Everyone in the banquet hall turned around at the sound of the loud noise from the entrance. There stood a female student and a male student.
They were none other than Nigel, whom Allen had been eagerly searching for, and… Noah Veselion.
“Oh, it seems we have latecomers today as well. Don’t worry, come on in. Siennia always stands by latecomers,” Withroon’s joke lightened the mood.
On the other hand, Allen’s eyes narrowed.
Noah Veselion, the greatest catch of the social world, was widely believed to be engaged to the eldest daughter of the Duke of Dien, though he had no official fiancée until the age of 17.
There had been rumors that he recently gave up joining the Royal Knights, but he had dismissed them as mere gossip. Seeing him in Siennia, after avoiding the social scene, was quite surprising.
Seeing his real face, hidden behind a veil of mystery, made Allen realize that the widespread praise of his exceptional looks was not exaggerated at all.
‘Oh… Veselion doesn’t get overshadowed even next to Nigel. But why… are they together?’
Actually, Allen had a hunch about the reason.
Allen smiled lightly as he noticed Nigel’s messy hair.
At that moment, perhaps sensing something or recognizing the voice, Nigel’s gaze locked onto Allen. Then Nigel stared intently at Allen’s face.
Nigel walked quickly with confident steps, like a foal finding its mother, ignoring anyone in the way, until he found Allen’s face.
Seeing Nigel for the first time in a week, it was hard to believe that the perfectly dressed lady in front of him was the same person as the one with disheveled hair and a worn-out dress he had first met.
Except for the slightly flushed face and the slightly disheveled hair, probably from running.
“Sorry I’m late.”
“No, it’s my fault for not explaining well enough.”
Nigel’s face was flushed from hurrying, and there were a few leaves stuck in his hair upon closer inspection.
At this point, Allen’s desire to complain melted away completely.
“Your hair… looks nice swept back like that.”
Nigel awkwardly initiated the conversation.
“Right? Sebastian had a hard time with my messy hair. You look beautiful today! I almost didn’t recognize you at first.”
“…So, what were you up to?”
“I think I know without you telling me, Nigel.”
Allen chuckled and started to tidy up Nigel’s hair.
“Oh, thanks.”
Allen plucked out the leaves and placed them in Nigel’s hand.
“So… what’s up with the guy standing behind you?”
Allen pointed to the boy standing behind Nigel like a shadow, Noah Veselion.
“Um…”
Later, known as the hero of the Arenium Empire and the male protagonist of the original story… but not now.
They didn’t meet by the lake while searching for the golden dragon… not that either.
“…It’s nothing. We just… met on the way.”
Noah’s face noticeably darkened at Nigel’s words, looking like a betrayed large dog.
‘Huh… this is interesting.’
The situation seemed amusing to Allen, with the obvious secretive behavior and Noah’s apparent concern for Nigel.
This couldn’t be boring.
Feeling that he had made a good friend, Allen’s face lit up.
“Hey, Allen. What was that guy saying?”
“Oh, the dean? He’s calling the top scorer… the highest scorer.”
“What does the highest scorer get?”
“Well… I think it’s a teleport stone usable within the academy for one semester and a single room in the dormitory as a privilege?”
“Then I should go immediately.”
“Yeah. What would happen if something happened to the top scorer… Nigel?”
Ignoring Allen’s dumbfounded expression, Nigel quickly moved towards Withroon.
“The saying that the protagonist arrives late seems true today.”
Withroon smiled kindly at Nigel.
“Please welcome the highest scorer in ten years, from the Department of Magic, Nigel Ars, with applause!”
Clap, clap, clap…
An awkward applause filled the hall. Though everyone clapped earnestly, it sounded somewhat discouraging.
Despite the occasional whistles and cheers, the lifeless applause was predominant.
Some openly expressed dissatisfaction, glaring sharply at Nigel.
Holding the elegantly packaged teleport stone, Nigel returned to Allen.
Seeing Nigel holding the box tightly with a satisfied expression made Allen’s lips twitch involuntarily.
“Hmm… this is just what you needed… congratulations on scoring the highest, Nigel.”
“If you can’t hide it well, you might as well laugh openly.”
“Can I? Haha, hahaha! Nigel, you won’t get lost in Siennia now! Haha!”
As if waiting for those words, Allen threw his head back and laughed heartily.
Clicking his tongue, Nigel turned away silently.
Turning his eyes, he noticed the disapproving stares directed at him. It wasn’t just a few people, but a significant number, hard to ignore.
“Allen, Allen. Stop laughing. Why are they looking at me like that?”
“Hmm… they’re probably from the Department of Politics.”
Allen answered, wiping away tears from laughing.
“So? What’s that got to do with anything?”
“The Department of Politics has many top students, so they’ve rarely missed the top spot in the year. Especially, the highest entrance scorer hasn’t been from outside their department for ten years… well, nine years now that you broke the streak.”
“Ah, they’re a bit rigid, huh?”
“Well… you could say that.”
Allen laughed awkwardly, receiving glares by association.
“By the way, Nigel, how did you end up coming with Veselion?”
Allen asked, noticing Noah glancing at Nigel amidst the crowd.
It seemed like something interesting had happened between them.
“‘Sir’ is too much. He hasn’t even joined the knights.”
Nigel took a sip of the fruit aid offered by a waiter.
There was definitely something going on between them!
Allen’s mind started buzzing with excitement.
Not satisfied with just one drink, Nigel emptied another cup.
“Nigel, drink slowly. You’ll hurt your stomach.”
“You talk about drinking aid like it’s alcohol?”
“I’m just worried. I drank several cups on an empty stomach waiting for you, and my stomach started hurting.”
“…”
Nigel’s hand, holding the empty glass, trembled slightly. A skilled waiter quickly approached and retrieved the glass before it could fall.
“…Sorry.”
“Hey, friends can make mistakes, why are you so down? Let’s have fun. I’ve got so much to tell you!”
“…Okay.”
Nigel’s shoulders flinched at the word ‘so much’. Allen, smiling, pretended not to notice as a friendly gesture.
“Ugh…”
Nigel groaned, waking up.
Though he hadn’t drunk alcohol, his head felt like it was splitting. This was his fault for underestimating Allen’s ‘so much’.
Nigel, who usually didn’t dream much, found Allen chasing him in his dreams, talking non-stop.
Barely managing to put on his school tie properly, Nigel held the teleport stone.
“Teleport, dining hall.”
In a blink, he was transported from his dormitory single room to the dining hall entrance. The students in blue uniforms widened their eyes in surprise.
In contrast, students in red and green uniforms yawned and walked into the dining hall nonchalantly.
When he first used it, like the freshmen in blue uniforms, Nigel had found it astonishing, but now he felt nothing, just like the second and third-year students.
Thanks to someone’s insistence, he had teleported over thirty times yesterday.
“Good morning, Nigel!”
At Allen’s familiar voice, Nigel almost dropped his spoonful of soup onto the table.
“Did you get home okay? Thanks to you, the party was so much fun! Especially the teleporting!”
It wasn’t a hallucination.
Dressed in his neat uniform, Allen sat across from Nigel.
Thud.
Allen placed his plate down.
Unlike Nigel’s plate, full of bread, soup, and crispy sausages, Allen’s breakfast plate had only a few pieces of fruit.
Thud.
A plate with only a salad drizzled with olive oil and some chicken breast was placed next to Allen.
“Good morning.”
Hearing the unexpected voice, Nigel dropped his sausage into the soup this time.
“Come on, Noah, sit.”
Allen greeted Noah warmly.
‘…Yesterday it was Sir Veselion or Baron Veselion, now they’re this close?’
Seeing Nigel’s displeased look, Allen spoke up.
“Oh, I didn’t mention it. Noah’s my roommate.”
Allen placed a friendly arm around Noah’s shoulder.
“You went out to train this morning and came back so quickly?”
“Yes, I didn’t want to overdo it on the first day.”
At this relatively good news, Nigel nodded. Those delicate hands, lifting the salad, held the fate of the Empire.
“Right, train hard.”
“…Yes.”
At Nigel’s words, Noah clenched his fist under the table.
