I Became the Must-Have Character of the Academy City - Chapter 115



114 – Lete’s Romantic Inquisition and Cognition Trigger

The third-year girls of Chroma High School from the Sepia Archipelago.

The reason they found themselves in the Academy City was because of Lete’s decision to pursue Orion Academy.

The Academy City was already a place they’d wanted to visit at least once, and now that they had a reason, how could they possibly resist?

To forget the melancholy of graduation drawing near, a separation growing inevitable.

The girls displayed their characteristic bold initiative, deciding on a trip that took advantage of the school’s anniversary and national holidays.

A dimension rift overlapped with what should have been a smooth, enjoyable trip, but surprisingly, it had long since disappeared from their conversational topics without making much of a splash.

Escorted back to their lodgings by the peacekeepers, the girls had only one thing on their minds.

“Lete! Did you get a reply?”

“We just exchanged introductions…”

“What’s his name?”

“…Rohan.”

The girl covered her reddening face, hand pressed against her mouth. A moment where she wished her hair wasn’t so short.

And she couldn’t take her eyes off her phone.

To think, their friend, always so cool and easygoing, could show such an adorable reaction, it made even the others’ hearts flutter.

One of the girls, sprawled on the bed and tapping at her phone, suddenly widened her eyes.

“I searched him up and he’s right here? He must be somebody.”

“Really!? Let me see!”

The girls piled onto one bed like a hamburger, their gazes fixed on the online article.

“Busting criminal organizations…?”

“That’s a whole other world. Doesn’t feel real.”

“Are Orion Academy students all like this?”

Only Lete, raised in a military family, was looking at the article with glittering eyes.

Curiosity took flight towards Lete, who was savoring each and every character.

“So Lete likes strong guys, after all?”

“It’s not *just* that…”

“Huh? Then?”

“Well, he’s handsome, and… cool…”

A silence fell over the boisterous lodging.

The girls, with serious expressions, replayed the events of their time at the shopping mall in their minds.

“Before I could even register ‘handsome,’ he had such a fierce look… That student council president who confessed to Lete back then, *he* was known for being handsome.”

“I hate guys who look like they’d snap in half if you hit them once.”

Lete’s steadfast judgment.

Her friends laughed as if accustomed to it, continuing their chatter.

“I still don’t understand Lete’s type.”

“Still, I’ll admit he’s cool in a way. Like, a definitively sturdy older guy, you know?”

“Aah~ Our Lete is finally experiencing first love. This mama was worried Lete would end her school days without any romance at all.”

“Who’s the mama! Get off me, you’re being gross!”

One girl gets grabbed by Lete and thrown onto the opposite bed.

“Alright, let the Lete romance hearing commence!”

“Everyone, take your seats. Quick!”

Observing the commonplace scene, the girls began to tear open bags of chips.

A signal that the real gossiping was about to begin.

“I never thought Lete would just charge in like that. She never showed interest in guys, *ever*.”

All eyes swiveled towards her, demanding an answer.

Lete fiddled with her short hair before finally replying.

“If we parted ways there, I might never see him again. I didn’t want to regret it later…”

“Ooh~ Bold~”

“You using that formal military speech from being so nervous was *hilarious*.”

“…”

“Maybe you should play it up as a charm point. If it’s not an act, it could be a winning character, right?”

“R-really? It’s a habit from the dojo…”

For the first time, genuinely useful advice. It couldn’t be a mere illusion.

Lete seemed interested, joining the discussion.

The conversation stretched on, darting quickly through minute topics like his clothing and posture.

One girl directed her curiosity elsewhere.

“Is he stronger than Lete?”

“Yeah. I definitely can’t beat him right now.”

“Heeh, so there’s someone stronger than Lete in the world.”

“There are *tons* of people stronger than me, okay?”

Lethe alone understood. Her friends didn’t even know that Rohan was the one who had directly saved her from that crisis.

Though he’d been busy holding off the monsters, and everyone else was huddled in fear.

From the start, it was no action that could be analyzed by the eyes of ordinary people.

‘…’

It all came back to her with a start.

The graceful movements with which he dispatched multiple monsters, and the situational awareness to prioritize saving people—a form perfectly synchronized with practical application.

It was a fleeting glimpse of Rohan’s values, laid bare.

The more she thought about it, the faster her heart pounded.

“But there were so many pretty people around him, right? Just classmates, though?”

“Come on, if he had a girlfriend, he wouldn’t have given you his number.”

“The fastest way is to just ask. Lethe! Hurry up!”

As all eyes focused on her, Lethe protested with a strained voice.

“I-it’s rude to ask something like that so suddenly…!”

“I think once you’ve gotten his number, it’s okay to ask.”

“I don’t know! No interruptions! I’ll do this at my own pace!”

Escaping her teasing friends, Lethe dove headfirst into the blanket.

Even trying to pull it off, Lethe’s grip was surprisingly strong. There was nothing a group of ordinary high school girls could do about it.

“…Anyways, my answer is the same.”

Had she built a home inside her blanket and finished her thoughts?

Lethe cautiously poked her head out, just a fist-sized face, and spoke.

“That answer?”

“About there being lots of pretty people around him and whether or not he has a girlfriend.”

The gazes of the girls in the room naturally converged.

“If I just assumed things based on that and didn’t ask, and it turned out to be wrong later? I’d definitely regret it…”

Lethe revealed her innermost feelings to her friends, speaking softly.

It wasn’t her usual booming voice, but it still carried through.

“How admirable… I’m not usually one to cry, but I’m getting teary-eyed…”

“If there are a lot of rivals, Lethe’s at a disadvantage in terms of distance. Does that mean you have to contact him as much as possible while you can’t see him?”

“No, I don’t intend to obsess over contacting him like that.”

“Huh?”

“It’s just… I have a feeling we’ll meet again soon. I’ll just check in occasionally and focus on my training.”

To be so passive after getting someone’s number was unheard of.

But somehow, it felt very Lete-like.

Her friends could only cheer for Lete’s first love, which had arrived like the wind, to work out well.

*

“O-Oniisan…! Snap out of it…!”

“…”

Clara wanted to lose her mind and break down. But unfortunately, she was preempted.

Sion had already broken down first.

Her face looked like it was overflowing with thoughts. Even her pointed ears were drooping slightly.

She carried the retrieved shopping bag, silent.

She kept walking toward the first floor where Rohan was waiting, but there was no strength in her steps.

“Sion Oniisan…”

Clara, watching her worriedly, arrived at a reasonable deduction.

The eyes of the girl, who had been content and settled in their current relationship, suddenly widened.

‘S-Surely, this opportunity?!’

Was this the trigger for Sion to recognize her feelings for Rohan?

Actually, it was close to a miracle that she hadn’t realized it until now.

Thinking that way, this wasn’t the time to be comforting others.

What position should Clara herself take? Unlike combat, she had no experience in this area, so it was a difficult problem with no clear solution.

‘And that person too… something’s up.’

Clara’s gaze turned to Ichinose Yui.

Noah Frozenheart was jumping around and smiling as usual, happy to have recovered her luggage, but Ichinose Yui was clearly different.

Ever since she saw the girl who had actively shown affection for Rohan, her posture had started to show gaps.

With those slowed steps, they reached the first floor.

Rohan, who had finished talking with the peacekeepers, approached.

“You’re here? Is all the luggage okay?”

“Yeah…”

While Clara was hesitating about whether it was okay to ask about the girl she had seen earlier,

Noah, maintaining a clear mind, jumped up and approached.

“Rohan!”

“Huh?”

“Let’s all go grab lunch together!”

Rohan pulls out his phone to check the time.

The dimensional rift had skewed things so much that it was already afternoon. Missing this chance would definitely make things awkward.

“But I wonder if any restaurants are even open?”

He had heard from the magistrate that the situation outside had stabilized, but he wasn’t sure what to expect.

On top of that, Zion and Clara might be uncomfortable, so his eyes dart around.

“They probably are, right? It’s the Academy City, after all.”

Is this the common sense of this world?

Rohan rubs his chin and looks at Zion and Clara.

It’s hard to directly ask them and even harder to refuse. Saying he’d go talk to them separately feels wrong too.

“Noah-nim. I’m sorry.”

“Yes?”

Zion, who had received his gaze, erased the look of worry from her face and tottered over, hooking her arm possessively around Rohan’s right arm.

Clara, startled, scurried to his empty left arm and clung tightly.

“We have a reservation to look at a house together.”

Ichinose, who had been listening quietly from the side, gaped.

“Oh, really? That’s a shame. I was going to treat you to a Tigrova special.”

“I truly regret missing it. So, I definitely hope we can arrange something next time.”

Rohan, flustered by the sudden, excessive closeness of the girls, didn’t miss the opportunity.

He concluded that this was as good as a signal from the two of them.

From noble mtl dot com

“Zion. Have you heard back from the person you were going to introduce me to?”

“Not yet. But the promised time is near. We’ll be late if we don’t leave now.”

“True, even with the situation like this, it’s right to wait until the agreed time.”

“Y-yes, oppa is right…!”

Rohan, led by Zion and Clara, started to head out of the shopping mall.

“Both of you be careful! We’ll eat next time!”

He turned his head to throw a goodbye and disappeared through the shattered glass doors.

“Ugh, what a waste. I wanted to hear what their relationship was like.”

Noah, as if missing out on something delightful, wagged his tail, side to side.

“S-See a house, you say…?”

Only then did Ichinose, with some effort, wrench himself from his reverie.

A beat late, he grasped the context of their conversation.