For You 44

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#44

“Aack!!”

The man let out a short scream as he bent down to pick up the fallen documents. I quickly bent down as well to gather the dropped books.

“I’m sorry.”

“Ah, no. It’s my fault for walking without looking ahead.”

With papers and books blocking his view, it was natural that he couldn’t see ahead. The one smiling kindly was Ramtel, the history teacher who had gone with Yaksi previously to examine the magic circle.

In the game, Ramtel was an NPC who existed to provide various information to Iria.

“Young Master, are you alright?”

“You can call me by my name.”

“I couldn’t possibly do that with you, Young Master.”

This teacher, who shook his head in horror, was someone more accustomed to the class system. Since I couldn’t argue with him in the corridor, I organized the materials and handed them to him. That’s when my eyes were drawn to one of the documents he had dropped.

It was a thesis titled ‘The Mysterious Mineral Clum: On Its Origins.’

Unconsciously, as if entranced, I stopped picking up the materials and stared at the thesis. It was the exact mineral I had just discussed with Iria. As I was gazing at it, I noticed a hand slowly reaching for the paper. Looking up belatedly, I saw Ramtel wearing an awkward smile.

“Ah, I’m sorry.”

Ramtel had been hesitant to pick up the thesis because of me. I quickly moved back, and only then was he able to collect all the papers that had fallen to the floor.

“You seem interested in this.”

“Ah, yes. During my research for an assignment, ‘Clum’ came up.”

“Oh? I thought Clum was only properly taught from the second year. You have excellent academic enthusiasm. As expected of the Young Master.”

Words that might sound like mere flattery were spoken with genuine sincerity by Ramtel. Seeing his eyes actually sparkling, I felt too embarrassed to remain standing there. I understood that class hierarchy was unavoidable, but it was uncomfortable when someone showed favor just because I was the son of a Duke’s family.

Just as I was about to leave after helping pick up everything, Ramtel exclaimed as if he had realized something.

“Ah! Is this for your politics class assignment? You must be one of this year’s first assignment winners!”

The assignment that Iria and Rikin received was one given annually by the politics teacher to first-year students. It involved having students debate on the same topic, and then assigning the task to the two students who made the most interesting points.

It’s the kind of thing that should spread as a rumor among new students each year, but many students who dreaded the politics teacher’s class deliberately kept quiet, thinking the freshmen should suffer as they had. It was an assignment notorious enough that most students and teachers, except for the new students, knew about it.

“Certainly, if you dig into that assignment, you’ll eventually reach Clum.”

“Do you know something about it?”

“I’ve been researching this area for quite some time. I have other materials in my office. Would you like to take a look?”

As soon as I heard those words, I was taken aback. This was one of the events that occurred in the game whenever Iria faced an obstacle. Iria would always seek advice from Ramtel directly when she needed information. I felt uneasy, as if I was taking away one by one the things that Iria should be doing, but it seemed harmless to learn more.

Moreover, hadn’t they said that Clum was discovered near the Duke’s territory? Perhaps it was even connected to the sword in my hand and the Duke.

“Then I would…”

“There you are.”

Just as I was about to follow Ramtel, I suddenly heard someone calling me from behind. When I turned my head, Yutis was there. With his long legs, Yutis strode over, briefly greeted the teacher, and then stood with his back to him. It looked as if he was blocking the space between Ramtel and me.

“You’ll miss another meal at this rate. Let’s go have dinner.”

“It’s fine. I…”

“Then I’ll take my leave first. Let’s go, Andelion.”

Yutis’s eyes felt piercingly cold as he pronounced each syllable of my name. If I stubbornly insisted on going with Ramtel here, it seemed like something serious would happen. Since I could visit Ramtel’s office anytime, I decided to follow Yutis’s wishes today.

“I’ll visit you later.”

“Yes. You’re welcome anytime.”

Ramtel bowed deeply while smiling brightly. As I was about to bend my waist in response, Yutis blocked me even more. It felt like he was urging me to move quickly rather than waste time on such formalities. In the end, I had no choice but to follow Yutis’s lead.

The path to the dining hall was sparsely populated. Most students would be in the dining hall, and some would be in their dormitory rooms by now.

If I went to the dining hall now, I would certainly run into Iria. I wanted to say no, but the atmosphere around Yutis walking beside me was unsettling. I glanced sideways to check his expression. I could see small beads of sweat running down his cheeks.

It seemed he had been looking all over for me. I felt bothered that he appeared to be doing something against his will. Though I had told him many times it was fine, for Yutis, the orders from the Duke were probably more important than my words.

“I know I’m not very reliable.”

When I spoke, Yutis’s gaze turned toward me.

“I understand that there must be orders from the Duke’s household that you need to attend to, but I’m worried that I’m taking up too much of your time. I’m fine. Even though I skipped dinner once before, I don’t usually do that. It might be better for you to focus more on your studies or your own life…”

At that moment, Yutis stopped walking. As I turned to look at him, I met his eyes, their depths unfathomable. I flinched involuntarily and found myself frozen in place.

“Do you think I’m acting because of orders?”

I wanted to say that was obviously the case, but the words wouldn’t come out. I wasn’t so tactless as to say such things in this atmosphere. Caught off guard by Yutis’s unexpected reaction, my hands refused to move in my confusion.

“Is that really what you’ve been thinking?”

He didn’t look like someone whose true feelings had been exposed. I couldn’t say anything in response to Yutis’s words, which sounded almost heartfelt. Wasn’t that the case?

I didn’t understand why he was acting this way. His sudden change was hard to accept. What had happened? What had I done to him? Could it be that my request for him to call me by my name and to treat me as an equal student within the school had touched his heart?

However, I couldn’t possibly say that my words had changed his thinking. It had been barely a week since we entered school. Could a person change this much in such a short time? It looked as if he had been deeply concerned about me for a long time.

Could this all be an act? There might have been instructions from the Duke to deceive me convincingly. Many things had already deviated from the original story. The Duke’s attitude toward me was different from the original, so the orders given to Yutis couldn’t be the same as in the game.

This is all an act. Having firmly decided that, I looked at Yutis again. Though his expression was indifferent, I could almost see the sharp wound inside him. Could this face really be acting? It was hard to believe.

I couldn’t make a judgment about him right now. In the end, for this moment at least, I decided to give in to his emotions.

“I thought Yutis disliked me. If that was just my misunderstanding, I’m sorry.”

Since I wasn’t completely trusting Yutis, I watched carefully to see how he would react as I said this.

“So that’s how I appeared to you.”

To think he would utter words tinged with such sighing. If this was acting, Yutis needed to change his career aspirations.

I had never seen Yutis look so forlorn before. The man who had always efficiently handled everything with an expressionless face now finally looked like a seventeen-year-old boy. Standing like this, it felt like I was bullying a child.

“Um, actually I’m not hungry yet. Would you like to take a short walk?”

Only then did Yutis’s gaze change slightly.

“Let’s go.”

This time, I took the initiative to pull along the immobile Yutis. I disliked myself for not being able to believe his single statement that he didn’t hate me, but what could I do? In the original story, Yutis was a character who backstabbed people second only to the Duke. There was no telling when or where I might be betrayed.

So we went outside the building, but walking in silence with Yutis felt awkward. In the past, it wouldn’t have been strange to walk without saying anything, but after what had just happened, it felt much more uncomfortable than usual.

I felt I should say something, but my mouth wouldn’t open.

“I don’t dislike you, Young Master.”

Then Yutis broke the silence. Despite returning to the formal address that might create distance, it actually made Yutis feel more familiar, perhaps because I was used to being called that.

“From the first day I met you until now, you’re the only one who sees me as I am.”