Chapter 140 - The Day of the Exchange Meeting (2)

“……What on earth are you doing here.”

The deep, low voice, familiar to Yuna's ears, was tinged with a hint of exasperation.

Although Yuna sometimes felt embarrassed by that voice, given the situation, she might have even felt a sense of welcome this time.

“……You, just in time……!”

In that moment when Yuna, her face lighting up with relief, turned around, or more precisely, the moment she saw the boy behind her.

“……”

Yuna stopped in her tracks, unable to finish her sentence.

It wasn't for any special reason. It was simply because of the boy's appearance that entered her eyes—infinitely familiar yet subtly different from usual.

Not the usual school uniform, but a neatly worn black tailcoat with patterns, a handsome face that was even more refined than his usual neat appearance, and his characteristic gloomy yet quiet aura.

To put it simply, it was because of the dolled-up appearance of the boy who had always been on her mind.

“……”

If it had been the usual Rain Yuna knew, he would have called out, ‘Yuna-ssi,’ to awaken her from her sudden halt… but for some reason, the boy also said nothing. He just stood there, watching.

“……Uh, umm. Oh. Long time no see.”

Flustered by the unfamiliar silence, Yuna barely regained her senses and threw out some random words.

“It’s hardly been a long time, we saw each other yesterday……”

“……It’s just an expression.”

Because they were truly random words, she had to endure Rain's retort, but perhaps it was that ever-present retort that pulled Yuna back to her daily reality.

Yuna wondered what else she should say after that, but…….

“Then let’s go in.”

Rain, as if it were nothing, lightly pointed towards the hall with his finger and said so calmly.

Until then, Yuna had been hesitating with all sorts of thoughts, but what kind of reaction would she have when pushed from behind like that?

“Uh, oh! Let’s go!”

She had no choice but to respond with her characteristic flustered, exaggerated tone.

And so, the two of them started walking slowly towards the hall.

However, this only meant a change in location; it wasn't the same as Yuna's mind having calmed down.

‘I’m going crazy……’

Honestly, at this point, the nervousness about the Exchange Meeting was not a big problem.

What was currently making Yuna's head spin was the boy walking right beside her.

“Now’s your chance, go and completely mesmerize him!”

“With this, it might really be possible……”

“That’s not it!!”

Yuna recalled the fuss her friends had made before she left the academy, seeing her appearance.

Yuna had dismissed their fuss by shouting, but on the other hand, she didn't think it was an entirely impossible story.

‘Honestly, at this level… isn’t it pretty great?’

Her characteristic boastful personality had popped out, but in reality, Yuna's current appearance was worthy of such an evaluation.

It was the moment when the blood and sweat of her three friends, and the discerning eye of Regina who had sent the dress, shone brightly.

“……”

However, the problem was that Rain's reaction was utterly composed.

‘Why is his reaction so… no. He wasn't one for big reactions in the first place, but still……’

A reaction as calm as ever.

It simultaneously reminded her of her own shaken state when she saw the boy and served to lower Yuna's confidence.

Combined with various factors like the utterly unfamiliar place and the environment filled with people she thought she would never associate with in her life, it gradually chipped away at the girl's confidence in that short time.

‘……Does it not suit me well?’

‘Am I even supposed to be here?’

And, just as such thoughts arose.

The boy's voice was heard.

“Are you perhaps anxious?”

“……Uh, huh?”

“I was just asking out of concern… but I thought you might be thinking that.”

Rain spoke as if he could see right through Yuna's heart. Just like always.

Though it was infuriating that he didn't realize he himself was part of the cause of that worry.

“……I don’t know.”

Yuna answered vaguely and just lowered her head.

“Don’t be so intimidated.”

And at that reaction, Rain opened his mouth again and continued his story.

And the words that came out of his mouth far exceeded Yuna's expectations.

“I was too embarrassed to say it, but you look really beautiful. I don't have the knowledge to express exactly how, though.”

“……Eh, huh?”

“I think you can be confident. I looked around, and I don't think you would lose to anyone in this hall.”

A voice that was incredibly calm for someone who had mentioned being embarrassed.

And Yuna's reaction after hearing that was…….

“……”

Yes, as expected, Yuna was just dumbfounded. And for good reason, he had never once complimented her appearance before.

Not just limited to her, but he wasn't the type to enjoy discussing someone's appearance in the first place. That's what she had known until now.

But he was saying it.

That she looked really beautiful. So much so that she wouldn't lose to anyone here.

‘Ah, ughhhh……’

Yuna's face, with her head bowed, turned bright red. Since her head was bowed, she could avoid showing Rain her flushed face, but the problem was that the girl's ears had turned even redder than her face.

‘……What do I do, the heat won’t go down……’

What kind of expression was she making, was Rain looking at her reacting like this, what if he asked why she was like this.

More than the joy stemming from the compliment, Yuna's mind was filled with such thoughts.

“……”

Seeing Yuna's lack of response, Rain scratched his head and then started walking again without a word, and so, silence fell between the two.

Thud, thud.

Click, clack.

Amidst the bustling scene, as the familiar sound of Rain's footsteps and the awkward sound of her own heels echoed in her ears, Yuna thought again.

‘……What am I doing right now……’

I dressed up so nicely, my friends went all out to prepare for me, Rain even complimented me, so what on earth am I doing?

Getting dizzy over one compliment, unable to even say thank you, unable to convey a single word from my heart.

‘……Pathetic.’

That was the thought she reached at the end of her embarrassment.

A sense of patheticness felt for her own miserable state.

But Yuna's thoughts did not stop there, and something else came to mind.

‘I don’t want to end up being pathetic.’

That was the nature of the person named Yuna.

Though she was immature in every way, though she was ashamed of her own flaws, she still had the desire to become better.

That feeling pushed Yuna's bowed back.

“……Thanks.”

“Pardon?”

“Thank you……”

“For what?”

Was the gap too long for the words of gratitude to be conveyed as they were? What came back was a question, but Yuna did not stop.

“That, well. For saying I look good……”

“It’s not something to be thanked for. I wasn’t just being polite.”

To her courageous thanks, Rain added as if it were nothing new.

“You, you really……”

Though the person who heard those words was in a very complicated state of mind.

“……?”

The fact that the person who said it was also unaware of it was a factor that made Yuna feel somewhat annoyed.

‘It’s always me who’s flustered……!’

Perhaps because of that annoying feeling, Yuna took another step forward.

“You, you look good too! In that suit. Um. You look good normally, but now you look much, uh… cooler!”

She had honestly said what she had felt when she first saw the changed Rain.

Her face was already bright red. It was difficult to even start.

But Yuna said those words. To stop being pathetic to herself.

Was it a reward for that courage?

“……”

At those words, Rain avoided Yuna's gaze and scratched his cheek.

And, on the sickly impression that had been consistently calm, some emotion arose.

“……Thank you, honestly I’m a little…… surprised. I didn't expect to receive such a direct compliment.”

A brief silence followed, but finally, the boy opened his mouth and left those words.

Yuna could clearly feel the emotion that arose on Rain's face. With her characteristic sharp intuition.

That emotion was, embarrassment.

‘Huh?’

Yes, the boy was clearly embarrassed by the compliment. So much so that a crack appeared in his iron-wall-like expressionless face.

What did that mean? A question might have arisen about that, but…….

“He’s embarrassed! You were embarrassed just now!”

Yuna exclaimed with great delight. The joy of seeing a new side of the boy, and the thrill of being able to turn the tables on him after always being swayed, took precedence over other thoughts.

“……I was not.”

“What do you mean you weren’t, you were scratching your cheek and everything!”

“As for you, Yuna-ssi, earlier……”

“Ah, ahhhhh!! Be quiet!!”

Did it mean that even if the clothes change, the contents remain the same? The two walked on, exchanging such conversations as usual. Just like always.

And as she was lost in such thoughts and had almost reached the front of the hall, Yuna suddenly realized that her nervousness had already vanished without a trace.

***

Hmm, honestly, I was a little flustered. I didn't expect Yuna to compliment me so straightforwardly.

No, well, she was an honest person in the original Arche too. She had complimented the other male protagonists as well, but… hmm.

Why was that? Anyway, it was true that I was somewhat surprised.

Receiving a compliment was a little embarrassing, so I was a bit flustered too.

Anyway, let's move on from that story. It's somehow awkward.

“……It’s huge.”

As I stepped into the hall, I muttered to myself.

Was it because it was a hall located in the bustling downtown of Endinium, where the headquarters of the knight order's second-largest branch was located? I was also somewhat overwhelmed by the immense scale.

“Wow……”

Yuna's reaction was the same. Neither she nor I had ever had the chance to come to a place like this.

And as we stood there blankly at the entrance, looking around for a moment…….

“Oh, junior?”

A voice that wasn't very familiar, but one I had heard a few times before, came through.

A voice slightly more mature than ours, one that even felt somewhat friendly. Hearing it, I immediately recognized who the owner of the voice was.

And I turned around.

“……Pleta-sunbaenim?”

The owner of the voice was Pleta Templeton, one of the seven protagonists of Arche and a knight I had become acquainted with during the last joint grade evaluation.

And she was also a key figure in this Exchange Meeting event.