081 – Affirmative.
“Thank you.”
Having received adequate first aid from the healer-priest for my injuries,
I decided to rely on natural healing for the rest and exited the treatment room.
There was still roughly an hour left before the sparring match ended.
I’d been hoping to watch the remaining bouts with Miss Ella…
“…?”
At the entrance to the training grounds, a group of Academy seniors blocked the way, looking down at me.
“…Perhaps, if I were to ask you to move aside, would you do so?”
“Would *you* move aside if you were us?”
“Yes.”
“…What’s with this guy?”
“Obstructing a path for no reason is inconsiderate, so wouldn’t you move?”
What is it with these people and their lack of common sense?
If someone asked you to move aside while you were blocking a public passage, shouldn’t you, naturally, do so?
“Didn’t it occur to you that we might have a reason for blocking the way?”
Ah.
So, they had a reason.
Even so, if it wasn’t related to me, the correct thing to do would still be to move aside.
“I see. I hope things go well for you. Then, I’ll be on my way.”
“…We have business with *you*.”
Ah.
So, they had business with *me*.
Wait a moment… this many people, swarming to block my path and claiming to have business…
“Ah… I am currently involved with someone, so, I apologize.”
“He really is crazy, just like the rumors said.”
What.
Why are they making me out to be crazy?
If the reason a whole throng of women is blocking me isn’t because one of them wants to confess her feelings, then what is it?
Is it not a situation where she lacks the courage to confess alone and is receiving help from her acquaintances?
“Ah… then… what is it you came for?”
“…You really don’t know?”
I couldn’t readily recall anything I’d done wrong.
The rumors of me being a minor lover came to mind, i felt the need to assert that it was a misunderstanding.
“First of all, it’s a misunderstanding.”
“A misunderstanding?”
“Yes. I am fond of robust, adult women.”
“…What is he even saying today? I came because you patted someone’s little sister’s butt during today’s sparring match, you know??”
“Ah. If I may ask, is your younger sibling female or male?”
“She’s my younger *sister*.”
“My fault, you’re right. I apologize.”
A swift admission and a swift apology.
“…?”
Well, even if it was just a sparring match.
Striking a woman’s backside was, undeniably, wrong.
Though, the words ‘thanks to that, your sister’s ribs and arm bones remain intact, you know’ remained stuck in my throat.
Instead of blaming others, I would calmly acknowledge my mistake.
“…”
I could see my seniors, dumbfounded, staring blankly at me as if at a loss for words.
‘…Can I leave now, or what?’
“May I take my leave?”
“…Can you?”
“I gather not… How might I be permitted to go?”
“Uh… um…”
They’d intended to give me a hard time, but, having actually met me, seemed unsure how to scold someone who clearly wasn’t all there.
“What you did, uh… that’s a form of s*xual assault.”
“Since it occurred during a sparring match, I believed some leniency might be considered.”
“What kind of—”
“Nonetheless, I have been discourteous to a woman, and should it be necessary, I will visit her directly to offer my apologies.”
“Ah… yeah… so… just wait here for a bit, okay?”
“Understood.”
“…Didn’t someone say he was arrogant?”
“He’s almost *too* polite, isn’t he?”
“No… but… how are you supposed to scold someone who’s being polite?”
“Usually… you *don’t* scold someone who’s being polite… right?”
“Actually, though, shouldn’t we be thankful he hit her butt there? You suffered for two days last month because your rib was broken, remember?”
“My sister wouldn’t stop whining, so…”
“My sister too…”
They whispered amongst themselves, taking a moment to confer.
I had no idea just how far the rumors about me had been twisted.
In truth, I was simply a student with a remarkably normal way of thinking.
‘What is this situation…? Should I call it being cornered by some half-baked thugs…?’
I had no reason to raise my voice against those who were senior to me.
If my actions had offended them, then I just needed to apologize.
I wasn’t some aristocrat; bowing my head a bit wouldn’t cause any controversy, so I waited quietly where my seniors had instructed.
“We’re going with that, then?”
“…Let’s do it. We need to get some kind of compensation, after all.”
“My sister got her butt smacked by him too. We have to at least get this much.”
“For you… for me, and… for Reina too?”
“That feels about right, I think.”
A group of senior students, as if they’d reached some agreement amongst themselves, approached me.
“Mihan-nim.”
“Ella-ssi?”
“What are you doing here? We were worried you weren’t coming, so we came to find you.”
They walked right past me, naturally, heading towards something.
“?”
What.
Didn’t you have something to say to me?
Hey??
You told me to wait for you??
Where are you going???
“Uh…”
Just as I was about to ask the departing seniors where they were off to…
“?????????”
They suddenly took off running somewhere.
I decided they must have been too embarrassed to apologize, so they were just ditching the whole thing.
“I was…having a conversation with someone.”
“Aha.”
“…Ella-ssi.”
“Yes?”
“Ella-ssi, are you…perhaps a little uncomfortable that I only struck my opponent’s backside during the sparring match?”
“Mihan-nim chose that spot hoping the other person wouldn’t get hurt as much, didn’t you? There’s no reason to be uncomfortable at all.”
“Thank you for understanding.”
“It’s not a matter of understanding; everyone knows it. It’s because of the overwhelming difference in skill, you were being considerate so they wouldn’t get injured.”
Rumors were going around amongst the freshmen, weird ones.
But those who had experienced many sparring matches, second-year and above, seemed to have a different perspective.
Well, after having your body broken once a month, you’d easily notice if I was being considerate.
“I was worrying about nothing, then.”
“Hup, surely Mihan-nim didn’t strike them with…lecherous intentions?!”
“…I definitely hit guys too, you know?”
“Mihan-nim is… a furry, and likes men too… I’ll make a note of that.”
“Whoa whoa??”
Responding to Ella-ssi’s playful teasing.
I went with her to watch the rest of the sparring matches from the stands, but then…
“Mihan-nim?”
“Hm? Ah, yes?”
“I will guide you to His Majesty’s seat.”
A familiar soldier approached me, attempting to lead me to where His Majesty was.
“…Couldn’t I not go? I’m supposed to be on a date with my lover right now…”
Rejecting the offer, wanting to stay with Ella-ssi-
“Quickly, now..! His Majesty calls for you, why do you tarry so..!”
“I am permitted to decline.”
“That is disobedience of the Imperial Command..!”
“Surely, one can skip a summons or two.”
“Please, just go..!”
“And here I was, looking forward to this date… I see how it is. Let’s say another comes along.”
Nothing for it.
As I cannot forsake my time with Miss Ella, I decide to go to His Majesty, together with Miss Ella.
“Why, why me as well..!”
“I shall guide you.”
“You’re not stopping this..? Surely you should object to an uninvited guest joining the audience..!”
“His Majesty ordered that Master Midnatt be treated with the utmost respect and that all of his requests be granted.”
…
“Mister! Miss!”
“Come to think of it, it feels a tad unfair, Asher.”
“Yes?”
“Why am *I* Mister, and *she* Miss? I wish to be Oppa as well.”
“Mister!”
Scarcely had I arrived, uttering such nonsense, when I took a seat next to His Majesty, who gazed upon me with amusement.
“No particular reason, really. Just felt like calling you.”
“????”
What is this motiveless harassment?
To interrupt my date, only to reveal that there was no reason for it…
“..How truly gracious of you.”
“Your eyes speak of anything but gratitude, I perceive?”
“…”
Her Highness Asher, chuckling, began to converse amicably with Miss Ella, and His Majesty glanced subtly in their direction.
As if to signal that his previous words were merely a jest, he withdrew a sheet of paper from within his robes and handed it to me.
“Could it be? Has the day finally come when I receive a blank check?”
What else could His Majesty offer me but a blank check?
Half-expecting to see a strategic plan for storming the Midnight Auction headquarters, I eagerly examined the paper…
“This is..?”
“The Empress requested that it be sent to you.”
“..!!”
I was struck by the shocking news that the Empress, seemingly not in her right mind, had sent a letter to me.
“Speaking of blank checks, had you but mentioned needing one, I would have gladly presented you with one in my Imperial name.”
“Just jesting, I was only jesting..!”
After accepting His Majesty’s half-joking offer, I read the letter that the Empress herself had penned.
—
Waited. Resented.
The weather is clear today.
The sun is out. Sad. Happy.
Asher is well.
I miss Ash.
I miss you. Coming to see you.
Cannot leave.
I wish. It’s warm. Best to bundle up.
—
“Hmm…”
I even tried reading the haphazardly written missive vertically, just in case…
But Her Majesty was not employing acrostics.
Indeed… she supposedly lost her mind, unable to bear the sorrow of losing her daughter and the shock of potentially losing Princess Asher as well…
“…Have you read it?”
“Yes, I have. It’s a letter from my wife to you, but who knows?”
“…”
I subtly turned my head to look at Princess Asher, who was performing a magic show in the audience seats with Miss Ella and Miss Isabella.
I watched for a moment as flames poured from her hands, burning in an intricate and beautiful display…
“That’s fortunate.”
Soon after understanding the contents of the letter sent by Her Majesty, I carefully folded it and tucked it inside my chest pocket.
“Don’t need any interpretation?”
“I didn’t understand it at first, but after seeing Princess Asher’s bright demeanor, I could tell. That Her Majesty… had this feeling while writing the letter.”
A feeling of satisfaction rose within me.
If my choice could bring happiness to someone, there was a satisfaction to be felt in that alone.
“So you’re agreeing to it?”
Thus, in response to His Majesty’s question, I nodded, signaling my agreement as well…
“Of course. Of course, I agree.”
“That’s a relief. Then I’ll see you in two days.”
“…Pardon?”
“Didn’t you say you agreed?”
“…That is so, isn’t it?”
“Doesn’t it say so in the letter? That she wants to see you.”
“???????????”
“You clearly said you agreed.”
“???????????????????”
I quickly pulled out the letter, and slowly reread the words once more…
‘I miss you. Coming to see you.’
‘Cannot leave.’
Only then could I belatedly realize that this passage meant I was being invited to the imperial palace.
‘No, wasn’t she referring to missing Princess Ash, whom she previously sent away in grief??’
I shouldn’t have said I understood.
What a fool I am, answering like that, caught up in the moment…