Anything But Study - Chapter 35

1st – Melia Anderson

2nd – Catherine Russell

3rd – Glon Citrale

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Her grades had never fallen even to second place before, so she wasn’t surprised to see her own rank.

Melia’s gaze slid further and further down.

At 30th, at 50th, at 70th, Hailon’s name still wasn’t there.

Only after going much farther down.

130th – Hailon Alfred

That was where she finally found his name.

130th?

That couldn’t be right.

Melia blinked. Had she misread 30th?

But no matter how many times she looked, it was clearly 130th.

It wasn’t that his grades hadn’t improved at all, but it was still far lower than she’d expected.

After all, hadn’t she hoped he’d be around 70th at least?

‘Was the exam harder than I thought?’

Had she misjudged the difficulty?

As that thought crossed her mind, the chatter of the male students standing beside her, also looking at the ranking list, reached her ears.

“This exam was easy, right?”

“Yeah. It was.”

So it wasn’t just her imagination. The exam really had been easy. If so, maybe it had been too easy to properly distinguish skill levels.

If everyone had done well, then it would make sense for Hailon’s rank to end up lower.

…Still, it was disappointing.

The fact that his grades hadn’t risen much made it feel as if the month of tutoring they’d done together had been meaningless.

A bitter taste filled Melia’s mouth.

He’d probably come by today around tutoring time.

‘How am I supposed to face him?’

It felt like it was all her fault.

***

“Melia, why have you been so busy lately? It’s hard to even see you.”

As they headed to the lecture hall together, Rosha kept grumbling.

“I’m sorry, things have just been a bit hectic lately….”

Melia felt bad toward Rosha.

It was true they’d been spending less time together than before.

“I was just saying. It’s because of Ervan, right? It’s okay.”

Rosha knew that Ervan was hospitalized. Thinking she’d scolded a friend who was already overwhelmed because of her sick younger brother, she looked apologetic instead.

‘That’s not actually it, Rosha.’

All of this was because of Hailon’s tutoring.

And because of the relic too. Melia swallowed the words that rose to her throat.

She felt guilty for using Ervan as an excuse, both toward Rosha and toward Ervan himself, but she couldn’t tell the truth.

Misreading that troubled expression, Rosha quickly changed the subject.

“But the seasonal party, you’re not going again this time?”

“Mm. You know I don’t go.”

Rosha sounded regretful at Melia’s answer. “Aren’t you curious? It’s still part of Erpen’s culture.”

Already in their third year. The parties held each season with different themes were practically one of Erpen’s defining traditions.

They often became fond memories of student life.

Since attendance wasn’t mandatory, students who weren’t well off like Melia sometimes didn’t go, but it was rare for someone to have never attended at all.

“Ah, right. I heard Hailon Alfred is attending this time.”

Rosha added it as if she’d just remembered.

“H-Hailon?”

“Hm? Yeah.”

Rosha answered reflexively, but a strange sense of déjà vu crept in.

It was because Melia had said his name.

Of course, saying that name wasn’t wrong.

And yet, why did it feel as though a name others found difficult to speak had flowed so naturally from Melia’s lips?

‘Ah, they were partners at the camp.’

Rosha, who had no idea how closely her friend was involved with that Hailon, interpreted things however she pleased.

“Hailon hasn’t participated until now either, right? But since he’s coming this time, I hear even people who hadn’t planned to are all going.”

Rosha then whispered to Melia with an excited expression, “Everyone’s curious about who that Hailon will bring as his partner.”

“Partner?”

At Melia’s question, Rosha nodded as if she understood. “Ah, you might not know since you’re not really interested. A partner is required for the seasonal party.”

Rosha went on chatting, saying she always went with her brother as her partner, that once he graduated, she probably wouldn’t be able to attend the seasonal party anymore because she wouldn’t have a partner, and so on.

But Melia barely heard the rest. Her head dropped slightly.

“…I see.”

That wasn’t a response to Rosha’s worry about not being able to attend next year’s party.

A partner. Hailon’s….

His partner.

The thought bothered her deeply.

Of course, I have no relationship with Hailon at all. And yet, why did her chest ache like this?

After chattering on about herself, Rosha started speculating again about who Hailon Alfred’s partner might be.

“But no matter how I think about it, there isn’t anyone.”

He didn’t have a fiancée, nor an older or younger sister.

Then who could it be?

“Everyone’s going crazy wondering.”

“Yeah. Who could it be?”

She was curious, yet she didn’t want to know. Perhaps because of that, Melia’s voice lacked energy as she answered.

“Oh, right. Melia. What’s going on with the library?”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“The library. They say it’s going under construction.”

“What?”

“You didn’t know? It was posted on the notice board earlier.”

Rosha asked if she hadn’t seen it while checking the rankings.

Melia hadn’t noticed at all. She usually passed by ordinary notices without reading them closely.

There had been such an announcement?

It seemed she’d been too distracted by Hailon’s grades to notice.

“I’ll go check.”

There was still quite a bit of time before the next lecture started. Melia ran back toward the first floor of the main building.

Construction.

What would happen if the library closed?

Carrying those worries in her heart.

***

The notice board within the academy was used for many purposes.

Usually, grades were posted there, but it was also where information like new faculty appointments or facility notices went up.

Melia found a notice posted quite far to the side, next to the grade list.

Due to expansion construction, the library will be closed from next week until the end of November.

Rosha had been right.

The end of November?

That meant the closure period was practically a month and a half.

It was far too long.

And the library was closing starting next week.

Two worries immediately surfaced.

What would happen to her librarian assistant job, and where she would hold Hailon’s tutoring sessions.

The lecture hall for her next class and the administrative office were not far apart. For now, Melia headed to the administrative office to ask about the library construction.

“Um, I’m Melia Anderson. I work as a librarian assistant.”

The administrative staff member seemed to immediately understand her reason for coming and asked, “Ah, Miss Melia. Are you here because of the library construction?”

“Yes. Then my librarian assistant job is….”

“It will be difficult to continue the librarian assistant work for the time being.”

At that answer, Melia froze in shock.

“Um, then maybe….”

Does that mean I won’t be able to earn money anymore? That would be a problem. All of the tutoring fees had gone straight into Ervan’s treatment costs, so she wouldn’t have any money left for daily living right away.

“No, the payment will still be provided as usual.”

Phew, what a relief. A sigh of relief escaped Melia’s lips.

“Do you have any other questions?”

At the staff member’s question, Melia shook her head. “Ah, no, thank you. Then I’ll be going.”

For now, one worry was eased. With lighter steps than before, Melia left the administrative office and headed toward the lecture hall where Rosha was waiting, when a sudden question crossed her mind.

What’s all this construction all of a sudden?

Is there somewhere that needs maintenance?

It didn’t seem like there was any reason to carry out such large-scale construction that the library would have to be closed.

From Melia’s perspective, Erpen’s library didn’t seem that old, contrary to what Catherine had said.

She’d actually thought it was antique and atmospheric.

Of course, maybe it only seemed that way from Melia’s standpoint. The other noble girls probably had much higher standards.

In any case, one thing had been resolved.

Now the only thing left was what to do about Hailon’s tutoring.

***

The afternoon hours arrived quickly.

In truth, Melia was a little worried about seeing Hailon at all.

What if, with the library closed, he suggested they just stop tutoring altogether?

He must have seen his grades too.

Was it really true that yesterday he’d said to take the day off because he had something to take care of?

Her thoughts tangled messily in her head.

On days like this, she almost wished she were at least busy, but perhaps because of the construction notice, even though it wasn’t next week yet, not a single person visited the library.

Creak-

At that moment, the sound of the silent door opening echoed.

The person who would come at this hour. There was only one.

Step, step-

Even the sound of those footsteps was familiar now.

“Hailon, you’re here?”

Still unable to shake her unease, Melia faced Hailon.

She decided to speak first.

Before he could bring up the tutoring or his grades.

“Hailon. About your grades this time….”

“I saw them too. 130th.”

His voice had no rise or fall. As if he’d expected it.

Melia was afraid of what would come next.

Would he say the tutoring didn’t seem to be working, so they should stop now?

Since they saw each other every day, what would happen to their agreement to do that whenever the relic’s effect activated?

But then.

“I guess I’m not great under real exam conditions.”

At Hailon’s next words, Melia’s eyes widened.

“I still have a lot to learn from you.”