I Became the Protagonist's Best Friend in a Bishoujo Game

"Wha... What are you doing here?"

I asked, taken aback after seeing Cordelia. I lowered my head slightly, peering into the narrow dark space behind the boulder.

"U-Umm..."

She looked around, not knowing what to say.

Her eyes flicked away nervously, shifting from the stone wall to the ground as a faint flush of awkwardness crossed her expression.

"I thought you were sleeping already?"

I followed with that.

"What about you? You said you were just going to train swordsmanship."

But Cordelia shot that back at me.

She looked up, meeting my eyes with a soft frown while gesturing vaguely toward the dark passage where the dead monsters lay.

I swung my sword lightly and pointed at the dead Hobgoblins behind me.

The slender blade of [Frost] cut a small silver arc through the air, glinting under the faint luminescence of the nearby wall crystals.

"I was. I’m using the Hobgoblins as practice targets."

Cordelia frowned after hearing that from me. I know what she meant, but technically—what I said isn’t wrong.

Anyway, she stood up from hiding and just faced me.

She brushed off her skirt with a quick, elegant motion, stepping out from the tight gap behind the rock to stand directly in front of me.

"I can’t fall asleep... So I came to check on you, but you were gone, so I searched for you."

She explained.

She kept her voice low, ensuring the quiet ambient acoustics of the cave didn’t carry her words back toward the camp where the others are.

"When I arrived here, I saw you hiding behind this rock... I watched you to see what you were doing, then I saw you fight the Hobgoblins."

Cordelia finished with that.

She crossed her arms lightly, looking at me with a mix of leftover shock and quiet curiosity regarding how fast I had cleared the patrol.

"Well, just as you see... I’m planning to practice my swordsmanship using the Hobgoblins."

I told her with a small shrug.

I held my weapon loosely by my side, giving her a completely casual look as if hunting floor patrols at midnight was a totally ordinary routine.

"So you can go back now and get some rest, I know you’re tired from the journey all the way here."

I added that.

I gestured back toward the hidden chamber entrance, offering her a quick out so she could return to her sleeping bag without feeling awkward.

"I’m still not feeling sleepy."

Cordelia replied, showing no intention of turning around or walking back toward the quiet campsite.

We just stared at each other for a few moments, not saying anything. It was awkward.

And so, after a while—

"Then... Want to join me instead?"

I suggested that to her.

I tilted my head toward the main tunnel, giving her a light, inviting smile to break the tense atmosphere.

I saw Cordelia’s eyes widened a bit after hearing that. She blinked in mild surprise, her composure slipping for a split second as my unexpected invitation registered.

"Are you sure? Wouldn’t I be a bother to you?"

She asked.

Her tone carried a hesitant, careful weight, as if she was genuinely worried about intruding on my space.

By now, I had realized that Cordelia is still bothered by the fact that she wasn’t able to help the original Vael at all during his predicament. And she thinks that I’m currently harboring hate or something similar to her.

Her distant behavior and quiet glances over the past few weeks finally made sense when viewed through the lens of her internal guilt.

’I need to make it clear to her that that’s not the case.’

I thought to myself.

"Why would you be a bother?"

I kept my tone gentle and open, looking straight into her eyes to make sure she understood I wasn’t being sarcastic.

"You’re stronger than me, if ever—it would’ve been me the one bothering you if we fought together."

I stated. It was a simple, objective fact considering her current skill tier and raw mana density compared to my baseline stats.

"I don’t mean it that way... I mean, you’re training, wouldn’t I be in the way of your training?"

Cordelia followed up.

She shifted her stance, pointing out the obvious issue with two people sharing an individual practice session.

And this... Yeah, she’s right...

If she joined me, the experience points I’m trying to get to level up will be reduced. This was why I wanted to do this alone in the first place.

The game mechanics would split the experience yield between active combatants, cutting down my growth efficiency significantly.

But it would be awkward to send her back now because of the offer I already made.

Retracting my invitation after she had already opened up would only reinforce her silly assumption that I resented her.

So after thinking about it for a bit more—

"Then you can just stay here and watch until you feel tired enough to sleep, how about that?"

I said that.

I offered a simple compromise that allowed her to stay while keeping the direct monster kills entirely in my hands.

Cordelia looked at me, and nodded her head.

"That’s fine with me."

She muttered.

A subtle air of relief seemed to settle over her shoulders as she agreed to the arrangement.

I’m glad that she agreed with this, I guess she was just really bored and doesn’t want to sleep yet.

’With her here now, she can jump in to help me if I ever get in trouble.’

Having a top-tier magic user standing by as a safety net meant I could test my limits without worrying about worst-case scenarios.

Though... I doubt that will happen.

*****

With my complete layout knowledge and baseline utility spells, low-tier Hobgoblin patrols weren’t going to push me into a corner.

And with Cordelia joining me, I was able to train even more carefree than I had thought.

I stepped out from behind the boulder, taking up a firm stance near the middle of the main corridor as new patrols approached.

Knowing she had my back, I became much more aggressive with my attacks.

I stopped playing it entirely safe, pushing my foot speed and blade precision to their absolute limits during every clash.

And honestly... It helped.

The constant physical output forced my body to adapt quickly to the flow of real-time battle rhythm.

I was able to deal with Hobgoblins much faster, the biggest group I faced were five Hobgoblin Warriors with swords, and I dealt with them in just a minute.

I swept through their formation like a freezing draft, pairing sharp, linear rapier thrusts with rapid frost traps to lock them down one by one.

Cordelia, who has good mana control, also gave me suggestions on how to control my mana when I use my abilities.

She stood near the edge of the corridor, watching my execution with sharp focus before pointing out minor inefficiencies in my channeling.

So that my abilities can become stronger and consume much less energy from me.

She explained how to compress my frost aura tighter around the weapon’s edge rather than letting it bleed outward into the air inutilely.

I listened to every suggestion she made, because I’m not stupid to ignore the words of one of the main characters.

Her innate grasp of mana control was unmatched among most freshmen, making her advice immensely valuable.

’She will literally be one of the strongest people in this world in the future.’

I thought to myself.

Learning from her now was a massive shortcut to optimizing my support spells and combat efficiency for future floors.

Anyway, being that we’re alone together... I also made it clear to Cordelia about my feelings.

"I’m saying this again, Cordelia... But I was being truthful when I told you I don’t have any bad feelings against you."

I declared that as I returned near her.

She just kept quiet, but I didn’t mind.

Cordelia stood still under the soft blue glow of the cavern crystals, listening quietly to my words without interrupting.

"You don’t have to walk around eggshells around me... I don’t resent you."

Cordelia looked at me after I said that.

Her eyes softened slightly, the persistent guard she had maintained since we met finally beginning to crack even a little.

Then smiling—

"Let’s be friends again, just like the old times."

I followed with that and raised by hand to shake hers.

I extended my right hand out toward her, keeping my expression entirely warm and genuine.

She looked at my hand, then after a while—she took it and we had a handshake.

Her hand was cool to the touch, her grip brief but firm as she officially accepted the gesture.

As we were holding hands, I made a joke to lighten up the mood.

"Too bad that the engagement our parents were planning for us wouldn’t come true now. What a waste, right?"

I said playfully, expecting some light reaction from Cordelia.

I gave a small smirk, teasing her with the outdated family arrangements that had been thrown around back before everything changed.

"..."

But she didn’t say anything.

She froze completely, her hand lingering in mine for a second longer than necessary as the silence returned.

"Hmm?"

She just looked down.

She tilted her chin downward, her bangs casting a shadow over her eyes while avoiding my glance.

And when I tried to get a look at her face...

"...!"

I saw her blushing a little.

A distinct, faint pink color had spread across her cheeks, extending all the way to the tips of her ears.

"Uhh... Hahaha..."

I awkwardly laughed.

I quickly retracted my hand, rubbing the back of my neck as a wave of sudden embarrassment washed over me.

’I guess she isn’t used to this kind of joke.’

I thought to myself, noting mentally not to do it again.