Chapter 18: Main Character(1)

After the cozy drive with Layla that made me dizzy just thinking about it.

“So you’re really not going to tell me?”

“…Thank you so much for today, Your Highness.”

I bowed my head and greeted her politely, ignoring Layla who never missed an opportunity until the very end.

Don’t you know what giving up is?

Why on earth is a princess obsessed with my goal?

This was something I still couldn’t understand.

Why would she be interested in me?

As a princess, as the head of the academy’s student body, there must be so much to do.

I also thought that maybe she was the heroine who was treated as the strangest person by the fans for no reason.

Layla, who must have no idea about my thoughts, clicked her tongue as if she was disappointed.

“Tsk. You’re so stubborn in this area.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment.”

“It is a compliment. There probably aren’t many people who can stick to their convictions even if the princess of the empire asks.”

“……Is it a compliment?”

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

Hmm. No matter how I look at it, it doesn’t seem like a compliment.

Isn’t that just him swearing at me for being stubborn?

I suddenly had this question, but I couldn’t talk back to the princess.

“Please go in carefully.”

“Yes. You should go in carefully too.”

I just quietly waved my hand and saw Layla off as she headed back to the girls’ dormitory.

And then, a moment later.

Tiring-

“…”

At this point, a notification sound was heard from the watch that had been quietly resting on my wrist.

[Sender: Layla von Pelias]

You worked hard today too.

I will deliver the quest reward to you as soon as it arrives as promised.

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

[This is the last message from the other party.]

The identity of the notification sound was none other than a message from Layla.

Earlier in the car, she asked me for my watch number if I wasn’t going to tell her why, so I gave her my watch number.

It seemed like she had tried sending a message right away.

“…….Thank you for your hard work, Princess.”

I couldn’t commit the worst act of ignoring her after reading it, so I sent a polite message and turned off the watch screen.

It’s been a long time since I wrote this.

I’ve never written anything except when I used it to directly convey information to Ellis when she was busy.

Of course, this was also a special case for me.

At Sacred Academy, where possession of personal electronic devices is prohibited by law.

There must be no student who doesn’t use the watch, which is basically the only electronic device allowed, except for me.

“……To be exact, I have no use for it.”

This was also natural.

The main purpose of the watch is to communicate with others, but I’ve never communicated with anyone before.

Even if I wanted to use it, I have to have someone who would do it.

In the first place, there were less than five people who knew my watch number, so who would I contact?

There were exactly four people.

The only people in this academy who knew my watch number were: the professor who first gave me the watch.

Tinia, who was the club president and had to know the club members’ numbers.

Ellis, who had no choice but to save my number with a terrible expression because she had to convey information.

Lastly, Layla, who gave me her number today.

There were only four people.

The number of people who had my number saved on their own watches.

“…”

Considering that the entire Sacred Academy’s population exceeded four digits, it couldn’t have been a more pitiful number.

What could I possibly hope for?

I don’t even know the number of my so-called little sister.

Even my little sister, Aria Trice, didn’t know my number.

I never tried to tell her first.

In the first place, Aria really hated being involved with me.

Someone who doesn’t belong to each other.

Isn’t that the relationship between me and my little sister?

Something like that.

That’s what everyone calls them originally.

Mom’s son, mom’s daughter.

A person who is one space up, one space to the right, and one space down on the family register.

A common term for siblings to refer to each other.

Of course, the relationship between me and Aria was more serious than this common sibling relationship.

“……It doesn’t matter.”

It didn’t seem to matter at all.

Aria would be happier if she didn’t get involved with a scoundrel.

It was the same last time.

You cried right away when we met after such a long time.

My sister came to see me because she was worried.

But Aria came to see me because she was worried after hearing that I had gone to the hospital.

I sent her away crying like trash.

Me, me, me, who was like trash, knew better than anyone that I shouldn’t be sad about the fact that my watch didn’t have many numbers.

“…”

So I didn’t make any expression.

As if I had lost my emotions.

As if I had forgotten what emotions were.

As I walked back to the dorm with a blank expression.

“……Ugh. Just one more lap.”

At this hour when the sun was almost down, I discovered someone running around the playground.

“Damian?”

Damian Axios.

A first-year student at Sacred Academy.

“……It’s hard.”

However, today felt harder than usual.

The short-sleeved shirt I was wearing was the problem.

I had been wearing short-sleeved shirts like usual because I kept getting hotter due to the heat generated from running.

But since autumn was approaching, the wind blowing felt much colder.

“I still have to run.”

Of course, he had no intention of giving up.

If he kept giving up because it was hot and giving up because it was cold, his heart would definitely weaken.

That was when Damian, who had once again made up his mind, was getting ready to run.

“……Hello?”

“……Who are you?”

A male student came closer and waved at Damian.

He had slightly disheveled black hair.

His red eyes were impressive, and he could be seen clearly even from afar.

A blue tie?

Is he a second-year senior?

Judging from the color of the tie he was wearing, he looked like a second-year senior who was a year above Damian, not in the same grade.

“……What’s going on?”

At the fact that a stranger was approaching, Damian was naturally making a wary expression.

“But have you eaten dinner?”

“……No. I haven’t eaten yet.”

“Would you like to eat with me?”

“…”

“I was just thinking about what to eat for dinner.”

Just as the other person said, the idea of having dinner together at a really out-of-the-blue timing came out of the other person’s mouth.

It was a really out-of-the-blue suggestion.

It was an offer that the usual Damian would have naturally declined.

Why would he believe that he would have dinner with him?

Even if the other person was a senior from the same academy, he was meeting him for the first time in his life.

Naturally, he had been thinking about rejecting him when he brought up the subject.

Gulp-

“…”.

“…”

As if he had been waiting for those words to come out, until Damian’s stomach, which had not even had lunch, began to cry out for food.

For Damian, it was a moment when he just wanted to hide in a nearby mouse hole.