Chapter 42: Fake Stigmata (5)

For Yelena Frost, life was a debt owed to her parents.

A life that should have ended that day, extended instead, given a few years to someday take revenge on the monsters.

So Yelena didn’t form human relationships.

Even the nanny who had raised her all her life was just someone Yelena was grateful to.

She had always thought that clinging to a world she would eventually leave was a truly useless, irrational, and foolish act.

The problem was, humans are irrational, foolish, and stupid beings. Humans are inherently incapable of making cool-headed judgments devoid of emotions.

That’s why people yearn for what they don’t have. Yelena was no exception. She just didn’t admit it to herself, but Yelena yearned for friendships.

Maybe that’s why. The thought of a girl named Sian kept popping into her head.

A cute girl who is always bold yet cautious. A kind girl who feels considerate every time they talk. So Yelena liked Sian.

Every time she sees Sian, she wants to keep her close, and when she’s having fun talking with others, an unexplainable discomfort rises from a corner of her heart.

Just like now.

“…”

Sian is tightly hugging a girl with water-colored hair, and the girl with water-colored hair is gently hugging Sian back.

Yelena had seen that girl before. Probably the girl who was in the same group as Sian during the midterm exam.

“I think her name was… Elissa.”

Sian always comes to the training grounds at this time. So she made time to come and spar with her, even if she didn’t have any.

Yelena’s expression hardened as she watched the two girls, who were almost engaging in affection.

She herself hadn’t been able to get that close to Sian. It was somehow unpleasant to see a girl she had only met a day ago sticking so close.

“…”

The people of the Frost family, who have reigned as rulers of the North, are obsessively possessive to a fanatical level.

The Frost family were the pioneers who built the first village in the barren North, and the warriors who blocked the endless waves of magical beasts.

The average temperature drops below minus twenty degrees Celsius at the northernmost tip. Crops that die at the drop of a hat and famines that are close to everyday life.

Magical beasts that pound on the walls of the absolute defense line whenever they feel like it.

Living a lifetime in such a place was not something that could be done with a sane mind. It was the reason why the Frost family, with their strong obsession with pioneering and combat, was the only one remaining in the North.

However, Yelena was a little different.

She was someone who had lived like a machine all her life and had just learned the warmth of a person for the first time. The heart of a teenage girl turned towards a single girl, not pioneering and combat.

The instincts of the northern warriors are incredibly sharp.

The girl’s senses, honed by a lifetime of living on the battlefield, were not bad either.

She could easily tell that Sian had worries these days, and that she couldn’t sleep properly because of those worries.

So, she feels like she’s been strangely distant from Sian these days.

She seems to be spending a lot of time with Regina and talking about something. Why doesn’t she say anything to me?

She was already feeling an unexplainable sense of alienation. But now, another girl has entered between them.

Maybe that’s why.

Without realizing it, a slightly sharp voice came out.

“…Sian?”

“Ah, Yelena!”

“Hello, Yelena. I’m Elissa, from the 1st year magic department, B class.”

I waved my hand at Yelena, glad to see her.

Since Elissa is suspected of being a fake Stigmata holder, it’s awkward to call Elin-sensei. And just when I was wondering how to practice with Elissa, Yelena came.

“…Swordsmanship Department, A class, Yelena.”

However, for some reason, Yelena’s atmosphere was a bit sharper than usual. The silver eyes, holding the cold of the North, scanned us.

An intangible energy settled lightly in the space. An unconscious release of mana, often expressed as ‘killing intent’. Elissa’s body trembled slightly.

“So, why are you here with my ‘friend’?”

“Ugh….?”

Perhaps because Elissa and I were together. Yelena stared at Elissa with a cold, expressionless face.

Yelena was a girl who always showed an icy appearance in front of others. It seemed like she was hiding her true self because Elissa was next to her.

Still…I think this is a problem that time will solve. She seems to be getting along well with Regina, so I think she’ll eventually open up to Elissa if they hang out together.

Thinking that, I stepped forward and interrupted Yelena’s words.

“Didn’t you say you were busy lately?”

“Well, I just had some free time, so I came. Sian always comes to the training grounds around this time, right?”

Yelena’s voice might seem indifferent at first glance. But Yelena’s subsequent actions were as unreserved as when they were alone.

“Ugh…?”

Taking advantage of the moment when I moved away from Elissa to talk to Yelena, Yelena took a step closer to me.

Yelena, who is about 10cm taller than me, came close, and before I knew it, I was looking up at Yelena cutely.

And, Yelena hugged me just like that.

…Somehow, I feel like I’ve become a doll.

It seems like every girl I meet these days strokes my hair and hugs me.

No, of course I like it. Since I was a man in my previous life, I don’t feel any resistance to a girl getting this close.

Is it because it’s a world inside a dating sim game? Yelena, Regina, Elissa, and Elin-sensei are all beautiful and unique girls. There’s no reason to dislike it when such girls hug me…

“Yelena…?”

Yelena hugged my body, which was startled and backing away, tightly. As if to trap me in her arms.

For some reason, Yelena seemed to have become more aggressive. Yelena’s hands holding me were full of strength. It was clearly different from usual. Only then did I realize why Yelena was so sharp.

Is she having a hard time these days?

Yelena was not a girl who would carelessly speak out about her worries or hardships. The black sword of the North, tempered by the harsh cold, was frozen even in its heart.

“Have you been having any trouble lately?”

“…No.”

Yelena’s voice, saying that, was trembling slightly. Anyone else might not notice, but it wasn’t the kind of expression Yelena, who was always full of confidence, would make.

This is definitely not okay.

Is she unable to speak in front of Elissa because of her image as the Northern Grand Duchess? Or is it just simply awkward for her to confide in others?

I silently hugged Yelena back, then released her and took a step back. Only then did Yelena’s hands, which had been holding me, loosen slightly.

This is the chance. Since Yelena’s heart seems to have softened a little, I should ask her what kind of worries she has.

It’s a bit funny for me, a loner who didn’t have a single friend in my previous life, to talk about good friends… Anyway, good friends are those who listen to each other’s worries.

“Yelena. Can you come to my room later?”

“…Yes.”

Only then did Yelena’s sharp atmosphere subside. Yelena answered simply and looked at the girl next to me.

Yelena took a deep breath inwardly.

What happened just now was really not like her.

Heart hot. Head cold. Burn your fighting spirit, but don’t lose your rational judgment. It’s what she’s heard countless times as the eldest daughter of the Frost family.

A warrior must not let their reason be consumed by emotion. Frost is a ruler, not a berserker. The ruler protects the people.

So she shouldn’t be shaken by something like this. If she gets shaken by something like this, will she be able to take revenge properly later?

“…”

Sian is cute, kind, bold, considerate, and affectionate. Yet, she’s a charming girl with her own strength. It’s natural for such a girl to make other friends.

She and Sian are not in a romantic relationship, and she has no right to stop her from making friends. So why did she do that?

When she gets involved with Sian, she feels strange. The warmth of a person she feels for the first time keeps blurring her rational judgment.

But she doesn’t dislike this feeling.

The desire to have the girl named Sian keeps clashing with her reason. Because the relationship called friendship can be formed with so many people, she unknowingly wants a relationship beyond friendship-

“Huu…”

She suppressed the unknown emotions that were boiling up with reason. It was still okay. Although there were some mistakes, her reason was still ahead of her desire for Sian.

Yelena, having organized her thoughts, slowly opened her mouth.

“You said your name was Elissa?”

“Yes.”

“…I’m sorry for speaking so sharply to you when we just met.”

“Haha, it’s okay. You don’t need to apologize.”

Elissa answered like that and smiled her usual gentle smile. Thanks to that, the awkwardness between Yelena and Elissa was reduced a little.

I took that opportunity to talk to Yelena.

“Right, Yelena. Can you help us a little?”

“I can’t say no. I came because I had some free time.”

“Thank you. I needed someone to play Elissa’s opponent.”

I held Yelena’s hand and continued.

“So, can you spar with Elissa once?”