155 – Vacation Plans!

Having finished his shower, Rohan changed into fresh, fluffy new clothes and gathered his weapons.

Harness strapped over his everyday clothes, sword secured, empty bullet casings replenished. Pistol snug in its holster.

Ready.

Stepping out of his room, he found Sion and Clara waiting, already prepared to go out.

Sion, admiring herself in the mirror, fussing with her bangs, then turning to smile at him.

Truly, just breathing in Sion’s mansion was a feast for the eyes.

“Oppa. Are you ready?”

“We can leave whenever.”

Instead of directly answering Clara’s question, Rohan closed the distance between them.

A sentiment that bloomed with each passing day swelled within him.

He’d always wondered how it would sound to them, swallowing it back each time, but now he wanted to speak.

“You’re both beautiful.”

“W-Who…?”

Rohan chuckled at Clara’s question.

Her innocent questioning and doubt was endearing.

“Both of you.”

“…”

Sion and Clara were speechless, frozen.

Eyes blinking, mouths slightly ajar.

Content with having finally voiced his feelings, and slightly sheepish about the inevitable awkwardness, Rohan ruffled both their hair lightly and headed towards the entrance.

“Let’s go. Noah keeps messaging, saying he’s starving.”

“Y-Yeah…!”

“Understood…”

The two girls, faces flushed and hearts pounding, clutched at their chests.

Following after Rohan.

Rohan’s group headed into the bustling city center to meet Ichinose and Noah.

Being near the Academy, it was overflowing with first-year students who’d just finished their exams. Faces he recognized, even if he didn’t know their names, were everywhere.

Regardless of how the practical exam went, they were relishing the fact that it was over.

The excited faces, the lively chatter – being immersed in that vibrant space wasn’t unpleasant.

He weaved through the crowd.

As they neared the agreed-upon restaurant, Ichinose and Noah were already waiting.

Over there, they recognized us immediately, heads turning our way.

Ichinose, cradling his sword, offered a small wave, while Noah announced his state with a roar.

“I’m hungry!!!”

“Sorry, sorry.”

Rohan soothed the rumbling Noah as they entered the restaurant.

He showed the reservation on his phone and they were led to their table.

‘Those eyes are burning a hole in me.’

He could feel the stares from everywhere. The pupils of the men grilling meat dilated as they flocked.

Watching the sad men unable to resist their instincts, Rohan praised himself for reserving a secluded spot.

“Meat~ Meat~”

Noah hummed, taking his place. His tail wagged, full of glee.

Today was, quite literally, a day for grilling meat.

A menu Rohan and the others decided on after he finished his exams. Noah’s voice was the loudest then.

“Oppa! Sit here…!”

“Rohan. Come sit quickly.”

Shion and Clara, as if it were natural, sat on either side of Rohan, placing him in the center.

Ichinose sat across from them, tending to Noah.

“Order whatever you want.”

At Rohan’s words, Noah seized the ordering tablet and grinned.

A clear mischief danced at the corner of his lips.

“You won’t regret it? I’m really ordering whatever I want?”

“I won’t regret it.”

“Oh?”

This wasn’t a cheap place, but neither did it sell impossibly expensive cuts.

With his wallet significantly heavier these days, even with Noah thrown in, buying a single meal wasn’t a burden for Rohan.

He even wanted to feed them until his wallet ran dry.

Because spending money on the girls with him wasn’t something he would ever regret.

“Then let’s add some raw ribs, marbled sirloin, and hanger steak too~”

Noah’s hands moved busily. He took requests from those around him, manipulating the tablet with practiced ease.

The moment the order was confirmed, a mountain of meat started to arrive.

Rohan pulled the plate laden with raw beef closer.

“Ah-ah! Hands off the tongs and scissors. I’m telling you, I know how to grill meat to perfection.”

Ordering them to just eat, Rohan took hold of the tongs, tested the heat of the iron grill, and then laid the meat down.

Sizzle──!

As the meat hit the surface, Noah swallowed hard, her gaze fixed on the grill.

She stared, as if trying to bore holes in the meat, watching for the pink to vanish. The wait seemed to pain her considerably.

Rohan chuckled, calling her name.

“Noah.”

“Hm?”

The girl’s blue eyes remained glued to the meat.

Admirable how she could answer while so intensely focused.

“Order some yukhoe, too. Something to eat before the grilling’s done.”

“Really…? Is it okay…?”

Was that the permission she’d been waiting for? Noah perked up, her ears twitching slightly, and finally lifted her head.

Whatever the reason, she’d clearly exercised some restraint when she placed the first order.

“I really mean it, order whatever you want.”

“Then…you really won’t refuse?”

The ordering device in Noah’s hand clicked and whirred again, and again…

The table began to overflow with dishes, barely an empty space to be seen.

Rohan watched with quiet amusement as Noah practically inhaled the yukhoe.

Flipping the meat on the grill, he started the conversation.

“Orion Academy’s breaks are after each semester, right? So twice a year? Summer and winter, I think?”

“That’s right.”

“Exact dates yet?”

“No. Haven’t heard anything.”

“Breaks? Academy breaks usually start around July and last until August, don’t they?”

Noah interjected. Ichinose nodded in agreement.

Rohan accepted the yukhoe that Sion and Clara were offering, shoveling it into his mouth as he worked the tongs and scissors busily.

“You two will be heading back to your home countries, then?”

“I plan to return to Samhwa first, yes.”

“And what about me tagging along, huh? I… forgot where I live!”

Ichinose chuckled dryly at Noah’s words, then focused her gaze straight ahead. She asked cautiously,

“…Rohan, what about you? Have you decided on your plans for the break yet?”

“Me? I don’t have any plans. If nothing else comes up, I was thinking of training a bit, then taking you two out for a change of scenery.”

‘You two’ obviously meant Sion and Clara.

A purely happy smile bloomed on Rohan’s face as he said it. His eyes were already sparkling with anticipation.

“…”

Eungae-Nose at that moment instinctively grasped the gravity of the looming situation.

If they glossed over the conversation like this, wouldn’t that mean she wouldn’t see Rohan at all during the break?

Eungae-Nose bit her lower lip, unwilling to imagine such a scenario.

“You said before that we should all go to the beach together. What about that…?”

Eungae-Nose was, it was true, the one who had trailed off shyly back when Noah first brought it up, embarrassed about wearing a swimsuit.

But in a situation as dire as this, things were different.

“The beach, huh? How does the beach sound to you two?”

Rohan himself didn’t mind going anywhere.

So the thoughts and opinions of the girls sitting on either side of him were crucial.

“I’ve never played at the beach before… I’m a little, a little embarrassed about the swimsuit, but… I’d be happy to go with you, Oppa…!”

“I have never been at all. If we were to go together, I would not mind the experience.”

With his companions in arms cooperating so readily, the atmosphere was smoothly shifting in the right direction. Ichinose let out a small, relieved sigh.

“Summer’s gotta have the beach!”

Even Noah, having polished off another platter of yukhoe, chimed in energetically. Rohan nodded, seeming to come to a decision.

“Let’s make a plan then. Picking a beach, finding a place to stay, getting swimsuits, there’s a lot to prepare.”

Having said that, Rohan placed slices of perfectly grilled meat onto each of their plates.

Noah, with a flurry of chopsticks, hid the meat in her mouth, already dreaming of the sea.

“If I go to the beach, I want to catch fish with a harpoon.”

“Not swim?”

“Dad used to show me how he’d catch huge marlin with a harpoon. Nose was there too. Remember?”

“Ah… he was amazing. And that wasn’t a marlin, it was a monster. Shaped like a marlin, sure, but the size of a whale. And the color was kinda weird.”

Rohan found himself wanting to hear the full story of that incident.

Wouldn’t anyone wonder what happens when the Snowho Emperor casts a harpoon into the sea?

‘Maybe I’ll ask him to spin a yarn when I get the chance.’

And all the while, he was diligently grilling meat to keep up with Noah’s monstrous eating pace.

Just how much had he eaten of what Sion and Clara fed him?

As the meal was drawing, roughly, to a close.

Ichinose’s pocket vibrated.

*Zheeeng! Zheeeng!*

Ichinose retrieved his phone, his eyes widening slightly.

After checking the name, he rose from his seat.

“I’ll be right back. Gotta take this.”

“Alright.”

As Ichinose walked away.

Clara, looking somewhat hesitant, tapped Rohan’s arm with her finger.

“U-Um, Brother…”

“Hm?”

“Do you… drink? In animations, they go to the beach and drink at night and set off fireworks…”

“That I am also curious about. Does Rohan drink? I’ve never seen him.”

He used to enjoy it on occasion, but not in this body.

“I don’t dislike it. What about you, Clara?”

“M-Me? I’ve never drunk anything… at all! So, well… they say it’s good to learn when you first start…?”

“Rather than learn, it’s better to have someone to watch over you when you first test your tolerance and tendencies. That way you can control your pace.”

Sion, too, but Clara in particular seemed like someone to be cautious with.

Either she’d handle it incredibly well, or not at all. It felt like one or the other.

“If we go to the beach, I want to drink with you as a sort of commemoration…”

Rarely showing such open desire, Rohan readily agreed to Clara’s request.

Noah was still busily eating, so Rohan shifted his gaze to his immediate left.

“Sion?”

“…If Rohan is the one offering, I suppose I wouldn’t mind trying some.”

He couldn’t wait to see what sides of them they would show.

Rohan was already anticipating the vacation.

*Sizzle!*

The last of the meat hit the iron griddle, just as they were about to order rice.

Ichinose, who’d gone out to take a call, returned wearing a troubled expression.

“Um… Rohan…”

“What’s wrong?”

Baby-Nose Ichinose clutched his phone with both hands.

Unable to even sit down, he stammered, finding his voice.

“Uh, my… my mother wants to talk to Rohan for a moment…”