“Hey! Nice to be working with you, Zenon!”
“Wha…!?”
It was the day of the quest, and Zenon was shocked to see Yuugo greet him with a smile on his face.
Why was Yuugo there…? Thought Zenon, but he was very troubled when he immediately thought of the answer.
Surely it was because Melt invited him. The quest even mentioned that they wanted as many people as possible, so there was no reason not to invite Yuugo.
Zenon chastised himself for being so excited a few days before, and not considering this possibility at all, while Yuugo spoke to him with a bright tone.
“Are you feeling better? Your wounds were pretty bad, right?”
“Y-yes… I’m fine now, yes.”
Zenon heard that it was Yuugo who carried him to the infirmary after he was beaten by Rush.
And as he heard that dark history being dug up, he cursed at Yuugo with an unpleasant expression on the inside.
(Are you telling me to thank you for saving me? Dammit, of all people, I had to be saved by this guy!?)
Yuugo really was just concerned about Zenon, but Zenon’s preconceptions and hatred twisted his thoughts, and led him to misconstrue Yuugo’s words.
Zenon figured talking to Yuugo any more would just make him remember more things he would rather not… So he left Yuugo.
After he left, Melt, who was watching their conversation, spoke to Yuugo while looking at Zenon’s back.
“What’s with him? He could at least say thank you to the one who saved him… I really don’t like him…”
“Don’t say that. Guys are sometimes too proud to be honest. Especially someone who’s been running his mouth.”
Marcos was like that too, right? Yuugo stuck up for Zenon by bringing up the name of his absent friend.
Melt watched him with an awkward smile on her face, which turned into a regular one as she heard Yuugo being completely unbothered by Zenon’s attitude.
(I like Yuugo better. He’s nice, and I can trust him…)
She had only met Yuugo a month before, but she knew very well he was not the bad person everyone around them said he was.
He was caring with his younger brother, kind to children, and thought about people’s feelings like he just did with Zenon. Melt saw and heard things that reflected his honest character numerous times, so her favorability towards him was high in a real way, and not in the context of a game’s system.
Even when she felt uneasy about Zenon speaking to her in a weirdly chummy way, and asked Yuugo to accept the quest with her, he immediately accepted it without a hint of displeasure on his face… She saw Yuugo not just as not bad, but as good, and liked him as a person.
(I want to support Yuugo, even if not as much as Phi. Although I’m still not in a position to say that.)
She could not match someone who had spent years with Yuugo as a family member, but she knew how misunderstood he was, and plenty of his good qualities.
It was still too early for her to puff out her chest and say that, and she wanted to get to know him better.
(There’s no need to rush. After all, we basically just met.)
She wanted to close that distance slowly, as a friend.
If she did that, she would surely create a different kind of relationship with Yuugo than Phi.
Melt had a light smile on her face as she thought this, and Yuugo spoke to her while tilting his head.
“What is it Melt? Something funny?”
“No, nothing! Anyway, this job requires us to sleep away from home. Are you all right? Aren’t you going to be lonely without Phi?”
“It’s fine. I wanted him to see stuff like the sights on the mountain though… That main road we went to before was beautiful too. I wish he could’ve seen it…”
As Melt heard Yuugo sound regretful, she thought he really was nice.
It made sense for Phi to not accompany them, since it was work, but she still threw out words of encouragement to the regretful Yuugo.
“Don’t worry. You can think of this as preparation for when you come visit with Phi! We can climb the mountain and check the routes while doing the deliveries, and investigate things for the next time you come!”
“Preparation… That’s true. The job itself is simple, so it’s a perfect opportunity to check how difficult it is to climb this mountain! Thanks Melt!”
Yuugo’s cheerful laugh as he thanked Melt reached the ears of the other students.
They thought he was not feeling nervous at all, but also that he was right. This was not about fighting or going on an unknown adventure, it was a simple job. It would be stranger if he was too worked up.
But Zenon sneered, since he knew everything.
(Ha! What an easygoing guy, setting up a flag like that! Well, he’s going to be the first to go down, giving me the chance to approach Melt, so go ahead and do it!)
He continued to laugh mockingly, as he knew the event that happened in this quest in the game.
If he played his cards right, he could kick down Yuugo, and satisfy all of his desires.
And as everyone had their own expectations on their minds, the ten or so students formed a line as they left the academy, on their way to the Yum-yum mountain to the north.
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Lmao sorry buddy but melt’s event is gonna happen with yuugo not you. Oh it’s going to be so satisfying to see gow things won’t go like how zenon plans it.