The Gloomy and Timid Princess Heads to the Academy

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I hadn’t seen those church folks for the past few days. They were punctual with their classes, but once lessons ended, they would haunt me like ghosts, and now, they had vanished for three days.

These guys weren’t particularly skilled at hiding, so I couldn’t have missed them. It meant they had something else going on. I didn’t think much of it, but I felt good about it since they were the ones I preferred to avoid.

Still, I was curious. Had they finally stopped following me because they lost their reason to stalk me, or did they have other things to attend to? I hoped it was the former, but I doubted it.

“…Here, try this too. I read that it’s good for your health. Don’t ask where it’s beneficial.”

Dokan seemed to finally realize that I genuinely cared for him, as he didn’t complain about my food selections anymore.

He occasionally added what he wanted, but he didn’t remove what I served, so that was fine. He should be eating what he likes too.

It was hard to understand that what he wanted to eat was some bizarre vegetable.

“Oh, is that salmon today? At least it’s better than tomatoes.”

I wanted to wholeheartedly agree with Dokan’s remark. No matter how much I hated it, salmon was meat, and how could it be compared to greens?

Seeing him enthusiastically wolf down all sorts of food assured me that my choices were good. Maybe I should make him a meal someday.

…But the only thing I could cook was instant noodles, and since there weren’t even instant noodles in this world… that was wishful thinking.

“…Um, enjoy your meal.”

I pondered if there was anything else I could do for him, but nothing came to mind. The only thing I’m good at is reading, but I can’t exactly take him to the library and offer to read him a novel.

Even I knew that was not something an introvert like me should do. It’d just trouble the people there, and there was no guarantee Dokan would even like it.

Hmm. I really wanted to do something. Was there anything I could do?

As I stew in that gloomy thought while busying myself with my spoon, Dokan must have noticed the frown on my face and immediately asked.

“Is there something bothering you?”

“…Oh, it’s nothing big. It’s just that you do so much for me, and it’s making me feel down knowing I can’t really do anything for you.”

Looking back, all I had done was pay for dessert and tutoring, and chat with him.

“Ah, well, don’t be too disheartened by it. There are people in the world who help just by being there.”

“…Really? That must be nice; being someone who helps just by existing.”

I wasn’t being sarcastic; I genuinely meant it. It’s quite the privilege to earn goodwill without doing anything. But wouldn’t it feel burdensome to keep receiving goodwill like that without giving anything back?

“…This isn’t about someone else; you, Ho-yeon, are precisely that person. You’ve already done a lot for me, whether you realize it or not.”

…Huh, me? No, what have I done? The only thing I had done was stick close to Dokan, and I had even interfered with him at times!

“Really…? Are you saying… just by being here, I’m helping you?”

“Yep. I get energized just seeing you.”

That… can’t be something you say to someone who’s been forcefully feeding you, can it…?

“…Just eat already! What are you saying all of a sudden…?”

“No, really. How can I not feel motivated when I see someone I care about?”

Why is he acting this way in front of everyone…?!

Sometimes, I wonder if he has any sense of shame. It seems like he has no problem saying embarrassingly sweet things casually.

Moreover, the fact that he meant it with 100% sincerity just made my heart race. I couldn’t just leave since he still had some food left on his plate.

Well, it looks like I have no choice, then.

“Ho-yeon… huh?!”

I shoved a spoonful of food into his mouth while he was talking. Of course, it wasn’t my spoon.

“…Don’t talk while eating, just eat…!”

I could tell Dokan hadn’t expected this method, and he fumbled before managing to swallow… I kept shoving food in every time he paused… I felt like something was off, but I didn’t really feel guilty.

After all, this was all Dokan’s fault. Who speaks like that in front of others? Not realizing that my actions only attracted more attention, I hurried out of the restaurant.

“…In the future, don’t say things like that in front of others…!”

I am weak to kindness. It seems like Dokan didn’t realize he should be thankful it didn’t go any further.

“Wait, but that was a compliment…”

If I had to guess his feelings, it’d probably be something like, “Why am I being punished for complimenting you?” But it was embarrassing.

“When you’re complimented in front of people, it’s just embarrassing…”

It seemed that as soon as I said that, Dokan finally understood what he did wrong. Well, I guess an extrovert might not know that someone could genuinely feel shy over a compliment.

“…Oh, I see. I’ll be more careful from now on. So, when we’re alone, it’s okay to say anything, including compliments, right?”

…Um, is that how it works? I mean, when it’s just the two of us, there’s no problem. I can say things I’d never say in front of others. When it’s just the two of us, my embarrassment fades away.

“…Yeah. When it’s just us… no problem.”

But why do I feel so uneasy? There’s something sneaky about him that feels off.

“Hmm… So, Ho-yeon, you know we’re going to the Grand Forest in about a week, right?”

I knew that. I heard it was a close call with a few votes. Honestly, I didn’t care where we went, but forests always felt a bit more comforting than the sea.

“Yeah, I know. Why do you ask?”

“So, can you bring that medicine you took back then?”

On the night Dokan and I had that conversation, he asked me how I would handle it if something happened, and I reassured him by saying I took medicine.

…We’d need to test separately a few days later for an accurate result. But since it was taken on the same day, the chances are less than 1%. There was no way I could fall into that probability.

My mother says it’s possible if it isn’t zero, but that’s just because she’s my mother. It didn’t resonate much with ordinary people like us.

…But that aside, I could feel my heart racing to the point I couldn’t ignore it. Also, I felt a bit hot.

Dokan’s earlier words essentially meant he wanted to do it.

“Uh… uh… um…”

No, I was kinda in that mood earlier, but it was purely because I was driven by instinct. It’s not like I absolutely dislike it, but suddenly throwing it at me without any build-up felt quite abrupt… although maybe that’s how extroverts roll…

“Look, it’s not much different when it’s just the two of us anyway.”

As I was spiraling into thoughts of my own undoing, a single comment from Dokan snapped me back to reality. Wait, so…

Was he testing me right now?

“…Were you testing me?”

“I just wanted to know if what you said about being okay alone was true. But still, I hope you’ll bring that medicine with you. What do you think?”

“………Alright…”

It’s not much louder than the sound of an ant crawling.

—

Gloria had recovered enough to walk again within a few days.

While she still couldn’t wield her favorite weapon or dash between walls as she usually did, it was a start.

“…I see. This happened while I was lying down…”

From the raiding of spirits, the elves’ bizarre behavior, and that mysterious World Tree. Compared to Stephanie, these stories might not seem significant, but they were undeniably important pieces of information.

With Stephanie gone, the biggest threat on this continent was Ho-yeon. The scriptures also warned to be wary of those who came from the east, which makes sense.

In reality, it wasn’t completely disconnected since they were mercantile trading with some island nations, but for the people on this continent, the East remained a terrifying place.

After all, 500 years ago, demons had crossed over from the east. With Georg, who was an eyewitness from that time, naturally, fear was warranted.

“Nonetheless, between Ethan and me scouring around, we found out a lot!”

Saying that, Cecilia proudly recounted a bunch of rather trivial information.

Dokan eats more veggies than meat, Ho-yeon likes Dokan, and Camilla takes Exipri into her room every night.

Some of those pieces of information were even inaccurate, but Gloria found her admirable regardless.

“Yes, you’ve really worked hard. Come here; let’s reward you with a hug.”

Cecilia tried to escape, saying she wasn’t seeking such a reward, but it was futile to run from someone favored by the gods.

“Ugh… Are you really hurt?”

“Not all humans are weak, like the elves think.”

“That can’t be…!”

While Cecilia was lamenting her shattered beliefs, Ena looked at Decatria. She had seen his form before the big showdown and had predicted that it wouldn’t take long for him to be in trouble.

But seeing him not cause a major accident to this point meant something must’ve changed for him…

Could it be because of that elf? Gloria released the elf she was holding. Watching him gaze at that elf, she felt she understood a bit of the emotions he was experiencing.

If it were Decatria, he wouldn’t have said such a thing if it interfered with serving the gods.

Fond of meddling in others’ romances, she decided she would willingly play matchmaker for them.

“Decatria, can we have a moment just the two of us?”