[23] A Cold Boy and a Hot Girl (2)
Amy's expression shifted. The lie had been accepted as fact. A commoner couldn't possibly be a guest in a noble household—people had reached that conclusion because they didn't know about Rian's knight's oath.
"You didn't tell people you know me, did you?"
"I didn't tell anyone. It's not exactly something I'd boast about."
If that was the case, Shirone was a ticking bomb. Going to school with that hanging over him was genuinely frightening.
Amy hatched a plan. She tilted her chin with a show of arrogance and said, "You're Class Seven, right? I'm Class Four."
"I know, senior."
"Then from today on you're my underling."
"Excuse me? My underling?"
"You're holding my weakness. If I open my mouth, you'd be thrown out of school, right? So from now on you'll do as I say. Whatever I tell you—you obey."
Shirone stared in disbelief.
"Why would I have to do that? I'd follow orders anyway since you're senior."
"How naive. Do you think I'm going to give you easy tasks? I'll make you cry your eyes out. Look forward to it."
If she couldn't follow Shirone, she'd make Shirone follow her. Keep him in sight, needle his pride, and see what he's really hiding.
"What are you going to make me do?"
"After class you buy bread and coffee and run them to me. Got it? If even a single drop of coffee spills, you go back and get it again."
Normally good-natured Shirone felt his anger rising. Bread? Did she think he'd come to school to deliver bread?
"Hohoho! Then wait in front of the First Library from tomorrow. If you obey me, I'll be done with you fast, so don't worry."
Amy tapped Shirone's forehead and laughed.
Shirone was stunned. Was this really the Amy called the goddess of Alpheas?
"Oh, and—"
Amy turned as she was about to leave. Her hand shot up and the air around them began to spin. Shirone's body lifted into the sky.
"Ugh!"
A tornado spell, manipulating air pressure to whip up wind. It had once left Shirone helpless, but to a Class Four like Amy it felt like child's play.
Shirone flailed in midair. Maybe because he was in danger, the ground below looked painfully clear—he could see even the fallen leaves with sharp detail.
And Amy's smirking face.
If I fall, I'll die.
The thought flashed through him, and Amy sprang and grabbed the back of his collar. Her grip squeezed his throat and he gasped. When he came to, he was already collapsed on the ground.
"Cough! Cough!"
After displaying both magic and Skima, she brushed her hands as if satisfied. She'd stopped Skima training after twelve, but her movements were still inhuman.
"That settles the debt. See you tomorrow. Hohoho!"
Amy laughed triumphantly and walked away. Shirone's anger flared—he'd never met such an infuriating girl.
But rank was the bully here, and skill was everything. Swallowing his resentment, Shirone bowed his head and left the woods. Just thinking that he'd have to see her tomorrow made his world go dark.
* * *
The bell for the last period at five rang.
Basic physics class was over. Shirone sighed as he packed his bag and left. He'd been running Amy's errands—delivering bread and coffee—for ten days now.
He bought the items at the school shop. Compared to the sponsorship money from the Ozent family it was nothing, but it wasn't about the money—it was about how it made him feel. And that was exactly what Amy was aiming for.
"Why is she doing this to me? She started it and she should be the one apologizing."
Walking without spilling coffee required focus. Fine—treat it as training. Adjust your gait so the coffee doesn't slosh.
"How long does this have to go on? Seriously!"
Shirone felt miserable.
"There he goes, Mr. Lovesick."
"Going to confess again today, I bet. At this point it's a disease."
Girls passing by whispered and pointed at Shirone. That was the real problem.
When he handed bread and coffee to Amy she accepted them with graceful composure and vanished into the library.
Rumors were already spreading that Shirone had a crush on Amy. The more the rumor grew, the colder Amy treated him.
Amy's obsessive settling of a grudge from six years ago had completely shattered Shirone's illusions about women.
"Hey! Here comes your prince."
"A prince? More like a servant."
Amy waited for Shirone at the library entrance with Seriel. The place swarmed with students who'd come just to see the spectacle.
When Shirone climbed the steps the watching girls giggled and applauded. His face burned crimson.
Seriel gave a sympathetic smile. "It's kind of pathetic. You should just accept it—if he's doing this much for you, why not?"
Amy's eyes went wide. "What? Why would I accept him?"
"Stop pretending. You won't even look boys in the eye, but you always take the bread and coffee he brings. Some girls are whispering that the goddess of Alpheas finally found someone."
It was absurd. The whole thing had been a plan to provoke Shirone, but now it was getting out of hand.
She'd intended it to last about a week. But Shirone, for whatever reason, never showed displeasure and kept bringing the bread.
If this continued, weird rumors would stick. I should stop this.
When Shirone handed over the bread and coffee the crowd cheered. The devotion of not spilling a single drop for the woman he loved looked touching. Of course it was a complete misunderstanding, and the gap between them only widened.
"Senior, here's your coffee."
"Ugh! So annoying!"
Amy snapped her hand up. The best way to dispel the ridiculous misconception was to humiliate him.
She planned to swat the arm and spill the coffee. Then Shirone would become just another dumped boy and the rumors would die down.
"Who told you to bring this junk?"
Amy waved her hand and the students' faces changed. But the disaster she expected didn't happen.
Amy glared at the coffee, her hand trembling.
'Why don't you at least show dislike? Are you stupid? A fool? Don't you have any shame?'
An unexpected pang of conscience hit her. And that was Shirone's strength.
If something had to be done, it was better to think positively. That attitude made Amy feel guilty.
"Senior, here's your coffee."
As the hardworking top of Class Four, Amy knew how wasteful this was for Shirone.
Realizing that, she felt a little ashamed. She hadn't been avoiding boys because she feared attention—she'd been lazy. She couldn't stand nobodies with no talent acting high and mighty.
'Let them think whatever. As long as it's not me, fine.'
Amy took the bread and coffee. Applause erupted from all around like an audience watching a performance.
"You don't need to bring things like this anymore. Understood?"
"Huh? Oh—yes."
Was that enough? Shirone breathed a sigh of relief, thinking he'd never have to see her again.
But Amy's remark sparked an even bigger misunderstanding among the students.
"She accepted him! Amy accepted Shirone's feelings!"
"She said she doesn't even need the coffee. So maybe he can just come by?"
Amy strode into the library, refusing to answer. Seriel hurried after her, barely containing her excitement.
"Hey! What are you going to do? If it's true that's great—did you mean it like that?"
"I don't know! Think whatever you want. Don't you have anything better to do than meddle? I'll be gone after I graduate. Let them play their childish games."
Descending the library steps, Shirone felt like he could fly. Ten days of suffering—he hadn't expected it to end so fast. From tomorrow on he could go straight to the library without wasting time.
"Yahoo! I can read one more book!"
Boys who'd fallen for the idea that Shirone had captured Amy's heart watched him run by enviously.
11 p.m.
Amy closed her book and sighed. She'd never found studying fun, but she liked the library. Better to be here than to hang out with people who made gossip and other people's romances the center of their lives.
Even close to midnight the reading room was full. These students didn't care who dated whom—they were racehorses charging toward their own dreams.
Watching them, Amy realized even wasting time on idle thoughts was something she couldn't afford.
She was still the top of Class Four and had no worry of being overtaken.
Seriel beside her looked up. "Huh? Why are you closing your book already? Heading out?"
"Yeah. I'm a bit unsettled tonight. I'll rest and get up an hour earlier tomorrow."
"Want me to go with you?"
"No. You don't need to rest for my sake. See you tomorrow."
"All right. Take care. Don't forget to get up early."
Amy smiled and packed her bag. Fortis Seriel had been her only real friend during six years at school—chatty like anyone else, but dependable when it mattered. Her grades were sixth in Class Four, safely in the graduation cohort.
Amy preferred Seriel's mature kind of competitiveness to flimsy friendships.
After giving her friend a pep talk, Amy left the reading room.
With only the duty staff left, the corridor felt quiet. Students came to school with dreams; for the staff it was just a job to earn money.
Amy stretched the day's fatigue away and descended the stairs. On the shadowed landing she noticed someone standing.
Pale skin, dark circles under his eyes, black hair falling over his cheek. Amy's face crumpled when moonlight revealed his features.
Ardius Jake.
He ranked second among the nobles, and his family's head steward served as the palace's financial administrator. Because of that office, the family's influence was said to rival the first rank.
Jake was arrogant and prickly. But the real reason Amy disliked him was that he had little talent and even less effort.
He shared Class Four but was nowhere near graduation level. Rumor even had him as the head of a research club called the Black Magisher.
Amy suspected the Black Magisher researched how to torment students who were better than they were.
It wasn't a school-approved club and received no funding—basically a dark circle where kids with inferiority complexes picked on more successful students.
They didn't openly extort or brawl; most students were children of high nobles, and act like a thug and you'd be expelled.
Still, rumors that some students had been targeted by the Black Magisher suggested they were up to something.
"Amy, you finished early tonight. I was planning to wait until midnight."
"Why would you wait for me? Don't you have anything better to do?"
"Don't be like that. I heard the rumor. You opened your heart to that distant commoner Shirone, didn't you?"
Amy pressed her forehead and sighed. Was he serious? He'd come all the way to the library to spout that pathetic nonsense.
Jake flashed a slick smile and offered a cup of coffee. Amy recognized the aroma—civet coffee popular among nobles.
"I warmed it up. For the great Amy, the least you could do is accept something like this. You wouldn't soil your mouth with cheap coffee, would you?"
Amy stared at the cup and raised an eyebrow.
"What are you doing?"
"As you can see, I'm courting you. You know my family's power, and I'll take over the palace finances after my father. Wouldn't I be the right man for you?"
"Sorry, I don't do private chit-chat in the library. Wrong place, wrong time. And—wrong person. I don't like you. So let's make sure this doesn't happen again."
Amy stepped to one side and went down the stairs. Jake planted his hand on the wall and blocked her path.
"What do you think you're doing?"
"Maybe I was too soft. My family has a reputation to keep; this is troublesome. You're the same—aren't you cramming to avoid staining the Carmis name? We share the same concerns."
Amy scoffed. No matter how prestigious the Ardius family was, Carmis wasn't the kind they could recklessly bring up. More than that, she hated Jake's tone.
"You're just a miser who counts coins."
"What?"
"My family lives by doing what we want. You seem proud of counting money the way your father did. That's not something to boast about."
A vein bulged in Jake's neck. Even a first rank couldn't speak to him that way.
"My father's the palace financial administrator. Money fixes everything. Rash behavior is your problem, Amy."
"Carmis so great, huh? First rank in name only—how many of them really hold power? With my family's influence, we could drown Carmis in money. Want to test me?"
Amy felt a chill from Jake's murky aura. He was the sort of man who would relentlessly torment others for his own gain. She finally understood why she'd felt unsettled all day.
"Phew. Now I know why you offered coffee."
"What?"
"You're different from Shirone. In short—you're a coward."
"Haha! Me a coward compared to that pathetic brat? Want me to prove it now?"
"You seem eager. Then do it quickly. Don't waste time jabbering. If all you can do is glare and you won't follow through, know that people will see you for what you are."
Amy slammed Jake's mug. Expensive coffee splattered the wall. The mug struck the steps and shattered with a crash.