Sitting together?

Riley was flustered by the sudden situation. Is it common culture here to invite strangers to eat together?

Seeing Riley’s bewilderment, Hila hid a slight smile and whispered in Riley’s ear.

“What do you think? They both look pretty good.”

“?”

“Idiot, they’re hitting on us right now.”

“…Is that so?”

“Nevermind, let’s forget it. We’re not coming back here anyway, and unless it’s the capital, getting involved in troublesome things is pointless.”

Hila was briefly tempted by the idea of hanging out with the men, but soon changed her mind.

“I’m sorry, we’d like to eat comfortably by ourselves.”

One of the men smiled slyly at Hila’s words.

“You’re Horizon freshmen, right?”

Hila asked in surprise.

“How did you know?”

“Well, I think I saw you in the auditorium. We’re Horizon students too. Second years.”

“Ah, so you’re our seniors!”

Hearing they were from the same academy, Hila quickly dropped her guard. She didn’t seem to expect meeting seniors in a place like this.

However, Riley still doubted them.

Then the man smiled and showed his Horizon student ID.

“Will this ease your suspicions a bit?”

“Suspicions! I wasn’t suspicious, so shall we eat together? That’s okay, right Riley?”

“…Ah, yeah.”

Riley didn’t feel like sitting with them, but couldn’t bring herself to stop Hila who seemed excited.

It’s just eating together, and being too sensitive might only embarrass Hila. Besides, Hila seemed to want to eat with them.

“Want to order more drinks? We’ll treat.”

“Wow, really?”

“Of course! It’s only fitting for seniors to empty their pockets for their cute juniors.”

“By the way, how old are you juniors?”

“Ah, we’re late admission students, so we’re a bit older.”

Hila said, seeming a bit embarrassed, but the men replied as if they didn’t mind.

“Late admissions are pretty common at Horizon. It’s not really something to be ashamed of. We’re late admissions too.”

“We’re quite a bit older though.”

“If you don’t want to reveal your age, you don’t have to. We’re not going to force you.”

“Thank you for understanding.”

Hila continued various conversations. On the other hand, Riley ate quietly. As she didn’t even open her mouth until the drinks they ordered arrived, one of the men asked.

“Is that junior usually this quiet?”

“…Yes, she’s very shy around strangers.”

“Really? What’s your name?”

As Riley hesitated to answer, Hila put her arm around Riley’s shoulder and answered for her.

“I’m Hila Durle, and this is Riley Eadalin.”

“Riley Eadalin? That famous one?”

“Famous? Is Riley famous?”

“Yeah, wasn’t she known as the cursed freshman?”

Cursed freshman?

As Riley and Hila showed expressions of not knowing what this meant, one of the men burst out laughing and said.

“They say Josephine Lucan and her group ended up in the hospital because of the freshman’s curse. Not just them, but everyone who was bribed by them all got caught up in some unlucky incident like getting injured somewhere.”

According to the man, after Josephine Lucan and her group were attacked by mysterious assailants and hospitalized, other Blestage students plotted various things behind the scenes to retaliate.

However, as people kept getting injured when trying to carry out these plans, suspicion arose among them that the freshman might be able to use curse magic, and so they started calling Riley the cursed freshman and avoiding her.

“So it was you, I heard you looked really gloomy, but you don’t at all?”

“No, who spread such rumors?”

Hila openly showed her displeasure. The flustered men tried to placate her.

“We’re not saying we think that, just that such rumors were going around.”

“Whoa, calm down. We don’t believe in curses or whatever those rumors say.”

“Even so, please be careful. That’s not something you should casually say in front of the person involved, is it?”

“Yeah, we misspoke. Sorry, really sorry.”

At the men’s apology, Riley fell into a different kind of worry.

‘…Can I really use curses?’

“Riley, don’t get so serious over something like that. Those guys with bad intentions just got divine punishment from heaven, that’s all.”

“…You think so?”

“Curse magic is black magic. Magic that curses others isn’t something just anyone can use, and even among great mages, only a few can use it. And to begin with, it’s forbidden magic, so not just anyone can access it, and it’s even questionable if such magic really exists.”

Should I be glad to have become a cursed existence to an unspecified number of people?

So that’s why they ran away having fits as if they’d seen a ghost.

It was good that the childish bullying disappeared, but it doesn’t seem like a happy thing to be imprinted as a cursed existence to others. Being imprinted as a negative existence to others didn’t feel good today for some reason. Rather than being angry, it just felt a bit bitter.

Why? It was usually fine, but why am I suddenly feeling depressed?

As Hila comforted Riley who had become a bit gloomy, the drinks the men ordered arrived.

They shook the bottles, poured the drinks into cups, and pushed them towards Riley and Hila.

“This is expensive stuff, so drink it all down in one go.”

What they ordered wasn’t cocktails. It was some kind of ale, but the strong alcohol smell made their noses burn. It was obviously strong liquor. Riley quietly pushed back the glass that was handed to her.

“I can’t drink alcohol.”

“You’re going to refuse the drink I’m offering?”

“…Is that not okay?”

“Isn’t it proper manners to accept and drink without complaint when someone senior offers you alcohol?”

Riley was flustered.

Having never had proper social experience, how could she know if it was basic etiquette to accept and drink alcohol offered by seniors without complaint? Riley realized she had made some mistake and picked up the glass.

That’s when it happened.

“If you don’t want to drink it, don’t. No, even if you want to, don’t drink it.”

Someone stopped Riley’s hand as she was holding the glass.

Riley slowly raised her head.

“…You are.”

The handsome man with no name.

Long silver hair, a sharp jawline, a straight nose bridge. There weren’t many people with such distinct facial features. He was definitely the man who had helped her twice before. Yet she didn’t know his name, the rudeness that strangely resembled Master Arpeggio!

“Why are you here?”

The man didn’t answer Riley’s question. He just glared fiercely at the two men sitting across from Riley and Hila.

Moreover, the two men receiving the fierce gaze seemed to know this uninvited guest well.

They seemed cowed by the murderous aura, slinking out of their seats as they spoke.

“If these were girls you had your eye on, you should have said something earlier, Van.”

“…Still up to no good targeting girls in broad daylight. Don’t you have anything better to do?”

“Sigh, alright, we were wrong. Calm down. We’ll just leave, so tone down that expression.”

“Then get lost quickly.”

The two men who had been sitting with them gathered their things and left as if fleeing.

Stunned by the sudden turn of events, both Riley and Hila could only blink without uttering a word. Van snatched their glasses and poured the drinks onto the floor.

Finally coming to her senses, Hila flared up.

“What are you doing! Why are you pouring out other people’s drinks?”

“You shouldn’t eagerly accept things from strangers. Isn’t this basic common sense?”

“No, how is this any of your business? Isn’t it also basic manners and etiquette not to snatch other people’s glasses and pour out their drinks?”

Hila seemed angry at not being able to drink the expensive alcohol. Regardless, Van sighed and sat down across from them.

“Those guys are bad news. If you had drunk that, you would have woken up unconscious somewhere else.”

“…What do you mean?”

“They drugged it.”

“Is that really true?”

“If you don’t believe me, try drinking what’s left.”

At Van’s words, Hila flinched, and Riley asked, not understanding:

“What kind of drug…?”

“Do I really need to spell it out? Probably sleeping pills or some kind of narcotic.”

“…Why? Why would they do such a thing?”

As Riley became serious, Van sighed lowly as if dumbfounded.

“Obviously to do whatever they wanted. What kind of things would men need to drug two women for?”

“…Ah.”

“They say birds of a feather flock together, but you and your friend are both too naive.”

Hila was silent, perhaps from shock.

Her hand holding the water glass was trembling badly, showing how shocked she was. Riley wrapped her hand around Hila’s.

“It’s okay.”

“…Riley, I was foolish. For a moment, I got carried away hearing they were seniors from the same academy… I made a bad judgment.”

“It can happen.”

“I just… we outsiders rarely get chances to interact with seniors, and even though there’s a welcome party tonight, it’s obvious that the Blestage students will dominate that party anyway… I thought this was a good opportunity…”

“It’s okay, Hila. Just calm down for now.”

“I almost… to you too…”

The shocked Hila began to sob.

Riley awkwardly patted her, while Van watched this scene, clicking his tongue as if they were making a fuss.

“Don’t let your guard down so easily just because they’re from the same academy. The academy guys are all trash too. Don’t be so quick to accept strangers.”

When Hila had calmed down a bit, Riley expressed her gratitude to Van.

“You helped us again. How can I keep owing you like this?”

“As I’ve said every time, if you’re grateful, buy me a meal.”

“I will. Thank you, by the way… I heard you were looking for me recently.”

At Riley’s words, Hila perked up and said.

“Right, it was this person. The one looking for you while you were gone.”

“What did you need me for?”

At Riley’s question, he flinched and scratched his head.

“Just that I didn’t see you around like usual, so I wondered if you were dead. I didn’t have any particular business.”

“Ah, my family was sick. That’s why I couldn’t come out.”

“Ah, could the sick family be that magic tower…”

“Wait a moment.”

Riley hurriedly covered his mouth and gave him a look.

Please, don’t say anything.

Van, blinking with his mouth covered, removed Riley’s hand covering his mouth. He recalled today’s fresh tabloid newspaper.

‘Come to think of it, there was no information about this kid in any of the marriage rumor reports.’

Van recalled the fierce glare of the magic tower lord from that time.

“It’s going to come out soon anyway.”

“…”

“Alright, alright.”

Van shrugged and stood up from his seat.

“Are you leaving?”

“Of course. Did you think I’d stay here giggling with you two?”

“Then I’ll buy you a meal next time.”

“Sure, do that.”

Van was about to leave the store but stopped after a few steps. He seemed to be conscious of his surroundings as he turned back to look at Riley with disapproval.

“I’ve felt this every time, but do you have a lot of enemies?”

“?”

“Are you perhaps going around doing shady things behind that innocent face? Making enemies?”

“…No, I haven’t particularly made enemies with anyone. But I don’t know, I don’t think I’ve done anything to make enemies, but it seems like there are a lot of people who dislike me.”

“Today it seems like there are more than just the guys you usually hang around with.”

“?”

Van looked around and lowered his voice.

“Keep your wits about you.”

“?”

“You stand out too much in many ways.”

After Van left the store, Riley pondered over his parting words for a long time.

“I stand out?”

“…Hmm. Well, could it be that that man likes you?”

“What?”

“People you like usually stand out more than others. To that person, you keep catching his eye! He even went looking for you and all.”

Hila suddenly got excited and grabbed Riley’s hands.

“No, the more I think about it, it’s true! He appeared at just the right moment this time too, as if he’d been waiting! You said he helped you last time too, right? Once might be a coincidence, but two or three times? If coincidences repeat, they’re not coincidences anymore! That man must have been watching you all along!”

“…”

“He’s fallen for you!”

At Hila’s words, Riley quickly waved her hands.

“No, absolutely not!”

At their first meeting, second meeting, and third time when Givnen caught them together, he always looked at her with eyes that seemed to say he was annoyed to death. There was not a hint of affection in those eyes. How bad must it have been for her to ask if he was always so angry?

Even now, he left after giving her a look of contempt the whole time.

Hila, excited as if she herself was in love, grabbed Riley’s hands and shook them up and down mercilessly.

“This is amazing! Riley, you should go for it!”

“…Huh?”

“No, he’s so handsome. Not just handsome, but extremely handsome.”

“…”

“Riley, for men, being tall, handsome, and rich is the best. This is a truth of life. I’m not sure if that man is rich, but he’s tall and handsome, right? That’s enough, nothing else matters. Being handsome is the most important. One must be handsome. Absolutely must be handsome. Being handsome is the best, every day will be thrilling. A handsome face never gets boring no matter how much you look at it. Whatever a handsome guy does looks pretty. Why? Because he’s handsome. What remains is appearance. What gets inherited is also appearance. Therefore, being handsome is the best.”

“Didn’t you say wealth was the best before?”

“Come to think of it, if you’re handsome, wealth tends to roll in naturally.”

“?”

“Even a beggar can escape the life of poverty if they’re handsome. It means they can make a living somehow by capitalizing on their looks.”

Hila went on praising handsome men.

Moreover, she added that she herself seriously considers looks, and advised that since handsome men are as rare as jewels, not as common as street pebbles, one must seize the opportunity when it comes to avoid regrets.

“So give it a try, Riley! I’ll support you all the way!”

Instead of answering, Riley recalled the handsome face of Givnen.

Indeed, just looking at a handsome face did make one feel good. Even when Givnen acted prickly, unlike his usual self, after being poisoned and becoming overly sensitive, his behavior didn’t seem unpleasant but rather cute like a child’s tantrum.

Certainly, Hila’s praise of handsomeness seemed plausible.

However, Riley hadn’t even exchanged names with him and didn’t know his name, and besides knowing that he was a student at the academy, she knew nothing about what year he was in or how old he was. At that level, weren’t they just like strangers?

Although she had received help from him several times… There was no way he had approached her with any ulterior motives. There wasn’t even a hint of such rosy atmosphere.

Moreover.

‘I already have an even more handsome husband…’

Riley, who was contemplating whether to reveal her marriage to Givnen even now, soon shook her head.

When even the wedding date hadn’t been set, who knows what might happen in the future… There was nothing good about opening her mouth prematurely.

“I’m full, shall we go for a walk?”

“You’re changing the subject, aren’t you?”

“…Just because.”

As Riley looked uncomfortable, Hila patted her shoulder, thinking she was just being shy.

“Alright, there’s a walking path nearby. Let’s go that way.”