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‘I’ve gotten closer earlier than I expected.’

I thought I would only meet the two of them after classes had started, but here they were meeting at the entrance ceremony. Is this yet another change brought about by changes? I never would have imagined running into Reinhardt on the very first day.

Perhaps because I saw Reinhardt’s face in an unexpected place, the sight of him with Damian naturally brought back memories from the past.

Those memories were good enough to be regarded as fond recollections, but for the current Elena, it was an ominous sign.

My connection with Reinhardt was neither bad nor good; he was one of the few people I could call a friend. However, recalling his actions from my previous life instinctively made my body react.

There weren’t any particularly special memories. They were merely related to conversations between Reinhardt and Damian that I recalled.

“Damian, it’s time for morning training.”

“Damian, you should eat chicken. That’s how you build muscle.”

“Damian, it’s time for lunch training. You’ve eaten, so now you need to digest. A walk? Swinging your sword at the training grounds is far more effective. Oh, and since Lady Elena is here, it would be nice for you both to do some warm-up exercises together. A magician must not neglect their physical training.”

“Damian, look at this. It’s the Glittering Stormblade.”

…

The content of their conversations was ordinary, but the frequency of their talking was quite high. Perhaps it was because Reinhardt had few friends, or maybe it was because he and Damian got along so well; either way, they often spent time together.

Generally, Reinhardt would be the one to call out to Damian first, but Damian didn’t seem to mind and appeared much closer to being Damian’s friend compared to that self-proclaimed buddy Orcus.

“No, that’s not it. I’ve spent more time with him than Reinhardt and know more secrets.”

In any case, the reason Elena suddenly recalled these memories was that Reinhardt’s behavior had stolen away precious moments with Damian multiple times. The fact that she could recall almost everything Reinhardt said to Damian was proof that she had spent a considerable amount of time with them, but for her now, this was not something to consider.

What mattered to Elena was that the same situation could happen again.

Looking back, her reaction hadn’t seemed overly dramatic, but rather a spontaneous sense of urgency. One could call it jealousy, stemming from a kind of possessiveness born from past memories that compelled her to feel this way.

Elena loosened her grip on Damian’s arm but had no intention of letting go. She understood that excess was not good but reasoned that perhaps a little greed was acceptable in this case.

Isn’t it only natural to worry when the time spent with someone you like is decreasing?

Even while knowing this was mere self-justification, Elena couldn’t stop her thoughts. For someone as emotional as her, such desires were not easily cast aside, especially when that someone was Damian.

“Ugh.”

Just then, she heard Damian’s soft laughter.

What’s making him laugh? Could it be that he thought I was feeling jealous looking at him? Elena turned to look at Damian. However, contrary to her thoughts, Damian was gazing elsewhere.

Following his gaze, she saw friends laughing together.

As her mind had been wandering, her ears slowly started to open.

“Ah, Reinhardt! Did you already know that the Sword Saint was coming here? Did you not tell us on purpose?!! How disappointing!!”

“Yeah, it’s disappointing.”

“Oh, no! I just found out about that today. Truly!”

“Hmm. I don’t know what it is, but it is disappointing!”

“Wait, why is Hailey here too….”

The friends chatting together looked very joyful.

Noel and Orcus had already gotten quite skilled at teasing Reinhardt, while Hailey, being her naturally friendly self, seemed completely at ease with him. Watching this scene, it felt like a small campfire had ignited somewhere in her heart.

As the warmth from that fire slowly warmed Elena’s chest, Damian spoke to her.

“Are you thinking of helping him until he’s pitiful?”

“No, I think it’s best to keep things like this a little longer. Doesn’t it look nice?”

Damian nodded with a smile, “That’s true,” and turned his gaze away again.

Elena gradually eased her grip on Damian’s arm. Though she hadn’t completely let go, before her hand could fall away, this time Damian took hold of her hand. His strong and warm grip didn’t hurt at all.

While she still couldn’t get rid of her desire for time with Damian, the lingering disappointment that used to be present in her mind no longer surfaced. It may only be for a fleeting moment, but she liked the warmth blossoming within her heart.

*

The hastily assembled gathering only came to an end when evening arrived.

Initially, it was supposed to be just Hailey, Elena, and me taking a quick look around the academy, but suddenly the group had grown to six, so it was only natural that we spent more time than initially planned.

“Where should we have lunch, everyone?”

“I think chicken dishes would be good.”

“Hold on a minute. I’ve heard that there’s a delicious restaurant nearby called ‘Porter’s Shack.’ That sounds right.”

“Oh! There’s a dessert shop over there! Let’s go there!”

“Noel, dessert can’t be lunch…”

“I’m on board with that.”

“…but sometimes a quick snack isn’t a bad idea. Then let’s go with ‘Ella’s Confectionery.'”

“What about ‘Peter’s Shack’!!!”

Having more people meant more opinions, and for a gathering that was so suddenly formed, it was only to be expected that the thoughts would be all over the place. Because of that, we couldn’t even achieve 30% of our original target.

Nevertheless, despite not reaching that goal, everyone had smiles on their faces, creating a satisfied atmosphere.

Even Reinhardt, who had initially been awkward around the kids, seemed to have adapted to the atmosphere a little by the time we were about to part ways.

After all, he had Noel and Hailey, who had been able to become friends even with the shy Elena.

Though the situation was somewhat different, these two easily bypassed Reinhardt’s wall of reserve.

While his demeanor could ward off those who would approach him, he wasn’t one to turn down friendship if someone took the initiative, so it didn’t take long to blend the stiff Reinhardt into our friendly atmosphere.

However, the royal status of Noel and Orcus posed slight obstacles, and only time could resolve that. It was greedy to hope for too much when we had only just met.

“This noisy time isn’t bad, is it?”

I said to Elena, holding her hand.

As everyone was returning to the dormitory, we decided to walk around a bit longer. There were no restrictions on movement within the academy, as long as it didn’t interfere with the following day’s classes, so we had plenty of time.

The boys’ and girls’ dorms were quite far apart, and Elena and I decided to take a round trip between them as the conclusion to our exploration. The distance meant it would take some time, but perhaps that was part of the charm.

Elena began fidgeting with her fingers in my hand and nodded slightly.

“I had a great time today. I loved debating where to go together and the way everyone united to tease Reinhardt. It feels like there are more enjoyable things in the world than I expected.”

“There will be even more from now on.”

“That’s right, isn’t it?”

When she quietly looked up at the sky, her eyes held glimmering stars.

Gazing at her sparkling form, it felt as though I had handed her that starlight, filling my heart with warmth.

What have I done… Even though I inwardly questioned it, I could only say it was just a feeling.

The night sky was filled with stars, and there was one more star on the ground.

And at that moment, I was walking with a star in my hand.

With that stroll under the starlight, we concluded our first day at the Academy.

 

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