The Threshold of “Just Friends”

“Sorry I’m late. Emergency meeting.”

It was Professor Eric—the Library Club’s advisor and the man responsible for dragging me into this literal hell. He scanned the library with a sweeping gaze.

“What were you all discussing?”

“We were deciding on a location for next week’s external activity.”

“Ah, about that,” the professor said brightly. “I’ve found an excellent museum of ancient manuscripts. Let’s go there.”

With that single sentence, the entire situation was resolved. Long live the Professor! I nearly shouted it out loud right then and there. That was Professor Eric for you—he didn’t care what the students thought or what they preferred; he just did whatever he wanted!

Thanks to the professor’s tyranny, I managed to survive another day unscathed. Yet, it left a bitter taste in my mouth.

How many times have we been collateral damage to his whims?

Just last week, he told us to clear our lunch schedules for a meeting, only to postpone it to the next week at the last second because something came up. If he had just told us a day or two ago, Senior Fernando and Senior Serman wouldn’t have had to rack their brains picking locations.

Does the man not understand the concept of “prior notice”? For once, the entire club acted as one, tossing their ballots into the trash in unison.

It has already been a week since Michael and I became a couple. Surprisingly, not much has changed. We hold hands while walking, hug before saying goodbye, and put delicious morsels of food on each other’s plates. The lack of change made us both feel a strange sense of unease.

“Is it okay for things to stay exactly the same even though we’re dating?”

“To be honest, I was a bit worried about that too. I was afraid you’d find it boring.”

“And I was worried you would be bored.”

We immediately explained our predicament to Ronia. She spoke while munching on the brownie we had provided as a “consultation fee.”

“That’s what couples usually do.”

“…But what if we were already doing ‘couple things’ back when we were just friends?”

“Then what? You just keep living like usual.”

We asked simultaneously, “But what if Michael gets bored?” “What if Cecil gets bored?”

“There’s your answer.” Ronia pointed her fork at me. “You’re only worrying about this because you aren’t bored.” Then she pointed at Michael. “And you’re only worrying because you aren’t bored either. You both like each other this much, so what on earth is there to worry about?”

Our faces flushed crimson. The moment our hands secretly sought each other out under the table, Ronia snapped.

“Done? Now get out of my sight.”

“S-should we order you another brownie?”

“Sorry! For being a nuisance!”

We quickly ordered her another slice.

“Come to think of it, Cecil, how did you first meet Ronia?” Michael asked.

Ronia warned, “If you tell him, I’ll kill you.”

“Don’t worry, I won’t say a word.”

“Good. You’re a fast learner. You can have a bite of my brownie.” Ronia cut off a small piece for me.

“By the way, Ronia, about that person who helped me… have you run into him in the dorms?”

“I have still never run into another living soul in that dormitory.”

“…I have to ask,” I said, unable to help myself. “The other Magic Department students… they are alive, right?”

“You said you met one the other day. So they must be alive.” Ronia paused. “Well, they could be dead. There was one student who loved undead so much he wanted to become one.”

“Who was that?”

“I don’t know. I don’t remember.”

The moment Ronia gave her blunt reply, someone spoke from behind us.

“Netz.”

It was a man carrying a plate piled high with slices of cake. My eyes went wide.

“Is it about time you remembered my name, Ronia?”

Standing right there was the man who had told me about Zeno’s fiancée.

“I sat next to you on the first day of Potion Making. Of course, you never showed up again after that.”

“What? Ronia, you know him? This is the person I met, but you said you had no idea who he was.”

“I really didn’t know him.”

“…How is that possible?”

It wasn’t like guys with monocles were common. Before I could finish the thought, Ronia looked genuinely victimized.

“I barely remember what I had for lunch yesterday, how am I supposed to remember all that?”

True. I had to concede. Netz, who had been silently watching us, took off his monocle with a look of genuine despair.

“Dammit. I try everything to boost my presence, but nothing works.”

I thought he was a normal person, but another eccentric had appeared. School is a truly mysterious place. People you’d describe to others only to hear, “No way, someone like that doesn’t exist,” just keep appearing one after another.

Still, gratitude is gratitude, so I decided to greet him properly.

“Um, thank you so much for the other day. I could have been in big trouble.”

“It’s fine,” Netz answered dismissively before turning naturally to Ronia. “Ronia, are you free this evening?”

Ronia answered as she stood up from her seat. “I have a fiancée.”

“…I’m going back to study. See you later.”

“Yeah, see you.”

I thought it was strange that he remembered her name after sitting next to her just once; he must have been smitten with her. I was wondering how to comfort him when Netz naturally slid into the empty seat and asked:

“I almost did the same thing Zeno did.”

“Ah, yes. Well, I’m glad you realized it quickly.”

“Say, Cecil. If you’re grateful, how about dinner tonight—”

Before he could finish, I showed him Michael’s hand—which I had been holding this whole time—and said:

“We’re dating.”

“My apologies.”

Without a hint of lingering regret, Netz got up and walked to another table without looking back. He was a specific breed of eccentric: the “hit on anyone” type. Still, he didn’t have a fiancée like Zeno, and he backed off without a word once he knew I was taken, so maybe he wasn’t a bad person. The moment I thought that, I realized something.

“I’m meeting so many weirdos that my own standards are becoming weird too.”

“It’s okay. It’ll get better once we graduate,” Michael comforted me.

“I hope so.”

We gripped each other’s hands tighter and stood up.

“Once I graduate and get a job, I’m going to do everything I want. Travel, read books, work out a lot…”

“You want to travel, Cecil? You usually hate going anywhere.”

“Staying in the school and dorms every single day makes me want to go.”

“Do we really have to wait until graduation?”

“Huh?”

“Let’s go this summer break. Neither of us wants to stay at home anyway.”

“…Should we?”

“Let’s go visit your parents for a bit and then head to the sea. You said you wanted to see the ocean while you were reading the other day.”

“Do I… have the right to go there?”

“What?”

The words had slipped out before I could stop them. I reflexively covered my mouth, then tilted my head in confusion.

Was this also an influence from my past life? The ocean isn’t an imperial palace; why would I think I don’t have the “right” to go? Was I unable to go to the sea in my past life? Why? Because I was “stupid”? No matter how much I dislike my past self, that’s a bit insulting. No matter how dumb someone is, they can surely go to the beach.

For the first time, I became curious.

How exactly was I treated in my previous life?

“Cecil? What’s wrong? What are you thinking about?”

“Oh, sorry.” I quickly fixed my expression. Now that we were dating, I wanted to be on equal footing with Michael. To do that, I had to stop relying on him so much. I forced a smile. “I just thought about my assignments again and spaced out.”

“Is that so?” Michael checked the time on the clock tower. “You said you have training at 3:00, right? I have a class at 3:00 too.”

“We have to part soon. I hate it.”

“…” I bit my lip and whispered, “Me too.”

“It’s amazing how happy it makes me just knowing we’re thinking the same thing.”

“Same here.”

Though we had work to do, I really didn’t want to leave. I said playfully, “Maybe I should have joined the swordsmanship department too.”

“Want to prepare for a transfer starting now? I’ll help you.”

“Should I?”

We looked at each other and laughed. But the moment my eyes met Michael’s, a strange sensation washed over me. I suddenly ran out of things to say and just stared into his eyes until he spoke.

“Cecil.”

“Yes?”

“Want to try something we never did when we were just friends?”

Something we didn’t do as friends? I had to ask. “Like what?”

Michael took my hand. Wait, isn’t holding hands something we do normally? Just as I thought that, Michael pressed his lips to the back of my hand. Stunned by the unexpected gesture, I watched as he asked cautiously:

“How was it?”

“…” I bit my lip again. It wasn’t because I disliked it. It was because the back of my hand felt like it had been scorched. It was common for my face to get hot around Michael, but today felt hot in a different way. After hesitating on how to respond, I finally spoke.

“…I’m not sure.”

“…I see.” Michael’s eyes, already like a puppy’s, drooped even further. “Was I too hasty?”

“No, it’s not that…” I trailed off before gathering my courage. “I think I’d know if we tried it one more time.”

This time, Michael froze. Since Michael was brave earlier, I should be brave now, right? I hesitated, then took a step closer to him. I stood on my tiptoes. But I was so embarrassed that I made a request.

“Close your eyes.”

“Oh, okay. I will.”

Michael obediently closed his eyes. I grabbed his shoulders. Were his shoulders always this firm? I toyed with the fabric of his shirt for a moment before closing my own eyes.

My lips touched Michael’s cheek. His cheek became as hot as if it had been branded. I hurriedly pulled away.

“I thought it would be cliché if I just did it to your hand too.”

“…”