70 – sleepless nights

-{Oh yeah. Got a call.}

-{It’s surprising, to think you’re calling me.}

As I expected, Milliam was quickly contacted.

I greeted the voice coming through the crystal ball.

“Have you been well, Your Majesty?”

-{Sure. Is there any reason not to be strong?}

“Even though the seasons have changed and winter has come, forgive this poor servant who can’t visit the palace even once…”

-{Clack… put away the strange greetings, and tell me about your business.}

As he was spitting out the mouth-watering words he had prepared, Milliam stopped talking with a small smile.

Well, it’s me, thank you.

To be honest, I didn’t like saying things that I didn’t mean to say.

“Well… Then, let’s get right to the point.”

I shrugged my shoulders a little and started talking slowly.

Well… To be honest, if I were to say the story, it was just a request to take Lucy and Anna to the palace during the ranking match.

“So… I want you to do that.”

-{……Suddenly? Bring Lucy and Anna to the palace?}

After hearing my words, Milliam let out a questioning nasal sigh for a moment.

It’s probably because you don’t know the intention of my request.

What… is it natural?

Without further explanation, ‘Take your daughters with you for a while.’ If you say that, even if you’re like me, you’ll probably tilt your head first.

-{I don’t know what your intentions are with this request.}

“I don’t have any intentions. I just want the two princesses, who must have been having a hard time studying for the long exam, to take a break…”

-{rest? During the ‘ranking period’ that is reflected in final exam grades?}

“…….”

….just let it pass.

Do I really need to catch that pod?

I clicked my tongue and bit my lip.

In the midst of rolling my head, thinking about how to get over this situation in my head.

Milliam’s words followed.

-{Well, I’ll get it for now.}

“You mean… you mean you’re doing me a favor?”

-{okay.}

Milium lightly throws an affirmation.

-{I have a debt I owed a while ago, so if there is a request, it would be reasonable to do so.}

-{It’s not that difficult a request.}

-{I don’t understand the content of the request, so I’m a bit suspicious.}

What is it, if you’re going to listen to it so easily, don’t hold the pod in front of you.

People are just making me nervous.

He let out a sigh of relief and wiped his lips.

-{Could something happen during the ranking match?}

-{I don’t think you’re asking this without meaning.}

Milliam asks a question in a quiet voice.

Clearly, what he said was a question, but there was a shallow certainty in it.

…. This man is too quick to notice.

I answered with an upward look.

“I don’t know what you mean. As I said before, I just want the princesses to rest…”

-{Clack…. I get it, I get it. If you are, then so be it.}

Milliam cut me off with his characteristic laugh.

He laughed like that for a while, then cleared his throat and grabbed his throat.

-{Hmmmm… So, is this the end of the business? I guess I’ll just have to go.}

-{You know, this place is very busy}

“Ah, yes. Of course. Be careful going in.”

-{Cheol, come to the palace during winter vacation. Lucy will like it.}

Milliam hung up the phone with those words.

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“Now…then, the part I was most worried about has been sorted out.”

Ariel and Rachel will head to their parents’ house in a carriage tomorrow,

Lucy also said that the imperial family would send a carriage tomorrow or the day after tomorrow…

All that remains now is to really prepare for the invasion.

“Hmm…..”

What should I prepare?

I think for a while with my eyes closed.

In my head, I draw a rough map of Reynolds Academy.

First of all, it is the front gate where Rakius and Tenebrios attack.

This place is left to Alan and Coron.

Perhaps those two will be able to successfully fend off the twin devil’s attacks.

The problem is the ‘back door’.

Unlike the ‘main gate’ guarded by Alan and Korn or the ‘main building’ guarded by the academy faculty,

Because there are no reliable personnel at the back gate.

At most, it’s ‘Leading Club’ or ‘Student Council’…

Can the leadership team and student council members stop the army of monsters swarming in thousands?

“Probably difficult…”

Even if I say grandiosely that it is a leading club or a student council, in the end it is a student.

The enemies that would come 3 days later were not on a scale that could be dealt with at the level of those students.

“Hmm…”

I let out a small sigh and wiped my face.

I didn’t want to be involved in a dangerous routine, but I can’t help it this time.

They say if you fail, all the students in the academy will die.

Alan, the protagonist of the original work, his heroines, friends, everything without exception.

“That’s not okay…”

Back when I was Naru.

[The Hero Loved by Everyone] was a novel that held great meaning for me.

It was also the first novel that Changho hyung lent me.

It was also the first genre novel I read in my life.

I genuinely cherished and loved their stories.

I had adventures with them, shared friendships, and made love.

I received comfort from a life full of scars.

No matter how much Alan and the heroines did to me now, it was an unchanging fact.

“…That’s why, I want to protect you.”

Who would like to see the story he loved run into catastrophe?

I was just like that too.

It’s not that I just take care of the people around me and run away to another place and say I don’t know.

I want to be of some help to their story.

“Are you greedy…”

Well, it didn’t matter anyway.

I decided to move, and I’m sure it will help.

I just wanted everything to work out.

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the next morning.

The carriage stop located at the main entrance of Reynolds Academy.

ㅡ wheee…

A winter wind blows through your hair.

The wind, full of cold energy, shakes and awakens the tired mind.

Wash your face dry a few times and wake up.

What can be seen through the bangs blowing in the wind is a black carriage with fancy patterns engraved on it.

And a red-haired girl standing in front of him, and a brown-haired girl.

“Then, I’ll be back, brother!”

One of the two girls climbs into the carriage first and waves at me.

As he flicked his hand, his red hair gently fluttered.

I show a faint smile at the girl’s appearance.

“Goodbye, say hello to your father.”

“Okay, I get it!!”

Ariel nodded vigorously.

Seriously, who do you resemble to be so cute?

Ariel waved her arm once and entered the carriage.

What’s left after that is Rachel and me.

Rachel stood next to me and was silent for a while, then lifted the bag that was lying on the floor and said.

“…Then, I’ll go too. Master.”

Saying that, Rachel gave a cryptic smile.

Those brown eyes looking at me look oddly sad.

what….?

Why are you suddenly looking at me like that…

As I tilt my head with a question mark floating above my head,

Rachel covered her mouth slightly and laughed.

“Whoa… can’t you just disappear without us? If you’re leaving, at least… say hello and go.”

“Umm, leaving? What is that… Ah.”

—-If…..if I disappeared again, what would you do?

Come to think of it, that’s what I said.

I haven’t been able to explain it yet…

When I come back this time, I think I should explain it properly.

“Okay, I won’t run away. Have a good trip.”

“…It’s a promise.”

“Yes, promise.”

I shrug my shoulders at Rachel, who looks at me with disbelief.

And then he smiles lightly.

Yes… the choice I made may be the right one.

A world where there are people who care about me and care for me.

In such a world, wouldn’t it be worth remaining even if there were pain and sorrow?

“I’ll be back!”

“okay.”

“Brother! I’ll be back!”

“Yes, yes.”

I waved my hand toward the carriage leaving and looked at him.

The swaying wind blurs my vision.

A carriage disappearing into the distance.

…….For some reason,

That look hurts deep in my heart.

A pounding feeling in the chest and a stabbing pain deep down.

I try to ignore it and turn my head away.

…..Okay, never mind.

muttering so inwardly

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“……I can’t sleep.”

I was lying on the bed, and suddenly muttered that and got up.

As I rub my dry eyes, a small yawn leaks out of my mouth.

The world outside the window is already dyed black.

The time I checked through the visible clock was 3:00 AM.

Normal students should have gone to bed early to manage their condition, but I was still awake.

Damn, f*cking insomnia.

My old friend who comes to me whenever I lie down in bed.

He spat out harsh curses at his friend and grabbed his throbbing head.

I reached out and reached for the table next to the bed.

Then, he finds the Shimmacho box that was placed on it.

Take out a stick of weed from inside, put it in your mouth, and light it.

ㅡChak, chiik…

“Write, ha…”

White smoke billows from between the lips.

The subtle scent of medicinal herbs lingered around my nose, and my complicated mind was cleared up a bit.

For a while, repeat the inhalation and exhalation while holding the smoke in your mouth.

I roll my tired and smoke-soaked eyes and scan the room where silence lingers.

Inside the empty dormitory, it was so quiet that it felt frightening.

Normally, through the gap in the open door, I would have heard Rachel’s breathing as she fell asleep.

There was none of that today.

“It’s a bit lonely…”

I hugged the pillow tightly because I was feeling restless for no reason.

As I buried my face in the soft pillow, the familiar scent reached my nose.

A warm scent similar to the smell of peaches.

‘……what? Did my pillow originally smell like this?’

I tilt my head at the unfamiliar yet familiar scent.

Looking closely at the pillow with doubts, you can see that the word ‘Ray’ is engraved on the corner of the pillow.

“……”

For a moment, your brain shuts down.

……Why is Rachel’s pillow here?

I did the laundry the day before yesterday, did I put it in the wrong place while arranging it?

A moment of confusion in my mind.

After that, the action I was doing until just now came into my mind.

Holding onto Rachel’s pillow tightly, I buried my face in it…

“……!”

When I reached that point, I hurriedly put down Rachel’s pillow in my arms.

Heat rises on the cold face.

heart beats irregularly

“What have I done…”

After a moment of shame, I wiped my face.

Damn, why did Rachel make a mistake she wouldn’t normally make…

Inwardly, I blame Rachel for not being there, but the shame doesn’t go away.

ㅡ beating

The beating of the heart echoes in harmony.

“sh*t…..”

Today was a very difficult day to fall asleep in many ways.

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After that night,

It was finally the first day of the ranking match.