The classroom in the early morning was much quieter than Erich remembered. When he walked in, half the class looked up at him before quickly lowering their heads again. Ever since the exhibition match, his reputation in the academy had become somewhat polarized. Some thought he was ruthless, others thought he was powerful, but the sole consensus they all reached was: don't mess with him.
Erich was happy to have some peace and quiet. He sat down in his seat, but before he could even settle in, a figure drifted over to his side.
“Well, look who it is. What a rare guest.”
Isabella tilted her head to look at him, her eyes curving into crescent smiles. Today, she had her hair tied in a high ponytail, her fiery red ends draping over her shoulder, making her look exceptionally sharp and energetic.
“I thought you’d gotten so used to living in the graveyard that you didn’t plan on coming back to school.”
“The graveyard doesn't offer classes,” Erich said, leaning back against his chair. “Besides, I paid tuition.”
Isabella sat down in her own seat and sized Erich up. “You don't look so good. Didn't sleep last night?”
Erich hadn't just lost sleep last night; he had squatted in the graveyard wiping tombstones in the dead of night, only returning to his room when the sun was about to rise.
“Let me ask you something,” Erich suddenly said.
Isabella raised an eyebrow. “Shoot.”
“I have a friend,”
“Mm-hmm.”
“He knows this girl, but because of a few things, he's a bit afraid to face her. This girl, on the other hand, seems to rely on him a little. The wording might not be perfectly accurate, but that's the general gist. Do you get what I mean?”
Isabella nodded knowingly, gesturing for him to continue.
“But yesterday, a bit of a misunderstanding cropped up between my friend and this girl. What do you think my friend should do?”
Feeling like he hadn't painted the full picture, Erich added, “The misunderstanding is pretty serious. My friend is really anxious right now.”
Isabella nodded knowingly once more. Erich waited for her to offer some profound wisdom, or at least break it down step-by-step. Instead, she rested her chin in her hand and said bluntly:
“Why not just go talk to her and clear things up?”
“...”
“A misunderstanding is the kind of thing that only grows the longer you drag it out,” Isabella said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. “If you... if your friend really cares about this girl, he should just go find her and lay his cards on the table. Once everything is out in the open, the misunderstanding will naturally vanish. If he doesn't even have the courage to speak up, then what's the point of anything?”
After she finished, she gave Erich a meaningful look. “This friend of yours... it wouldn't happen to be you, would it?”
“No,” Erich said, his expression unchanging. “It's really not.”
“Alright.” Isabella didn't press him. “Then I wish your friend the best of luck.”
Erich didn't absorb a single word of the morning classes. While the teacher lectured at the podium on the history of the empire's development, Erich's gaze remained fixed out the window. Isabella's words kept swirling in his mind over and over: Go talk to her and clear things up.
He understood the logic. In fact, while wiping tombstones all night, he had spent the entire time thinking about how to explain himself.
Before the bell for the last morning class rang, Erich slipped out through the back door.
The classroom for Solar Class A was separated from Erich's building by a garden. Erich stood at the entrance of the teaching building, staring blankly at the splashing water of the garden fountain.
He hadn't actually figured out what to say when he saw the young princess. Should he walk right up to her and say, “Your Highness, what happened last night was a misunderstanding”? That was too abrupt. Pretend it was a chance encounter? That was too contrived. But Isabella was right—if some things weren't said, there would never be another chance to say them.
The dismissal bell rang, and the classroom doors opened one after another. As students streamed out, Erich searched the crowd for that familiar short, pale gold hair.
Then, he spotted a head of long purple hair. Alicia rushed out of the classroom and collided right into him as he walked forward.
“Ah!”
Alicia took a step back. When she looked up and realized it was him, she was taken aback for a moment before crossing her arms over her chest with a huff. “Oh, it's you. Did you come all this way specifically to wait for me after class?”
Erich: “No.”
“Stop denying it,” Alicia said, tilting her chin up. “You've been loitering outside our classroom door since early morning. If you're not here to wait for me, what else could you be doing?” She cast another glance at him, a trace of smugness in her voice. “Well, since you're already here, where do you plan on taking me to eat? I'm in a pretty good mood today, so I can reluctantly grace you with my company for a meal.”
Erich's gaze bypassed her, anxiously scanning the classroom doorway.
Then, he saw that short, pale gold hair. The young princess was walking out of the classroom, flanked by Lorraine and Celine, with Irene trailing behind. She looked like she had just said something to her friends, a faint smile lingering on her lips.
Then, she looked up and saw Erich.
Her smile froze instantly.
Their eyes met for less than a second before the young princess quickly averted her gaze and shrank behind Lorraine. Lorraine seemed to notice Erich as well; she looked over, then at the young princess's expression, appearing to hesitate.
Before Lorraine could speak, the young princess clutched her sleeve and whispered something. Immediately afterward, she was ushered away by Lorraine, Celine, and Irene, quickly heading down the opposite corridor.
With her head lowered, she walked rapidly, never sparing him another glance from start to finish.
The young princess was avoiding Erich.
Erich stood frozen in place, speechless.
“Hey,” Alicia's voice drifted over, tinged with impatience. “What's wrong with you, Erich? I'm talking to you!”
Erich snapped back to reality and looked at Alicia in front of him. Her face was very close, her hazel-green eyes filled with confusion.
Erich suddenly felt incredibly exhausted.
“It's nothing,” he said, shaking his head. “Go have lunch on your own.”
Then he turned and walked away, leaving Alicia standing there.
“Hey! What's that supposed to mean?!” Alicia shouted after him, her voice dripping with dissatisfaction, but Erich didn't look back. He quickened his pace, stopping to lean against a wall and let out a long sigh only when her voice could no longer be heard.
Clear things up?
Clear things up, my foot.
She didn't even want to look at him.
He had imagined many possibilities—that she would be angry, that she would interrogate him, or even that she might yell at him. He could have accepted any of those. But he had never expected this kind of reaction.
The friends standing by her side blocked his view of her, as if shielding her from being hurt by him.
Was he some kind of monster?
Erich leaned against the wall, gazing up at the blue sky, as if searching for an answer.
But the sky remained silent.
He suddenly recalled that night when the young princess clutched his sleeve and wouldn't let go.
Back then, she had been willing to look at him.
What about now?
Erich let out a long sigh, rubbed his face, and walked toward the cafeteria. Halfway there, he realized he wasn't hungry at all, so he took a turn and headed down the narrow path behind the teaching building.
There weren't many people there; it was quiet.
He felt he needed to think carefully about what to do next.
Rate on N.U.
