Interlude 4: Patrick Ashbatten
“Hey, Patrick. Are you free after this?”
“Sorry, I’m busy,” said Patrick Ashbatten, the second son of the Margrave of Ashbatten, turning down Yumiella. At first glance, Yumiella looked as expressionless as usual, but Patrick could tell that she was upset. Over the course of spending time with her, he learned how to notice the slight changes in her expression.
“Hey, can’t you just tell me what you’re always doing alre—”
Patrick could tell he was about to be interrogated by Yumiella, but an unexpected relief unit appeared.
“Yumiella! I think this accessory will look amazing on you!”
“Ugh, she’s appeared again,” Yumiella grumbled. “Wait here, Patrick.”
“Why don’t you just accept Lady Eleanora as a friend already? Well, I’m leaving now.”
It was fortunate for him that Yumiella got caught up with Eleanora. Patrick took this chance to leave the Academy and headed toward a dungeon near the Royal Capital, where he had been visiting the past few months whenever he was free.
The dungeon was less than an hour west of the Royal Capital, and the monsters that spawned there were a considerably high level. There was a lower-level dungeon to the south of the Royal Capital that most Academy students and members of the military used, leading the western dungeon to be known as a hidden dungeon.
Patrick arrived at the hidden dungeon’s entrance with a sword in one hand. Because of the dungeon’s proximity to the Royal Capital, there was a soldier guarding the entrance to prevent civilians from entering. The soldier, who had become acquaintances with Patrick, spoke to him with familiarity. However, he had yet to discover that Patrick was the son of a margrave.
“You’re here again?” he asked in a friendly manner. “I don’t know how you always go in there and come out unscathed. Why are you coming here so diligently?”
“I just have something I need to get stronger for.”
“Oh? Is it about a girl? Do you have a romantic rival or something?” the soldier teased. “Fighting over a girl... Now that’s youth for you. You better not cause a bloodbath.”
“Well, I don’t have a romantic rival, but the girl herself is...” Patrick trailed off, purposefully trying to remain ambiguous after feeling like he had overshared. He left the soldier, who surely had no clue what he was talking about, and entered the dim dungeon.
As he defeated the sporadically appearing monsters with his sword and magic, Patrick pondered the reason why he was going through all this trouble.
“Her type is someone stronger than her, huh?” he muttered to himself.
Yumiella’s words at the end-of-year party were what made Patrick start working so hard at level grinding. Patrick was aware that Yumiella only said that to turn down a student who had asked her to dance, but Patrick wondered if any person who wanted to stand by Yumiella could afford to be weak.
They certainly couldn’t be so weak that they would drag her down by accidentally getting themselves involved in a hostage situation or anything like that. On top of that, a certain amount of strength was necessary to keep up with Yumiella’s regularly bizarre actions.
That is why he had to become strong—so he could tell her how he felt.
“Three days ago, she broke one of the school’s swords, and before that, she was shooting magic into the sky because it ‘made Ryuu happy,’” he recounted aloud. “Why did I fall for her?”
Patrick spun around and swung at a monster that came up behind him while thinking about the reason he came to like Yumiella. She had been on his mind ever since he first laid eyes on her at the entrance ceremony, but it was more out of pity rather than romantic interest at the time. He thought about all the struggles she had faced until now and the difficulties she would continue to face moving forward, all because of her black hair. Having had a period in his life where he was self-conscious about his gray hair, he understood her situation well.
However, she forcibly created a place for herself with her overwhelmingly high level. He had even heard that she carried herself with confidence during her audience with the king. She appeared unbothered by those around her being terrified of her and tactfully handled those who got close to her for her power. Patrick had been skeptical of the rumor that she might be the Demon Lord, but he did wonder if she was something different from himself and others.
“No, Yumiella’s just a regular person,” he said, shaking his head as if to chase those thoughts away. “She gets hurt by the littlest things and gets worried over insignificant stuff.”
Figuring he should return to the surface soon, Patrick started in the direction he came while continuing to reminisce. Though he had respected and admired her, at the same time, he had felt fear toward Yumiella. But one day, that fear disappeared by complete coincidence.
Alone in the Academy garden, Yumiella was obviously sulking after the cat she was calling over ran away.
“She’s just a regular girl who’s my age. Regular... Is she regular?”
She was not. Patrick hadn’t forgotten about how she had caused a ruckus during their first outdoor training. Was her obsession with level grinding because of her unfortunate childhood or something she was born with? It was still unclear to Patrick, who had known her for a while now, and it was questionable if Yumiella herself even knew.
“It’s no use. I can’t figure it out,” he sighed while recalling various other commotions she had caused.
He had fallen for her unknowingly as he spent more time with her—that was the only explanation. However, Patrick hadn’t figured out if what he felt toward her was platonic or romantic for quite a while.
He became fully aware of his feelings at the end-of-year party in early spring. Adorned in a dress, Yumiella was breathtakingly beautiful. Various thoughts ran through his mind after seeing her: the realization that there were probably a lot of other people who took notice of her beauty, the fact that someone else who liked her might show up, and the realization that he had known she was beautiful all along. All these thoughts led Patrick to finally understand his feelings.
Patrick continued to make his way to the surface, thinking that he might have been as dense as Yumiella.
By the time he had returned to the Academy, night had already fallen. The sun had completely set, and the area was only lit by the dim magical illumination emitted by the street lights. As he entered the Academy, he could feel the gatekeeper giving him a disapproving look in regard to his late return. He hurried along the empty path to the dorm and found someone awaiting him.
“Welcome home. Do you have any injuries today? Are you all right?”
“Oh, it’s you, Yumiella. Don’t worry, I’m not hurt. You should get back to your room. It’s dark out.”
“It’s fine. When your level is as high as mine, dark places are a nonissue.”
Yumiella was right. The five senses sharpened as one’s levels increased—this applied to night vision as well. Patrick’s ability to see in the dark had also improved, but not enough to see what kind of face Yumiella was making.
“Well, I’ll be going, then. Good night, Yumiella.”
“Wait, Patrick!” she called out. “I figured out where you’re always going!” she exclaimed, stopping Patrick in his tracks.
Patrick was frozen, fearing that he had finally been found out.
“There’s no need to be embarrassed,” Yumiella continued. “Though, I do have concerns about you getting injured. I know it’s not really my place, but what kind of person is this girlfriend?”
“Girlfriend?” Patrick’s mind went blank at the unexpected word. Yumiella had a wild imagination—this was something that Patrick understood because of how well he knew her. He collected himself and asked, “Whose girlfriend are you referring to?”
“Your girlfriend. Your significant other. You’re going out every day to go on dates with your significant other, aren’t you?”
“That’s completely wrong. I don’t have a significant other living outside the Academy in the first place.”
“Oh, so she’s in the Academy? Do you guys come back at different times to avoid being seen together? Wow, I didn’t realize people actually did things like that.”
Patrick had no idea what kind of thought process led her there. This was a usual occurrence, but he still struggled to understand. If you were to ask her to elaborate, it would surely follow some logical path, but he didn’t feel like asking.
“That’s wrong too. I don’t have a significant other.”
“I see. That’s unexpected. I guess that’s fine, then. Good night, Patrick,” Yumiella said dryly before heading toward the women’s dorms.
Patrick was left alone, confused as to why he just had to declare that he was single.
“I guess she doesn’t think of me in that way at all,” he mumbled to himself. The dejected Patrick wasn’t able to see Yumiella happily skipping away.
After returning to the dorms, Patrick went to a room that wasn’t his own. Upon arriving at the heavily guarded room, he was led inside to where he awaited.
“I apologize for being late,” Patrick said.
“I saw her waiting to ambush you. I guess you might be right,” the owner of the room said, looking up from his book.
Patrick sat across from him with familiarity and ease.
“What shall we talk about today, Prince Edwin?”
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