159 – Who Is That?

Standing at the crosswalk, Rohan received a message from Gilbert saying that he had already arrived.

He wasn’t late for their appointment. Gilbert had just arrived early.

Rohan had replied by text, saying he didn’t mind, when Gilbert asked if another friend could join them.

Entering the shopping mall, I headed for the restaurant we’d agreed on.

Even before a staff member could guide me, a familiar voice pierced my ears.

“Rohan! Over here!”

Gilbert’s massive frame and sharply contrasting features were easily visible from afar. Still disrupting all sense of perspective, that bulk of his.

Seeing him not in his Academy uniform felt oddly…strange.

As Rohan unburdened himself of his gear and approached, the woman occupying the seat beside Gilbert rose to offer a polite greeting.

“Hello. I’m Emily Renkels, Gilbert Carniat’s girlfriend.”

“Rohan. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

Gilbert’s girlfriend was a braided-hair woman who wore glasses.

Despite an appearance that leaned toward the literary, her eyes held a sharp intensity that made it easy to imagine her wielding a sword.

More than that, the image of her sitting next to Gilbert was simply…bizarre.

“Rohan. Hurry up and sit.”

“Yeah.”

The seat across from the Gilbert couple wasn’t empty.

As I drew closer, someone hidden behind a decorative piece came clearly into view. Presumably the friend Gilbert had mentioned.

‘A woman…?’

Her hair, tied back in a ponytail, reached her shoulders. Her face made it impossible to deny the fact that this was a woman. Yet, for some reason, I couldn’t be totally certain of her gender.

Short in stature and with a slender frame. Still, the shape of her hands, the subtle curve of her Adam’s apple, bothered me.

Sensing Rohan’s unease and momentary hesitation, Gilbert burst into loud laughter, divulging a key detail.

“Hahaha!!! Rohan. This one’s a man.”

“Ah.”

“Nicholas. Didn’t this Gilbert say you wouldn’t be so easily fooled by Rohan?”

Only then did the person who had been sitting quietly stand up.

He bowed his head and continued his introduction.

“Forgive my late introduction. I’m Nicholas Harbor. I’m not a student at the Orion Academy, but I hope you don’t mind my presence.”

“Not at all. It’s fine.”

Hearing his voice, it was definitely male.

Nicholas gestured for me to sit with a smile, and Rohan took hold of a chair.

Once all four were seated at the table, Gilbert’s girlfriend proceeded to explain.

“Gilbert, Nicholas, and I have known each other since we were children. Nicholas had other plans and didn’t apply to the Academy, but he visits every so often.”

“A fine bond you share.”

“As for myself, I was returning to the Sepia Isles when I heard the word ‘holiday’ and came on a sudden whim. Gilbert and Emily likely didn’t expect me either.”

While Rohan’s friends conversed…

Gilbert alerted the staff to prepare the dishes he had ordered beforehand.

Seeing him like this, not on some strange lark, Rohan was reminded anew that Gilbert, too, was from a family of means.

“Did Gilbert happen to speak of me? If he did, I’d be curious to hear what he said.”

“Nothing but praise. A constant salt rub to the wound for a man alone; sometimes it’s hard to forgive.”

Emily smiled, seemingly pleased, and Gilbert laughed heartily.

“Emily, this Rohan here? He could conjure himself a lover in a moment, should he but desire it.”

“What nonsense.”

Rohan sputtered a laugh while drinking his water, and Emily quietly chuckled before speaking.

“Truthfully, many academy friends wished to join us. After all, you are the only student to have obtained every bauble in the practical exam, are you not?”

“I am honored. It seems I’ve inspired the other students.”

“That is certainly part of it, yes. Speaking of which, Nicholas is also training with the sword. He heard about the practical exam from Gilbert and became curious about you, Rohan.”

Rohan tilted his head slightly towards Nicholas, who was seated beside him.

Nicholas, gesturing subtly towards the sword propped up beside his chair, raised the corner of his lips in a smile.

“It is not quite as simple as only handling a sword, in my case. I handle both the sword and the pistol together, you see.”

“Yes, I have heard. That is what makes it all the more fascinating, wouldn’t you agree?”

Emily passed the conversational baton to Nicholas, who looked as if his lips were itching to speak.

Nicholas, his eyes gleaming as he regarded Rohan, poured out the words he had been holding within.

“I, too, can imbue bullets with mana, like yourself, Student Rohan. I once attempted to master both weapons, you see. I thought that having a weapon to compensate for the sword’s limited reach would allow one to fight more efficiently.”

“That’s not wrong. I prefer getting up close and personal, but depending on one’s approach, it can be quite advantageous.”

“I devoted quite a while to that notion… after nearly dying a few times, I decided to focus solely on the sword in the end.”

“Each path has its clear strengths and weaknesses. It’s hard to say definitively which is superior.”

Nicholas’s gaze drifted towards the pistol nestled against Rohan’s chest. Towards the Brand.

A subtle spark of competitive spirit flickered within his clear eyes.

“I, Nicholas Harbor, am curious about your method, Student Rohan. If the opportunity should arise, I would be most eager to spar.”

“I am free to do so at this very moment.”

Gilbert, anticipating this response, chuckled heartily and nodded in agreement at Rohan’s composed acceptance.

Emily, perhaps startled, rounded her eyes.

“Haha, Rohan, you’re so charming. But we can’t make a mess of things, can we? Emily would scold me.”

Right on cue, the dishes arrived, easing the tension.

The four’s conversation began to shift to gentler, more agreeable topics.

“…”

Sion and Clara were confident in their ability to conceal their presence.

When they put their honed skills to deliberate use, passersby simply didn’t notice the two girls.

Not even when Clara twirled her balisong flamboyantly amidst the crowd. Not even when Sion, with her pointed ears and striking features, strolled by carrying a gun case containing a sniper rifle.

Thus, they could approach closer to Ichinose and Noah than the others.

But for now, the four maintained their distance, clustered together.

Their base of operations was the restaurant above, on the floor with the cinema. They’d secured a table at the café there, overlooking Rohan’s shop through the glass barrier.

The shop door opened frequently, with more people coming and going than they’d expected.

Spotting Rohan was easy.

Sion’s observation equipment passed from one girl’s hands to another.

“I recognize one of them. It’s Emily Renckels, the cadet dating Gilbert Kaniat.”

“The problem is the other one, isn’t it? I’ve never seen her before.”

Noah twitched her tail inquisitively.

She had a pretty face, but the individual radiating subtle strangeness that prickled at Noah’s keen senses.

“Oh, who is that lady sitting next to Oppa…?”

“I’m also curious about what they’re talking about.”

She thought about loitering closer, but now wasn’t the time.

This was a bustling shopping mall, and the ambient noise was too much to eavesdrop effectively.

Ichinose, who was once again peering through the observation device,

bit her lower lip, seemingly unable to recall.

“I don’t know either. I’ve genuinely never seen her face before. She doesn’t have the kind of forgettable features that would make me forget…”

“Maybe he’s being introduced to a girl?”

“N-no way…!”

“Why not? Rohan’s the talk of the other classes these days, you know?”

Ichinose’s mouth snapped shut. Denying it was just wishful thinking.

Knowing it’s a possibility, I have nothing to say.

“How about going into the restaurant pretending to be customers? Like we ran into him by accident. We actually *are* shopping here, after all.”

Noah’s audacious idea was immediately met with no objections from Sion.

Ichinose and Clara, however, fell into contemplation.

“…Could I act convincingly, without it being obvious?”

“Yeah, Nōse would probably have a hard time.”

“I, I’m not confident either…”

Clara also surrendered. That meant there was nothing for it but to observe.

How long had they been watching, passing around the binoculars and scope?

Noah couldn’t shake the feeling that this situation was dragging on.

And so, she asks.

“I have a question for you three.”

“What is it?”

“Hmm?”

“Rohan doesn’t have a girlfriend, right?”

They all nod in unison. There had been Rohan’s own words, and the subtle hints that persisted.

And so, Noah wondered, genuinely and without malice.

“But why don’t you confess? Shouldn’t you make the first move before someone else does?”

Noah’s words stole the air from the girls’ lungs.

It was harder to answer because they knew she wasn’t wrong.

“If Rohan rejects me… I don’t think I could recover… If we become distant for no reason, I’ll really be…”

“I want to confess when I have at least some confidence… It’s too important a challenge in my life to just gamble. I can’t help but be extremely careful.”

“Yeah, yeah… I, I just want to be involved with Oppa in any way…”

So, each of them has their own thoughts.

Noah realized that these friends’ feelings ran deeper than she’d imagined.

“Ah…! O, Oppa’s coming out!”

At Clara’s announcement, everyone’s gaze shifted.

The four people are seen leaving the shop.

The woman with the ponytail playfully nudged Rohan with a smiling face, then struck a pose flexing her arm on his. Making him touch.

And then, she also grabs Rohan’s arm and massages it. Her admiration is indescribable.

“””…”

Ichinose, Shion, and Clara were nigh blinded by envy. Their insides felt like they were being wrenched apart.

They confirmed the group moving off together.

“…Let’s go too.”

The girls, who had been observing, quickly gathered their equipment to move.

Excluding Noah, they returned their drinks untouched, not even a sip taken, and left the shop.