I Became the Must-Have Character of the Academy City - Chapter 122



121 – Spring Departs

“Really… it’s just because Noah keeps asking me to show you… j-just one time…!”

Ichinose opens his mouth as if telling Rohan to feed him.

Like a baby bird waiting for its food.

“Try it! Try it!”

Noah gestured eagerly, urging him to hurry, and Rohan chuckled softly as he opened the cutlery drawer.

He took out a clean pair of chopsticks.

He picked up a mushroom from the hot pot.

He cut the steaming mushroom into small pieces with scissors and blew on it.

“Hoo!”

At the sound of Rohan cooling it down, Ichinose’s ears twitched, like those of a beast-kin.

“Alright, here it comes.”

Rohan approached with a light voice.

Ichinose’s tongue stiffened with tension.

“Hngh!”

Rohan’s chopsticks released the food, lightly pressing her pliant tongue before retreating.

A ticklish sensation escaped Ichinose’s lips in a mortified little sound.

“Too hot?”

“Ah, no… it’s nothing.”

She instantly composed a serious face, her mouth working busily.

Too easy a question. Ichinose knew the answer the moment she chewed.

“Lion’s mane… mushroom…”

“Correct!”

“See? I told you Nocé would know.”

Noah’s proxy pride tugged at the corners of her mouth, coaxing out a smile.

The word “butt” rolling off Ichinose’s tongue held a novel flavor.

“Me too, let me try!”

Noah, declaring it was her turn, opened her mouth for Rohan.

But it concluded with Ichinose, remembering a prank played on her in the past, feeding her a clove of raw garlic.

They whiled away the time with chatter, enjoying a more leisurely lunch than usual.

Then Rohan’s phone rang.

Zheeeng──! Zheeeng─!

[Clara]

Unusually, it was a call, not a message.

A sudden fear made her bolt upright.

“Just a moment. I’ll take this call.”

“Okay.”

“See you soon~”

From noble mtl dot com

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“Alright. Yeah. Let’s go out tonight. I’ll hang up now.”

Rohan finished the call on the grassy front lawn and headed back inside the shop.

Thankfully, it hadn’t been anything significant.

Sion and Clara’s welfare calls, checking if he had eaten lunch properly.

Assured that nothing was amiss, Rohan confirmed they had also eaten, engaging in a brief chat.

They even discussed adding the good shop to their list of potential dining spots before ending the call.

‘Lunchtime is leisurely and pleasant.’

As the Dean said during the morning assembly, Rohan savored the happiness of daily life, returning to his room when he.

Stopped in his tracks, spotting unexpected figures at the counter, paying their bill.

His eyes widened in surprise.

“…Instructor Joo?”

“Enjoying your lunch, are you?”

As if he had sensed Rohan’s presence from the start, Joo-yeon didn’t seem fazed.

And beside him, another familiar face.

Long, perked-up rabbit ears radiating presence; Rohan greeted her first.

“Instructor Carrot! Good afternoon!”

“Hello!”

“Did the instructors also come for a meal?”

“Don’t trouble yourself about it. We’re leaving now.”

A quiet and delicious restaurant; certainly a place Joo-yeon would find.

‘This Ansimjeong (安心停) restaurant…’

It seemed like a good place to meet individuals from Samhwa, stationed in the academy city.

So much so that if Abyss City underwent further patches, it might just become a designated spot for part-time work.

“Rohan, you’re quite popular, aren’t you?”

“Pardon?”

“Which of the two is it?”

The rabbit beastkin made a heart with her hands, then winked.

Instructor Carrot’s sudden words and actions.

Rohan, taken aback, felt his throat tighten for a moment, but the mirth in her eyes eased his tension.

She likely already knew his companions were Noah and Ichinose.

Instructors with the skill to naturally identify one’s associates without needing to actively investigate.

However! This kind of mischievousness wouldn’t work on someone who’s been roughed up in the real world.

Rohan met her gaze, a slight smile playing on his lips.

“Just building camaraderie with comrades who’ve shared hardships, that’s all.”

“Heeeh~?”

For someone like Carrot, who asked out of pure amusement, this feigned innocence was fuel and kindling.

The best response was a bland, noncommittal reply.

“Really? Surrounded by girls that pretty? Rohan cadet… could it be you prefer men!?”

“I dislike men. I’m a normal heteros*xual, so I like women.”

You’d think Juyeon would step in and stop Carrot’s teasing by now.

But strangely, she was looking at him with worried eyes.

“Rohan.”

“Yes, Ma’am!”

“If you want to avoid troublesome female entanglements, the one being pursued needs to make their position absolutely clear.”

“…”

Juyeon, too? He was speechless.

The problem was, unlike Carrot, she didn’t sound like she was joking.

He could tell she was completely serious. Rohan knew it.

“There’s a reason why ‘female trouble’ is considered a kind of disaster. If someone receiving multiple advances responds ambiguously, it often escalates into a dangerous situation. Be careful how you handle yourself.”

Juyeon might not have direct romantic experience herself.

But she’d seen enough to be certain of this much.

“…I’ll keep that in mind.”

When Rohan answered earnestly, Carrot stopped joking and backed off.

Juyeon, thinking she’d made a mistake out of worry, quickly told him to go and cleared the way.

“Your group must be waiting, and I’ve kept you for too long. Sorry for bringing up such a heavy topic.”

“No, not at all. I’m grateful for the sound advice.”

It was just Juyeon’s worry, so it didn’t bother him. He was truly thankful.

“Then we’ll be going~ Bye-bye, Rohan cadet!”

“Eat plenty. Just don’t be late for afternoon classes.”

After confirming that Juyeon and Carrot had left the store, Rohan returned to his room.

He told Ichinose and Noah, who were finishing their meal, that he’d met the instructors.

The two girls seemed surprised.

They said they hadn’t encountered anyone they knew at this store yet.

Having finished the meal and stepping out of the private room,

Ichinose, mulling over the news Rohan had shared, offered his thoughts.

“Instructor Juyeon must also have times when he misses the flavors of the Samhwa Empire.”

“Mhm, mhm! There are days when I especially crave Tigrova cuisine, too!”

Noah smacked his lips, seemingly still hungry, and Rohan’s gaze shifted.

Even after eating so much, Noah’s stomach remained flat, his abs still sharply defined.

One might suspect a black hole resided within him.

Reaching the counter at the end of the corridor, Rohan offered his thanks once more.

“That was delicious.”

“It was nothing. Hardly sufficient as repayment.”

Ichinose extended a card with a golden sheen, and the staff member smiled brightly.

But without accepting the card, they bowed politely and informed him,

“Instructor Juyeon already took care of the bill.”

“!”

The three exchanged glances.

While it was a large sum for Rohan, it wouldn’t be an intimidating expense for the other two; still, this was the cool confidence of a successful professional.

Only the thought of expressing their gratitude filled their minds.

“Of course we’ll thank him, but should we buy him a drink at least?”

“That’s difficult. I don’t think Instructor Juyeon accepts gifts from students…”

“Then how about we just participate diligently in class?”

“Let’s all go to the faculty room and sing him a song of gratitude!”

“Noah. If you sing a song, we’ll be kicked out. Participating diligently in class is the answer, probably.”

And so, emerging outside and searching for a taxi.

Noah, out of the blue, announced he would get a strawberry smoothie, and leaped across the crosswalk in a grand jump toward a cafe.

Left alone with Rohan due to Noah’s typically impulsive actions, Ichinose felt it was the perfect moment.

He voiced the words that had been on his mind.

“Rohan.”

“Yeah?”

“T-This meal, it was the instructor who paid, so I couldn’t really say that *I* treated you, could I…?”

“Does it really work like that?”

Rohan found it difficult to give a firm answer.

He was in a position to be treated, wouldn’t it be strange to readily agree?

“The instructor paid, so it’s not wrong, is it?”

“Well…”

As Rohan mumbled his answer, his eyes fixed on Noah, who was wagging his tail in the café.

“Focus on talking to me.”

Ichinose tilted his head, lightly bumping Rohan’s shoulder.

“What I want to say is this. Let’s… eat together again. Next time, I’ll really pay.”

Rohan was impressed by Ichinose’s hesitant, yet courageous effort to promise a future meeting.

“Eung-ae Nōse…”!

Such a cute little guy, didn’t he want to stamp a ‘Well Done’ mark in his notebook?

“Shh! Shh! What if Noah hears you…!”

“Just say ‘Eung-ae’ once. Then I’ll stop.”

“Ugh, ‘Eung-ae,’ what are you even saying!”

Look at him blushing and flustered.

*This* is why he called him “Eung-ae Nōse.”

…

…

Quite some time had passed since the midterm exams.

April, with its chilly evenings, had receded, and the end-of-semester exam schedule and warm weather came hand-in-hand, announcing their presence.

And in those days, Rohan’s morning.

He prepared to head to the training hall as usual.

Thanks to the elixirs he’d received from Ichinose and Noah, he felt a definite improvement in his recent training efficiency.

His third sword was also starting to settle in fairly well.

‘Peaceful.’

Was this the calm before the storm?

The main storyline, which had been a guiding star for Rohan, was quiet.

He had absolutely no idea how the world was going to turn now.

‘It’s precisely in moments like these that I need to push harder.’

Rohan knew it.

The clamor over dimensional rifts, once the talk of the Academy City, had finally died down.

This lull, this deceptive calm, was precisely when one couldn’t afford to be complacent.

So, today, Rohan prepared meticulously, as always.

The custom-made scabbard, commissioned long ago, had finally been completed yesterday, granting his signature weapon, Radiance, a proper home.

His handgun, Sign, now nestled securely in its holster, crafted from sturdy leather.

The notification windows, usually bombarding him with quests and whatnot every other day, had fallen strangely silent, filling Rohan with unease. Even a quick trip outside his apartment warranted arming himself.

He remained steadfast, unwilling to relinquish his weapons at any moment.

Because that moment, the one where they’d prove essential, was bound to arrive.