Advances (3)

“Ha!?”

“Miss Charlotte is confessing to Young master Ian!?”

A great torch had been thrown into the powder keg hearts of pubescent boys and girls, who were all immensely interested in romance.

“What!? Seriously!?”

“No way! Where!? Quick! Let’s go see it right now!”

“We can’t miss something like this!”

“That way! That way!”

Interest spread with the speed and intensity of a wildfire, leaping from person to person.

― Rumble!-

In an instant, a crowd of new trainees circled Ian and Charlotte, surrounding them like a solid wall.

“W-What!”

Charlotte, who hadn’t intended to attract any attention, spun around in a panic, unable to hide her confusion.

“Wh-what is this…? N-no!”

Trainees pressed in from all directions—front, back, sides—packed so tightly there was hardly space to breathe.

And the crowd just kept growing behind them.

“N-no, this isn’t right…!”

How did the situation suddenly end up like this?!

All I wanted was to hand Ian a letter from Father!

“Miss Charlotte! Hang in there!”

“Be brave! Waaah!”

“Confess! Confess! Confess!”

“W-What!”

On top of all this? A confession?

“T-That’s not it! Y-You guys! It’s a misunderstanding! T-this is just…!”

“Confess! Confess! Confess!”

“Accept! Accept! Accept!”

“U-Urgh…!”

The collective frenzy of the crowd blazed hotter and hotter, unified as one.

“Th-this is insane…!”

There was simply no way to talk sense to them.

‘These kids…! They completely believe their own misunderstanding is the truth!’

Or perhaps, from the beginning, they didn’t care about the truth at all.

They were just thrilled to have something entertaining to witness!

“Stop! Stop it!”

Charlotte shouted until her face turned scarlet.

“Confess! Confess! Confess!”

“Accept! Accept! Accept!”

Yet the chanting showed no sign of stopping.

“So cute, miss Charlotte!”

“Hang in there!”

In fact, her flushed face only seemed to excite them more, and their cheering intensified.

“How, how rude!! You all… really!!!”

Even if it was just meant as encouragement, for direct descendants like Charlotte to be made a spectacle out of was incredibly disrespectful.

And to top it off, the commotion was all sparked by a huge misunderstanding.

But this was Black Dragon Hall—immaturity here was hardly unusual.

Most were just fourteen-year-old children; as soon as one or two kids crossed the line, others would get carried away and join in.

“Confess! Confess! Confess!”

“Accept! Accept! Accept!”

“Her face is going to explode!”

“Ian Greysel! What are you doing!? Hurry up and accept!”

“So cute, miss Charlotte!”

“Ah, ahwahwahwah…!”

Charlotte’s eyes spun frantically, like a broken machine.

Her whole body was now as red as a ripe apple, from face to toe.

‘Honestly…’

Ian sighed quietly amidst the trainees’ cheers.

“Confess! Confess! Confess!”

“Accept! Accept! Accept!”

‘Charlotte’s confessing to me? That’s ridiculous.’

The trainees were mistaken and chanting wildly, but Ian didn’t buy into their misunderstanding even for a second.

Charlotte was proud and had high standards.

This was the first time they’d even come face-to-face in this life.

There was never any reason for Charlotte to like Ian, nor was she the type to confess her feelings first—even if she did like someone.

‘Then that letter…’

Looking closely at the letter in her hands, he noticed the Heavenly Sword Lord’s seal.

‘A letter from the Heavenly Sword Lord…?’

Was there another letter from the Heavenly Sword Lord addressed to me?

He wouldn’t know for sure until he received it.

But one thing was certain: it was definitely not a love letter.

‘Ha… Charlotte. What on earth is this.’

If it was something important, she should have handed it over somewhere quiet and private.

If you desperately hand it over in front of such a large crowd, of course, everyone’s going to notice.

“Confess! Confess! Confess!”

“Accept! Accept! Accept!”

‘Well, still…’

It was noisy and a bit embarrassing, but it was just a bunch of kids playing around.

The misunderstanding could be cleared up later; as time passed, things would quiet down on their own, so there was nothing to worry about.

He was being teased, but it was harmless.

And really, what was wrong with letting kids get excited and enjoy their youth? It would be a fond memory for them.

Since nearly all the trainees here were just young boys and girls, it was only natural for them to gossip and enjoy things like this.

However—

“Ah, ahwahwahwahwah!!”

Charlotte was trembling visibly, on the verge of hyperventilating.

Her entire body had turned bright red with embarrassment, as if she didn’t know what to do.

‘Haaa.’

Even though Charlotte had betrayed Yuria in her previous life and already tried twice to harm Ian in this one…

She was still the daughter of the Heavenly Sword Lord.

He had just received a letter from the Heavenly Sword Lord asking him to take care of her, so he couldn’t simply leave her in this predicament.

“Confess! Confess! Confess!”

“Accept! Accept! Accept!”

Suddenly, in the midst of the chanting, a deep voice stood out clearly.

“Fight! Fight! Fight!”

Ian turned to see Barbarian Kuga pumping his fists and chanting with the other trainees.

“…”

Why is he joining in?

Does he even understand what’s happening right now?

‘What should I do…’

The only way to calm them down would be to shout using enhanced energy or scare them a bit.

But he didn’t want to intimidate the kids over something so trivial.

And it was the first day of the hall’s opening, too. He didn’t want to make a violent first impression.

‘Still, I can’t just stand here and do nothing.’

To resolve it quickly, the best move was to just take the letter.

“Confess! Confess! Confess!”

“Accept! Accept! Accept!”

The chanting continued, loud and unceasing.

Ian approached Charlotte and held out his hand.

“Please. The letter.”

“Uh, uh!?”

Charlotte clutched the letter to her chest, shaking her head.

“A-ahwah! W-wait! This, this is…! You’re all misunderstanding! Something’s wrong here!”

Charlotte, who had been speaking formally, suddenly slipped into informal speech.

But Ian kept his hand extended, pointing to the letter.

“I know what it is. That letter. Isn’t it from the Heavenly Sword Lord, addressed to me?”

“O-oh? H-how did you know?”

“There’s the Lord’s seal on it.”

“Ah! I see!”

Charlotte was so flustered she missed something that obvious.

“But I can’t give it to you! At least, not now!”

“… Pardon?”

Ian’s face involuntarily twisted at the prospect of unnecessary hassle.

“H-hic!”

Charlotte gasped so sharply that it almost sounded pitiful.

“E-even if you frown…! I-I can’t hand it over now, because if I do, the others will keep misunderstanding…! I want to clear up the misunderstanding first…!”

“…”

Normally, Ian would have left at the first sign she wouldn’t hand over the letter.

But since the Heavenly Sword Lord had asked him to look after Charlotte, he couldn’t do that.

“It’s impossible to clear up their misunderstanding right now. Would they even listen to reason at this point?”

“Now’s your chance, miss Charlotte!”

“Be brave!”

“Give him the letter! Give him the letter!”

“Accept! Accept! Accept!”

This was truly a scene of collective frenzy.

Short of scaring them all off, nothing he said would get through.

No matter what explanation he gave, they’d just take it as embarrassing excuse-making.

“Honestly, it would be best to just leave now, and work on clearing up the misunderstanding bit by bit.”

Trying to correct the misunderstanding immediately was hopeless.

It would be better to quietly let the heat die down, then tell one or two of the more talkative ones the truth to set things straight.

They would then spread the word and clear up the misunderstanding for everyone else.

Of course, there might still be some who refused to believe it, but that couldn’t be helped.

Such a minor misunderstanding wouldn’t hinder Ian’s path at all, so it really didn’t matter.

And it was already too late to take anything back.

“… I-I-I see!”

Charlotte hesitated.

But quickly nodded.

“A-all right… then…!”

Given how chaotic things were right now, thinking things through seemed impossible for her, so she just decided to follow Ian’s lead.

― Swish.

With both hands, Charlotte held out the letter.

Ian slowly accepted it from her.

“Waaahhhh!!!”

Thunderous cheers erupted from the trainees.

“What’s all this noise!?”

Soon, the commotion drew instructors and assistants out from the school building.

“What are you all doing!?”

The instructors scolded the trainees and dispersed the crowd.

“What happened here?”

The senior instructor, standing in the midst of the crowd, asked Ian and Charlotte for an explanation.

Ian explained that there had been a misunderstanding while Charlotte was handing him a letter from the Heavenly Sword Lord.

“I see… I understand… In any case, this must have been quite a surprise.”

The instructor wiped his face with a troubled expression, then continued.

“Young master Ian and Miss Charlotte, you’re not at fault, but the opening ceremony is about to start. Please refrain from drawing such attention beforehand.”

“U-uuuu…!”

Charlotte gripped the hem of her pants, on the verge of crying, her lips pushed out and trembling like a sparrow’s beak.

“…”

Ian considered patting her on the back for comfort, but reconsidered.

“Don’t worry. The misunderstanding will be cleared up soon.”

“R-really…?”

“Yes. I’ll handle it, so don’t worry.”

“U-uuu… Sorry… And thank y—…”

Charlotte mumbled something, but Ian turned away without hearing her.

He needed to go somewhere quiet and check the letter sent by the Heavenly Sword Lord.

* * *

Ian moved behind the school building, away from the training grounds.

Most of the trainees were gathered together at the training grounds, so there was no one around here.

“P-pfft! Hehehe! Kekekeke!”

“Sophia… you…”

Sophia was laughing mischievously.

“A-ahaha! I’m sorry, I’m sorry! Pfft! Whew… I’m sure you were in a tough spot too, Young Master, but the look on that blondie’s face when she panicked was just too funny…! Kekekek!”

Sophia knew that Charlotte had already tried to harm Ian twice.

First, she sent an assassin to Ian’s detached house to steal his Vladiark. Then, at the entrance exam, she bribed the supervising mage to ensure Ian failed early.

So Sophia hadn’t had a good impression of Charlotte, and seeing her flustered today seemed to have lifted her spirits.

“… Hahaha.”

That infectious laughter made Ian let out a chuckle as well.

Sophia could only laugh like this because she knew Ian didn’t take the incident too seriously.

“Well, let’s check the letter.”

There was no one here to interfere or make a fuss.

“Let me see too, Young Master!”

“Go ahead.”

Sophia pressed her head against Ian’s temple.

Just as they were about to open the letter together—

“Ian Greysel!”

“Hmm?”

A clear voice called from behind, making Ian fold the letter back up.

“Miss Yuria?”

“Hmph!”

Turning around, he saw Yuria approaching, fists clenched and her brow furrowed in anger.

With sharp eyes, she strode toward Ian.

― Zap!-

Then she glared daggers at Sophia.

“Eep…!”

Sophia instinctively took two steps away from Ian.

————-= Clacky’s Corner ————-=

【ദ്ദി(⩌ᴗ⩌)】

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