When he opened his eyes, he saw the familiar, plain white ceiling. Chester was a man who woke up at the exact same time every day with surgical precision, but today, his body felt heavy.
For the first time since entering the academy, Chester indulged in being lazy. He glared at the ceiling for a long while before dragging his sluggish body out of bed. A deep sigh escaped his lips.
After washing up and changing into his uniform, he headed down to the first floor of the dormitory and entered the cafeteria. As usual, the air was filled with the boisterous voices of countless students. Ignoring the subtle glances directed his way, as he always did, Chester found a suitable seat.
Just as he was about to take a bite, a familiar figure sat down in the seat diagonally across from him.
“Hey, Dylan. This seat—”
Ruite cut himself off the moment he spotted Chester.
But it was only for a split second.
He immediately beckoned Dylan to come over.
Throughout the meal, Ruite chatted exclusively with Dylan, never once casting a glance toward Chester.
Even though Chester was clearly right there in his line of sight.
Chester unconsciously gripped his utensils tighter.
He finished his meal and left the table first.
His footsteps toward the classroom lacked their usual energy.
Anyone seeing him might have asked, “Are you feeling okay?” but surprisingly, his body was perfectly healthy.
The reason Chester was acting this way was because something was bothering him.
Lately, he’d begun to suspect that Ruite was excessively avoiding him.
He had reasons for thinking so.
At first, he thought it was just his imagination.
He figured the physical distance from their new seats played a role, making it harder to have natural interactions.
But during practical sessions, whenever he tried to approach Ruite to partner up, Ruite would vanish in a flash, claiming he’d already promised to work with someone else.
In the classroom, whenever he tried to strike up a conversation during breaks, Ruite was ghost-like in his ability to disappear.
Once, on the way back to the dorms after all the lectures, Chester spotted Ruite right in front of him and tried to casually walk beside him, feigning a coincidence.
But upon seeing him, Ruite did something absurd.
‘My stomach… my stomach hurts so much I have to run to the bathroom, so I’m going ahead!’
Then he practically sprinted toward the dormitory main building as if escaping.
Chester had barely managed to suppress the urge to shout at his retreating back that he should at least try to act convincingly if he was going to lie.
As these situations piled up, the “it’s just a coincidence” excuse began to crack.
Above all, he felt a surge of irritation every time he noticed Ruite consciously averting his gaze whenever their eyes met.
Another heavy sigh escaped Chester.
Upon entering the classroom, he habitually started toward his old seat.
Fortunately, he caught himself just in time and sat down in his new spot.
“Morning, Chester.”
“Yeah.”
Colin sat down next to him with a smile.
With the seat change, the top student and the runner-up of the Magic Department had coincidentally become desk mates.
“Are you sick? Your complexion doesn’t look great.”
“No, I’m fine.”
“Hmm, then do you have something on your mind?”
Chester flinched.
Colin, who was calmly organizing his things, simply maintained his usual kind smile.
“You’re quite perceptive.”
“Maybe I just have good observation skills? So, what’s bothering you? You can tell me if you want to talk.”
As if he could. He had never once revealed his inner thoughts or troubles to anyone.
He was the type who believed it was more efficient to think of a way to solve a problem than to spend time asking for advice.
Just then, Ruite entered the classroom.
Naturally, Chester’s gaze followed him.
Ruite went to his new seat and exchanged greetings with Lona with practiced ease.
The sight of him laughing softly at something Lona said made Chester’s heart feel complicated.
“Colin.”
“Yeah?”
“If someone suddenly started acting like they were avoiding you, what do you think the reason would be?”
“Who is the ‘someone’? A friend?”
“Too distant to be called a friend… but too close to be strangers.”
“Hmm…”
Despite Chester’s vague description, Colin gave it serious thought.
“If someone suddenly avoids me, I think there are two possibilities. One, there’s a problem with me. Two, the other person has had a change of heart. Or, it could be both.”
“…A problem with me caused a change in their heart?”
“Exactly.”
Chester pondered Colin’s answer.
Did that mean Ruite was avoiding him because there was something wrong with him?
But what had he done wrong to Ruite?
As he thought about it, Chester bit his lip.
To be honest, his past attitude and words toward Ruite could certainly be seen as problematic.
But hadn’t he been looking out for him and paying quite a bit of attention lately?
Was it because he interfered with that senior’s confession?
Did Ruite actually want things to go well with that guy?
No.
That day, Chester had seen it clearly.
He had followed Ruite from the moment he was called away by that senior.
The face Ruite made while looking at the person confessing held no emotion whatsoever—nothing but discomfort.
So, that probably wasn’t the reason.
“Sigh…”
“My answer isn’t necessarily the truth. If you really want to fix it, wouldn’t it be best to start with a conversation? I think most conflicts between people happen because they don’t talk.”
Seeing Chester looking gloomy, Colin added one more piece of advice.
Chester saw Colin in a new light. Of course, that didn’t mean he could relax his guard.
After all, Colin was the guy who called Ruite by a nickname.
However, his advice was worth taking to heart.
Chester began to agonize over how to approach Ruite and start a conversation naturally.
It felt a bit pathetic to just walk up and demand, “Why are you avoiding me?”
Then, a perfect excuse presented itself.
“Submit your assignments by next week. I won’t accept them even a minute late, so keep that in mind.”
At the word “assignment,” a lightbulb went off in Chester’s head.
Waiting for the moment the lecture ended and students began filtering out, Chester lunged toward Ruite.
“Ruite.”
As expected, Ruite’s eyes darted around frantically.
Seeing him look so obviously troubled, Chester clenched his fists.
“Chester, well, s-see you tomorrow.”
“Wait. I have something to say. Your assignment… can you handle it alone? This one looks quite difficult.”
“The assignment?”
“…If you want, I can help you. We got an A+ on the one we did together last time.”
Though he didn’t seem to realize it himself, Ruite was surprisingly motivated by grades.
While he usually maintained a ‘middle-of-the-road is fine’ attitude, Chester had already figured out that he wasn’t entirely without ambition for high scores during their last collaboration.
“Uh…”
Just as expected, Ruite’s eyes flickered at the mention of an A+.
However, the spark didn’t last long.
As if snapping back to reality, Ruite’s expression hardened, and he waved his hand.
“This isn’t a team project, it’s an individual one, so I should do it myself. Anyway, good luck with yours!”
After that, it was the same pattern.
Ruite vanished from Chester’s sight in an instant.
Whitmore Academy was home to various events.
Among them, the one students looked forward to most was the Festival.
The festival season began after the second-semester midterms.
Various events were held during the festival.
The main attraction was the integrated booth operation for each department.
Each year, classes from the General, Magic, and Swordsmanship departments would unite under a specific theme to open a booth.
And what is a festival without competition?
Several games were held for each year based on the characteristics of each department: a martial arts tournament for the Swordsmanship department, an exhibition for the Manufacturing department, and a quiz battle for the General department.
Among these, the most high-profile event every year was the Magic Beast Subjugation War, held specifically for the 3rd-year Magic Department.
“So, we need to pick four class representatives to participate in the Subjugation War again.”
At Harold’s explanation, most students—except for those with exceptionally quiet personalities—raised their hands.
There were reasons for such enthusiasm.
First, participating meant a rare chance to actually face and subjugate real magic beasts.
Since students usually only encountered magic beasts during tests, everyone wanted to gain more of this uncommon experience.
Second, the four winning representatives would be awarded special medals crafted by the academy itself—made entirely of gold.
For students, such a material honor was a highly coveted prize.
Furthermore, since this was a competition between classes, everyone’s competitive spirit was burning bright.
“Now, now, quiet. This is a matter of class honor, so I’m sorry, but I can’t let you be representatives just because you want to.”
Harold’s eyes turned sharp for a moment.
Ruite noticed the competitive fire in the professor’s eyes.
No doubt there was a hidden rivalry among the professors as well.
“First, Chester and Colin, would you two mind participating as essentials?”
It seemed the rivalry among professors was even stronger than expected, seeing as Harold was playing his strongest cards.
There was no reason not to include the top two students of the Magic Department.
“And Lucia, please participate as well.”
“Yes.”
Lucia was a reticent and blunt student, but her skills were among the top tier.
“As for the last person…”
As Harold trailed off, several students who still wanted to participate sent him pleading looks.
Ruite, chin resting on his hand, was bored out of his mind, trying his best to suppress a yawn while wondering what would be for lunch.
“Let’s go with Ruite.”
“…Eh?”
But the moment a familiar name left Harold’s lips, Ruite’s yawn vanished instantly.
