Alpha Class.
The core division of Irasion Academy—the collective name for its highest tier.
The privileges it conferred were too numerous to list, and the vast majority of graduates who left any lasting mark on the world were Alpha Class alumni.
"… Me?"
And just now, Elline—one of those very Alpha Class students—had extended an invitation.
'Would you consider coming up to Alpha Class?'
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Because I'd like you to."
"…"
There she goes again, speaking in that language of hers that's impossible to parse.
"You know how it works, Elline. Even if I wanted to move up, wanting it isn't enough."
With great privilege comes great responsibility, after all.
Alpha Class operated on a strict merit system. You might manage to slip in through some workaround once, but if your grades didn't hold up the next time around, you were dropped immediately. It was a merciless arrangement.
On top of that, the sheer volume of coursework and assignments was staggering—there were students who'd made it into Alpha Class only to throw up their hands and tumble back down to Beta.
In short: it was brutally hard.
And getting in to begin with required clearing a bar of almost absurd difficulty.
"How would I even get in? I'm terrible at studying."
A self-deprecating laugh slipped out.
This time, Elline really did seem to be reaching for clouds.
"Was that… what you've been building up to since yesterday?"
I smiled it off as nothing and began unfolding the chessboard.
I lined the pieces up in a row and, as I always did, set her pieces out in front of her as well.
"What if it's not that you can't?"
"… Hm?"
I'd been placing a knight when I looked up at her. Her face was as expressionless as ever, but her gaze moved over me as though she were reading every line.
"What if you're not bad at studying—what if you just don't?"
Her eyes didn't waver.
She was asking in earnest, waiting for a real answer.
"…"
Right. Elline had always been like this.
No jokes. No throwaway remarks. She asked for the truth.
*I keep forgetting.*
…
So I suppose I owe her a real answer.
I set the knight down with a quiet click.
"I can't do it."
"…"
Elline's eyes seemed to shift, just barely—but her hand was still holding mine.
"I'm bad at studying, Elline. The moment I open a book I'm already sick of it. I zone out during lectures. I can't remember a thing that was covered, and all I think about is hanging out with people. Studying and I just don't fit. That's why I can't do it."
Plainly. But directly.
Meeting her gaze, I gave her a clear answer.
About the kind of person I am.
"… I'm not sure why you're telling me all this, but even if I started now, it would be too much."
Too much, and then some.
"So that conversation… I think it's going to be difficult."
It was subtle.
I felt the grip of her hand around mine tighten.
"No."
"What do you mean, no?"
"You're not bad at studying, Rutess. You just don't."
…
It was the first time.
The first time Elline's words had cut like a blade.
"… What?"
Her grip tightened further.
"Rutess, you can do it if you try."
…
Me?
… No. That can't be right.
She's mistaken.
"Elline."
"Yes."
"… Don't tell me this is because of chess."
Even granting that chess and magic share similar principles and logic, chess is still a game. Being good at chess didn't automatically make you good at magic, and the reverse was equally true.
I was the example of the former. Elline was the example of the latter.
"Rutess."
"Elline… right now I'm… I'm… sorry. Honestly, I don't really know what to say."
A surge of emotion began pressing in at the edges.
I didn't know why it was rising, but I had to push it back down.
"Being good at chess and being good at studying are different things—you know that. I've spent two years in Beta Class. I've never come close to Alpha. It's just… a lack of talent."
That's right. I have no talent.
I'd heard it until it was carved into my bones. Heard it until I was deaf to anything else.
*Stay close to your brother and behave. Don't get any foolish ideas.*
*Everything is already decided. Just follow along.*
My life was already mapped out.
All I had to do was walk the path laid before me.
From the moment I was born, my purpose was to help my brother manage the domain. Nothing more.
Whether I studied hard and earned good marks, or made it into Alpha Class—none of it was worth the effort it would cost me.
*Just come back with a diploma.*
*Wouldn't it be nice to have one academy graduate in the family?*
That was the reason my family had sent me here.
"… Don't make that judgment for me."
The worst.
For the first time, I couldn't hide it—a tremor crept into my voice before I could stop it.
The moment I realized I shouldn't have let that happen, I slowly exhaled.
I barely managed to steady the rawness in my voice before offering her an apology.
"Sorry. Pretend you didn't hear that."
My head was a mess.
It's a comfortable life.
It's a comfortable life.
My life was already decided, and all I had to do was follow it.
I'd heard it until it was engraved in me.
So. No foolish thoughts.
"Rutess."
Elline was holding my hand.
It was a small hand, but it still held on tight.
"…"
Why do you keep holding on, Elline.
She was genuinely difficult to understand.
"Let's play chess."
Elline said.
"What?"
"Play chess. You already set it up."
She picked up the knight I'd placed and set it down in front of her with a quiet tap.
"… Elline, I'm sorry, but I'm not really in the mood—"
"Rutess."
Her voice went cool.
Cool enough that my body went still for a moment.
"… Yeah."
"Sit down."
It was a request.
I'd already half-risen, but I lowered myself back into the seat. She calmly arranged the remaining pawns on the board.
She looked up at me slowly.
"Shall we make a wager?"
The word *wager* left her lips, and I lifted my head.
"Hm?"
"A wager."
"Out of nowhere?"
… I had a rough idea of what she'd ask for.
"What are the stakes?"
"The winner gets one request from the other."
Of course.
"What if I say no?"
Elline turned a pawn over in her fingers and looked at me.
"Then win."
"…"
Win, then. She wasn't wrong.
But honestly—I was nervous.
Her rate of improvement had far exceeded anything I'd anticipated. It had only been a week, and her skill had already climbed considerably.
If I agreed to the wager and lost, I'd have to grant whatever she asked.
What would she ask for? Knowing her, it was probably something like *study harder* or *move up to Alpha Class.*
"Elline, I…"
Of course, she'd never beaten me before—but today she might have grown enough to do it.
"Don't run away."
"…"
At Elline's firm words, I gripped the edge of the chessboard and slowly released it.
Right. The one thing I could actually claim to be good at—this was it.
If I couldn't even feel confident about this… I'd have nothing left to say for myself.
"… All right."
I gave a quiet nod, and she seemed satisfied—she lowered her gaze immediately and the match began.
Okay. I can do this.
Let's go.
I've been doing fine up until now. Just play without pressure.
"I'll go first."
"Okay."
Tap.
I made my move.
It had been a long time since I'd focused this hard—I could hear my own heartbeat in my ears.
I concentrated on each move, playing as carefully as I could.
Elline was good.
She was no longer a beginner.
Her play was clean and uncluttered, and a precision was beginning to show through.
*…As I thought.*
The match unfolded with intensity.
When I attacked, she defended. When she pushed forward, I held the line.
The taut, fierce standoff continued, and before long the board had thinned to only a handful of pieces—we were deep in the endgame.
The noise of other students and the flutter of wind faded away, and every sense narrowed to the small board between us.
Elline advanced a pawn.
"Rutess."
She asked a question, out of nowhere.
"… Yeah."
I blocked.
"I'm asking because I'm curious."
She advanced the pawn again.
"Yeah."
I picked up a rook.
"Am I a burden to you?"
Tap.
"Ah."
I made a mistake.
Her question had slipped into my ear and for a moment my mind went completely blank. I should have blocked—but I'd pushed forward instead.
Elline didn't wait for my answer. She quietly advanced her pawn, and when it reached the far end of the board, it promoted to a queen.
In a game down to just pawns and a rook, a queen was absolute.
A few moves later, my king was cornered with nowhere left to go.
"Checkmate."
Her declaration made it official.
I slowly raised my head. She was watching me with the same steady, unwavering eyes.
"Elline."
"Answer my question."
"…"
"Am I a burden to you?"
I turned the question over in my mind for a long moment, searching for the right words—but in the end, I already knew the answer far too well.
Yes. You are.
More precisely—you're too much for me.
It's a thought I keep coming back to, but you're someone I don't deserve.
Why did you accept my confession?
…
In the end, I was the one who deceived you.
I took a short breath.
The air filled my lungs, and the exhale felt like it lasted a long time.
Right. Be honest.
"Elline."
"Yes."
"Whether you're a burden… I think that's true."
I admitted it.
"Even when I want to be by your side, even when I try not to think about it—I keep feeling the distance between us, and I end up asking myself questions. It's not exactly that you're a burden. It's that I'm uncomfortable with myself for being beside you."
I laid it out plainly.
"From that day—the day you accepted my confession—it's been like that ever since. It's only been a few days, but… you're… you're so extraordinary that…"
I was rambling. I sounded like an idiot.
I wanted to bite my own tongue.
"Rutess."
She cut me off, firm and clear.
"…"
And then she stood.
Slowly, slowly, she came toward me and raised her arms.
Both of them, not just one.
Was she going to slap me…?
I closed my eyes instinctively, and then I felt something—
"—"
I held my breath.
A soft glide.
Not a sharp impact.
A gentle touch.
…
I opened my eyes again.
Her hands—warm and soft—were cupping both my cheeks.
…?
"Elline?"
"Look at me."
She held my face in both hands and quietly made me meet her gaze. Seeing those blue eyes up close, my heart began to pound.
This was the first time she'd ever been this forward.
I had no idea how to respond.
"How is it?"
What do you mean?
"Rutess."
"… Y-yes?"
She spoke with quiet gravity.
"I like you."
…
"So I want to spend more time with you."
"Elline—"
"I want you to keep staying by my side."
She let the words fall, one after another, without hesitation.
"Not just seeing each other at lunch like this—I want to sit next to you in lectures and talk."
Every time Elline's words reached my ears, something in me flinched.
"You said the reason I'm a burden is the distance between us?"
I gave a small, quiet nod.
"Then we just need to close that distance."
The hands cupping my cheeks pressed in, gently but with intention.
"Elline… that's easier said than—"
"I'll help you."
…
"…Why?"
Why would you go that far?
At my question, she answered in a voice that left no room for doubt.
"Because I want to keep seeing you, Rutess."