Anything But Study - Chapter 10

“Huh?”

Melia immediately lifted her head.

‘Someone I’ve never seen before.’

Normally, it was always the same students who came, so Melia could recognize them right away.

“I-I-I want to borrow this book…”

The gray-haired boy spoke so softly that only Melia, standing close, could hear him.

A glance at his uniform showed a yellow trim on the shoulder.

It meant he was a third-year, the same as Melia.

He must have known she was his classmate, which was why he spoke informally.

“I’ll process it right away, just a moment.”

Naturally, Melia accepted the book.

‘Hm? Archaeology again.’

It was strange that it was archaeology once more.

It was practically an unpopular field, yet lately the number of cases had risen. It must be that everyone was looking for books because of the camp assignment.

“The borrowing has been processed. The return is in two weeks.”

“Th-thank you!”

Taking the book, the boy dashed off.

There were occasionally boys who were extremely shy. Was even something as simple as borrowing a book embarrassing for nobles?

For her, who was working, it was nothing at all.

Whenever this happened, Melia tried to be even kinder. She wanted to give the impression that it wasn’t something to be embarrassed about.

And yet seeing their faces flush, maybe her effort wasn’t enough.

She would just have to work harder. Since she could continue being an assistant now.

‘Today really must be the end.’

It was now the time when no one else would come.

No one, except for one person.

Step, step.

Footsteps echoed in the quiet library.

Gulp.

‘He’s here.’

Without realizing, Melia swallowed.

She knew very well who the owner of those footsteps was.

Hailon Alfred, it could only be him.

The sound drew closer. There was no way to stop her growing tension.

Every time she faced him, it felt as though she had been dropped into a different world.

The footsteps stopped. Melia slowly turned her head.

And immediately her eyes met the gaze looking down at her.

The moment she looked into those black eyes, it felt as though time itself slowed down around her, like a spell had been cast.

Though they had spoken only yesterday, Melia couldn’t bring herself to say a single word.

He was the one who broke the silence.

“Hello, Melia.”

Flinch.

Melia’s shoulders jumped.

It was awkward. Hearing her name from this man’s lips.

Even though it was just a casual greeting that classmates might exchange, coming from him, it felt anything but ordinary.

Strangely, it even sounded so natural and familiar, as though he had called her name every day.

Of course that was impossible.

Just as she was about to dismiss it as her imagination, the corners of his lips curved.

“I’ll be counting on you.”

Melia felt déjà vu.

It was only the start of tutoring, yet Hailon looked delighted.

Could someone who was forced into tutoring just to avoid failing really smile like that?

It felt like watching a beast finally sink its fangs into prey it had been stalking all along.

The one who should be saying “I’ll be counting on you” was Melia. Because only if his grades improved could all her debts be cleared.

“M-Me too, I’ll be counting on you!”

Melia jumped up from the librarian’s desk.

“I’ve prepared a spot over there, so shall we go?”

She pointed with her hand toward a desk in the right corner and started walking there first.

But because of her nerves, her steps were terribly awkward.

‘Wh-why am I like this?’

Her arms and legs moved in the same direction at once, making her walk look ridiculous. Just walking a few steps!

It was truly strange.

Just a moment ago when she spoke with the last boy who borrowed a book, it hadn’t been like this.

He was also a boy, also a classmate, yet why did she feel like she was breaking down only in front of Hailon Alfred?

When Melia finally reached the seat she had prepared and sat down, she unconsciously let out a sigh of relief.

Thud—

‘Huh?’

She sensed someone sitting beside her.

Melia’s head turned instinctively, and her eyes widened.

Hailon had, as if it were obvious, taken the seat right next to her.

“You’re sitting… here?”

She had never considered anything but sitting across from him.

This scenario had never even existed in her head.

But Hailon reacted as if this was only natural.

“We can’t see well across from each other. We need to be closer.”

“R-Really?”

“Yeah, it’s better this way.”

He then flashed a grin.

Melia answered with a nod and began to open the book she had prepared.

Maybe his eyesight was really bad? That could be it.

Still, seeing that he even cared about which seat to take made her think he must have some will to study, and she felt reassured.

“So, what are we doing today?”

Seeing him show such an active attitude only reinforced the thought.

“First, I prepared Imperial History. I think it’ll be the easiest to raise your grades in.”

Imperial History was a subject you could quickly improve in by simple memorization.

“Today I’ll start by explaining the major events. To understand the overall flow, that’s the best way…”

With that, Melia diligently continued her explanation. But after a few minutes spent focusing on laying out the Empire’s history, she realized she hadn’t heard a single response from beside her.

Huh?

“Um, Hailon…”

Worried that he might already have dozed off, Melia turned her head toward him.

“Hm? What is it?”

But then—

‘Gasp.’

Without realizing it, Melia drew in a breath.

T-Too close.

His face was less than a handspan away.

At such a distance, she could almost feel his breath.

Startled, Melia quickly leaned her upper body back.

“N-No, I just wanted to check if you understood…!”

She stammered, trying to cover up her fluster. She didn’t want to reveal how rattled she was.

She hurriedly turned her eyes back to the book, but the image of his face she had just seen lingered before her eyes like an afterimage.

His tall nose and sharp, neat features, the gaze that might look cold at first glance, yet still drew her in.

She knew how captivating those eyes were when they curved into a smile.

‘I must be crazy.’

Why did she keep turning strange only in front of this man?

As Melia struggled with her own turmoil, a reply came from Hailon.

“Seems a little difficult.”

“R-Rreally?”

Maybe it was because her determination to do well was too strong.

Even at that light reply, Melia felt anxious.

Since she was being paid such a large sum, she had to deliver her part in return.

‘Yes, right now the priority is to teach properly.’

There was no room for other thoughts. Melia barely managed to calm the heart that had been pounding just from him a moment ago.

“Then, I’d like to first check your weakest subject. Which one is the hardest for you?”

She asked with the intention of diagnosing how much he already knew.

“Hmm, all of them?”

At the vague answer, Melia was left speechless.

This way, she couldn’t grasp anything at all.

After a brief thought, Melia decided to run a light-level test.

“Then here, try solving as much as you know.”

Hailon casually began filling out the answer sheet she handed him.

But there were barely any answers filled in properly.

And somehow…

Was it just her imagination that he didn’t even seem to be reading the questions properly?

At this rate, it might become difficult to raise his grades, and Melia’s expression gradually turned worried.

“I don’t know this at all.”

There was one subject that came back completely blank.

None other than Ancient Imperial Language.

Because it required memorizing and writing characters no longer in use, it was, along with archaeology, one of the most difficult subjects for many students.

In truth, Melia had expected this subject would be the trickiest.

But to the point of saying he didn’t know it at all meant she would have to teach him the basics as if teaching a child learning language for the first time.

“Do you know how to write the characters?”

If he said yes here, it would make things a bit easier.

“No. Not at all.”

But the answer that came told Melia only that a difficult path lay ahead.

Even so, she wasn’t flustered.

“Then I’ll teach you the basic characters first.”

Truthfully, it was within the range she had somewhat expected. After all, being third from the bottom wasn’t something ordinary.

Melia began writing Ancient characters one by one in her notebook.

First, she wrote the five most fundamental characters.

“Let’s write them together.”

As she spoke, telling him to try following along, she began to draw the strokes. Hailon’s gaze dropped to her hand.

“Mm, like this?”

He started trying to copy several times in the notebook in front of him.

But the crooked, clumsy results looked to Melia like not a single one was written correctly.

“Ah, no. If you draw downward first, the stroke order gets tangled, so don’t do that. Watch again carefully.”

Melia began writing the characters again, more slowly than before.

Bigger and straighter so that Hailon could see clearly.

Ssshhh— ssshhh—

“Hmm, like this?”

As though testing it out, Hailon’s hand, which had been copying a few times in his notebook, stopped.

‘Oh no. Is it already too hard for him?’

Melia assumed he had stopped because he found it difficult.

As she briefly thought about how she might explain it more simply, a few seconds of silence passed between them.

“Then how about this?”

The one who made the suggestion was Hailon. He extended the hand holding the pen toward Melia.

Melia blinked several times, not understanding what he meant.

But in the very next moment, the doubt was cleared.

“You can hold my hand and write together with me.”