Chapter 21. Alicia, I Love You, But You’re My Greatest Enemy

Chapter 21: 21. Alicia, I Love You, But You’re My Greatest Enemy

She laughed again, but softer this time... it was so adorable.

And then we walked back across the yard with no gap between us at all. I noticed that she’d stopped keeping her usual careful distance.

Across the courtyard, I saw Alicia standing in a doorway, watching us approach. She looked from my face to Laura’s and gave a tiny, knowing smile, the kind that meant she’d already figured out something I hadn’t.

Shit... Is she trying to pull some cockblocking move or something? But... I trust that Alicia is going to be the greatest wingwoman ever.

But turns out... she didn’t do anything. Eh...

...

The instructors’ wing had a guest room for visiting officers, and Sharon put us in it for the night.

It had three narrow beds, a table, and a window that looked out at the training yard. Martin was sleeping next door with a guard Sharon trusted posted outside.

I carried two mugs of hot tea back from the kitchen, and Laura came in at the same time with a stack of papers under her arm.

"You two took your time," Alicia said, lounging on the sofa with her boots off.

"Sharon explained the plan for tomorrow," Laura said. "We’re meeting the Commander at dawn... before the garrison wakes up."

Alicia nodded. Then she looked at Laura and at how close Laura was standing to me, and a slow smile crossed her face.

I knew that smile. It was the one that came right before she did something that made my life ten times more complicated.

Ohhhh... Isn’t now the right time for her to be my best wingwoman?

Alicia stood up, spread both arms wide, and walked toward Laura with the warmest, friendliest expression I’ve ever seen on a human being.

Oh no, I thought... I’ve got a bad feeling about this.

"Laura!"

Laura blinked. "Yes?"

"Welcome!"

Laura looked at the open arms. "Huh...?"

She looked at me, and I just shrugged my shoulders, and then she looked back at Alicia with her head tilted for a little. "Welcome to what?"

"Welcome to Roland’s harem!"

The room went silent. And fucking hell... I nearly dropped both mugs of tea because of how unpredictable she really is.

And...

WHAT THE FUCK?! THAT’S NOT A WINGWOMAN’S MOVE AT ALL!!!

Laura looked like someone had just recited a forbidden spell in front of her. "His... what now...?"

"His harem, of course~!" Alicia said brightly. "I’m his first partner, so I’ve appointed myself in charge, and I wanted you to hear it from me first!"

"Just hear me out, you get that right?" Alicia winked.

Laura turned slowly to face me. "...?"

I raised both hands, mugs and all, while shaking my head... REAL hard. "I swear on my mama that I did not plan this conversation at all!"

"Whaaaa...? Ain’t we talked about it already," Alicia said, elbowing my ribs.

GOD! SHE’S MAKING IT WORSE!

"But that doesn’t mean you should announce it like you’re welcoming a new member to a gardening community!"

"Why not? I want everyone to feel included so that they don’t feel left out."

Laura looked from Alicia to me and back, and I watched her try to put the pieces together. "Wait... You two have actually discussed a... ha... rem?"

"You see, my dear friend Laura~! Roland’s curse works through bonds with strong female knights," Alicia said, with the serene calm of someone describing the weather. "The more compatible bonds he makes, the more powerful he becomes, and the partners grow stronger too!"

"I’ve known that from the start because I feel that from him, and so... I always figured he’d eventually need more than one."

I put my face in my hand. Oh, just put a sword in my heart already.

Alicia, I thought, I love you... I truly do.

But sometimes... I wonder whether my greatest enemy is not a royal conspiracy but you... don’t tell me this is going to be a massive twist in the future.

"And of course! I want to be clear about something," Alicia continued. "Nobody gets pushed into anything around here."

"Everyone has to want it on their own. I’m only telling you so you won’t feel awkward if you ever decide that you like him."

Laura opened her mouth. But... Nothing came out.

And then she tried again.

"I never said that I... liked him."

"Ohooo~! Not yet."

"And I never said I wanted to be part of any harem!"

"Not yet, either."

"Stop saying that!"

I couldn’t help it. I laughed.

Laura whirled on me. "You don’t get to laugh!"

"Sorry... It’s just that... I never thought I’d see you lose an argument without a sword in your hand."

"I’ll fix that right now."

"This is exactly why I’ll never win a debate against you."

Alicia was laughing too, and she slid an arm around Laura’s shoulders as if it were the most natural thing in the world. Laura stiffened, but she didn’t pull away.

After a moment, Alicia’s tone changed, and the teasing drained out of it.

"I’m serious about one thing," she said. "Roland can be annoying, careless, and way too confident!"

"But he’ll also risk his life for anyone who needs it."

Laura glanced at me. "I know that..."

"And if you ever want to be part of his life, I want you to feel safe saying so to me."

"I don’t want anyone competing or hiding how they feel."

Laura didn’t answer right away. I could see her thinking about Dunmore, about the fight in the forest, and about the riverbank and the courtyard.

She had spent two days observing me engage in foolishly generous acts, and I suspected that for the first time, she was realizing that Alicia was not mocking her.

Alicia literally offered her a seat at a table, and she meant it.

"I don’t know what I think about any of this," Laura said at last, slowly. "So unpredictable as always from Alicia... and also... sudden."

"That’s okay."

"I’m not promising that I’ll join."

"Of course not."

"And Roland can’t use his curse as an excuse to get close to me."

I answered before Alicia could. "I won’t! I promise!"

She searched my face for signs that I was kidding. But there weren’t any, and she nodded once.

"Good."

Alicia held out her arms again. "Then would you accept a welcome hug, as a friend?"

Laura stared at her as if she’d asked for her sword.

"You’re a very strange woman, even for a knight," she said.

"Thank you!"

"That wasn’t a compliment... don’t take it to your heart."

But after a long, painful pause, Laura stepped forward and let Alicia hug her. She was stiff as a board at first.

Then her shoulders came down by degrees, and she put her arms around Alicia in an awkward, careful embrace. When she realized I was watching, her face went crimson.

"Stop looking at us!"

I spun around at once. "I wasn’t looking at anything!"

Feels like I’m third-wheeling here...

"It’s clear that you’re smiling!"

"That’s because I’m a happy man, thank you."

"ROLAND!"

Alicia laughed so hard that she had to hold onto Laura to stay upright. The sound filled the whole room, and for the first time in days, none of us was running from anything.

I leaned against the wall and let it wash over me, and I realized I wanted something that had nothing to do with the system.

I wanted more nights like this...

I wanted the people who walked beside me to trust each other, protect each other, and have a place to come back to.

And of course... the system didn’t let me enjoy that for long.

A panel slid into view, glowing blue against the lamplight.

[BOND COMPATIBILITY UPDATE]

[Laura Lapisfield]

[Trust Level: Increased]

[Romantic Affinity: Developing]

[Potential Bond: Available, Not Established]

[Reminder: Mutual consent required.]

I read it and let it sit.

Laura wasn’t my partner... maybe for now, and she hadn’t even decided whether she liked me that way.

But for the first time, the panel wasn’t only telling me what power I could get. It was showing that something real had grown between us, and that was a completely unique thing from a reward.

No rush, I thought... I’ll let her pick her own road.

I was about to dismiss it when another message appeared underneath.

[URGENT QUEST UNLOCKED]

[Quest: Investigate Site Nine]

[Objective: Discover the true purpose of the stolen energy crystals.]

[Additional Condition: Cooperate with Sharon Sanford, SSS-Rank War Valkyrie.]

[Warning: A high-level threat has been detected within Elarion.]

My smile faded.

What...? A high-level threat...?

Outside the window, a bell began to ring.

RINNNNNNGGGGGGGGGGGG!

It wasn’t the slow evening bell I’d heard earlier.

This one was fast, hard, and desperate, clanging from the direction of the eastern wall, and under it came the sound of boots running in the yard.

The light from the barrier, visible through the glass, flickered once, no... twice, and then a whole stretch of the sky above the city turned dark.

Laura broke away from Alicia and reached for her sword. "We’re under attack!"

The door flew open. Sharon stood in the frame with her huge blade over her shoulder and her face set like stone.

"Roland! Laura! Alicia! With me, NOWWW!"

"What happened?" Laura asked.

Sharon looked at each of us in turn.

"The barrier... it’s just lost most of its energy," she said. "And a runner just reported that Site Nine is active."

She gripped her sword.

"If we don’t move right now, this whole city could be in danger!"

I took a deep breath and checked my lust one more time. And yes... It still sat at a pitiful quarter, flickering like a candle in a draft.

Let me recap for today... I’d arrived in a kingdom, met an SSS-Rank woman who wanted to throw me around a training field, gotten welcomed into a harem I hadn’t officially organized, and now...

...I had to help save a city with a battery that was nearly dead.

I pulled my sword out of its sheath and grinned.

Well, I thought.

At least my life isn’t boring.