Chapter 9

I couldn’t help but be startled by Estelle’s sudden question about the Academy.

What’s with her…? It doesn’t seem like she knows I’m planning to attend the Academy.

If she did know, she wouldn’t have asked like this. Instead, she would have focused on the fact that we’d be enrolling together.

Estelle was the type of person who was incredibly direct and honest. She wouldn’t beat around the bush about what was on her mind.

Because of that, she sometimes ended up drawing hostility from others. But then again, that same trait could also make her surprisingly charming as a character and win her a lot of favor.

“Why the Academy, all of a sudden?”

“Yes, you know, don’t you, that I’ll be attending the Academy next year with Her Highness the Crown Princess?”

“Yes, I know.”

It had been such a massive piece of gossip that the whole world had been buzzing about it.

Even if it hadn’t been, I would have known anyway. I’m a transmigrator in this game, after all.

“Yes, I… No, never mind. This isn’t something I should be discussing with someone I just met.”

She wasn’t wrong about that.

Honestly, what kind of trust could someone possibly have to share something like that with a person they just met?

But wasn’t it the same with the current situation? What trust did she have in me to teach me magic or to come to my house and sleep here?

Of course, Duncan’s trust in me probably played a role here, but the reality was, she had only just met me today. To her, I was nothing more than “Villager A”.

Or should I say, “Village Disciple A”?

“I don’t really understand, but… well, someday, when you feel comfortable, you can tell me about it.”

Just because I was curious didn’t mean I was going to demand answers from her.

If I clumsily pried like that, it could ruin any growing connection between us. Besides, Estelle looked a bit sad, which made me hesitate to push further.

At first, I had thought of this world as just a game, but as things gradually turned into reality and happened in front of my eyes, it no longer felt like a game. It felt real. And because of that, I had grown more cautious in how I dealt with people.

Honestly, that’s just how it is, isn’t it? If I dismissed it all as fake, wouldn’t that mean the family I’ve gained here is fake too?

That… I didn’t want to think that way.

Even if it turned out to be a fake world, even if it was a place created by someone else…

The moments I was living now were certainly real, not something created by someone else.

“Anyway, for now, let’s just go home, eat, and think things over. You know this is the time of day when people get the most sentimental, right?”

“Well, that’s true. Watching the sunset glow red like that does make you feel a bit sentimental. But are you sure it’s okay for me to come over?”

“Yes, I already asked my mom earlier.”

This world was a hierarchical society with nobles and all, so it was easy to forget sometimes, but this was really a modern world.

Actually, it was so blatantly modern that it was impossible to forget.

Everything in front of me was fully modernized, and there were even holographic smartphones that were more advanced than anything in the world I used to live in.

“Oh, that’s an expensive model. Did your parents go all out for it?”

For a country boy, it was definitely a phone far beyond what seemed fitting.

Even so, I hadn’t asked for it myself. This phone had been bought by Theo back when he was still just a troublesome son, and I was simply continuing to use it.

Well, honestly, I did feel a bit guilty, like I’d taken advantage of my parents, but what could I do? Throwing it away and using something worse wasn’t exactly an option, right?

Throwing away a perfectly good phone to ask for a new, old one would have been an even worse way to take advantage of my parents.

“Well, there was a time when I was pretty immature.”

“I see. Well, that’s how it is for everyone.”

I half-expected her to tease me about how my “immature days” seemed suspiciously recent, but surprisingly, she didn’t take it that far. She didn’t seem like the type to have such a mean streak after all; she just let the topic slide without making a fuss.

At this rate, she didn’t seem like someone who’d have too many enemies. Interesting.

“Come to think of it, how far is your house from the village, Theo?”

“Oh, it’s about six bus stops away. If the last bus has already stopped running, it’ll take around an hour and a half to walk.”

If I had my own car or even a bicycle, I could get there faster, but we were barely making ends meet, so there was no car, and I’d left the bike at home today.

Even if I had brought the bike, it wasn’t like I could infuse it with magic or anything. It was just an ordinary bicycle, so while it might be faster than walking, it would still take at least an hour to get there.

“Ah, I see… I guess we’d better hope the last bus hasn’t stopped running, then.”

“Ah, nope. Last bus is gone. Looks like It’ll be walking.”

At my words, Estelle frowned deeply.

But honestly, I was just as pissed as she was.

What pissed me off more was seeing that the last bus had left just one minute ago. Just one minute.

“Ugh, so now we’re walking for an hour and a half?”

“Well, that’s the usual plan, but hold on a second.”

I wasn’t exactly happy about walking, and I doubted my parents at home would be either. Estelle didn’t seem too keen on it, so I decided to try another option.

“What are you planning to do?”

“I’m going to borrow a bike.”

There wasn’t an official bike rental shop in the village, but I was familiar with most of the shop owners at the market. If they had a spare bike, they usually let me borrow one if I promised to return it the next day.

“Miss Estelle, you can use magic, right?”

“Yes, I can.”

“Great. Then we should be able to make it in about thirty minutes. Ma’am! Can I borrow this bike?”

I called into the vegetable shop where I bought some veggies earlier and noticed the shopkeeper was the only one inside.

“Oh my, isn’t that Theo? Of course, use it as much as you need.”

“Thank you! I’ll bring it back tomorrow!”

“Sure, sure. Looks like you missed the bus while out running errands, huh?”

“Yeah, the last bus just left. I’ll see you tomorrow!”

After greeting the shopkeeper and getting the bike, Estelle looked at me with a puzzled expression on her face.

“Are you saying we both ride on this one bike?”

“Yes, this is the only bike we can borrow, and I don’t know how to use applied magic.”

If we each took separate bikes, it would take me an hour to get there since I couldn’t use applied magic, while Estelle who could would arrive in thirty minutes. That would lead to the unfortunate situation of her arriving ahead of me.

More importantly, there simply wasn’t another bike available. It was around the time most people were finishing up work for the day, and the vegetable shop that had a house attached to it only had a single delivery bike to spare.

“Let’s go. Hop on.”

“Should I sit in the front?”

“If you’re sitting in the back, you can just focus on channeling your magic.”

“Hmm, I’ll ride in the back.”

“Alright, suit yourself.”

Since she’d be using her magic to assist either way, it was effectively the same as her controlling the bike, but I couldn’t quite understand why she insisted on sitting in the back. Still, I climbed onto the bike first and decided to just roll with it.

“Let’s go.”

***

Estelle, who found herself feeling inexplicably excited over such a simple phrase as “Let’s go” began to wonder if something was wrong with her heart.

On top of that, her decision to sit in the back only added to her confusion.

Since she was the one using magic to propel the bike, Estelle would essentially be the one driving. Yet she couldn’t understand why she had insisted on sitting in the back.

If I sit in the back… I can hold onto Mr. Theo’s back…?

And the conclusion she reached sent a jolt through her body.

What the hell am I thinking? Mr. Theo and I are just teacher and student!

Of course, they were a young man and woman traveling alone together, and situations had come up where it wouldn’t have been strange for feelings to develop.

But still.

It’s obvious Mr. Theo isn’t interested in me, so why am I having these ridiculous thoughts?

The problem was that the person in question didn’t seem to have even the faintest idea.

No matter how she looked at it, Theo’s feelings for her were nonexistent. Even if he did feel anything, it was likely the kind of connection shared between newly acquainted peers.

After all, the way he treated her wasn’t any different from how he treated Duncan or the other villagers.

If anything, Estelle felt he was even more affectionate toward Duncan and the villagers, probably because he had known them for much longer.

“Miss Estelle, aren’t you getting on?”

“…Mr. Theo.”

“Yes?”

“Just call me Estelle.”

“Oh, alright. Got it. Then, shall we go, Estelle?”

She felt like the “Miss” he called her was a bit too distant.

Before she realized it, she had told him to drop the formalities and just call her by name.

She even intended to tell Theo that she wanted to call him by his name without the “Mr.” honorific too, but somehow, when he said that they should get going, her response came out awkwardly.

“Ah, uh, yes. Let’s go.”

Immediately, Theo began pedaling, and as she focused on managing her magic to make sure he didn’t tire himself out, the words about calling him simply “Theo” were swallowed back down.

It was an unprecedented moment in her life. For someone who always believed in saying whatever was on her mind.