1. The First Letter (12)
The midday academy was calm.
Birds chirped between the trees, and buildings boasting history and tradition reflected the sunlight white. It was a familiar sight by now.
The history of the academy is close to 1,000 years. This was before the founding of the empire.
The continent at the time was in chaos. The great empire that unified the world collapsed, and countless nations sprung up to take its place. The world soon became one huge battlefield.
And the more the war continued, the more suffering it was, as always, the grassroots.
Terrible supplies going into war, looting by the enemy, and the breeding of monsters that we inevitably miss as troops are concentrated on the frontlines.
Decades of war have turned the prosperous continent into a groaning corpse. It was around that time that the leaders of each country felt a sense of crisis.
No matter how wide the land was, it was meaningless without the people to fill it. The war, which lasted too long, drastically reduced the continent’s population.
Besides, mankind had a common enemy. These monsters, known as ‘beasts’, possessed both brutality and toughness.
The war ended after several years of leaders’ talks, and this academy was established in the neutral zone as evidence of the peace agreement.
It has the meaning of ending the era of turmoil and moving on to the era of harmony and coexistence.
It was during the days of the conquering emperor of the Empire that the academy, which had been maintaining a neutral ground for about 500 years, became the ‘Jerep Academy’.
It is said that even he, who trampled half the continent under his horseshoe, did not bring an army into the premises out of respect for the academy. However, after that day, a modifier called ‘jerip’ was added to the front of the academy.
Today, the academy has become a symbol that declares that the Empire is the center of the world. Talented people from each country are still eager to enter the academy, and they have to face the imperial insignia hanging all over the academy.
With that alone, the Empire seemed to think it was worth the astronomical academy’s operating expenses. It was judged by the high-ranking people, so it wasn’t a problem for the second son of a country viscount like me to worry about.
But I was admirable. Despite having such a long history, the fact that the campus of the academy is so well-preserved.
It meant that the empire was putting all their energy into running the academy. As a student, it was something to be thankful for.
Unlike me, who was looking around the academy’s campus with such a calm feeling, Leto was looking at me with his eyes wide open as if he had heard an unbelievable sound.
The drink I bought at the teahouse with him seemed like it would fall at any moment. When I looked at him with a little concern, Leto immediately shook his head violently and regained his senses.
And he asked in a confused voice. It was a face that I thought I had heard wrong.
“… … what?”
“I asked how you flirt with women.”
Leto’s mouth fell open. It was a genuinely bewildering sight. He paused for a moment, then frowned and asked.
“You, Ian right? Didn’t you receive a strange curse again?”
“No, is it that surprising?”
I was taken aback by Leto’s violent reaction, so I had no choice but to ask. Then Leto looked at me with a puzzled look.
“No, the guy who hadn’t been interested in it all of a sudden did that! That wooden-stoned guy… … .”
At the same time, Leto fixed the drink and sucked out the contents with a straw. It seemed like my throat was burning. Come to think of it, it seemed a bit absurd.
Even yesterday, I was worried because he ran into the dorm talking nonsense, but as soon as we met again, he asked a question he hadn’t asked in his entire life.
Even I, Letora, would have been embarrassed. I nodded my head as if I understood his feelings.
“Me too, huh? I’m a man, but of course I’m interested in women. But since I don’t know women well even at my age, I just thought I should get to know her in advance.”
However, Leto did not erase his suspicion despite my detailed explanations. He hmmm, looked at me for a while, and finally leaned his body against the back of the bench as if it was okay.
He threw indifferent assumptions.
“Anyway, what is it? Actually, I had a crush on Emma, but I wanted to fill her vacancy with another woman… … .”
“Absolutely not, so don’t talk nonsense. Excuse me, Emma.”
That’s right, Leto smiled as if he knew it would be because of my resolute denial. Gradually, he seemed to be quite interested. If you look at the strangeness in those emerald eyes.
“Then who is the target?”
“… … target?”
My head tilted at the sudden remark. However, Leto continued with a strong tone, as if preaching a very obvious truth.
“Yes, ma’am. target! Women are women too, can’t everyone have the same taste? Are you a commoner or an aristocrat? Are you older or younger… You have to choose an approach, including personality and human relationships. Otherwise, the odds of success are too low.”
That’s why the better the person you know, the better, Leto added, but it was already complicated in my head.
I have a goal, but I don’t know who it is.
Who the hell is ‘Sepia’? It seems like a stage name derived from a flower, but there was no woman around me who could be called ‘Sepia’.
The only thing I can be sure of now is that she has something to do with the hunting festival.
But this wasn’t the kind of information Leto was asking for. I frowned at the difficulty as I sucked on the straw.
Seeing my reaction, Leto once again put on a puzzled expression. he yelled.
“No, haven’t you decided who the target is yet?! Anyway, as long as you’re a woman, that’s all, right?”
“No, not necessarily… … .”
I wonder if I should even shout at that, I felt sad inside, but I decided to ignore it.
It was proof that Leto was taking my counseling seriously.
Magicians are inherently like that. He’s stubborn, and when he starts to get serious, he becomes extremely picky.
It was Leto who would later get a job as an advisory wizard in a secluded territory and spend the rest of his life playing, but since he was also a wizard, he had no choice but to have that temperament.
I couldn’t help but think that the fact that it was a woman’s problem was, after all, Leto-like.
Leto just shook his head and clicked his tongue, not knowing if he knew what I was thinking.
“Tsk tsk, do you really have to seduce a girl like this? Ian, listen up. Traditionally, a man needs three things to seduce a woman.”
“Three?”
“Honestly, it’s okay to have only one of the three, but it’s good to have all of them.”
Then Leto spread his index finger. It’s like I’m going to explain each one from now on.
“First, the face. You’re good enough, so this is fine.”
Maybe, I don’t think there’s ever been a woman who’s shown a crush on something like that.
A question flashed through my mind for a moment, but I decided to put it aside. After all, the expert in this field was Leto, not me.
It would be fine if he was fine. The evaluation that I was good-looking made me feel very good.
“Second, ability. Hmmm, to be honest, being an academy student is enough, but… … .”
As he was about to spread his middle finger after his index finger, he slurred his words and stroked his chin. I knew what he wanted to say.
When he was a student at the academy, his ability could be recognized wherever he went. However, that is a story outside the academy.
There was no way that the status of being an academy student would receive special treatment within the academy. Isn’t it the academy students who are widely spread?
It was ambiguous. In order to satisfy the second condition, he would have to have exceptional skills even within the academy. Leto seemed to have decided not to mention the matter for now.
His ring finger was even extended. It meant the last.
“And last, will. In fact, this is the most decisive than the previous two. No matter how handsome and talented you are, what do you do? If you feel the desire to flirt, then you will flirt… But now you don’t feel this ‘will’!”
A soft moan escaped my mouth.
To put it that way, the other person didn’t even know, and it was a kind of duty. There was no way I could feel the will.
Only the vague sense of responsibility that I will not make any more victims weighs on my heart.
In the end, Leto let out a deep sigh as if he had given up halfway, and took a sip of his drink. A voice that could not be helped escaped from his mouth.
“… … Well, what. I can’t help it. I will tell you only the most basic things.”
“Oh, is that enough?”
I asked with admiration, but only Leto’s absurd gaze returned. My sullen mouth closed again.
“No, are you crazy? Of course, that alone isn’t enough. But well, beyond that, it depends on the person… Just remember two things. Compliments and skinship.”
“Praise and skinship?”
You’ll have to listen a bit more to understand what ‘praise’ and ‘skinship’ mean, but I decided to engrave those two things in my heart first.
Leto, as if he liked my reaction, put a happy smile on his lips.
“Okay, once you see a girl, compliment her subtly. ‘Is it pretty today?’ It’s okay to say the same obvious words. Because you look smooth anyway.”
“… … What if you look ugly?”
“It is a crime to flirt with ugly subjects. You might have your own way, but we don’t care.”
Leto said that in a nonchalant voice and bit the straw again.
When a handsome guy said that, I wanted to give him a punch, but since I’m also good-looking, I decided to put up with it.
For the first time in a long time, gratitude to my parents came from deep in my heart. Come to think of it, my younger sister was as pretty and lovely as she looked.
It was fortunate. As I let out a sigh of relief, Leto continued.
“And when it comes to skinship, it’s important to measure distance. If you want to become moderately close, subtly increase the number of points in your body. The closer the body is, the closer the heart is, this is the truth.”
“How do you measure that distance?”
“That makes sense… … .”
That was right before Leto’s one-day speech continued.
I heard someone calling the two of us from far away. Leto and my gaze simultaneously turned to the epicenter.
A lively-looking girl was waving her hand. And a brown cloak hanging over his back.
It was Celine. Leto smiled as if it was all right.
“Good, try it.”
It was before I even asked what.
Celine came running and landed in front of me. Her small body landed like a butterfly without making a sound.
she tilted her head. He must have seen my puzzled expression.
“… … ? What’s wrong, Brother Ian?”
“Yes? Nothing. just… … .”
My eyes glanced at Leto. He was talking to me with intense determination in his eyes.
‘Do it quickly.’
I sighed inwardly and forced myself to stare at Celine. First of all, I said ‘praise’.
Celine was just staring at me. I gave her a surprise compliment.
“I want to be pretty today.”
“… … Yes?!”
As soon as Celine heard my words, she looked up at my face, flinching and trembling as if she had been electrocuted. I was so surprised that I put my pods in front of my chest with both hands.
Does it work? I wasn’t sure yet. I decided to praise Celine a little more.
“And it seems to smell good too… Have you changed your perfume?”
“Yes… Ehehe… It’s not perfume, but there’s a face wash product that’s popular among girls these days, so I changed it. Is that so obvious?”
Celine said that and twisted her body. Then, she slipped her side hair back, revealing the fragrant nape of her neck.
A slight blush appeared on his face, which seemed to improve his mood. I thought it was time to do ‘skinship’.
But what about skinship?
After pondering for a moment, my field of vision captured the exposed nape of her neck.
I went over to Celine and with the back of my hand I brushed the hair that was covering the nape of her neck.
“Hey, hey?!”
At the touch of her skin, Celine stiffened her body and made a strange noise, but she didn’t want to.
I gently put my face near the nape of her neck and sniffed the scent for a while. It’s just a fleeting moment.
However, the aftermath must have been beyond imagination, and Celine froze with her face blushing.
Only ah, ah, ah came out of her mouth as if it was out of order. Moon sprouting lips could not be established with any language.
“… … Well, yes. It smells good.”
And when I nod my head like that and express my impressions,
“Uh, ah, uh, uh, ah, uhhh!”
Celine trembled at those words, and soon turned back and started running as if she couldn’t stand it.
“I, I, I have something urgent, so I’ll go!”
Leaving behind a ridiculous excuse, I looked at Leto in bewilderment.
Leto seemed to have managed to hold back his laughter, so he let out a giggling sound and burst into laughter. The sound of laughter that erupted from his lungs rang in his ears.
“Ku-k-k-k-k-k-k-k… Ha ha ha ha ha! Did you see it, Ian? That cheeky Celine running away blushing? It was too blatant, but well done. Well done. cuuuuuuuuu… … .”
“Did it work?”
When I asked in a voice that was still uncertain, Leto nodded as if to wait and see.
“Of course not! kuk kuk… Wait and see, he must be back and ordering a bunch of those face wash products or something? You can even bet that you will only use that for a while! See you later?”
Even though I thought it couldn’t be, I decided to remain silent because Leto was so confident. I thought I should check if Leto was right.
And the next day, Celine appeared with a thicker scent, just like Leto said.
Seria came to me once again.
“So, quite a bit… ugh… It’s a small price!”
With a bag full of gold coins.
Bruh hahahahaha