At first, as soon as I got off the carriage and arrived at the church, I planned to go up to the third floor hospital room where senior Xian was.

It was because I wanted to get a definite answer from senior Xian as soon as possible, aiming for the time when I was confused right after the sparring.

Even if he died soon, he wouldn’t lie, so all he had to do was ask for his final consent.

With that thought in mind, my steps straight up to the third floor were immediately blocked by the priests and clerics.

One of her arrows stuck in her left thigh was the problem.

“Are you willing to leave these injuries alone and visit another patient? Are you serious now?!”

Even a priest who seemed to be quite old came and said this, so no matter how much I was, I couldn’t just shake off and go up recklessly.

I thought I would just talk quickly and come down to get treatment.

As long as he was caught, he would not be sent up unless he received treatment, so he had no choice but to calmly go to the treatment room.

Several of the church’s priests rushed at me and began to treat injuries sustained during the trial.

Not only the arrow stuck in the thigh, but also the shallow burn caused by the recoil of the explosive magic.

It was only after being treated for minor lacerations caused by rolling on the floor that he was barely able to escape from the hands of the church priests.

It took a little over an hour for the treatment to be completed.

Even in the midst of this, Xian-senpai’s mind might be changing every moment.

Perhaps because of the experience of being rejected once, my head felt a little rushed.

“The wound healed once. However, if you do it wrong, the affected area can reopen, so give yourself at least three days to recover.

In particular, it is absolutely forbidden to run or lift heavy objects.”

“All right.”

I gave a short thank you to the priest who sutured the wound and went straight up to the third floor hospital bed where Xian senior was.

Among the many single rooms, there was only one room that exhaled its own magical energy, so it wasn’t too difficult to find a room with senior Xian.

smart smart I knocked on the door of the hospital room three times to signal that I had arrived and called the name of senior Xian who would be inside.

“Senior Xian, can I come in?”

“… … .”

No answer came back.

I could feel her popularity, and the wave of magical power must have been the same as when I was awake.

Is it because there is a reason why you do not want to answer?

Perhaps, he was really upset about losing in the evaluation match.

“Senior Xian? Are you entering?”

“… … .”

“I will take silence as an affirmation.”

First of all, since I had to go ahead with the story, I entered the room without Xian-senpai’s permission.

drooling. With the sound of the door opening, the first thing I saw was a bed lying horizontally.

On top of that, with senior Xian quietly inhaling and exhaling.

For some reason, he was wearing a blanket over his head.

“Senior Xian.”

“… … .”

“Don’t pretend to be asleep.”

“… … .”

“You’re not really sleeping.”

Even though he came right next to me and whispered in my ear, Xian seemed to intend to keep pretending to be asleep.

In an atmosphere that seemed unlikely to happen right away, I moved back to the door.

“I’ll come back later. Good night.”

After saying my last goodbye, I deliberately opened the door to the hospital room loudly.

After a little time lag, I closed the door as it was.

Turning the blanket over, Xian sunbaenim’s body flinched, and soon, green eyes popped out from inside the blanket.

“… ha.”

“woke up?”

“… … ?!?!”

Seeing him startled as if he had seen a ghost at my question was both fun and a bit sad.

“Didn’t you go?”

“You were awake, too.”

“… yes.”

Perhaps realizing that there was no point in denying it anymore, Xian quietly stood up from his seat.

I sat down on the simple chair next to the hospital bed and made eye level with senior Xian.

“Before evaluation, thank you for your hard work.”

“… Yes, juniors too.”

“Are you sick or not? It was a magic that was as close to instant death as possible.”

“… Yes, thanks.”

Xian sunbaenim rolled his eyes here and there while avoiding my eyes, strangely as if he didn’t want to make eye contact.

“… … .”

“… … .”

Before long, an awkward air current flowed in the hospital room.

Was it something to be so sad about losing in the evaluation match?

“Senior Xian.”

“… yes.”

“It’s not my taste to say it around, so I’ll tell you directly.”

“… Yes? what, what… .”

“Xian-senpai, do you not like coming to my party?”

Their mixed eyes met for the first time.

The pupils, which were wide enough to be recognized with one eye, showed full expression of denial without saying anything.

“Oh, no.”

“But why do you keep avoiding your eyes like that, making people anxious?”

“There is such a thing. You don’t have to know.”

“Anyway, are you sure you’re coming to my party then?”

“Yeah, because I promised.”

“I’m glad, I was wondering what to do if you don’t come in.”

Did it feel strange that I was relieved and reacted like this?

On the contrary, senior Xian made a questionable expression toward me.

“Is it really that important for me to go to your junior’s party?”

“Absolutely.”

“Anyway, no matter where I go or not, the fact that the juniors you belong to is the strongest won’t change, right?”

“That is also true, but still, senior Xian is an irreplaceable and important person.”

Afterwards, the only person I could safely entrust my back to in the demon punitive force was Xian-senpai, from the list of people I know now.

Since I already had the experience of being a trustworthy colleague in my previous life, there is nothing to say in terms of trust.

There was probably no one who could deny Xian’s ability to use various and powerful bow skills.

“Irreplaceable, important person… .”

“So, just in case, you can’t say no, or you can’t say that.”

“You’re talking for granted.”

I don’t know where the mood got better, but Xian sunbaenim returned from an awkward look to a normal Xian sunbaenim.

It’s already been confirmed that three of the demon subjugation team members from the previous life will gather.

A smile naturally bloomed on his lips as the plan went much more smoothly than initially expected.

“Anyway, outside of the hunting festival, we often do activities together. I often go out to the Demon Forest on weekends, so if you meet me, you can go hunting together.”

“Okay, I will remember.”

“Rest until you recover.”

Read at noblemtl.com

Just as I opened the door to the hospital room and was about to leave, senior Xian called my name for the last time.

“Comrade Conrad.”

“Yeah?”

“We ask well.”

In response to Xian’s rare smile, I also smiled at her.

“I am.”

drooling. The door to the hospital room closed with a sound.

⁎ ⁎ ⁎

Time is like an arrow, and when I wake up, it is often after it has already passed me.

What was special becomes daily life, and the first thing you experience again the next time.

The longer the period of silently doing what you have to do, the faster time tends to pass.

A routine similar to the routine I mentioned before continued every day.

Going for a morning run with Stella, whom I don’t meet by chance anymore, and gradually adding up my lack of stamina.

Going to Lulu’s classroom almost every day during lunchtime and sending her back with a good meal to rejuvenate.

It’s been a long time since it’s all been a ‘routine’ to go hunting in the forest of demons with Xian-senpai, who sits at the academy guild every weekend.

As the four of them gathered more often to prepare for the hunting festival, the somewhat awkward atmosphere could now be said to be friendly enough.

“Senior Xian, there is something I want to ask you, is that okay?”

“yes I’m fine.”

“Every time you go out for hunting training in preparation for the hunting festival, you seem to stick with Conrad-senpai more than necessary. Is that really necessary?”

In response to Stella’s sincere question, senior Xian quietly avoided his gaze.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, junior Stella.”

“No, that’s right! Why do you stand so close to Conrad every time as if you were showing off, whoever sees you will know that you are doing something affectionate!”

“The leap is serious, Junior Lulu.”

“Then get away from Conrad! You can just take a seat with your back to each other in moderation! Uh, there’s no need to narrow the distance so much that your back and buttocks barely touch… .”

“You don’t seem to realize that Junior Conrad is too strong, but the Demon Forest is originally a dangerous place.

In order to compensate for each other’s blind spots, it’s not unusual for us, the rearguard, to close the distance as much as possible. Right, Junior Conrad?”

Because Xian sent his gaze toward me as if seeking consent.

I also calmly mentioned the dangers of the Demon Forest.

“Well, I guess so. Still, if you’re stuck like this, it might be difficult to move… .”

“Do you guys want to say that it’s okay if I settle down far away to protect my body, and then collapsing from a blinding attack from behind by junior Konrad?”

“Never as much as that!”

“Ah, no matter what, I’m telling you to do it in moderation! From what anyone can see, Xian-senpai’s actions now have a different purpose… .”

“Noble elves don’t feel normal humans as reason. Everyone knows that giving affection to a weak life that dies before living for less than a hundred years will end in tragedy.

To compare it to you, it’s like not feeling romantic feelings for a dog or cat. … I was indebted to junior Konrad in many ways, so I just had a little affection for him.”

“That, is it? is that so? Am I overreacting alone?”

“First of all, it’s late today, so let’s go back first. Tomorrow, I have to do linked training at the joint training ground I borrowed, so I have to take care of my physical condition.”

“All right!”

After Stella’s lively reply, today’s hunting training seemed to be completed without a fight.

… It didn’t work out that well though.

“Yeah, what… . If Conrad doesn’t mind… .”

“Comrade Conrad, you shouldn’t get lost in the woods, so let’s walk hand in hand to the guild.”

“Hey!!!”

Although there were frequent quarrels between Lulu and the new senior Xian, it would have been a good sign that they had become close enough to fight.

As if to represent that this is proof that our relationship has improved, the breathing of the four of us created an explosive synergy every day.

Out of the three people except me, the most active was Lulu, who was surprisingly the least capable of self-combat.

Against strong enemies, beside Stella to distract attention, become a guerrilla in melee and eliminate the most troublesome enemies, and so on.

Since her fighting ability increased and multi-role became possible, it became possible to carry out much more diverse and efficient operations.

Since Luluya was originally a companion like a rough diamond, as her only weakness, combat ability, was supplemented, her value was rapidly increasing.

Useful tricks like hunting down and disarming traps always came in handy.

All three existing party members have achieved explosive growth, and even the strong power of senior Xian is included in our party.

Of course, the 2nd semester hunting system won the championship without any crisis.

That’s an overwhelming gap compared to the 2nd place.

The eventful second semester of the sophomore year came to an end before I knew it.

Maybe it was because I went through a lot of high-density events in the first semester, but I felt like I was a little bland.

What came immediately after that was the sophomore year’s winter vacation.

After passing through the warp gate, like the vacation I’ve always been until now.

At the entrance of the gate, I got on the carriage that I had arranged in advance and went on my way.

However, what is different about today’s journey is that the destination is not the Perdalos Territory.

The carriage, pulled by two horses, was quietly heading toward the western part of the Empire, a little far from my hometown.

Waddle Village, which means a village near a valley.

Compared to other regions, summer was a little cooler.

Instead, it is a corner town on the outskirts of the empire with a slightly colder climate in winter.

In a remote corner of the village, there was a nursery school named Cherryfield.

It was Stella’s first hometown, where she spent her childhood before being adopted by the Arwen family.