If a beauty like Glacia kept speaking like that...
Who on earth... wouldn't feel their heart flutter?