* * *
From that day on, without fail, Ruite sat in the library lounge every evening with Chester to work on their assignment.
“This part seems too redundant, so let’s cut it. The professor is reading this himself, so readability is key.”
As they worked, Ruite realized once again that Chester had an incredibly rigid and meticulous personality.
Matching that pace was a bit exhausting, but when he considered that such a temperament was exactly why Chester got the grades he did, Ruite didn’t really mind.
“So, do you punch a time card at the library like this for every single assignment?”
“Of course.”
Sometimes, students would gossip about Chester like this: I’m so jealous—he’s from a great family, has a brilliant mind, and was born with natural talent.’
Those words implied that Chester easily possessed everything others envied without having to try.
But Chester went to the training grounds even on weekends for individual practice, and during exam periods, he stayed at the library until he was practically pulling all-nighters.
Ruite had never seen him doze off during a lecture, and he had witnessed Chester approaching the professor after class several times to ask questions about things he didn’t understand.
And right now, he was pouring a vast amount of time and passion into a single assignment.
“You’re naturally gifted, yet you work this hard.”
To be honest, the thought ‘Well, Chester is the protagonist’ had crossed Ruite’s mind before.
But now, he felt that thinking that way might be quite disrespectful to him.
At Ruite’s quiet remark, the pen that had been moving at a constant speed faltered.
“…You’re not getting anything out of me by saying things like that.”
“Huh? I wasn’t saying it because I wanted something.”
Before he knew it, Chester’s hand had moved beneath the table.
He unconsciously tightened his grip on the pen.
There were quite a few students moving in and out of the lounge today.
Every time the door opened and closed, a draft leaked in.
Ruite, wearing his summer uniform, occasionally rubbed his arms.
The assignment was progressing smoothly.
Even Ruite, who had zero interest in philosophy, took the work seriously.
While he occasionally thought it was hard to keep up with Chester’s pickiness, that was the extent of his complaints.
However, even if things were going smoothly, there was one thing he couldn’t defeat: the approaching drowsiness.
Just as Ruite was trying to secretly swallow a yawn, his eyes locked right with Chester’s.
“I didn’t yawn.”
Chester gave him a look that asked if he really called that an excuse, then let out a deep sigh.
“Just finish the sentence you’re writing and pack up. I’ll go put the books back.”
Chester stood up and gathered the stack of books on the corner of the desk.
Even though they must have been heavy, he carried them out of the lounge effortlessly.
Realizing a beat late that Chester meant it was time to head back to the dorms, Ruite finished his current section at light speed.
He stretched his arms out wide, his body naturally feeling listless.
He felt better just thinking about going back to his room, washing up, and sleeping.
“Chester’s taking a while. I guess it takes time to organize all those books.”
‘Maybe I should have gone to help.’
But his tired body signaled that it didn’t want to move even a single step.
‘He’ll be here if I wait a bit.’
With that thought, Ruite slumped onto the desk.
At that moment, Chester was busy organizing the books he had pulled from the stacks.
In his mind, he was replaying the scene of Ruite trying to hide his yawn on a loop.
‘I guess it’s only natural for him to be tired after doing this for several evenings in a row.’
But unlike him, Chester felt wide awake.
While he was confident in his stamina, he didn’t think that was the only reason.
After putting all the books away, he walked slowly back to the lounge.
As soon as he opened the door, he saw Ruite slumped over the desk.
“Unbelievable.”
An incredulous chuckle escaped his lips.
He hadn’t even been gone that long, yet Ruite had managed to fall asleep in that short gap.
“…”
Chester watched Ruite from the doorway for a moment before slowly returning to his seat.
Instead of waking him, he carefully pulled out his chair and sat down.
Ruite was facing his way, eyes tightly shut.
A faint sound of breathing drifted from the small gap between his slightly parted lips.
Chester leaned his chin on his hand and began to watch the sleeping face.
His eyelashes were remarkably long.
With lashes like that, dust certainly wouldn’t get into his eyes.
He had always known Ruite’s skin was pale, but the short-sleeved uniform seemed to emphasize it even more.
Maybe that was why.
When Ruite first showed up in this summer uniform, Chester had been so startled that he’d acted completely out of character.
Come to think of it, that knight at the camp had said it too—that he was a “pretty student.”
To be honest, even looking at him objectively, his was a face that suited the word “pretty” more than “handsome.”
“Hey.”
“…”
“Hey.”
Ruite didn’t budge even when called aloud.
“…Ruite.”
He didn’t know why just calling his name made his heart feel so ticklish.
Was it because he had never called him by his name before?
Just then, Ruite furrowed his brows slightly and let out a small groan.
Startled by his own guilty conscience, Chester flinched.
“Mmm, cold…”
A draft came through the door, which had been left open by a departing student.
Ruite rubbed his arms in his sleep as he felt the chill.
“This is why I told you it was too early to wear that.”
Chester clicked his tongue in disapproval, took off his uniform jacket, and draped it over Ruite’s back.
As the warmth spread, Ruite’s face relaxed again.
Watching such blatant changes in expression was surprisingly entertaining.
“Ruite, are you really not going to wake up?”
He seemed to have fallen into a very deep sleep in a short amount of time.
Even so, Chester didn’t feel like actively waking him.
“If you don’t wake up now, I’m really going to pinch your cheek.”
“…”
Chester glanced around.
As time passed, the students who had been working in the lounge were leaving one by one.
Consequently, only one or two students remained, and no one was at this particular table except for Ruite.
Chester cleared his throat.
He slowly reached out and first tapped Ruite’s cheek with his index finger.
A soft sensation enveloped his finger.
He unconsciously swallowed.
Once he was sure Ruite was deeply asleep, his touch became a bit bolder.
This time, using his thumb as well, he lightly pinched Ruite’s cheek.
He could feel the soft flesh.
He wondered what Ruite ate to make his skin this soft.
Chester lost track of time, sitting there and fiddling with Ruite’s cheek.
Once he started, he couldn’t easily stop.
He wondered what on earth he was doing, but it felt like his reason and his instincts were operating independently.
It was after he had touched his cheek more than ten times that Ruite let out a low hum and slowly lifted his eyelids.
Chester’s eyes locked right with his dark brown ones.
“…”
“…”
Chester’s Adam’s apple bobbed nervously.
Ruite lowered his gaze slightly, staring at the long fingers still holding his cheek.
“What are you…”
Panicked, Chester tightened his grip on Ruite’s cheek, thinking he had to resolve the situation somehow.
“Ow!”
At the sharp pinch, Ruite bolted upright.
He rubbed his painful cheek and glared resentfully at Chester.
“Y-you said it yourself. To pinch you if you doze off.”
“But you actually pinched me?”
Ruite huffed, feeling his cheek. Fortunately, it seemed it hadn’t fallen off.
“Huh? What’s this?”
As Ruite moved around, Chester’s uniform jacket, which had been draped over his shoulders, naturally slid to the floor.
Ruite reflexively reached down to pick it up, but Chester was faster.
He snatched the jacket up and stood.
“Since you’re awake, let’s go.”
Ruite found it strange how Chester practically hurried out of the lounge like someone being chased.
Ruite stood up, still stroking the skin where the pain lingered.
But he suddenly noticed a lingering warmth on his arms.
Come to think of it, he had felt cold while sleeping, but at some point, he had felt warm.
His mind naturally went to the jacket that had fallen.
That was clearly Chester’s.
“…No way.”
For a second, he wondered if Chester had covered him because he was cold, but there was no way.
It was far more likely that Chester just didn’t have a place to put his jacket and had used Ruite as a clothes hanger instead.
“Hey, hurry up.”
“Yeah.”
Hearing the impatient urge, Ruite stepped out of the library, and a gust of wind hit him.
Indeed, no matter how much the temperature was rising, the night air was still quite chilly.
As soon as the wind touched his skin, Ruite reflexively shivered.
He wasn’t usually one to feel the cold this much, but he felt a bit of a chill.
“Are you… cold?”
“I’m fine. I’ll be back in the dorm soon anyway.”
It seemed it would be best to pull out the autumn uniform again starting tomorrow.
Thinking he should set it out as soon as he got back to his room, Ruite quickened his pace.
* * *
