After parting from her, I came back to my senses the moment I stepped into the dormitory.
"Oh."
When I came to, I was just sitting blankly in my chair, staring out the window.
I touched my cheek again.
It wasn't a dream.
Elline had pressed her lips to my cheek.
The soft sensation was still vivid in my memory.
Soft and warm…
Maybe I saved the empire in a past life.
I don't know.
I genuinely don't know, Elline.
"Huu…"
I let out a slow, deep breath and tried to clear my head.
Still, one thing was certain:
Elline was sincere.
"…"
The image of her flushed cheeks, her hand covering her mouth as she looked at me—it kept circling through my mind.
"I'm going crazy, seriously."
Even hitting myself on the head with a book didn't make it go away.
Before I knew it, the clock had passed nine.
One by one, the dormitory lights were going out, and the quiet chirping of insects drifted in from outside.
I opened the window and let the cool breeze wash over me.
As I leaned against the windowsill, cooling my burning cheeks, the stars of the night sky shone in brilliant sweeps above.
I'd often looked at the stars like this—they had a way of clearing my head and sharpening my thoughts.
The goal of making it to Alpha Class.
An incredibly difficult goal, but one I still wanted to try for.
Because Elline wanted it.
Because the person who cares for me wants to see me there.
"Haa."
My body shivered—from the cold, probably.
I closed the window, turned off the lamp, and lay down on the bed.
I'd studied hard today for once, so I had a feeling I'd sleep well.
My eyelids grew heavy.
*'Every fifty pages, I'll give you one.'*
…
I sat up.
I settled into my chair and opened a book. When I lit the lamp, the room brightened again.
"Because I need to work hard…"
If I was going to make it to Alpha Class, there was a lot to do.
Right. That's why.
No other reason.
* * *
She gazed out the window.
Beyond the hill, the Beta Class dormitory building was visible.
Sipping from a steaming cup of tea, savoring a brief moment of rest, she had found herself looking toward that building at some point.
I wonder if he made it back safely by now.
Is it time for him to sleep?
Seven books in a month.
From Rutess's perspective, it was surely no easy assignment.
Especially since the first volume was an ancient text printed in its original form.
But that was fine.
Rutess could handle it.
She took a sip of tea, and the warmth seeped through her.
"Rutess."
She said his name aloud.
There was no way the dormitory so far away could hear her, but she wanted to say it anyway.
Because now she could see him whenever she wanted.
Because that was the kind of relationship they had.
It had been an impulse.
When she'd offered him a compliment and he'd puffed up with that self-satisfied little look—it was so endearing that she'd done it without thinking.
It had felt good.
When her lips touched his cheek, it was like a current running through her body.
That feeling was new, too.
She'd seen his dumbstruck expression and covered her mouth.
She didn't want him to see the strange way the corners of her lips kept curling upward.
She had thought her emotions had grown dull.
But every time she was with him, she kept feeling something new.
*Tomorrow, too…*
She'd see him tomorrow, too.
She'd said every fifty pages, so…
Should she do it again tomorrow?
She took another sip of tea and looked toward the Beta Class dormitory.
Without her noticing, her toes had begun to wiggle, already looking forward to tomorrow.
* * *
Time passed quickly.
Two days.
Perhaps because I'd read so much, my head was throbbing.
After a hectic morning in the dormitory, I walked down the corridor and felt the stares as I always did.
At first they'd been a burden, but now they were starting to grate on me.
*Back in the domain, I'd stopped caring by this point.*
Maybe it helped that I'd been through it relentlessly as a child.
It was still uncomfortable, but not enough to worry about.
*…For today, at least.*
I sorted through the books I needed to read and headed for the library.
There was nowhere else where reading came as easily.
I hadn't been keeping track, but over the past two days I'd read about seventy-two pages.
Seventy-two pages.
*…No, it's not because I was keeping track.*
It was for Alpha Class. That was all.
As I walked down the corridor, I spotted a familiar figure rushing about in the distance.
*Hm?*
That familiar bob cut… probably.
*Rui, wasn't it.*
She seemed to have failed to find whatever she was looking for—she was trudging this way with her head hanging low.
She looked exhausted, her face drawn with dark circles under her eyes.
We weren't exactly close enough to greet each other.
Still… better to say something, probably.
"Hello."
"Eek!"
…Did she see a monster or something?
Rui pressed a hand to her startled heart and looked at me.
"Oh… oh! Rutess, hello!"
Only then did she bow her head in greeting.
"What's going on?"
"Ah… that… it's nothing, really."
She fidgeted with her fingers.
"You don't have to tell me if it's uncomfortable."
"Ah…"
As if she'd been waiting for someone to unload on, she finally spoke, hesitantly.
"It's about the Spring Festival Tournament…"
"Ah."
So that was it, after all.
"You still haven't found anyone?"
At my words, she nodded weakly.
"No… everyone's either already forming teams or just not interested…"
"So you came all the way down here for that?"
Rui seemed to silently confirm it, but from her expression, things clearly hadn't gone well.
"Ah… I'm really sorry about last time. For approaching you so suddenly, and… that…"
"You mean Ian."
"Yes… yes, she's not usually like that."
"Something must have happened."
Rui let out a deep sigh.
"Originally, there was a team we were supposed to join… but they kicked the two of us out without warning… Ian was really hurt by it."
"Out of nowhere? Is that even allowed?"
She gave a tired smile and scratched her head.
"It doesn't happen often, but it does happen sometimes. Results matter a lot, after all…"
Rui spoke calmly, but she couldn't quite hide the tremor in her voice.
Results matter.
It was a natural thing to say, and a ruthless one.
"Oh, but I'm not going to ask like last time! I know how presumptuous that was, and besides…"
"It's fine. Don't worry about it."
At my words, Rui seemed to feel a little better and nodded. The gloom from before had faded somewhat, replaced by a faint smile.
"Are you heading to the library?"
She seemed to have noticed my books and was glancing at them with curiosity.
"Yes, I need to study."
"Study…"
"What, do I not look like the type?"
"Oh, no, that's not it… I was just wondering if Elline was helping you."
When I nodded, she let out a little "Wow," staring at me like she'd just heard something remarkable.
"…That's really something."
"Is it?"
"Yes… the fact that Elline is actually helping someone…"
She murmured as if she were hearing a legend, her gaze fixed on me.
*This stare is uncomfortable too.*
Rui's gaze held none of the contempt or idle curiosity of the others—it was pure, unadulterated awe—which made it difficult in an entirely different way.
As the corridor split into two directions, I wrapped up the conversation.
"…Well, I'll be heading off then?"
"Oh, yes! I need to go this way…!"
Rui bowed her head politely all the way to the end, seeing me off with genuine courtesy.
"I hope you find a good team."
"Yes… thank you, Rutess… good luck to you too!"
She clasped both hands together tightly in front of her.
Full of hope, I'd have to say.
I found myself hoping only good things would come her way.
No sooner had I parted from her and turned toward the library—
Tap, tap—
I heard someone's hurried footsteps.
"Hah… hah… Rutess! There you are."
I turned reflexively, and there stood a stocky boy wiping sweat from his brow.
Moltz.
He was in the same Beta Class as me, in the support magic track. Someone I knew well enough.
"…Why are you running so hard you're sweating?"
However far he'd sprinted on those short legs, his forehead was drenched.
"Sorry, this is so sudden… hah…"
"No, it's fine. What is it?"
I calmed him down, and he caught his breath and adjusted his glasses.
"During the major class today, we need to move some equipment… could you help?"
"…Hm?"
A rather out-of-the-blue request.
He was wearing an anxious expression.
"Please, I don't think I can manage alone, and I happened to spot you… it'll only take about ten minutes!"
"Ten minutes?"
"…Yeah, you're the only one I could ask. Is that okay?"
That desperate look made me scratch my head.
Ten minutes, I suppose…
"All right."
When I nodded, he broke into a smile and bowed his head repeatedly.
"Really? Thank you! Thank you so much, Rutess!"
Moltz wiped his sweat and started trotting off, and I followed after him.
The place he led me to was a dim storage shed at the back of the school.
Given the academy's size, just getting to the shed took five minutes.
"What are you doing today that you need to move equipment?"
Inside the shed, crammed with all manner of odds and ends, were magic tools bearing the unmistakable marks of age.
"I heard it's something like… emergency response drills."
Moltz grunted as he hauled something over.
Grimy and dusty, but unmistakably human-shaped—one full-sized practice dummy, and two smaller ones that appeared to stand in for Goblins.
"…Thanks, Rutess. I would've really struggled without you."
"Right, and thanks to you, I'm struggling now."
When I hoisted the large dummy onto my back, the weight was something else entirely.
"Wait, this can't be right."
This thing weighs as much as a log.
"Hehe, I owe you one, Rutess."
Moltz gave an awkward laugh, picked up the other two, and headed out first. I had no choice but to follow.
*Since when were these things this heavy.*
As I staggered along under the weight, a wave of regret washed over me for agreeing to this.
"Rutess."
"Yeah?"
"Thanks. For always helping out."
"…Have I always helped you?"
Moltz glanced at me sideways.
"…Yeah. You probably don't realize it, but you have."
"Really?"
Had I been accumulating good deeds without knowing it.
"Mm… I know it's not my place to say, but… I think you and Elline really suit each other."
…
"Yeah?"
"Yeah."
That was actually nice to hear.
"Thanks."
"No, I should be the one—"
As we walked along chatting like that,
Moltz suddenly flinched and stopped, dropping his head low.
"Moltz?"
"Rutess, can we just slip past quietly for a sec?"
Moltz looked at me with a smile, but his voice was trembling.
Wondering why, I looked up.
*Oh.*
In the tense atmosphere ahead, two students were squaring off against one.
Given that this was the storage area that people rarely passed through, this was probably not an uncommon occurrence.
"Yeah, let's do that."
I had no desire to get involved, so I decided to slip past quietly.
As we carried our load across the corridor, voices gradually drifted over from the other side.
"What did you just say, huh?"
"I told you to get lost. So?"
"Oh, you've got some nerve after we were so patient with you—"
"…Patient, he says. You dropped Rui and me, and now you want us back?"
*…Hm?*
A familiar subject, and a voice I felt like I'd heard before.
I glanced over, and there was a girl surrounded by the two students.
A short-haired girl I remembered as being rather sharp-tongued.
It was Ian.
*…What's she doing there?*