I Stopped Simping and the Heroines Lost Their Minds

Arthur had showered and changed, but his shoulders and legs still felt like lead when he finally walked into the dining hall.

He found the group at one of the larger tables near the back. Cedric, Felix, Leon, and Alicia were already eating. Emily was sitting near the corner, her heavy training jacket draped over the empty chair beside her.

Arthur picked the jacket up, dropped it across the back of the chair, and sat down.

Emily didn’t look up from her plate. ”Took you long enough.”

Arthur slipped his hand casually onto her bare thigh under the table. ”Morwenna likes me.”

Emily snorted and kept eating.

The conversation around the table was mostly a collective list of complaints. Felix was annoyed that the heavy defensive padding for his new track weighed twice as much as standard gear. Cedric was staring blankly at a page of mana theory homework while he ate. Leon was rolling his sore shoulders, and Alicia was quietly shaking her head at him.

”Morwenna wants me to stay after the next session,” Arthur mentioned, pulling his own plate closer.

Felix looked across the table. ”Why?”

”Because he’s become harder to throw,” Emily answered before Arthur could.

Felix stared at Arthur. ”That’s your big achievement?”

Arthur reached over and stole a piece of bread right off Felix’s tray.

His hand wandered higher while they ate, his thumb brushing the edge of Emily’s shorts.

Emily caught his wrist when he started getting in the way of her food, pushed his hand lower on her thigh, and kept eating.

Felix noticed the movement. ”Can you two quit that while we’re sitting here?”

Arthur took a bite of bread. ”Quit what?”

”Exactly.”

Halfway through dinner, Chloe walked into the dining hall.

She was still wearing her pale infirmary uniform rather than standard academy clothes. She looked tired, her blonde hair tied back in a messy, practical knot.

Chloe spotted them and came straight over. She put a hand on Arthur’s shoulder, leaned down, and kissed him properly before dragging a chair over to his other side.

Emily glanced over as Chloe pulled up the chair. ”You’re late.”

”Someone decided to split his hand open during a blade practical,” Chloe said, sitting down with a tired sigh.

Felix looked immediately at Leon.

”Wasn’t me,” Leon said, taking a drink.

”For once,” Alicia added. She reached over, grabbed Leon’s arm, and tightened the loose edge of his wrist wrap without interrupting the conversation. Leon let her fix it and went back to his food.

Chloe turned to Arthur and stopped. She reached out, her fingers lightly brushing the dark bite mark near the base of his neck.

”That looks painful,” Chloe noted.

Arthur glanced at Emily.

Emily kept eating.

Chloe looked past Arthur and caught sight of the faint red mark partially hidden under the collar of Emily’s shirt.

She smiled and dropped her hand. ”You two are ridiculous.”

”He started it,” Emily said.

”That’s a lie.”

Emily leaned across Arthur, caught his chin, and kissed him to shut him up. Arthur slipped an arm around her waist and kept her there until she pulled away.

Chloe was watching.

Arthur caught her eye.

Chloe met his gaze with a small smile, then picked up her glass and took a drink.

Dinner wound down and people started gathering their things.

Felix grabbed his bag, still complaining about the maintenance his defensive gear needed. Cedric headed for the library, while Leon and Alicia left together toward the upper dorms.

Emily stood up and grabbed her jacket. She had weapons maintenance to finish before she crashed.

Chloe gathered her things. ”I left a stack of notes in the infirmary.”

”Walk with me?” she asked Arthur.

Arthur stood up. Emily gave him another kiss, threw her jacket over one shoulder, and headed toward her dorm.

Chloe slipped her arm through Arthur’s, and they went the other way.

The campus was cooling down as the sun set.

”How was your first week back?” Chloe asked as they crossed the central courtyard.

”Sore,” Arthur said. ”Apparently every professor has decided I don’t know how to stand, walk, shoot, or breathe properly.”

Chloe laughed.

”How’s the healer track?” Arthur asked.

”Busy,” Chloe admitted. ”I’ve got normal lectures, practical healing sessions, infirmary rotations, and Beatrice supervising my advanced work.”

”When do you sleep?”

”Sometimes during your lectures.”

The infirmary wasn’t empty when they arrived.

A first-year sat on one of the beds clutching a swollen, badly bruised wrist while Beatrice reviewed a chart nearby.

Chloe dropped her bag onto a chair and went straight to him.

”Give me a minute.”

Arthur took a seat near the doorway.

Chloe pulled on a pair of clean gloves and went to work. She examined the wrist, asked the student two quick questions, and started channeling a steady, pale green light over the bruising.

Beatrice stayed beside the bed while Chloe handled the treatment.

Once the swelling went down, Beatrice stepped closer. She pointed at the edge of the joint. ”You stopped the circulation too quickly on the outer edge. The mana pooled. Smooth it out.”

Chloe adjusted her output instantly. ”Yes, Matron.”

Beatrice gave a brief nod of approval and stepped away to finish her charting. She finally looked toward the doorway and noticed Arthur sitting there.

”You again.”

”I’m beginning to think you don’t like me,” Arthur said.

”You’re usually here because somebody is bleeding,” Beatrice replied dryly.

Arthur looked over at Chloe. ”Not today.”

Chloe finished wrapping the student’s wrist. ”Give him time.”

The student thanked them and hurried out of the infirmary. Beatrice took the clipboard from the end of the bed, checked Chloe’s treatment notes, and turned toward the back office.

”Check the inventory logs before you leave, Chloe,” Beatrice instructed. Then she closed the door behind her.

Chloe pulled off her gloves and dropped into the chair beside Arthur with a tired sigh.

Arthur pulled her closer, one hand settling on her knee. Chloe rested her head against his shoulder.

”You were staring at dinner,” Arthur pointed out softly.

Chloe shifted against him. ”Was I?”

Arthur looked down at her.

Chloe smiled up at him. ”Emily doesn’t seem to mind.”

Arthur pulled her sideways across his lap.

Chloe settled across his lap, wrapped an arm around his neck, and kissed him back. Arthur’s hands moved over her waist and back while she pressed closer.

Chloe kissed him back, her lips trailing down his jaw to his neck. She found the dark bite mark Emily had left, smiled against his skin, and deliberately bit down right next to it.

Arthur gripped her thigh, his hand sliding up under the hem of her infirmary skirt.

Chloe let his hand move higher before catching his wrist.

”Not here,” she whispered.

”You sure?”

Chloe glanced toward Beatrice’s closed office door.

She hesitated.

Then she pushed his hand back down and smoothed her skirt.

”Yes.”

She stood up and walked over to the desk to grab her notes.

”I have tomorrow evening free after my rotation,” Chloe said, organizing the papers. ”Come by.”

”Your room?”

”Unless you’d rather sit in the infirmary again.”

”Your room.”

They left the infirmary together and crossed the darkening campus.

At the path leading toward the healer dorms, Chloe stopped and kissed him again before stepping away.

”Tomorrow.”

”I’m bringing food.”

Chloe gave him an amused look. ”Emily already trained you?”

”Apparently.”

Chloe laughed and headed toward her dorm.

Arthur turned toward his own building.