Chapter 326: Eavesdropping

"Nah, Noah wouldn’t do that." Leonard spoke up for him. "No matter how playful he can be, flirting with a woman old enough to be his mother isn’t something he’d do."

Noah immediately nodded. "Exactly! How could I ever do something like that?"

Lyria also nodded in agreement. "I think so too. No matter how much of a tease Noah may be, I don’t think he would ever do something like that to an older woman."

Noah felt a little relieved hearing Lyria defend him. ’At least Lyria believes in me.’

Arisha, however, remained unconvinced.

She narrowed her yellow eyes at him for another moment before eventually returning her attention to her food.

"Well, whatever. I still think you did something, but I’ll let it go."

She shrugged indifferently. "It’s not my problem, anyway."

Noah felt a strange bitterness at her words. ’Why does it feel like she’s already decided I’m guilty?’

Still, there was no point in continuing the conversation. He quickly decided to change the subject.

"So, what’s going to be different during our second semester?"

"No idea," Damien replied. "Classes begin tomorrow, so I guess we’ll find out."

Draven immediately let out a heavy sigh. "Ugh... boring classes. Lectures..."

He looked thoroughly displeased.

Draven clearly preferred practical lessons where he could train, fight, and actually use his strength rather than sit through hours of lectures.

"I understand you, brother."

Ragnar nodded seriously. The two of them clearly shared the same hatred for studying.

The group continued chatting while finishing their lunch, enjoying their first reunion after Noah’s long absence.

---

Later, Noah parted ways with his friends.

He had no particular plans for the rest of the afternoon, so he decided to return to his dormitory and rest for a while.

He had barely walked halfway there when he noticed someone familiar in the distance.

A young man with black hair was walking ahead of him.

Ken Takeane was also from the Raigamine Duchy, the Eastern Duchy where Akari came from.

He and Noah were classmates, and they had fought alongside each other during several practical exercises before.

Since they already knew each other, Noah decided to greet him. But before Noah could call out to him, Ken suddenly turned onto another path.

Noah stopped.

’...Huh?’

Ken was heading toward the back of the dormitory building.

That was the same area where Noah had previously made a deal with Travis and the others before their VR match.

’Why is he going there?’

Noah frowned. Something about Ken’s behavior felt strange. He glanced around before quietly moving toward the large bushes lining both sides of the path.

He crouched behind them and waited.

Ken continued walking. After a short distance, he suddenly stopped. Then he slowly turned around.

His eyes swept across the surroundings. He carefully checked the area, making sure no one was following him.

Noah remained completely still.

’He’s checking whether someone is watching him... good thing I hide, after all no one goes to that place...’

Ken seemed satisfied that he was alone and continued toward the back of the dormitory.

Noah narrowed his eyes. ’Something’s definitely wrong.’

He hadn’t remembered Ken being particularly suspicious before. In fact, Ken had fought alongside them during their practical examination against the demons.

’Does he have some kind of important role in the game?’

The thought immediately crossed Noah’s mind. His curiosity won. He decided to follow him.

Noah quietly made his way around the dormitory and reached the rear compound wall.

He carefully hid behind it and peeked around the corner.

Ken was there. But he wasn’t alone.

Another person was standing with him.

Noah recognized her almost immediately.

"You finally came back."

A familiar female voice reached his ears.

Noah’s eyes narrowed.

’Marina Lumineth.’

It was the elf girl who had been part of Noah’s group during the Oakhaven field trip, when they had gone into the wilderness to hunt monsters.

Marina looked relieved to see Ken.

"Sigh... So, how did things go?"

"Better than expected."

Ken reached into his belongings.

"Take this."

Noah remained hidden behind the wall. He couldn’t see what Ken had handed her.

Marina stared at the object in her hands. "Th-This is really an Everbloom Draught?!"

Her voice trembled with disbelief. "You actually found one?! How?"

"Don’t ask." Ken let out a tired sigh. "I went through a lot of trouble to get it during the vacation."

Despite his exhausted tone, Noah could hear a faint hint of satisfaction in his voice.

Marina stared at the potion as though it were a priceless treasure.

"With this..." Her voice suddenly became emotional. "With this, my sister can be cured."

"Huh?!"

Ken’s voice suddenly became flustered. "Wait, Marina! Why are you hugging me?!"

"Thank you... Thank you, Ken!"

Marina’s voice trembled as she hugged him tightly.

"Because of you, my sister can run around again!"

It sounded as though she was crying.

Noah remained hidden behind the wall.

’Ah... I get it.’

Everything seemed to make sense now.

’Marina must have a younger sister suffering from some kind of illness that can be treated with a rare potion. Ken went through all that trouble to obtain the Everbloom Draught for her.’

Noah nodded to himself.

’That’s why she’s so emotional.’

However something still didn’t feel right. He continued listening.

"Thank you..."

Marina’s voice became quieter.

"I’ll do whatever you want."

"Sure."

Ken’s response was calm.

"But first, give the potion to your sister. Once she’s actually cured, then you can help me."

"Yes."

Marina hesitated before continuing.

"But... to be honest, it’s not going to be easy to arrange a meeting between you and the Elven Queen."

Noah’s expression immediately changed.

’...What?’

"She’s like an elder sister to me," Marina continued.

"And my family is one of the most loyal houses to the royal family. But even so, I can’t guarantee that Her Majesty will agree to meet you."

"Just try."

Ken’s voice became serious.

"You’re the only hope I have."

Marina fell silent for a moment.

"But why do you want to meet Her Majesty?"

"It’s something important."

Ken’s voice became guarded.

"I can’t tell you right now."

He paused. "And as a commoner, I have no way of contacting her directly."

Noah remained completely silent behind the wall.

His expression gradually became more serious.

’Okay...’

He had initially thought this was simply a matter of Marina’s sister being sick.

But now. ’This is weird.’

Ken had gone through considerable trouble to obtain an extremely rare potion for Marina.

In exchange, he wanted her help arranging a meeting with the Elven Queen.

And whatever he wanted to discuss with her was apparently important enough that he refused to tell Marina about it.

Noah narrowed his eyes.

’I have no idea what’s going on...’

His curiosity grew stronger.

’And what exactly does Ken Takeane want with the Elven Queen? Does he know about something? or does he have future knowledge? Damn what a coincident I found myself into!!’

---

IMPORTANT RANTT OF AUTHOR!!

[A/N: Hello, guys! This is for all the readers who are still sticking with my novel. I genuinely thank you all from the bottom of my heart. If you’re still reading at this point, that means we probably share a similar taste in stories and novels, haha!

Well, I know my last arc involving Akari might have been pretty bad since I stretched it out for quite a while. I apologize for that. I also know that some of you might not like the idea of her joining the harem.

But honestly, I had already decided this a long time ago. So, if you’re still reading, I guess that means you don’t mind it too much. This novel was always meant to be a harem novel, since, well... I’m a harem novel reader myself, haha! Personally, I don’t really like small harems with only two or three girls I’d rather just write a novel with a single FL. Still I’ve decided to limit the harem to five girls for this novel.

Sigh... Anyway, to those of you who are disappointed or sad about this development, I’m sorry. But at the end of the day, I’m writing the story I personally enjoy. If you like this kind of story, I hope you’ll continue reading and enjoying it. And if it’s not your cup of tea, I won’t force you to keep reading.

As for why I’m saying all this... Well, sometimes we authors also feel down and start questioning whether we should continue writing a book or not. So, I just wanted to share a little bit of what was on my mind. Thank you again to everyone who has stayed with the novel this far. I really appreciate you all! ]