I Became the Must-Have Character of the Academy City-Chapter 112: Leap of Faith

"Isn't that Rohan?"

At Noah’s words, Ichinose’s senses spread outward like ripples.

With her eyes closed, she extended her aura and precisely located the target.

Rohan was definitely there.

And beside him are two people who seem familiar.

The swift-footed girl, Clara, and the elf girl who had once pleaded for help, claiming to be the last of the Testarossa bloodline.

‘Huh?’

At that moment, Baby-nose Ichinose's brain finally began processing the situation.

‘His prior engagement... was shopping for women's underwear?’

She had always been curious about his relationship with those two women,

but she never pried into his personal affairs.

Now, though, there was no need to ask.

Everything was as clear as day.

If someone still didn't get it after seeing this, they'd have to be a complete idiot.

‘To think he has two women that beautiful as lovers... impressive.’

The sourc𝗲 of this content is freēwēbηovel.c૦m.

At face value, the sentence sounded like a compliment.

But the subtle inflection in her own inner voice held a sharpness she couldn't quite recognize herself.

It was an imperceptible speck of emotion—one that an inexperienced girl wouldn't be able to pinpoint easily.

"Nose? Are you even listening? Hellooo?"

"..."

"Ah, she's broken again. I'm going ahead, then?"

"..."

Baby-nose Ichinose sank deeper into thought.

Since Rohan was a survivor upholding the values of Southern Solarea,

There was nothing wrong even if he had ten or a hundred lovers.

As long as it was a mutual agreement between both parties,

an outsider had no right to interfere.

‘Then...’

Would it be best to go in, greet them, and act naturally while shopping?

Or would it be more polite to pretend she hadn’t seen them?

If neither was the right answer,

should she simply turn around and leave to avoid an awkward encounter?

She had no idea what the correct course of action was.

It felt like her feet had been glued to the floor.

‘I should... probably leave...’

Rohan had already declined her invitation, saying he had prior plans.

If they ran into each other now, it might make things awkward for him.

A bitter taste spread in her mouth as she came to her decision.

She finally snapped out of her thoughts and opened her lips to speak.

"Noah, let’s not get in their way. We should just— Noah?"

Silence.

She had only been lost in thought for a moment,

but Noah wasn't answering.

She quickly turned to check her left and right.

He was gone.

‘No way!?’

A wave of unease washed over her.

Tightly clutching her sword, she stepped forward into the store.

And, as expected—

Noah was already up in Rohan’s face.

"Rohan! What are you doing here?"

"Noah?"

After greeting Rohan, Noah wagged his tail and shifted his gaze—

His predator’s eyes locking onto a certain twin-tailed girl.

"Hehehe, Clara’s here too? Should I give you a hug?"

"Hiiiik...!"

Clara, still holding underwear, immediately hid behind Rohan.

Seeing that reaction, Noah grinned brightly and relaxed his stance,

as if he’d been ready to pounce at any moment.

"Just kidding. I won’t do it anymore, so don’t run away like that."

Amidst the playful exchange, Shion smoothly interjected.

"Noah Frozenheart, it's a pleasure to meet you."

"Oh! My dad and Yuho-unnie told me about you!"

Without hesitation, Noah grabbed Shion’s hand and vigorously shook it up and down.

His tail wagged along in sync, clearly overjoyed.

Despite this only being their second meeting, Noah’s sociability was as open and natural as ever.

"I owe you my thanks. I apologize for not expressing my gratitude sooner."

"Eh~ don’t worry about it. I’m kinda dumb, so I don’t really get what happened back then,

but we’re all family who left our footprints on the same snowfield, right? Isn’t that what matters?"

As Noah emphasized Tigrova's strong sense of unity, Shion nodded gratefully.

Noah hadn't been directly involved,

and this wasn’t the place to dig up old stories anyway.

Step. Step. Step.

While the girls continued their conversation, Rohan casually walked toward the entrance.

Because, just a moment ago—

He had seen a familiar face.

"Ichinose."

At the sound of her name,

Ichinose reacted as if spellbound, her head moving on its own.

"Rohan..."

"Of all the places to run into each other, huh?"

"...Y-yeah, really."

Was it discomfort? Embarrassment?

Rohan couldn't pinpoint it exactly,

But he understood why Ichinose felt uneasy.

If it were a total stranger, it wouldn’t be as bad.

But when an acquaintance of the opposite sex happened to be inside a lingerie store,

It was only natural for it to feel awkward.

Frankly, he even felt a little guilty about it.

"Baby-nose."

Rohan called out the nickname in an attempt to lighten the mood.

Ichinose's shoulders jolted—her reaction was even stronger than expected.

"Th-that nickname...! Haah, just don’t say it so loud! If someone hears, I won’t be able to show my face again."

"So, you're saying it's fine when it's just the two of us?"

Before, she had flat-out refused to let him use it.

But now, her tone was... different.

"...I gave up, since you’d probably use it anyway."

"What, is that really the kind of image I have?"

"You should know better than anyone."

Rohan stepped forward and leaned against the railing, looking down at the lower floors of the mall.

Ichinose, now standing away from the store, moved next to him.

From inside, the lively chatter of the girls echoed—

Just hearing it made the corners of his lips curl up.

"Rohan. How’s your body? Any aftereffects from the poison?"

"No issues. I got a re-examination at the infirmary today."

"...That’s a relief. Good job."

As Ichinose recalled facing Omega, her voice grew noticeably softer.

Even so, Rohan knew—

That feeling of powerlessness would ultimately become a stepping stone for her growth.

"The academy's training rooms are still open during the break, right?"

"They are. You’re coming?"

"Of course. Aside from stamina, I need a place where I can practice swordsmanship freely."

The greatsword slung over Rohan’s back.

Ichinose, recalling the battles he had fought on the island, spoke up.

"I’d like to learn a thing or two from you."

"You want to learn from me? You sure you’re not just looking for an excuse to beat me up?"

Rohan joked playfully.

Ichinose covered her mouth with her sleeve and let out a soft chuckle.

"Well, sparring rules might end up being a shackle for you, Rohan."

"Rules or no rules, it wouldn’t change much. My swordsmanship is still unrefined."

"Being humble is important, but aren’t you undervaluing yourself too much?"

"When it comes to technique, I’m really a beginner. I’m just good at swinging recklessly."

"Hmm..."

Inside the store, the girls were heading to the register.

Rohan sighed, recalling the pressure he had been under earlier from Shion and Clara.

It was both blissful and exhausting.

From now on, whenever he was with Shion and Clara,

He'd inevitably start picturing what kind of underwear they had on beneath their outfits.

"You came to shop with Noah, right? I’ll wait outside, so take your time."

Ichinose suddenly remembered exactly what kind of store they were standing in front of.

Some of the cadets had already recognized her—

And # Nоvеlight # standing right outside a lingerie store with Rohan...

What would people think?

Her face instantly flushed hot.

As if her usual habit of hiding emotions had completely malfunctioned,

Ichinose’s mouth ran off on its own.

"Y-yep! My bras haven't been fitting properly lately, so it’s been suffocating...!"

"...Huh?"

"A woman’s body grows constantly! Day by day!"

"...Is that so?"

Rohan wiped the confused look off his face and smiled knowingly.

It was obvious he was humoring her.

Ichinose felt a sting of guilt.

Maybe she should just admit it was a joke and take it back...

‘Ichinose Yui. You childish idiot... What are you even doing?’

She knew it was ridiculous to care about something like chest size.

She knew it was immature and embarrassing.

The moment she walked away from Rohan,

an overwhelming wave of self-loathing was bound to crash down on her.

The shame only grew stronger.

And in the midst of this ordinary, peaceful moment—

‘What’s this...?’

A chill ran down Rohan’s spine.

"Ah, about what I said earlier..."

Ichinose, still lost in thought, muttered absentmindedly.

Meanwhile, Rohan’s head snapped up.

Inside the store, Noah, Shion, and Clara were still chatting while packing up their purchases.

They didn’t seem to sense anything.

‘Am I imagining this?’

Rohan sharpened his senses, gripping his greatsword.

Then, a notification window appeared.

[ A quest has appeared. ]

[ A Disturbance Begins ]

◇ Quest Objective: The once peaceful Academy City is now experiencing dimensional rifts appearing in various locations, allowing monsters to invade. Hold them off with your allies until the enforcers arrive.

◇ Type: Sudden Event

◇ Rewards: Based on the number of monsters eliminated

◇ Failure Penalty: None

The air itself trembled with ominous energy.

Rohan peered into the distortion—

and saw eyes staring back at him.

Eyes filled with pure malice.

From inside the rift, the monsters lunged through the space itself.

"!"

Was he the only one who could sense and predict this?

Rohan grabbed Ichinose and jumped.

CRASH!!

The glass railing shattered as they plunged downward.

Where they had just been standing,

massive monsters crashed through, creating a deafening impact.

"R-Rohan...?!"

There was no time to answer.

Holding Ichinose tightly, Rohan curled his body to absorb the impact.

The Academy City shopping mall had a wide open center,

structured like a standard department store.

‘This is going to be a long fall.’

Trusting his enhanced body, he could land on his feet—

but there was still a risk of bone fractures.

So, instead, he chose another way.

"Clara──!!!"

He called for the one person who could help.

Ping! Tadadadak!

Clara’s Arachne threads shot out in a complex web.

Using minimal mana, she quickly wove together a safety net.

It caught them.

‘Damn...’

Even with his reinforced body,

and even though Clara had weakened the cutting power of her threads—

absorbing the force of the fall wasn’t painless.

His back ached, even with the greatsword acting as a buffer.

"Rohan...? What the hell just...?"

"You okay? You really turned into a baby-nose this time."

While scanning the emerging monsters,

Rohan gently stroked Ichinose’s back to calm her down.