NOVPUBEsha walked down the hallway and stopped in front of the hospital room where Noah was staying.
Then she double-checked to make sure she brought the right things.
Rustle.
The contents of the basket could hardly be called “fruit.” Every snack and drink inside just had pictures of fruit on the label—probably only about 1% fruit, if that. But there wasn’t much she could do.
She hadn’t expected even the control-type medical equipment to be that expensive.
So once again, she was flat broke. Aside from a small portion of money trickling in from selling the mask, she’d have to scrounge up the rest elsewhere... somehow.
Still, showing up empty-handed felt wrong. Which is why she ended up choosing a snack gift set worth exactly 36,200 won.
That’s when it happened.
SLAM!
A man with an overwhelmingly cold presence stormed past her and shut the door hard behind him.
“Shit—!”
He stared at her briefly with an icy glare, glanced down at the snack box in her hands, then turned and walked down the hall in the direction she’d come from.
That guy...
There was a faint salty scent trailing behind him. Like the ocean—only heavier. It reminded her of Noah’s scent sometimes, though this one felt much thicker, more oppressive.
After standing there, trying to place it, she finally remembered.
...The Patriarch of the Arkha family.
The head of Noah’s family.
Most people from that bloodline were known to be ruthless, cold, and brutally pragmatic.
No one in their right mind would want to pick a fight with the Arkhas—not even powerful factions. Too many national heroes had come out of that house, and too many major events had their fingerprints all over them. But that same track record came with a cost: piss them off even slightly, and you’d find your name ruined and your money gone before you could blink.
Descendants of the sea, obsessed with the glory of their house.
And among them, the current patriarch—Noah’s father—was said to be... especially severe.
“Right, so that means...”
He had spent nights with countless women from noble families. One of the children born from that was Noah.
And for that man to show up here—
There’s no way this is good news.
Esha opened the door.
As expected, Noah sat slumped, looking deflated.
“Hey, senpai!”
She placed the basket on the side table beside her.
Then slowly tried to gauge the mood.
“I brought some fruit for your recovery!”
“...What is this?”
Noah looked at the basket, puzzled.
Esha used that moment to casually bring up the earlier encounter.
“Ah, fruits are crazy expensive these days! So I brought fruit flavored snacks instead! I mean, it’s a world where even 1% fruit juice gets marketed as ‘real fruit flavor,’ right?”
“Ah...”
“Anyway, there was a guy who looked really pissed just now. Something happen?”
Noah just smiled like nothing was wrong.
“No, it’s nothing.”
She looked anything but fine, but still.
If that’s what Noah said, then what else could Esha do? She buried her face in the blanket Noah had pulled up over herself.
If she were still in her original male body, this would’ve been a one-way ticket to getting labeled a pervert. But now, in the clear and undeniable body of a girl, this was just something one female friend could do for another.
Totally natural. Obviously.
Rustle.
The blanket smelled faintly like the ocean and old wood.
No—scratch that. It wasn’t the blanket. It was her. Noah smelled like that.
Maybe her nose had gotten sharper from all the alcohol lately, but right now, she could clearly tell the difference.
Compared to the patriarch’s scent, this was lighter. Softer. More her taste.
Definitely my favorite character.
There was a reason she kept bringing Noah along to the end in every route.
Of course, if she ever actually said that out loud, her affection points would nosedive. Which is why she never said anything weird like "You're my character" or some psycho gamer nonsense.
“Mmmm, this is niiiice~”
“Eh... Esha?”
There was one more reason she was sticking this close: to make sure Noah didn’t go blabbing about what really happened that day with the old man.
“A-Actually, when you saved me that time—mmph.”
“....”
Exactly. Like that.
Nobody else knew the context, so they wouldn’t understand, but if Noah started talking too much, people would figure out that she had straight-up beat the old guy senseless.
Sure, maybe she’d get some kind of reward. But this situation was way too risky.
She still didn’t know whether the cultists had figured out who she really was, but based on the bishop’s reaction, chances were they hadn’t.
If that was the case, she had to stay undercover and keep using them.
Selling the masks was one thing—but if people found out the bishop had been captured, they’d realize the hypnosis had been broken.
“I’d really rather not talk about that?”
“Ah... yeah. Okay.”
Thankfully, Noah was sharper than expected. She nodded quietly.
“More importantly... is your family alright? This was a big incident.”
“Ah... yeah. I guess.”
Noah always avoided talking about her father.
To her, the patriarch wasn’t just strict—he was someone you didn’t even mention lightly.
But that only applied to her father.
Now that Esha thought about it, Noah had always been able to talk about her mother just fine.
Even in the game, choosing the dialogue options about her mother would raise her affection score—if only by a bit.
“Actually... my mom passed away.”
“Oh... I didn’t know. I’m sorry.”
But of course, that was a lie.
There was no way Esha didn’t already know Noah’s mother was dead.
“What was she like?”
Still, she played along.
Because the girl was smiling gently now—wanting to talk a little more.
“Do you know the Nazarene family?”
“Oh, of course!”
The Nazarene family.
Not a particularly large house, but renowned when it came to woodworking, botany, and wood-type attributes in general.
They’d produced countless botanists—and it was the family Noah’s mother came from.
If she remembered right, her name had been Ariel Nazarene.
“My mom was from that family. When I was little... she used to make me wooden ducks.”
“She carved them herself?”
“Not exactly. It was more like... they grew out of the plant. Like fruit.”
“Ooh... that’s incredible!”
Wooden ducks that bloomed from trees? What the hell?
“Can you make them too, senpai?”
“I’m decent with plants, but... I’m nowhere near her level.”
“That’s a shame. Wait. If that works for plants... does that mean grapes too—?”
If she could help something grow... maybe she could grow grapes?
How the hell had she not thought of this before?
If that worked, she could make her own wine.
Sure, it might take some time, but she knew plenty of useless land. If she handled it right, she could start producing her own alcohol!
“...No. That’s not happening.”
“Ah.”
“Could you not wear your intentions so openly? Maybe if we were off-campus I’d turn a blind eye, but we’re inside the Academy. Even I have a conscience, you know.”
“What... what intentions...?”
“......”
The look Noah gave her—like she was staring at something slightly pathetic—stabbed her right in the guilt.
Esha coughed awkwardly and changed the subject.
“But Noah-senpai, your last name is Ariel, right?”
“Oh—did I never explain that? My father’s from the Arkha family, and my mother was from Nazarene. I was born after they got married.”
“Ah...”
She spoke like this was brand new information, but Esha already knew. She let it slide.
“But neither of them had the last name Ariel.”
“My mother was always the better person. I forced it and took her name instead.”
“You can do that?”
“I mean, I wasn’t exactly important to the family. I doubt they cared what I called myself.”
That’s right. Without taking either family’s name, Noah had simply used her mother’s first name and made it her surname.
That was how she’d become Ariel Noah, not Nazarene Noah, and definitely not Arkha Noah.
“Don’t regret it?”
“It’s just a name. I could change it again if I wanted.”
“...You can do that?”
“Not that I ever will. I don’t plan to.” 𝖓𝔬𝔳𝔭𝔲𝔟.𝖈𝖔𝔪
As Noah spoke calmly, Esha sat with her a little longer and opened one of the snacks she’d brought.
“Wanna share?”
“You’re asking like you haven’t already decided.”
“It’s rude not to eat the food you bring!”
“Alright, alright. I’ll have some too.”
After eating what felt like a hundred chocolates lately, the fruity candy was a nice change.
Maybe next time I’ll put alcohol inside the candy.
The slow melt, followed by a hint of booze on the tongue... could be interesting.
“Well then, I’ll get going.”
“You’re leaving after opening just one snack?”
“I’ve got stuff to do. You’re still healing, and... there are other people here too.”
“Right, true.”
This wasn’t just their space. Rambling too much would bother the other patients.
Even if she’d captured the bishop and guaranteed everyone’s safety—it still wouldn’t make it okay.
Just as Esha turned to leave the room, she noticed a man sleeping in the bed next to Noah’s. Head on a pillow. One arm missing.
That had to be the guard who’d lost his arm during the Kolinia battle.
Wait. Where have I seen him before?
There was something familiar. She was sure she’d seen this character somewhere in the game, even before that whole event.
But she couldn’t place it.
...Eh, probably not important.
None of the main characters ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ she remembered had missing limbs.
Shrugging, she turned away and headed toward her next destination.
