Volume 5 Chapter 2 I Think We Have A Bond Strong Enough To Say 'Not One Or The Other, But Both'
On a warm winter day... After returning from Victor and finishing a mountain of assignments, Randy was attending the start of the third semester with Liz and Cecilia.
All the students and their attendants──like Liz, who participates in classes──gathered in the school's big auditorium. This kind of large ceremony usually only happens at the beginning and end of the school year.
The school likely held this event because of the worries from the 'Crown Prince Assassination suspicion' that happened last year.
In fact, everyone was listening to the principal's long-winded speech starting with "Last year──" Even though normally, no one pays attention to such boring speeches, everyone was reacting with murmurs to his words.
Many students probably already knew about the situation since the trial had started, but hearing the facts from someone connected to the school hit differently. After all, a student──Chris, who was brainwashed──had helped the assassin and tried to kill the Crown Prince. For students at the school, this was not just someone else's problem.
Instead of a congratulatory speech, the unusual greeting turned into a Q&A session that shook the whole auditorium with noise.
In the midst of this unusually loud ceremony, Randy was...
"Please wake up."
...being scolded by Liz for dozing off.
"It's fine. I already know this stuff."
Randy frowned and said, "Just 5 more minutes," but Liz poked him again, saying, "No way."
"Sir Randolph... Have you been staying up late just because it's a break?"
Cecilia, sitting next to Liz, showed a look of disbelief. Randy glanced at Cecilia and spoke.
"Miss Cecilia, sometimes a man has to fight day and night."
Randy smiled mysteriously, but...
"He's just not done with his assignments, so he has been up for 2 nights."
"Ah..."
...Liz easily spilled the beans, and Cecilia looked at him like he was foolish.
It's a bit sad, but it's so typical of Randy. Just as Cecilia chuckled softly at that thought, the long ceremony finally came to an end.
"...So? This fool pulled an all-nighter."
Luke, who had been waiting outside during the ceremony, let out a big sigh as he looked at Randy, who was slumped over the desk.
Today was just the opening ceremony and turning in assignments in the morning, but since they were all together, the 4 of them decided to gather at their usual terrace. However, Randy, fresh off an all-nighter, crashed before their order even arrived.
With his head down on the desk, Randy was sleeping soundly, and Luke sighed again while glancing around. Luke could see many students around him. Their usual spot, which used to feel like a semi-private area, had changed to an open terrace for safety reasons.
"Well, if he feels any danger, he might wake up."
He probably would, but Luke had never seen Randy sleep in a public place. It was rare for Randy to be this defenseless, especially with so much attention on him.
Amid the whispers, there were rumors that the S-rank adventurer [Blood Tempest] had retired. At the same time, eyes were turning toward Randy, so it was clear that the duel incident had spread all the way to the kingdom.
"Well, with this mess, he might soon be treated like a joke."
Luke gave a wry smile as he looked down at Randy, who was peacefully sleeping. To anyone who didn't know better, he didn't look like someone who could defeat an S-rank adventurer at all.
"Still, he must be really tired."
"It was all blank... the assignments."
Liz, with a wry smile, said, "But I'm surprised he managed to finish it in just 2 days," and Cecilia nodded in agreement, looking at Randy's sleeping face. Even though Randy had chosen fewer classes, the assignments for the longer winter vacation were still a lot. Those 2 days packed with work could definitely be called a battlefield.
"So, until the food order arrives..."
Liz gently stroked Randy's hair.
It was a rare warm sunlight.
Randy's sleeping face looked so happy.
Liz poked Randy's cheek as she looked at his sleeping face for the first time.
"Mmm..." Randy mumbled in his sleep, making Liz smile. But when she looked up, she saw Cecilia and Luke grinning at her.
"Th-that's not it..."
"I'm not saying anything. Right, Luke?"
"Yep."
Liz's face turned red from their teasing.
"By the way, how far have you two gone?"
Cecilia leaned forward, resting her elbows on the table, and Liz shook her head quickly, saying, "W-well, nothing yet."
"What about Lady Eleonora?"
Luke teased, and Ellie puffed her cheeks as she appeared, saying, "That has nothing to do with me."
"I wonder what Sir Randolph thinks. I think he likes Liza and Lady Eleonora."
Cecilia looked at Randy with a surprised face, and Liz hurriedly said, "W-whether he likes us or not..." But Luke and Cecilia exchanged glances and shook their heads at Liz.
"There's no way he doesn't like them."
"Exactly. Not just like, but really likes them, for sure. I've never seen him care about women like this. Only Miss Elizabeth and Lady Eleonora. He's never cared this much about any other woman."
With their teasing, Liz looked down, her face red, and Ellie didn't even show her face.
"I'm curious about which one he would choose."
Cecilia looked at the sleeping Randy, and Liz showed a slightly sad face, saying, "Which one, huh?"
"He'd probably say 'both'."
Luke chuckled, and Liz looked up. It seemed she had forgotten that option, repeating, "Both..."
"See, he's greedy."
Luke shrugged, but Cecilia looked somewhat dissatisfied.
"Isn't 'both' a bit rude? Sure, some people have a mistress, but..."
The big sigh from Cecilia showed her protest. Women want to keep the man they like to themselves. But Liz seemed different...
"Both... might be nice, I guess. Ellie and Randy are both important to me."
Liz smiled and talked about how wonderful it would be if the 3 of them could continue spending time together. Since they met, or rather since they got to know each other, they had been walking together like 3 legs of a tripod. In Liz's mind, there was probably a thought that the future would continue with the 3 of them.
"And if something happens, I can team up with Ellie."
Liz clenched her fist, not knowing what Ellie was saying. But seeing her happy face, it seemed Ellie was also okay with it.
"Team up, huh..."
"I can picture it."
They looked at each other and smiled, thinking it couldn't be helped. In their minds, they probably saw Randy being bossed around by Liz and Ellie. Luke and Cecilia both agreed that it made sense for this trio.
"Then we need to find Lady Eleonora's body quickly..."
Just then, the items they had ordered arrived at the table.
"Hey, wake up, Randy. You're in the way, and I can't put the plates down."
Randy slowly lifted his face at Luke's voice, rubbing his eyes with a big yawn.
"Is it morning already──."
"It's not morning, you idiot. It's noon."
Randy brushed off Luke's glare and yawned again. As if pulled by the yawn, Randy stretched, and his joints cracked with a pop.
"Alright. Starting tomorrow, we'll get back to searching for Ellie's body."
Randy grabbed the huge burger placed in front of him, and everyone's eyes widened in surprise. Liz's face turned bright red, but when Randy noticed their stares, he frowned and looked around.
"...Were you awake, by any chance?"
"I said I was sleeping. Are you confused?"
"Confused? I was awake... or rather──."
Luke asked again if he was really awake, and Randy lazily explained that he had indeed been sleeping.
"I see. So while I was sleeping, you 3 were talking about Ellie's body..."
Randy takes a big bite of his burger, and Cecilia, for some reason, sighs in relief. Since it was Cecilia who brought up the topic, she probably feels bad if Randy heard it.
"Well, that was the plan, and more than anything, we just want to have fun together."
Randy, sipping his coffee, smiles and talks about various things. He mentions the geothermal heating equipment that's still in progress, the heating innerwear that isn't ready yet, and the research on runes.
"If we want to find the body, the [Tower of Time] seems like the best clue, right?"
Cecilia tilts her head, and Randy nods, but sadly, getting to the [Tower of Time] has become harder now.
Because of that commotion, they can't enter the academy at night anymore. Since sneaking into the academy grounds on a new moon night is off the table, they have to find a formal route to enter the hidden dimension where the [Tower of Time] is.
They need to enter the hidden dimension from near the academy and then head to the [Tower of Time]... but even Ellie doesn't know the formal route. They could break through the dimensional wall with big magic like before, but it's better not to draw attention.
"Isn't there a hint in the ancient ruins from around the same time as the [Tower of Time]?"
Liz tilts her teacup, and Randy nods, saying it's worth a shot.
"If it's about ancient ruins, there's a delayed dungeon exploration training."
Cecilia mentions a course for students taking combat-related subjects. It seems the destination for that dungeon exploration training is underground in the ancient ruins. The valuable ancient ruins have turned into a dungeon, and the training takes place in the shallow to mid-levels of the dungeon.
That said, neither Randy nor Liz is taking the class. Only Cecilia is enrolled in the magic training class, so she could go if she wanted to.
"Still, if it's a dungeon, can't we just go in as adventurers?"
"Oh, you don't know? The place for training is a precious ruin managed by the country, so it should be hard for adventurers to get in."
The ruins that aren't turned into dungeons still have wall paintings that the country's research teams are studying. Since it's the same ruin, the underground is also managed by the country as an important site, and you can't enter without their permission.
Because of this strict management, it's chosen as a training place for students. ...After all, there was a recent assassination suspicion. The academy is being very careful.
"I wonder if there's a way to sneak in."
Randy crossed his arms, and Cecilia shared some useful info that sometimes an adventurer goes along as a guard. But, adventurers guarding students are usually high-ranked.
For Randy, who's still at D-rank, it's not really his business...
"For now, let's just try going to the Guild and see what happens."
With a plan set, Randy and Liz stood up to say goodbye to Cecilia and Luke.
Luke and Cecilia watched the two leave the terrace and sighed.
"Randy too, but Miss Elizabeth... she's getting a lot of attention."
"It's a false accusation. Everyone is just waiting for the right moment to turn against her."
Cecilia tilted her teacup with a shocked expression, and Luke nodded, saying, "I see." Since the end of the second semester, Liz's reputation had indeed been improving, but now there were rumors about the Church brainwashing her as a Saint.
It's well-known that Liz's exile was a false accusation.
If that's the case, it wouldn't be surprising for families wanting to form friendships with the rising Braubelg to appear.
"Could it be that the Crown Prince... is also involved?"
"Who knows? Just──."
"Just?"
"I was thinking if someone could get between those 2, no, 3."
Cecilia smiled confidently, and Luke nodded with a smile, finishing his tea.
"Then, I'll make sure to keep away any troublemakers trying to get close to the young lady."
"Please."
Cecilia took Luke's hand and stood up, leaving the place while ignoring the gazes directed at her.
Please bookmark this series and rate ☆☆☆☆☆ on here!
Donate me
Support Me with USDC
(ERC20)
Support Me with XLM
(Stellar Lumens)