* * *
That evening.
After class ended, it was free ti. I glanced around, then hurried out to the back garden.
“Zahid!”
Zahid was already there with Fire.
“You’re here already? Have you been waiting long?”
“Not really.”
Zahid was sitting quietly on the garden bench with his arms crossed.
The early moonlight shone down on his jet-black hair, his long, narrow eyes, his straight nose bridge, and his sculpted jawline.
He’d grow into an even more handso face as an adult, but I liked the youthful version just as much.
The girls had been grumbling about him all day anyway.
They wanted to talk to Zahid because he was so good-looking, but since he always had that stiff expression and was constantly sleeping with his face buried on the desk, they couldn’t even approach him.
A desirable outco.
‘Honestly, just sleep every day. I don’t care if you rank dead last. Keep that pretty face glued to your desk.’
Grinning to myself, I sat down next to him.
It had been a while since we were alone like this—we’d been stuck together with Ray all day since we were in the sa class.
Smiling softly, I said:
“It’s a sha we’re not in the sa class. We should be glued together all day, don’t you think?”
“......”
“Of course, it’s all your fault that we’re not.”
I expected Zahid to react, maybe snap back at , but he stayed calm. Instead, he asked bluntly:
“...What if I went to Class 2 on purpose?”
“Mm. Can I be honest?”
“Yeah.”
I dangled my feet in the air and answered imdiately.
“You petty little bastard. Our hos are far apart, so we don’t get to see each other often, and you couldn’t even last three months sticking together, huh? You sure are emotionally frugal for soone so young...”
“......”
“Sothing like that.”
“Don’t you think that’s a little too honest?”
Zahid grumbled, clearly thrown off.
“And weren’t you the one whining about how much you wanted to stick by all the ti? Why are you saying sothing completely different now?”
“...Mm.”
I shrugged and replied casually.
“That was just ... getting confused for a bit. If I keep my head on straight, I don’t get confused.”
A soft scent of wildflowers drifted at our feet.
Zahid’s legs, which were still shorter than I rembered, just barely touched the ground.
I looked at him for a long while in silence.
Familiar, and yet unfamiliar. ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) Longing, and still new.
I slowly turned my gaze away.
Then, for no reason, I gently swung my legs and said, almost lazily:
“You... don’t believe in , don’t like , plan to break off the engagent eventually, and honestly find kind of annoying—I know all of it. Don’t worry.”
Fire let out a low whine and laid down at my feet.
His soft fur curled around my legs as if to comfort .
I stroked the back of Fire’s neck and smiled quietly. Then added softly:
“You probably find it annoying how I keep acting like I know you around the Academy too, right? I know all of that...”
Zahid had always called everything annoying and troubleso.
Before regression, I had been the exception—but I guess that’s not true anymore.
Feeling a twinge of loneliness, I murmured:
“Mm, but sotis... sotis I just get confused. Just let be.”
“......”
Zahid let out a quiet sigh. Then, he spoke softly.
“Why the hell are you confused? There’s no way soone as brilliant as our top student is just... dumb.”
“Because soone made it confusing.”
“Then I guess that person must be awful.”
“I’m trying not to hate him, ‘cause it’s not really his fault. But still, it’s hard. Hey, can I just curse at you instead?”
I thought Zahid would scold for talking nonsense, but he didn’t say much. He just shrugged and played along.
“Mm... well. Sure. Do whatever.”
I let out a deep sigh. Then, eting Zahid’s eyes directly, I mumbled:
“It honestly hurts... that you don’t rember .”
He wouldn’t understand anyway, but I’d been wanting to say it for so long.
Zahid sat still, then furrowed his brow slightly and asked:
“You’ll feel better with just that? Say more.”
“Try to rember , you dumbass son of a bitch!”
“...I think the earlier one might’ve been enough.”
Zahid made a sour face.
But having let all that out with just a single “dumbass son of a bitch,” I smiled again and gently asked:
“So, why’d you call out here? You said you wanted to et secretly, in private, without anyone else around. Honestly, that was a very appealing offer.”
“...Don’t twist it. I just said we should et without Ray.”
This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.
Zahid sighed once and then casually held out his hand.
“Give so divine power.”
“...What?”
“Divine power. Lend so.”
“Huh? Are you running low on sedatives?”
“No, that’s not it.”
Zahid looked away and cleared his throat.
“Sedatives make kind of dazed. It’s... different from divine power.”
“Ohh, so that’s why you ranked dead last. Got it.”
I grabbed Zahid’s hand and pushed divine power into him as hard as I could.
My ager divine power was usually useless, but I hadn’t expected it to be good for this. It made laugh on reflex.
“Hehe.”
“...Why are you laughing?”
“Because I’m glad I can be of help to you. I really do like you.”
A soft night breeze passed between us.
Sure, it stung that he didn’t rember , but more than that—I still liked Zahid.
And I knew very well that it wasn’t his fault.
“I an... what the hell, all of a sudden...”
Zahid turned beet red, even to the tips of his ears. I just shrugged and said:
“It’s not sudden. I’ve always liked you.”
“You say stuff like that with a totally straight face. Isn’t it embarrassing?”
“When soone sincerely cares about another person, it’s not embarrassing—it’s noble. Why does a kid like you already have such weird values?”
“....”
“What’s with that face? Doesn’t divine power feel good?”
“...I just feel like trash for calling you out here.”
“Woof! Woof!”
I gently patted Fire’s head as he conveyed the sa ssage he always did when we t.
“Also...”
Zahid cleared his throat and began speaking again.
“...It’s not like I find you annoying or troubleso when we’re here.”
“Really?”
“It’s way better than the count’s manor. At least it’s not noisy here.”
“What do you an by ‘noisy’?”
“I’m talking about your grandfather and your brother. I’m the one who was forced into this engagent, so why can’t they just leave the hell alone...”
Well, true enough. No Grandfather here, no Julian either. Not even Ethan!
Zahid frowned and added with irritation:
“Damn it, seriously—even if he’s your brother, he’s so damn extra—”
And then—
“What exactly are you two doing?”
A voice, cold as ice.
“Step away from each other. Imdiately.”
Zahid and I flinched like we’d been caught doing sothing wrong and instantly let go of each other’s hands.
The owner of the cold voice was Yuta.
Yuta Orgon.
Blond hair, green eyes, and soft, puppy-like features.
At the Academy, professors did the research, while teaching assistants handled the students.
Yuta was the assistant in charge of Theology.
He was the adopted son of Duke Orgon, and the Temple had recomnded him in exchange for divine power.
Everyone assud he was one of the Temple’s elite high-ranking priests.
‘It’s fine.’
The voice was cold enough to startle , but we hadn’t done anything wrong.
After class, it was free ti, and we were allowed to go anywhere on campus.
Yuta spoke again, his tone frigid.
“Zahid Dyfenril. Minus ten points.”
“What? Why?”
Zahid asked, clearly baffled, and Yuta lifted his chin and said:
“Your Divine Beast is stepping on the flowers.”
“......”
“You’re aware that grass is vulnerable to fire, right? Take proper care of your beast. Especially in gardens like this—avoid them when possible.”
Hm. It sounded like nitpicking, but... he wasn’t wrong.
“Step apart, both of you. And it’s late—Miss Rosie, go sleep soundly and have sweet dreams, and Mr. Zahid, go flop down and pass out or whatever.”
“......”
Yuta glared at us like a hawk.
In the end, we had no choice but to quietly get up and head to our rooms.
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