Awkward silence filled the air.
The only sound I could hear was the creaking of the carriage.
Robert, who was sleeping next to me, looked pitiful.
I lifted my head slightly and glanced ahead.
Luna was sitting across from me.
She had her arms crossed and was staring at me intently.
I couldn't bring myself to meet her gaze.
We were currently heading to the Railer Territory.
How did this happen?
This morning, as Robert had mentioned yesterday, I went to the laboratory.
Luna was there.
I wanted to flee.
What happened yesterday.
I tried to explain, but the misunderstanding wasn't completely cleared up.
It wasn’t a good situation.
With things like this, I couldn't just casually talk to Luna.
Of course, I knew that if I didn't speak, nothing would change.
But speaking to her right the next day was difficult.
So I tried to avoid going to the laboratory where Luna was.
I spotted Luna, but she hadn't noticed me yet.
Running away seemed like the best option.
"Where are you going?"
Just as I attempted to move, Professor Robert, who was behind me, grabbed the back of my collar.
I looked at Robert, who had detained me, with pleading eyes.
"I have... a real reason..."
Robert snorted at my response.
"What kind of reason...? Nevermind. You have to go anyway."
"Excuse me?"
"Go pack your things."
I stared at Robert, confused.
"We're heading to the Railer territory right now. Pack your stuff and meet me in front of the main building in 20 minutes."
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64ce79d606107d003c23ea27", id: "pf-5140-1"})And that's how I was 'kidnapped' by Professor Robert.
Actually, I felt positive about going somewhere with Professor Robert.
I thought that being away from the academy for a while to gather my thoughts would be good.
The issue was that the person accompanying us was Luna, and we were heading to her hometown, the Railer territory.
And now, silence.
Only the sounds of horseshoes and rolling wheels could be heard.
It felt as if I was walking on thin ice.
Luna just looked at me, saying nothing, while Robert fell asleep as soon as he got into the carriage, complaining of a hangover.
I try to gauge Luna's mood.
The usual warmth in her eyes was gone; they were cold.
Arms crossed, her expression seemed to say, 'If you have something to say, say it.'
In such a situation, who could open their mouth?
I had taken the initiative to confess something to Luna.
And in that situation, out of the blue, Rie came saying I was engaged to her.
Even if I had a hundred mouths, I wouldn't have an explanation.
If I were in her shoes, I'd be just as flabbergasted.
Of course, nothing was set in stone about the engagement.
It was just a topic of conversation for now, nothing definite.
Still, it weighed on my conscience.
Imagine how shocking it'd be if someone you liked suddenly announced they might marry your friend.
“......”
“Hmm......?”
I kept my head down, lost in thought.
“Ah......”
After a while, Robert woke up.
“I had a good sleep.”
Robert stretched lazily and alternated his gaze between the two of us.
“What's with this mood?”
“It's nothing......”
“...Yes, it's nothing.”
Luna responded as if taking a cue from my words.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64cc9e79c7059f003e4ad4b0", id: "pf-5109-1"})Robert narrowed his eyes at us, then seemingly brushed it off with a shrug.
“Hey! How much longer?”
Robert shouted out the window.
He was addressing the coachman.
“We're almost at the Gotram territory!”
“...Gotram?”
As I looked confused, Robert explained.
“Going straight to the Railer territory would be too far, so we decided to stop at a territory on the way. I have someone to meet there too.”
I felt relieved hearing this.
Being in the carriage for so long was hellish.
Especially with Luna's icy stares and my reluctance to even speak.
“Thank you......”
“...? No need for thanks.”
“We'll arrive at the territory soon!”
I sighed with relief at the coachman's words.
‘Rudy is such an idiot.’
Luna grimaced and shot Rudy a glare.
Rudy said nothing, hanging his head as if he'd done something wrong.
Seeing him like that only added to Luna's frustration.
Normally, Rudy handled things straightforwardly, but he was always awkward when it came to matters involving women.
‘Damn it... seriously...’
Luna brooded over the situation.
The carriage they were in entered Gotram territory.
Gotram wasn’t a particularly large territory.
It was just an average territory.
The most peculiar thing about it was its utter lack of peculiarities.
The carriage stopped at a moderately-sized inn in Gotram.
Theu all disembarked in front of the inn.
Upon stepping out, Rudy let out a sigh of relief, his face showing a hint of life.
“We can rest here for now. Rudy and I will stay in room 305, and Luna, you'll be in 306 alone.”
Robert tossed keys to Luna and Rudy.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "663633fa8ebf7442f0652b33", id: "pf-8817-1"})“I have somewhere to be, so just relax. And don't get into trouble.”
With that, Robert left the inn.
Rudy, watching Robert leave, sneaked a glance at Luna.
Seeing this, Luna pursed her lips in annoyance.
"Annoying."
“…!”
"Why don't you say something? Did I ever tell you not to say anything?"
"...No, it's not like that."
"What's the matter? We're going to be together for a week, are you not going to talk to me the whole time?"
“…No.”
Luna stared at Rudy, who looked completely deflated.
This morning, Luna had been thrilled when Professor Robert said he'd be taking Rudy with him.
Even though something strange had happened yesterday, the news of a trip with just Rudy had been very exciting for Luna.
She had expected it to be a fun trip, but Rudy’s demeanor made her feel upset and frustrated.
Seeing Rudy looking so regretful and not saying anything was infuriating.
She actually wanted him to come out with confidence.
It was an incident caused by Rie and it wasn't actually a big deal.
How great it would be if he could just say that.
If he had, Luna might have been willing to forgive him.
However, Rudy did not show such an attitude.
"So, you're saying that's how it's going to be?"
Luna, seeming to have made up her mind, glared at Rudy as she spoke.
The incident caused by Rie.
It happened all of a sudden without any warning.
There was no reason why Luna couldn't do something like that.
Rie was the one who had crossed the line first.
“Rudy!”
Luna pointed her finger at Rudy.
Rudy looked at Luna with a puzzled expression.
“I'm going to make you fall in love with me by the time we go back to the academy.”
“What?”
“You'll be so into me that you won't even look at anyone else. So, be prepared!”
Though she spoke with confidence, Luna’s face gradually turned red.
“Ah…”
Rudy blankly stared at Luna.
Luna, with one hand on her hip, pointed at herself dramatically.
“Tr, try to resist! Try to fight it!”
With that, Luna turned to run into her room.
“Ah.”
But Luna paused, sneaking a glance back.
“Ac, actually, it might be better if you did fall for me. So, don’t resist too hard...”
With her face turning as red as a tomato, Luna shyly said this before rushing into her room.
“Rudy is gone?”
Astina had made a big resolution last night.
And now, Rudy was missing.
“Suddenly? How? Someone plotting something?”
“…It doesn't seem like that. I heard Professor Robert took him somewhere.”
Rie replied with a serious face.
Astina and Rie were in a very serious situation.
Both Luna and Rudy had disappeared.
The only information they had was that Professor Robert had taken them somewhere.
Neither the destination nor the reason for taking them was known.
Of course, Rie knew where the two had gone.
She had heard the story Robert told Luna while looking for Astina with her yesterday.
However, she cleverly hid this fact from Astina.
Astina was a formidable competitor.
There was no reason to provide her with such valuable information.
Astina, unaware, frowned.
"I'm finally here and Rudy disappears."
"What will you do?"
Rie, looking at Astina, spoke.
In her hand, she held a bag.
"Are you going to search for him?"
"If my husband disappeared with another woman, of course, I should follow."
Astina narrowed her eyes at Rie's confident demeanor.
"You're not even engaged yet, what do you mean 'husband'?"
"Ah, anyway. He's my husband! Don't you dare look down on me!"
Rie proudly stated, showing no embarrassment about calling him her husband.
Astina didn’t like it, but she didn’t comment further.
"Hmm..."
Astina pondered.
Should she go with Rie to find Rudy?
She had no information.
All she knew was that Luna and Rudy had been taken.
They deliberately didn't tell anyone, to the point where even Borval, who was closest to Robert, didn't know where he went.
"Where are you going then?"
"Why, are you going to follow me?"
Rie glared at Astina.
"No, I'll go separately."
"Separately?"
Rie was surprised to hear that Astina was going separately.
In fact, if Astina were to follow, she had prepared several strategies to shake her off.
'I guess it's better this way?'
Rie laughed inwardly at Astina's words.
She knew where Luna and Rudy had gone, but Astina didn't.
"Well then, I'll go ahead."
Astina waved her hand to Rie.
"Sure, I hope we don't meet."
"I hope the same Astina~."
Rie made a "tch-" sound, sticking her tongue out playfully as she walked away.
Watching Rie’s retreating figure, Astina murmured to herself.
"Then let's search."
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