Chapter 199

Chapter 199. Interlude – A Warm Winter (2)

Bang!

The sturdy wooden table in the professor’s office shook as if it might break.

Professor Lucas contorted his face into a fierce expression, looking as if he could tear me apart at any moment.

“You…! Is that what you call a solution?!”

“A solution? I just stated the facts as they are.”

I shrugged nonchalantly.

Professor Lucas gritted his teeth and furrowed his brow.

“Who do you think will believe that, huh? Everyone in the school knows you’ve been sticking close to Candidate Lanes lately!”

“Then just say I kept her around to torment her.”

“You…!”

“Does it really matter what the truth is anyway?”

Right.

The truth doesn’t matter.

Only what *seems* like the truth does.

“……”

Professor Lucas’s gaze deepened.

“Instead, you’ll be the one facing disciplinary action.”

“I know.”

“Your reputation will take a hit among those who don’t know the full story.”

“Is there even any reputation left to ruin?”

“…I might be able to prevent expulsion, but the punishment will still be severe.”

“It’s not like I haven’t been through this before.”

“……”

Professor Lucas rubbed his forehead, looking at me with a headache.

“You’ll likely receive at least two disciplinary actions simultaneously… which means you’ll get a zero for this semester, regardless of your exam scores.”

“Ah.”

Well, that’s a bit of a problem.

‘I thought I’d still have one more chance even after this punishment.’

But given the nature of the incident, it seems one punishment won’t be enough.

“Well… it can’t be helped.”

Honestly, I was desperate to escape this suffocating situation.

But I couldn’t just sit back and watch Lanes get expelled.

“Sigh. You’re really…”

Professor Lucas let out a deep sigh.

“So, can you help me?”

Of course, taking the punishment meant for someone else isn’t as simple as it sounds.

If it were as easy as saying, “Someone else told me to do it,” there’d be too much room for abuse.

But.

If Professor Lucas stepped forward as a witness, things would be different.

“……”

Professor Lucas closed his eyes, deep in thought.

He clicked his tongue and opened a desk drawer.

He pulled out a piece of paper and handed it to me.

“It’s a statement. Submit it by tomorrow.”

“Thank you.”

“Enough. I don’t want to see your face anymore, so get out.”

Professor Lucas waved his hand dismissively, as if shooing away a fly.

I swallowed a laugh, took the statement, and turned to leave.

“Dale.”

“Yes?”

“…I’ll do my best to keep this incident from leaking outside.”

Professor Lucas said this with a fierce expression, like a hungry beast.

I barely held back a laugh and walked away.

‘Honestly.’

He’s such a different person from what he appears to be.

* * *

A few days after the commotion over Lanes’s unauthorized withdrawal.

Lanes and I headed to the school’s back mountain, where we usually trained.

“Huu.”

Lanes stretched out her hand with a tense expression.

Whoooosh!

A fierce blizzard gathered in her palm.

Falling snowflakes.

In the freezing land, a single white snowflower bloomed.

“Freeze!”

Crackle, crackle, crackle!

With a clear shout, the white snowflower bloomed fully, scattering snowflakes around.

At first glance, it seemed chaotic, but the snowflakes she scattered precisely targeted and froze only the intended objects.

“H-how was it…?”

Lanes looked back at me with an anxious expression.

I smiled contentedly and nodded.

“Perfect.”

Her control over the Blessing had improved so much that comparing it to before was almost embarrassing.

‘Though the power of the Blessing is still weaker than what I saw in my past life.’

But her near-perfect control was far better than in that past life.

Back then, she froze everything indiscriminately, friend or foe.

“Hehe. That’s a relief…”

Lanes smiled brightly, clearly aware of how much she’d improved.

“Then I… won’t become the ‘Witch of the Night,’ right?”

“Of course not.”

I smiled faintly and nodded.

“And if your Blessing ever goes out of control again, I’ll definitely help you.”

“…Thanks, Dale.”

Lanes nodded.

“Alright, shall we continue training?”

“Ah, wait. Before that… here.”

Lanes handed me a neatly folded white shirt.

“The one I said I’d wash for you…”

“Ah, right.”

I’d completely forgotten.

“Wow… how many times did you wash it? It’s so clean, it looks brand new.”

“I, I washed it really hard! It was my fault, after all!”

“Spilling soup isn’t that big of a deal.”

I swallowed a laugh and took the shirt.

“Hey… Dale.”

Lanes clenched her fist and continued.

“Yeah?”

“I… won’t run away anymore. No matter how hard or painful things get… I won’t run away now.”

Lanes spoke with firm determination.

“So you don’t have to stick around for my training anymore.”

“…Lanes.”

“I can do it without you, Dale.”

“……”

Memories of the first time I saw her came to mind.

She was curled up, trembling in the cold like a frightened child.

She, who once desperately sought the warmth of others, had now grown strong enough to stand on her own.

“……”

It felt like the kind of pride you’d feel if a lazy kid finally got a job.

An indescribable emotion filled my chest.

“By the way… it’s a bit strange.”

“What is?”

“Well, the school hasn’t said anything. I thought I’d be in big trouble.”

Lanes tilted her head, confused.

“Maybe they just let it slide since you came back in a day?”

“Maybe?”

“Don’t worry about it and let’s finish training.”

I tried to quickly change the subject and continue training.

“Ah, Dale. Sorry, but can I head back early today?”

“Huh? Why?”

“I, I have something to do.”

Lanes scratched her cheek and gave an awkward smile.

I didn’t know what she meant by “something to do,” but…

“Alright. Let’s call it a day then.”

I nodded, and we headed back to school together.

“T-then I’ll go ahead!”

As soon as we arrived at school, Lanes quickly ran off somewhere.

I shrugged as I watched her retreating figure.

“Well, I guess it all worked out in the end?”

Thanks to this incident, Lanes had gained the ability to control the Blessing of Frost on her own, and we’d also gathered some information about the Hero colluding with Mephisto.

‘This should help Lanes gain more confidence in herself.’

I recalled how she’d tried to control the Blessing’s power on her own, without my help.

It was something the old Lanes would’ve never dared to imagine.

Remembering how she’d managed to control the Blessing even as her arms turned blue, a smile naturally spread across my face.

‘This should also help tone down her overly clingy personality.’

With that thought, I headed back to the dorm.

* * *

Click.

Lanes closed the door behind her and placed the envelope she was carrying on the table.

“Ufufu. Ehehe.”

Lanes smiled dreamily as she looked at the envelope.

“Let’s see…”

She carefully took out the contents as if handling a treasure.

Inside the envelope were high-quality printed photos of Dale.

“Kyaaaa!”

Lanes spread the photos on the table and let out a delighted scream.

“Wow, this feels so different from seeing you through the Hero Watch.”

She had meticulously selected the best photos from her “Dale Collection,” and nothing could’ve made her happier.

“Now then…”

She carefully picked up a photo and approached the wall.

“Humhum~♬”

Humming, she stuck the photo to the wall.

No, not just the wall—she covered the ceiling and floor with photos too.

“Ehehe. Dale… I love you so much…”

There were photos of Dale smiling, eating, chatting, and more.

But…

“Ah. Yes… this is it.”

Her favorite was the photo of Dale drying his hair after the hot springs.

The towel around his neck, his half-dried hair.

And the toned chest muscles peeking through his loosely worn robe.

“Gulp.”

Lanes, as if entranced, touched Dale’s chest in the photo.

For some reason.

Even though she knew it was just a photo, it felt like she could feel Dale’s warmth at her fingertips.

“Hehe. I’m glad I kept this.”

Lanes silently thanked Iris in her heart.

“And finally…”

Lanes pulled out the shirt Dale had been wearing.

There was a slight stain from the soup, but that didn’t matter at all.

“Hmph.”

She wrapped the shirt around an extra pillow.

Then, she lightly stuck a photo of Dale’s face to the end of the pillow…

“Done!”

Lanes let out another “Kyaaa!” as she looked at the Dale-shaped pillow.

“Ahh… it’s so embarrassing, Dale…”

Lanes twisted her body cutely in front of the pillow, then quickly ran to the shower.

“I-I’ll wash up quickly, Dale!”

Swoosh.

After thoroughly cleaning herself, she changed into her pajamas and lay down on the bed.

“Sigh… haa.”

She buried her nose deep into the shirt and took a deep breath, feeling as if Dale’s scent enveloped her entire body.

Wriggle, wriggle.

Lanes moved her body while lying on the bed.

“Haa…”

Her soft moans escaped her lips, heating up the cold room.

It was a warm winter.