It's the Rule That Things Get Twisted from the Start
“I really don’t get how a guy like that even exists. Maybe the reason he was wandering is because he was so rude people kicked him out? I just can’t understand why he acts like that.”
Tisha wasn’t originally this kind of character. She was supposed to be a thoroughly kind, sharp-minded heroine.
That Ian had managed to drive even someone like her into actual gossip made Kyle think the guy possessed a truly remarkable talent of his own.
For now, he simply offered Tisha a suitably agreeable response. Jumping to Ian’s defense out of nowhere, or trying to stay neutral, would only get him dragged into the roasting right alongside the man.
“He is pretty blunt, isn’t he? He doesn’t seem to know how to hide things—and doesn’t look like he has any intention of learning.”
“If it’s because he lived alone for so long, then fine, I can understand that much. That’s as far as it goes. But now he has to live at the Academy, and I’m starting to worry whether he can even keep his head down.”
She was exactly right. From the single-digit loops onward, Ian had gone around picking fights. The other party was always the one who issued the challenge, but the root cause was, of course, Ian. Even someone with endless patience might have bellowed “Shut your mouth!” after listening to him talk.
“I don’t know what he thinks he’s doing. Most of the people at the Academy are nobles.”
At Tisha’s muttering, Kyle found himself smiling without meaning to. Even while grumbling about how much she disliked Ian, she was unconsciously fretting over him. If he had to put it in gaming terms, she was like a tank instinctively diving to save the ADC who kept feeding.
“He’ll handle himself. He claims he’s confident in his swordsmanship, so he must have something to lean on.”
“Did you see it, Kyle? Ian’s swordsmanship?”
Of course he hadn’t. Everything he knew came from the novel’s descriptions. Still, Kyle answered without so much as a flicker of expression.
“I caught a few glimpses on the way here. Whenever Ian went off looking for firewood he came back late, remember?”
“Yeah, he did.”
“He’d gather the wood, then swing his sword around a little. That’s when I saw him.”
“Really? I never saw it once. How was he?”
“Mm. He definitely had the skill to back up that confidence of his.”
Tisha let out a soft sigh. The guy who had seemed like nothing but a walking nuisance turned out to be genuinely skilled—that alone was surprising enough. Or perhaps she was simply startled that Kyle of all people had acknowledged him.
“Here we are. The Second Library.”
The building was so vast and imposing it could have casually slapped the cheek of any ordinary noble family’s castle. The fact that something this grand was being used as a mere library was astonishing in itself. And there were supposedly two more libraries of equal or greater size.
“Hoo…”
Tisha pressed a hand to her chest and steadied her breathing. The uncharacteristically urgent look on her face was unmistakable.
“That excited, are you?”
“Of course. The Imperial Academy’s libraries are famous for their sheer scale and depth. They say there are books you can barely find anywhere else on the continent. That means there should be plenty of material on shamanism too.”
“I’m a little worried you’ll get your hopes up too high and end up disappointed.”
“It’s fine. Even if there’s less than I expect, I’ll just take it as it comes. Anyway—thank you for worrying, Kyle.”
If Ian had been standing here right now, what would he have said? Just imagining it made Tisha shudder and shake her head hard.
“Mm… the shamanism books are probably on the fifth floor. Want to come with me?”
“Ah. I was thinking of heading to the third.”
“The third floor is… territory management and fiscal administration, right? You’re interested in that?”
“Not exactly. I was trying to think of something—anything—I could do to help the territory, and that seemed like the closest thing. My current goal is to go home later and help my older brother develop the barony a little further, I guess.”
“Ahh…”
Tisha let out a soft breath and simply stared at him. Just as she had thought—he was an extraordinarily considerate person. Even here he was already thinking about what he could do for his family and house once he returned.
He’s such a good person. If Kyle is like this, his family must all be wonderful people too, right? Maybe the rumors are wrong. They say the place is crawling with people like monsters. There’s no way someone like him could come out of a place like that.
Yes. Exactly. The rumors had to be wrong. Exaggerated and distorted. Having reached that private conclusion, Tisha nodded to herself.
“Then I’ll head up to the fifth floor. If it looks like I’m going to take forever, don’t wait—just go.”
“How long are you planning to stay? You’re not seriously pulling an all-nighter starting today, are you?”
“Hehe. Of course not. Not that long, but I expect I’ll be a few hours at least.”
“I’ll probably be a few hours myself, so don’t worry and go hunt down those shamanism books. If you really don’t show up, I’ll just come up to the fifth floor.”
“Ah… th-that would be great, actually. Thank you.”
The fact that he never once said he would leave first meant more than she could easily put into words. She was trying not to show it, but being alone was still deeply lonely. Officially shamanism had shed the label of “sorcery,” yet public perception remained poor. On top of that, for various reasons her family had scattered, and Tisha had been living by herself. Extreme loneliness was almost inevitable no matter which angle she looked from. She had endured it through her fierce love of shamanism and her burning desire to win people’s recognition with it—but she couldn’t stay completely unaffected forever.
“See you in a bit, Tisha.”
“Ah—yes!”
“I’ll be hoping you find some good material.”
To Tisha, the Kyle standing in front of her right now was an enormous comfort. It wasn’t cheap pity or some hidden agenda. He was genuinely considerate, and he even looked at shamanism with a friendly eye.
“K-Kyle, you do your best too. Work hard so you can be a big help to your family.”
Fighting down the smile that kept trying to bloom, Tisha gave a light wave. It was only a brief parting—so why did it feel so wistful?
Kyle stood on the stairs and waved until Tisha disappeared upward. Only when her figure was completely gone did he slowly lower his hand.
…Is she gone? She’s gone, right? Yeah, she’s gone. Kyle let out a sigh of pure relief. He had nearly been dragged all the way to the fifth floor and forced to listen to hours of shamanism talk. No matter how nice Tisha was, that was an entirely different matter. He was done with mandatory shamanism seminars. Stop the shamanism!
If I have to listen to any more of it, my head’s going to get cursed.
They say even a lie needs some sincerity if you want people to buy it. Remembering the directory of floor subjects he had glanced at on the first floor had been a lifesaver. He had simply padded that memory with a plausible reason, and she had believed him at once.
The problem is that now I actually have to sit here looking at management and finance books.
He wanted to just bolt, but he still possessed a minimum of conscience. So he opened the door to the third floor—and was greeted by an endless sea of books. Just the ones in immediate sight easily numbered in the thousands. They said that any book published even once on the continent eventually found its way to the Academy in at least one copy. It didn’t sound like a joke anymore.
He hadn’t planned on reading anything. He had just intended to sit down and take a nap. Honestly, didn’t people do more things in libraries than actually reading books? Of course, this place had no phones for music or chatting…
…But why, of all people, did I have to run into that girl?
A single female student sat in the seat that caught the best sunlight. Her vivid, flame-red hair was strikingly impressive. Only her back was visible, yet even that silhouette felt beautiful. A faint air of elegance seemed to radiate even from the delicate way her fingers turned the pages.
Lady Elga Bless de Litorio.
She was seated by the window, reading. In front of her lay stacks of books on territory management and fiscal administration. As the daughter of the vast Litorio Grand Duchy, perhaps the subject naturally drew her interest.
Different seat. Now.
He turned as carefully as possible, terrified even of making a sound. The moment he tried to take a step, Elga’s voice reached him from behind.
“We meet again. Kyle of the John Nassen family.”
“….”
Did she have eyes on the back of her head? How did she keep noticing? Kyle sighed inwardly and turned around again. If she hadn’t noticed him it would have been one thing, but she had clearly known from the start. Walking past and ignoring her simply wasn’t an option.
“Yes. We meet again, Lady Elga.”
“This is the Imperial Academy, not the Litorio Grand Duchy. You may speak more casually.”
“Even if this isn’t the Litorio Grand Duchy, a lady is still a lady. This isn’t a matter of comfort or discomfort—it’s simply the courtesy and form that ought to be observed.”
Translation: calling her casually is more uncomfortable for me, so leave it alone. Elga seemed to grasp the gist of his true feelings and let it drop without comment.
“I apologize for interrupting your reading. I’ll be going.”
“Sit.”
“…I’m sorry.”
“If you’re sorry, then sit. As you yourself said, my concentration has already been broken.”
What on earth did getting interrupted have to do with sitting down? Kyle grumbled inwardly even as he obediently took a seat. The John Nassen barony and the Litorio Grand Duchy weren’t even in the same league for comparison. Making an enemy of her for no reason would bring nothing good; as long as the request wasn’t outrageous, compliance was the wiser path.
“….”
With a person sitting right in front of her, Elga said nothing at all. She simply stared straight at Kyle, and the weight of that gaze was a thousand times heavier than it had any right to be.
This is driving me insane.
He had no idea why this princess was acting this way. And because he didn’t know the reason, every possible wild speculation bloomed freely in his head. Had she bruised herself when they collided last time? Was she going to hold him responsible? If she asked where he had been looking, should he say “I stuck my eyes on my rear end”?
“The weather is quite nice today.”
The words somehow sounded like “It’s a perfect day to kill you.” So he forced out a dry “Ha. Ha. Ha. Indeed it is.”
“I’ll tell you.”
“…Pardon?”
“What I didn’t tell you last time. About seizing the opportunity.”
In a completely flat voice, as if it were nothing of importance, Elga continued while looking him dead in the eye.
“I mentioned that during the half-destruction of the Academy caused by your older sisters, my second older brother was injured, didn’t I?”
“You did.”
“Because of that, the succession structure of the Litorio Grand Duchy has been shaken rather badly.”
…Excuse me, Lady? Your tone is casual, but the content is most definitely not casual. Right that instant, Kyle wanted nothing more than to smash the window and dive out to the first floor in an emergency escape.