Chapter 23
At times like this, the best thing to do would be to lie and say you had a boyfriend. Unfortunately, Anita didn’t have one. And she wasn’t the kind of person bold enough to make one up, either.
“I guess… there’s no other way…”
Lost in her own thoughts, Anita didn’t hear him mutter to himself.
“As I told you last time, I have absolutely no interest in you, senpai.”
If she suddenly asked for his name now, he might misunderstand and think she was interested in him. To prevent such a situation, Anita deliberately used the stiff title “senpai.”
Her eyes flicked to the back of her hand. The trace of the blue butterfly was faint now, but still glimmered under the sunlight as if demanding to be noticed.
After that, Rutger didn’t appear again. This, from the man who had chased her for days insisting he had something to say. It was unlike him. He had acted so desperate before, but now… nothing.
In the end, it seemed the thing that had bothered him was Anita moving away from sitting next to him. The silly girl who had always trailed after him was suddenly gone, and that must have gotten under his skin.
How easy it must have looked—losing his head over nothing more than a painted butterfly, making a fool of himself.
Forgetting the man standing in front of her, Anita began vigorously rubbing the back of her hand. She just wanted to get rid of the paint mark completely, right now.
“Are you listening to me?”
“…”
Anita looked up from scrubbing her hand. The man stood there, looking dissatisfied, one leg cocked and his arms crossed.
“What more do you want me to say? I told you I’m not interested. I already like someone, and it’s not you, senpai.”
Her tone, polite at first, grew colder toward the end. That was because Anita found him utterly unlikable.
She had wished Rutger would either admit he had no feelings for her or tell her honestly if he liked someone else. Anything but this vague, misleading behavior.
In that sense, Anita was doing her best not to be vague herself.
Looking at this man who stubbornly refused to recognize how lucky he was, she felt an unreasonable flare of anger.
Perhaps it was jealousy.
She had worked so hard to cut off any lingering feelings for Rutger and stop being a bother to him. Meanwhile, this man lived as if he never had to worry about crossing the line, never considering how awkward or burdensome it might be for the other person. That annoyed her.
“If you keep pestering me, I’ll have no choice but to report you.”
“…What?”
Anita suddenly stood up. Startled by her abrupt movement, the man took a step back. Taking advantage of the moment, Anita quickly walked away.
Please don’t follow me.
Anita had good instincts. She had a bad feeling that if he followed her, things would get out of hand. She hoped he’d take the hint and stop.
Unfortunately, her instincts were right again.
A large shadow stretched out behind hers. She had chosen this spot because she liked quiet places, so there was no one else around except for her and the man.
Anita quickened her pace—nearly running now. She could hear his heavy footsteps following behind her.
“Anita!”
“…”
“Wait—”
She didn’t hear anything. Anita kept her eyes forward, hoping he would get tired and drop off on his own.
Bang!
A deafening noise rang out, making her ears ring. A sharp, acrid smell rose up her nose.
A gun?
She turned her head toward the direction of the sound.
A gun should be a prohibited item here.
Who on earth would be using one in broad daylight? Frowning, Anita scanned her surroundings—only to hear the thudding of running footsteps in the distance.
Then she remembered: the man had been following her. Now he was fleeing at full speed, not even glancing back, clearly spooked by the gunshot. He was running so frantically that the dirt beneath his heels scattered into the air.
Watching him vanish in a cloud of dust, Anita’s lips curved upward.
It seemed he was afraid of guns.
The man, terrified of being attacked, had no idea that the gunshot just now posed no danger.
Anita had just managed to recall that Aberdeen University had a shooting club.
After hesitating by the roadside for a moment, she started walking toward the source of the gunfire.
Following a path lined with trees, she soon came to a narrow lane. It stretched on, empty of people, and she began to waver. She had no real interest in shooting. She didn’t particularly want to start club activities, either. Was it really okay to just wander in like this?
But it was too late to turn back now. In front of her lay a huge open space surrounded by a fence.
Bang!
Another gunshot slammed into her eardrums, louder now that she was closer.
“Hey there.”
The voice in her ear was much softer than the gunfire, but Anita still jumped as if she’d been burned.
“Wh-what…?”
“Joining up?”
Standing there with a perfectly calm smile, as if nothing had happened, was Liche Noheim.
“It’s a great idea. There’s no club more practical and friendly than ours.”
Practical. Friendly. Neither word seemed to suit a shooting range filled with the smell of gunpowder.
“I’m not looking to join yet.”
Anita’s voice grew less confident. From Liche’s perspective, she must look ridiculous—coming all the way out to a shooting range far from the school buildings only to back out.
“Well, a cautious personality isn’t bad. Shooting, after all, requires patience and careful judgment.”
The way he twisted her words to his advantage, and the way he approached from behind so suddenly—he really was a lot like Edmund. They seemed like old friends from childhood; maybe that was why.
“Still, just sitting around studying all the time gets boring. Sometimes you need to let off some steam, you know?”
“Yes.”
