How long is a minute?
Perhaps it is enough time for a cherry blossom to slowly drift down three meters, or for a planet on the verge of exploding to hold out for a dozen more chapters...
But—
“There's absolutely no way that's enough time for me to reach the Star-Gazing Hall, ahhh!!!”
Midnight had struck. The quiet Traveler's Street had long since closed, with only a few late-night vendors packing up their stalls.
They were chatting idly about the day's gossip, when suddenly—
They saw a ghost-like black shadow flash past them.
And along with it, a highly piercing, desperate cry that seemed to linger in their ears...
“Faster! Just a little faster!”
The handsome youth had a grim expression, his elegant blonde hair whipping wildly in the whistling wind. He gritted his teeth, flashing across the rooftops on both sides of the street like a specter.
“I say... you should just accept what has already happened...”
A cold, listless voice drifted into the youth's right ear.
“Even though today's deadline has passed, this annual event will open again next year. It won't be too late to exchange this crystal then. So...”
The cold voice grew increasingly hurried, finally carrying a hint of embarrassment and anger.
“Can't you just put me down?!”
A certain imperial princess, covering her face in total social death, let out a tragic wail.
On the surface, 'Sasha' was not known for her physical prowess. To travel quickly, she could only rely on the physically robust Lynn to carry her.
“I'll run fast and carry you there!”
As a good girl of the new era who kept herself pure and had never had close contact with a male of her own age, Anna was naturally extremely resistant to this proposal.
After all... whether it was a piggyback ride or a bridal carry, it was too stimulating... no, too shameless!
I can't let down little Pera!
But at this moment, Anna's heart was as cold as ashes.
“If I had known it would be like this... I would have rather chosen the bridal carry.”
Oh, my dear classmate Lynn, I really want to kick your ass hard with my long boots.
“Why on earth was carrying me over your shoulder even an option!!!?”
Right now, Anna was being carried over Lynn's shoulder like a mummy.
The girl's slender waist and abdomen rested right on his right shoulder, her upper body hanging limply behind him. Her light-blue hair cascaded down like a waterfall, swaying with Lynn's running motion, the tips brushing against his waist from time to time.
On the other side, Anna's legs, forced to stick up, dangled in front of Lynn's chest.
Her thin skirt slipped slightly toward her waist under the pull of gravity, revealing slender calves tightly wrapped in white stockings. Her round-toed short boots swung back and forth, occasionally kicking Lynn's chest with absolutely zero threat due to the bumps.
“L-Let... let me down!”
Anna struggled in shame and anger, but this posture left her with absolutely no leverage.
The more she squirmed, the more her soft waist rubbed against Lynn's shoulder, and her chest would bump against the youth's back with every stride of his run.
Lynn, beneath her, turned a deaf ear.
While following the princess's orders to farm her favorability was nice, still...
“Those are the five hundred academy points I worked myself to death to earn!”
Lynn let out a tragic, indignant roar, and the wind elements beneath his feet erupted once more.
Boom—!”
The heavy doors of the Star-Gazing Hall were violently slammed open.
Inside the hall, several staff members on duty were gathered around a long table, counting and sealing the cores collected tonight. Hundreds of deep blue crystals were piled into a small mountain in the center of the table.
The magic crystal clock on the wall ruthlessly displayed—
【00:08】
Lynn froze at the entrance, while Anna buried her head deeply into his shoulder like an ostrich, looking like a listless, salted fish.
The two sides stared at each other in silence.
One second, two seconds...
The grey-robed old man in charge of registration adjusted his reading glasses and ruthlessly handed down his verdict.
“You two students, come back next year.”
“Sir, an esteemed and highly respected senior like you surely wouldn't mind...”
“Rules are rules. I will make no exceptions.”
The old man expressionlessly tossed another core into the storage box and casually stamped the logbook.
“Late submissions are not accepted. Young man, this will be a good lesson.”
This old bastard!
“...Lynn.”
Anna whispered comfortingly from his shoulder, “Forget it, we can still do it next year...”
Wait, why the hell am I still on his shoulder?!
“No.” Lynn slowly set her down.
As soon as Anna stood firm, she saw the youth's previously desperate eyes suddenly calm down. It was the kind of tranquility that came to a gambler after losing all his assets, suddenly attaining enlightenment.
He pulled up his dust-covered coat collar to cover half his face, then pressed down all his blonde hair, which had been blown into a complete mess from his wild sprint, over his forehead.
After thinking about it, he still felt it wasn't safe enough.
So he reached out, wiped a handful of dust from the corner of the wall, and smeared it messily all over his handsome face.
In the blink of an eye, the blonde noble youth transformed into a suspicious character who had just escaped from a coal mine.
“Excuse me, Teacher.”
“Is there anything else?”
Lynn leaned in close to him, looked around mysteriously, and then lowered his voice.
“Do you know who I am?”
The old man frowned and sized him up.
Messy blonde hair, dirty clothes, and a face so smudged that nothing could be seen clearly.
Come to think of it, when they first entered the hall, they were too far away, and his reading glasses weren't on properly, so he really hadn't seen the guy's face clearly.
“...No.”
“You really don't recognize me?”
“Young man, don't think you can use your status to pressure me.”
The old man waved his hand impatiently. “Never mind which noble family's young master you are. Even if your father were Grand Duke Reinhardt, you still couldn't register past the deadline.”
“In other words, you have absolutely no idea who I am?”
“No!”
“What about this blue-haired girl next to me?”
“Don't know her! And I don't want to know!”
The old man had completely lost his patience. “Are you done asking? If you're done, leave quickly. Don't interfere with our counting of the cores.”
“Alrighty then.”
Lynn suddenly flashed a 'radiant' smile. With lightning speed, he pulled out that pitch-black core and flicked his wrist.
“Here you go!”
The core drew a beautiful parabola in the air, then landed precisely right into the mountain of cores in the center of the long table, sending dozens of crystals clattering and rolling into a mess.
Pausing for a moment, he thought of something else. He reached into his pants, pulled out the core he had originally obtained in the bar, and tossed that in as well.
The old man: “...”
Lynn spun around and grabbed Anna's wrist.
“What are you standing there for? Run!”
“Huh!?” Anna was dazed.
That broad, warm hand gripped her slender wrist without giving her any choice.
A searing warmth transmitted through her skin.
Before the imperial princess could even react, she was dragged into a stumble. The two turned into a blur, rushing out of the Star-Gazing Hall without looking back.
“Wait!” The old man's furious roar finally came, albeit a step too late. “You two, get back here!!!”
“The cores have our registration info engraved on them anyway! You can take your sweet time looking for them!”
Lynn's self-righteous voice echoed from far down the hallway.
“See ya!”
The old man looked down at the hundreds of mixed-up crystals that looked almost identical, then at the incomplete roster in his hand.
“...” The young staff member beside him spoke up cautiously.
“Teacher... should we chase them?”
The old man fell silent for a long time, ultimately sighing in resignation.
“We have to at least put on a show so we can give the academy an explanation.”
Watching his subordinate scramble to chase them out the door, he stroked his beard with a touch of nostalgia.
“Ah, to be young is truly wonderful...”
Rate on N.U.
