Most of the weekend was spent at Raphne's Tower.

When I'm not at the Academy, Raphne insisted that it was fine to spend weekends at the tower.

So, on weekends, I usually spend my time making items or chatting with Raphne.

Today, I used the last Dragon Bone to craft a new Bone Sword, replacing the one used up during the Loop event.

I'm preparing for the upcoming sub-event in various ways.

After finishing the crafting and having dinner, there's some time left.

'How should I explain this?' I sit on the floor, pondering.

“Hehe, hihi, haha.” Currently, Raphne is lying on my legs, reading a novel and enjoying her leisure time.

Whether it's because the novel is interesting or because she's relaxed in this drowsy and lazy time, Raphne is letting out relaxed giggles.

Raphne claims it's the best position to read a book while staying close to me.

To be honest, from a guy's perspective, having Raphne lying on my legs like this is quite stimulating in many ways.

Particularly the soft pressure on my thighs and so on.

No, that's not the important thing right now.

“Ken~ keep going~.” While I was lost in thought and had stopped moving my hand, Raphne nudged her head towards my stomach, urging me to continue.

I resumed stroking her hair.

“Hehe, ehehe.” Apparently pleased by the movement of my hand through her hair, Raphne let out another relaxed giggle.

It seems that for Raphne, lying on my knees while reading a book and receiving my touch is the ultimate healing time.

Perhaps because of this, she has been acting more spoiled lately.

But this is far better than when she was clinging to my pants in despair.

And so, it became even harder to bring up the words I needed to say later.

"Um, Raphne..."

"Hmm?

What?" Raphne asked, expressing her pleasure by shifting her legs alternately.

She was so engrossed in her novel that she didn't even look up when I called her.

Wouldn't now be a good time to say it?

If there's ever a moment to say it, it might as well be when she's in the best mood.

"I have something to say."

"What is it?

Do you want something?" Finally, Raphne turned her head to look up at me.

Her eyes, which once looked lifeless, now seemed much livelier.

She looked up at me with sparkling eyes.

Recently, staying over because of the repairs at Aspetra or sticking around to care for Raphne seem to have healed her heart.

‘Yes, if her mind is this recovered…’ Trusting those sparkling eyes, I forced my stiff mouth to speak.

"Before long…"

"Yes?"

"I have to leave the tower for a while because of some matters..."

"Oh… okay.

For how long?"

"Will you come back for dinner?" For a moment, her face clouded, but Raphne quickly recovered and asked with a smile.

It seems like she's okay.

If it had been just a week ago, she would have clung to me while crying.

Gaining confidence from Raphne's positive reaction, I answered with a smile.

"Ah, I'll be gone for about five days."

And then Raphne's expression fell, as if her world had collapsed.

"...What?"

The Moonlight Necklace I obtained as a reward for the repairs at Aspetra.

With this necklace, there's only one main ingredient left to make the Goddess Pendant.

That ingredient is the Pure Mana Crystal.

In the later stages of the game, this item can be found easily in the Karab Continent.

But at the current stage, there's only one way to obtain it.

It can be won as a prize at the Sub Event hosted by the Academy in a few days.

This event, called the Survival Contest, involves various students from the Academy and feels like a competition akin to a modern-day school contest.

The problem is that the duration of this Survival Contest is five days.

Which means I'll have to be away from the tower for five days.

"No, no, noooo!" Hearing that, Raphne started crawling up from my legs to my upper body.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry!

Have I been acting too silly lately?

Or was the food not tasty enough?

I'm sorry!

I'm really sorry!

I won't behave childishly anymore!

I'll make the food even more delicious!

So, please!" As I feared, Raphne clung to me, crying as she pleaded.

Familiar with this scene, I calmly patted her head and replied, "No, it's not that.

Your behaviour is fine, and the food is delicious.

But..."

"Liar!

You've lost weight recently!

It must be because the food isn't good anymore, right?

You're tired of it, aren't you?

I'm sorry!

I'll do better!

I can work harder!

So, don't abandon me!"

"It's okay, Raphne.

I'm not leaving you.

Please listen to me."

"sniff...

sniff...

sob..." I held Raphne in my arms as she sobbed, gently stroking her head with care.

She buried herself deeper into my embrace, clutching the back of my clothes tightly.

I could hear her sobbing in my arms.

At times like this, no matter what I say, Raphne won't listen.

It's actually more effective to calm her down first and then explain things.

'It feels like I'm training a puppy.' No, let's think of it as just getting better at handling things.

I’ve simply become more accustomed to responding to Raphne’s behaviour patterns.

The issue this time is the scale of it.

I need to carefully explain to her that my five-day absence would be significant.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, Ken.

I'll work harder at cleaning and won't act so childish anymore.

So please don't get annoyed with me...

don't abandon me...

I'll do better." Raphne lifted her face from my chest and looked at me, tearfully.

She seemed to have calmed down a bit from earlier when she was crying uncontrollably.

Once she was in a state to listen, I began to explain.

After listening to everything I said, Raphne still had a tearful face but seemed to understand.

However, the sparkle in her eyes from just a moment ago was gone, replaced by a look of deep despair.

"Are you really coming back in five days?"

"Of course.

I will definitely come back."

"R-really?

Truly?

You’re really coming back?"

"And it's not even starting from tomorrow, but a few days later, so don’t worry too much."

“Still...”

Well, whether it starts tomorrow or in a few days, being gone for five days is the same.

It was difficult for Raphne to accept, but fortunately, she seemed to understand.

“I don’t need anything else, just you, Ken.

I’d be fine even if the curse stays…”

Raphne kept murmuring dejectedly, until the moment I returned to the dormitory.

I felt genuinely sorry for her.

I should probably stay a bit longer at the tower the day before the event.

The next day, I headed straight to the application site for the survival event after arriving at the academy.

Here, you fill out a form and submit it.

Originally, I had planned to apply earlier, but I thought it was best to explain everything to Raphne first, which delayed me a bit.

“Good morning, Ken.” While I was filling out the application, I heard a familiar voice next to me.

Turning my head, I saw Mary standing there.

“Are you signing up for the survival event too, Ken?” Mary was holding the same application form as I was.

“Yes, there’s a prize I want to get.”

“What a coincidence.

That’s the same for me.” Mary then started filling out her application next to me.

‘So, she is participating.’ I had expected Mary's participation in the survival event.

In the game, whenever Emily entered the survival event, Mary always appeared as an opponent.

The reason for her participation was one of the prizes of the event, a meal ticket to a high-class restaurant.

Why does Mary want the meal ticket?

Is it because she loves eating?

No, the reason is to go on a date with Adrian.

In the game, this survival event carries a storyline of Emily and Mary competing for a date with Adrian.

Of course, for Emily, it's optional whether to take the meal ticket or another reward as the completion prize.

Mary must be participating this time for the same reason.

“Hey, Ken…” While filling out the application form, Mary spoke to me.

“Yes?”

“Ken, in this event… What prize do you want?”

“Me?

I need the Magic Crystal.”

“I see….” Mary hesitated, fidgeting with her pen as she wrote on the application.

She glanced at me repeatedly, as if she had more to say.

“Um, Ken… if I win a prize in this event…”

Mary struggled to get the words out.

Just as I focused on what she wanted to say, another familiar voice called out from behind.

“Oh, Ken.” When I turned to look, I saw Emily standing there.

“Hi, Emily.”

“What, you're signing up for this too, Ken?” Emily approached with a smile.

Recently, she had been bringing me drinks during morning training, and we had grown closer.

Unlike before, she now came up to me warmly.

However, when she noticed Mary standing beside me, her face stiffened.

...

“M-Mary.”

“Emily, what do you want?

If you're here to bother Ken again...” Mary’s gaze became sharp, and a cold aura started to emanate from her.

It was a chill so intense that you could almost see frost forming.

Emily waved her hands in a hurry to calm Mary down.

“Oh, no!

It's not that!

I just have something to say to Ken!”

“Something to say, huh?

Then go ahead.”

“Huh, what?

Here?

Well, if possible, I’d like to talk to Ken alone…”

“If it's nothing suspicious, can't you say it in front of me?”

Mary's wariness towards Emily seemed to be excessive because of their past history.

It looks like I'll need to explain soon that things have been resolved between them.

Under Mary's intense stance, Emily hesitated, blushing.

She squeezed her eyes shut as if making a resolution and then looked at me.

“Seriously, okay.

I'll say it here.” Then she handed me something.

“Ken, the other day, you said that if you're sorry, you should treat someone to a meal.”

“That’s right?” What Emily handed over was something both Mary and I were well acquainted with, the application form for the survival event.

“This meal ticket that’s listed as a prize…” Emily blushed and avoided my eyes before cautiously looking at me again and speaking.

“If I win it, will you go with me?”

“W-Wait!” Surprisingly, it was Mary who responded to this, not me.

“Wah…?”

"What, what is it?"

"Oh, no.

It's just that…"

Mary, who had been sharp and confident just moments ago, suddenly looked flustered at Emily's words.

She glanced back and forth between Emily and me.

Then, like Emily, she carefully showed me an application form and spoke.

"I was going to ask Ken first...

about the meal ticket."

"...Huh?" Mary looked hesitant while Emily seemed taken aback.

In the ensuing silence, the two stared at each other.

"I asked first."

"No, technically, I was about to ask when Emily interrupted."

As if they had unlocked some kind of high-level skill, Emily and Mary created an atmosphere filled with tension just by locking eyes.

Huh?

Wait, I feel like I've seen this scene in the game before.

“A fierce competition for a date with Ken Feinstein, is it?” The familiar voice came from behind Emily.

The voice’s owner was a man approaching from behind Emily.

"This is truly an amusing sight." It was Adrian Faraday, a main character in the game.

He smiled brightly and waved at me.

“I can't miss out on such an interesting event.” Then he picked up an application form.

"Uh, hold on a sec…" I've never seen this guy join the competition in the game before.

My voice, barely uttered in response to Adrian’s unexpected participation, was drowned out by the sharp voices of the two women.

"Then there's only one way to settle this."

"Yes, since only one person can win the prize anyway." For a moment, the two glared at each other before simultaneously submitting their application forms.

"The one who wins the prize gets to invite Ken to the meal."

"Fine, since I was planning to win anyway." Having finished their business, they each turned and walked off in different directions.

"Uh?

What about my opinion?"

"Haha, you really are a sinful man."

Adrian, who seemed to find the situation amusing, remained behind and placed a hand on my shoulder.

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