Chapter 153: The One Who Wants to Stay

Isabela slowly turned her head.

"But we already trust you."

"Well, yeah, but..."

"If we got a coin every time you said that, we’d already have enough money to buy a house," Kira added.

Haru looked at her.

"It’s not the same this time."

The tone of his voice made both girls fall silent.

Even Yukihime raised her head.

Haru looked from one to the other before continuing.

"Things are going to happen. Big things. Maybe even scary things. And I won’t be able to explain everything all at once. There are things I don’t even fully understand myself."

He paused.

"But I need you to trust me. Even when things start going wrong."

Isabela no longer looked irritated.

She didn’t smile or try to lighten the mood with a joke. She simply studied his face, trying to understand what lay behind those words.

"When you say big things... you mean the other Gamers, don’t you?" Isabela asked.

Haru nodded.

"Yeah."

"Why aren’t they like you?" Yukihime asked.

Haru lowered his eyes to her. How was he supposed to explain that to a child?

"Some of them are like me. Others aren’t. There are Gamers who just want to live. Others want to go home. And then there are those who are willing to do horrible things to get what they want."

"So they’re bad people?" Yukihime asked.

"Not necessarily. Wanting to live doesn’t make someone a bad person. Neither does wanting to go home. But what someone’s willing to do to get those things... that’s a different story."

Yukihime thought about it.

Then she tugged on his sleeve.

"And what does Daddy want?"

Haru opened his mouth to answer.

But he stopped.

The question was simple. The answer, not so much.

He wanted to live. He wanted to get stronger. He wanted to understand that world, figure out what the system was, and find a way to avoid ending up dead because of a game he had never chosen to play.

But there was something else.

He looked at the three of them.

At Yukihime, holding on to his sleeve. At Isabela, patiently waiting for his answer. At Kira, who had finally stopped staring at the ground.

"What do you think?" he asked his daughter.

Yukihime immediately smiled.

"Daddy wants to stay!"

Haru stared at her for a moment.

Then he smiled.

"That’s right."

The silence that followed was different from the one before.

Isabela’s shoulders relaxed slightly, and she let out a quiet sigh.

Kira smiled too, although there seemed to be something behind her smile that she hadn’t quite expressed.

It wasn’t as if all their doubts had disappeared. Haru knew that. They weren’t stupid, and he didn’t expect them to blindly accept everything he said.

But at least, for that moment, they had understood the most important thing.

He wanted to stay.

And he was willing to fight for it.

"Well," Isabela said, breaking the silence. "Since we’re talking about things that are going to happen, there’s something else you need to know."

Haru looked at her.

"What?"

"I already know what your Recurrence Test will be."

His eyebrows shot up.

’Huh?’

"What will the next test be?" Haru immediately asked.

Isabela turned toward him.

"A maze."

Haru stared at her.

"A maze?"

"Yes."

"An actual maze?"

"That’s what I just said."

Haru rubbed his chin.

"And what are we supposed to do in there?"

"I don’t know."

He turned to her.

"What do you mean, you don’t know?"

"I know they’re building the testing grounds and that they’ll take the form of a maze. I don’t know the objective of the test or what the rules will be. All I know is that it starts in six days."

’Six days.’

Haru stared at the grounds, quickly doing the math.

It wasn’t much time, but it wasn’t impossible either. It depended on what they were expected to do. A maze could test navigation, combat, endurance, or even teamwork.

Or it could be a trap filled with corridors, monsters, and some ridiculous rule invented by teachers who enjoyed watching students suffer.

Knowing this Academy, it would probably be all four at once.

"Then you have six days to prepare," Isabela concluded.

Yukihime threw her arms up.

"But there’s nothing Daddy can’t handle! I know you’ll pass this time!"

Haru looked at his daughter.

Her smile was so sincere that, for a moment, he couldn’t think of a single joke to make.

He felt something warm in his chest.

It wasn’t that he was afraid of the next test. In fact, maybe he was too irresponsible to feel as much fear as he should. Or perhaps he was already getting used to the idea that, no matter how absurd the situation became, he’d always find some way to survive.

Even so, hearing those words made a difference.

Someone believed in him.

Not because they knew all his abilities, nor because they knew what he was hiding.

Simply because he was her father.

Haru placed his hand on Yukihime’s head.

"I’ll do my best."

"No!" the girl protested. "You’re going to pass!"

He laughed.

"Okay, okay. I’ll pass."

"Promise?"

Haru hesitated for a fraction of a second. He didn’t like promising things he couldn’t guarantee. But he looked at her face and eventually nodded.

"I promise I’ll try to come back to you."

Yukihime seemed satisfied with the answer and hugged him again.

Haru let her stay there.

For now, that was enough.

"Kira."

The girl raised her head.

"Master."

"You’ve been awfully quiet."

Haru had noticed it ever since she arrived. Kira was usually spontaneous, curious, and sometimes incapable of staying still for more than a few minutes. Today, however, she had barely participated in the conversation.

Even when Isabela had scolded him, Kira had merely smiled instead of joining the argument as she usually would.

"Is everything okay?" he asked.

Kira looked at Haru, then at Isabela, and finally lowered her eyes to her own hand. She opened her palm, seeming to search for something on her skin for a brief moment.

The spiral symbol that had once been there was no longer visible.

Kira slowly closed her hand.

"Nothing much," she replied. "I think I’m just tired."

Haru furrowed his brow.

"Tired?"

"Yeah."

She raised her eyes and tried to smile naturally.

"I’ve been appointed head of the cafeteria. I think I have more work than I expected."

"WHAT?!" Isabela exclaimed.

Her surprise was so genuine that even Yukihime turned toward her.

"Head of the cafeteria?!" the noblewoman repeated. "Since when?!"

Kira shrugged.

"Since today."

"And you were planning to tell us when?!"

"Now?"

Isabela pressed a hand to her forehead, and just then, the bell rang loudly. Haru raised his head but didn’t pay much attention to it... Irresponsible as ever.

"Huh? What’s that this time?" Isabela sighed, noticing the bell.

"Judging by Isabela’s reaction, I’d say being head of the cafeteria is a pretty big deal."

"Both good and bad," Kira replied. "But mostly good."

"What do you mean?"

Kira began counting the advantages on her fingers.

"The food. I don’t have to stand in line anymore, I can decide what’s going to be cooked, and I have some freedom to organize the work, among other things."

Haru stared at her.

’Food.’

’Food without lines.’

’Food without the risk of getting to the cafeteria and discovering there’s nothing left.’

His eyes began to sparkle.

"Wait... So that means..."

"Don’t get too excited," Kira interrupted, immediately realizing where his thoughts were headed. "I still have work to do. A lot of work."

Haru ignored the warning.

"Hehehehe..."

He brought a hand to his chin, wearing a smile that grew increasingly suspicious. What was it Flavius and Golden always said? I have... I have... a connection!

Isabela simply closed her eyes. "Please tell me you’re not thinking of taking advantage of her position to get free food."

"Taking advantage? What an ugly way to put it. I’m merely considering the possibilities of a mutually beneficial relationship."

"Haru."

"A strategic partnership."

"Haru."

"A long-term food alliance!"

"HARU!"

"Okay, okay!"

He raised his hands, although the smile never left his face.

Eldrath Academy was a peculiar place.

Besides training exceptional warriors, it sought to prepare its students to take on responsibilities that, elsewhere, would be handed over to servants or hired workers. There, the students themselves took care of cleaning, garden maintenance, and various other tasks necessary to keep the institution running.

There were no butlers assigned to do everything for them.

Which was particularly strange considering the number of nobles and children from wealthy families studying there.

However, the Academy didn’t seem interested in how much money a student’s parents possessed. In the eyes of the authorities, everyone was a student subject to the same rules. Wealth didn’t guarantee admission, and poverty wasn’t grounds for expulsion.

Naturally, that didn’t mean everyone was treated exactly equally in every circumstance. Family influence still existed, as it did in any society. But within the Academy, merit carried a weight Haru had rarely seen taken so seriously.

And the results spoke for themselves.

The quality of education was extraordinary.

Even so, Haru could think of a much more immediate application for that institutional philosophy.

If Kira was the head of the cafeteria...

His eyes sparkled again.

Food.

Food every day.

And maybe he’d never have to face that miserable line again!