“It’s all thanks to Allen and you, Nigel. Thanks to you two, I enjoy every day and sleep well.”

Nigel’s conscience was pricked by Noah’s bright smile.

Click.

Then, a grinning Sid opened the door, came out, and lightly tapped Noah’s shoulder.

“It’s your turn, Beselion.”

“Then I’ll be back.”

Noah moved his feet heavily as if he was reluctant, and soon disappeared into the room.

The door closed, and Sid stared at Nigel without a word.

“What, you’re not going? Do you have something to say?”

Sid, still silent, rummaged through his bosom for something and handed it to Nigel.

“…It’s a cold stone?”

The square stone that fit in one hand was a disposable magic tool that maintained coldness for about half a day. Even though it was disposable, it was quite expensive as it contained a magic stone.

“Cromwell, why are you giving me this all of a sudden?”

“Well, I don’t need it. You use it, Ars.”

When Nigel asked with wide eyes, Sid awkwardly replied, avoiding Nigel’s gaze.

“Don’t tell me… I heard you were very worried when I collapsed in the finals of the Sword Tournament. Are you still worried about me? I’m touched, Sid.”

“H-how could that be? I wasn’t going to give it to you, but it was sent from my family. My hands are too cold right now, so I’m throwing it away to you.”

Remembering Sid’s hot hands that had just touched him, Nigel suppressed a laugh.

‘Well, since he’s making an effort, should I accept it just this once?’

Nigel put the cold stone in his pocket. Then, the refreshing and cool energy emitted from the cold stone spread throughout his body.

“Thanks, I’ll use it well, Sid.”

“Yeah, go and have a good meeting, Ars.”

Only after saying goodbye did Sid’s feet leave the ground and move.

Left alone, Nigel sighed softly with unfounded anxiety and leaned against the wall. Wherever he touched the wall, he felt a colder energy than the cold stone in his pocket, giving him goosebumps.

Why did his heart feel uneasy even though the situation he had hoped for had come?

‘It can’t be helped. You were prepared for it.’

Nigel closed his eyes tightly.

He just needed to endure a little longer. If he could secretly heal and endure until the vacation, his role would be over. That was enough.

“…Izel, Nigel!!”

Then, suddenly, Noah’s voice was heard. At that voice, all of Nigel’s complicated thoughts were erased to a blank.

When he came to his senses, Noah’s trembling hands were on Nigel’s shoulders.

“Are you… okay?”

Noah’s eyes wavered. It was an anxious gaze, as if he would fly away if he missed Nigel’s eyes even for a moment.

“I’m fine. I was just dozing off for a bit.”

“Are you really, really sure you’re okay?”

“Yeah, I was having a fun dream. In my dream… I was beating up Allen.”

Only then did he hear a sigh of relief from above his head.

“You startled me, I thought you were in pain. I’m glad if that’s the case.”

Noah’s face smiled softly as usual.

“Go in quickly. I’ll be waiting here.”

Nigel nodded and soon opened the door to the principal’s office with a stiff face.

“Come in.”

Unlike the soft voice that sounded like it would melt at any moment, the gaze that met Nigel was colder than the cold stone, colder than the corridor wall.

As Nigel sat down with a disgusted face, already tired of his hypocrisy, Widrun grinned unpleasantly.

“I didn’t know you were someone who knew the meaning of shame.”

From the first words, he made Nigel feel bad, truly befitting his nickname as the Empire’s Sage.

‘He usually looks down on me as a commoner… Could it be because I won’t receive the money of a commoner unfit for the academy’s status by becoming the top student?’

Nigel, who quickly found a plausible reason for his smirk, frowned.

“Don’t misunderstand. I didn’t work so hard because of you, Sage.”

“Of course, I know that very well. Do you think you treat me as a worthy person? It’s fortunate if you treat me like wallpaper.”

Only the surface had changed, but his sarcastic skills were still top-notch.

“Well, anyway, I hope you’ll continue to behave obediently without any issues. Although my expectations are very low since you don’t have the temperament to listen to me or stay put.”

Widrun’s smile suddenly disappeared, and his face became serious.

“Remember, as long as you’re in Sienia, your every action is under my surveillance.”

…That crazy leech bastard.

Nigel barely stifled the words that were trying to escape through his lips.

‘I waited patiently to see what nonsense he would spout, and he’s saying things that wouldn’t be strange to drag him straight to court?’

Nigel sublimated his anger into laughter and smiled brightly.

“Then you shouldn’t have accepted me as a new student in the first place. You must regret it. If you were Emperor Luber, who has the authority to admit new students, you wouldn’t have been able to accept me.”

However, the other party was a sly old fox whose age was unknown.

“No way. His Majesty’s judgment is never wrong, so this is also a task given to me. I will closely check to see if you can become even a little useful while attending Sienia under His Majesty’s grace. Of course, you won’t, but Ars, you can just trust me. Though you won’t.”

“That’s right, being useful… It’s a big assignment that everyone at Sienia has to prove. Thankfully, we are all standing in this glorious position thanks to the taxes of the imperial citizens.”

To Widrun, who shamelessly said that he was useless, Nigel also spoke without blinking an eye. If you’ve wasted the precious taxes of the imperial citizens, you should be the first to act properly.

“As expected of a sage, you are quick-witted. Indeed, the principal’s wisdom is worth emulating.”

Nigel lightly got up from his seat, throwing one last word at Widrun, whose face had slightly stiffened upon instantly understanding Nigel’s meaning.

“…By the way, you seem to have become quite close with Noah.”

Just as he was about to leave the room, Widrun’s voice caught Nigel.

“Let’s see if you can hide your hideous heart well from Noah.”

As if he was really monitoring everything, Nigel’s face hardened at those words that seemed to pierce through him.

“Thank you for the advice.”

Nigel, who barely managed to finish his greetings, clenched his fists and soon moved his steps.

“Nigel!”

As soon as he left the room, along with the hot air, Noah welcomed Nigel gladly.

Belatedly realizing that his body had become hot, Nigel lightly waved his hand at Noah and took out the cold stone from his pocket.

As he placed the cold stone on his forehead, his turbulent heart began to calm down little by little with the cool energy emitted by the magic tool.

“That thing in your hand… did the principal give it to you?”

“No, Sid did.”

Nigel answered with a slight frown. If Widrun had given it, this cold stone would have gone straight into the trash can.

“You refused the one I gave you right away.”

“Are they the same? This is disposable, and what you gave me was a handkerchief with your family crest on it.”

Nigel quickly made excuses, startled by Noah’s grumbling, who had always only smiled at him without expressing any dissatisfaction.

A handkerchief embroidered with a family crest was a romance cliché. No matter how well-intentioned, there was absolutely no reason for him to keep such a thing.

Even more so if he thought about the terrible misunderstanding that might arise later if he carelessly kept the handkerchief.

“Also, Nigel now only calls me Beselion.”

Nigel’s body flinched greatly.

Calling Noah by his surname was a strategy he had been using to maintain a sense of distance, fearing that he might otherwise become unnecessarily close to Noah.

But he never imagined that Noah would be dissatisfied with this.

“…Doesn’t it feel special to be the only one called by your surname?”

“No, I don’t need to be special. I want to be called by my name.”

Nigel’s trickery was instantly blocked.

“Nigel, aren’t we at the point where you can call me by my name now?”

Then, Noah’s blue eyes, seemingly lonely and forlorn, became moist with tears, and his lips held a wistful smile.

Even Nigel, who had a strong immunity to handsome men, was momentarily swayed by Noah’s face as he deliberately made a pretty expression.

However, since the effect was not as strong as Charlotte’s, Nigel quickly regained his determination.

“…If that’s your complaint, how about we make a bet?”

“A bet?”

Not realizing that he had fallen for Noah’s charm offensive from the moment he suggested the bet, Nigel opened his mouth.

“Let’s bet on the final exam results. Who gets better grades in the remaining subjects, excluding our respective majors of magic and swordsmanship.”

Of course, there was no mercy in the content of the bet. In the previous midterm exams, Nigel had received perfect scores in all subjects except for the practical swordsmanship exam.

“…Will you really call me by my name if I win?”

However, this didn’t seem to matter much to Noah.

“Yeah, but if I win, you have to grant me one wish. These are fair conditions, right?”

Swish.

As Nigel held out his hand, Noah’s large hand quickly grasped Nigel’s.

“It’s a promise, right? No backing out now?”

Nigel, who had obtained a bet that he had nothing to lose, lightly shook their clasped hands up and down.

And he hid behind his guilt for not being able to absorb Noah’s mana no matter how tightly he held his hand.