“…Didn’t I clearly say that I borrowed it?”

The reaction of the stranger outside the door was too sharp for someone who had come to retrieve a borrowed item.

“Well… Even if you borrow something without the owner’s permission, it’s still borrowing, right?”

Ah. So he stole it.

Creak.

Oliver opened the door to the student council room, paying no heed.

Whoosh!

At the same time, a sharp sword flew through the gap in the door.

However, the tip of the sword could not reach Oliver and was deflected, falling to the floor.

“Oh my, if I hadn’t quickly put up a defensive barrier, our new student would have seen something unpleasant. Don’t you think?”

Oliver, who had nearly been seriously injured, smiled at Nigel with ease.

A person who naturally puts up a defensive barrier and a person who pushes a sword through a door gap without hesitation.

It was a fantastic breathing technique that could not be achieved by experiencing it once or twice.

“Oliver Welider!”

The door swung wide open, and a man with bright blue hair appeared.

“Hello. Was the family event good?”

Oliver waved the teleport stone in his hand and greeted him brightly.

“How many times has it been? I told you to let me know in advance if you’re going to take it. I said I’d lend it to you if you told me!”

He immediately grabbed Oliver by the collar and lifted him up.

‘Do more, do more.’

Seeing this, Nigel felt a strange sense of exhilaration.

“Ah, but that would be no fun. If I tell you beforehand, I won’t be able to see this reaction of yours.”

At Oliver’s words, the fingertips of the man holding Oliver’s collar trembled.

‘He’s asking for a beating. Even if he gets hit, it would be justifiable.’

Nigel was willing to defend him with all his might if he struck Oliver.

But unfortunately, his fist only trembled before quickly snatching the teleport stone from Oliver’s hand.

By the way, the side profile of the man taking the teleport stone seemed strangely familiar.

‘Definitely… at the train station…’

At that moment, the man’s gaze and Nigel’s met in mid-air, and both pairs of eyes widened simultaneously.

“It’s been a while.”

Nigel spoke first to the man who was staring at him blankly.

Thud−

At the same time, a thud was heard from behind. It was because the man had let go of Oliver’s collar.

“Indeed. It’s nice to see you again, Lady.”

He still had a pleasant smile. However, as soon as Nigel saw him, the same uncomfortable feeling from before was revived.

At that moment, Oliver got up from his seat, straightening his grabbed collar.

“…What? Jay, you know our new student?”

‘Jay…?’

Nigel’s face stiffened.

There was only one person on the participant list with a name that included Jay.

Only then did the uncomfortable feeling that Nigel had been harboring begin to unravel. And in the worst possible way.

“Yeah. We met by chance at the train station before the semester started. I didn’t know she would be our junior, and I never dreamed of meeting her again in such a miserable state. It’s all thanks to you. Thank you, Oliver.”

The man called Jay smiled and glared at Oliver.

“Oh, it’s nothing.”

Oliver shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly.

“Still, it’s nice to see you again, junior. Let me introduce myself now, I’m Jayden Galloway. And you are?”

Jayden Galloway…

No, the half-brother of Zeronin reached out his hand to Nigel.

‘Can you be this unlucky?’

Nigel stared blankly at Jayden’s clean hand without a single scar.

Zeronin’s real name was not Zeronin Silvas, but Zeronin Galloway.

Until the 15-year-old boy, covered in wounds and bruises, came to Tilrin’s orphanage on his own and filled out only his name on the admission form.

‘I always wondered who had the surname Galloway… It was you.’

Nigel’s face darkened.

“Uh… junior?”

Jayden tilted his head, then soon smiled as if he understood.

Then he took out a handkerchief from his robe and wiped his hand.

“Now it’s clean. No matter how happy I was, I shouldn’t have offered a hand that grabbed Oliver’s collar to my junior. It should never happen.”

“Jay, you’re so heartless.”

Even at the light banter, Nigel’s stiff face showed no sign of loosening.

All of Nigel’s attention was focused solely on Jayden’s pristine white hand.

The back and palm of the hand, each joint, as if it had acquired new wounds without even giving time for the scabs to fall off, making it look as miserable as a rag.

Unlike someone’s hand that always wore gloves regardless of the season, whether it was hot or cold, Jayden’s hand, without a single small scratch, made something hot in Nigel’s heart feel like it was about to swell up and burst at any moment.

‘If only Jayden’s hand had a common scar… Then I wouldn’t have felt this way.’

Nigel composed his trembling heart and raised his hand.

Grab.

His hand, which directly touched Nigel’s, was rougher than it looked. However, this fact did not help calm Nigel’s heart at all.

“…Nigel Ars, Department of Magic.”

Nigel smiled back at him, hiding his trembling fist behind his back.

Monday morning.

“Good morning!”

“Good morning to you!”

“…Yeah, good morning.”

The first breakfast after reconciliation.

Allen and Noah’s faces were so bright, they were like the round sun rising in a clear blue sky without a single cloud.

“Nigel, you know what? Noah cherishes the amulet he received from you so~ much. He stares at it intently, afraid it might disappear somewhere, and he can’t even touch it carelessly for fear of breaking it.”

At Allen’s tattling, Noah’s face turned as red as the cherry tomatoes on the plate.

“…Allen, you’re similar to me. You kept bragging about the postcard Nigel gave you to other students all weekend, and you displayed it prominently in the center of your desk.”

“Noah, you shouldn’t say that!”

The two chattered about who cherished the gift more until the end of the meal.

Then the topic changed to who Nigel had put more effort into choosing a gift for.

“…Anyway, it’s your defeat, Noah. There’s no great sincerity that matches the value! You know well that Nigel’s wallet doesn’t open easily.”

“No, Allen. What matters in a gift is the meaning it holds. Please admit your defeat gracefully.”

The two kept spewing out similar words with only different vocabulary, as if they never got tired of it.

Thanks to that, Nigel was exhausted even before classes started.

‘Next time I give a gift, I should make sure to give the same thing.’

“…If you two are going to keep talking there, I’m going to the classroom first.”

Click.

When Nigel, who couldn’t stand it anymore, got up from his seat, Allen and Noah jumped up and followed closely behind him.

Nigel was about to leave the cafeteria at that moment.

Wink!

A male student with a lion emblem wearing a red tie suddenly winked at Nigel.

“…What?”

Nigel stopped in surprise.

“Do you know him?”

“No way.”

“Could it be… a coincidence?”

“It must be. Oh, that’s probably it.”

Nigel nodded forcibly, rationalizing the uneasiness as a coincidence.

However, Nigel was convinced that this uneasiness was not a coincidence after receiving 2 winks and 3 thumbs up from the Department of Swordsmanship students on the way to the classroom.

“Nigel, you…!”

Allen narrowed his eyes and looked at Nigel.

“Did you tell Professor Roneh that you’re transferring to the Department of Swordsmanship?”

“Why would I?”

At the voice filled with absurdity, Allen’s face returned to normal.

“Then what could be the reason?”

Creak.

Noah opened the classroom door and spoke.

“Haha, you’re making such a displeased face. It can’t be, but Nigel, could it be that you’re participating in the Mage…”

“Nigel! I heard you’re participating in the Mage Tournament!! You made a good decision!”

A male student from the Department of Swordsmanship with parted brown hair interrupted Allen’s words and spoke in an excited voice.

At the male student’s words, two sharp gazes turned towards Nigel.

Nigel nodded once, trying to ignore those gazes.

“Great! If I win the round of 16, I’ll face you in the quarterfinals. I can finally compete against you!!”

“Ah, I see. I look forward to it.”

Nigel’s eyes slightly wavered at the burning gaze that felt like it was piercing through the back of his head.

“As expected, you’re already talking as if you’ve secured the round of 16. That’s a good attitude. I hope we both win and have a great match in the quarterfinals!”

When the male student reached out his hand to Nigel, Nigel grabbed it and shook it loosely. Only then did the satisfied male student smile and return to his seat.

…Swish.

As Nigel slowly turned his head, he met two faces full of disappointment and sorrow as if they had been betrayed.

“…I’ll explain everything. So let’s go to our seats.”

“…Noah, didn’t Nigel clearly say that he didn’t know why people participated in the Mage Tournament before fighting?”

“Yes. He also added that it was a waste of time and body, and he was curious about who would participate in such an event.”

“Right? I didn’t mishear. Then shall we slowly find out the reason for the change of heart?”

“Good idea.”

Allen and Noah looked down at Nigel. The two pairs of eyes were glinting with madness as if they had been replicated, and the two mouths were smiling fiercely.

“Then Nigel, shall we go to our seats?”

Allen pushed Nigel’s shoulder and dragged him all the way to his seat.

‘Why do they only get along at times like this…?’

Nigel bit his lip hard and cursed his own loose tongue.