The Unexpected Acceptance

Was I rejected? When was my first confession, anyway? Right, it was to a girl in my village. I thought we were close, and I was sure she liked me too, so I gathered my courage and confessed.

The result? Rejection. What’s more, I remember the situation being incredibly awkward because the girl I confessed to ended up crying instead of me.

Anyway, I hadn't really wanted to think about romance since then, and yet, here I was, confessing again. Maybe I’m just… fundamentally incompatible with love. Eline stopped. She halted so abruptly, it was as if an invisible hand had grabbed her in place.

At first, I stumbled over my words. But I couldn't bring myself to say, "Sorry, it was just a dare, please understand," because that would be too cruel. So, I decided to confess with sincerity. As if I truly liked her.

I really went for it. The analogy might be a bit crude, but they say that when you’re desperate to pee, you’re insanely anxious, but once you finally go, you feel relieved. That was exactly how I felt. The deed was done, and after that, I felt like I could accept whatever she had to say.

Objectively speaking, she was a top-tier student in the Alpha Class. And I? I was a mid-tier student in the Beta Class. She was a noble from a prestigious family… and I was a noble from a backwater village who farmed for a living. If there was one thing I had over her, it was that I had more friends at the academy. That was it.

Knowing Eline’s personality, she wouldn't get angry. Would she look at me with contempt? Honestly, I couldn't imagine any expression on her face. I hadn't seen her make any other expression, not during the final monster subjugation exam in our second year, nor during the troll escape incident that turned the academy upside down in our first year.

Then, slowly, she turned her head. As she fully turned, her silver hair shifting, the expression I saw was—"Whoa."

A blank expression. It was a perfect, emotionless void where every trace of feeling, even the slightest hint, had vanished. It was as if God had forgotten to give her an expression before bestowing life upon her. Of course, she was alive. Her eyes were still blinking, and I could see her pupils moving slightly.

I had confidently told myself I hadn't seen any other expression from her in two years, but this one was something entirely new. And her unwavering ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠blue eyes were still staring right through me. It was almost suffocating.

Only a few seconds had passed, but the silence in between felt like it was crushing my heart. Why wasn't she saying anything? Her eyes, which still gave away nothing, remained fixed on me, and her hair fluttered in the breeze blowing through the open window. I wished she would at least react negatively—get angry, for heaven's sake.

"Listen—" I couldn't take it anymore and opened my mouth, but she cut me off again.

"Why?"

"Huh?"

"Why do you like me?"

Suddenly, the conversation shifted into an interview. Asking why I liked her? That was a development I’d never seen in any play or heard in any story. Wait, had I? I didn't know. Regardless, I had to answer now. Um… why did I like her?

I didn't really have a reason; I only confessed because of the dare. But that was the worst possible answer. Because she was pretty? Because her aura was beautiful? Because she was special? Because she was from a prestigious family? None of those were it.

I stared at her blankly, unable to come up with a proper answer. How could I explain why I liked her?

"Just because."

Just because. I should have paid attention in my rhetoric class; I should have listened a little more. It was such a huge disadvantage that I spent all my time hanging out with guys and had no idea how to use a considerate tone with women. I felt pathetic even after saying it.

"?"

It was only a fraction. Her lips parted ever so slightly, and she bit down on them just a tiny bit. She was still expressionless, but perhaps that was why her bitten lip stood out so clearly.

Was she disgusted? A wave of guilt washed over me. I had expected to be rejected, but witnessing that look of disgust made my heart ache.

"I'm sorry, Lutes… *sob*." I had done the same thing during my first confession and made her cry. It was natural for someone to feel uncomfortable if a person they had no interest in confessed to them, and I knew that better than anyone, yet I had done it anyway because of a moment of pride.

"I should apologize."

"I'm sorry," I said, scratching my head. "I know you're busy as a third-year, and that was so sudden. Please, feel free to answer however you like."

I looked at her again, hoping my sincere apology would reach her, but she remained expressionless. Then, slowly, she opened her mouth.

"Understood."

It was the answer I had expected. No, "Understood" was not the answer I had expected.

"Huh?" I asked, but Eline just blinked her eyes.

"You told me to answer."

There wasn't a hint of a lie in the unwavering eyes that stared back at me. The moment she started walking toward me, closing the distance, felt like an eternity. The core of Support Magic is quick judgment.

But right now, that judgment was crumbling into pieces. I just stood there, frozen, until she reached me. Her footsteps stopped right in front of ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠me, and she stared at me intently from a very close distance.

"I understand your feelings."

"Oh… really?"

"Yes."

She nodded calmly. It was as natural a response as saying "It's delicious stew and steak" when asked what was for lunch at the cafeteria. I nodded. Would I have looked like a complete idiot from a third-party perspective?

I don't know. My mind was a mess just from looking at Eline right in front of me. This must be what it feels like to be overwhelmed by an atmosphere.

"But what exactly does she understand?"

She turned her head. As if everything were finished, she walked out of the lecture hall without a shred of lingering attachment. I watched her until the very end as she grabbed the door handle and opened it, so naturally that I wondered if the whole situation had just been a hallucination I’d conjured up. Her footsteps were steady, and her back was the same Eline I had always watched from afar.

Thud. The door closed. I had never noticed it before because she was always the one to leave first, but the empty lecture hall was chillingly vast and quiet. I sat there for a long time in the fading tension and emptiness.

"…I'm hungry."

I decided to go out because I was hungry. The academy cafeteria at dinner time was always bustling with people. It was a place with an impressive orange ceiling—a contrast to the outside world, typical of an academy located in the mountains—filled with the savory smell of food, the clatter of cutlery, and noisy chatter.

"Over here! Lutes."

As I got my food and looked around, I saw Ross waving at me from our usual spot, and Valrod, who was already eating. As I naturally wove through the crowd and sat down, Valrod was scraping his bowl, looking like he had almost finished his meal.

"When did you even get here to be finished already?"

"Five minutes ago."

Does he have a bottomless pit in his stomach? Ross shrugged his shoulders lightly, as if he understood my sentiment. "Well, it’s not like this guy doing this is a one-time thing, right?"

"It's a daily routine in the East. Respect the local culture."

Valrod, true to his roots in the rugged mountains of the East, always had a massive appetite, but what was even more impressive was that he never gained weight. He claimed it was a genetic constitution, but it was truly a mystery how he didn't put on a single pound despite eating twice as much as anyone else.

"So," Ross said, resting his chin on his hand and looking at me with a sly grin. Ugh, I really wanted to punch that look off his face. "How did it go?"

"What?"

He flicked his eyebrows upward, as if asking, "What do you think?"

"I gave you three days, but realistically, today was your only chance, wasn't it?"

"If you do that one more time, I'm really going to smash your face in."

Ross ignored my threat and flicked his eyebrows a couple more times. "Go ahead."

"Hey, why are you putting so much pressure on him? Obviously, he didn't do it."

Valrod, who had licked his bowl clean and set it down, burped greedily and looked at us. "You know it too, he can't even talk to girls."

"?" What was that about?

"I talk to them a lot, though?"

"Except for the professors."

Oh… is that right?

"No, I really do talk… a lot, I think?" Maybe not a lot, come to think of it.

Ross thought about it for a moment and then nodded. "Now that you mention it, didn't Serean talk to you in your first year, and you couldn't even answer?"

Valrod laughed heartily, remembering those days, and chimed in. "Serean was so embarrassed back then. We all had to sweat to explain for you."

"…" I wanted to protest that my image wasn't like that, but I couldn't think of anything to say. When I thought about it, it really did feel that way. Unable to find a rebuttal to their words, I just stirred my soup with my right hand, searching for the meat.

"Anyway, it's been a year. If you start tomorrow, you know you'll have about two months left even after graduation, right?"

Ross gave a wicked smile and shoved a fork with a piece of steak toward me. The surface of the well-done steak, with juices dripping off, appeared right in front of my eyes. I stared at it for a moment, then swallowed it in one gulp, causing his face to contort.

"You want to fight?"

Academy food is delicious, after all.

"No way." I shrugged my shoulders and downed my soup in one go. "I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠did it. I confessed."

Was it my imagination, or did the sound of the bowl hitting the table sound unusually loud? When I looked up, Ross and Valrod were staring at me. Their eyes were wide open. I was going to choke.

"…Really?"

"You actually did it?"

The two men started leaning their faces toward me slowly.

"Yeah, I did it after class today. If you don't believe me, go get a lie detector."

When I said it in a confident tone, they looked at each other and then turned back to me.

"No, no, did you really?"

"Why?" You guys told me to, you jerks.

"So?"

"Huh?"

"What did Eline say?"

…What did she say? She said "Understood," but the tone and the situation were very subtle.

"She said… 'Understood'."

"Understood?" Ross looked at me in shock, his eyes looking like they were about to pop out of his glasses. "No, but the situation is a bit strange."

I calmly thought about it and reconstructed the event to tell them. I confessed, and Eline looked at me. When I asked her to answer without pressure, she said "Understood" and just walked away. That was it.

Valrod, who was listening to my story, thought about it for a moment, then leaned back in his chair as if he had lost interest. "Then you were rejected, weren't you?"

At the ambiguous answer "Understood," Ross also crossed his arms and started to ponder. "What… what does she understand?"

He was thinking deeply, covering his mouth with his hand and shaking his leg, approaching it as cautiously as if he were solving an exam question. "You confessed, and she didn't say 'I hate you,' she didn't ignore you, but she didn't say 'I like you' either. And she didn't talk to you after that and just left?"

"Yeah."

When I nodded, his face became even more serious. I was the one who confessed and heard the answer, so why was Ross acting so serious? However, Valrod, who was sitting next to us, shook his head as if he already knew the answer and started cleaning up his dishes.

"You were rejected, I told you."

At that, Ross shifted his gaze to Valrod. Valrod, who was in the Alpha Class and probably saw Eline the most among us, seemed to understand her answer and looked at me with pitying eyes.

"'Understood' probably just means 'I understand your feelings,' that's all."

"…Who answers like that?" Ross asked, dumbfounded. He couldn't understand how anyone could just say "Understood" and move on after someone confessed to them. Was she really going to brush off the act of showing the purest emotion with just "Yeah, okay, I understand your feelings well"?

"I think that's right." When I thought about it carefully, I sided with Valrod. At that time, her expression was perfectly blank, and there was no emotional agitation, nor was there any tremor in her voice.

As Valrod said, maybe she just answered to mean she understood my feelings. If it was Eline, she was more than capable of doing that.

Eventually, Ross thought deeply and nodded, as if he had made a big decision. "Yeah, you were rejected."

Thanks, you jerk.

And so, dinner ended. For some reason, it was annoying that they looked at me with pity and gave me a few more pieces of meat. The dare ended like that. Leaving only scars behind.

At night, if the common thought for freshmen seeing Erasion Academy for the first time is "It's really big," the common thought for students attending here is the complaint that "It's insanely big."

It takes about 15 minutes just to walk from the cafeteria to the dormitory. The distance between the two places is so long that I wonder if the founding principal designed it with the consideration that we should walk to digest our food.

"Tomorrow is…" It's the weekend. What do people usually do on weekends? The third-years I had seen over the past two years were often busy or away from the academy, but I wasn't.

"Maybe I'll play some ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠chess." Playing chess, taking a walk, reading a book, or hanging out with friends—that was about it. The grade had changed, but nothing much else had. Is it because I don't worry about the future?

Well, if I graduate, I'm supposed to return to the estate to help my older brother, the eldest son, and prepare by taking lessons in estate management. That was the future set for me. Actually, I hadn't thought about it much… and I didn't think it was bad.

Various stray thoughts came to mind, but one thing was certain: it was always a relaxing weekend. Today, too, I'd just roll around when I got back and then go to sleep.

"Oh?"

I saw someone under a streetlight. At this hour, was she waiting for someone? At first, I thought that much and tried to pass by indifferently, but as I got closer, the figure began to come into focus. A girl, arms crossed, waiting for someone under the magic stone streetlight. It was Eline.

I was flustered. Why was she here of all places? She was someone I had never once encountered on this path, so why did I run into her today of all days? "This isn't even the way to her place." Since she was in the Alpha Class dormitory, which was right next to the education building, there was no reason for her to come here, where the Beta Class dormitories were. Why?

As I stopped walking, she sensed my presence and slowly turned her head. When our eyes met, her pupils narrowed slightly. Right, if I were to grasp her emotions from every single subtle movement… "Annoyance?"

Was she annoyed? Why on earth? Could she be annoyed because I confessed once? So she came all the way here to retaliate…

"Listen," she said in the silence.

"…Y-yeah?" Oh, I stumbled over my tongue.

"This place is too far."

What do you want me to do about it? You're the one who came here, so why are you complaining? "So?"

At my innocent question, her frown deepened, and as her emotions became clearer, I only felt more flustered.

"From now on, you come to me."

"Why should I?"

Eline, brushing back her hair blowing in the night breeze, stared at me intently and said,

"You said you wanted to date."

There was a very faint tremor in her voice, and her last words echoed in the air.

"Aren't we lovers? Shouldn't you be considerate?"

…What?