Edit Chapter 412

How To Survive In The Romance Fantasy Game

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The semester was drawing to a close, and with it, her days at the academy were numbered.
Yet, strangely enough, Lorraine didn't feel like it was ending at all.
"Shit… why are we being bombarded with all this work?" she muttered to herself, dragging a hand through her already-messy hair as she slumped over the stack of papers on her table.
"Just because we're senior students now doesn't mean we don't get to rest, right?"
Her voice was low, more of a grumble than anything else, barely audible above the soft clatter of plates and the gentle hum of morning chatter around her.
Frustration simmered beneath her skin.
All this effort poured into completing her thesis—just words and more words on paper—felt wasteful.
She would've rather spent that energy out on the field, doing something real.
Monster hunting. Guarding missions.
Anything that required action, movement, and instinct.
Not this endless string of documentation and citations.
Still, she couldn't exactly complain. Not too much, anyway.
The academy had been surprisingly lenient with written exams lately.
Maybe they realized the seniors were all running on fumes at this point.
Or maybe they were just trying to get rid of them quietly before the new batch came in.
Either way, it helped.
She shifted in her seat, her eyes drifting from the stack of papers to the wide view just past the balcony's edge.
"It'll probably snow heavily today," she murmured, almost absentmindedly, as she watched the sky.
The clouds overhead were a soft grey, stretched thin and long like worn fabric, heavy with unshed snow.
The morning sun was struggling to peek through, casting the world in a faint silver hue.
Though it was still early, the world already felt dimmer.
Quieter.
Winter was settling in.
And Lorraine, for all her composure and strength, never particularly liked the cold.
The chill always found a way past her defenses, creeping through her clothes and nestling deep into her bones.
It reminded her too much of long nights and silence.
Letting out another sigh, she sliced off a small piece of her breakfast—simple toast with soft butter and a drizzle of honey—and followed it with a slow sip of her steaming coffee.
The bitterness grounded her, if only slightly.
Right now, she sat on the second-floor balcony of one of the academy's more famous cafés, nestled into a corner seat with the best view of the main courtyard.
Morning traffic passed below—students moving like drifting snowflakes, bundled up and half-awake, their breath visible in the cold air.
She watched them with a certain detachment, a quietness in her eyes.
It wasn't the worst way to start a day, she thought.
Not peaceful, exactly, but... manageable.
Even if her plate was full of responsibilities, and even if the world outside was slowly freezing over, there was still this moment.
A slice of warmth in the cold.
Lorraine could've easily made her own breakfast this morning.
Hell, she could've just eaten at the academy cafeteria like everyone else.
It would've been quicker, cheaper, and far more convenient given how little time she had these days.
But no.
She chose this café—again.
Just like she had every other morning for the past few months.
All because a certain someone used to love this place.
She stirred her now lukewarm coffee absentmindedly, watching the steam fade into the crisp air.
Her gaze drifted once more toward the street below, eyes scanning the passing crowd like she had every day since then.
But of course… she wasn't there.
"Haah… where the heck did that girl go, anyway?" Lorraine muttered under her breath.
Alice.
Her best friend.
It had been months since she'd vanished without so much as a goodbye.
One moment they were cramming notes and laughing over midnight coffee, the next… nothing.
No letters. No messages. Not even a whisper through magical channels.
She understood Alice also got busy with her love life but that alone couldn't explain her disappearance…
For a while, her sudden disappearance was the hottest topic on campus.
Whispers floated through the halls like wildfire—speculations, gossip, and bizarre theories ranging from secret missions to forbidden magic.
But the most persistent rumor?
Marriage.
That Alice had eloped with someone powerful. Someone with enough influence to pull her out of the academy without raising flags.
The most absurd one?
That she was now a concubine to some nobleman's house.
Or more specifically a certain someone's house who also magically disappeared the same time as her…
Lorraine scowled just thinking about it.
How could people be so content with such half-baked theories? This wasn't just any student. Alice was a top-tier mage.
One of the best in their year. A future archmage, if not something even more.
People like that don't just disappear without a reason.
And if that "certain someone" really was involved—Riley, as many suspected—it made the whole thing feel even more suspicious.
It gave fuel to the ridiculous marriage rumors… but it also made Lorraine's chest tighten in a way she didn't like to think about.
She took another sip of coffee, forcing herself to stay calm.
"We're about to graduate soon… and at this rate, I might actually graduate before her," she said softly, eyes fixed on the snow-dusted street beyond the railing.
There was only one semester left.
Just one.
Even if Alice were to return right now, she didn't exactly have enough time to catch up with everything she had missed. Her credits. Her reports. Her thesis.
Not to mention the practical exams and field work.
Lorraine had done her best to cover for her.
She'd spent extra nights submitting reports under Alice's name, quietly slipping in addendums and supporting documentation whenever she could.
She even worked on Alice's thesis alongside her own.
But still…
Whether it would be enough to save her friend from academic failure was up to the academy's higher-ups.
Then again, knowing Alice's influence and potential, she'd probably just get a slap on the wrist and a polite extension—business as usual for the important people in the world.
She sighed again, this time longer, deeper, as if trying to exhale all the thoughts swirling inside her chest.
Then, with a slight shake of her head, she dismissed the last remnants of doubt from her mind.
No. There was no way that was truly the case.
Alice—her whimsical, unpredictable, occasionally spacey best friend—might've always floated halfway between daydream and reality, but she was no fool.
Naïve? A bit. Too kind for her own good? Absolutely.
But Alice was never careless. She always had a strange way of understanding things, even if she rarely explained them aloud.
She wasn't the kind of girl to just throw everything away on a whim.
If she disappeared… it was for a reason.
And Lorraine was almost certain she knew what kind of reason it was.
"She's probably off somewhere," Lorraine muttered under her breath, "doing something stupid and dangerous all on her own… just to protect someone."
Because that's who Alice was.
She'd always been like that—selfless to a fault.
Whether it was standing between a rampaging beast and a group of terrified first-years, or staying up all night healing someone who pushed themselves too far during mana practice, Alice never hesitated.
She always put herself last, no matter the cost.
And over the years, Lorraine had learned that when Alice went quiet… it usually meant she was carrying the weight of something big.
The thought left a dull ache in her chest.
It wasn't just worry—it was a quiet kind of hurt.
A small, unspoken sadness that came from knowing Alice hadn't trusted her enough to bring her along.
That she had chosen to face whatever it was alone.
Or maybe not entirely alone.
Lorraine's lips thinned as she looked down at her coffee.
Because there was someone else who had disappeared the same day Alice did.
Riley.
The name itself stirred a complicated feeling inside her.
If Alice had to disappear with someone… if she had to put her trust in someone else instead of her…
At the very least, it was a small comfort that it was him.
He was strong. No—he was terrifyingly strong.
Arguably the most powerful student in the academy, despite how low he kept his profile.
There was a mystery around him that made it hard to pin down exactly what he was capable of, but
Lorraine had seen enough glimpses to know he wasn't ordinary.
If anyone could protect Alice—truly protect her—it would be him.
Still…
That didn't make it any easier.
"Haah… well, wherever those two are, I just hope they're both safe—"
Lorraine mumbled, her voice barely above a breath as she lazily poked at the last bits of her breakfast.
But just as she brought her fork up, she froze.
Her fork never reached her mouth.
Her eyes widened, her lips parted slightly in disbelief.
She blinked once.
Twice.
"A-Alice?"
A soft rustle of air followed a gentle burst of red light—like a scattering of crimson cards fluttering in slow motion.
From above, a small, elegant red portal shimmered into existence.
Then, with her usual flair for the dramatic, Alice descended from it, gracefully landing with the weightlessness of a dancer, her long pink hair catching the golden light of morning.
Her cloak swayed lightly as she straightened herself, brushing a speck of dust from her shoulder with casual ease, as if she hadn't just made a scene in the middle of one of the most popular cafés on campus.
Murmurs rippled through the air like a rising tide.
"H-Hey, is that—?"
"Wait, she's back?"
"Then… is the marriage real…?"
"That's Senior Alice, right?"
"Whoa… she's even prettier in person."
The early-morning peace was quickly disturbed by the small crowd of students scattered across the second-floor balcony and the lower seating area.
Even if it wasn't rush hour, it was still enough of an audience to spark a mild uproar.
Alice simply smiled, waving cheerfully like she'd just come back from a short stroll.
"Good morning~!"
Some students blushed.
A few waved back in awe.
Others just stared.
But Alice didn't seem fazed—she was used to the attention. Used to eyes following her. She was always the type to shine wherever she went.
But her own gaze was already fixed on one thing.
On Lorraine.
"H-Heya Lorraine!" she said, her voice full of her usual vibrant energy. "Long time no see, huh? How have you—"
She didn't get to finish.
Because Lorraine was no longer in her seat.
She was a blur—her chair scraping back with a sharp sound as she darted forward, arms wrapping tightly around Alice before the girl could react.
The impact of the hug almost pushed Alice a step back.
"Where the hell have you been!?" Lorraine's voice cracked somewhere between fury and relief, her arms tightening as if afraid Alice would vanish again.
Alice blinked, stunned for a second by the sudden embrace… then her shoulders relaxed, and a warm smile bloomed on her lips as she hugged her back just as tightly.
"Ehe… That's, well… a bit of a long story," she said, her voice softer now, almost guilty.
"You idiot…!" Lorraine muttered, her face buried against Alice's shoulder. "You absolute idiot… I thought you were dead."
"I know. I'm sorry." Alice's fingers gently stroked her best friend's back. "But I'm back now, okay?"
"…Yeah." Lorraine exhaled shakily, her throat tightening. "You better be."

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Word Count: 1,932

Character Count: 11,369

Reading Time: 10 minutes

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Status: Completed

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Last Modified

Updated: Oct 21, 2025 13:31

Created: Oct 21, 2025 13:31