The student cafeteria wasn’t overwhelmingly large compared to the academy’s other buildings.
With only about 600 students in total, and not all of them coming to eat at the same time, there was no need for it to be excessively big.
Still, it could accommodate around 300 people at once, so it wasn’t exactly small either.
Currently, the large building’s ceiling was completely open.
The clear, cloudless sky was fully visible, offering an open and refreshing atmosphere.
“Hey, Seria. What are you going to do about this?”
“I don’t know either…”
It was all because of Seria.
To be precise, it was because Seria suddenly blew off the cafeteria’s ceiling.
Her magic had been so strong that instead of just creating a hole in part of the ceiling, she completely took it off as if opening a can lid—it was quite an impressive feat.
“Why did this happen all of a sudden?”
“It’s all Rudion’s fault.”
“What did I even do…?”
And yet, she kept blaming me. What could I have possibly done?
The situation goes back to when I first arrived on the scene.
Seria was the first to notice me as I approached.
“Rudion?”
“Fancy seeing you here. Did you come to eat?”
“Yep! Rudion, do you want to eat with us?”
“…Wait, why is there such a drastic change in tone?”
The cold atmosphere warmed up to normal in an instant when I stepped in.
Lilith seemed a bit puzzled by it, but the mood had clearly lightened.
After briefly greeting both of them, I sat next to Seria.
A moment later, Grain arrived, bringing food for everyone, including me, and naturally joined us…
“Is that really the same person from before?”
Grain laughed as she pointed at the cheerful, smiling Seria. Compared to just moments ago, she seemed like an entirely different person.
After that, I focused on eating and didn’t catch much of their conversation.
I hadn’t realized it before, but I was hungrier than I thought.
The food here really went down smoothly. I knew it was supposed to be good, but I didn’t expect it to be this amazing.
Before I knew it, my bowl was empty, and I finished my meal with a full stomach.
But as I looked over after finishing, I noticed Seria, sitting next to me, staring at me intently.
“…Why are you staring at me like that? Did I do something wrong?”
It was so unexpected and awkward that I struggled to find the right words.
Grain and Lilith were whispering to each other and didn’t seem at all interested in helping me out.
While I was at a loss for words, Seria put down her utensils and asked,
“Rudion. I heard you’ll be helping Lilith with her training after classes. Is that true?”
It seemed to be a continuation of what Lilith had mentioned earlier.
Since I had no reason to hide it, I nodded.
“Yeah… something like that.”
“And how long do you plan on doing that?”
How long? I figured it wouldn’t take long before I ran out of things to teach her and could just say, “You’re ready to graduate.”
“…Not having a set timeline means you’ll just keep helping her indefinitely…?”
Mid-sentence, Seria abruptly stopped speaking and turned her gaze away unnaturally.
Her expression stiffened as if she had seen something.
“What’s wrong?”
“…It’s nothing. Nothing at all.”
Her face didn’t look like it was nothing. It was even turning red.
Worried she might be unwell, I reached out to feel her forehead, checking if she had a fever.
Hmm, it felt a little warm but within the range of normal body temperature.
But Seria must have been startled by the sudden contact, as her body jerked backward in surprise.
If she moved so suddenly while sitting in a chair, she was bound to fall.
“Ahhh!”
As expected.
Since I had anticipated it, I reacted quickly.
Extending my arm, I caught her along with the chair before she fell.
My reflexes were on point—this was peak gentlemanly behavior.
Feeling a little smug, I congratulated myself, but Seria didn’t seem to share the sentiment.
“Ugh…”
She suddenly began casting magic into the air… Wait, was she really going to fire that?
It all happened so quickly that I couldn’t fully stop her.
If I didn’t act, though, her spell would undoubtedly wreak havoc on the cafeteria and everyone inside.
There was no time to wait for someone else to intervene.
Being the closest, I had to do something myself…
‘Ah, right! If I just change the direction, no one will get hit!’
Acting on instinct, I grabbed Seria’s hands, which were channeling magic, and lifted them upward.
The magical energy surrounding her hands wavered precariously from my interference, but I successfully redirected its aim.
Kwooooom!
The powerful storm shot upward, tearing off the cafeteria’s ceiling and taking the debris with it into the sky.
Once the deafening roar of the storm faded, an eerie silence filled the space.
…And so, we return to the present.
Seria, who had been staring blankly at the now-exposed sky, finally lowered her gaze to meet mine.
“It’s really all Rudion’s fault.”
What could I even say to this troublemaker who was still blaming me?
She looked oddly satisfied, so I couldn’t bring myself to argue.
Is this what people mean by “you can’t criticize a smiling face”?
I give up. She’ll have to deal with the consequences herself.
Must be nice to be a princess—breaking a building and staying so carefree about it.
I wasn’t in a great mood.
Ever since realizing I had feelings for him, my emotions had been all over the place. And during the meal, one unwelcome comment from an intruder froze the atmosphere.
I wasn’t entirely sure why I felt this way. No, I knew—I just didn’t want to admit it.
It wasn’t that I disliked the feelings I had for him; I was embarrassed by myself for having them.
Liking a man I’d only known for a single day? It made me feel too easy.
The only solace I found was that my feelings weren’t that strong yet.
[Current Affection Level: 8/100]
At this level, I could still pass it off as mere friendship.
Yeah, I’m not easy. This is perfectly reasonable.
While I was busy rationalizing my feelings and collecting myself, I noticed a familiar face entering my field of vision.
“Fancy seeing you here. Did you come to eat?”
It was him—the one I’d been thinking about all this time.
Honestly, I was happy to see him. So much for my attempt at rationalization.
When he naturally chose to sit next to me, I even felt relieved.
If he’d sat next to Lilith instead of me…
‘What am I even thinking?’
I quickly dismissed the pointless speculation that didn’t even mean anything.
Then I turned to look at Rudion, now sitting beside me.
Noticing he was empty-handed, I was about to ask what he planned to eat when someone arrived with food for him and joined our table.
I recognized the face—it was a senior I’d seen in the student council.
Her name was Grain, right? she was the one who’d once tried picking a fight with Rudion and ended up looking bad.
‘…Did they come together? Why is Grain buying him food?’
I had plenty of questions, but they disappeared as I watched Rudion focus on his meal.
Asking a guy so absorbed in eating—while sitting with three girls, no less—was clearly pointless.
“…Hey, does she like Rudion?”
“I thought it might be the case, and now I’m pretty sure. I nearly froze to death after saying one wrong word earlier.”
“Yeah, I saw that. She was seriously scary.”
“Excuse me. I can hear everything you’re saying. Talking about someone right in front of them is rude.”
“Wow, you’ve got sharp ears.”
“But you’re not denying it either.”
These people… they’re unbelievable.
Still, since they weren’t wrong, I didn’t feel the need to correct them.
It was a little embarrassing that my feelings were obvious to others, but at this point, trying to hide them would only seem awkward.
Besides, hearing people talk about me and Rudion made me oddly happy, so I didn’t mind letting things continue as they were.
But then again, Rudion was quietly helping Lilith with her training without even telling me.
I could already imagine the rumors that might start because of that, and the thought soured my mood again.
When Rudion finished eating, I decided to bring it up.
“Rudion, I heard you’re going to help Lilith with her training after class. Is that true?”
“Yeah… that’s how it turned out.”
A straightforward answer.
He genuinely looked clueless, and that made me even angrier.
It made me feel like I was the one being obsessive.
Out of curiosity, I asked him how long he planned to help, but he seemed flustered and couldn’t answer.
Clearly, he hadn’t thought that far ahead.
He really is a hopeless guy.
I was about to let out my frustration and say something when suddenly…
[You feel uncomfortable with the kindness the subject shows to others. Affection level decreases by 1.]
[Current Affection Level: 7/100]
The sudden notification brought me back to my senses.
‘What is wrong with me?’
Whatever Rudion does has nothing to do with me.
I don’t have the right to tell him what he can or cannot do.
What am I even doing, acting like this?
My face flushed with embarrassment at my ridiculous behavior.
At that moment, something cold touched my forehead.
“Are you really okay?”
I froze, unable to process what had just happened.
When I snapped back to reality, I realized it was Rudion’s hand on my forehead.
Maybe it was because of his larger frame, but his hand felt surprisingly big—and, strangely, it made my heart flutter.
No, no, no! That’s not the point right now!
The point is that Rudion is touching my forehead. His hand is on me. How…?
‘Suddenly?!’
Acting on instinct, I jerked backward to avoid him.
It was a stupid decision, as I didn’t account for the chair tilting backward with me.
But instead of falling to the floor in an embarrassing heap, Rudion’s outstretched arm caught me as if he had anticipated this.
At that moment, new notifications popped up before my eyes.
[Your body heats up from the subject’s touch. Affection level increases by 1.]
[Your heart races from the subject’s kindness! Affection level increases by 2.]
[Current Affection Level: 10/100]
Seeing this made my mind go completely blank.
All the feelings I was trying to deny were laid bare in plain text, leaving no room for excuses.
Not that I needed to explain them to anyone—only I could see these notifications—but it still made me want to bury my face in shame.
Feeling mortified, I instinctively tried to cast a spell, desperate to dispel the floating text.
Of course, I was still sane enough not to let the spell actually manifest here.
At the last moment, I planned to reduce its power and scale to a minimum, but…
Fwoosh!
“Hey?! What the—!”
Suddenly, Rudion grabbed both of my hands and lifted them upward.
This guy—he’s unbelievable.
Just like during the entrance exam, he somehow instantly figured out I was about to cast magic.
It was obvious what he was trying to do: redirect my spell to ensure no one got caught in it.
But his interference disrupted the adjustments I was making, causing the incomplete spell to fire off as it was.
What could’ve been resolved without incident ended with the cafeteria’s ceiling completely destroyed, all thanks to him.
As if mocking the situation, more notifications appeared.
[You find humor in the subject’s absurd actions. Affection level increases by 1.]
[Current Affection Level: 11/100]
…This is so frustrating.
Forget it. I’ll just embrace being an “easy girl.”
Overthinking things with a guy like this will get me nowhere anyway.
So, it’s all his fault.
The destroyed ceiling? His fault.
These feelings I have for him? Also his fault.
Since it’s all his fault, he should take responsibility for everything.
“What did I even do for you to keep blaming me?”
Even if he denies it, the facts won’t change.
From now on, I’m counting on you, Rudion.
Of course, I kept that overly dramatic thought to myself.