4.5 Interlude: Between Lover and Dog (4)
The air at dawn was still wet.
Around this time, when the sunrise is just beginning, temperatures are at their lowest for the day. This was the case even in midsummer, when the sun heated the earth.
On the contrary, the more summer is in full swing, the more unique the scent of dawn.
It was a season dominated by sunshine and rain.
The time to get out of the stuffy air was especially meaningful.
That’s why I wake up early in the morning every summer.
A hardened body is made through repeated training.
Therefore, the training had to go on without missing a single day.
Summer and winter were no exception.
But before I was a prosecutor, I was also a human being.
It was natural to want to avoid the heat if possible.
I couldn’t help but wield the sword anyway. If so, it would be better to move your body when it is a little cooler.
It was late summer, when the sun was still sizzling, as if the skin would be cooked by midday.
Although I had already become strong enough not to succumb to the heat or cold, I dared to maintain my daily routine starting at dawn.
I don’t know if it’s because of my mood, but I still felt reluctant to practice under the scorching sun.
As if the hamster wheel was spinning, similar days were repeated.
After the dawn training, after eating, I lead another daily life.
It was a schedule no different from last year.
The only difference was that one more routine was added.
Right after training, I went straight to the forest next to the dormitory.
The reason was unknown.
It was only when I noticed that my footsteps were heading there by themselves.
And when they detect a familiar presence, they hold their breath and hide in the grass.
This was my new routine.
In the clearing, there was a brother and sister named Rainella, who had been engaged in strange training since the morning.
At first, it was difficult to guess the intention.
Why are you practicing apologies out of nowhere?
It was none other than that senior Elsie.
As everyone at the academy knows, Elsie-senpai was very proud.
With that temper, it was not easy to bow down obediently to others.
This has been proven by several failures.
Even so, senior Elsie did not give up. On the contrary, I had been training every morning for several days.
The reason soon became clear.
“Nuna, but are you really going to apologize? Those commoners… … .”
“You say you can’t make a sound even if you harass me?”
Elsie asked back while snorting with excitement.
Lupine, who was stabbed to the point, had to keep his mouth shut.
There was still displeasure on his face.
It was a face that still couldn’t accept why the older sister he respected and loved had to apologize to the common people.
Anyway, his love for his older sister was sincere.
It’s because his personality isn’t good in proportion to him.
Senior Elsie also had a dark look in her eyes, as if she sympathized with Lupin’s opinion deep down.
She crossed her arms, opened one eye slightly, and spoke in a low voice.
“… … What do you do though? The owner said he didn’t like it.”
“No, what is that? To be honest, maybe it’s an excuse… … .”
“Anyway.”
Senior Elsie dismissed Lupin’s reasonable reasoning at once.
A determined tone escaped from the girl’s mouth, who slowly opened her arms.
“If that’s an excuse, I’ll get rid of them all… If you get rid of the excuses and get rid of them, in the end you won’t be able to answer properly, right?”
Lupine kept silent, perhaps admiring Elsie-senpai’s will.
After a while, a cautious question returned from Lupin.
“Then, if you’re serious about it… … ?”
“… … hey! Are you really going to keep talking nonsense?!”
When Elsie-senpai shouted, “Exhale,” Lupine immediately lowered his head.
It was a common quarrel between siblings.
In the gap of that heartwarming daily life, I had to let out a light sigh.
Every single word Elsie said pierced my heart.
Lupine’s guess was right.
In fact, I was just spitting out any excuses. I didn’t know how to answer Elsie-senpai.
That’s why I suffered every day, and my sincerity became more and more unknown the more I did.
Did I actually want to accept Elsie’s confession?
If not, did he just find a comfortable excuse for the car he wanted to refuse?
I thought and thought and thought, but no answer came.
Fortunately, there was one thing.
The ridiculous morning training of the Rainella siblings was about to come to an end.
Even after visiting the clearing in the forest, the presence of the two had disappeared.
It was something I might have given up because I couldn’t do it.
Only then was I able to walk around the academy with a slightly relaxed mind.
At least that was until some rumor reached my ears.
“Hey, did you hear about that?”
I was on my way back to finish training and fill my water bottle.
The sound of two students talking on the benches lined up on both sides of Jungang-daero caught my ear.
As the end of vacation approached, the number of people at the academy was increasing.
In the meantime, I had been concentrating on recovery, but now I was thinking about visiting people I hadn’t seen.
Like Emma for example.
Emma heard that she went away to sell potions for a while because of her living expenses.
He endured eating mushrooms for a while, but it seemed he had reached his limit in the end.
In order to get the price and dispose of the potion, you had to go to the Alchemist’s Guild. And since there was no branch of the alchemist guild at the academy, it was highly likely that Emma had left via the warp gate.
Then, at least for a few days, he wouldn’t be able to find it at the academy.
The new semester will start soon, so Emma will have to come back soon.
It was a rumor heard in the car waiting for the news.
“You know, that ‘Little Villain’ Elsie Rainella… I heard that senior went to apologize these days?”
My footsteps, which were moving forward, stopped in place.
I was silent for a moment, then looked away.
There, I saw a female student with a similar expression to mine.
she asked as if representing me.
“… … Isn’t that nonsense?”
“No, I thought I was too, but there are already not one or two witnesses.”
It just felt like my throat was burning.
However, no matter how much I tilted the canteen, only a few drops of water fell out. I ate more, but my thirst did not go away.
The conversation between the female students continued.
“Well, isn’t it funny? That Rainella-senpai bowed his head to the commoner and prayed… Phuhuh, it must be really worth seeing.”
“Arthur, Arthur. Then, if he suddenly changes and throws sparks at us… … .”
“… … I don’t know, but I wouldn’t?”
At the same time, one female student raised the corner of her mouth.
Read at noblemtl
Just imagining it made me think of a very pleasant sight.
“I heard you didn’t say anything even after being cursed at and beaten several times?”
On the other hand, I felt like my heart was sinking.
I felt bad when I imagined senior Elsie being humiliated.
How much more did you get cursed at and even assaulted?
The hand holding the water bottle was so full of strength.
Of course, whether I did it or not, the girls only shared a nonchalant voice.
“Tsk tsk, those kids are pretty good too… A commoner beating a nobleman.”
“That’s how bad it was, you know… How cruel that senior is.”
Read at noblemtl
Just like that, a female student trembled, and the topic about Elsie-senpai came to an end.
Until then, I was just frozen in silence.
After a while, a thought suddenly crossed my mind.
Let’s go see senior Elsie.
Surrendering to the urge, I walked and walked. I didn’t even know the destination, but my steps didn’t stop.
It was a matter of emotion, not reason.
Logically, Elsie-senpai’s actions were correct.
She has been harassing innocent weaklings until now.
It wasn’t once or twice.
Hadn’t he assaulted the commoners and lower nobles several times with malicious intent? It was so severe that a reputation for cruelty spread throughout the academy.
If so, he deserved to pay the penalty.
A single apology wouldn’t wash away all the past, but it was the minimum. It was better than living pretending nothing happened.
yes, it had to be
I went around the academy, reading myself like that.
Fortunately, as time passed, my mind calmed down a bit.
It was just that I was worried about what to say when I met Elsie-senpai.
My wanderings, which I managed to regain my reason for, continued for a long time.
Then, it was around noon when my steps stopped.
A shout came from somewhere.
“Th-believe that now… … ?”
It was a softly warmed voice.
I quickly caught my breath and moved on.
It wasn’t long before the source of the voice was discovered.
He was a skinny man.
Wearing glasses, he looked emaciated to anyone. The man was glaring at the girl in front of him while clenching his slender fists.
The woman in the cone hat was silent and her head was lowered.
It was very clear who she was.
Elder Elsie.
Finally, I was able to find the girl I had been looking for so long.