TMLLT 03

Chapter 3

 Are you giving up already?

“……”

In a moment of silence, our gazes met.

I stared at Royce without a response.

It wasn’t because of a specific reason, but rather I couldn’t understand what context he was saying that in.

Royce, in his own way, was casting me a similar look.

But his imposing gaze had an arrogant self-assurance that he felt he couldn’t be wrong.

So, what exactly was he thinking?

“What does that have to do with this?”

“If you think you’re going to die because of me, why cut me off?”

“It’s because I think you’ll get me killed, I have to cut you off even more.”

“Are you giving up already?”

“……?”

The conversation stopped.

It seemed like Royce had misunderstood something.

His always confident and enigmatic pupils looked at me with unwavering certainty.

My own eyes were full of doubt, but he didn’t seem to care much about that.

Royce got up from his seat, stretched his broad shoulders, and went to look around the camp.

The sound of receding footsteps and the crackling fire filled the surrounding silence.

Derek was still tidying up his belongings, so I sat alone in front of the fire, lost in thought.

‘What am I giving up on?’

I kept thinking to myself, but no matter how much I thought about it, I couldn’t figure it out.

I heard the sound of something dropping nearby.

It was Derek, organizing the luggage.

‘Come to think of it, Derek must have heard it too.’

Derek was a rational and calm person, so he probably understood the words well.

“Senior Derek, you heard him just now, didn’t you?”

“Oh, no. Not at all. I didn’t hear a thing. Really.”

He must have been very intensely focused on organizing his luggage if he didn’t hear us despite being so close.

I explained the situation again to Derek.

Derek listened with a very troubled face.

I was grateful that he seemed to be listening to me with a perplexed expression like it was his own story.

“What do you think he means?”

“Well… um… I…”

After hesitating for a while, Derek spoke.

“…Um… maybe… giving up on the practical exam?”

“Does it sound like that to you?”

What does giving up the exam have to do with cutting off Royce?

“Well… Senior Royce has all the kits, you know.”

“Yeah.”

“He’s essential for the exam, right? So if you break it off with him… wouldn’t that prove to be a bit difficult?”

Derek loosened his words with a laugh and a smile.

“Oh…”

I wasn’t sure what exactly that meant, but it seemed to fit for now.

“Thank you, Senior Derek.”

So, he misunderstood that I was cutting him off and giving up on the exam?

There was something vaguely off about it, but I didn’t want to think about it too much.

I was too exhausted after walking 50 thousand steps to think too deeply.

Anyway, I never had any intention of giving up on the exam.

Why would I give up on a subject I’ve poured so much blood and sweat into preparing for?

I’ll cut off Royce later, but that’s after I’ve finished this practical, wrapped up the class, and seen my passing grades.

Royce didn’t return until much later.

To clear up the misunderstanding, I expressed my determination to him.

“I won’t give up. I’ll keep trying until the end.”

Royce heard my answer and said with a pleasant smile,

“Alright, then let’s see.”

It was a relief that the misunderstanding seemed to be resolved.

* * *

Throughout the night, we took turns keeping watch.

When it was my turn, I awoke to the grassland’s sharp wind.

I could see Royce sitting far away staring at me.

It felt like he was watching only me, as if to make sure I wouldn’t run away while everyone was asleep.

Perhaps the misunderstanding still hadn’t been fully resolved?

“Senior, I won’t give up,”

I murmured softly.

Then Royce came my way and placed his pocket watch in my hand.

Beneath the night sky of the meadow, his dark hair swaying slightly resembled shaking leaves.

“I know.”

“I mean it.”

“I understand.”

Seeing even a faint smile on that cold face, the misunderstanding really seemed to have been cleared for the moment.

“Now, senior, it’s your turn to sleep.”

“It’s okay. Sleep a little more.”

“Fine.”

Royce had incredible stamina, so I didn’t bother to refuse and closed my eyes.

Soon, the pot boiled with our breakfast, and around the break of dawn, we started moving again.

One day until the end of the practical.

Once I got my good grades, I would close contact with Royce and lead a safe and uneventful life.

* * *

The next class was a week after the practical.

Royce was hardly seen in class for nearly half the semester, but he finally made his next appearance after the practical. From the moment he entered the classroom, he captured everyone’s attention.

I was sitting at the back of the classroom.

Royce briefly looked around the classroom before he walked over to my direction.

He then sat in the seat next to me at the very back.

“You didn’t have to keep it empty for me.”

“It’s always been empty.”

Because I was the only freshman who signed up for this class.

After getting unwanted attention from sitting in the middle of the classroom on the first day, I had been sitting in a distant corner of the room away from everyone ever since.

It was none of my concern why Royce chose to sit next to me, so I just focused on the class.

As I concentrated, it got a little hot. I untied my loosely tied hair to retie it with my old hairband.

‘I think it might snap.’

As soon as I tied my hair, the worn-out threads of the band completely came apart.

“Oops!”

As the band came loose, my curly pale red hair scattered over my shoulders.

‘Is there anything else I can use as a hair tie?’

At that moment, Royce reached out a hand toward me.

Something was laying on my desk where his large, thick hand had been.

It was a packaged red hair tie.

“…?”

I glanced at Royce. He wasn’t even looking at me, just staring straight ahead.

Does he usually carry something like this around?

He had short hair, and carried a new hair tie for long hair?

That clearly meant…

‘He’s well prepared.’

Well, he’s the one who had such an all-round kit.

From a kit to hair ties… Since male leads received every possible buff, it seemed like he had everything.

‘Isn’t he almost like Doraemon?’

「I’ll give it back to you later.」

I roughly wrote a sentence on a piece of paper and put it out to Royce.

Royce glanced at the sentence with indifferent eyes, then wrote a new sentence below it.

「Just keep it.」

Well, returning something like a hair tie does feel a bit odd.

After a brief thought, I wrote back.

「Thank you. I’ll make good use of it.」

Below that, Royce wrote again.

「I didn’t buy it for you.」

「I  know.」

The paper was filled up before I knew it.

Royce seemed to be writing something new in his notebook, but then he crossed it out with his pen.

He decided on a different sentence then handed it over.

「Just hurry up and use it.」

The red hair tie he gave me was quite sturdy.

As I was tying my hair, I glanced to the side and noticed Royce staring at me.

I thought he was trying to show off, so I mouthed thank you to him again.

Royce blinked his eyes a few times like a baby leopard and then turned his head away.

Soon the class was over, and two 4th-year students approached Royce, since he hadn’t been to class in such a long time.

“Royce, what’s up? The professor said you didn’t have to come to class.”

What? This guy… I was wondering where he got the guts to not show up… So the professor told him that?

Wow, professor, I hadn’t seen you that way before. I felt my anger rise when I thought about all the frustrating days of preparing for the team project, but I held back.

Well, we completed the practical anyway.

And although the grades hadn’t come out yet, going by the atmosphere, it seemed like I didn’t do bad.

As I was hurriedly getting my things together to leave, some senior students approached me.

“Serdin Vivi, were you in the same group as Royce?”

“I’ve heard about you. You’re the sword of Vivi…”

The seniors were about to try to talk to me more with a look of excitement, but Royce grabbed them by the arm.

“Simon, aren’t you here to talk to me about something?”

“Oh, right. Royce, you’re coming to the party tonight, right?”

While the seniors were talking, I finished organizing my things and slipped away.

“Serdin.”

I was about to leave when Royce called me from behind.

Then he approached me indifferently.

“I’ll be coming to the next class as well.”

“Yes, I see.”

Although the practical was over, there was still a final brief report to submit.

It was advantageous for me for Royce to come to class.

“I’m telling you in advance so you can wait.”

“…?”

At that moment, I saw my classmate, Hael, arriving at the entrance of the lecture hall.

“Serdin!”

Hael beckoned at me with a smile on his face.

After finishing the lecture, I was going to go eat with my classmates Raiser and Mina.

I looked back at Royce. It seemed like he was about to say something more.

Royce’s eyes fixed on Hael.

“Who is this?”

He asked me with a serious look on his face for some reason.

I brought Hael over to Royce.

“Hael, say hello. He’s curious about you.”

While our paths may not cross again in the future, from the perspective of a knight apprentice, there was still much one could learn from Royce.

It was a good opportunity for Hael to get to know him as well.

Hael was bewildered, and respectfully greeted Royce with a bow.

“I’m Haelius Foundel. You’re senior Royce Velkerente, right? I’ve heard a lot about you.”

“I guess Serdin talked about me.” Said Royce, with a relaxed smile.

“Really? Oh, well, she did yeah…”

Hael’s words slurred.

It was understandable, since all I ever did while talking about Royce to my classmates was badmouth him.

Hael looked at me hesitantly as he answered. He had a look asking, ‘Is it okay to say this?’

Since I wouldn’t see Royce again after class, it didn’t matter.

But just as I was about to answer to him, Royce smiled leisurely and said,

“You don’t have to hide it. I already know.”

“…?”