EDM 71

“Where on earth were you guys? I’ve been looking for you for ages.”

Aisha grumbled as she strode toward them. Medeio turned his head slightly to look at Soren and Kafka standing behind him. After confirming that the two had let go of each other’s hands, he spoke nonchalantly as if nothing had happened.

“The three of us were playing card games. In an empty practice room.”

“Cards?”

“There’s really nothing to do these days. We don’t have to take graduation exams.”

There was a clause that exempted those who had awakened as Sword Masters from graduation exams, so Soren and the other hero party members were spending incredibly leisurely days.

In Kafka’s case, he still had practical exams remaining, but as mentioned, the exam difficulty wasn’t very high, so there was no need to devote much time to it. Therefore, Aisha showed no particular suspicion at the idle story of playing poker.

Actually, it would have been simple enough to just honestly say they were making potions. But since there were things to hide, he ended up telling lies like this out of guilt.

He could feel Soren letting out a very faint sigh. It seemed he didn’t like this situation of having to deceive Aisha when they weren’t even doing anything wrong.

“There are hardly any classes now, so it is pretty free…”

Aisha nodded as if she understood and looked at Medeio and Soren in turn.

“Anyway, the headmaster is calling for you.”

“All three of us?”

Soren asked. Aisha shook her head.

“Just you and Medeio. Not Kaf.”

“What for?”

“I don’t know yet either. But it seems like he called five people, me, you two, and Termina and Ipolis.”

Soren, Aisha, Medeio, Maria, Dexter. All were awakeners who had reached the pinnacle in their respective fields, with the common trait of eventually joining the ‘hero party.’

What could this sudden wind be about? He didn’t know how it was in the novel, but at least in the webtoon, these people had never been called together to see the headmaster during their academy days, so he couldn’t guess the reason. Kafka unconsciously frowned slightly.

“Maybe they’re throwing a congratulatory party?”

As if trying to reassure Kafka, Soren said nonchalantly. While saying this, he quietly raised his hand behind his back to lightly pat Kafka’s shoulder.

“Anyway, if they’re calling us, we have to go. Medi, let’s go.”

At Soren’s words, Medeio nodded. Kafka looked up slightly at Soren.

“I’ll go to my room for now. Should we eat dinner separately today?”

“It might not be anything important. If I’m not back too late, eat first.”

After finishing his words, Soren patted Kafka’s shoulder once more, then left with Aisha and Medeio toward the headmaster’s office. For some reason, seeing Soren naturally leading them made him feel strange.

It’s probably just coincidence, but is he overinterpreting things?

‘I don’t know.’

Kafka turned toward the dormitory. Whether they were throwing a party to celebrate having five awakeners, or if something had really happened… He would find out soon. Therefore, worrying about it at this point was useless. It would only complicate his mind.

* * *

Soren didn’t return until dinner service ended. At this point, the reason why the headmaster had summoned the five awakeners was decided. If it had been a simple congratulatory party story, it wouldn’t have taken this long.

His appetite completely gone, he skipped dinner. Sitting still would only complicate his mind with stray thoughts, so Kafka sat at his desk and immersed himself in studying, reviewing his herbology dictionary and recipes learned in preparation class. It seemed unlikely he would see Soren today.

‘Should I bathe and just sleep…’

When he put down his quill pen, the edge of his hand was stained with ink. Kafka sighed and went into the bathroom, filled the bathtub with water, and dissolved bath salts. Smelling the fresh grassy scent made his mood much more refreshed. After finishing preparations and soaking his body in the warm water, the fatigue he had momentarily forgotten gradually washed over him.

Did his interference affect the progression?

Or did a similar event occur around the same time in the novel? He couldn’t hastily conclude either way. The only thing he could be certain of was that the progression was somewhat faster compared to the webtoon.

‘In any case, I can hardly use knowledge from my previous life anymore.’

Lost in thought, Kafka massaged his stiff arm muscles. After making potions, muscle pain always came like this, and Soren had always relieved it with massage.

Suddenly he felt empty. Since starting his romance with Soren, except for class time, he had been attached to him like they were one body. It was something unimaginable until a year ago.

In his previous life because of long and frequent hospitalizations, in this life because of his position as the source of the bad ending. Solitude was as natural as breathing, and parting was just as familiar. That’s why even knowing that the Demon Lord would eventually revive, that fact wasn’t very frightening.

‘I was worried about Aisha though…’

He thought Soren would protect her well. In conclusion, there was nothing to worry about.

But the situation had changed due to his interference, and now Soren’s lover was himself, not Aisha. Unlike Aisha, he had no talent or ability to protect his back. Moreover, as the source of the world’s destruction, there was a high possibility of being a hindrance.

“……”

Shouldn’t he stop even now?

He didn’t know about Soren, but Kafka could live the rest of his life with just the memories of the past few months. Rather than clinging to unmanageable love and losing purpose and justification to become the world’s traitor, separation would be better.

The bath salt fragrance that had filled the bathroom had faded. Kafka got out of the bathtub, finished washing, and changed into pajamas.

Coming out of the bathroom, the darkness outside the window had deepened further. The cold air stung his nose. He realized that winter was approaching quickly.

‘Should I start the fireplace soon…’

There was still some firewood left from last winter. Kafka opened the cover of the fireplace in the corner and filled it with fresh logs. When he struck a match and lit it, the flame quickly blazed up and warmth circulated through the room.

The smell of dry wood. It was a scent that had been covered by Millenka’s smell and was rarely noticed, making it feel unfamiliar.

He crouched and sat in front of the burning fireplace for a while, watching the flames. Perhaps fatigue had accumulated without him realizing it, as his limbs felt heavy and droopy.

While his chest felt heavy as if weights were attached to his heart, he felt a sharp pain. Since this was nothing new anymore, Kafka quietly got up and opened the pouch containing Millenka.

When he lit the incense burner, the smell of wood and flames was quickly covered and disappeared. For some reason, emptiness washed over him. He wasn’t sleepy, but he had no desire to do anything else, so he quietly lay down on the bed.

As he lay flat counting the patterns on the ceiling, he heard a knock.

“Come in. The door’s open.”

There was only one person who would visit at this hour. Without needing to look, he answered while lying still, and soon Soren entered the room.

“You didn’t even lock the door? That’s dangerous.”

“It’s inside the academy, what’s the big deal? You were going to come anyway.”

“Were you waiting?”

“Well…”

“If you were waiting then you were waiting, if not then not. What’s with ‘well’?”

Soren chuckled. He pulled over a chair from in front of the table and sat right next to the bed. When he turned his head, he could see Soren sitting with his legs crossed.

After checking that there was plenty of Millenka left in the incense burner, Soren turned his head to look at the fireplace blazing brightly.

“You started the fireplace. Were you cold?”

“I got a bit cold after coming out of the bath.”

“That’s because you don’t dry your hair properly.”

Large hands stroked his hair that still held moisture. Drowsiness came over him from the repeated touch like petting a puppy. Kafka stared blankly into the distant air, then sniffled and turned to lie facing Soren’s direction.

“Did you eat dinner?”

“I wasn’t in the mood so I didn’t eat.”

“You skip meals whenever you get the chance. I told you not to do that.”

“I won’t die from skipping one dinner. It’s not like I starve every day.”

What about you? When he casually asked, the answer came back that he had eaten. It seemed he hadn’t just been trapped in the headmaster’s office listening to talk. Red eyes quietly looked at Kafka. It was an unusually troubled expression, unlike him.

“Did something happen?”

He asked while pretending not to know, though he roughly had an idea. Soren lowered his gaze for a moment as if conflicted. Regardless of his mood, since he wanted to understand the situation, Kafka lightly placed his hand on Soren’s thigh to urge him on. Soren naturally covered it with his own hand and stroked the back of Kafka’s hand with his thumb.