Chapter 100

“Climbing walls was the absolute basics for people of our family. Besides, it wasn’t like this was my first time seeing you climb a wall.”

“That’s true, but… no, why were you trying to come in through the window when there’s a perfectly fine door?”

“Knowing your personality, no matter how much I knocked, you would’ve ignored me.”

Sara gave a bitter smile and nodded.

“…Yeah, I probably would’ve.”

“And besides, men aren’t allowed inside the women’s dormitory.”

“You’re someone who knows that, yet you’re trying to enter my room through the window?”

“Aw, come on, what’s the big deal between us? We’ve seen everything there is to see since we were kids.”

“S-Shut up.”

Old memories resurfaced, and before she knew it, Sara’s face flushed red.

Because we’d been close since childhood, just like Jason said, Sara had already shown him things she should and shouldn’t have shown.

“Hurry up and open the window. If someone sees me like this, we’re in trouble.”

“Why should I let you into my room?”

“Well, can’t be helped then. Monsoon. Go inside and open the window.”

At Jason’s words, the Spirit of Wind appeared beside him.

How many times must I tell you not to use me for things like this?

Grumbling in dissatisfaction, Monsoon slipped through the crack in the window and entered the room.

Then it stirred the air and unlocked the window latch.

“Ugh-cha. Nice, my Monsoon. Good job.”

I suppose there will never be another human besides you who treats me like this.

“Well, yeah. There’s no one else who would treat you so comfortably except me.”

…Call me again if you need me.

With that, the Spirit of Wind disappeared, and Jason turned his head toward Sara.

“Seeing how you’re moving fine, it seems your arm and leg that Gideon slashed healed well? I mean, the nurse’s skills are pretty good.”

“You… you, in my room…”

“By the way, cute pajamas. I mean, I knew already, but still—didn’t know you had that kind of sensitivity…”

“G-Get out! Get out of my room right now!”

“Hey now, why so harsh? I just got here. No, more importantly… do you even clean your room?”

With an incredulous expression, Jason looked around Sara’s room.

Anyone could tell the place was quite a mess.

“You need to fold your clothes right after taking them off, and do your laundry on time. Even if you don’t have maids, this is too much…”

“Say one more word?! If you talk any more I’ll kill you!”

“…But seriously, you should clean. Living in a place like this, your health—”

“I said I’ll kill you!”

“Keck.”

I watched as Sara grabbed Jason by the collar, shook him, then threw him onto the bed… and the two of them struggled for a few minutes like that.

After Sara calmed down to some degree—

“Put the clothes you need to wash over there. And you have a broom, right? Let’s sweep the floor once.”

“…Okay.”

Sara still wore an expression full of annoyance.

But regardless, Jason cleaned her room diligently.

“Ugh, look at all this dust. You need to ventilate more often, okay? If you don’t because it’s cold outside—”

“Jason.”

“Mm?”

“Just be straightforward. Why did you come to my room? It’s not like you came just to clean.”

“Right. Cleaning was just something I did along the way. Your room was way dirtier than I expected.”

At Jason’s cheeky remark, Sara raised her fist.

But she soon sighed and changed the topic.

“T-That story is enough… anyway, why did you come?”

“Lady Layla was really worried about you.”

“…Her Highness?”

Sara’s eyes widened slightly at his words.

“You met Her Highness?”

“I ran into her by chance. She looked really down, saying you chased her out.”

“I-I didn’t chase her out… I just said I wanted to be alone…”

“That’s basically the same thing. Anyway, Lady Layla said you weren’t acting like yourself and was really worried. And I was worried in my own way too, so I came to see you.”

Sara let out a small, dismissive laugh.

“Hah, funny. You’re worried about me?”

“Of course. I know your personality better than anyone, so I can’t help worrying.”

Jason looked at her with a meaningful smile.

“You were probably trembling again, thinking people were staring at you and imagining everyone was talking behind your back.”

“That’s…”

“And on top of that, you were shaking wondering what your family would do to you because of this incident.”

“….”

At a loss for words, Sara simply stared at Jason.

Then she got up and lay down on the bed.

She pulled the blanket over her head again.

“When you’re cornered emotionally, you always hide under the blankets.”

Jason moved beside her and sat on the edge of the bed.

A quiet silence settled in the room.

Under the blanket, Sara finally spoke—her voice sounding slightly choked.

“It’s humiliating. They called me a genius, and during sword duels I’d never lost to someone my age. But today I… I… if it’s like this, then all the times I acted proud…”

“People don’t care about you nearly as much as you think. And really, you’ve shown a lot of ugly sides before, so this much—”

“You’re really going to die.”

Sara’s voice grew sharp.

“…Sorry. I won’t tease you.”

Jason gave an awkward smile.

Then, with a more serious expression, he continued.

“That aside… are you still afraid of being abandoned by your family?”

“…You know my family well.”

Sara’s voice trembled at the mention of her family.

“They value the family’s reputation and honor more than anything. If I tarnish that, I get abandoned… or go through that ‘training’ again.”

“I think being abandoned is better than that ‘training.’”

“No. If the family abandons me, I have nothing left. I… I don’t want to be alone.”

Her voice shook even harder.

“If I lose my family, there’s no one left who will take my side. How could I ever choose—”

“I’m hurt. Why am I not included?”

“…Huh?”

“Why do you say you don’t have anyone on your side? I’m right in front of you.”

Sara peeked her head slightly out from under the blanket.

And what entered her view was Jason, smiling as he always did.

“Whether your family abandons you or you pull some strange stunt, I’ll always be on your side, so stop worrying about useless things.”

“Always on my side? Why?”

“Well, because we’re friends?”

“You’re my friend?”

“Hey, now that actually hurts. If we’re not friends, then what are we?”

“…….”

Sara stared at Jason quietly.

Because he’d been with her for so long and felt so familiar, she realized she had never really thought seriously about their relationship.

“Anyway. Don’t waste your time on pointless worries. Even if they’re not your family, there will always be people on your side.”

“Y-Yeah. Okay.”

“Good. Then cheer up, get out of bed, and get dressed. Get ready for dinner.”

“It’s already dinner time?”

“There’s still some time left, but just get ready now. Don’t make Lady Layla wait for no reason. I promised to bring you along to have dinner together.”

“…….”

Sara hesitated.

Right now, it felt like everyone in the Academy must have been talking endlessly about her defeat.

In this situation, she didn’t want to go outside…

“If people’s gazes bother you, just ignore them. And I’ll talk nonstop beside you so you won’t have the time to worry. So come on, get out of bed. And change that cute but tacky pajama already.”

“W-Why is this tacky? I picked this out myself at the Muktaba market, why would—”

“Oh, you picked it? Well, that explains it. That tacky design—yeah, only you would choose something like that.”

“You, you—hey! Come here! I’m throwing you out the window!”

Sara shot up from the bed and reached for Jason, but Jason easily dodged her hand.

Even afterward, she kept trying to grab him, but as always, Jason dodged her quick and sly like it was nothing.

‘Still, I’m glad she seems to have regained some spirit.’

Jason knew very well how emotionally unstable Sara was.

So he couldn’t help but feel relieved seeing her regain some energy.

“A festival, sir?”

“Yeah, a festival. Ah, you still have a bit of a blood mark on your neck.”

“Pardon? Ah, thank you.”

After dinner, Lisa and I headed to the Disciplinary Committee Room.

The moment we arrived, Lisa drank my blood, and afterward the two of us lay down, talking leisurely.

“Lysquare Academy has two festivals a year. In the first semester, there’s Daigon Village’s Strawberry Festival, and in the second semester there’s a festival held inside Lysquare Academy itself.”

“Ah, it’s already time for the Strawberry Festival?”

“It starts next week on Friday.”

Just like Lisa said, Lysquare Academy held two festivals a year.

Among them, Daigon Village’s Strawberry Festival wasn’t technically the Academy’s own event.

But because the festival included many activities in collaboration between the Academy and Daigon Village, it was practically considered the Academy’s festival anyway.

‘The second semester festival is basically a regional celebration where the Academy opens to the public… but I’ll think about that when the time comes.’

Honestly, there wasn’t much for me to worry about during festival season.

Even in the game, festivals were more like intermission periods with no major incidents.

You just enjoyed the festival with other characters, increased affection, and experienced side stories… a light, easygoing part you could enjoy without pressure.

But unfortunately, this was reality—and on top of that, I was part of the Disciplinary Committee.

“When the festival starts… will our workload increase?”

“Probably. Many students get carried away by the excitement and make wrong choices. We have to prevent that as much as possible before anything happens.”

“You’re right. That’s exactly what the Disciplinary Committee is for.”

After nodding and organizing my thoughts, I continued speaking.

“The festival lasts a week, correct?”

“Yeah. From next Friday to the Friday after that.”

“Today’s Friday, so…”

“That means exactly one week left. But don’t think about work right now. The midterms ended today. Let’s rest this weekend and think about what to do during the festival starting Monday.”

“Yes, understood.”

Just as Lisa said, I planned to rest fully over the weekend.

My burns from Sara still throbbed painfully.

‘Still… it’s a festival. Will I even be able to enjoy it since I’m in the Disciplinary Committee?’

It was a bit disappointing.

While everyone else played around, Lisa and I would be patrolling to make sure no students were misbehaving…

“And Gideon. Keep some time free during the festival.”

“Understood. Do I have something specific to handle?”

“It’s not work. Lady Layla said she wants to enjoy the festival together, and she specifically asked me to make sure you come too.”

“If that’s the case… yes, I’ll make sure to keep some time open.”

“Good. But, um… hmm…”

Lisa scratched her cheek and quietly observed my expression.

“Can you also keep some time for me? It’s a festival, you know. I don’t want to spend it working nonstop. I’d like to try enjoying the festival together with just you… would that be possible?”

“If it’s for you, Lady Lisa, of course.”

I answered with a smile.

It seemed that, contrary to my expectations, I wouldn’t be spending the entire festival just working.

“Thank you, always, Gideon.”

“I also always feel grateful to you, Lady Lisa.”

At my answer, Lisa smiled faintly, then gently rested her head on my shoulder.

The two of us stayed like that quietly, simply looking at each other for a while.

And a few minutes later—

“Oh, right. Gideon.”

“Yes, Lady Lisa?”

“I forgot to mention earlier—let’s stay out overnight on the last day of the festival.”

“…Stay out, ma’am?”

“I’m thinking of renting a nice room at an inn for the last day. Let’s enjoy the day together.”

“…Pardon?”

Completely unprepared for such words, I couldn’t help being taken aback.

But Lisa’s expression remained as blank as ever.

So I had no idea what she was thinking.

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