Strange Feeling (5)
The day after I left early.
“I don’t want to go to the Academy……”
For the first time, the thought of ditching class crossed my mind.
Iren would speak only to me for a week—no, six days now. Just like yesterday, she would look only at me.
I was afraid of the unknown influence she was having on me. I only had my young lady, yet it felt as if someone else might force their way into my heart.
I even considered skipping for the whole six days. But as a student attending the Academy under the name of House Katram, I couldn’t commit such an irresponsible act.
In the end, that morning I soothed my heart by cooking for my young lady myself and feeding her by hand, as an apology for the previous day as well.
“Mm-ph. Frey. I’m full.”
“Your wrists are so slender. Please accept my sincerity.”
“I’m really full, though.”
With her cheeks puffed out, my young lady looked like a cute little animal. The worries I carried in my chest melted away.
After filling my heart that way, I steeled my resolve and headed to school. Right. It wasn’t the first or second time Iren had stared at me intently. I just had to ignore it. Ignore it. In the first place, hadn’t I received that reward precisely to mess with Iren?
Thinking that, I arrived at the Academy.
Stare.
I had to endure Iren’s sulky gaze. The moment I entered the classroom, there was Iren glaring at me, and that gaze didn’t stop until roughly lunchtime.
What was even scarier was that she sent only her gaze without a single word. For someone like me who usually felt like my ears were bleeding from talkative Iren, it was far too terrifying.
“Stare—.”
“……”
“Stareee—.”
In the end, I surrendered first.
“Please stop.”
“Think about how I felt when you just left by yourself.”
“Don’t tell me you kept the promise even after I left?”
“I said I’d only talk to you. I didn’t converse with a single person at the Academy.”
“There was no need to do that when I wasn’t even there.”
“I keep my promises. That’s my philosophy.”
“First I’m hearing of it.”
“Remember it from now on. So, how are you going to pay the price for leaving me lonely for a whole day yesterday?”
“That’s……”
It was truly troublesome. To think she had been carrying out the punishment of speaking only to me even in my absence!
I never dreamed Iren would go that far. No, this was my fault for not understanding Iren. Considering the love she usually showed me, I should have known she was the type to do this much.
“Haaa, for today at least, I’ll make sure you’re not inconvenienced.”
“How?”
“I’ll become Iren’s messenger. When Iren wants to ask someone for help, I’ll speak in her place.”
“Ooh, those words. Can you take responsibility for them?”
“What?”
Responsibility? What kind of responsibility was needed just for taking on a messenger role?
Exactly five minutes later, I learned what she meant.
Iren was the type who really wandered a lot around the Academy interior. Watching her disappear for about eighty percent of break times, I’d always wondered where she went every day.
The problem was that I, who had to play Iren’s messenger, had to follow that route as well.
The fact that we’d agreed during lunchtime was the issue. She seemed determined to tour every corner of the Academy.
“One matcha latte with an extra shot, two pumps of syrup, whipped cream, double chocolate chips, rainbow sherbet topping, and a cookie straw, please.”
“Wrong, Frey. Matcha latte with two pumps of syrup, lemon whipped cream, double chocolate chips, rainbow sherbet topping, topped with a cherry and a chocolate straw extra.”
“……Matcha latte……”
After ordering a drink whose identity I couldn’t even grasp from the name alone at the café, we literally raced all over the Academy.
We went to the infirmary and saw Professor Narei putting sugar into cocoa again.
“Hello, Professor. You’re cute today too!”
“Hyaak! Iren is one thing, but hearing that from you makes me feel bad! More importantly, because of you Iren found out too!”
“I didn’t say that……”
We also saw Professor Colton sniffling in the herb warehouse.
“Ah, Frey, is it? Come to burn this place down again? Why are you dragging Her Highness around with you?”
“Professor, last time was my fault, so I wanted to offer you the Pearl of the Evening Primrose.”
“What! Frey! I’ll make you my assistant professor right this instant!”
“It wasn’t me who said that—it was Iren.”
“You said it yourself! Come! To the lab right now!”
“I’m not going!”
We even went to Department Head Alketo, who was preparing ten days’ worth of lectures in advance.
“I hate you. I’ll get my revenge later.”
“……What? Does that mean you want to go back to the audience chamber?”
“I didn’t say that. Can’t you see who’s next to me?”
“Right. It’s Iren’s will. But you were the one who spoke the words.”
“Uh……”
“Seems you’ve gotten a bit full of yourself after what I said last time.”
“No, sir!”
Even to the bathroom……
“Hold on. This is not happening.”
“Why?”
“Have you lost your mind, Iren? Are you trying to make me a criminal?”
“But think about it, Frey. What if the toilet paper runs out in the bathroom and you have to ask the person in the next stall?”
“Just shout for me. Then I’ll hand toilet paper to a student going in and send them.”
“Are you the crazy one? Don’t you know how girls feel?”
“I’m a guy—how would I know? And guys, if there’s no toilet paper, shout with all their might.”
“That’s ridiculous! Don’t you have any sense of shame?”
“Not being able to wipe is more fatal than that. And there’s no way an Academy bathroom would be out of toilet paper!”
I nearly got into big trouble. Following her into the girls’ bathroom was something I absolutely refused, no matter what.
Iren came out after washing her hands and grinned.
“Well? Holding up?”
“Honestly, it’s tough, but.”
“Hm?”
“Haa, never mind.”
Seeing Iren smiling so brightly put my heart at ease. I didn’t want to say that out loud, though.
The day passed like that. Fortunately, after lunch there weren’t many chances for Iren to speak to others that way. Most of it was lecture time. One thing, though—when a professor called on Iren and I had to stand up and answer, cold sweat poured down. It was embarrassing that every professor now knew about the bet reward I’d proposed.
After school, Iren said we should go to the library. I hated the idea, but she said she had books to borrow.
“If you’re not there, I can’t talk to the librarian. I can’t even borrow books.”
“Haa, just so you know, when I’m there, you don’t open any books. Got it?”
“Okay, okay.”
Just borrowing books. It should be fine.
—Or so the idiot me thought. The librarian professor looked at me with a cold gaze.
“State the name of the book you wish to borrow.”
“Do I really have to say it out loud?”
“Those are the rules. The books in the library are fundamentally grimoires. When taking them outside, one must perform a ritual of binding them with a mage’s word of power. Fortunately, thanks to the system established by the great First Emperor of the Empire, simply speaking the book’s title completes the ritual—how blessed we are.”
“Urgh.”
In the end, I stammered out the book title.
“O-On the Phenomenon of Reproductive Desire Exploding When Viewing the Method of Forcing and Enjoying Reason from a Magical Perspective.”
“Wrong. Again.”
“Where did I go wrong?!”
“It’s not ‘O-On the’—it’s ‘On the.’ You stammered in the middle too, didn’t you?”
“On the—”
“Louder!”
“On the!”
I had to repeat it five times before I could borrow one book. I squeezed my eyes shut and shook my head when Iren poked me from behind.
“What is it, Iren? I’m going home now.”
“Sure. Go home. Just borrow these two more for me.”
“What?”
“The borrowing limit is three books at a time.”
I saw that the other two books Iren was holding also had very long titles. I didn’t even want to read the titles. But.
“Frey. You said you’d be my messenger, right? It’s the last ones, so hang in there.”
“Gyaaah!”
In the end, with the students in the library pricking up their ears, I borrowed the other two books as well.
I will not say the titles. My dignity is on the line.
“Wow, thanks to you I got them. These are books I couldn’t borrow any other time!”
“So even you thought the titles were vulgar, Iren!”
“I’m not a person without common sense, you know. So, how was today?”
“What?”
“Yesterday you just went home, and today you properly received the compensation. How was it?”
“How was it? Today I feel like I was the one who got punished instead.”
“Is that so? Still, remember this.”
“Remember what?”
“The Academy is originally a place where you meet this many people. You don’t seem to know that.”
It felt like I’d been hit over the head with a hammer. Could it be that Iren had done this to teach me that?
“When I said I’d be your messenger, is that what you were thinking?”
“Of course. I needed an excuse at just the right time. I’m still sad that the only people I can call your friends are me and Cal.”
“That’s meddling.”
“A master is supposed to meddle with their servant.”
“I’m not Iren’s servant, I keep telling you.”
Anyway. She was someone you could never let your guard down around. Just how deep were her schemes that she could come up with a plan like this in that single moment?
At the same time, a corner of my chest ached. Yesterday I’d abandoned her and left because I was unsettled, yet she was still sending me her love without change.
The guilt only grew with each passing day, but if I pushed Iren away, that would just be a repeat of what had happened before.
“Do as you please, then. You’ll do it even if I tell you not to.”
“How did you know? Then can I ask one more favor?”
“What favor?”
“Today at Frey’s place……”
Iren suddenly closed her mouth. For some reason, her eyes had widened as if in surprise.
“Iren?”
“Ah, that is. I mean. No. What favor. Ahaha. Sorry. Oops. I should hurry. Frey, you be careful on your way home too!”
Babbling, Iren dashed out of the library.
What on earth was that about? Was there something strange inside the library?
But all there was were the cold-faced librarian and weird students going “hehe” while looking at grimoires.
What the heck……?
The sense of unease crashed down like a storm the next day. No, it wasn’t just the next day.
Iren didn’t utter a single word until Friday.