Midnight Heist and Sparring Pact
I'd come to the research building to retrieve my confiscated book. The only problem was it was already 10 p.m., and the professor had gone home ages ago.
As long as I don't get caught, it'll be fine. With that casual thought, I slipped into the research building—only to find I had a guest already.
"I'm sooo sorry!"
For a thief, she had an unnecessarily booming voice. Hmm. What to do. Should I pretend I didn't see her and bail?
Screw it, I'm already here. Better grab the book and go.
She was sneaking into the research room in the dead of night too, after all. No way she'd rat me out—or vice versa.
"Pro...fessor...?"
I shut the door and walked in. Only then did she realize I wasn't the professor. The girl, who had been bowing and scraping on her knees under the desk, looked up.
"Who are you?"
Her light brown hair gleamed golden in the moonlight.
"TA."
I couldn't exactly say I was here to steal my confiscated book, so I lied. Sure, sneaking in and impersonating someone wasn't exactly noble behavior, but Professor Andante was the one who'd backed me into this corner.
"Ah, it's Ram Artel!"
She studied my face in the moonlight for a second before yelling that out.
...If you're gonna figure it out, do it quicker.
"You just said TA, right? You were trying to lie to me?! Just like the rumors—a thug and a wastrel..."
"It wasn't a lie if you didn't fall for it."
"...How does an excuse like that just pop out of your mouth?!"
Ah, she's yapping loud enough to bring the guards.
"What are you even doing here? Did you plant a bomb in Professor Andante's office or something...?"
A bomb, my ass. What the hell was my reputation like among the first-years?
"Same as you. Here to steal shit back."
"You're so damn brazen about it."
"Pot calling the kettle black. No shame with you, at least."
I said that as I brushed past the girl with her long hair reaching down to her waist. Even in heels, she barely came up to my chest—maybe just scraping 150 cm? If she weren't in uniform, I wouldn't believe she was my age.
"I-I'm not stealing! I just came to get my stuff back!"
"Wow, same here."
I casually reached up and pulled out the worn book wedged into the bookshelf.
They even stuck it up high.
"Oh, grab the one next to it too!"
"..."
She'd been screaming her head off a second ago, but now she was boldly asking for favors.
"This one?"
I pointed at the thin novel leaning right beside it, titled something lame like Basics of Romance.
"No, the one on the other side. And the dagger lying on top while you're at it."
The brown-haired girl was giving me a look like, Who the hell do you think I am?
Across from Basics of Romance was a thick textbook that looked exhausting just to glance at: A Grand Discourse on Swordsmanship, Centered on Rapiers and Daggers.
"You got caught reading something else in class too, huh?"
"I got mine confiscated right after yours, and you don't remember?"
Did that happen? I'd been chatting with Elena the whole class, so I must've missed it.
"Everything around here must be confiscated stuff."
I said that while pulling out the thin novel from the shelf.
"...No way a 200-year-old professor would read trash like that!"
"Then help yourself."
I dumped every book from the upper shelf—Basics of Romance included—along with the staff, odds and ends, everything tumbling down.
"Huh?"
"If only our stuff vanishes, even the neighbor's cat will know who did it."
"Ah!"
I opened the research room window. A cool moonlit breeze blew in—not bad at all. Perfect night for a little mischief.
That night, the dorm courtyard was littered with all the items Professor Andante had confiscated over the past two days from various classes.
The third-years lounging in the yard late into the night all gave the same statement: "Something whooshed by in a blur, and suddenly the pile was there."
The confiscated pile sat untouched for about two hours. The sharp ones figured it out quick, grabbed their stuff, and vanished into the dorms.
By the way, the owner of Basics of Romance was a third-year too. He pretended to rummage for other items, then snuck it into his pajamas when no one was looking—like it wasn't his or something.
If that rumor spreads to the first-years, the novel's owner will be hiding under his blankets for a while.
Two days later, Professor Andante's class.
"As you're all aware, there was a break-in at the research building recently."
The brown-haired girl sat not even ten meters from me and Elena.
"Thankfully, no important research materials or exam questions were touched... but all the confiscated items are gone."
I gazed at Professor Andante with a relaxed expression.
It was dark out, and my legs were fast—no one would've seen me dumping the stuff in the dorm yard. Just in case, I'd swiped the really lame, useless ones like Basics of Romance extra and tossed them in the incinerator.
"If anyone knows the culprit, speak up now. Breaking into a professor's office is grounds for expulsion... but since nothing vital was disturbed, I'll try to prevent it from going that far."
She's openly fishing for confessions, so they must not have any solid suspects.
Damn, she already prepped exam questions before the first week was even over.
I was zoning out, thinking what a ruthless bitch she was, when some brown hair bobbed nervously into view nearby.
My accomplice from that night in the lab was there, sweating bullets and blatantly avoiding the professor's gaze. She looked like she had zero talent for lying.
...She's not dumb enough to confess, right?
But just in case. I waited for the professor to turn to the board, then ripped out the first page of my textbook, crumpled it small, and lobbed it at her brown ponytail.
"Ah!"
I looked down at her as she whipped around, chasing the "culprit," and mouthed clearly:
Tell and you're dead.
"Ah, yep."
Times like this, my bad rep wasn't so bad. She frowned a bit but obeyed meekly.
"...?"
Of course, Elena next to me stared like I was insane.
Anyway, no risk of getting fingered as the thief and expelled. All good, right?
"..."
After the boring class ended and I parted with Elena, I sat on my usual bench in the academy park, pulling out a sandwich like always.
"Hey,"
"Don't make eye contact."
"Dude, don't even talk. Just pass by quietly."
The area felt quieter than before. A couple more weeks like this, and I'd reclaim my peaceful school life.
"But why are you hanging with a commoner?"
"Dunno. Does it matter? Just don't stare."
Yeah, figured as much.
"Um, hey. First-year Ram Artel?"
Why did everyone have to hassle me during lunch? Should I find a new quiet spot? This one was the best—wide open area.
"What."
I set down my sandwich and snapped irritably.
"Uh, when does your class end today?"
"3 p.m."
"No other plans after?"
"Nope."
"Then, could you do me one favor?"
"No."
I shut her down flat and picked up my sandwich again.
"C'mon, don't be like that. We share that... unspeakable secret between us."
"?"
"?"
"?"
The nobles passing by, heads down to avoid my gaze, all snapped their eyes toward us. Every one wore a Did I hear that right? face.
"..."
Fuck. Couldn't even tell if the sandwich was going down my throat or my windpipe.
"My bad. Let's talk it out."
A girl who looked at least five years younger blurting that in broad daylight? No red-blooded man wouldn't default to polite speech. The whole situation was straight-up criminal. And she was a commoner, way below my station! Even a saintess who'd lived celibate her whole life would see me as some filthy pervert.
No matter how much I ignored gossip, this was pushing it.
"Huh? We are talking."
Don't play dumb with those big eyes. I wanna flick your forehead till it caves in.
"Whatever. What do you want?"
Money?
"I don't have much pocket change left, but you can have it if you eat it and vanish from my life."
"Trying to settle it with cash, huh."
"You think a commoner's heart is worth pocket change?"
"Playing with it and tossing it away...!"
Every word and action I took led to social suicide. If this wasn't a sure-kill, what was?
"Money's fine! Instead, spar with me! Real swords, of course."
"How much shit must she have dealt with to publicly challenge me like this...?"
"She wants to stab you dead, probably."
Haha, fuck. What the hell was going on?
"Suddenly? Sparring?"
"When I heard the rumor you pushed His Highness to the brink in a duel, I thought it was bullshit. But that speed you showed that night? Totally changed my mind!"
"So."
"Best way to improve swordsmanship is sparring, right? But as a commoner, I haven't found anyone worth crossing blades with yet."
Can't you train solo?
"Think of it like a study group. Hang out with me a bit?"
"...And if I refuse?"
"Total shitshow."
"Holy crap!"
"Insane, insane."
"Playboy...!"
"Fine. I'll do it."
Fuck. I'll do anything. Just shut your mouth.
"Oh! That easy? Thanks!"
She beamed innocently, like she had no clue, and stuck out her hand. Her hair caught the sunlight, shimmering caramel this time.
"Name's Noel!"