Time flies.
The time spent agonizing over friendship and love was quickly passing by, following the second hand that was running ahead without waiting for Shuen's decision.
Of course, Shuen.
-I hate it!
-ah...
-I can't hate you!
-yes...?
-If I had listened to the words of a commoner and love had come true, it would have happened a long time ago!
-wow...
-Why are you laughing? I'm being serious!
-I was just flustered because I didn't know how to say it like that.
-I don't have any friends anyway! It's okay!
Shuen kicked the method I suggested away. He insisted that the love offered by a commoner wasn't love, that love was something you had to earn yourself, and that he would stubbornly pursue it on his own.
I agree with some of the opinions, though.
-Still, I shouldn't make a public confession like the commoner said. I don't want to embarrass Senior Mikhail...! It seems like the commoner is right. Hohoho!
She was a bold woman.
Much more than I thought.
From that day on, Shuen would come to me even when there were people at the convenience store. Normally, he'd try to avoid getting involved in gossip, so he'd avoid people as much as possible. But perhaps his inhibitions had been lifted. Since he didn't have any friends anyway, he started coming to me without a care in the world.
-commons!
-Are you not even calling my name anymore?
-I didn't call you from the beginning!
-That's right.
The rumors grew louder by the day, and everyone passing by the convenience store called him a thief. However, Shuen was used to such gazes, so he ignored them to some extent.
I was a little conscious of it though.
"Ugh... Is my popularity skyrocketing today, too, commoner?"
"yes?"
"No one is coming into the convenience store. They're blocked by the aura of the nobility...!"
"Puhahaha! Mr. Shuen, do you know what that's called?"
"The color of the overlord?!"
"No. It's excessive self-consciousness."
"Ughhhh!!!"
Today, too, Shuen, sitting across from the convenience store and eating a discarded lunchbox, was scanning the convenience store with sharp eyes and observing the students passing by.
Even for Shuen, who is accustomed to being watched, that level of attention would be difficult to bear.
"Ohhoho... This girl. It seems like her popularity is at its peak. If she continues like this, it's only a matter of time before she becomes an Academy Award superstar!"
"Mr. Shuen, your hands are shaking."
"It's my fault."
I felt that Shuen's positive thinking was amazing in many ways.
"By the way, what about the Academy Award winners?"
"Ohhoho~ This is the girl's dream that I've been planning since high school. Would you like to see it?"
Shuen rummaged through his bag and pulled out a soiled leather notebook. The worn leather, like a testament to the passage of time, seemed to hold a lot of affection for the notebook. I smiled and proudly opened the notebook.
-â©Creating the Imperial Superstar Shuenâ©
'...'
-Tup.
I covered the note with the embarrassing content of my second-year middle school syndrome and handed it to Shuen.
"Ohhoho... Are you surprised?! A commoner..."
"It's not easy."
"This has been my plan since I was 15. Someday, I'll sing at the academy's talent show and make lots of friends…."
"stop...!"
I covered Shuen's mouth as he proudly boasted and frowned. If I said more, he'd probably burst out laughing.
“Okay, so please stop. If I say any more, it’ll feel like I’m seeing a dark past I’ve forgotten…”
"As expected, even commoners dream of becoming popular stars like me...!"
In many ways, she was a girl with big dreams.
The Academy thief didn't seem to be easily caught. I knew who the culprit was, but I didn't want to get involved, and nothing major was happening.
What I'm curious about is Mikhail and Shuen's current situation.
Now, just like in the novel, Shuen was patrolling the academy with Mikhail every evening, choosing the same tasks as Mikhail.
I questioned Shuen's current situation, my eyes wide with excitement. Isn't "Heart-Pounding Love Story" more important than "Space Superstar Shuen" right now?
"More than that, Mr. Shuen. How's the plan to seduce Mikhail going?"
"Ah... Senior Mikhail?!"
Shuen put the notebook in his bag with a look of regret and spoke curtly.
"It's going well. But more importantly, my grand dream...!"
"We'll talk about that later..."
I shook my head and changed the subject at Shuen's stubbornness in trying to tell me his dream while stuck in a strange place.
"Aren't you working on a project with Mikhail these days?"
"That's right."
“My heart is pounding so hard….”
"Commoner. That's an arrhythmia!"
"yes?"
Shuen spoke to me with a serious expression.
"If your heart is pounding so hard it feels like it's going to burst, it's an arrhythmia! You never know when you might collapse."
"Isn't that so, Mr. Shuen?"
"four?"
"My heart must be pounding just seeing Mikhail."
"hmm..."
Shuen looked at me with a huge question mark floating in his head.
"Aren't you thinking about anything?"
"yes?"
"I think you're handsome from any angle. I'm too nervous to say anything."
"If that's not heart-pounding, then what is?"
"My heart isn't pounding. It's beating perfectly normally."
She was a woman I knew but didn't know.
I placed another discarded lunchbox on the table and shut Shuen's mouth. Perhaps this woman didn't like Mikhail, but rather was drawn to him because he looked so good.
"Ohhoho! I think that commoner has an arrhythmia!"
"...yes."
“When I see the discarded lunch box, my heart starts pounding…!”
“Oh my….”
"Is this love?!"
"No, just eat it."
I looked at Shuen and muttered softly.
'Yeah, that's fine as long as you're good.'
It was comfortable to think of a huge cosmos field in my head.
***
The Academy night has arrived again today.
Shuen, who had changed from her academy uniform into a dress, was walking briskly to the agreed upon location, exhaling breath.
"I'll do my best today."
The dress that dragged the floor followed Shuen's steps.
In the distance, I could see the silhouettes of students gathered to work on their assignments. They had gathered to catch the culprit who had recently been stealing from the academy.
I also saw members of Misamo.
I also saw a student from the same magic department.
and.
"Oh, Shuen, it's been a while."
There were also seniors who were difficult to deal with.
The freckled schoolgirl gave Shuen a quick wave. She then ran her eyes down his body from his legs to his neck, then chuckled.
"Your clothes...are nicely worn?"
"Thank you."
"Did you pretend that Mikhail was coming?"
"..."
Shuen didn't respond to the girl's words. Even just from her tone, it didn't seem like she had good intentions.
'I'm not stupid.'
Vienna.
As a third-year senior, he was the one who publicly embarrassed Shuen during the ranking match in the second semester of his first year.
After deliberately getting hit by a magic spell that could have been avoided, he yawned and said, 'This freshman is doomed.' He was embarrassed.
‘The name is like a sausage that is eaten… so arrogant.’
She was a woman I didn't like.
Of course, he was crushed when he met Histania Hannah, but Shuen, who thought that it was right for him to take revenge on the nobles, was holding on to the sausage he had eaten.
Vienna gritted her teeth as she watched Shuen ignore her words. She'd been ignored in front of everyone. Sensitive, Vienna opened her mouth again, trying to restore order.
"Hey, if you talk to me..."
I kept my mouth shut like a mute who had eaten honey at the appearance of the man who arrived late.
"Sorry! Am I late?!"
With brilliant silver hair.
A beautiful voice.
Mikhail smiled awkwardly and greeted her.
"The professor asked me to help him with some work, so I'm late. Sorry."
The students gathered in the fifth-floor hallway gasped as soon as they saw Mikhail. The reason they were gathered was none other than Mikhail.
Vienna, which had created a gloomy atmosphere, greeted Mikhail with a bright smile as if nothing had happened.
"It's okay~ We're all here now."
"Oh really? That's a relief. I knew you'd been waiting so long, I came running."
"Ahaha! Why are you running here? They're all juniors to you, and you're only 10 minutes late."
“Still, it’s a promise….”
Shuen muttered softly as he listened to the two men. "A commoner made a nobleman wait for ten minutes... If it weren't for Senior Mikhail, he would have been severely punished." If Ricardo hadn't warned him to be careful with his words, it would have been dangerous.
Shuen covered his mouth with his hand, almost blurting out the words he had said unconsciously, and nodded silently.
-Nod.
"Then shall we go on patrol today?"
Mikhail stretched and began dividing the patrols into sections. Who would patrol the first floor today, and who would patrol the fifth?
It created the most tense moment for everyone as they played rock, paper, scissors, where those who did the same thing became partners.
and.
-Gavit!
-scissors.
Shuen and Mikhail were in the same group.
"Ohhoho... Senior Mikhail and I are partners!"
"That's right. We're partners again this time, just like last time. Please take care of me today too."
"Ohhoho... Yes."
Shuen felt good.
Because I was in the same group as Mikhail.
I thought today would be a good day for things to go smoothly from the start.
-Oh, this is annoying.
-Again? It's always me who fails.
Shuen couldn't show any sign of liking the sharp gazes of those dissatisfied with the undesirable outcome.
'The outcome is the outcome.'
The grumbling crew members hesitated to leave, their expressions filled with annoyance. They hoped they'd be replaced if they asked.
The worst of them was Vienna.
Vienna blatantly ignored Shuen and spoke to Michael.
"Michael, can you come with me today?"
"huh...?"
"I was going to ask you about something that was difficult during the last swordsmanship class."
"Oh... really?"
"Uh. Can't you just do it with me?"
"that is..."
Vienna spoke slowly, trying to comfort the troubled Mikhail.
"Honestly, Mikhail knows too. Who the culprit is."
"What do you mean? Did a witness show up?"
"You're pretending not to know again. The problem is that Mikhail is too kind."
"...No. That's not it."
"We can't catch them because there's no evidence, but we have a rough idea of who the culprit is."
"..."
Vienna opened her lips bluntly as she looked downstairs.
"Someone who stays at the academy late at night."
"..."
"And someone who doesn't feel like they belong in the Academy."
"..."
"Someone who desperately needs even a little bit of money to pay the fine. Look, the criminal is saying, 'I'm here.' Isn't that right?"
Vienna said with a snicker.
"We just need to get the evidence. We just need to find some evidence and frame Ricardo as the culprit."
Mikhail's expression hardened.
and.
"What a piece of shit!"
Shuen's hands moved faster.