Luke was accustomed to the gaze.
There had always been many reasons to attract attention.
As an unprecedented genius, as a grand mage, holding the title of duke, simply being good-looking, and behaving oddly for the sake of magic.
Or, as the ‘hero’ who saved the world.
Moreover, since he gained this body, Luke had continued to attract attention wherever he went due to his unique appearance and demeanor, or his age that did not match the places he was in.
Thus, it was natural that the gaze upon him was always present, and inevitably, he had become insensitive to it.
It couldn’t be helped, could it?
When the same thing repeats several times, a human naturally adapts to it.
So, Luke did not care about the attention directed at him.
As long as they didn’t openly gossip or approach him, he had grown indifferent to the gazes focused on him.
And for a while, that was something Luke didn’t have to worry about.
Since the gazes and attention did not affect him at all.
However, things were a bit different now.
Luke had learned through an incident just yesterday.
His grown body could be perceived as an ‘opposite sex’ by many men.
As he realized this, the sounds around him that he had been ignoring all this time began to become noticeable.
He came to understand that the conversations he had brushed off as unimportant were actually about himself.
“Wow, who is that? Was someone like that at our academy?”
“She’s really pretty and cute. I wonder if she has a boyfriend?”
“Hey? But looking at her neck scarf, she’s a second-year? What’s that about?”
“Right? Did she repeat a year or something?”
Conversations like those.
—Whispers and murmurs.
“Hmm…”
Luke suddenly realized that he had become a major topic of gossip at the academy.
It was not entirely impossible for them to be seeing him for the first time since he hadn’t come to the academy often. This was his karma.
A boyfriend? That’s impossible. He had no desire to even think about having one.
Being held back a year? On the contrary, Luke was an outstanding student, having skipped to the first year and being on the verge of graduating early.
Luke fell into deep thought.
This was incredibly troubling.
If this continued, it seemed that strange rumors would spread.
Up until now, there had been no worries since anyone could see that he looked like a child.
No one talked about ‘boyfriends’ or romantic relationships regarding a child.
However, after growing a bit older, things started to change.
Comments about being pretty, cute, having a good figure, or nice hair would from now on act as some sort of ‘evaluation.’
In other words, it was no longer just about being visually appealing, but rather thoughts like, “She’s pretty, how can I become her boyfriend?” would start surfacing.
This meant that as his body matured, the possibility of attracting interest from the opposite sex had become a reality.
Unfortunately for him, his current gender was ‘female,’ so the interest would be directed towards…
Males.
“….That’s terrible.”
Thinking about his future, Luke already felt darkness closing in.
Initially, he had been someone who disregarded relationships with women as bothersome and inefficient.
Was that enough? He had been living for over a hundred years as a male mage.
Moreover, he loved Renie.
There was no way he could date another man.
But would the other men know that?
No, even if they did, what would it matter?
Of course, Luke understood.
Whether male or female, it’s only natural to be drawn to someone who’s good-looking and capable.
That didn’t vary across genders; it was the same.
Luke could firmly say that he had been courted by several noble ladies in the past.
However, the approach had slightly differed.
Generally, males were somewhat more direct than females.
This meant that from now on, Luke might face more direct romantic advances from males than before.
“Sigh…”
Thinking this way made it impossible for him to stop sighing.
Perhaps it would genuinely be a good idea to use Polymorph to revert back to an age suitable for a ten-year-old.
If only he had thought of that before coming to the academy in this body.
Back then, he was too busy worrying about the mana wasted on Polymorph.
“Sigh…”
Along with preparing the cotton cultivation imbued with divine power for Arinseia’s computer, sorting the integrated equations for the program, and preparing recipes to handle the tapioca disaster that Kaila had caused, Luke was burdened with so many concerns that he couldn’t help but walk three steps, sigh ‘sigh…’ three steps, and sigh ‘sigh…’ again.
While doing so, it somehow felt like the gazes focused on him had increased, but there was no way around it.
“I need to make something similar to the mask I made for Third.”
A mask that manipulates people’s perceptions to recognize him as a familiar face without distinct features.
Just as he was pondering whether to wear that, he heard.
“Hey? It’s Luke! Luke, hi! You came really early today!”
It was Mary Aydel, the beast girl.
——
Mary was running from a distance, waving her hand upon spotting Luke.
As he watched, Luke’s gaze suddenly shifted to Mary’s chest.
He couldn’t help but pay attention to moving objects.
“But your expression looks a bit off? Do you have something on your mind? Tell me! I’m here to listen!”
Having rushed over, Mary clingingly asked as she linked her arm with Luke’s.
At that moment, Luke felt Mary’s softness distinctly against his elbow, and an unexpected thought flitted through his mind.
“Could Mary have experienced something similar?”
From the beginning, Mary was already taller than most of her peers by a head.
He had heard that beast folks grow faster, but among them, Mary’s growth was indeed remarkable.
It was no wonder that Luke had set Mary as a standard and was now facing such a predicament.
Tall stature, a figure that rivaled his, and a face that radiated a certain cuteness.
With just this growth, she would undoubtedly be popular among boys.
Of course, she might already be popular among the kids.
“Oh, by the way, Mary. Aren’t you about as tall as me?”
“Yeah, right? Why?”
“Have you ever had a senior from the academy ask for your contact information?”
At Luke’s question, Mary furrowed her brows as if she was pondering deeply.
After a moment, Mary opened her mouth.
“Well, I don’t think I’ve ever had that happen…”
“Really?”
He had asked hoping that there might be some helpful tips to gain insight from.
It seemed Mary only interacted with those uninterested in relationships because her environments revolved around classmates in the dormitories of her year and her life followed by attendants, preventing her from being exposed to such situations.
Luke lowered his gaze, slightly disappointed.
“But why are you suddenly asking that? What’s going on?”
In response to Mary’s question about what was happening, Luke shared the story about the young man referred to as ‘Humans’ who had approached him.
For the sake of his dignity, he withheld giving the name.
At that, Mary raised her voice in excitement as if filled with wonder.
“Seriously, you were confessed to by a seventh-year brother? That’s amazing!”
“Yeah, sadly.”
“Sad? Why?”
Luke naturally replied to Mary’s question.
“Well, it’s a sad situation. No matter who confesses, I’m not in the least bit inclined to accept.”
“Not even a little?”
“Not even a little.”
Mary tilted her head, puzzled by Luke’s answer.
“Not even if the prince on the white horse comes and confesses? You absolutely won’t accept?”
The prince on a white horse?
Luke was already ready to reject any prince that appeared flamboyantly on a pure white horse and confessed elegantly.
In the past, Luke was the one who rode the white horse.
“If they were to give me billions right now, I might consider it…”
For a moment, he thought about that jokingly. However, accepting a confession just for money was akin to selling himself, so it seemed he would ultimately refuse.
After all, money was something he would inevitably grasp in the future, so there was no need for such an exchange.
“Yeah, absolutely.”
“Really? Even if it’s the white horse Shirud?”
…Why is Shirud coming up all of a sudden?
“Why is Shirud mentioned here?”
“Well, he’s white and has plenty of money at home, right? Plus, he’s handsome and incredibly capable! Isn’t he kind of fitting?”
“Hmm, I suppose that reasoning holds some truth.”
“Right? That’s what I’m saying! So, he’s quite popular in our class. Like a prince.”
“Really?”
Luke hadn’t noticed because he hadn’t been coming to the academy often, but it seemed Shirud’s reputation among the classmates had been steadily rising.
And the fact that Shirud was popular amongst the classmates was rather pleasing for Luke as his tutor.
With the corners of his mouth slightly lifting, Mary playfully pinched Luke’s cheek with a beaming expression.
“You smiled! So are you feeling better now?”
“Well… sort of.”
“That’s a relief! If you have any more worries, let me know! I’m the class president, after all!”
As he joked back and forth with Mary, for some reason, Luke began to feel his mind lighten compared to before.
In reality, however, none of his worries had been properly resolved.
But it couldn’t be helped.
With such a cute girl worrying about him, he couldn’t keep wearing a sulky face.
Luke turned to Mary with a slight smile, and Mary grinned back at him.
“Mary, you really seem to be doing a great job as class president. It’s admirable.”
“Hehe, really…? Then that’s a relief!”
As Mary felt the hand touching her head, she thought to herself.
Rejecting the confession from the seventh-year brother seemed to ease his mood!
Could this mean there’s still hope for Shirud?
‘And, he didn’t outright deny it either!’
