Chapter 104 – 104. I Know (1)
After the lecture.
After answering the barrage of questions from students and teachers, it was already time for dinner.
The academy, where most of the students had left school, was filled with silence.
I quickly crossed the quiet hallway and headed towards the crazy girls who were waiting for me at the front door.
My throat was sore, and my legs were sore, but I was still quite excited.
One is the fact that my poor speaking skills were of some help to the students’ future.
Another thing is that each of those crazy bitches can be manipulated as they please for a day.
Especially in the case of the latter, it was an opportunity to relieve my sorrow.
What command should I give?
It’s such a waste to trivially order a bread shuttle like a delinquent.
It was a time when I was lost in happy thoughts while humming her song, Lulu Lala.
“Tessia.”
Someone’s voice stopped me.
I sighed first because I was already exhausted, but I was able to frown at the familiar hair color that followed.
“Is it okay for a moment?”
It was Elena.
The girl’s face, which seemed to have a certain determination, was stained with a blush so vivid that it was visible even under the setting sun.
Did he rush over?
I said I couldn’t see him among the barrage of questions from the students, so he seemed to have gone somewhere far away.
“Do you have any questions?”
“Question… That could happen.”
What kind of answer is this?
It ‘might’ be a question?
What kind of Schrödinger’s cat?
He tilted his head and made a troubled expression.
Seeing my doubts, Elena added her words belatedly.
“I want to have a conversation alone with Tessia. “That’s just it.”
Aha. What else can I say?
If that’s the case, say so right away.
She was relieved and a smile appeared on her face.
Elena looked at my softened expression with the same blush.
You had exactly that kind of face the day we first met.
After finishing the short reminiscence, I approached Elena.
“Great. Then, shall we go somewhere calm?”
“Ah, yes… !”
Elena answered loudly and seemed so happy that even her voice cracked.
***
Sonia Academy has a very special wing that is hard to find anywhere else.
The name is Creativo.
This is where Elena and I are walking now.
As the name means ‘creative’, it is a place where students and teachers come together to explore things that cannot be learned in regular classes.
… I am using grandiose expressions, but if I were to compare it to my previous life, it would be a building for club activities.
The first and second floors are for students, and the third floor is for professors’ labs, including Ariel.
A structure in which students voluntarily engage in activities on the lower floor and, if necessary, go directly to professors on the third floor for advice or instruction.
However, few students actually go up to the third floor, and most seem to enjoy an elegant tea time on the first and second floors.
For the students of this academy, who value the honor of their families as nobles, Creativo is simply a place to hold exchange events.
You can tell right away by looking at the tea sets, antique tables, and tablecloths provided in each clubroom you pass by.
Of course, there are some who truly value self-development.
Elena is probably that type.
As she was making wild guesses, Elena, who was walking ahead of her, opened the door to the Criatibo backyard.
“Wow…”
An exclamation of exclamation suddenly burst out.
It was an inevitable sight.
The sunset turning deep red painted over the fluttering flower petals.
There were numerous flowers, but the first thing that caught my eye was a colony of pure white lilies.
The pure white drawing paper, free from stains, gently embraces the red color of the sky.
Just when I was almost completely captivated by the color, Elena spoke slowly.
“Hey, saintess.”
“Yes?”
“Last time, I listened to your concerns, so will you listen to my story this time?”
Elena is secretly looking at me.
From the looks of it, it seemed like he had concerns that were difficult to reveal to others.
“Of course. “If it’s okay for me, it’s okay.”
After hesitating for a moment, Elena pulled her lips away with difficulty.
“Well, actually.”
Her words could not last long.
Elena, who couldn’t even finish a word properly, looked straight into my eyes.
After catching her breath, Elena confessed her inner thoughts again.
“I have never been in love even once in my life.”
It was a confession that made the listener feel unfamiliar.
“Everyone has experienced love at least once. Tessia, have you ever been like that?”
“Yes? Oh, I…”
“There will be, I’m sure.”
Elena’s one word was strangely full of confidence.
Although she was right, it was a very strange feeling to hear the call of love with her own two ears.
She tried not to show off, but she couldn’t ignore the tingling sensation down her spine.
I wiggled my toes under her boots and waited for her story.
“I can’t do that. “I don’t know if it’s for other people, but for me.”
“Why? “Why can’t Miss Elena make her love? If you don’t mind, would you please tell me?”
She asked as politely as possible, suppressing her shyness.
Elena thought briefly and said,
“Because I am the duke’s daughter.”
She answered clearly.
It was a word that was difficult to understand at all without any further explanation.
With a question mark hovering over her head, Elena continued her words with a wry smile.
“You won’t understand. Even I can’t accept it yet.”
Elena twitched her eyebrows as if in self-deprecation.
“Duchess of the Schubert family. Academy prospect, honor student. “Every single one of those things is like handcuffs to me.”
Handcuffs.
Those words, pronounced with an unusually strong intonation, seemed to completely reveal how Elena was feeling right now.
“Everyone does that. She only has eyes for the Duke’s daughter and the eldest daughter of the Schubert family. “It’s just that no one at this academy cares about Elena, who is nothing.”
But, he said.
With her brief addition, Elena lifted her head little by little.
A clear green iris came into my field of vision.
Elena’s refreshing face was filled with complex emotions that had never been seen before.
“Teshia was different.”
The true nature of that emotion was such that even I, who had lived my past life as an insensitive man, could sense it.
“Tessia was the first to see me as Elena rather than a noble and a duke.”
“Elena… “Sheep.”
“Please call me Elena. “Just say Elena.”
“… “Elena.”
I briefly called his name.
Elena’s expression filled with happiness at the sound of my voice.
“Yes, Tesia.”
“I’m not the person Elena thinks I am. “She’s not that great of a person.”
“Are you okay. But it doesn’t matter.”
Elena’s intentions seemed firm.
“I want to meet Tesia more. I want to know more and reach more. From now on, I want to develop a closer relationship with Tesia.”
“Elena…”
“The only person in my head is Tesia. From the time I open my eyes in the morning until I go to bed at night. Even when I fall asleep, all I can think of is Tesia.”
Again, do it.
The girl took a step.
“I wanted to meet you more. As I struggled with longing, my heart suddenly became love.”
Togak, ttogak.
The girl put her heart into me.
“I know. That I am selfish. “I summoned you to a place like this to unilaterally reveal my feelings to Tesia and confess.”
With those words.
Whisper.
A girl with sky hair was held in my arms.
My body, which was standing there defenseless, suddenly caught the girl.
“I really can’t stand it anymore. To Tesia… “I really wanted to convey the love I felt for the first time.”
“For a moment… Elena, Yang… !”
“It’s Elena. “I am Elena, Thesia.”
The girl wrapped her arms around the back of my waist, correcting her name as if she wasn’t going to allow a single word.
Out of embarrassment, she tried to push away, but it was impossible to push Elena away as she clung to her every time.
“It’s warm, Tessia. Really… I’m really happy.”
Elena whispers happily.
In contrast to the girl whose ears were burning red, I noticed the color draining from her face.
The faces of the warrior party appeared in my mind.
Four lovely crazy girls who whispered their love to me every day and confessed their overflowing hearts with their whole bodies.
How would those four react if they saw me as I am now?
Will I be disappointed?
Or should I despise it.
If not, would I regret it?
We may never again see the four approaching us, friendly callers calling us ‘Tessia’.
When my thoughts reached that point, I started to get scared.
“Elena, wait… ! It’s difficult if this happens… !”
Belatedly, she put strength into her arms.
I grabbed Elena’s shoulder and barely let her fall.
The girl looked a little shocked.
“Elena’s heart is grateful. “I thank her with all my heart for liking me so much.”
“Then…”
“But this is not possible.”
She said firmly.
Although the age difference is only a few years, he is at least slightly ahead of Elena in life.
“There will be someone who is much more suitable for Elena than me. It’s cool, it’s cool, and someday, I’ll be able to kick me out of Elena’s head…”
“Tessia.”
Elena retorted, cutting her off hastily.
“I was sure when I was just hugged. The only person who can make me feel this happy is Tesia. “Only you can fill my heart.”
“Elena… !”
“I know, Tesia.”
A meaningful word.
While she was losing consciousness, Elena narrowed the distance she had been pushed back from.
“The reason Tesia is pushing me away like this. “I know everything.”
“Do you know?”
The moment she answered in a dazed voice.
Elena’s hands stroked my cheek.
“You’re in love with the other people in the warrior party. Right?”
“… Yes?”
Because of that one word.
A crack appeared in the conflict I was harboring.
