Chapter 31: A Night in Celian’s Room

Time with Celian

“Haam.”

“Uh? What’s this? I’ve never seen Celian tired before. Did you sleep poorly?”

Normally, Celian never shows signs of yawning, but today, she was yawning from the moment she arrived at school.

“Ah, no. It’s just… something happened…”

“Really? If you’re too tired, how about skipping what I was going to teach you today and just resting?”

“No! I’m full of energy! Don’t worry about me.”

Wow, that was surprising. Until just a moment ago, Celian was slouching at the desk with dark circles under her eyes, but now she reacted with great energy.

“Ah, okay. Then, where should we do it?”

“…How about my room?”

Just yesterday, I had invited her to my room, and today, she was inviting me to hers. Of course, it was too late to object now, so I just accepted it.

“Alright. Then I’ll come over after dinner.”

“Okay. I’ll be waiting.”

After yesterday’s math lesson, today I was going to learn military studies from Celian. I grabbed a few related textbooks and a notebook and headed to Celian’s room. Since it was on the same floor, I arrived at her door in no time.

Knock knock.

“Welcome, El.”

“Then, I’ll go in.”

When I knocked, the door opened quickly. Following Celian’s gesture to come in, I stepped inside and was immediately struck by the well-decorated interior, quite different from my room.

It was my first time inviting a girl to my room yesterday, and it was also my first time being invited into a girl’s room today. I looked around curiously, and then our eyes met.

“Ah! Sorry, I was just surprised because it’s so different from my room.”

“It’s fine. You’re always welcome, El.”

I stopped admiring the room and decided to focus on our main purpose. I walked to the desk and placed the books and notebook I had brought down.

“Shall we start right away?”

“Yes, of course.”

I sat at the desk, and Celian brought another chair and sat next to me. Thus began another one-on-one tutoring session with her, continuing from yesterday’s with Yuri.

“Alright, let’s look at this part. This tactic was used by a small nation in the past, and it’s a strategy unique to that country, with various characteristics reflecting that.”

Celian started to go through the book, explaining everything in detail.

“This part will be on the exam, so it’s better to memorize it. Oh, this part won’t be on the exam, so you can skip it.”

Since the subjects were different from what Yuri had taught, comparing them might be rude, but Celian, unlike Yuri, focused only on the core points and pointed out the sections that were likely to appear on the exam.

I remember that, during the last midterms, many of the topics Celian mentioned actually appeared on the exam.

“Now, let’s take a look at this content.”

Thud.

“Ah, sorry.”

While following Celian’s instructions to check a certain section, my arm brushed against hers.

When I glanced back, I realized that the distance between us had become a little smaller than when we first started studying.

It was probably because we were getting closer while discussing the textbook contents. I didn’t move away or say anything, as I didn’t want to make Celian feel awkward, so I just quietly continued.

“It’s fine. Don’t worry about it. Let’s just focus on studying.”

Celian also didn’t seem to mind much and continued pointing out the parts that might appear on the exam.

However, every time I picked something at the very edge of the book, the farthest point from Celian, she seemed uncomfortable and slowly, very slowly, closed the distance between us.

“Uh… it’s hard to take notes if we’re this close.”

Before I knew it, we were sitting so close that our forearms were touching as we studied.

Eventually, it became too difficult to bear, so I made a not-so-subtle request to Celian to help with the notes as an excuse.

“Ah, I didn’t think of that. Well, then…”

Celian said that, stood up, and moved the chair she was sitting on to the opposite side, to my left. Then she placed the chair back and sat down, leaning slightly toward me.

“Alright, shall we continue?”

She got up from her seat, but for some reason, I didn’t understand why she closed the distance again. At this point, any excuse was gone, thanks to Celian. If I said anything more now, it would be like telling Celian directly, “It’s uncomfortable being close to you.”

In the end, I kept my mouth shut, and the lesson continued.

“So, why is this happening here?”

While studying, there was an ambiguous part that I couldn’t just memorize, so I asked Celian a question. I couldn’t imagine why such a tactic was used in this situation.

“Hmm… Well, I can tell you, but would you like to think about it yourself first?”

Even Celian, who usually gave precise tutoring, didn’t immediately provide the answer and instead gave me time to think.

I started visualizing the execution area of the tactic, the time, the enemy’s situation, and our side’s situation in my head. However, trying to visualize it in my mind started to get confusing, and I began to lose track.

In the end, I decided to draw a rough sketch of the situation in my notebook. But the problem was, there were already notes written in it.

It was awkward to scribble in the middle of the page. I could turn to a new page, but the notebook was almost out of pages.

Just as I was thinking about imagining it in my mind, my eyes caught a piece of paper sticking out between the books on the bookshelf.

I couldn’t see the back, but from the part sticking out, it seemed like there was nothing written on it.

“Celian, if you’re not using this paper, can I write on it?”

I lightly touched the paper and made my request.

“What paper are you talking about… Yikes!”

Celian, startled by my simple request, quickly hid the paper behind her back with a swift motion, one she usually only showed during sparring.

When she pulled it out, I could briefly see that it had writing on the part that wasn’t visible to me.

“Huh?”

“Th-this is… um, ah! A letter! Yes! It’s a letter from home! It’s very important, so… sorry.”

So, it seemed like she didn’t want to show me. Even though we were friends, showing a private letter from her family could be embarrassing.

“No, I’m sorry. I didn’t know it was such an important piece of paper. I just thought it was scrap paper or something.”

“No, it’s my mistake for leaving such an important… letter in such a visible place. Please wait a moment. I’ll even lend you my notebook.”

Celian said that and quickly placed the letter deep inside her drawer.

“Feel free to use the unused notebook.”

“Thanks.”

I took the notebook she handed me and began drawing the problem I had been thinking about earlier.

To my surprise, I was able to find the answer quickly. I asked Celian if the answer I had found was correct, but she was still distracted by the letter, her eyes darting back and forth between me and the drawer.

“Don’t worry about it. I really didn’t see any content.”

“Of course, I know you didn’t see it…”

Nevertheless, Celian didn’t seem fully at ease. However, it seemed like she didn’t have much to say and continued helping me with my studies.

Occasionally, I noticed her glancing at the letter hidden in her drawer, but it was only for a brief moment.

“If you memorize the parts I pointed out today, you probably won’t have to worry too much about the final exam.”

Unlike the math that Yuri taught, which required a lot of application, this was a memorization-heavy subject, and since she was focusing only on the key points, we were able to cover a whole week’s worth of material before roll call.

“Thank you so much for today. Even if I attended the class myself, I would have known less than I do now.”

This was heartfelt. If I had studied on my own, I would have probably ended up memorizing the entire book instead of focusing on the core content and the parts that would appear on the exam, like we did today.

“Well, I should start getting ready for roll call. Thank you again today. You must be tired since it’s already morning—get some rest.”

She had been full of energy while teaching me, but under her eyes, dark circles were still visible. I decided to give her a chance to rest, so I started tidying up the desk and stood up.

“Uh… hey!”

As I was about to leave with the books and notebooks we had studied from, I turned to say goodbye, but Celian called me back.

“Would you like to sleep in my room tonight?”

“Huh?”

It was a sudden suggestion. Sure, I had spent the night with Yuri in my room yesterday, but that was due to us needing to catch up on some unfinished work. However, today, we had already gone over all the material that had been lacking from the past week. I didn’t see any reason to accept Celian’s offer, nor was there any need to maintain face.

“But you must be tired too…”

“No! I’m fine! I think I’ll sleep better if I’m with you.”

For some reason, she didn’t seem willing to let me go.

“Still…”

“You slept with Yuri yesterday. I’m the one who… no, I also want to sleep with you.”

I hadn’t remembered much of the evening since I had been studying with Yuri, but it seemed Celian knew that Yuri had come to my room and slept there. Maybe she had seen Yuri bringing a pillow after roll call.

But at this point, refusing would have made it seem like I was treating Yuri and Celian differently. I found myself in a dilemma.

Celian’s sincerity was clear in her eyes, and no matter what I said, the answer seemed to be inevitable. Her eyes, still shadowed by dark circles, showed that I had no choice but to say yes.

After changing into pajamas and grabbing a pillow, I returned to Celian’s room. When I knocked and the door opened, I couldn’t help but hesitate.

Celian’s sleepwear, which I hadn’t seen before, was very different from Yuri’s. In fact, it was quite a contrast.

Yuri had worn a plain, pink long-sleeve, long-pants set, but Celian’s sleepwear was something I could hardly look at without feeling embarrassed.

The design itself wasn’t a big issue. It was a dress with thin shoulder straps, slightly smaller in size, but nothing that couldn’t be considered appropriate.

The problem was the material—it was thin enough that the inner part of the dress could be seen through.

I had seen her naked before, but this was a completely different experience. In fact, the almost-visible parts were even more suggestive.

Unable to say anything, I lowered my head slightly, but I couldn’t help but glance at her exposed skin, so I quickly turned my head to the side.

“El?”

However, Celian called me while I was standing still at the entrance, as if nothing was wrong. I couldn’t stay standing, so I entered the room.

“No, nothing.”

I said that, but I couldn’t bring myself to look at Celian. Even when I tried to look at her face, my gaze naturally drifted lower.

“Where are you looking? Why aren’t you making eye contact?”

Even though I tried to pretend I didn’t notice, Celian didn’t acknowledge my efforts. Eventually, I tried to blur my vision as much as possible, pretending not to see her, and continued the conversation.

“No, it’s just that I was surprised by your pajamas.”

“Is it strange? I actually like them because they’re comfortable…”

“No! It’s not strange.”

“Hehe. Well then, should we get some sleep? Like you said, I’m a bit tired too.”

However, the only place with a blanket in Celian’s room was on the bed.

“Could you give me just one blanket? I have bad sleeping habits, so I’ll sleep on the floor.”

“I’m fine, so just sleep with me in the bed. There’s only one blanket, anyway.”

“Then I’ll go get my blanket from my room. Wait just a moment.”

As I turned to head back to my room, Celian grabbed my hand.

“Yesterday…”

“Huh?”

“You slept close to Yuri, so is it not okay with me?”

Celian mentioned Yuri again, asking the question. I had nothing to say to that… But how did Celian know I slept next to Yuri? It seemed like she must have overheard something while talking to Yuri today.

…Well, fine. I’ll just sleep in the bed, whatever.

Like before, I couldn’t refuse.

So, there we were, lying in bed together under one blanket, but I made sure to look at the ceiling, trying not to look at her.

Ideally, I would have turned away to show consideration, but considering her perspective, it might actually make her feel uncomfortable, so I didn’t.

“El?”

“Yeah?”

I was lying there with my eyes closed when Celian called me. It hadn’t been long since we laid down, so I couldn’t pretend to be asleep yet.

“Could you face me while you sleep? I want to talk a bit before we sleep…”

Even if I refused, it was clear that Celian would find a way to persuade me.

Since we were already under the same blanket, I decided to give in. I turned my body towards her, and of course, her chest, pressed against her arm, came into view.

Eventually, after a while, when our conversation had ended and Celian had fallen asleep, I still couldn’t manage to sleep.

I hadn’t realized it because I was nervous, but being this close to her, I recognized a familiar scent. After thinking for a moment, I realized it was the same scent as the shampoo I used. She uses the same product as me.