Chapter 20
Emily, who had taken a nap in the dormitory during her free period, was climbing the main building stairs while stifling a small yawn. As she was walking, contemplating whether to take another nap in the dormitory during the afternoon, she suddenly stopped at the landing.
This was because she saw a familiar figure by the window. Surprised to see Eden from the Swordsmanship Department here at this time, Emily unknowingly called out his name as she stopped, and he turned to look down at her.
“Ah, good morning, Miss Emily.”
“…Yes, good morning, Lord Eden.”
Although it was just an hour before lunchtime, looking at his face illuminated by the sunlight from the window made it feel like morning. Hesitating with a mix of pleasure and confusion, Emily greeted him, and Eden walked towards her. Eden, who had come down one step from the landing, narrowed the distance between them by grasping the railing near where Emily was holding it.
“I’m sorry. I originally intended to tell you slowly, but it was really hard to wait until the weekend.”
As his fingers lightly touched the tips of Emily’s hand on the railing, she unconsciously stepped back a couple of stairs and looked up at him. Observing her movement, Eden unknowingly tightened his grip on the railing. Then he glanced at her small white hand, just a span away.
“Yes? What…”
“When do your classes end today? If possible, could we have tea together after your classes are over today?”
Eden stood in place, suppressing the urge to approach her as she distanced herself from him, and looked down at her.
“Ah… Today? I only have morning classes today, but…”
“I see. Then would you be free after this class?”
“Ah… well…”
Emily hesitated for a moment as she looked up at him. As the sunlight from the window behind Eden cast a backlight on his face, shadows fell on his bright gray eyes looking at her. Emily hesitated at the sudden proposal, but then nodded.
“Yes… I did promise to buy you tea. Then I’ll change clothes after class and meet you at the garden entrance.”
“Yes, understood. Thank you so much, Miss Emily.”
Eden’s tight expression relaxed slightly at Emily’s words. Eden straightened his body, which had unconsciously leaned towards Emily, and made way for her. Only then could Emily lightly greet Eden and hurry up the stairs.
“See you later, Lord Eden.”
“Yes, see you later, Miss Emily.”
As Emily climbed the stairs almost running, making tap-tap sounds past the landing, she glanced down and her eyes met with Lord Eden, who was still looking up at her from below.
At that moment, Emily’s heart unexpectedly fluttered, and she quickly turned her head away. She felt her ears suddenly grow hot as she hurried towards the classroom.
Eden stood on the stairs, looking up until she disappeared from view, then lowered his head. He remained standing still for a moment, then slightly moved his hand that had been holding the railing. Eden moved his hand to where she had held it and quietly looked down at the back of his hand.
As if Emily’s hand was still there underneath, he couldn’t take his eyes off it for a while.
* * *
As Emily entered the classroom, touching her heated ears, Kira raised her hand. Emily walked towards Kira’s seat, trying to calm her pounding heart.
“Miss Emily, you’re here? What did you do during your free period?”
“I went back to the dormitory and took a nap. I was tired because we have a first-period class on Wednesday mornings.”
As Emily pulled out a chair and sat down, Kira looked at her curiously. Since the day of the party, the two had become closer than before.
“Ah, you mean the Life Magic class? How are you finding the class?”
“It’s fun. I think it suits my aptitude too. Recently, I’ve been thinking about choosing Life Magic as my career path.”
“Really? I thought it would suit you, Miss Emily. That’s great!”
As Kira rejoiced as if it were her own news, Emily smiled shyly for a moment. Then, suddenly remembering what Sophia had said in the Life Magic class, she relayed it to Kira.
“Kira, you know, about that young lady who had a drink spilled on her at the banquet…”
“Ah, yes! Did you find her?”
“Yes, fortunately, Sophia knew her. She’s Chloe Allen from the Magic Department, in the same year as us. Since she’s in the Magic Department, she would normally attend the required general education classes with us, so we could have met her today, but I heard she decided to stay home for a few days.”
“Really? We’ve been taking the same classes! Why didn’t I notice? With such bright purple eyes, she should have been easy to spot…”
“I know. Anyway, I’m glad we found her quickly.”
“Me too. Thank you, Miss Emily. I’ll definitely apologize to Miss Chloe when she returns. I hope she comes back soon.”
Emily nodded as she watched Kira smile brightly. As the two were chatting, the front door slid open and the teacher entered, signaling the end of the break. Emily, who was about to ask Kira about the society newspaper, closed her mouth as she saw the teacher enter.
“Everyone, take your seats.”
As the elderly teacher with white hair entered, the noisy students instantly scattered to their seats. André Lübeck, with his white eyebrows and hair, was leisurely in his speech and actions due to his age, but he was notoriously strict with grades, so everyone lowered their heads over their textbooks to avoid drawing attention.
“Now, where did we leave off last class? Ah, yes. The conflict between spatial magic and religion. Everyone, open to page 65. Did you all prepare well?”
“Yes~”
“Good, then who wants to talk about the story of the philosopher who was imprisoned for blasphemy after presenting a theory about spatial magic?”
The students subtly averted their gaze to avoid being called on by the teacher. Emily also slightly lowered her head over her textbook, but Kira in the next seat raised her hand high, catching the teacher’s attention.
“It was philosopher Jacob Montabor. He angered the temple by questioning whether the self before and after using teleportation magic was truly the same person.”
At that moment, small sighs of dismay spread around Kira. Emily also smacked her forehead, thinking “Oh no.”
This was because André Lübeck always tended to question the students sitting around the first student to present. Emily had become the next in line to present as soon as the class started, right after Kira. She hurriedly searched for the answer to the next expected question while listening to Kira cheerfully answer the teacher’s question in the next seat.
“Yes, that’s right. Excellent. Then, can the student sitting next to the one who just answered tell us why he angered the temple?”
“Yes? Ah… yes.”
Before she could find the answer, Emily bit her lip hard and half rose from her seat as she was called on by the teacher. Then Kira poked Emily’s arm with her index finger. As Emily turned to look at Kira, Kira pushed her open book towards Emily and pointed to a spot with her finger.
And Emily’s worried face brightened as she saw the sentence Kira was pointing to.
“Jacob Montabor’s claim that using teleportation magic means one cannot be the same person as before, and that all elements are rearranged, was judged as blasphemy. The idea of rearranging all components of a person implies rearranging not only the body but also the soul, and since the soul is God’s domain, his words were criticized as blasphemy against God.”
As Emily answered confidently, the sound of students desperately flipping pages could be heard nearby. It was the sound of desperation to find the answer to the next expected question before being called on by the teacher.
Emily, who had barely managed to answer and sit down, let out a deep sigh of relief. Then she turned to the side and smiled gratefully at Kira. Kira also grinned back at Emily.
* * *
-Swoosh
Emily was watching the water spray refreshingly from a small fountain in the garden in front of the main building. After the class where the teacher’s barrage of questions had raged, she had changed into a white summer dress and was wearing a hat decorated with a green ribbon she had bought in town before.
“Miss Emily, there you are.”
Emily, who had been looking at the small bird-shaped sculpture decorated in the middle of the fountain, raised her head at Eden’s voice. He was approaching with hurried steps, having changed into casual clothes. He was wearing a white shirt and vest with a light gray jacket over it, and black dress pants below, an outfit that accentuated his tall, well-built figure.
“Ah, Lord Eden. You’re here?”
“Yes, I’m sorry I’m late. The queue for teleportation magic registration was longer than I expected.”
“Ah, that’s right! I had forgotten about that too. Thank you, Lord Eden.”
Only then did Emily remember that she had to register for teleportation magic. She had forgotten about it due to the sudden appointment today.
“It’s nothing. Well, shall we go?”
Lord Eden’s gaze was momentarily captured by Emily in her white dress with puff sleeves, but he soon composed himself and guided her. The wide-brimmed hat suited her well, but standing side by side, it obscured Emily’s face from view. Eden walked, looking at the green ribbon attached to her white hat.
“The weather is quite hot.”
“Indeed.”
Strong sunlight was shining down on the wide lawns spread out on both sides, making the green foliage sparkle. A warm breeze blew by, gently puffing up the hem of Emily’s white skirt.
“The summer vacation starts after the midterms, right?”
As Emily, suddenly reminded of summer vacation in the hot weather, raised her head to ask Eden, their eyes met directly as he happened to be looking down at Emily’s hat. At that moment, both of their eyes widened slightly in surprise. As Emily turned her head back to face forward, an awkward atmosphere lingered for a moment.
“…Yes, the summer vacation starts on the day the midterms end. This midterm will be the first exam for first-year students, so everyone must be nervous.”
As Lord Eden spoke again, Emily nodded with an awkward smile.
“Yes, that’s right. I’m especially worried because I’m barely keeping up with the classes.”
“I hear that for first-year students in the Magic Department, the written exams are difficult.”
“I see. I’ll have to work hard then. Thank you for letting me know.”
As Emily answered with a light smile, Eden fell into thought for a moment, then continued as something occurred to him.
