Irasion Academy had no such thing as being late.
No—it simply didn't allow for it.
"Get out here."
A voice soaked in murderous intent, accompanied by two light but door-threatening knocks.
The reason was simple: for students who failed to emerge after three alarm cycles, the dormitory supervisor was kind enough to come find them personally.
Thud. Thud.
"I said hurry up."
Anyone listening would think he'd come to kill someone.
"… Yes."
I'd half-expected this, given that I'd been hunched over a chessboard until the early hours of the morning—and sure enough, I'd overslept.
The result was a very kind dormitory supervisor gently tapping at my door as though he meant to break it down.
I stretched out my stiff body and got up.
"… I'm exhausted."
Thud. Thud. Thud.
The ominous knocking continued.
"You up?"
Please don't say something like that in a voice like that. It gives me chills.
I dragged myself into my clothes and opened the door. Sure enough, a powerfully built man stood there with his arms crossed, looking down at me.
"Rutess, it's been a while since I've had to give you a morning call. First year, I was doing this all the time."
The dormitory supervisor, Yulian.
True to his background as a knight who'd served in the north, he carried a formidably solid frame even years after retirement.
He was kind and good-natured, but… that face and that build were frightening no matter how many times I saw them.
Perhaps because those fists and hands had once split the skulls of northern tribesmen in battle—somehow, I always felt like there was blood on his hands.
"I'm sorry."
"Ha, sorry for what. You're up now, that's what matters."
As I said before, our academy had no such thing as tardiness.
You either arrived on time,
or you were marked absent.
And if you were marked absent, you'd be having a sincere heart-to-heart with the dormitory supervisor—which naturally made anyone inclined toward lateness reconsider.
"Get moving, you don't have time."
"Yes."
His rough hand clapped me on the back, and I found myself propelled forward almost involuntarily.
I descended the stairs and glanced out the window.
*Lunch.*
The time I'd promised Elline for chess.
Among the Alpha Class students, Balrod had been the only one I'd played chess with—and even he was a formidable opponent who'd given me quite a hard time.
And now Elline.
Just how good would she be?
I at least didn't want to embarrass myself.
"Be out in five minutes! Move it!"
Yulian's booming voice rang out from behind me, and my feet picked up the pace on their own.
When I arrived at the lecture hall, I felt even more eyes on me than the day before.
Whether the rumors had truly begun to spread in earnest, I couldn't say—but students were constantly stealing glances at me. If only one or two had been looking, I might have felt self-conscious enough to look away, but with most of the room watching, some were bold enough to meet my gaze outright.
"You're a proper celebrity now. Makes me nervous just sitting next to you."
Edgar dropped his bag into the seat beside me with a thud and said it with that easy, sly grin of his.
"Then sit somewhere else."
"Joking, joking."
Wearing the face of someone who absolutely was joking, Edgar settled into his seat and let out a low whistle.
"Look at all those stares—isn't that a bit much?"
He swept the room with those characteristically sharp eyes of his, and a few students quietly averted their gazes.
"Can't even hold eye contact."
"Have you seen your own eyes? Who wouldn't look away?"
Vivid red hair and a scar carved across his cheek—the very picture of a delinquent.
That distinctive sharp look of his had earned him no shortage of misunderstandings.
Once you actually got to know him, though, he turned out to be a comedy act…
"Look at those stares. People can date, you know—what's so fascinating about it?"
"… I don't think that's something you get to say, considering you were twisting my arm and interrogating me not long ago."
"Was I?"
Edgar pulled his hands lazily from his pockets and ran his fingers through his red hair.
"I was surprised, honestly. I figured you'd get turned down for sure."
Same.
"Well, it worked out. What can you do. Gotta cheer you on."
His face was pure delinquent, but that soft, warm heart underneath was what made him worth knowing.
When he said something like that, it was hard not to feel a little moved.
"Ross's expression lately has been absolutely priceless, by the way—come see for yourself at lunch."
"At lunch?"
"What, you've got plans again?"
"Yeah."
I nodded, and Edgar let out a small sigh.
"You're really going all in."
He gave my shoulder a couple of approving pats.
"Hey, don't go completely forgetting about us though, alright? We'll get our feelings hurt."
He chuckled and opened his book.
The tone was teasing, but there was no malice in it, so I let it go without a word.
Creak.
The moment the front door of the lecture hall slid open, the chatter died and the eyes that had been trained on me were drawn away.
The door opening at this hour meant the professor had arrived.
"Good morning, everyone."
Professor Ruteon, who always handled the morning lectures, opened with a light remark before beginning.
"You're all third-years now—it's good to see such enthusiasm. It gives me energy as well."
The Edgar beside me, naturally, had already slumped over and fallen asleep.
"This may be a time with fewer days left than you think, so I hope you'll reflect carefully and leave no room for regret."
With that easygoing sign-off, he turned and began writing the day's lecture content on the board.
Regret, huh…
Well, this was the age when people were supposed to be wrestling with questions of career and future.
And it had always been a conversation that had nothing to do with me.
*…*
Something vaguely uncomfortable stirred in a corner of my chest.
But I didn't want to think about it.
After the lecture ended, as we walked down the corridor, Edgar said with a curious air:
"So, chess with Elline, huh…"
"Coming to watch?"
"Pass. I'm not that oblivious."
He headed down the corridor to find Ross, and I made my way toward the library.
A few minutes of walking later.
I stepped into the Central Library—the largest and most grand of the academy's libraries—and there at its heart stood an enormous living tree.
*Always impressive, no matter how many times I see it.*
The branches spreading out from the great tree were each arranged like a separate floor, lending the whole space an elegant, flowing quality.
As a library, it was naturally dominated by reading stacks, but given its scale, all manner of facilities were tucked within.
What I was looking for was on the second floor: the Sky Lily Branch.
A comfortable resting space, it was the kind of place where you could talk without feeling any pressure—and many students gathered there to enjoy their leisure time.
*Elline isn't here yet.*
Thinking that, I settled into my usual seat as I always did, took out the chessboard, and began setting up the pieces.
Exhale.
I loosened my hands and had barely finished arranging the pieces when a figure came walking in my direction.
I looked up, and sure enough—it was her.
Elline.
Bathed in the sunlight filtering through the leaves overhead, she looked somehow different from usual.
"Were you waiting long?"
"No, I just got here myself."
I shook my head and gestured to the seat across from me. Elline sat down.
She began slowly scanning the pieces laid out in front of her.
The look in her eyes—calculating something—made me tense up without meaning to.
*She's already working out a strategy.*
Then she raised her head and looked at me.
"Rutess."
"Yeah?"
"Are you tired, by any chance?"
"… No?"
"You look tired under your eyes."
Ah.
Had the oversleeping shown on my face that quickly?
"I'm fine, just didn't sleep well last night."
I didn't particularly want to explain why.
Elline studied me for a moment, then gave a small nod.
Was that her way of saying she understood?
*Or maybe she already knew and chose not to say anything.*
Either way, it felt like consideration—and I found myself genuinely grateful for it.
"Shall we start, then?"
"Sure."
Elline nodded and we chose sides.
I took black, she took white, and the game began at last.
"I'm counting on you, Elline."
Before my words had even finished, Elline reached out, picked up a piece, and quietly advanced it—and the match was underway.
… Well then.
*Just how good is she?*
I steadied my fluttering heart and settled in to watch her opening unfold.
Her first move was solid, and I responded in kind.
Tap.
Tap.
As the moves accumulated, one thing became clear.
Her grasp of opening theory was exceptionally thorough, and she played in a textbook fashion.
She moved her pieces in a way that seemed to follow the most orthodox theory straight out of a book—and watching her, I thought *of course* while also feeling genuinely impressed.
*She's good.*
It was almost too theoretical, too fundamental—but that in itself was proof of just how well-versed she was.
I grew more focused and played with greater care.
"…"
Tap.
Tap.
And then.
*Hm?*
Something felt off.
Elline had been playing by the book through the opening, but the moment the game entered the midgame—where the real fighting began—something started to creak.
*She's playing it there?*
At first, the move was so confident that I spent a moment wondering if there was something I was missing—but I couldn't see anything, so I simply took her piece.
And there really was nothing there.
"…"
I told myself it must be a mistake and refocused.
Tap.
*…?*
Another mistake appeared.
And then another, and another.
It was as if—rather than me having to try any clever maneuvers—Elline was simply dismantling herself.
At first I'd thought it was fairly evenly matched, but as the game went on, a single thought grew clearer and clearer in my mind.
*No, that can't be right.*
But what I'd dismissed as an unfounded worry only sharpened the further the game progressed.
The knight she'd deliberated over and played with such confidence was captured immediately.
The advancing pawns crumbled as her formation collapsed and disappeared.
About ten minutes after the game had begun—
On the board, Elline's king and two pawns remained in forlorn isolation.
Everything else was occupied by my black pieces, standing tall and unchallenged.
Right. Now I was certain.
*Elline…*
That Elline… wasn't good at this.
She was genuinely, quite bad at chess.
"…"
"…"
I moved my piece slowly,
and at last her king was completely surrounded.
"Checkmate."
With that quiet declaration, the game ended, and silence settled between us.
I'd gone into it braced for a real fight, but it had ended so one-sidedly that I wasn't sure what to say.
"… Good game."
I said it as casually as I could manage and quickly began clearing the board.
To erase the evidence of this devastating war as fast as possible.
Right, well—she'd probably just made mistakes because it had been a while. That was all.
Knowing Elline, she'd probably say something like *you're good* or *I made some mistakes* and not think much of it.
*Should we play another round?*
I was thinking that as I slowly gathered the pieces—
"… Ugh."
"?"
A sound I'd never heard from her before made me look up without thinking.
And I saw something I hadn't expected at all.
Elline had her head bowed, avoiding my gaze.
As if she were embarrassed.
*Oh.*
I'd never seen her show such an unguarded emotion before, and it caught me off guard.
"Elline?"
When I said her name, she flinched slightly and slowly raised her head.
Cheeks flushed pink. Lips caught between her teeth in what looked like embarrassment.
And faintly trembling blue eyes, looking at me.
"Are you alright…?"
Perhaps my words were the spark.
She gave a small nod, and then slowly opened her mouth.
"… Again."
"What?"
She said it in a voice barely above a whisper.
"Play again…"