I Was Confessed to by the Golden Sun

31 – 31. How to Stalk a Sunflower

Time passes, ten days before the start of the third episode.

I am waiting for Raul at the agreed-upon location.

The reason, of course, is to discuss the ethereal core of magitech that Raul needs to steal in order to extend his own life.

So I just threw on a few clothes I had at home without any thought to styling.

“What do you want, you?”

This guy, he really knows how to dress to impress.

Anyone would think I was going on a date, it’s really tempting.

“I don’t really want to walk around town with a guy who’s overly dressed up…”

As I mutter that, Raul lets out a hollow laugh and claps his hands.

“You dressed up to show me, didn’t you? There’s a reason for everything…”

“No, I know. Honestly, isn’t this outfit not meant for going out with a guy?”

Clothes that stand out a lot compared to how I usually look.

Neat denim pants, a beige coat that highlights the thin shirt covering my body.

The sneakers also seem deliberately white in color, and the watch gives off a carefully selected vibe.

“Who did you meet?”

For some reason, I started to feel uneasy at the sight of him like this.

Well, that’s because Raul is an otaku who hasn’t been to the city for a long time.

So he hadn’t been noticed by people and naturally avoided the empire’s “hunt.”

But if this is the person who made Raul dress up like this, then there must be something going on.

“Obviously, you wouldn’t wear clothes like this to meet a guy like yourself…”

And judging from his reaction, it looked like he had done something before coming here.

That’s the problem. To be honest, he doesn’t have any friends or family, so why would he come out to do something?

He doesn’t need to eat as an ethereal being, and he doesn’t have any big desires.

Why did the guy who should be locked in the dormitory sleeping until just before the appointment time come out…

“I met an interesting girl, so I dressed up.”

“What did you just say?”

As soon as I heard that, my head started spinning.

Well, at this point, there’s only one girl who could be the one he’s getting close to.

Why? I had been constantly restraining him from getting close, standing next to Heidi as much as possible.

“Oh, of course she’s not your girlfriend, so don’t worry.”

Whether he knows what’s inside me or not, Raoul said quietly.

“You know him too, and you’re very close.”

“This is insane.”

After hearing this much, suspicion turned into certainty.

The person he’s met right now is Heidi.

I don’t know why, but he met her, made plans, and even has an interest in her.

“This is going to drive me crazy.”

I can’t figure out where things went wrong.

When exactly? Why? How?

My thoughts came to a halt, as if my thinking was stuck in a situation that defied common sense.

I must have blocked all contacts from people like Raoul or Saints.

“It’s a girl named Heidi…”

“More importantly, why, no, how did you meet Heidi?”

In my messed up mind, I came up with the best answer I could think of, but just as my trembling hands were, Raoul spoke in a light, annoying voice as if thinking about it was a good thing.

“Just, seeing you together, it seemed like a good fit.”

Seeing him like that, I slowly began to realize. What do I mean by realizing?

“Well, I’m screwed.”

What can I say, the feeling that I’m screwed right now is overflowing.

The so-called flags have firmly stuck.

I tried not to allow even minimal access to Raoul, who easily falls for Heidi.

Maybe from the looks of it, he talked to her when I couldn’t interfere, during lunchtime or when I couldn’t see Heidi for a while.

“If I do this, I’ve messed things up in the first round.”

It’s the same A class, and Raoul and Heidi are the protagonists of this story anyway, so I expected them to eventually make contact no matter how much I tried to stop them.

But I wanted to artificially delay the time as much as possible and block as many variables as possible to prevent Heidi from feeling any romantic feelings for him.

This novel doesn’t go the way I thought at all.

“Just by looking at his face blushing like a boy in love, it’s clear.”

It’s annoying to have to watch a guy blush from the side.

It’s even more infuriating when the subject is Heidi.

Since he said he has an “interest” in her, there’s no way to back out now.

“What, are you worried about my childhood friend? Don’t worry, I have no intention of doing anything wrong.”

“No, it’s not like that…”

How should I explain this?

I can’t just say that it’s because of Heidi you’re acting a bit strange and thinking about eliminating everyone around her.

“…Ah, I see. I can understand.”

Just like before, it’s probably best to gradually distance yourself from Heidi by subtly intervening.

Moving too hastily and making a mess of things would be troublesome in its own way.

It might be difficult to remove a flag once it’s been set, but if you take your time and handle it carefully, it should work out somehow.

“However, my friend has been stolen by some wicked woman four times, you know.”

So, it’s about skillfully mixing lies and truths to suppress them from getting close.

That’s what I had been trying to do with Raul and Heidi, but given the current situation…

“A guy who suddenly approaches is probably just underestimating himself, don’t you think?”

So-called “political maneuvering.”

I have no choice but to do it constantly from now on.

I don’t like scheming from behind the scenes, but I can’t afford not to if I want to survive.

“Four times? By the same person?”

“Yes, a really wicked woman.”

I’m sorry, Lucia, but what can I do?

When you come down to it, she’s a wicked woman.

“Huh…”

“…?”

Then, as if she had actually listened to my words, a slightly disappointed voice that sounded like it came from somewhere.

Maybe because it’s a busy street, I’m not sure where it came from, but it was a voice that I felt like I’d heard somewhere before.

For some reason, as I tried to recall the familiar voice, Raul asked with a concerned tone.

“Is there something going on? Your expression doesn’t look great.”

Well, it’s probably nothing.

There are plenty of people with similar voices, right?

With a smile, as if to say that it’s nothing, I lifted my gaze from scanning the surroundings and spoke.

“Oh, and I’d prefer if you didn’t tell Heidi that you know about this.”

After that, we headed towards the café to continue the conversation.

Gently, but with each word, Raoul infused strength, making sure Raoul would never forget.

“That, it’s like a lifeline for Heidi.”

He understood without me saying anything, keeping his distance.

…But I’ve been feeling a gaze for a while now. Is it just my imagination?

***

The identity of the gaze that had been felt somewhere became clear as soon as they entered the cafe and the people around took their distance.

“Hey, you over there…”

“I know, just don’t pay attention.”

Lucia, wearing strange sunglasses and a mask, sat across from me and Raoul.

She sipped her coffee with a demeanor that seemed irritated while staring right through us.

Maybe she thought she could go incognito with her distinctive blonde hair and tanned skin if she just wore sunglasses?

She may be cute in her clumsiness, but seeing the people around eyeing Lucia suspiciously, I felt more embarrassed.

“But why is she here?”

Could it be that she followed us secretly? No way. Lucia is not that sneaky; maybe she just coincidentally ran into us on the street…

“Are you saying she’s not your girlfriend?”

…Yes, I know.

We just came out normally; she wouldn’t dress like this and follow us. It was hard to believe. Why would she go to such lengths to tail me?

“It’s not like that…”

“…You piece of trash.”

She turned her gaze away quietly, her expression filled with cold contempt.

No, it seems like there’s a misunderstanding. This isn’t about jealousy; she just thinks that Lucia is weird.

And now that I think about it, even if I had really hooked Raoul as he thought, this would still be stalking.

“Cough! Cough, cough!”

Lucia rolled on the table while sipping her coffee, making strange noises.

Why did she dress up so poorly, from head to toe?

“Haah…”

In reality, the operation to steal the Ma Dong-hak Flux Core properly is not something we can do alone.

In the original work, the operation involved four people: Heidi, Eden, Raoul, and Ni-Hil.

“I need to pull away from Raul and Heidi, so I can’t bring Heidi into the plan.

Inevitably, calling on the other characters would also be difficult.

I considered asking Grayson for help, but it was clear that he can’t be involved in the battles.

‘It’s ambiguous to rely on the memories that have accumulated in just a week..’

We can’t use ‘that’ which is like Grayson’s secret weapon here either.

I intend to let him play a slightly more supporting role than fighting.

‘Then, looking at it this way, the remaining person who could help me is…’

A person outstanding enough to enter Class A.

The only friend who could blabber somewhere and come to the academy is me.

We’re now in a rather comfortable relationship.

“Ahem! Cough!”

There’s no one but that guy with the golden sunlight identity who is disguising and coughing miserably from afar.

Originally, such a disguise is an effort to turn into an unidentified character, but this is literally an identified character.

“Excuse me, Lucia.”

“I’m not Lucia… Cough!”

So, I thought it is fine if she is Lucia and I approached her to propose to sit together.

But seeing her disguise so awkwardly and still thinking it’s perfect, I was astounded.

“I… I think you got the wrong person..”

“Are you really going to do this?”

Lucia, looking incredibly absurd, continues coughing and refuses eye contact.

Having even taken off her mask to drink coffee, she’s just Lucia herself.

She really thinks she’s something to hide.

“See, I told you, you’re Lucia.”

I lifted her sunglasses and shook them.

They’re bound to get found out like this, even when they lie.

“Gi..Give that back..!”

Lucia tried to grab her seized sunglasses by jumping up and down, but couldn’t reach them because of our natural height difference.

Seeing her hop like a rabbit, I lightly put my hand on Lucia’s head and said.

“Lucia, you’re pretty. It’s much better for you to go without wearing these.”

“…!”

Lucia, who had been running around to grab her sunglasses as soon as she heard my words, suddenly stopped and stood there, as if something had malfunctioned, her head resting on my chest.

…What did I do wrong?