“Wh-What do you mean all of a sudden?”
“I’m saying it literally. I like you purely as a disciple, so I hope you don’t develop any feelings for me beyond that.”
Saying this, Luke took out a familiar necklace from his pocket and handed it to Shirud.
“If this necklace is a gift filled with such feelings, I cannot accept it.”
“Wha…?”
In truth, Luke had rarely considered the feelings and situations of others when conveying information. As a mage, and due to his lack of a delicate personality, he had never deeply empathized with others to maintain etiquette.
He had learned about noble manners academically, but he had never genuinely empathized to the point of practicing proper etiquette. He was in a position where he didn’t even need to contemplate such concerns.
As a result, a few conflicts had arisen due to Luke’s ‘lack of awareness.’ For instance, he had once told a boy who lost his mother to war that it was fortunate he still had his father, and got scolded by Renie and Kail, or he had interrupted a soldier describing his dire situation after a major defeat, demanding a report on the overall casualties and enemy strength instead of letting the soldier address his recent trauma.
Well, gradually accumulating such experiences had allowed him to learn some general tendencies, and he received evaluations saying he had improved in that aspect later on, but the current situation was entirely unfamiliar to Luke.
When would he have acquired the knowledge to fully adapt to the social position and perceptions of a half-human, half-beast girl in a prosperous modern society where Circle magic was considered obsolete?
Moreover, that fact had guaranteed him almost unconditional goodwill in the majority of situations he had encountered thus far, so there was no need to reflect deeply on such matters. It was far more beneficial to polish his magic theory instead of contemplating pointless things.
However, for Shirud, who could not grasp what was going on in Luke’s mind, this was not the case. Although he had unintentionally accepted the necklace from Luke, Shirud was still in a daze from Luke’s unexpected statement.
Suddenly?
At this timing?
Was there anywhere in their previous situation and conversation where he might have offended Luke?
After considering carefully, there was absolutely no way.
Wasn’t it merely a mundane and normal conversation where he answered “no” to the question “Did you see it?”
Unable to understand the situation, Shirud’s mind flashed back to the scene from the dream he had this morning.
When he had the dream, he thought it was truly ridiculous, but…
Could it be that the dream was not just a silly dream?
“…!”
Indeed.
Somehow, despite confessing like that, Luke’s demeanor had not changed at all from before.
So, he only wanted to remain close friends with her and had no intention of advancing beyond that at all.
In Luke’s eyes, she was just a little kid who couldn’t even be called “older sister,” and his preference did not include “girl.”
Thinking that way made more sense.
Shirud, holding the moonstone necklace returned by Luke, stood up and said,
“Could it be because of that Third guy?”
Returning a gift given is almost equivalent to a complete severance of relationships in Elvish culture.
Moreover, if it was the necklace that had been given as a birthday gift, it meant he was saying he never wanted to see her again.
It’s a fairly old Elvish custom, and many who are not familiar with it might not want to interpret it that way, but considering Luke’s proficiency in various etiquette and knowledge, it seemed unreasonable to think he acted without understanding such implications.
If that wasn’t the case, wouldn’t he have explained it earlier?
While having that thought, Shirud gritted his teeth.
A sudden severance of ties, and he couldn’t think of a reason why.
“Third? His name comes up again. What did he do to you? What do you mean?”
Luke wore a puzzled expression as if unsure.
Seeing this, Shirud couldn’t hide his frustration and shouted.
“Isn’t it great that Third is bigger than me?!”
“Uh…? Bigger is good… What?”
Luke flinched at the sudden words that came out of Shirud’s mouth.
Because that line was almost exactly what he had seen in a novel that children shouldn’t read at Yerna’s house.
Could it be that he mistook something from such a novel?
‘No, it must usually be about height,’ he thought as he gathered his scattered thoughts and decided to listen to Shirud’s words for now.
“What in the world are you talking about?”
However, Shirud couldn’t help but solidify his suspicion based on Luke’s reaction.
There was no reason for Luke’s expression to mess up so suddenly otherwise.
“If that’s the case…!”
Naturally, having no other meaning in mind, Shirud averted his gaze in a huff and said,
“…Right now, I might not be in your eyes, but once I grow up, I can be much cooler than Third. So…”
Somehow, he felt frustrated.
Normally, even if there’s a severance, they could still see each other at the Academy, so it wouldn’t feel like a real severance even if they didn’t converse.
But, Luke was literally in a position where it wouldn’t matter if he quit the Academy anytime!
The sole connection between him and Luke was the Academy, which Luke didn’t care much about, just to earn a diploma.
Thinking this way made him feel regretful and a bit unjust, as if he might never see Luke again.
It felt like tears might even be welling up.
“So, please don’t sever ties. There were many times I disliked your antics, but… still, thanks to you, the Circle improved a lot, and I enjoyed attending the Academy. I’m now okay talking to girls, and studying magic has become fun. So…”
Luke hugged Shirud, who was speaking in a rush, to silence him while simultaneously patting his back, calming the Circle down, and said in a gentle voice,
“Severing ties? Why would you think that? That’s absolutely not the case, so rest assured.”
“B-But, the necklace…”
“What about the necklace?”
Shirud spoke through a voice mixed with tears.
“Returning the gift I gave you means you’re saying you want to sever ties. You… you suddenly dislike me.”
“Did that action have such a meaning? I assure you, that was not the intention at all!”
Luke was never deeply knowledgeable about Elvish etiquette, and such an interpretation was something he had never heard of in all his past and present lives.
At least, there had been no such customs 5000 years ago when he had lived.
The closest thing akin to it would be a soldier returning meaningful gifts they usually carried before embarking on a battle, but that didn’t imply a severance of ties.
Moreover, such customs were universally present among all races.
Well, for the long-lived elves, they might have exchanged items filled with more memories and affection.
“And I don’t specifically like Third more than you. I like my disciples equally. It’s just that I’m not in love as a romantic partner.”
“Really?”
Once he felt a bit calmer, Luke released Shirud from his embrace, knelt to meet his eye level, and said,
“Yes. If you felt otherwise, I apologize. What made you think that? If you tell me, I’ll correct it.”
“It just feels like you meet with Third often… So…”
“That’s only because Third was in a much more unstable state than you, so he had to be seen more often. He doesn’t have parents or the social background like you do.”
Moreover, while Third had been saved by Luke’s Circle restoration spell, he had lost considerable memories of the past, making it quite difficult to continue living through his current life.
Given his challenging past, it was inevitable that more care would be given to Third, who had likely led a rather tough life.
“I see… I should have known it was you whom I thought was my ideal man, rather than Third…”
“Hahaha. You’ve made quite an amusing misunderstanding.”
An ideal man!
Luke was surprised that Shirud could even think of Third as her ideal type.
To be honest, with his grotesque scars still unhealed, Third could not even be considered in terms of appearance, and while he manifested respect toward his mentor, his cold and sharp demeanor to others stemmed from past wounds, not to mention his financial situation.
If a woman could genuinely like such a man, wouldn’t she be quite a remarkable person?
“Of course, I think it would be good for him to have such a woman around. Obviously, it wouldn’t be me, though.”
Saying this, Shirud blushed, realizing she had made a really odd misunderstanding.
Then suddenly, a question arose in her mind.
“W-What’s your ideal type then?”
“My ideal type?”
Ideal type—Luke hadn’t really given it much thought.
Therefore, the thought that he might love someone hadn’t really crossed his mind.
But if he had to pick, there was one person.
“If I had to choose an ideal type, I would say a woman like Renie Arinseia.”
“…Huh? Renie…?”
“Yes, Renie.”
No matter how he thought about it, the only woman he had never found boring, after spending such a long time together, was her.
Her smile was the most valuable reward of all, and her happiness had been the only lesson Luke gained from that war.
Additionally, her spirit possessed the will suitable for immortality more than anyone else.
So, perhaps she might be his ideal type.
“A woman with a strong will like Renie, beautiful features, and red-tinged hair could be called my ideal type.”
“…Oh, uh. R-right…?”
“So, when I say I like you, it doesn’t mean I love you in a romantic way. Do you understand?”
It was truly an unexpected response.
At least he thought there would be a typical masculine image, but something entirely different came out.
‘Luke likes women…’
Choosing an answer that no one would expect truly fit Luke’s character.
So, was that always the feeling people had about him?
“….”
It wasn’t that being a “boy” had been an issue, but rather that he was just a “male” that had made things difficult…
Helena was shocked, covering her mouth at the unexpected and shocking fact she had overheard.
‘…N-No way!’
So, Luke was actually homosexual!
Accidentally discovering Shirud, who was walking toward the back of the practice warehouse, Helena had actually been secretly tailing Shirud.
It was difficult to ignore the boy, who occasionally closed his eyes to estimate the direction and then resumed walking.
She wanted to ask why he was walking like that, but it was a bit embarrassing to suddenly talk to him, and she was too curious to just ignore it, so she followed Shirud from a distance.
Then, she happened to overhear Luke and Shirud talking, and she had no other intention behind it.
She didn’t want to know this!
‘…W-What should I do?’
Inwardly flustered, Helena quietly distanced herself from the spot without making a sound, then ran back to her class.
