* * *
Perhaps because he hadn’t fallen into a deep sleep, his faintly awake mind sensed someone’s presence.
The footsteps, which had been gradually drawing closer, suddenly came to a halt right in front of him.
Then, there was silence.
The only things reaching his ears were the wind and the sound of leaves dancing.
Yet, he felt a distinct gaze—a persistent pair of eyes looking down at him.
Who was it? Professor Neo? Or Magnus? Rona? Colin?
He wanted to wake up and check, but because he was in that hazy state of slumber, his eyes wouldn’t open easily.
It felt as though his body was still asleep while only his stubborn mind had flickered awake.
Just then, he heard a clamor in the distance.
It seemed the students who had finished the run were starting to return.
Then, a rustling sound came from in front of him, and something landed softly on top of him.
The unknown footsteps slowly moved away.
A few minutes later, he woke up in a daze, only to find his vision completely black.
Startled, Ruite flailed his hands, and whatever was draped over his head fell off, finally clearing his sight.
“What is this?”
Ruite picked up the object that had fallen beside him.
It was someone’s athletic jacket, and it was quite large.
“Wow, I’m seriously going to die…”
“Someone go knock the professor out for a second.”
As soon as the running began, groans and complaints erupted from all over.
This hellish physical training was an activity that every Whitmore student avoided like the plague.
If it were a short distance, they would just run fast and be done with it, but long distance was tricky because it required endurance and the careful distribution of energy.
However, even in the midst of that, there were those who surged ahead with ease and composed faces.
One of them was Chester.
Chester slowly widened the gap, leaving behind his classmates who were looking miserable and cursing Professor Neo under their breath.
Seeing his struggling peers, it suddenly occurred to him that he had done well to exclude Ruite from this activity earlier.
After all, if Ruite collapsed again, he would be the one who had to deal with the trouble.
It was easier to cut off that risk from the start.
It was just as he finished the first lap and entered the second.
Now that he was a good distance away from his classmates, he was adjusting his pace with the next lap in mind when Colin suddenly approached from behind.
“As expected, Chester is fast. Is your stamina really limitless?”
Colin, who wore a smile as bright as the sun today, naturally began to match Chester’s pace.
“It can’t be limitless. Besides, you caught up to me, Colin.”
“I just want to finish and rest. I wonder if Rui keeps resting well?”
At the mention of Ruite’s name from Colin’s mouth, Chester’s eyebrows twitched habitually.
“Since he did collapse, it’s a relief he isn’t participating in today’s activity.”
“Colin.”
“Yeah?”
“Since when were you close with Ruite?”
“Since we started second year.”
Does that mean they became close as soon as the classes were reshuffled?
“Does Chester not know? Rui was my first mate in second year.”
He didn’t know.
Back then, the mere fact that he was in the same class as Ruite was stressful enough that he tried to pay as little attention to him as possible.
“I was worried because I was separated from all the friends I was close with in first year, but I’m glad I got close to Rui so quickly.”
For some reason, Chester found Colin’s beaming face unpleasant today.
He also didn’t like how he called him “Rui” so casually when the guy had a full name.
“That nickname?”
“Ah, calling him Rui?”
Chester nodded.
“We just started calling him that as we got close. Rui told me I could call him whatever I wanted, too.”
To allow someone to use an intimate nickname so easily… How could he be so careless?
Chester clicked his tongue inwardly while thinking of Ruite.
“You seem to take care of him more than others.”
At that, Colin fell into thought for a moment.
By now, the two had finished the second lap simultaneously and entered the third and final lap.
“Because he’s the first friend I made in second year.”
Well, that was a reason Chester could accept.
It was the only thing Colin had said so far that he liked.
“And, you know how Rui is.”
But before Chester could feel satisfied, Colin spoke again with a grin.
“He kind of makes you feel the urge to look after him. He’s cute, too.”
“…”
“Hm? Chester?”
Chester’s feet came to a dead stop. Colin tilted his head toward Chester, who had suddenly halted.
“What part of him is ‘cute’?”
Colin flinched slightly.
It was because Chester was sending him a gaze full of wariness.
Before Colin could add anything to that look he’d never seen before, Chester simply said he was going ahead and suddenly accelerated.
Leaving a confused Colin behind, Chester began to sprint through the remaining lap like a madman.
His chest felt tight, and unknown emotions were boiling inside him. He increased his speed even more, if only to relieve this stifling feeling.
“Haah…”
As a result, Chester, who succeeded in finishing in first place, stood at the gathering point catching his breath.
As he wiped the sweat dripping from his chin, he saw the massive old tree in the distance.
To be precise, he saw someone napping peacefully against it.
As if possessed, Chester approached the spot.
The closer he got, the clearer Ruite’s face became.
“…”
When he reached Ruite, Chester stopped and looked down at him.
He thought the face of the guy sleeping so obliviously looked quite stupid.
His silver hair sparkled in the sunlight filtering through the leaves.
His skin, which was already fair, was emphasized even more by the sun.
Just what was he thinking, being so defenseless?
Did he not care who saw him sleeping like this?
If Colin saw this, there was a high probability he would think it was cute.
His face, breathing softly with his mouth slightly open, certainly looked that way.
Just then, voices were heard in the distance.
Chester reacted quickly and turned his head. He saw some of the classmates running toward the finish line.
Naturally, Colin was among them.
Chester looked back and forth between them and Ruite.
He bit his lip anxiously.
He didn’t feel particularly pleased with the idea of someone else seeing this “stupid” face.
Chester quickly pulled off the athletic jacket he was wearing.
He tossed it over Ruite’s face to hide it and returned to the finish line as if nothing had happened.
And it was a few minutes later that Ruite discovered the jacket with the unknown owner.
Ruite first checked the bottom of the sleeve.
Most students had their names engraved in a specific spot so they wouldn’t lose their uniforms or athletic clothes.
It was common to engrave names on the bottom of the sleeve or the hem, but strangely, this jacket had no name on it.
“Seriously, it’s like a ghost did it…”
Of course, writing one’s name wasn’t a set rule.
In fact, there were plenty of kids who lost their uniforms because they hadn’t written them.
Ruite began to look the jacket over again.
Judging by the fact that it was the largest size, it must belong to someone with a large frame, and the playground was currently being used by his own Magic Department Class 3 and Swordsmanship Department Class 1.
That narrowed the owner down to students in those two classes.
However, since his social circle wasn’t that wide, he didn’t know anyone in Swordsmanship Class 1.
So, Swordsmanship was out. That left only his classmates in Magic Class 3.
Suddenly, as if he had become a detective, Ruite began to use his brain with a serious face while leaning against the tree.
Among the Class 3 students, quite a few had not yet finished the physical training.
The “culprit”—no, the owner of this jacket—was among those currently waiting on the field after finishing all three laps.
“Based on this size…”
Ruite stroked his chin and began to scan the resting classmates one by one.
First, Simon and Danian, who were on the larger side. But those two were already wearing their jackets, so pass.
Then Blair?
He certainly wasn’t wearing his outer garment, but looking at his build, Ruite thought the size might be a bit too big for him.
Then, the most likely Candidate 1: Colin Railguns.
He wasn’t wearing his jacket and his build fit perfectly.
If so, the reason he threw this jacket over Ruite was likely that, given his kind personality, he was worried about Ruite’s health as he napped under the tree.
The class knew he had collapsed because they thought he had a cold.
And Candidate 2: Chester Callaway.
Like Colin, he met the two physical conditions.
But there was no reason at all for him to throw his clothes over Ruite and leave.
Having settled on Colin as the owner, Ruite brushed himself off and stood up.
He was about to approach him to return the clothes when Chester suddenly cut in front of him.
“Give it.”
“Huh?”
Then, he snatched the athletic jacket away.
Ruite blinked his eyes blankly for a moment.
“Is it yours?”
“Yeah.”
“Why?”
Chester had been a likely candidate because of his size, but he had been excluded due to the lack of a motive.
“…Be grateful to me. I covered you so the other kids wouldn’t see you sleeping like an idiot with your mouth open.”
“Uh, did I sleep with my mouth open?”
“Yeah.”
“Hmm, I didn’t think I fell that deep asleep…”
To think he’d done that in front of Chester.
But if it looked bad, he could have just woken him up—why go through the trouble of covering him?
“I guess it must have looked pretty bad.”
Then Chester would surely snap back, asking if that wasn’t obvious.
While Ruite was predicting what Chester would say, the space in front of him was unusually quiet.
“Chester?”
Chester didn’t give any reply to those words; he just stared down at him.
Did he have something to say?
But before Ruite could ask, Neo’s announcement to gather came.
In the end, Chester didn’t say anything and just turned around coldly, leaving first.
* * *
