episode_0005

“You startled me by suddenly whispering in my ear, Heidiera.”

As I sighed in relief and scolded her, the large female student sitting next to me shrugged her shoulders.

“Mi, I’m sorry… I have a bad habit of not being able to judge distances well… ”

Long, pitch-black hair that sticks out in all directions due to lack of care.

Her bangs cover half of her face, so you can’t really tell what she’s feeling except for her mouth. Her chest is large for her height and frame, but she’s always curled up like a pupa, so it’s not really noticeable over her clothes.

Heidiera Isidel was a girl of such modesty and dignity that she was hard to find in a noble family.

I spoke to her in a soft, soothing voice, as if trying to appease her, who seemed to be emitting a dark aura that dyed her surroundings.

“No, well… there’s no need to apologize. Your voice may be small, but it’s not so loud that I have to whisper it in your ear to hear it, so I think it’s okay to talk to you from a step away.”

“Is that so?”

“Yeah, you might not know because you’re a noble, but there are perverts in this world who like women whispering in their ears, so you shouldn’t do that to men.”

“What the…! Does that mean that Lord Leto is included in that…?! What have I done!”

“Would you get excited about something like that?!”

“Huh?! A, a small person…?!”

At the rebuke that was uttered in anger, his long, curly, jet-black hair stood up toward the sky.

It was like a giant chinchilla frozen in shock.

Um… I think my tone just now was a bit misleading.

I gave a big, awkward cough and calmed her down.

“No… I’m talking about that act, not that I don’t like the sound of your voice. Do you know what I mean?”

Then, the giant chinchilla, released from the iceberg, leaned its upper body toward me and asked me in a very fast tone.

“Then what do you think of my voice…? If you don’t hate it, then you like it, right?”

No, why are you acting so burdensome all of a sudden? You’re measuring the distance wrong again.

I avoided eye contact with the long-haired ghost that was approaching me and muttered something vague.

“Oh, well, really? It’s a low and calm voice, so there must be a few people who don’t like it, right? If you ask me whether I like it or not, I like it… ”

Then the pale lips beneath the bangs twitched upward.

She bit her body, looked towards the podium, and ran her hands through her hair. Hmm… A chinchilla grooming?

“Huh, huh… I understand… Lord Leto’s valuable opinion… I will take it to heart. Heh.”

I don’t know why I’m laughing so hard, but if it makes Heidi feel good, then that’s fine.

Since we’ve gone off on a tangent, let’s go back to the beginning.

“So what did you see that made you say it was beautiful?”

“Who could it be?”

He couldn’t follow her gaze because of her bangs, but at the end of the direction his face was facing, there was a beautiful girl with silver hair dancing with swords.

“I think Duke Brouard, a man of both talent and beauty, is the perfect person. Don’t you think so?”

…

For a moment, a scene under the sunset flashed through my mind, but I nodded as if nothing had happened.

“Um… Well, yeah.”

“If you’re going to be in a relationship with someone of that level, you’re bound to have your own set of difficulties. Uh, what do you think?”

“I’d be lying if I said there weren’t any complaints.”

“What is that?”

“Just, the other person is so great, so I wonder if I can be someone who can match that? I guess I can’t help but compare.”

It was true, without being self-deprecating.

Even from our origins, Tirisia is from a noble family, while I am a commoner, and our talents are also very different.

But I didn’t really have an inferiority complex.

I just wonder if the things I empathize with her are enough to make me happy.

Now it has been proven that that wasn’t enough.

Heidiera, who had been looking back and forth between the podium and my face for a moment, nodded slightly.

“That’s right. But Lord Leto is also a good person. I guarantee it.”

“Thank you. Era Gong.”

“Hehe, why do you speak like that?”

“Ask yourself.”

“Huhhi… Hehehehe… ”

Heidi, who had been smiling sinisterly while grooming her palms, let out a long breath and moved her buttocks closer to me.

It was close enough that their thighs were touching each other.

“Mo, are you feeling better now? If you’ve been resting for three days, aren’t you seriously ill? I heard you had a cold.”

“It’s okay, right now my heart hurts more because of that Lucica guy.”

“Under the clear blue sky, and in this fine weather, why did you suffer from such a bad cold?”

In response to that question, I made an excuse that I had thought of in advance.

“Uh… I guess I did too much strength training last night. I just laid down one morning. ”

“I see… Don’t overdo it and take care of your body.”

“Okay. Thanks for your concern.”

“The Lord of Lotto is the only person I can talk to, so it’s only natural… ”

“The semester has just started. Isn’t it time to start talking to other people?”

At those words, Heidi flinched, shaking her wavy black hair.

“No, it’s impossible~ I’m just a mold in a greenhouse~”

“Mold?”

Not a flower?

“I wish someone else would approach me first… ”

“Well, that’s what I saw.”

I turned my body and raised my left hand toward the face of Heidiera, who was sitting close to me.

“Le, Leto Gong?”

“I think it’s because of my bangs that other kids can’t approach me.”

As he said that, he pushed away the black hair that covered half of his face as if opening a curtain―

“Ho-ok?!”

A pair of amethyst colored eyes, clearly showing a look of confusion, were locking eyes with me.

“… ”

“… ?”

After a brief eye contact between the two,

“Haaaieggiaahik—?!”

Heidiera retreated to the end of the bench, screaming incomprehensible words.

“Why, why?”

“So so so, this is what I want to ask!”

She stamped her feet, swiping away at the bangs I had touched, like a chinchilla washing its face.

“Su, a lady’s eyes! Looking at her so intently…! Hey, what would you do if you were attracted to her…?!”

“What are you talking about?”

“Be careful! If you have a master, you should refrain from such frivolous remarks!”

“Ah… Yes… What… Okay. Calm down.”

Heidiera is breathing heavily like a bull.

After waiting for her breathing to calm down, I added what I was saying.

“What I mean is, it’s easier to approach someone when you can see all their facial features~something like that.”

“Wow… Are you telling me to show my face to the world?”

“That’s usually how it goes.”

“ City, what should I do if you don’t like it?”

“If you really don’t like it, there’s nothing you can do about it… but wouldn’t it be better to practice in advance if you want to graduate from the academy and start working in society later?”

“I see… Anyway, I will take into consideration the valuable opinion of Lord Leto… ”

“Yeah. Good posture.”

At that moment, I heard a female student shouting in my direction from far away on the stage.

“Miss Isidel―! Don’t be a tadpoles―! Come here―!”

Unlike me, who had permission from the other person, the girl next to me seemed to be taking an unauthorized break.

“Go and see. You bastard.”

“Uuuu… I can’t help it… ”

Heidi, who got up from the bench and walked towards the podium in a hunched posture, suddenly stopped and looked back at me who was sitting there.

“That, Lord Leto.”

“Why?”

“Are you sure you’re okay? You’re not in pain anymore?”

“That’s right.”

“Okay… That’s good.”

The black-haired giant left with a faint smile, perhaps satisfied.

I told you, you’re a friend who really worries a lot.

I feel a little guilty for lying to such an innocent guy about having body aches.

This is a completely different story from what she meant when she asked the question…

I’m not really sure if I’m not sick or if I’m so sick that I’m past the point of death.

One thing was certain: I just wanted to… keep my eyes on her.

To witness the outcome of that choice with my own eyes.

With my chin resting on the bench, I stared at the silver girl dancing within the podium.

*

Ding-ding-ding-ding-ding-

After the mock match time was over and the students had showered and changed into their uniforms for an hour, they headed to the cafeteria for lunch.

Meals were basically provided free of charge for Academy students, but for noble students who preferred the family’s luxurious meals, servants sometimes prepared extravagant lunch boxes.

Tirisia is basically not picky about food, so she was originally a restaurant person, but after we started dating, I prepared my own lunchbox, so we ate together in the Academy garden.

After finishing my shower, I waited at the entrance to the garden, and after a while, I saw Tirisia walking towards me.

“Erto, have you been waiting long?”

“No. You don’t have to rush.”

“Hehe, I was looking forward to what lunch would be in today’s lunchbox during the mock match.”

“It’s a bit scary if you expect too much, because it’s common people’s food.”

“That’s the best for my taste. Let’s go in.”

“Yeah.”

Inside the garden, which was spacious and decorated with trees and flowers like an arboretum, there were many tables set up so that students could eat freely.

But the moment Tirisia, who was carrying a thermal bag, was about to go inside,

“Oh-hohohoho! Today, too, a commoner shamelessly steps into a noble garden!”

ah.

Here we go again.