Wanna Date Me?
Wanna Date Me?
The grade assessment; the disciplinary committee hearing.
After those two events, the academy's opinion of Ian took a definitive turn.
He could feel it as he walked the grounds.
Students who used to avert their eyes the moment their gazes met now held his, and some even nodded.
"Hey, Ian! Eeee!"
"Kyaaah!"
A few would blurt out a greeting and bolt. He later learned that the "Greet Ian Challenge" had gone viral on the Kirtos Network.
When he asked Sylvia what the point of it was, she replied:
— You used to be a confession bomber, remember? If they greet you first, it's a gamble whether they'll get confessed to or not. They're chasing the thrill.
— Think of it positively. Your playboy image is crumbling bit by bit. If people actually believe you might confess, they won't approach you so carelessly.
— My advice: don't go confessing with some delusion running through your head.
That last bit of advice stung. Just a little.
Didn't phrasing it that way prove she still saw him as a womanizer?
Still, a shifting reputation was a positive development. And with the Full Moon Festival dangling just a day away—and rumors about the Imperial Princess beginning to swirl—the spotlight on him would gradually fade.
"This too shall pass."
Ian resolved to enjoy this modest dose of attention while it lasted.
◆
Before lunch.
The Mezai Class lecture hall, Magic Faculty.
"He really does look different around the eyes."
"It's more like he's turned into a good-guy slacker, isn't it?"
"Good my ass. A guy that obsessed with women doesn't change overnight."
"Someone who can raise his grades that fast—you really think he can't change his personality?"
Ian was a hot topic even inside his own class.
Rina Rosewell sat in a corner of the room with her closest friends, Annie and Gabrielle.
"Honestly, thanks to Ian, we can breathe again. The weird rumors about Rina have pretty much stopped, don't you think?"
"Annie!"
"...Oh. Right. Sorry."
In the aftermath of Rina's disciplinary committee hearing.
Annie and Gabrielle had been deeply worried about her. All kinds of rumors had been floating around—some baseless slander, some veering into vulgar gossip.
More than anything, they had been afraid Rina might completely fall apart.
But to their surprise, she had returned looking no different from usual.
With one exception.
Any mention of "Ian."
The moment that name reached her ears, Rina's whole demeanor seemed to wilt.
She murmured to herself.
"...I feel so shameless. Is it even right for me to keep leaning on Ian like this? I'm so grateful I honestly don't know what to do anymore. I really don't."
Hwoooo—.
She stretched her arms across the desk and buried her face in them.
Annie and Gabrielle exchanged a quiet sigh.
At meals: Ian. Over tea: Ian.
Like a princess who'd fallen for the hero who saved her—except this case was so severe it defied comparison.
"He's not the only guy in the world, you know. Ack!"
Gabrielle yelped as Annie pinched her side.
But the question was already out of her mouth.
"It isn't like that—I still have things I need to say to him properly. I need to thank him, I need to apologize, I need to beg his forgiveness......"
"But wasn't Ian always kind of... off?"
"Yeah, yeah. A total creep."
"He absolutely isn't. It's a misunderstanding. I told you—it felt like someone framed him."
"We thought you were joking."
"I was serious."
Rina shot upright.
She grabbed both of her friends' hands.
"You two as well—if anyone asks about Ian, you have to set them straight, okay? Promise me?"
"...Okay."
"Got it."
Rina was definitely a severe case.
But the conviction in her voice made it sound almost believable. Annie and Gabrielle were starting to feel confused.
Still holding their hands, Rina spoke warmly.
"Of course, you two are kind and precious to me too. I'm grateful for all your help."
"You don't have to thank us."
"Anytime. You can pay us back later."
Rina gave her friends a bright smile.
Her scholarship and dormitory eligibility had been quietly voided as a result of the disciplinary proceedings. She had taken out a loan and borrowed money from her friends. She had even gone to her relatives, explained the situation, and pleaded with them to cover her tuition for just this one semester. She had managed to secure a place to stay, somehow, so she could attend classes this term.
With the scholarship gone, she was now free to take the part-time jobs that had been forbidden before. In some ways, Rina thought, her circumstances had actually improved compared to the days when she could not even afford a meal.
Which naturally led her to wonder:
Why couldn't I do this before?
She knew the answer.
'The truth is, the old me could have done all of this too...'
She had simply lacked the courage.
She had been trapped inside the cage of her own "goodness," unable to break free. Now that the cage had finally shattered, the world felt a little wider.
And all of it—
'...was thanks to Ian.'
Without him, the one who had looked at her so coldly and yet stood by her. Without him, the one who had pressed down on her infected throat and cleansed her. She would never have experienced any of this.
And what had Rina done in return?
She had repaid his kindness with harm.
Deep in her heart, she could not accept that.
It was part of her nature, and it had been drilled into her for years.
"...Ugh."
Her breath caught again.
"Are you okay, Rina?"
She tugged at the black handkerchief around her neck. The tighter it felt, the easier it became to breathe—an irony.
"Hah... Mm, yeah. I'm okay."
Rina managed a faint smile.
"Come on, let's go to the hospital together."
"Our family physician is excellent—let's go."
Her friends, comforting her.
"Thank you. But I know how to get better."
She felt bad for them, but there was only one person who could resolve this.
Ian. Only him.
And Rina knew exactly what the first step of that apology had to look like.
She steadied her breathing and rummaged inside her desk.
The spot where, in the past, Ian would have left a packed lunch.
It was not empty—
— Clack.
There was a lunchbox.
She lifted it out carefully.
"What's that?"
"This? Hehe. A lunchbox."
But it was not one Ian had made.
"Ah. You said you have been going to the market at dawn to buy ingredients...?"
"Yeah. Teehee. I practiced enough that it is finally edible, so I brought it."
It was a lunchbox Rina had made, after countless practice attempts.
"Should we go eat, then?"
"Ah, sorry. This one is not for me. Hehe."
Afraid it might jostle, Rina held the lunchbox gingerly.
'Today is the day I will definitely give this to Ian.'
Ian's disciplinary committee.
Helping him had earned her one chance to speak with him.
She had sworn she would prepare a lunchbox and ask to talk.
"I'll be right back."
Her face full of resolve, Rina rose.
She bit her lower lip lightly in nervousness.
Carefully, she took a step toward Ian.
At that moment.
— Rrrrattle!
The lecture hall door slid open.
Professor Violet.
"Everyone, attention, please. A new member has joined the Mezai Class. Well... I doubt I need to ask you to look after her. She will be with us temporarily, just for this semester. Even if you don't like it, I'm sure you'll manage to get along. Personally, I can't quite fathom why someone like her would choose to join Mezai, but... what a bother."
Murmur.
The students were rattled for only a moment by Professor Violet's introduction. A stunned voice rang out from a student near the door.
"H-Heugh! The Third Imperial Princess?!"
— Click, clack.
The crisp sound of heels.
By the time everyone had gathered their wits, a radiant, golden-haired beauty stood before them.
"Greetings, all of you. Pleased to meet you. Mind if I speak casually? I've always dreamed of having a school life like this. I trust we can skip the tedious introductions? I'm sure you all already know about me. Call me Asteria."
A voice noble enough to match her Imperial rank. A manner of speech almost flippant for a princess.
No applause, no welcoming words came from the lecture hall. Everyone had frozen solid.
And no wonder—she was an Imperial Princess. The most brilliant and ruthless bloodline of the Empire.
"You may sit wherever you like."
"Understood. Thank you, professor."
The princess shot Violet a bewitching smile, then crossed the room. In the middle of the aisle stood Rina Rosewell, halted awkwardly mid-step.
Princess Asteria lifted her long golden lashes, swept a glance over Rina, and passed her by.
— Stride.
The spot she chose was right beside Ian.
Setting down her bag with elegance, the princess asked:
"You. Would you mind showing me around the academy?"
◆
"You."
"Yes."
"Thank you for the tour."
Ian turned at the sound of her voice.
Golden hair rippled softly with each step. Asteria looked up at him as she followed.
Long golden lashes. Eyes of deep blue, as if holding the sky. The slow flutter of those beautiful, alluring lashes—like curtains opening and closing—was only a fraction of her appearance.
Her face was striking, but her figure. It was that violent silhouette, which reduced clothing to mere scraps of fabric, that was the true symbol of the Third Imperial Princess.
<Sex Symbol>
That was the public image of Asteria, Third Imperial Princess.
Half the rumors about her were surely jokes about her bust size.
A quiet bench on the academy's outskirts.
"This should do nicely."
Ian handed the princess a sandwich and sat down. She settled beside him, close enough to press against him.
Why was she sticking that close? Ian had no idea.
'She definitely lent me her support during the disciplinary committee.'
At the time, he had assumed there was some connection to Pongpongi. After the hearing, he had revisited his knowledge of Fanta X Aca's lore again and again. But he could not recall any relationship between Pongpongi and Asteria.
The princess's interest was bewildering yet hard to pin down. Since she was a crucial figure in the story, he wanted to know why.
"You have the look of someone with many questions. For you, I'll allow it. Ask anything. Consider it repayment for guiding me to such a lovely spot."
"That 'you' manner of speech—is it a deliberate persona?"
"Ahaha. Straight to the point, as expected!"
"You said to ask anything."
A wink.
Asteria closed one eye, then opened it toward Ian.
"In the palace, everyone is 'you.' My teachers. Everyone. Everyone except family who outrank me. It's habit. This casual speech, on the other hand, is a product of effort."
"A rebellious streak?"
"You could say that. The Imperial Palace is stifling, you see. There is a saying: catch a mouse barehanded as a child, and you grow up to be a loose woman. And so......"
— Flutter, flutter.
The princess took the hem of her skirt and fanned it.
"......this princess was born."
Smoothly, Ian kept his eyes fixed on her face instead of letting them drop to the inside of her toned thighs.
Gazing steadily into her blue eyes, he asked:
"Why have you come to me?"
"A good question."
Asteria's pink lips curled playfully. The curve of her mouth foretold that her next words would be utterly out of the blue.
Her lips parted, sweetly.
"You. Wouldst thou consider becoming my lover?"
Asteria Estrid. She who would later be called the "Imperial Princess of Rebellion."
Her eyes glittered, bewitching and lethal.