Chapter 97 - Social Distancing (3)

Of course, Yuna's spirit wasn't broken by that alone. As one of the main characters of , Yuna possessed a considerable level of mental strength.

Whether it was right to bring up the mental strength she possessed as a protagonist of Arche in a situation like this, I wasn't sure.

Anyway, that's why Yuna had been looking for opportunities to talk to Rain several times over the past five days.

To confirm whether he was really uncomfortable with her.

However.

-Ah, I don't think I can eat with you. I have a prior engagement.

-My schedule…… you say. A moment is fine, but…….

Ironically, through that effort, Yuna came to know clearly.

The fact that Rain was intentionally avoiding her.

What kind of reaction would Yuna, who had come to realize this, show?

“Ughhh…… ugh……”

As she usually did, Yuna was once again holed up in her dorm bed, groaning.

The only difference was that, unlike before, it wasn't a self-reproach accompanied by kicking the blankets, wondering why she had done that, but a groan full of disappointment.

‘Here we go again…….’

In the four-person room of Nova Hall, two of the roommates, excluding Kaylee, had returned to their hometowns for the break, so Yuna's friend, Kaylee, had to bear that groaning all by herself.

***

“It’s started again.”

“Yeah.”

“Yeah……”

It might have been a natural course of action for Yuna's friends—that is, Shasha, Kaylee, and Michel—to hold a meeting to discuss countermeasures after that.

“……But aren't we meeting too often? It was three times last semester alone, and already……”

“That's true.”

It was a remark with some bite to it, but anyway, they set that aside. There was an important topic at hand.

And that was about Yuna's current state.

One might think. They're just friends of the same age, and Yuna isn't a thoughtless person, so is it right to be this overprotective?

However, there was one thought the three of them shared when they looked at Yuna…….

“It’s like looking at a child left by the water……”

Yes, this part. The impression that Yuna in matters of love was truly a child was precisely that.

Originally, the most prominent feature of Yuna's personality was her easy-going nature…… but after spending a semester with Yuna, the three of them came to realize that her easy-going nature stemmed from ignorance.

And that's why they had no choice but to take an overprotective attitude towards Yuna.

When it came to relationships between men and women, Yuna was a complete blank slate.

To what extent? To the extent that she wasn't even properly aware of her own feelings.

One day, Shasha, who was the most proactive on this topic among the group, had asked.

“Yuna, are things going well with that Rain-ssi lately?”

And for good reason; at that time, when Yuna brought up recent events, a significant number of the topics were related to Rain.

“Going well?”

“No…… yeah, well…… your relationship with him and all……”

“Relationship?”

But it took quite a long time to make her understand the core of the story.

And for good reason; to directly say words like 'like' or whatnot…… was honestly a bit embarrassing……!

It was because Shasha was not innocent enough to say such things coolly.

Anyway, after beating around the bush, Shasha finally made Yuna understand her original intention, but…….

“You think I like him? No way!”

That was the answer that came back.

Contrary to expectations, Yuna vehemently denied Shasha's words, and the words that followed were truly a masterpiece.

“It’s just…… my chest feels a little tight whenever I think about him, and just. He comes to mind sometimes…… it’s just that.”

……Overwhelming purity.

Hearing that, Shasha couldn't help but feel her mind go blank.

“Keoheuk……”

“……What's wrong?”

“N-nothing……”

‘Too pure……!’

Yuna was certainly pure. Pure, but…… there was one problem.

That purity was not the purity of a princess from a fairy tale, but the purity of an elementary school student.

The purity of an elementary school student who couldn't even properly understand her own feelings, whether she liked someone or not.

Such purity was a factor that brought about a sense of vertigo rather than…… the heartwarming feeling of watching a fairy tale.

And not only Shasha, who felt it on the spot, but also Kaylee and Michel, who heard the story later, came to share that impression.

Anyway, to think that this teddy bear was in a close relationship with a man who was rumored to be a playboy (though the truth couldn't be confirmed).

And from the circumstances…… she had such and such feelings for him.

If the rumor about him being a playboy was true…… the result was obvious. She would give him her all and get nothing but hurt in return.

That had to be stopped. At all costs. Even if it was just to protect this soul as pure as an elementary school student.

And even if it wasn't that kind of ending…… honestly, everyone knew that with Yuna's current attitude, there was no hope either way.

That's why, no matter how they viewed Rain, overprotection of Yuna had to be their basic stance.

“Haa……”

“Haa……”

“Haa……”

The three of them let out a deep sigh, with no one being the first.

It was a commendable sigh for a friend who had a long way to go.

After a meeting that lasted a full three hours, Shasha, Michel, and Kaylee were finally able to reach a conclusion.

“Then for now, let’s hear Yuna’s side of the story, shall we……?”

As Michel said, the immediate policy was decided as such.

Various alternatives were discussed, but it wasn't easy to find out at this point what specifically had caused Yuna's low mood 'again'.

“I feel like asking might just make her feel worse.”

“We have to take that into account…… anyway, we need to know what happened to be able to help.”

The conversation was summed up with a word from Shasha and Kaylee respectively.

It was true that their spirits were dampened when they thought of the feast of pure stories that would come out of Yuna’s mouth, but…… what are friends for?

‘This is when we have to help.’

Each of them thought so, and time passed again.

It wasn't that difficult for the girls to have a snack time with Yuna.

Basically, due to the isolated nature of the academy cadets, there weren't that many people who approached Yuna even after the end of the semester.

“Puuuu……”

The person in question, Yuna, just occasionally sighed unconsciously and nibbled on her refreshments.

However, Kaylee, Shasha, and Michel did not rashly bring up the main topic to Yuna.

“The semester’s over, what do you all think you’ll be doing from now on?”

Michel naturally brought up another topic, hiding the fact that the purpose of this gathering was Yuna.

It was to make Yuna herself bring up the story naturally as the conversation progressed.

“Ah, I think I’ll be getting a call from my family to come down soon…… honestly, I really don’t want to go.”

As Kaylee, who responded to Michel's words, said, the conversation was mainly about such light personal matters.

If Yuna kept her mouth shut until the very end, asking seriously would be one way, but…… the three of them had a rough idea, even though it had only been a short semester.

That Yuna would naturally bring up the story.

And just as expected, when the gathering was slowly warming up, going beyond personal matters to confessing their own worries.

“I also…… have a bit of a worry, do you want to hear it?”

As expected, Yuna began to speak.

The other three who saw Yuna like that, perhaps they were waving their arms under the table with joy.

“You know, recently, a friend and I…… have become a bit awkward? You guys don’t know him well, but……”

Hearing that, Michel thought to herself.

‘Yuna, besides us, the only person you can call a friend is that Rain-ssi and the people around him……!’

What a transparent designation of the subject. If it was Yuna-like, it was truly Yuna-like.

Putting aside the thoughts of the other two who felt the same as Michel, Yuna continued to speak.

“But…… he suddenly started keeping his distance, and I don't know why. We were getting along just fine until then……”

‘Oho.’

Kaylee was slowly getting the hang of it. The reason she was in despair instead of kicking the blankets in self-reproach as usual was that the cause was external.

“……So that's just. My worry. Am I too much of a burden……? Is that why? He was the one who approached me when I was nothing……”

Was it due to her disappointment, or had her guard naturally lowered while talking?

‘Now she doesn’t even think about hiding who it is…….’

Shasha couldn't help but worry anew about this incredibly simple creature.

But did the girls know that those impressions were nothing compared to the words Yuna was about to say?

“Our positions are so different, did I act too friendly…… did he just put up with me until now?”

Yuna muttered, hanging her head with a gloomy expression.

Come to think of it, that was true. Looking at it coolly, from Yuna's perspective, it was also true that Rain was a person from a different world.

Though he was in a persecuted position for being an illegitimate child, a bastard…… wasn't he in reality standing tall as a close associate of the first princess?

From Rain's perspective, it was a means of survival, and it was Rain who had boldly attempted it, but…… from the perspective of an outsider like Yuna, it wouldn't have been strange to think that they lived in different worlds from the beginning.

Besides, what was it, a family of salvation? The Three Founding Families? He also had formidable connections, such as being the daughter of a family with a great name, the daughter of the current Magic Tower Master, and so on.

It was a newfound fact, but looking back on it with this incident as a trigger, it was certainly plausible to feel the difference in the worlds they lived in.

“I…… don’t have any strange thoughts. I don't want anything from him by his side……”

And the phrase that followed.

“It’s good just being with him……”

At this point, it seemed clear that Yuna was not speaking from a rational standpoint, but was pouring out all her inner feelings as she felt them.

‘Keoheuk……!’

And that fresh phrase, coming from Yuna’s pure heart…… dealt a considerable blow to the girls' minds.

To put it in an image, the shock was enough to make one imagine spitting blood.

Imagine a girl in front of you actually reciting a line that would only appear in a romance novel.

Well, it was understandable that it would be a bit hard to bear. Especially for a teenage girl who was sensitive to such things……!

‘This is heavier than I thought……!’

And as Michel thought, the fact that her feelings for Rain were more serious than expected must have also been a shock.

Tremble, tremble, tremble, tremble.

“Keuheup, cough……!”

Kaylee brought a teacup to her lips with a trembling hand, but she choked and coughed repeatedly.

‘What should we do……?’

‘This is deeper than I thought…….’

‘Ugh.’

As they recognized that the problem was deeper than they thought, none of the three could easily open their mouths.

And so, the time of the tea party just flowed by without them being able to come up with any particular answer.

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