Chapter 220

Thank goodness, I was able to return without any hunters or other demons attacking me.

After I got back, I went ahead and made the herbal medicine for the eyes, just as I had mentioned before.

Aside from that, I also created remedies for fatigue recovery and all sorts of potions that could help alleviate tiredness during sleep.

I used all kinds of materials for Jane, who was putting in all this hard work without caring for herself.

However, all of this work took place in Eli’s research room, not Rod’s Residence.

Even Eli would find it hard to brew potions without basic tools. That’s a given.

‘But Eli is getting tons of support from the professor.’

Unlike the eccentric Jane, Eli had a style that highlighted her genius.

She must be getting countless benefits after catching the professor’s eye. I only invested in what was necessary.

For example, herbs that are hard to find in the forest or expensive extractors, and so on.

Among all this, the most important thing was her safety. At any moment of carelessness, problems might arise.

“Sivar, what kind of person is that? Pretty?”

“Pretty.”

“As pretty as me?”

“Yeah.”

On our way to Jane’s workshop, Eli fired off a bunch of questions. She seemed genuinely curious.

“Have you met anyone else?”

“No. You’re the first, Eli.”

“Oh? Since you’re in a non-combat class, you might become friends.”

They probably could become friends. They both had their quirky sides.

Of course, Eli was more of a natural than a weirdo. She had such a cheerful personality, without any rough edges.

We stopped to grab some snacks on our way and headed to Jane’s workshop. It seemed like a good idea to have a meal together after enjoying the treats.

“Um? Oh! You’ve come! But who is that next to you…?”

“A friend.”

“Hello! I’m Eli, the herbalism specialist from the Non-Combat Class!”

Following my dull greeting, Eli launched into a vibrant introduction, which made Jane flustered and stumbling over her words.

Moreover, her gaze kept drifting down, seemingly in awe of the potion pouches Eli had.

“Ah, hello. I’m Jane from the Non-Combat Engineering Class. Nice to meet you.”

“Yes! Senior!”

“S-Senior?”

Eli confidently called Jane “senior,” which made Jane react a bit awkwardly, like she was caught off guard.

This even made Eli tilt her head in confusion.

“Isn’t it still senior if we’re in the same class, even if the departments are different?”

“I… I don’t really know about that…”

Jane was the quintessential loner. Completely absorbed in her work, with not a single friend.

Her personality was introverted, unlike Eli, so she’d probably prefer being alone. The workshop must feel like home to her.

“I made some herbs because I heard you were having eye troubles. You just need to apply this twice a day.”

“Ah… thank you.”

“And this is a fatigue remedy. Since you mentioned feeling overworked, just take it three times a day, after meals.”

“Um… okay…”

Eli explained eagerly while Jane listened with a somewhat awkward expression.

When Eli had asked me for investment before, she was so confident, and now seeing her like this felt refreshingly new.

It seemed like Eli’s bright character made Jane timid in comparison.

‘Oh, they both have short hair.’

Eli’s was slightly curly, while Jane’s was straight. Most notably, their hair colors were different.

It’s rare to see someone pull off a bob, but both of them looked great. Well, it’s only natural when you’re starting out pretty anyway.

“Who do you usually eat with, Senior?”

“I, I eat alone. It’s just more comfortable that way…”

“Oh come on! Don’t do that; you should eat with me from now on. It’s super lonely eating alone.”

“That’s fine, though…”

Hmm. The outgoing one is coaxing the introverted one. It’s quite a sight to see.

Even with all the weird rumors about Eli, her social skills were solid.

Moreover, with her looks and figure, there was no way she wouldn’t be popular with the guys. But when a guy actually approaches her, nothing happens.

Most come with ulterior motives, and Porori handles all that. Those weird rumors come from him too.

They’ll probably start having meals together from now on. Jane doesn’t seem to dislike the idea too much.

“So where do you usually eat, Senior? I usually go to a buffet.”

“I… I just have some simple bread… I eat in the workshop.”

“?”

Wait, you got that much investment, and you’re only eating bread?

I was so dumbfounded that I looked at Jane, who awkwardly pushed up her glasses and smiled nervously.

“I… just feel more comfortable in the workshop…”

“··· ···”

Eli looked at her with concern and said, “From now on, eat with me. Where do you take classes, Senior?”

“I take them in Room 302…”

“After class, just stay there. I’ll come find you.”

The introvert was chosen by the extrovert.

******

A day has passed since Eli chose Jane. The weekend wasn’t over yet.

As usual, Sivar headed towards Rod’s Residence after a simple breakfast.

Today, there wasn’t any particular plan to enter the forest. I was just going to meet Rod and, at the same time, check out Luna’s training.

“It’s been a while since I’ve entered the forest. Although, I never came in before the access restriction in the first place.”

“Yeah.”

“So what should we do first? The principal said to take care only of any threatening elements.”

And 30 minutes later, Sivar entered the woods with Kara.

Rod had given the order to deal with any threatening elements in Porori’s territory beforehand.

It might be dangerous to go alone, so I brought Kara along. By the way, I had wanted Eli to join, but that plan fell through.

The reasoning was that having Eli, who has no combat ability, around could cause trouble.

This was true, considering today’s purpose was more towards hunting rather than herb gathering.

“Let’s take a break.”

“Okay.”

Should I be relieved? Thankfully, there were no noticeable problems. Apart from external intruders, Porori’s domain was intact.

Kara sat her butt down on the ground as Sivar suggested a break. Sivar quietly sat next to her too.

Then Kara pulled out a clean cloth and started wiping the blood off her sickle. She had just taken down a wolf a moment ago.

“I always love seeing this blade. You saw how I chopped that wolf like tofu, right?”

“Yeah, I did.”

“I can only say thank you.”

The sickle Kara used was made from Usuk blades. It couldn’t possibly be bad.

In terms of sharpness, it was among the best materials. But using it carelessly could lead to injury for the user.

“Sivar.”

“Yeah?”

“If you ever need anything, just say so. I feel bad just taking from you.”

“It’s fine.”

Kara looked at Sivar, who replied nonchalantly. Was he really alright with it?

Perhaps because of that, Kara smiled brightly. She sometimes showed a silly side, and that’s why I liked her.

It’s hard not to like someone who views people objectively.

From the moment they met until now, Sivar had never distanced himself from Kara.

In fact, he could confidently say she was the closest person he had met so far.

‘What would have happened if I hadn’t met her?’

That thought unexpectedly crossed my mind. I wondered how Sivar’s academy life would have been without him.

Normally, it would be natural for the attention to fall on someone like him, who came from Tartar. Instead, all those gazes fell onto Sivar.

He went from being the one who should receive attention to the one giving it. Of course, that didn’t mean he changed completely.

“Sivar.”

“Yeah?”

“I’m just asking to be sure, but is your academy life going well?”

That made her all the more worried. Although Sivar lacks common sense, he must be stressed out.

Having lived in a place with no laws, there would be many things to think about. Even Kara felt that way.

Given the legalities here compared to Tartar, it’s easy to feel frustrated sometimes.

She was now used to it, but there were still aspects that didn’t make sense to her.

“What do you mean?”

Sivar returned the question with his characteristic blank expression, clearly not grasping the essence of the question.

Seeing his innocent reaction almost made Kara’s instincts kick in. How could every action be so cute?

But still, not yet. She barely suppressed her trembling hands and slowly opened her mouth.

“Cutting your tongue the other day was the right thing to do, but you know you shouldn’t do things like that.”

“Yeah, I know.”

“Don’t you get stressed or annoyed because of such things?”

“I do.”

So he does experience stress. Kara nodded her head.

It wouldn’t be possible—having moved from the wild, where everything is free, to civilization.

Understanding that bit by bit must also be a significant stressor for Sivar.

‘She can’t just tell him to endure it. Hmm…’

Kara was deep in thought. If it were up to her, she would want to advise him to just go wild and do whatever.

But that would be the wrong action. Even if it feels freeing, she wouldn’t trust herself to handle the aftermath.

Once, she did act that way and faced severe consequences. It was fortunate that it only resulted in community service.

‘At least the principal’s backing me up… Ah, this is giving me a headache.’

Being in the position of stopping him was far more troublesome than she expected. Were others feeling like this too?

While Kara was lost in thought, as if he noticed her internal struggle, Sivar spoke up.

“It’s okay.”

“Huh? What’s okay?”

“I just need to endure.”

Frustratingly, he came up with the most reliable solution. Kara was left speechless by his response.

Enduring must also be stressful, yet Sivar accepted it calmly. Why on earth?

“I don’t want to hurt the people I care about.”

“······Who?”

“The ones I like, so I can just endure.”

“··· ···”

Kara blinked, then broke into a smile. It was such a Sivar-like answer.

Then she shifted her posture and faced him directly.

“Sivar. Come here for a minute.”

“Okay?”

Sivar leaned in closer as Kara asked. Naturally, their faces were just a breath apart.

Kara maintained a smiling face as she held Sivar’s face with her hands.

Smack!

In that moment, before they knew it, a kiss followed. A light, breezy peck.

Caught off guard by the unexpected display of affection, Sivar wore a bewildered expression. Kara, grinning, said,

“I can’t help it. You’re just too cute.”

“Wait—”

Peck! Peck!

Another series of enthusiastic kisses ensued. Sivar closed his eyes, savoring her lips.

It was a splendidly refreshing assault that matched her bright personality. But it wasn’t all just light and airy.

Smooch—

With no one watching, Kara advanced into a deeper kiss.

Even Sivar, who had only ever experienced gentle pecks before, felt utterly flabbergasted by this deep kiss.

Was it because of that? Kara’s tongue tapped at Sivar’s lips, but they wouldn’t open.

In the end, all he could do was fervently explore her lips and draw back, leaving a faint, silver line that broke apart.

“Seems like you don’t know that much yet, huh? I thought I’d try it since there was no one else around.”

“··· ···”

“Oh! Your face is all red. You’re just adorable, I swear.”

At Kara’s words, Sivar quickly put his hand to his flushed cheek. It was burning hot.

Kara giggled at Sivar’s reaction. Each and every one of his actions felt endearing.

“So, how’s that? Does this help alleviate your stress?”

“Yeah. But my chest hurts.”

“It shouldn’t hurt this much.”

As Sivar placed his hand on his chest to calm himself, Kara leaned in closer.

After staring intently at Sivar’s face for a while, she whispered softly in his ear.

“Get ready; it’s going to hurt even more from now on.”

“··· ···”

“So brace yourself. Got it?”

Sivar didn’t respond, only looking away with a flushed face.

Kara found his bashfulness utterly adorable and pinched his cheek. He acted like a total kid.

“······Let’s go. We’ve rested enough.”

“Sure. If you ever want to take a break, just say so. I’ll give you a kiss every time.”

“Can I take a break right now?”

“Pfft!”

It was so refreshing that she liked it even more. Kara linked arms with Sivar and they continued on their way.

As the two wandered through the forest, nearing the time to return…

“Hmm…”

The hunter who had been watching their cheesy antics reached a singular conclusion.

“Seems like a beast.”

A male leads multiple females.

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