episode_0343

Time really flies.

There have been many times when I thought the days were passing so slowly, but strangely enough, time has been passing quickly lately.

Time flies so fast.

When I open my eyes, class time has disappeared without a trace, and after I roll my eyes a few times during break, the next period begins in a hurry.

The bell rings not long after class has started. While others yawn or stretch in boredom, he feels the opposite, wondering how much time has passed already.

So the next period. And the next period. Time and place did not matter.

It was no different when taking classes indoors or even when taking mobile classes tailored to different levels.

The same thing happened even if the location was moved outdoors.

It was no different even if we left the classrooms: music room, auditorium, gymnasium, playground, science lab, etc.

Even for classes that students preferred, such as study time or physical education, time passed fairly.

Even when it wasn’t class time, it was like that.

Even the short break time and lunch time go by like a bullet.

Why is it so fast?

School is not a place where time passes this quickly.

When I was being bullied so badly, I would count the minutes as they passed.

Whenever I got scolded by my teacher for being unfair, it felt like it was longer.

Now that I open my eyes, a day has just disappeared, a week has passed, a month has passed, and then a semester has disappeared.

They say that when people feel happy, time passes very quickly, and when they feel bored or have an unpleasant experience, time passes very slowly.

If that’s the theory… are you having a good time right now?

…

…I vaguely thought I knew the reason.

Because if you don’t know, it’s stranger.

It’s a little embarrassing to say this, but I would never, ever tell anyone else or the person involved!

It was because of one person.

If you watch it every day, you will learn little by little.

When I first gave him an umbrella, I just thought he was a weirdo, but when I kept watching him, he wasn’t like that at all.

At school, he was given all sorts of nicknames and labels, and he had a bad image, so he didn’t hear good things about himself, but in reality, he was a completely different person.

Although he makes excuses, saying it is for his own purposes, there is no doubt that there is goodwill behind it.

Even if you are coldly calculating, you cannot fool your true nature.

He is a good person. He is a kind person.

He was a person who had a warm and cozy heart inside, despite being cold and hard inside.

That’s why I kept looking at him. Because I knew that he wasn’t a bad person.

I wanted to know more about what kind of person he was, so at some point I couldn’t take my eyes off him.

If I think back, this is why time passed so quickly.

When I came to my senses, I was absorbed in what was happening to that child.

After we became friends, we started seeing each other often. When we were avoiding each other at school, we sat next to each other or were in the same group, and we spent time together like that.

So, it seemed like time was passing by so quickly.

…But now that I think about it, I feel uneasy.

Because it felt so selfish.

It was the same with the umbrella. I received a lot of help from other places as well. On the other hand, on this side, all I did was take care of the notes that they asked me to take care of as a deal…

…

Let’s go a little further.

Yeah. How about giving me a gift?

If you cook something and give it to me as a favor… wouldn’t that be okay?

***

I started cooking, thinking that it would be nice to do something.

But cooking was harder than I imagined.

I thought I could try to do the same by watching the kitchen lady do it, but it was difficult.

Why is it so hard to handle raw materials? Couldn’t it have been as easy as just holding a knife and cutting them?

Wouldn’t it have been enough to just cut it with scissors and add seasoning as you see fit?

Why does it taste different? The seasoning is not right. The shape is distorted? How do I maintain this?

Do I need to adjust the boiling time or heat level? The method for using the oven, microwave, and air fryer are all different?

It was difficult. It was too difficult.

As someone who is learning cooking for the first time, there was so much to think about.

In the end, none of them were successful.

Since my body and mind couldn’t keep up, the only things I made were things that didn’t even look like food… I needed to practice to at least make them look good.

And so, the days pass by more quickly.

Sometimes, I couldn’t even practice cooking because I had to go into my room while checking my family’s reactions.

Cooking is cooking, but studying is something that cannot be skipped. If you compromise on time to some extent, the time will decrease infinitely.

At school, time passed like school, and when I got home, time passed like home.

A big crisis came on a day that I thought was no different from any other day.

I didn’t realize it as time passed.

But now I realize that it is a time of impatience.

The problem wasn’t the cooking time that I had wasted, thinking that I would succeed someday.

“Everyone, come out in order of your numbers and pick.”

The homeroom teacher placed a box containing class numbers and called the students in numerical order.

All the kids in the same class answered “yes” and then started giggling like they were crazy.

“It’s the end of the day, so say hello to your classmates.”

“Hey, teacher. What’s your greeting?”

“I’m so jealous!”

Yes. Now that I know, this time… was the time for class assignments.

The time when the school year changes.

2nd to 3rd grade.

At this time… it was a time when the world was divided in half.

“I’m finally getting away from this ugly kid.”

“What are you talking about? Take care of your chapped face.”

“They both grinded, so wouldn’t it be better to just be in the same class?”

““What the hell.””

“It’s a relief from pain. Honestly, our class was really bad at soccer.”

“Isn’t it so embarrassing that the worst person is saying that?”

“There’s no basketball talent here. Next time, I hope we get some physically fit kids.”

These are people who are excited about the new class.

Although each of them had different reasons, they half-jokingly and half-seriously hoped that their classmates would leave because they were tired of each other.

“I don’t want to be apart from you. Sob.”

“I don’t want to fall either… Can you please stick to me?”

“Couples are really crazy.”

“Are you pickling? Ugh. When I asked if you were dating, you denied it, saying absolutely not.”

““That was back then!””

“It was good that there were a lot of kids who studied well… but if I get caught by noisy kids in the next class… Ugh.”

“Me too. There were a lot of quiet kids so it was good for studying.”

“I’m worried. In many ways.”

These are people who are satisfied with their current class.

I hoped to maintain the same class because there was someone I didn’t want to leave rather than get tired of.

In the classroom, reactions were clearly divided into two…

I was scared.

I also had quite a bit of fear.

I really wish it would just lean to one side.

The eyes filled with anxiety rolled around on their own.

The kid came back after picking his number with a blank expression and opened his notebook again.

The number tag was thrown down without any consideration, and all the students passed by after seeing it.

There were also people who were annoyed that the child was in the same class as them.

On the other hand, there were people who were satisfied with avoiding landmines.

There were also people who made fun of people in the same class.

There were even people who prayed that it wasn’t just the person next to them who was crying.

I saw it in the meantime.

The class number written on that piece of paper.

As I watched the scene with a trembling heart, my turn soon arrived.

“Next. Number 15. Come out and pick.”

He pushed his chair forward as his number was called.

My hands are shaking.

Can you pick exactly one out of so many?

…If you press down on the pen and write, there will be a mark. How can you tell the class number from that?

If you just spread it out a little and feel it with your hands…

“Isn’t it too late to choose? There are people behind you, so choose quickly.”

I wanted to try a trick, but I couldn’t do that because the teacher was urging me and there were still a lot of people waiting who hadn’t been selected yet.

Suddenly, a vague feeling of regret begins to creep in.

I should have come a little closer.

If it’s going to be like this, I should have become closer to you.

I should have gone there secretly and talked about this and that.

No, there was more I could have done for you than that.

Why am I wasting my time like this?

…

My vision becomes dizzy.

I hope it doesn’t change.

In the same class. In this same seat. I wish I could see that person in the same way.

please.

Please be in the same class as me.

If there is a god, please put me in the same class as that kid.

The number I pulled out with my eyes closed was…

Luckily, there were numbers written on more pieces of paper that had been thrown out for anyone to see.

Only then did my anxiety subside.

It’s been another year since we last met. We’ll be in the same class.

There is no such thing as being split in half and not being able to see.

I don’t know what other people think, but this moment was the happiest moment of my life.

And, it was also a moment when a certain determination was made.

What was needed was a straight line.

▶Hidden Memorial has ended.◀

***

I got what I needed from the study.

I got the second treasure, Karn Bagrand’s Dawn Jade, and then I had to go up to the third floor lighting platform to get the next treasure.

Near the study, all the knights had left because Claire had complained.

However, it wasn’t like that when going up to the next floor. There were still many articles that didn’t go down. The layout was even tighter, and unlike the study, I had to be more careful.

I was able to move because I had obtained information in advance.

I was able to move because I knew what purpose the current layout was based on.

Yes, I was able to enter the third floor lighting platform.

The mission in the study was to find a note. The status window shown in the light tower wasn’t much different. Since I had experienced it once, there were missions that had puzzles in a similar format, and you had to find the next note through hints.

It didn’t take long before all the notes were discovered.

The content was also simple this time. It contained instructions on how to handle and use each treasure, along with a message telling you to move on to the next note.

But this time too, Hidden Memory appeared without exception.

…as before, I can’t quite understand the true meaning of these memorials.

This time too, all information about the memorial, including visual and olfactory information, was blocked.

The memorial comes in two parts. The first time, time just flew by and all I did was cook. The second time was inside the school, but it was during class assignment time.

What on earth does that mean?

‘No matter how much I think about it, I just can’t figure it out.’

Am I remembering correctly?

Now even such doubts are beginning to arise.

“Carcein.”

While I was lost in the mystery of the memorial, Harnie took a quick look around and called out to me with concern.

I thought I knew just by looking at his expression.

“It looks like security is pretty tight.”

“…I guess it’s because I have to go to that place.”

I agree.

Now the next place I have to go is…

-Tiring!

▶You must go to the Duchess’ room.◀

Because it was Isabella’s room, not someone else’s.

‘It’s definitely tricky.’

Isn’t this the place where the master of the house stays? It’s the place that must be guarded most tightly in the duke’s house.

It may seem like a ridiculous request to go into a place like that, but… my eyes also tell me that there is a note there.

There was no choice but to get in somehow.

“What should I do?”

“…I’ll draw your gaze from afar. Let’s dive in.”

“Yes, yes?”

“There is no way back anyway. Even if you just wait, you won’t get an answer. In that case, it’s better to pull away the number of knights in front of you and then enter.”

The strategy is to draw attention from one side, dodge as many knights as possible, and then enter there. There will be a chase event, but it’s better than waiting at the Duke’s house and getting caught.

Anyway, there is a window in the Duchess’ room, so you can jump out. It might hurt a little, though.

After finishing the explanation to Harnie and trying to enter, a familiar voice is heard again.

“Hey, how many times have I told you to step down because you guys are annoying?!”

It was Claire, raising her eyebrows in anger.

“Miss. But still, here…”

“Hey! Even if your mom collapsed, would you like this?! If this isn’t surveillance, then what is it?”

…fall down? Isabella?

-Tiring!

▶Information Acquired!◀