episode_0018

After the intimate (?) drive with Labilaa, which would make one feel nauseous just thinking about it, came to an end.

“So, are you really not going to tell me?”

“······I truly appreciate today. Your Highness.”

I politely bowed my head, ignoring Labilaa, who never misses a chance until the very end.

Does she really not know what giving up means?

Why on earth is someone like the princess fixated on my goal?

This is still something I don’t understand.

Why does she take an interest in me?

As a princess and as the head of the academy’s student affairs department, she must have a lot to do.

I even thought that she might be treated as the most peculiar person by her fans.

Labilaa, who seemed completely unaware of my thoughts, clicked her tongue as if disappointed.

“Tsk. You are unnecessarily stubborn in these matters.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment.”

“It is a compliment. There aren’t many who can uphold their beliefs even when asked by the Empire’s princess.”

“······Is that a compliment?”

“Of course, it’s a compliment. Don’t doubt it.”

Hmm.

It doesn’t seem like a compliment no matter how you look at it.

Isn’t she just insulting me for being stubborn?

Suddenly, I had this question, but I couldn’t possibly answer the princess.

“Please take care on your way back.”

“Very well. You too, take care.”

I bid farewell to Labilaa, who quietly waved her hand and returned to the girls’ dormitory.

And then, a little while later.

Ring-

“···.”

An alert sound came from the watch that had been quietly resting on my wrist until now.

[Sender: Labilaa Phone Felias]

You’ve worked hard today as well.

I will deliver the requested reward to you as soon as it comes in, just as promised.

Well then, let’s meet at the academy on Monday.

[This is the other party’s final message.]

The source of the alert was none other than a message sent by Labilaa.

If she wasn’t going to explain the reason in the car earlier, she could have at least given me her watch number.

It seemed like she tried sending a message right away as an experiment.

“······Thank you for your hard work, Your Highness.”

I read it and ignored it, as it was the worst behavior on Earth to ignore. So, I sent a polite message and turned off the screen of my watch.

It’s been a long time since I’ve written anything. Other than using it to directly convey information when Elise was busy, I haven’t used it. Of course, I was a special case. Personal electronic devices were prohibited at the Seacret Academy. Except for me, there would be no student who didn’t use the watch, which was the only electronic device allowed.

“······Actually, I don’t really need to use it.”

That was natural. The main purpose of the watch is communication with others, but I had never communicated with anyone before. You need someone to communicate with in order to use it. Even if I wanted to, who would I contact? There were barely five people who knew my watch number. Exactly four people knew my watch number at the academy: the professor who first gave me the watch, Tinea, who needed to know club members’ numbers as the club president, Elise, who saved my number with a terrible expression due to the information she had to pass on, and finally, Labilaa, who gave me her number today. That was all. Only four people had my number saved on their watches.

“···.”

Considering that the total number of people at the Seacret Academy exceeded four digits, it couldn’t be a more pathetic number. What was I expecting? I didn’t even know my little sister’s number. Moreover, even my little sister, Aria Trice, didn’t know my number. I hadn’t tried to tell her first, but Aria really hated being involved with me. Strangers to each other. Maybe that was the relationship between me and my little sister. Something like that. That’s how everyone calls each other. He’s mom’s son, she’s mom’s daughter. One person up from the family register, one person to the right, one person down. It’s a common way for siblings to refer to each other. Of course, the relationship between me and Aria was more serious than the typical sibling relationship.

“······It doesn’t matter.” It seemed like it didn’t matter much.

A life that doesn’t involve getting involved with troublemakers is probably a happier life for Aria.

It was the same last time, wasn’t it? After such a long time, I met her and burst into tears. My younger sister came looking for me out of concern. Even though I heard she came to see me because she was worried after hearing that I had gone to the hospital, I sent her away crying like trash. That’s how I am. I knew better than anyone that I shouldn’t be feeling sorry for myself just because my watch didn’t have many contacts.

“… ”

So, I didn’t show any expression at all. Like someone who had lost their emotions. Like someone who had forgotten what emotions were. Walking back to the dormitory with an impassive face, almost as if I had forgotten what emotions were.

“… Just one more lap.”

As the sun was about to set, I noticed someone running on the empty field. “Damian?” Damian Exios, a first-year student at Sacred Academy and the protagonist of the original novel “Sword of the Academy,” was running alone on the empty field. “…Looks quite cold.” He was even wearing short sleeves. Despite the chilling wind, he was running on the field in short sleeves, not even long sleeves. Although it might not be something to say to the protagonist of the original novel, that sight… no, it looked extremely pitiful. Aren’t you cold? You might freeze like that.

***

“… Huff, huff.”

Damian was running on the field again today. It was already the 31st day. It had been over a month since he had been running on the field every evening. “…It’s tough.” If it wasn’t tough, it would obviously be a lie. The thought of wanting to sit down and rest crossed his mind every 10 seconds. However, despite that, Damian didn’t stop running. Because he was lacking. Compared to the elite students of this academy, he felt extremely inadequate. When he first enrolled here, Damian was truly happy. Happy at the thought of being able to protect people. He was thrilled at the thought of finally becoming a just person who could protect others from monsters. “…I’m still lacking.” But reality was cruel.

Since the beginning, Damian, who had grown up lonely in an orphanage, was far behind the elite students who had completed pre-education in their families and entered school.

47th place in the first grade.

It was Damian’s score on the midterm exam of the first semester.

A shocking result for Damian, who entered school with the goal of being the top student in the first grade.

Of course, someone might say this.

In an academy with over a thousand students, isn’t 47th place enough?

It wasn’t a wrong statement.

With this level of achievement, one could easily get a good job.

The empire is vast, and there are many places where monsters appear.

Just maintaining this grade would allow him to live a life several times better than the one he had lived so far.

“But, even that is not enough.”

However, even that was not enough for Damian.

To claim the top spot in the first grade.

To assert his presence to everyone at the academy.

He believed that by making his presence known and building connections, he could eventually get closer to his dream.

A dream to protect everyone.

A dream to never lose anyone to the monsters again.

This was Damian’s dream.

The dream of Damian Exios, who had lost his entire family to the monsters in his powerless and young years.

For that dream, today as well, he was diligently running on the field with the goal of improving his physical strength.

“…It’s tough.”

However, today felt tougher than usual.

The short-sleeved shirt he was wearing right now was the problem.

He had come out wearing a short-sleeved shirt as usual, due to the heat that builds up while running.

Perhaps it was because the season of autumn was approaching, but the blowing wind felt much colder.

“Still, I have to run.”

Of course, he had no intention of giving up.

Because he knew that if he gave up due to the heat or the cold, his heart would gradually weaken.

It was at that moment when Damian steeled his resolve once again to run.

“Hello?”

“Who are you?”

A male student approached Damian, waving his hand.

Slightly disheveled black hair.

He was an impressive guy with vivid red eyes that seemed like they would be clear even from a distance.

“Blue tie? Is he a senior from the second grade?”

Wearing a school uniform tie of a different color from Damian’s, he looked like a senior from the second grade, not the same grade as Damian.

“What’s going on?”

It was the moment when Damian naturally put on a guarded expression upon realizing that an unfamiliar person was approaching.

“Well. I know this is really out of the blue. Have you had dinner by any chance?”

“Um… No, I haven’t eaten yet.”

“Really? Then how about having dinner with me?”

“…”

“I was just thinking about how to have dinner.”

The word “dinner” popped out of his mouth.

Just as the other person said, it was truly an unexpected timing for the suggestion to have dinner together.

It was a truly unexpected proposal.

If it had been the usual Damian, he would have naturally declined the offer.

Why would he trust and have dinner together?

Even though the other person was a senior from the same academy, he was someone Damian had never seen before.

Naturally, he had intended to refuse.

Gurgle-

“…”

“…”

As if waiting for those words, it wasn’t until Damian’s stomach, which hadn’t even had lunch, grumbled for food that he finally spoke.

For Damian, the moment was one where he just wanted to find a mouse hole nearby and disappear into it.