Chapter 42
“It’s good to see you, Miss Whitewolf. Mr. Gailleys.”
A few days after midterms ended, the headmaster summoned us to his office.
The headmaster greeted us, with almost all his hair gone.
His gleaming head somehow gave off a solemn air.
Poor man...
“The reason I called you here today is to discuss the rewards for the ranking competition. Miss Whitewolf.”
“Yes.”
“I never expected you to have been hiding your identity... but in any case, congratulations on becoming the top-ranked student.”
“I was just lucky.”
I really had nearly lost, after all. My weapon had even flown away.
“Now that you’ve taken first place, I should tell you about the privileges you can receive.”
The headmaster then explained the various privileges.
There were some major perks, like reserving study rooms and getting special meals, along with all sorts of smaller ones that hadn’t even appeared in the game.
...Why are there so many?
“And lastly, you have permission to use the special dormitory. Will you be using it?”
“Of course!”
At last! The luxurious dormitory reserved for the top-ranked student...!
“And you, Mr. Gailleys. You turned down the special dormitory once before. What about this time?”
...Come to think of it, the special dormitory is shared by the second- and top-ranked students, right?
Making a man and a woman live in the same room... Well, maybe not the same room, but under the same roof? What a perverted academy.
More importantly, Ian’s decision was what mattered.
He turned it down last time, so wouldn’t he turn it down again?
That would be convenient for me, but...
For some reason, my heart gave a dull little ache. It hurt.
“I...”
Just as I was starting to feel a little down, Ian spoke up.
“This time, I’ll use the special dormitory. I’m curious about it.”
Ian said that while looking at me.
Wh-why are you smiling so brightly?
I couldn’t bring myself to look him straight in the face, so I turned away.
“Plia. I hope we get along.”
“Uh... yeah...”
What’s with him? Why is he so confident?
If Ian were still the shy type, then even if he accepted, he’d be blushing and embarrassed.
But now he was looking at me without a hint of that.
In the end, I was the only one embarrassed.
“Ugh...”
“Plia, are you feeling sick? Your face is red.”
-Tap
Huh?
Ian’s forehead gently touched mine.
...Huh?
“Hmm... You don’t have a fever...”
Ian’s face was right in front of me...?
-Bam!
“Guh!”
I hurriedly shoved Ian away and scrambled back from him.
A-are you crazy? You just suddenly pressed your forehead against mine!
“Ow... Haven’t you been pushing me too hard since last time?”
“Shut up! This is your fault!”
You were the one who suddenly came at me!
“Heh heh, save the lovers’ quarrel for later...”
“It’s not a lovers’ quarrel!”
What’s this about love?!
“Ahem. In any case, you’ll be able to use the special dormitory starting today. The staff will move all your belongings, so don’t worry
about it.”
“Phew... All right.”
Something about this feels strange... but is everything settled now?
...
The special dormitory was... unbelievably huge.
Was it even bigger than it was in the game?
Why does it have two floors now?
“Was it always two stories?”
“I heard they added the second floor about fifteen years ago.”
“Huh...”
At this point, isn’t it just a two-story country house?
“Um... Should we go inside?”
“Let’s.”
The inside was incredible, too.
The furniture wasn’t flashy, but it caught the eye.
Every piece had intricate decorations and initials engraved on it, as if to show just how high-end it was.
“...These initials were made by Wintaek, the genius craftsman of the century, weren’t they?”
“Huh? Really?”
That legendary craftsman?
Even in the game, she was a hidden artisan who made mysterious magical tools and all kinds of furniture.
No one even knew what she actually looked like.
And furniture made by someone like that...
-Plop
“...Whoa.”
The moment I sat down on the sofa, I couldn’t help but gasp.
It had such a devilish charm that I never wanted to get up again.
This is... a sofa? The sofas I’d known until now were...
“You couldn’t buy this even if you had the money, could you?”
“I guess not.”
We didn’t even have one in my family estate. Only a few noble houses and the imperial family probably owned any.
“...I feel like if we broke it, we’d have to pay an absurd amount of money.”
“Yeah...”
There were plenty of other conveniences, too, like a huge bathroom and a kitchen equipped for professional cooking.
...This place is far better than most noble estates, isn’t it?
It could hold its own against my family estate, too.
Maybe living here for the rest of my life wouldn’t be so bad...
As I wandered through the rooms thinking that, I came across one that looked like a bedroom.
The first thing I saw when I entered was a huge bed.
The bed was big enough for at least three people, and it had the same initials as the sofa engraved on it.
Which meant this bed would probably be unbelievably soft, too.
The problem was...
“...This is the last room, right?”
“...Yeah.”
“And this is the only bedroom?”
“...”
“And the only pieces of furniture with those initials are this bed and the sofa?”
“...”
Right. We had looked through every room, and this was the only one that looked like a bedroom.
Which meant we’d have to share the same bed...
“Can’t be helped. Let’s sleep together, Plia.”
“Yeah... Huh? What?”
“I said let’s sleep together.”
...Huh?
“W-w-w-what are you saying?! Sleep together? A man and a woman doing something like that...”
“At this point?”
“...”
When he put it that way, I didn’t really have anything to say...
Still, this was weird.
“Did something happen to you...? Why are you acting like a completely different person?”
“I did awaken as a Swordmaster, didn’t I?”
“Not that!”
He’s definitely gotten way more smooth-talking!
“Other than that... I just reaffirmed one thing.”
“...What thing?”
...My instincts were warning me.
That I shouldn’t hear what came next.
That the moment I heard it, I would change in a big way.
But my heart, my feelings, whispered to me.
That change wouldn’t be a bad thing.
That even if I felt confused, it wouldn’t hurt me.
What should I do?
I was torn between stopping Ian from speaking and just listening to him.
But my dilemma was pointless. I didn’t have a choice.
Ian spoke before I could make up my mind.
“I love you, Plia. I loved you when you were El, and I love you as Plia now. I love you for who you are.”
He said it so calmly, as though he were stating an obvious fact or a law of nature.
And yet, those calm words sent a huge ripple through my heart.
“...What?”
“I love you.”
“??!?!!?”
He... loves me? Why?
What reason could he possibly have to love me?
Had he noticed what I was thinking? Ian slowly began to speak.
“Honestly, I don’t know when or why I fell in love with you. Maybe I’ve loved you since we first met. Just your
looks alone are exactly my type.”
“Huh?!”
“Besides that, I love how you blush whenever you’re embarrassed, how you’re incredibly strong but still mess up sometimes, how you want people to notice
you, how easily praise gets to you, and how you care so much about your friends even while pretending you don’t. I love every bit of you.”
“Wha?!”
“And there’s more...”
“S-stop!”
If I let him go on, he looked like he could talk for hours, so I stopped him for now.
So... in the end, he really does love me? Enough to say all that?
‘...Would that be okay?’
No, no. I wasn’t saying I was going to accept him.
I was just wondering whether Ian would make a good or bad husband.
As the daughter of a grand noble, I would have to get married someday.
Ian would be a hundred, a thousand times better than some nobody of dubious origins.
He’s as handsome as they come, he’s a Swordmaster, and he has the backing of a count’s family.
On top of that, he’s the Hero’s son. All kinds of young noblewomen would line up to marry him.
...Thinking of it that way makes me feel weird. Anyway.
From that perspective, Ian would be the perfect husband.
I also thought of Ian as a good friend, so married life with him would surely be far more enjoyable than an ordinary political marriage.
But... was that really right?
Ian said he liked me.
And he was completely sincere about it, too.
But... was it right to use those feelings however I wanted?
I wasn’t ready to truly love Ian yet.
No, I couldn’t even imagine being in a relationship with a man—not just Ian.
With feelings like that, I didn’t want to take advantage of Ian’s feelings.
So I should turn him down.
Things might be awkward for a while, but we’d get over it.
So...
“Um... Ian? I really am sor—”
“Of course. El, I know you won’t accept me.”
“Huh?”
What?
“I know you have some kind of strong aversion to love. I don’t know why, but even if I confessed right now, you wouldn’t accept me. So this isn’t a confession.”
“...Then what is it?”
It isn’t a confession? After saying all that about loving me?
“Right. You could say it’s more like, ‘I’m going to confess to you, so brace yourself.’”
“Pfft. What’s that supposed to mean...?”
At that point, it was no different from confessing already.
“So I’m going to make you fall for me. No matter how long it takes. When that day comes, will you accept me?”
Honestly, Ian looked... cool as he said it with a confident grin.
Good grief. Does he think every girl will fall for him if he smiles like that?
If he’s going to go that far, I should at least live up to his expectations.
“...Fine. Go ahead and try. I’ll wait.”
I shouldn’t just push him away because he’s a man. I should try to like this guy, too.
I’m sure my happiness is waiting for me at the end of it.
...Huh? Have I already fallen for him?