Confession
After the midterm practical exams ended, the atmosphere at the Academy had shifted in subtle, unmistakable ways.
And at the center of that change stood none other than me.
The stares that brushed against my skin as I walked the corridors made the difference blatantly clear.
“That’s the girl who was with Lady Ricotta at the end…”
“She beat Panir, the top student in outdoor practicals…”
The clusters of high-ranking noble students sent open contempt my way the moment they spotted me.
“Just because she got lucky and survived long enough to grab some attention, she thinks she’s somebody.”
“It’s only a matter of time before her true colors show. Tricks like that won’t work twice.”
I clicked my tongue inwardly.
Haa, those guys really never change.
There had to be a script somewhere for nobles steeped in superiority complexes. How else could their lines stay so perfectly identical?
Some people sent heated admiration.
Others still offered nothing but cold scorn.
Where the old gazes had been pure, naked contempt for “the troublemaker who caused a scene at the entrance ceremony,” now they carried layers of far more complicated feelings.
I forced myself to ignore the eyes pouring onto me and quickened my pace.
Analyzing the problems from the practical exam back at the dorm mattered far more than fretting over gossip.
Even without my promise to Salad, shoring up my own weaknesses was something I absolutely had to do.
I had succeeded in making Ricotta and Basil into a real team that trusted each other’s backs and stayed aware of one another, but the shortcomings that surfaced in the process were crystal clear.
The Trigger Needles had been useful during the exam, yet if Ravne hadn’t been my partner, I would have collapsed long before I could put them to proper use.
I need more cards that can flip a situation…
Lost in thought, I was cutting through a deserted annex corridor when it happened.
“Um… Miss Saya?”
A cautious voice called my name. I turned.
Standing there was a male student I had never seen before—neat brown hair, an orderly face, cheeks flushed red. He clutched a small gift box in both hands and couldn’t quite meet my eyes.
Who is this? I don’t even remember him among the extras.
When I looked at him with open puzzlement, he seemed to steel himself, took one deep breath, and spoke.
“My name is Pecan. I… I was truly impressed by your performance in the practical exam!”
“Ah… thanks.”
I took it for the usual polite praise, gave a light nod, and tried to walk past.
He stepped forward as if to block my path.
His cheeks were scarlet to the point of bursting; his eyes burned with fervor.
“It was… it was really cool! While everyone else was only watching Lady Ricotta or Lady Panir, I never took my eyes off a single one of your movements. The way you never gave up even when the odds were against you, the way you flipped the board with your own methods… I…”
He broke off for a moment, then fixed his gaze straight on mine as though he had made a firm decision.
“I’ve completely fallen for you! Please go out with me!”
Silence.
My brain short-circuited.
Right in front of me stood a living, breathing man, face flushed with genuine sincerity.
Have I… become a woman now? Or am I still a man wearing a woman’s body…?
The confusion in my head made the sound that left my mouth thin and cracked.
“Uh… um, Pecan?”
“Yes! Miss Saya!”
“I… I’m really grateful for the feelings, but…”
Seeing his eyes sparkle with expectation, I couldn’t force the next words out; my lips only twitched.
“I… well… I don’t think it’s the right time for me to be thinking about that sort of thing… As an Academy student I still have to study, and train, and… there’s just a lot I have to do! Hahaha…”
As I stammered and backed away, the hope that had lit Pecan’s face slowly drained into disappointment.
“Ah… of course. Someone like me… wouldn’t be a match for Miss Saya…”
“No, no! It’s not that you’re lacking! It’s me! I’m the problem! I’m just not ready for romance yet…!”
Talking any longer wasn’t going to improve this.
“W-well then! I’m really busy, so I’ll be going! I’m truly sorry! You didn’t do anything wrong, so don’t feel down!”
With that, I fled down the corridor as if running for my life.
Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!
Only after rounding the corner did I lean my back against the wall and suck in ragged breaths.
The shock of having been confessed to by a man—bizarre and utterly foreign—hit me harder than any guilt over rejecting him.
“Hoo… calm down. It’s this damn Fair Skin trait and the Charm stat…”
Who would have thought the trait I gained at the Moonlight Spring and the hidden stat that appeared after getting tangled with Scone would unfold like this…
I scrubbed my face dry, trying to cool my spinning head, when a familiar silhouette caught my eye.
Far down the corridor, a familiar outline stood with the sunlight pouring through the window at its back. Softly gleaming dark-blue hair.
The moment our eyes met, Panir turned as if nothing had happened and vanished into the opposite hallway—exactly as though she had simply been passing by.
From that day on, the strange incidents continued.
On the way to lecture halls, while choosing books in the library, even on the path back to the dorms—whenever I suddenly felt a gaze and turned, there was Panir watching me from a distance.
She never spoke. She never approached. She simply kept a fixed distance and followed me like a shadow.
Those blue eyes regarded me with the careful, deliberate scrutiny of a scholar observing a rare specimen.
Just when I thought I could finally breathe after Ricotta—who had been hovering around me under the pretext of protection—became the final victor of the midterms and started getting summoned by the professors…
Someone else had filled the empty space.
Ricotta’s attention had been a cold yet scorching flame.
Panir’s felt like a deep, unfathomable ocean—chill and bottomless.
Why the hell is she doing this? Did I do something wrong? Don’t tell me… she’s holding a grudge because I ambushed her mid-sentence and eliminated her during the midterms…?
No. Panir wasn’t that kind of person.
In the game she was a pure genius mage who knew nothing of the ways of the world.
Given her personality, this was far more likely pure intellectual curiosity.
Or so I had thought…
Over the next few days, Panir’s relentless gaze only grew more blatant.
At this rate my blood was going to dry up.
Should I just talk to her first?
Calling it simple curiosity felt wrong; her atmosphere lately was off no matter how I looked at it.
Ricotta and Basil’s relationship had finally settled onto a normal track. Getting involved with a Panir who was radiating such an ominous vibe could throw every one of my plans into chaos.
For now, avoid her. Thoroughly.
Decision made, I deliberately headed for the old building with its complicated layout.
Maze-like corridors and countless empty classrooms. If anywhere could shake her, it was here.
I deliberately muffled my footsteps, rounded corners at speed, climbed and descended stairs.
After wandering for a long while, I opened the door of a dilapidated classroom and slipped inside.
“Haa, haa… this should be enough…”
I was leaning against a dust-covered desk catching my breath when a voice from behind froze every muscle in my body.
“Surely you weren’t trying to ditch me, were you?”
Slowly—very slowly—I turned my head.
Inside the classroom, leaning against the crooked teacher’s desk, stood Panir, watching me. As if she had been waiting there from the very beginning.
“H-how…!”
“From that location, the shortest routes Miss Saya could choose and the hiding spots that would give psychological security. After plugging in a few variables, predicting the target point was not particularly difficult, I say.”
Hearing Panir’s unique speech style right in front of me stirred a strange feeling.
A girl who, from childhood, had listened more to the Magic Tower elders and visiting military officers than to children her own age.
An antique scholar’s diction mixed with a cool military tone and accents from every corner of the continent—that was Panir’s distinctive way of speaking.
She approached me one deliberate step at a time. In the empty classroom only the click of her heels rang out clearly.
“Well, since we have met like this, it would be best to speak, would it not? If you are not busy today…”
“Sorry! I have something urgent today—next time!”
“What is this urgent matter? If I help, might it not finish faster?”
A pure, malice-free offer.
That very purity drove me crazier.
“It’s fine. Just… see you later.”
I tried to cut the conversation short and leave.
In that instant Panir’s hand shot out reflexively toward my arm.
“Wha—!”
We stumbled a few steps and only stopped when we crashed into the wall.
A dull impact as my back hit the surface. When my senses returned, my wrist was still caught in her hand, my back pressed to the wall—I was completely pinned.
Yet the very person who had put me in this position merely tilted her head for a moment.
“Why are you trying to avoid me?”
Her face stopped right in front of mine.
In those blue eyes lived only a childlike, stubborn insistence that waited solely for my answer.
Realizing I could no longer escape this, I wet my dry lips and carefully opened my mouth.
“Ugh… what exactly do you want from me?”
“Would you not have a meal with me?”