'Is he following me?'
Aurelia thought, watching Soren with a faint sense of amusement. She found his behavior a little cute.
He must be feeling crushed after learning about her background and talent, right?
'Poor guy!'
He probably thought there was no future for him, yet, unable to contain his feelings, he followed her here, even leaving his injured friend behind.
'Let's see what he will do now.'
Aurelia waited silently, curious to see what he would do next.
'Shit… why is she here all of a sudden?'
While Aurelia was in her own world of thinking, Soren felt a bit tense, half-expecting her to attack him.
As someone who had played Lover's Labyrinth before, he knew exactly what kind of character she was.
Her pride was practically written all over her face.
However, he then noticed that she did not seem as angry as before. Instead, she looked a little curious…?
'It seems she is not as angry as before. Perfect, let's use this opportunity and apologize for what happened at the cafeteria.'
Although Soren was perplexed by her reaction, he realized this could be a golden opportunity. If he could get her to forgive him, he wouldn't need to worry about retaliation.
And if he could get close, maybe he could find ways to complete his quest as well.
His eyes couldn't help but scan her tall, voluptuous figure, slightly covertly.
Maybe the system was right; he really was a bit perverted.
Once he made up his mind, Soren quickly came to his senses, slightly bowed to Aurelia with a bitter smile, and spoke,
"Miss Aurelia, I'm here to apologize."
"Apologize?"
Aurelia raised an eyebrow, crossed her arms, and looked at him with curious amber eyes.
"Yes, apologize. To be honest, I was quite nervous about our next class and didn't see you coming. I'm really sorry. Can you…please forgive me?"
Soren acted a bit awkwardly, unsure how to make up an excuse. Trying to divert her attention, he gritted his teeth and finally handed her the bottle.
Although extremely reluctant.
"Let this Mind Tonic be my apology. You haven't eaten anything yet, right?"
He remembered the emotion he had seen on her status panel before.
She was hungry.
Although he was extremely reluctant to part with such an expensive drink, if it meant keeping this demoness of a girl off his back, he felt it was worth it.
It wasn't even his credit points.
'So… this is how he wants to end this?'
Aurelia looked at his extended hand, carrying the bottle. She thought that after finding out who she was, Soren had decided to quit pursuing her.
Otherwise, why would he be in such a hurry to apologize?
Still, Aurelia felt that his decision was correct.
Just…she didn't know why; she didn't like this outcome. Maybe she wanted to see more drama… or more attention.
She wasn't sure. But she wasn't the type to complain.
"Okay, I accept your apology. Just…don't come in front of me next time."
Aurelia spoke coldly, lightly grabbed the bottle from his hand, and turned to leave abruptly.
With that, all the cause and effect between them was over, not that she thought there had been any to begin with.
'Tsk… tsk… she didn't even react to such an expensive drink.'
'Ah… my 200 credit points. Such bad luck.'
Soren didn't know whether to cry or laugh. He first snatched the drink from Evan, only to have it taken by Aurelia, who didn't even look twice at it.
The only good thing was that she had finally accepted his apology, and he didn't need to worry about her anymore.
Well, before getting another quest, of course.
'Please don't let a quest like Sylvia's involve her. At least, not yet.'
He couldn't always get lucky, after all.
***
'White Bull? What kind of drink is this?'
Once Aurelia left Soren's vicinity, she finally glanced at the can in her hand, confused.
Having been sheltered all her life, she had no idea what this product was. At first, she assumed it was just some cheap liquor anyone could find.
'Well… I'm hungry, but a Mind Tonic isn't really what I need right now.'
After staring at it for a moment, Aurelia lost interest. So, she bent down slightly to toss the bottle into a nearby trash can.
However, just as her fingers were about to let go…
"Wait...Don't throw that!"
A sudden, sharp female voice rang out, making her freeze in place.
Then, before she could react, someone directly snatched the bottle out of her hand.
"Thank god, I arrive in time."
Sylvia breathed a sigh of relief after catching the can, her face filled with a smile.
After claiming herself, she finally left the infirmary, intending to take her class, but saw Aurelia doing something so ridiculous.
This drink was worth 200 credit points, you know, and it wasn't even opened.
She didn't know what kind of prodigal could throw it away like this.
"Hmm? You… what are you doing?"
Aurelia, of course, remembered Sylvia as she was now quite familiar with their trio.
But she never thought that Sylvia was so cheap that she would grab a drink she was about to throw away.
"Umm… Miss Aurelia…"
Sylvia composed herself after realizing what she had done and smiled awkwardly. But she absolutely couldn't allow her to throw away such an expensive drink.
"..Um… you see, I am feeling quite unwell due to what happened in the practical class. So, I was thinking… whether you would give this drink to me."
Sylvia looked at Aurelia with her innocent blue eyes, her cheeks a little red with shame.
"I saw that you were about to throw it away anyway. So, I thought…"
"Suit yourself."
Just as Sylvia was feeling more and more ashamed, Aurelia spoke lightly before walking past her.
For her, whether throwing that can in the trash or giving it to Sylvia was no different.
"Hmm?"
Sylvia was slightly stunned by her nonchalance, but then immediately became happy. Now she finally knew how spoiled a daughter of an Archmage could be.
"Thank you, Miss Aurelia. By the way, I am Sylvia, Sylvia Everhart, an S-rank healer."
Sylvia introduced herself with a beautiful smile while walking alongside Aurelia. She was quite happy at securing 200 credit points so easily.
She even forgot her anger from before.
Now she felt that she had to become friends with this prodigal even if it wasn't for Soren.
He could go die alone for all she cared.
"Aurelia Flareborn."
Aurelia saw her enthusiasm but didn't complain and lightly replied. Although she was a proud girl, her upbringing was solid enough that it didn't allow her to remain aloof toward a smiling figure.
Besides, an S-rank healer was a good connection nonetheless.
"Yeah, I know about your mother. She is quite popular. To be honest, I am quite jealous."
Sylvia was lively by nature and wouldn't run out of words to talk. She easily began talking with Aurelia as if they were long-lost friends.
Although the response she got from her was just a light nod and occasional words, she felt that she was far closer than before.
"Oh, right…"
So, when Sylvia saw that they were about to reach class, she suddenly acted as if she remembered something.