"Argh.... god damn it," I muttered under my breath as I stared at myself in the mirror.
While attempting to wear on the pure-white blazer that I used to like.
However, I didn't expect that this piece of shit! (referring to the one I was currently trying to wear)
"To be so fucking tight!!" I frowned as I struggled to button up the blazer, well aware that it was uncomfortably snug around my back.
At that moment, I couldn't help but wonder, did I gain some weight? Perhaps I did, after all.
I'm someone who enjoys eating and happily indulges whenever I sit at the table.
But I'm not so overweight that I can't fit into something like this shits!
"Fuu!" I let out a long sigh as I pushed it and finally managed to put it on by myself.
'Fuck, it's really so fucking tight! Thankfully, I managed to wear it,' I thought while examining myself in the mirror.
"..."
"All prepared, I guess?" I mumbled with a satisfied look on my face even though I know that this shit is hella hard to move.
"Ha..."
Does all noble's clothing have to be this uncomfortable? Perhaps not. It's just that this blazer is so incredibly tight!
And just as I finished getting ready, a knocking sound echoed inside the room where I was changing.
-Knock!
-Knock!
"Young Master Khierom, are you done?" a feminine voice called from outside the room.
'Aurilya?' I thought, quickly recognizing her unique voice before I spoke.
"Yes, wait, I'm almost don-" However, just as I was about to finish my sentence.
-cseschh!!
When suddenly the sound of fabric tearing reached my ears from behind.
"...!?"
"Oh, shit, did the back part of my blazer just get ripped?" I frowned in confusion as I leaned back to get a better look.
As I take a look at my reflection, using the mirror in front of me.
I was then greeted by a large tear stretching from the right shoulder blade down to the center of my back.
"Ohh, boy," I mumbled.
Seeing the blazer I had forced myself to wear is now torn as if someone had sliced it with a katana from behind.
'Ah... why am I here, just to suffer?'
"Damn it?! What am I going to do? I can't just go outside like this!" I muttered as I asked myself, trying to come up with a plan to solve this damnit problem.
Just then, as I began to panic, Aurilya knocked on the door and called out to me once again.
-Knock!
"Young Master Khierom, are you alright? Madam Aria said we need to go now," Aurilya said.
Upon hearing this, I responded in a way that wouldn't sound suspicious.
"W-wait!" I stuttered in panic as I tried to buy myself some time to come up with a solution.
"!!!"
Then, Bingo!
After racking my head, I finally came up with an answer, although it wasn't the ideal solution one might expect.
More or less, it's still a solution that can temporarily fix this problem.
"Ah, yes! I completely forgot that I still have my coat. Why not use it to cover my back? After all, I'll be wearing it anyway," I thought to myself, satisfied with this stupid solution.
'Well, although it's pretty stupid that I think about it, however, let's just go with it,' I thought as I looked at my reflection in the mirror.
-Knock!
-Knock!
When, for the third time, Aurilya knocked and called me once more.
"Um, are you done, Young Master Khierom?" Aurilya asked in a concerning tone.
"Yes, I'm almost done," I replied as I wore the coat to cover the torn part of the blazer.
After that, when I felt everything was in place, I took one last look in the mirror to check if it was still visible.
Fortunately, the coat fit well, and the damage was concealed. With that in mind,
-Squark...!
I pushed the door open as I stepped outside the room and was greeted by a refreshing smile from Aurilya.
"Hehehe, it looks really good on you, Young Master Khierom," Aurilya praised in a confident tone while waving her hand before she continued to talk.
"As expected of myself, I really know what's really suited for you!" Aurilya added.
Seeing and Hearing her egoistic attitude, I couldn't help but remember the time when Aurilya just straight-up blackmailed me.
Just for me to wear this stupid tight blazer that ended up getting torn in the end
"Don't 'heh hehe' me, you blackmailer," I mumbled under my breath as I walked past Aurilya.
"Uh, what do you mean by that, Young Master Khierom?" Aurilya asked, looking at me with a sly smile on her face.
'What the heck?! How did you hear it?' I thought before I spoke.
Pretending that I didn't say a single word.
"Huh? What are you talking about?" I said with a poker face while also avoiding eye contact with Aurilya.
Hearing my response, Aurilya paused for a moment before speaking.
"Alright~ anyway, let's go, Young Master Khierom," Aurilya said politely as she unexpectedly held my hand.
"Let's go, Young Master Khierom," Aurilya said in a hurried tone.
'The heck, don't hold my hands,' I thought as I tried to slip my hands away.
But it seems impossible because of how tightly Aurilya holds my hands and also how soft they are, so in the end, I give up.
After that failed attempt, we walked down the hallway.
While walking, Aurilya then suddenly spoke and asked a strange question.
"Young Master Khierom, do you know why I asked you to wear that blazer?" Aurilya asked as we continued walking.
'Isn't it because you like it? I thought as I looked at Aurilya before I spoke.
"It's because it would look nice on me, right?" I said with a straight look at my face.
While having another thought in my head, 'HAHAHA, nice-looking my ass. It's so fucking tight, for your information,'
Hearing my response, Aurilya shook her head and looked at me with a worried expression before speaking.
"Hahaha. Well, that's true, but there's also another reason for it," Aurilya paused and continued to speak.
"I just wanted to see you wearing the blazer that I chose. After all, this might be the very last time I will be able to see you, Young Master Khierom," Aurilya said in a sad tone, with a sorrowful expression on.
'Haha, why does it sound like I'm going to die, or what?' I thought to myself before speaking.
"Why does it sound like I'm going to die? Hahahaha, I'm not that weak, you know?" I playfully said as I looked at Aurilya, whose gloomy expression remained unchanged.
"Because it is," Aurilya replied as she continued to speak.
"Do you know what the survivability rate is once you enter the Shadows Arcana?" Aurilya added as she looked at me, waiting for my answer.
"Yes, Isn't it 68 percent?" I replied confidently as I looked at Aurilya
"Nope, you're wrong, Young Master Khierom," Aurilya said as she shook her head and continued to explain why.
"68 percent is what's written on paper, but the truth is, the survival rate in the Shadow Arcane is much lower than you may expect.
"Why? Well, there are so many reasons why the survival rate is much lower. Do you know what are those, young master Khierom?" Aurilya asked as she looked at me.
"..."
Hearing that, I remained silent as I began to think about it.
The fuck?! Why are you suddenly asking like that out of nowhere? But... to be honest, I really don't know.
However, I can't just say that I don't know the answer. It will just make me look pretty stupid if I say something like that.
But, well, what can you do if you really don't know the answer? Then Why not make one on your own? 'Hehehehe, it sounds so stupid, but let's do it,' I thought.
"Uh... could it be because of how hard its training is?" I replied in an impartial tone as I looked at her.
Is my answer correct? Well, I don't know. I just made that one up, but to be honest, my answer isn't wrong either.
Either way, back in my past life, there were what you'd call marines, and they only had a five percent recruitment rate upon joining them.
But, hell nah, it's so dumb to compare the recruitment rate and the life-and-death rate in this world.
"..."
After hearing my answer, Aurilya shook her head again, indicating that my answer was wrong.
"Nope, your answer is wrong, but your answer isn't wrong either," Aurilya replied
"What do you mean by that? I can't quite understand," I politely asked as I looked at Aurilya.
Hearing that, Aurilya changed her gloomy demeanor and smiled gently as she looked at me.
As if she had a realization in her mind and had finally made a decision on it.
With a playful tone, she spoke, "Hehehhe, I'm sorry, but I can't tell you that, young master Khierom."
"..."
God damnit, did you just ask that question to make me overthink or something?
Also, did something happen? What happened to that gloomy expression you had just now?
Anyway, let's forget about that. What do you mean you can't say it? Wait, let me guess, is it because of limited information, right?
Ah, damn, if that's really the case, then there's no point in asking anymore.
And after knowing that, I stared at Aurilya eyed as I spoke in a gentle tone, "It's alright; you don't need to say it,"
"Are you sure, young master Khierom?" Aurilya asked.
"Yes," I said with a nod.
Even though I know it's really important to know this because I'm not really even sure if I can survive on my own.
But one thing is for sure, I will do everything, and I don't care what kind of method I have to use to survive in that damn Shadow arcane.
"..."
"..."
And as I said that, both Aurilya and I remained silent as we continued our walk.
And after minutes of walking in complete silence, we finally arrived at the giant door and behind those are my family.