LIGHTNOVELSTORY Chapter 42 - String (7)
Chapter 42 – String (7)
“Pumpkin?”
“Strawberry!! Wow, this is amazing! I think I can recognize you now!”
“I told you. Since you definitely won’t recognize me, let’s set up a code in advance. How about that? I was right, wasn’t I?”
“Yeah…! But Ed, this is really unbelievable. How can you make me not recognize you even though you were right in front of me? I’ve never seen such glasses before…”
“It’s nothing. It’s just a common item in noble households.”
“What…? Who are you fooling…? Whatever. If you don’t want to tell me, just say so. Hmph.”
“Hey? Ellie, wait up! Let’s go together! Hey!”
It was the morning of the first holiday after returning to school. I found myself trying to pacify Ellie, who was pouting, or perhaps pretending to pout, in front of the stone fountain in the central square of the academy.
Ellie strongly demanded that I spend a whole day of my holiday as an apology for the previous incident, and I was in a position where I had to accept anything Ellie wanted, so I readily accepted Ellie’s demand. In fact, this seems to be a bargain…
“I’m sorry, Ellie. I’m really sorry……I honestly don’t know either. I just got it by chance. I was just joking, okay?”
“You should have said that from the beginning… Fine. But Ed, the glasses suit you really well. How about wearing glasses regularly? It might soften your image, and people might… No, never mind. I misspoke… I made a mistake…”
The glasses I was wearing now were one of the items I obtained in the demon realm, named the ‘Twin Star Crystal Glasses.’ At the time of acquisition, I didn’t understand their purpose, so I just kept them without realizing their effects until later, influenced by acquiring the Tome of Intelligence.
When worn, these glasses blurred my presence to anyone who hadn’t known me from the beginning. In the game, it was quite a negligible item, and I never thought it would be helpful in such an absurd situation.
“What? If you’re going to say something, you have to finish it. What did you say?”
“…I don’t know. But Ed, you’ve never seen me in casual clothes before…I was in a mess in Drakton… What do you think…? Is it okay…?”
Ellie spoke shyly, gently lifting the hem of her skirt with both hands and spinning around.
“It’s not just okay, it really suits you. If it wasn’t for the school uniform, I think you could wear it like this every day.”
“Really…? hehehe…good…”
What I said to Ellie weren’t just empty words.
Ellie came out wearing a white dress with fluffy ruffles at the end, and the outfit gave off a strange sense of freshness and a great destructive power to those who saw it.
With a giggly laugh, she realized her somewhat awkward expression too late, and with a face now as red as an apple, she quickly led the way out of the square.
The long holiday was just about to begin.
* * * * *
These days have been remarkably peaceful. Compared to when I was busy moving around after I regained my memories, it is truly a golden age.
It’s not that I’m living lazily; there simply isn’t anything to worry about right now.
The minor incidents at the academy have already been resolved by Eugene, much like in the original. And although an important event is expected to unfold soon, it doesn’t seem like something I need to intervene in.
It was not directly related to our territory, and no one’s life was at stake. Instead, engaging in unnecessary activities could lead to creating trouble for no reason. Therefore, my daily routine had somewhat settled into a pattern.
Enduring the gazes around, diligently attending lectures with Ellie, participating in supplementary classes to catch up on missed progress, visiting the library a few times a week, occasionally taking time to organize knowledge from the original work, and consistently training my body and mana in between.
Moreover, one or two days a week, Ellie and I would meet outside, exploring the nearby attractions of the academy. Ellie’s presence turned out to be a significant pillar of support for me.
In a class D life where there are few people I can get along with, I never thought that having at least one person I could show my true feelings to would be so helpful.
I never thought that having even one person to whom I could show my true self would be so helpful in a life in Class-D, where there are few people I can be close to; since my mind is that of an ordinary person, I can’t help but feel my heart becoming exhausted when I hear the insults being thrown around.
And on days when I had a dream about the soldiers whose limbs were torn apart by the troll and their waist twitching, or a dream about the delinquents I killed with my own hands in Drakton, I had to spend the whole day feeling a chill in my body.
But on the days when I meet Ellie outside, I could feel that some of this stress was going away.
Ellie seemed genuinely sorry for being the cause of these troubles. Ellie…she was a truly kind girl.
Even back then, she spent a long time asking around to find me after I left without revealing my name. At the academy, she didn’t seem to fully enjoy her school life due to accommodating my unreasonable demands…
Since I’ve received so much from Ellie, it was only right to try my best to fulfill her requests as much as my abilities allow. One slightly embarrassing thing was that, recently, Ellie has been approaching me more closely.
For example, when she thought she might get lost, she grabbed my forearm, and suddenly it turned into an armrest.
When she sits down, she tries to sit next to me instead of across from me.
Once seated, she wouldn’t just sit quietly; she would playfully poke my hand with her fingers.
At first, I was a bit surprised by this unreserved approach, but these days, after hearing Ellie say that this was the standard among close friends, I was slowly understanding and accepting it.
From Ellie’s perspective, she probably thinks of me as a close friend. Honestly, I felt good about it, and there was no negative feeling at all.
Ellie has a decent level of knowledge in this area, according to her own claims. Before my memories returned, I had no interest in this aspect, so most of my knowledge in this area relies on what Ellie has taught me.
And one thing I learned is that this world was surprisingly open-minded in many ways.
In fact, in aristocratic society, there is even an unspoken rule that “all romantic relationships that occurred at the academy are not to be mentioned after graduation unless they go ‘all the way’.”
Of course, there was some disagreement among people about where exactly “the end” is…
At first, I wondered how that was possible, but I eventually understood it in a roundabout way, thinking that if there were no such rule, there could be problems in advancing the relationship between the protagonist and the heroines.
Of course, roughly understanding and moving on in your mind was one thing, but feeling it directly in reality was another. Come to think of it, it did feel a bit uncomfortable…
“Excuse me for a moment. Is there a junior named Edwin Reed here?”
During the break between lectures…
…As I was trying to push away the unpleasant thoughts that had come to mind when a well-built student walked in the front door and called my name, looking around.
Judging by the badge on his chest, he seemed to be a sophomore, but why would a sophomore be looking for me?
“I’m Edwin. What can I help you with?”
As I stood up to respond, the sophomore approached me.
“Ah, nice to meet you, junior. To put it simply, someone asked me to come get you, so I took the liberty of coming here. They’re very close to you, so can you spare me a little time?”
Someone close to me? Sent a sophomore to call me? Who could that be? Ah, maybe?
Guessing who it might be, I decided to follow the sophomore student. Just as I was about to follow him, Ellie, who was sitting next to me, grabbed my sleeve.
“I…Ed…me too…”
“Stay here, Ellie. I’ll be back soon.”
I gently removed Ellie’s hand from my sleeve and followed the sophomore student out of the classroom. Ellie tried to insist, but I left quickly. Lately, she has been crossing boundaries little by little.
I was able to respond somehow because there were no students nearby just now, but it could be troublesome if this situation continues. I need to talk to Ellie again later…
As I walked down the stairs of the tower, I saw a group of people standing in a circle, including the senior who had led me.
One peculiar thing was that there was only one female student in the group, while the male students numbered about seven.
And as soon as I saw the face of the female student, I immediately knew who she was.
—— End of chapter —–
Translator’s Notes:-
You can read the story ahead on my ko-fi (10 chapter ahead so far). Read here :- https://ko-fi.com/sacredtexttl/tiers
⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯ ˳༄꠶ ⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯