As Allen said, the weekend outing was more enjoyable than expected.

I thought wandering around stores without any purpose was a waste of time. But it was even better than I thought.

Allen bought a bunch of magical tools of unknown use from the magical tool shop, simply because they were interesting.

When Nigel’s hand turned transparent from carelessly touching a magical tool, Allen obediently offered his back to Nigel’s transparent hand.

On the way to lunch, Nigel got separated from the group and stumbled upon an old bookstore, where she got a few good books at a cheap price.

Allen and Noah, who found Nigel later, also bought a few books. The old owner quickly gave Allen a glass of water when he started coughing from the dust while carelessly flipping through books.

As it was awkward in both time and distance to go to the restaurant they originally planned, the group walked wherever their feet took them and entered a restaurant that looked decent.

The moment they tasted the food, all three nodded simultaneously. It was the moment they discovered a hidden gem known only to them.

“Ah, today was fun, wasn’t it?”

The three bought ice cream and ate it in front of the fountain that was turning red in the sunset.

“Yes. …Except for my hand turning transparent.”

Puhah, Noah’s laughter rang in Nigel’s ears.

“I said I’m sorry! That’s why I offered my back. Noah, when we get to the dorm later, check if there are any bruises on my back. Tell Nigel to give me some healing donation money.”

“Alright.”

Noah nodded with a smile.

“Beselion, tomorrow, tell me for sure whether he’s faking it or not.”

“Understood.”

Noah nodded obediently again.

“Noah! Weren’t you on my side?! We’re roommates!”

“It hasn’t even been two weeks yet. How can a deep bond form from just living together for a few days?”

“Right, of course, the esteemed top student of the year would never know the bond between roommates for life.”

Allen jokingly exaggerated and put his arm around Noah’s shoulders. Noah also smiled and put his arm around Allen’s shoulders.

“Yeah, I intend to live without knowing that bond for life.”

The three looked at each other and grinned.

“We should head back now. …To the academy.”

“Allen, you’re acting like you’re going to die when you’re going to Sienna that you like. I heard you cried when you got accepted to Sienna.”

“…Noah! You told her again?!”

Noah slightly averted his eyes from Allen.

“…I’m sorry, Allen.”

“Yeah, I kept your secret, but this is how you repay me? Nigel, you know…”

Noah jumped up and quickly covered Allen’s mouth.

“…It’s nice and quiet now. Beselion, bring Allen as he is. Let’s go to Sienna like this.”

“Yes.”

“Mmph!!”

[This is the timeline separator]

The enjoyable weekend passed, and a new morning dawned.

And.

“Ars, aren’t you an orphan?”

Sid Cromwell said arrogantly. Still in an elegant posture.

“…What?”

Nigel, who was going to get some water, stopped in her tracks.

“Your surname was so memorable that I investigated thoroughly. There was only one record left. In the temple.”

The left corner of Sid’s mouth turned up maliciously.

At his words, Nigel’s vision, her mind, everything gradually narrowed.

She could neither see nor hear anything except Sid’s mouth. As long as he doesn’t bring up the orphanage. Just not the orphanage.

“You must have had a hard time. Coming to Sienna by studying alone without any support. And yet you pretend to be a noble in front of me?”

“Sid Cromwell, stop it.”

Noah said dryly.

Fortunately, no mention of the orphanage escaped those arrogant lips. …That was enough for now.

But… that haughty attitude was unbearable. No matter how much she disliked herself, he had crossed the line by far.

Nigel shook her head lightly from side to side and glared at Sid Cromwell.

Sid welcomed Nigel’s fierce gaze and looked down at her.

“You, I heard you got one question wrong on the recent exam.”

“…Ha, that’s how it should be.”

Sid Cromwell folded his arms.

“Perhaps it wasn’t this question, Sid? The founding principles of Sienna Academy.”

“Huh− Who wouldn’t know that? When Emperor Izechin, who founded Sienna, established the school, it was created to provide equal educational opportunities based solely on ability, regardless of students’ gender or status…”

“You know it well, Young Master Cromwell. Then this lady will take her leave. May the blessings of Goddess Kirelia be with you.”

Nigel bent her knee and bowed mockingly, then immediately left the dining hall.

“…Nigel Ars!”

Sid Cromwell, who had been standing dazed for a moment, came to his senses and called Nigel’s name. But Nigel was already gone.

[This is the timeline separator]

“…Nigel!”

“Oh, Allen.”

Nigel, who appeared behind Allen and Noah, poked her head between the two.

“Ah, you scared me! I thought you had gone somewhere else.”

“No, why would I? I have to attend the next class.”

“Um… are you alright, Nigel?”

“Yes. It’s true that I’m an orphan, so what’s there to be okay or not okay about? It was only a matter of time before it came out anyway.”

Nigel clenched her fist tightly and then released it.

“However… Allen, I wanted to tell you myself.”

Why she wanted to personally reveal a fact that was obviously going to be used as a weakness by others, even Nigel didn’t understand.

But… she wanted to do that for Allen.

“Nigel…!”

Allen cried out and threw himself at Nigel.

“The person concerned is fine, so why are you crying? Don’t cry over something so trivial, Allen.”

Is it because this pure side resembles the orphanage children? It seemed like it would be okay if it was Allen.

Yes, this must be the friend Allen always sings about.

Nigel’s face was grim as she gently patted Allen’s back.

Although she said it was only a matter of time before it came out, it was different if the person who revealed it was Sid Cromwell.

‘…I just said it shouldn’t be found out, right?’

A good idea just popped into Nigel’s head.

[This is the timeline separator]

Sid Cromwell was having a dynamic week.

At the beginning of the week, what started as a small attempt to tease a fellow magic department classmate who had insulted him during the entrance ceremony grew out of hand.

Even when he realized his mistake and tried to apologize for his actions, his classmate was so adept at avoiding him that it was difficult to even see his face once.

He also became thoroughly marked by the magic department students. Even by the kids he had been close with since childhood!

“Nigel isn’t here, Sid.”

“No, she’s clearly there…”

The only one bold enough to eat snacks calmly with that Beselion and that Evans on either side could only be Nigel.

“No, that’s an illusion created by our magic department. It seems we’ll have to look for Nigel elsewhere. See you in class tomorrow, Sid.”

Bang!

The door closed mercilessly along with the absurd excuse.

“Sigh.”

He didn’t know how things had come to this.

He was annoyed by Nigel, who mentioned the book of his most respected great-aunt. Nigel, who hadn’t said anything wrong, Nigel who was indifferent to whatever he said.

So he wanted to see that expressionless face contort just once.

But… he had crossed the line.

He was left with nothing but loss, without any gain. It was a fitting end for his childish and dirty heart.

Even the eyes of his classmates who had supported Sid’s actions changed.

However, Sid’s actions were not remembered for long. This was because of Valein’s Day, which was coming up in a few days.

Valein’s Day was a day when female students expressed their feelings by giving desserts and such to male students.

Most gave desserts as a sign of friendship, but some actually confessed their true feelings.

Sid knew better than anyone that marriage was merely a political union with someone who would benefit the family, but as Valein’s Day approached, he couldn’t stop his heart from unnecessarily expecting and trembling.

“Sid, it’s a letter. Um… it seems to be from a female student?”

At his roommate’s words, Sid, who had been studying at his desk, got up from his seat slightly faster than usual.

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. As expected, Sid, you’re so calm even after receiving a letter? If it were me, I wouldn’t be able to sleep because my heart would be pounding.”

Thump. Thump.

“…Of course.”

Thump. Thump.

Ignoring the loud sound of his heart, Sid barely managed to answer.

Sid, holding the letter written in a round handwriting on a light pink background that said ‘To Sid’, didn’t know how he managed to sit back at his desk.

Click.

Sid opened the desk drawer and put the letter inside. Only then did his mind clear.

“Huh? What? You’re not going to read it right away?”

“No. It’ll interfere with my studies.”

“As expected, Sid is different from other kids. I heard earlier that some guy from the swordsmanship department was cherishing a cookie he received from a female student, but ended up crushing it to powder during training and cried! Hahaha!”

“…That’s funny.”

Even though he tried to laugh along with his roommate, the laughter didn’t come easily. Because he now truly understood the feelings of that swordsmanship department student.

He felt that if the letter in his drawer were to get crumpled, his heart would be torn apart.

That evening, for the first time, Sid failed to meet his targeted amount of study.

“Snore… Snore…”

And late at night.

When he was sure his roommate was asleep, Sid slowly got up from his bed.

Remembering its location, he carefully reached out and picked up the magic candle holder, lighting it as dimly as possible.

He had to be extremely careful because his roommate had good night vision.

Creak.

After concentrating all his senses on his fingertips, he opened the desk drawer as gently as possible.

“Snore… Snore…”

Fortunately, his roommate didn’t wake up.

‘…Found it!’

Finally, the soft touch of the light pink letter paper was back in Sid’s hand.

Thump! Thump!

His heart once again made its presence clearly known.

Sid slowly and carefully unfolded the letter.