I Became The Male Lead’s Female Friend

 

When I heard the name

‘O’Neill,’

my first reaction was curiosity.

 

‘What’s going on?’

 

Was O’Neil coming to visit me?

 

Of course, she wasn’t completely non-existent. 

 

Firstly, she’s a wizard who was dispatched on my request before she was the original heroine.

 

I’d entrusted her with research on a new power source, so normally I’d be thinking,

‘She’s here to talk about her research.’

 

But it was different now.

 

‘Now that I didn’t visit her?’

 

Because up until this point, she had never mentioned the research to me.

 

It was the same when we ran into each other at Bouser’s mansion. 

 

When she found me there, she came over as if she was happy to see me and was busy talking about other things.

 

And as time went by, her other stories turned into Rudrick’s story…

 

‘Because from some point on, the two of them became closer together.’

 

So was that really the case?

 

‘To keep me in check?’

 

If the reason she forgot to tell me about the research was because she was having a fling with Rudrick, then I could guess why she’s visiting me now.

 

It’s a private matter, not a public issue. Like, she’s going to ask about him, or she’s going to ask for relationship advice or worst case scenario.

 

‘Aren’t she trying to tell me not to see Rudrick?’

 

It was an incredibly confusing situation to think about.

 

Of course, in the old days, I would have easily agreed,

‘I will,’

even though I would have felt a little bitter. 

 

I would also be concerned if there was a girl who was closer than I was with someone I liked.

 

But now it was different. Because I realized that there were other possibilities of my feelings for Rudrick.

 

I honestly don’t know how I’m going to manage my facial expressions in front of O’Neill right now, and what would happen if she said something like that to me.

 

‘Brace yourself.’

 

In any case, this is probably one of the few times in my life that I’m going to be at a crossroads.

 

I went to see O’Neill, determined not to be swayed no matter what I heard.

 

And my predictions were broken.

 “…So it seems that when a beast dies, it doesn’t automatically become magic ore, but there are conditions. For example, the denser the concentration of magic power in the surrounding environment, the easier it is to crystallize…” “What?” “Princess, are you listening?” “What?”

I looked at O’Neill and asked blankly. 

 

Then, I finally came to my senses when I felt her eyes looking at me with concern.

 “Is there anything wrong? You haven’t been able to concentrate since a while ago…?” “What? Oh, no, no! I’m just…” “What?” 

In front of her, her eyes blinking curiously, I could barely swallow the words I couldn’t say.

 

‘I don’t know how to talk about real work.’

 

But if I said it out loud, it would be followed by,

‘What did you say then?’

 

I kept my mouth shut because I wasn’t sure how to answer that question, but I couldn’t hide my embarrassment.

 

‘Was it because of jealousy?’

 

I never imagined that she would come to me for a public reason, not a private one.

 

Because she hasn’t mentioned research until now. This time, I thought it would be the same and ended up talking about Rudrick.

 

Faced with a really tense day, O’Neill only asked briefly how I was doing and then got straight to the point.

 “Then why didn’t you tell me about it before now?” 

I ask, still suspicious, as she shakes her head.

 “I didn’t. It’s just that… if it’s such an important thing, I thought I should have told you when we met before. Because I don’t know anything about it, so…” “Oh, that.” 

O’Neil paused for a moment, then lowered her head sullenly.

 “I’m sorry. I was going to tell you when I was in the right direction, but it was later than I thought…” “What? No. You didn’t tell me until now, And the fact that you talked to me right now means that you have some ideas, right?” “Of course!” 

O’Neill continued speaking with a brighter face.

 “I’ve been looking from many different directions. For example, making magic ore anywhere using the corpse of a beast, or grinding the corpse of a beast into a lump of magic power… ” “Oh, right… what?” “But as I said, making magic ore is difficult because it’s affected by the surrounding environment, so I’ve tried bringing the corpses to the capital and letting them rot for days, but it was of no use.” “So, in the end, we need to extract the magic ore inside the beast’s body, but it’s different when it’s alive and when it’s dead, and the amount of magic power in each part of the monster’s organs is different… so we need to experiment to see which part we can extract the purest magic power from…” 

What did I just hear? 

 

So, she was saying that biological experiments were conducted on beasts? 

 

No, even if that were possible, the beast’s body was brought to the capital? When?

 

But regardless of whether I looked shocked or not, she seemed to be busy talking brightly about her research process.

 

Finally, she said, half-excitedly,

“But I finally found it.” “Well, what…?” “It’s blood.” “…” 

I opened my mouth in a daze.

 “Blood?” “Yes, the concentration of magic in blood is the densest. It is also a place where mana remains until the very end, even when they die.” “Then…” “If you purify that blood and make it into pure mana, it can easily replace magic ore. No, it’s not just a replacement, it can be several times more effective than magic ore.” 

‘With just one drop.’

I felt my heart beating loudly after hearing O’Neill’s words.

 

The news that there’s a possibility of creating a new power source was enough, and that power source was several times more efficient than the existing magic ore.

 

That’s because it’s only one drop. This means that even if the blood was properly purified and the amount of water extracted was the equivalent of hundreds of magic ores.

 

Then, there would be no space restrictions and no need for manpower to mine ore.

 “If it works, it’s great.” 

But she would still need to find a way to refine the blood.

 “There must be… a way?” “Of course.” 

O’Neill, smiling softly, seemed like an angel at that moment. Without realizing it, I jumped up from my seat and grabbed O’Neill’s hand.

 “O’Neil!” 

I cried,

“I’m so sorry and grateful, how did you manage to get there all by yourself after all these years of doubting?” “No, it’s because you suggested it first.” “What do you mean, I was distracted and didn’t even support you properly…? Did you ask Rudrick directly for the beasts?” “Yes. When I told him, he readily agreed to get it for me. Not only that, but he’s willing to take me with him to investigate the forest if I need it…” “Even if it’s just this simple.” 

‘To investigate the forest?’

 

O’Neill didn’t stop there.

 “On the way, I tripped over a tree root and sprained my foot, he treated me that time as well and even let me ride his horse…” “You mean, his horse?” “Yes. He held me tightly from behind, and I thought it was kind of cool…” 

As she said that and twisted her hair as if she were embarrassed, I couldn’t help but laugh along with her.

 

Before I knew it, I was seething inside and becoming angry.

 

‘You bastard, you let another woman ride on your horse beside me?’

 

I couldn’t believe that he even did the same thing to O’Neill, things which made me so excited.

 

Wasn’t he just a player, not the Male Lead? If not, how could he be so casual with a woman? Or what was it, male lead?

 

Unconscious flirting?

 

‘Hah…’

 

Looking at it objectively, it wasn’t something I should be upset about.

 

If I didn’t have any feelings, I would have been proud of it, like,

‘Well, the main characters are getting along.’

 

‘But the problem is that it’s not like that now!’

 

I looked ahead again with confused eyes.

 

O’Neill was blushing like a girl in love, and she was talking about Rudrick… and it was like I was caught between them.

 

I couldn’t help but feel like a block between them. I pursed my lips and thought about all the things I had done earlier.

 

‘I guess I’ll have to ask.’

 

And depending on the answer, I would decide my next move.

 

That’s what I’d promised myself before I met O’Neill. Even though she brought up the subject of research first, I’d forgotten about it for a while, but now was the time.

 

Okay, let’s ask the right questions.

 

‘What is their relationship? Are they dating each other? Since when? When did they start eye contact, and she liked Rudrick so much?’

 

And finally…

 

‘Do I really like Rudrick a lot too?’

 

I still didn’t dare to listen to the answer, but I felt like my direction would be decided based on the answer.

 

I finally gathered myself and looked up, and opened my mouth to O’Neill, who was staring at me for some reason.

 “O’Neill, I wanted to ask you something…” “Dahlia!” 

Someone burst through the door.

 

‘Who is it?’

 

I turned around, making all sorts of emotions, but my eyes widened at what I was about to see.

 “Jeron?” 

Jeron stood in the doorway. He was gasping for breath and looking around as if he’d come in a hurry.

 “What is it?” 

I looked at him in disbelief.

 

At the same time, Jeron found me and came straight towards me. 

 

Then, perhaps because he was aware of O’Neil in front of me, he spoke quickly.

 “Forgive me for interrupting you, Princess. Something urgent has come up right now, and I think you should come with me.” “Something urgent?” 

Jeron, who was already urging her with his eyes to come out quickly, gave her an impatient look. But trying not to show it, he spoke up.

 “It’s about Meyers Confucius.” “Meyers…” 

Only then did I realize why Jeron had been running like that.

 

‘You figured it out.’

 

I realized why Jeron was in haste.

 

As I had told Jeron, as soon as I arrived in the capital, I sent someone to dig into Confucius Meyer’s business.

 

It was only natural to get information on what my rival was preparing, but this time I had a bad feeling.

 

That’s because the low warning that Rebeauvel’s youngest son gave me at that time was firmly embedded in my mind.

 

‘They are working with Rebeauvel’s second son to purchase a large amount of land.’

 

For what? But he was being strangely reticent about what he was doing, so it wasn’t easy to figure it out, and after a lot of struggling, we finally figured it out.

 

I gave O’Neill a quick look, then moved closer to Jeron.

 “So, you’ve figured out what Meyers was doing?” “Yeah. I never would have guessed it, but…” “What on earth is it…?” 

Jeron glanced behind me for a moment, then lowered his voice to a whisper.

 “The casino.”