Breaking Up With the Heroine in an Otome Game

66 – I Have Something to Say (4)

066.

“…Well, anyway, I have one more thing to give you after that.”

Ignoring Soyeon’s subtle reaction, I slowly reached out into the air.

Soyeon was looking at me with a puzzled expression.

She seemed puzzled about why I suddenly raised my hand.

Gradually, a rift appeared in the air.

It split as if gold were drawn across a glass window.

From within that deep rift, a black hilt suddenly protruded.

From Noble mtl dot com

Grasping the black hilt firmly and pulling, the sharp blade began to reveal itself.

“Huh? A sword from thin air? H-How?”

“There’s an artifact that can store items. Thanks to my precognitive ability, I was able to obtain it.”

“An artifact…?”

She appeared quite astonished.

Her mouth slightly agape, making a faint ‘huh’ sound.

It seems she’s even more surprised now than when I mentioned my precognitive ability or when she realized I was a millionaire.

“An artifact, having an artifact is… astonishing.”

“Well, aside from that, would you like to take a look at this sword?”

“Huh? Uh, sure.”

Soyeon accepted the sword with a somewhat bewildered expression.

It looked somewhat ordinary on the surface, but there was an acute sharpness about it that made the skin crawl just by looking at it.

Understandable, as this sword was quite a remarkable masterpiece, classified as the weapon used by the man referred to in the game setting as Vithrante.

Vithrante was a character not physically present in the game but mentioned, shrouded in mystery. However, the setting described him as having reached an extraordinary level at a young age.

Perhaps even stronger than early Yu Dahee?

That’s because there’s a setting that the student of the sword master Baek Yurin, who would be a few years younger than Dahee, surpassed her skills some time ago.

As a result of that incident, Baek Yurin harbored a deep grudge against Vizillante, or so it seemed.

“…It’s a good sword.”

While I was lost in my own thoughts, Soyeon, who had been carefully examining the sword, mumbled to herself with a brief admiration.

Although its outward appearance felt somewhat plain due to its simple design, Soyeon, being a swordsman herself, seemed to have noticed that this sword was a considerably fine piece.

Given Vizillante’s track record of efficiently dealing with various villains using this sword, its performance in actual combat was unquestionable.

For someone like me, an archer, it was a regrettable sword to use.

“You… You’re giving me this sword?”

“Yeah.”

Soyeon blinked her eyes, hesitating a bit as if she couldn’t quite believe it.

“No, this looks really expensive… I can’t just accept something like this.”

As a swordsman, the allure of this sword seemed quite tempting to Soyeon, but she quickly resisted the desire, shaking her head.

Exactly how much it cost was uncertain, but it must have been an incredibly expensive sword.

Even if you were close friends, accepting such a valuable item would be burdensome in many ways.

Even if a friend who won the lottery offered to buy you a car, you might refuse… No? Wait a minute. You would accept it.

Usually, wouldn’t you accept something given with such a large sum of money, like winning the lottery?

But why is Soyeon refusing like this?

“Don’t feel burdened. You know I have a lot of money. This is like… not exactly pocket change, but anyway.”

“But…”

Soyeon, in reality, it’s stolen goods.

Plundered, as in, plundered.

“I originally bought it to give it to you as a birthday present.”

“R-really?”

“Your birthday is still a long way off, but considering that incidents like this might happen again. Think of it as a precaution for self-defense.”

The main story of the Romance Hero Academy had taken quite a twist.

When, how, what kind of event might occur was unpredictable.

There might be a situation where you have to confront a threatening villain alone outside the academy.

It was prepared for such an occasion.

The location-tracking bracelet and Vizillante’s famous sword could be somewhat helpful for Soyeon in case of an unexpected crisis.

“But still, just accepting something like this… it feels a bit…”

“In truth, it’s a bit like bribery. It’s my way of asking you to help me when things get dangerous with that sword.”

“….”

“So, don’t think too strangely about it. At best, it’s just a coincidence.”

“…Jinhyuk.”

Soyeon suddenly lowered her head.

For some reason, the atmosphere was peculiar.

Soyeon, who had been absentmindedly playing with the bracelet and sword I had given her, let out a deep sigh. Then, slowly, she began to moisten her lips.

Soyeon’s low and melancholic voice disturbed my ears.

“…I, well, actually heard.”

“Huh? What?”

I slightly raised my head, watching Soyeon start speaking hesitantly.

“…You and Yuseolhyun, having a private conversation on the rooftop of the academy.”

She heard about the conversation I had with Yuseolhyun? What kind of story did she hear?

“About how you would help during the stalker incident, why you were trying to involve me and Siwoon, and also…”

Soyeon paused for a moment, biting her lip.

With her eyes slightly lowered, she seemed to hesitate for a moment.

After a brief moment of hesitation, Soyeon took a slow breath and began to speak again.

“…Even that you liked me since a long time ago.”

“Huh?”

“…I heard it all.”

Soyeon spoke with her eyes closed tightly, and I was momentarily stunned.

‘…So she heard everything about how I pretended to have a crush on her on the rooftop during the stalker incident to convince Yuseolhyun and how I tried to involve Siwoon to let go of any lingering feelings?’

At that time, I remember saying something quite embarrassing, to the point where it was overly dramatic. Could she really have heard all of that?

Um, well. How should I put it? It’s a bit embarrassing, isn’t it?

“Jinhyuk, there’s something I’ve wanted to say to you since then.”

Soyeon raised her head and looked straight into my eyes. Her pumpkin-colored irises were subtly trembling.

A sense of unknown regret and guilt was clearly visible.

“So, um…”

Having swallowed dry saliva, Soyeon raised her eyebrows slightly and, with a remorseful expression, slowly moistened her lips.

“I’m really, really sorry…! I didn’t even realize, and I made such a strange request to you, like a fake romantic relationship…!”

“….”

“I’ve never really thought about how you felt about that request… It must have been difficult for you… I didn’t know anything and just laughed and talked all the time…”

“….”

As Soyeon spoke, apologizing in various ways, I scrutinized her face.

‘Soyeon, she’s misunderstanding again.’

It seemed like she was confused because of the passionate acting on the rooftop.

Right now, Soyeon was probably feeling sorry and guilty about asking for a fake romantic relationship. Considering she had asked her crush for a fake relationship while enjoying herself with other guys, it was only natural that her conscience would be pricked in various ways.

If she were a bit more shameless, she could have thought, ‘You didn’t reject it anyway. Did I threaten you with a knife or something? You’re the one who agreed to the request!’ But Soyeon was genuinely a good person, going so far as to apologize for something most people would casually overlook.

‘Did she have something to say today?’

Did she suffer for a long time because she thought I went through emotional turmoil due to asking for a fake relationship while liking her?

‘Anyway, this girl.’

I chuckled inwardly.

Soyeon, stealing glances at me, was earnestly apologizing, and a mischievous feeling welled up in me. However, I couldn’t make jokes in this situation, so I forced myself to calm down.

“So, I don’t think I can accept this sword.”

“Huh?”

“I think Jinhyuk, your concern for me, is more than just a simple favor.”

Soyeon mumbled as she returned the bracelet and sword to me. When I hesitated to accept them, she bit her lip and opened her lips again.

“Even though we’ve been together since we were young, these things seem a bit excessive… And also… it feels like I’m taking advantage of your emotions…”

“Sigh.”

I let out a deep sigh.

Ah, now I see why she’s refusing like this.

“Soyeon.”

“Yeah?”

I thought about how to say this for a moment.

It was too obvious that saying, ‘hahahaha, the rooftop confession was actually a lie!’ now would be as unbelievable as it gets.

Therefore, I decided to create a very simple and straightforward reason to convince Soyeon.

So that she doesn’t feel unnecessary guilt and burden anymore.

Maybe she won’t pay much attention to this if she hears it, right?

“Indeed, in the past, I secretly liked you. You’re beautiful. As a man, I couldn’t help but be attracted to you.”

“Ah, th-that’s, right, um, yeah.”

Is it because she suddenly heard that I liked her?

Soyeon stammered, her cheeks turning slightly rosy.

She seemed quite embarrassed, avoiding eye contact and not knowing what to do.

While she might have thought that I liked her, hearing it directly in person made it somewhat awkward.

If it were the usual Soyeon, she would have made a playful joke like, “Ah! The popularity of this body!”

But in this atmosphere, she refrained from making jokes.

“So, when we had a fake relationship, there were some difficult aspects in many ways.”

“Yeah… sorry.”

“You don’t need to apologize. If we were to blame someone, it would be my fault for not refusing the request.”

Soyeon did nothing wrong.

Accepting the request was solely my responsibility, and from the start, I didn’t have romantic feelings for Soyeon, so I didn’t suffer emotionally.

“When it was time to enter the academy, I wanted to end our fake relationship because I was indeed a bit tired.”

“…”

Soyeon frowned slightly, her lower lip trembling with a melancholy expression.

Not wanting to see Soyeon’s face filled with guilt, I tried to lighten the mood with a calm smile and spoke.

“But now it’s okay.”

I shrugged as if to say it’s all in the past.

“I have someone else I like now.”

“Uh?”

“I don’t like you anymore.”

“Really?”

Trying to make the atmosphere a bit lighter, I chuckled and lightly tapped Soyeon’s shoulder as if it was nothing.

“I must have looked pathetic, watching you hanging out with other guys by your side in the past. But now, it’s fine.”

“…”

“The reason I tried to link you and Ishiwoon wasn’t really out of lingering feelings, but more like I wanted to confirm my own emotions, if that makes sense? Well, Ishiwoon seems to be interested in you, so it was a two birds with one stone kind of thing.”

“…”

“It’s all in the past, Soyeon. So, there’s no need to feel too sorry. I won’t pay it any mind, so you shouldn’t either. Got it? Let’s not make things awkward for no reason.”

“…Uh, got it.”

“People often say that wounds are healed by new love… Oh, what am I even saying, hahahaha.”

With a joke that received no response, I abruptly stood up from the chair.

“Oh, time has flown by already.”

Handing the sword and bracelet to Soyeon, I said, “And don’t think too much about these. They’re just gifts. I have a lot of money with nowhere to spend it. Ah, wasn’t I a bit unfortunate? Anyway.”

“…”

“Then, I’ll be on my way.”

“Ah. Um, Jinho…”

“Oh, it’s already too late. Let’s do it tomorrow, tomorrow.”

Worried that Soyeon might refuse again, I quickly left the room. Soyeon, could you just graciously accept if she thanks you?

We need to tackle some low-level dungeons and hunt monsters during the break to level up and farm artifacts.

“…”

Glancing back, I could see that Soyeon looked a bit puzzled and even seemed a bit flustered.

There was a hint of confusion in her expression.

***

The room that Jinho left.

“…”

Silently, Jisoyeon stood still, gazing tranquilly at the door where Jinho had disappeared. She replayed the recent conversation in her mind.

Until now, she had expected Jinho to be deeply troubled by their fake relationship.

But thankfully, he didn’t seem to care as much as she had thought.

He casually laughed it off as something from the past.

It seemed that his affection for her was nothing more than a fleeting memory.

Moreover, it didn’t look like he was pretending. He genuinely seemed to believe that.

Didn’t Jinho himself say it?

That he no longer liked her.

“I’ve developed feelings for someone else.”

It was truly good news for her that she wouldn’t have to suffer any longer because of Jinsuyeon.

Jinhyuk should experience a proper relationship with a good girl at least once.

In that sense, it was good news for both of them that Jinsuyeon was no longer viewed romantically.

Now, they could genuinely be friends.

I was worried that our childhood friendship might crumble for no reason, but now there’s no need for concern.

As long as Jinhyuk no longer sees Jinsuyeon romantically, their childhood friendship will continue.

Yeah, yeah.

From Noble mtl dot com

It’s really fortunate.

It’s fortunate that Jinhyuk has closed his feelings for me and now likes someone else…

At that moment,

“He’s developed feelings for someone else.”

Thump.

“I don’t like you anymore.”

Thump.

“Jinhyuk doesn’t like me anymore…?”

In a fleeting moment, she murmured the thought that flashed through her mind.

Then, why?

Why am I suddenly like this? Why, why is my chest, my heart so…