* * *
Ruite tilted his head slightly at Chester’s firm voice.
‘Laugh?’
Just a while ago, hadn’t he been told not to laugh?
Ruite couldn’t help but fall into untimely contemplation.
What on earth did Chester want?
For now, he wanted to match his mood as much as possible, but since he couldn’t guess the intention at all, he didn’t answer readily.
“Your answer?”
But Chester, seemingly unwilling to wait even for that brief moment of hesitation, urged him for a response.
Ruite had no choice but to say, “Uh, yeah, I will.”
At that, Chester turned away, removing his hand from Ruite’s shoulder with a strangely satisfied expression.
Ruite scratched his head as he watched Chester walk away.
Even if he was told to laugh, how many occasions would there actually be to laugh in front of him?
While he was thinking that, Chester threw a sharp remark, asking what he was doing and why he wasn’t coming.
When they headed up to the classroom, the inside of the room was naturally a bit noisy.
No matter the department or the class, this was the atmosphere on the day grades were posted.
“Oh! Ruite, you!”
As soon as he spotted Ruite entering the class, Magnus rushed over.
It seemed he had already noticed that Ruite’s grades had risen significantly.
Since he and Magnus usually had similar grades and rankings, they often called each other comrades; Magnus poured out a playful complaint, asking how Ruite could sprint ahead all by himself.
“Sorry, Magnus. But I have to survive, too.”
“You selfish jerk!”
Ruite grinned, his nose held high.
It was a mischievous smile used for teasing a friend.
Standing beside him, Chester stared intently at Ruite’s smiling face, just as he had before.
As Magnus grumbled about being betrayed and hung onto Ruite’s shoulder, Chester’s eyebrows furrowed slightly.
Sensing that gaze, Magnus began to walk on eggshells around Chester without knowing why.
Somehow, he felt a sharp sense of wariness coming from that look; instinctively intimidated, he had no choice but to slowly pull away from Ruite.
Amidst the rowdy atmosphere that didn’t seem likely to settle easily, Ruite took his seat.
Just then, Colin, who had been surrounded by peers receiving congratulations for being the runner-up, looked back.
“Lui, I heard your grades went up a lot? Congratulations.”
“You saw it too? It’s the first time I’ve had a rank like that since I enrolled.”
Ruite gazed into the air for a moment and beamed.
Remembering the report card he had seen at the bulletin board earlier, a smile broke out involuntarily.
And as expected, Chester, sitting next to him, stared piercingly at the way the corners of Ruite’s mouth curved upward in a smooth arc.
The more he looked, the less he understood why Ruite went around showing such an idioktically cute smile to just anyone.
“Ah, but it feels a bit thoughtless to be this happy in front of the top student and the runner-up.”
Ruite, who had been soaked in happiness, suddenly snapped back to his senses.
Thinking about it, the top student, Chester, was next to him, and the runner-up, Colin, was in front of him.
Ruite looked back and forth between the two with a blunt face.
Perhaps these two wouldn’t really empathize with being happy over mid-to-high-tier grades?
Chester had said something similar earlier, after all.
“Hey, there’s no such thing. It’s a score you earned because you worked that hard.”
Colin smiled brightly.
For a split second, it felt like an illusion of a halo shining behind him.
With a moved expression, Ruite whispered, “Colin…” and grabbed his hand firmly.
At that, the shoulders of Chester—who had been watching only Ruite’s face—flinched.
“When you die later, you’re definitely going to heaven.”
“Haha, that’s a compliment, right?”
Unaware that Chester was glaring at their joined hands with intense strength in his eyes, Ruite was deeply moved by Colin’s sweet words.
Chester, thinking he couldn’t take it anymore, reached out to intervene directly, but just then, the front door opened and the professor walked in.
“Everyone, take your seats.”
At the professor’s word, the students who had been gathered and chatting everywhere returned to their places.
Colin, who had been talking face-to-face with Ruite, also straightened his posture.
Naturally, their joined hands parted, and the fiery light in Chester’s eyes finally returned to normal.
“You’re a child of a noble family, yet you’re so careless.”
“What is it this time?”
As Chester threw a quiet, whispered reproach, Ruite lowered his voice and asked back.
“Do people usually just grab someone else’s hand like that? Even if you’re classmates, I don’t think that’s right.”
As he spoke, scenes began to pop up one after another.
He didn’t mind when Dylan, his so-called ‘meal buddy,’ got close; it was the same when Magnus tried to touch his bare skin or hung onto his shoulder earlier.
Not only did he accept all those unhesitating actions, but just now, he had grabbed Colin’s hand without a second thought.
The more he chewed over it, the more an unpleasant feeling crept in, making his mood strangely foul.
Was it because he felt angry seeing Ruite act so thoughtlessly and defenselessly?
“What does it matter? We’re friends. Besides, we’ve been in the same class for over a year. I don’t really mind if you…”
Ruite, who was about to say it didn’t matter with Chester either, stopped mid-sentence and quickly locked his lips.
In truth, he didn’t think anything of friendly physical contact and believed that such touch was natural when living in a group, so he thought Chester was no exception.
However, thinking back, there was a time recently when Chester had told him sternly not to touch him recklessly while he was removing a loose thread.
“If I what?”
“Huh? It’s nothing. But don’t worry, I won’t touch you carelessly. I have that much tact.”
After speaking proudly, Ruite immediately focused on the lecture content.
And Chester, who brooded over those words alone, had to suffer from an unknown irritation throughout the entire lecture.
“Then we can’t have dinner together?”
Ruite ran into Dylan by chance while returning from the last class, a practical lab.
As soon as Dylan saw Ruite, he said it was a good thing they met and explained that he wouldn’t be able to have dinner today.
Since the two became meal buddies, it had long been a fixed promise to let each other know in advance if one side had circumstances that prevented them from eating together.
“Yeah. I have a counseling session with the professor because of my grades.”
“…Hang in there.”
“I’m already tired. Oh, right.”
Dylan fumbled through his pockets, pulled something out, and handed it to Ruite.
Looking closely, it was a palm-sized piece of paper—a coupon that could be used at the cafe inside the dormitory, which Ruite was also familiar with.
“I’ll give that to you. I see the expiration date is today. Go eat there today or something.”
“Sure, I’ll make sure to use your portion well.”
“I’m so grateful I could cry.”
In the hallway where the departments split, Ruite waved his hand toward Dylan.
Just then, he accidentally met Chester’s eyes.
It felt as if Chester had been watching him talk to Dylan the whole time.
But the eye contact was too fleeting, and Chester quickly turned his indifferent face elsewhere.
Once all the lectures were over, Ruite headed to the dorm cafeteria, carefully carrying the coupon Dylan gave him.
As expected for dinner time, there were quite a few students, though not as many as in the main dining hall.
Ruite grabbed a tray and excitedly began to pick out bread to eat.
He picked two of his favorite breads and then chose others based on what looked appealing.
Before long, the bread was piled like a mountain on Ruite’s tray.
It was a significant amount for one person; students standing nearby widened their eyes and glanced at him.
The clerk, who had more or less memorized Ruite’s face, checked him out with a look of familiarity.
He moved toward a corner to find a suitable seat.
He placed the tray on the table and boldly began to unwrap his favorite bread when the cafeteria door swung open.
As he was munching and savoring the taste, for some reason, the gazes of the students inside began to shift toward one spot.
Looking now, those were all eyes directed at Chester.
By the way, Ruite knew that Chester usually used the main dining hall unless there was a special reason.
What whim had brought him here today?
Ruite was blankly watching Chester stand in line when something felt strange.
After finishing his payment, wasn’t he walking toward this direction with his tray?
And before long, a shadow cast over his head.
“Why?”
Without answering the question, Chester thudded his tray onto the table and abruptly sat down across from him.
“Coincidentally, there are no seats left. I’ll sit here.”
“Uh… okay.”
But it wasn’t that there were no seats left at all. If you went further inside, there were still a few empty spots.
Was he just too lazy to go all the way to the corner?
It was uncomfortable having many eyes gathering this way because of the academy’s celebrity, but since he had already spread out and sat down, it was awkward to kick him out.
Ruite just quietly unwrapped his third piece of bread.
“But was someone else coming?”
“Huh? No?”
“Then who is all this bread for?”
“It’s mine. I’m going to eat it all.”
Chester was momentarily speechless.
This was because the amount of bread piled high on the tray was substantial.
It was an amount that wouldn’t be easy even for a growing male student.
But he was going to eat all of this?
In the first place, it was a mystery where it all went.
That was because Ruite belonged to a rather thin body type.
He looked that way on the outside, and it was true in reality.
His waist, which Chester had seen when Ruite took off his shirt in the classroom last time, didn’t have a bit of fat.
Then, the image of Ruite approaching him while undressed that day suddenly flashed through Chester’s mind. Chester caught himself biting his lip hard.
“Fine.”
Just then, Ruite picked a piece of bread and suddenly held it out toward him.
“Here, I’ll specially give you one.”
“Why this…”
“What do you mean ‘why’? Didn’t you stare because you wanted to eat it? And with such a serious face, too. This one’s delicious, so try it.”
The way he acted slightly triumphant while offering the bread was quite a sight.
Chester usually had a small appetite and didn’t eat much, so what he bought was enough, but he accepted the bread Ruite gave him without refusing.
“Well, since you’re giving it, I’ll take it.”
“Yeah.”
In the meantime, Ruite unwrapped another new piece of bread and put it in his mouth.
His cheeks quickly became plump.
The way he kept munching with his mouth full of food reminded Chester of, well, a hamster.
Before he knew it, Chester had forgotten about eating his own bread and was just watching Ruite eat.
And then, something caught his eye.
* * *
