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Translator: Vine
Chapter Title: My Friend's Story
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This is my friend's story.
"Hoo-ah...!"
-Wham!
The fixed sandbag burst open, scattering its contents.
Tsk.
Gotta replace it.
Looking around, damaged and broken training equipment lay scattered everywhere.
Feeling a little sorry for the servants, I rang the bell.
Cling-clang, cling-clang.
The bell rang, and it didn't take long for an old man with grizzled white hair to approach.
"You called, young lady."
"Ah, Grandpa. Sorry, could you have this cleared away?"
"Understood."
My mood hadn't improved.
Because I couldn't forget what happened then.
It infuriated me that I couldn't fight just because I lacked a weapon.
It infuriated me that I had to leave everything to Siwoo and could only watch.
...It infuriated me that I couldn't comfort my trembling friend after he killed someone.
What was I doing back then?
I was trembling.
Just because of one trivial reason: seeing a corpse for the first time.
-Wham! Wham! Wham!
One punch, instantly, filled with frustration.
Using my ability to accelerate my speed even further, two, three, four punches.
It didn't take long for the last remaining sandbag to brutally scatter its sand and break apart.
That sight, reminiscent of the villain collapsing and splattering blood, only intensified my irritation.
The shock of seeing a corpse for the first time was gone now.
...But the frustration of not being able to help my shocked friend hadn't faded.
Pathetic me.
What was that about being able to do anything?
I said I'd stop at nothing to achieve my goals, yet I gave up on helping my friend.
At this rate, I'm just an empty talker, a piece of trash.
"...Ugh, my hand hurts like hell."
Pain throbbed in my hand, and when I looked, blood was dripping steadily.
To only notice this now.
A sigh escaped me.
"Young lady, this."
"Thanks, Grandpa."
I roughly applied the ointment Grandpa gave me to my hand and wrapped it with a bandage.
It's a good medicine, so it should be healed by tomorrow morning.
"Young lady, has something troubled you? Lately, it seems you've been venting your frustrations."
...I couldn't tell him.
Grandpa cares for me deeply.
If I told him I encountered a villain at the academy, he'd surely cause a ruckus there.
It was obvious that wouldn't end well.
I'll have to play it down.
"It's nothing. ...Just something a little annoying happened."
"Is that so? Please, if you have any worries, tell me. It might be something I can help with, mightn't it?"
Help, huh.
Come to think of it, Siwoo and I had never asked anyone for help before.
That's because we feared Arte.
We couldn't risk being seen as crazy for accusing a friend of being a villain with no evidence, just based on suspicions.
But what if I sought advice without revealing it was about her?
...Should I ask him?
"Hey, Grandpa."
"Yes, young lady."
"There's something I want to ask."
"Please speak."
Amelia looked at the butler, who had watched over her since childhood, with a serious expression.
...He might know.
The answer to the problem I was currently facing.
Why was Arte so interested in Yoo Siwoo?
"It's not about me, it's about my friend."
"Yes."
"...She's a little strange."
"In what way, if I may ask?"
Hmm...
In what way is she strange, he asks.
How should I put it?
I couldn't mention the important incidents. Strange things in everyday life, then.
Even after much thought, I couldn't find the right words to describe her suspicious behavior.
What should I say?
Fortunately, Grandpa waited patiently for me.
...Ah, I remember now. How about I put it this way?
"She's unusually interested in a certain male student."
"A male student, you say?"
"Yeah."
Grandpa suddenly began to straighten his posture.
What is it?
His lips seemed to twitch too.
Was I imagining things?
"Ahem, ahem. My apologies. ...So? Please continue your story."
"Oh, okay."
...It's probably nothing.
Amelia decided to just let it go.
"Well, she keeps staring at a boy named Siwoo an unusual amount."
"Hmm, Siwoo... Ah, you mean Yoo Siwoo, the student in your class."
"Huh? ...That's right, but how do you know that, Grandpa?"
"There are ways of knowing everything."
Always the same old line.
Well, I didn't really care.
He probably did some background checks or something.
He's been investigating every boy around me since I was little; looks like he still hasn't kicked that habit.
...Speaking of background checks, Geoffrey's words suddenly came to mind.
His warning that if I ever looked up her information, I'd feel something strange.
Surely, he didn't look *her* up, did he?
A shiver of dread shot up my spine.
"...Do you know Arte? Arte Isis."
"Arte Isis? Is she a female student in your class? I haven't specifically looked her up. Should I?"
"No, don't bother. Don't look her up. I've already done that."
"Yes. Understood."
Amelia let out a sigh of relief.
Good thing he didn't look her up.
There's nothing good to come from knowing about her.
Geoffrey was terrified of her.
He's an information broker. He's naturally sensitive to his own risks.
No matter how wealthy my family was, I couldn't bring someone who scared an information broker that much into our home.
"Anyway! My friend is showing interest in this boy named Siwoo, but it seems to be too much."
"...Too much?"
Ah.
Come to think of it, I said "my friend" but then brought up Arte's name.
Was it too obvious?
With that sudden thought, I checked Grandpa's expression, but he didn't look puzzled.
Rather, he looked intrigued.
Did he not notice?
Good.
"Yeah. She keeps staring at him even during class."
"Hoo-hoo..."
"And she follows him whenever she gets a chance after school."
"I see. Anything else?"
"Anything else? ...Hmm, oh. She even joined the same club as him. And they were in the same group for a test, weren't they?"
"…!"
"Plus, other friends in the same class don't seem particularly interested, but her gaze is uniquely focused on him."
After hearing the whole story, Grandpa dabbed at his eyes.
Grandpa's a bit strange today.
What's there to cry about in this story?
"I see. Well, young lady, it seems you've finally reached that age..."
"...I don't know what you're misunderstanding, but this is about my friend."
"Yes, yes, your friend. I understand."
...Do you *really* understand?
Somehow, I'm getting annoyed.
But I'm the one asking the questions right now, so I should hold back.
"But I don't know the reason why. ...Do you, Grandpa?"
"?! Y-You mean you didn't know?!"
"W-what? Why are you so surprised? Did I do something wrong?"
"Wrong... not exactly. Ahem, my apologies. I was just a little surprised."
Ahem, ahem.
Like an announcer clearing their throat before a major announcement.
Grandpa, with an unnecessarily solemn expression, spoke to me in a serious tone.
"I shall inform you. Young lady... no, the reason your friend's gaze is directed towards that male student is...!"
What Grandpa told me astonished me.
It... makes sense!
Indeed, there was something to those who had lived long. Was this what they called wisdom?
"Thank you, Grandpa!"
"Oh, it was nothing."
My mood brightened.
With this, I can help Yoo Siwoo!
...The feeling of being able to help my friend gradually melted away the guilt I felt towards him.
***
"Yoo Siwoo. Come here quickly. It's urgent."
"Uh, huh?!"
Siwoo was flustered.
He had been worried about Amelia, who had been gloomy for the past few days.
He'd been very concerned, as she seemed quite down after that incident.
But today, she seemed to have higher spirits than usual.
She looks happy for some reason.
Has she finally shaken it off?
He didn't resist Amelia's guiding hand and followed her into a secluded alley.
It was their usual spot for talking.
"...But, what's all this about, suddenly?"
"What do you mean, 'what's all this about'?"
"No, well. The only times we talk here are..."
...when we're discussing countermeasures against Arte Isis.
Siwoo, about to say that, closed his mouth.
She'd also suffered a psychological shock recently, so he should be considerate...
"I know. It's because of Arte Isis, isn't it?"
"...Are you okay?"
"What about?"
He urgently asked her, but she looked puzzled, as if asking what the problem was.
She's completely shaken it off.
He admired her.
If it had been him, he probably would have holed up in his room for days on end.
...Every time he recalled that memory, her touch and scent also came to mind, which forcibly cut off his gloomy emotions, helping him a lot.
Could he consider himself indifferent now?
To overcome it alone, without anything like that.
"...Alright, fine. Today, it's about why she's been watching you."
"What?!"
Startled.
Siwoo was greatly startled by Amelia's words.
Her objective...!
Her objective was the outflow of the artifact from inside the hidden secret room somewhere in the academy.
The reason she was watching him had no connection to that, no matter how he thought about it.
She figured that out?
Siwoo was impressed.
"Y-You found that out...?!"
"Yeah. Grandpa helped me."
"...Grandpa?"
"My butler. Don't worry. I hid the fact that it was about Arte well."
Hmm, I see.
...It felt a little unsettling, but now wasn't the time to worry about that.
Because he could finally know why Arte was watching him.
"S-So. What's the reason?"
"It's..."
It's what?
Thump-thump, thump-thump.
His heart pounded.
What on earth could be Arte's reason for watching him?
It was the moment a secret he thought unsolvable was finally revealed.
"It's love."
"...What?"
Siwoo, without realizing it, found himself asking Amelia again.