IRBC 9

Chapter: 9

The first week, which included the entrance ceremony, passed uneventfully. Full-scale classes began the following week.

“Today, you’ll be pairing up in groups of two.”

During the Fundamentals of Magic Theory class, Professor Arsène continued his explanation with a kindly smile.

“For one month, you’ll work together with your assigned partner to write a report on defensive magic.”

At his words, one student raised a hand to ask a question.

“How will we decide our partners?”

“Choose whoever you’d like to work with.”

The children murmured among themselves, glancing around uncertainly. Then, as one or two students stood up, everyone followed suit, heading toward their close friends.

Professor Arsène looked over the class with warm eyes.

Just like him, I watched the students with a pleased expression. Maybe because it was the beginning of the term, the sight of them shyly blushing and asking, “Do you want to be my partner?” felt especially adorable.

“Joy. You’re obviously partnering with me, right?”

Someone poked my back insistently. It was David.

“You should work with Rosie, David.”

“What?”

He shot a sidelong glance at Rosemary, who was sitting next to him pretending not to listen. David’s brow furrowed for a moment.

If someone else had seen him, they might’ve thought David disliked Rosemary, judging by how fierce his expression was. But he couldn’t fool me.

David was definitely embarrassed. You could tell from the tips of his ears turning red.

“I told you I wanted to make new friends. This is a chance to do that!”

So partner up with Rosemary instead of me.

After I rattled off that flimsy excuse, David reluctantly nodded. That’s more like it.

Good. I paired David and Rosemary together again.

Now it was time to find my own partner. Without much thought, I looked to the seat beside me. Koi was sitting there, fidgeting awkwardly.

“Koi, if it’s okay with you, maybe we could—”

Before I could finish, someone cut in.

“Hi, Joy. Want to partner up with me?”

I turned at the sudden gentle voice. A beautiful boy was standing close by—so close I hadn’t noticed him approach.

Soft brown hair, green eyes. It was Misitaine Porta, the boy who had caught my attention since the first class. I stared at him wide-eyed, flustered that he’d spoken to me first.

“Huh? M-me?”

“Yeah. You’re Joy Micaela, right? If you haven’t chosen a partner yet, how about working with me?”

Unlike me, who was stammering in surprise, Misitaine spoke smoothly, as if he’d rehearsed it beforehand.

“Why… why me…?”

“Because I want to get to know you?”

Misitaine tilted his head slightly as he spoke.

A charm offensive…?

He clearly knew exactly how to make himself look appealing.

Was he always this bold? I rolled my eyes thoughtfully, recalling the time before I regressed.

I’m sure he used to be quiet…

As I stood there saying nothing, Koi leaned in and whispered.

“J-J-Joy. I—I can work w-with another fr-friend, so…”

Her face was bright red. When our eyes met, she clenched her fists and whispered, “You can do it!”

It seemed Koi had misunderstood the situation between Misitaine and me.

Why did people keep misunderstanding things lately? I tried to stop her belatedly, but she was already far away.

My plan had completely fallen apart.

“Joy? Do you already have someone to work with?”

“Huh? Oh—n-no…”

Right. I wasn’t done talking to Misitaine yet.

Because he was staring straight at me as he asked, I ended up stammering again. My mouth felt inexplicably dry.

“If you haven’t decided yet, let’s do it together.”

“Uh… s-sure?”

Why was he acting like this, really?

The unexpected situation left me confused. I couldn’t even bring myself to refuse and simply nodded.

I wasn’t sure what about my lukewarm response pleased him so much, but Misitaine broke into a radiant smile, deep dimples appearing in his cheeks.

He was brighter than the afternoon sunlight streaming through the window.

“Joy. Are you really going to work with that Porta guy or whatever?”

While Misitaine had gone to gather his stationery, David suddenly asked.

“Yeah. I guess that’s how it turned out.”

David frowned deeply, clearly displeased. He glared menacingly at Misitaine packing up in the distance—it was honestly a little scary.

“You could’ve just asked someone nearby. Why would he suddenly ask you to partner up when he barely knows you?”

“I don’t know. Maybe he wanted to get to know Joy?”

Rosemary replied cheerfully to David’s grumbling, her eyes sparkling.

“That’s so romantic.”

“Huh? What is?”

At my question, she widened her eyes like I should’ve known.

“He totally fell for you at first sight!”

“What?”

“He’s into you, Joy.”

Rosemary muttered, “Ah, youth, youth.” I pretended not to hear her old-soul mumbling.

Her baseless speculation clearly worsened David’s mood, but I ignored that too and scanned the room for Koi.

I was worried about her since she was so shy.

She wasn’t far away, quietly chatting with a male student.

Who was that again?

The boy laughing at something Koi said bothered me for some reason. I was sure I’d seen him before my regression, but his face felt unfamiliar. Something about it irritated me.

As I narrowed my eyes and stared at him for a while—

“Joy? What are you looking at?”

Misitaine had returned without me noticing and was now standing right beside me.

He followed my gaze, then murmured in a slightly lower voice.

“Noah Renato?”

“Huh?”

“The boy next to Koi.”

“Yeah. His name is Noah Renato?”

Hearing the name jogged my memory a little. Since I’d only paid attention to David and Rosemary before my regression, my memories of other classmates were vague.

“Yeah. He’s the third son of Baron Renato’s family.”

His voice wasn’t as bright as before. When I looked at him, he smiled widely at me—even though he’d just been expressionless.

I pretended not to have seen his blank face earlier and nodded.

“I see. You know a lot about our classmates.”

“…Just happened to.”

For some reason, his green eyes seemed tinged with bitterness. It looked like he had a story of his own.

Since we weren’t even that close yet, prying would be rude. Besides, I wasn’t particularly curious.

“Well, should we decide on our report topic first?”

“Alright, enjoy your meal, everyone. Make sure to submit your report topic by the next class.”

“Yes!”

Professor Arsène’s class finally ended. It was lunchtime. The students’ expressions instantly brightened.

“Hey, if it’s okay, would you like to have lunch with me?”

I was packing my bag with a relieved expression when Misitaine suddenly asked from beside me.

I stared at him in surprise.

“No. Joy is having lunch with us.”

Before I could answer, David cut in sharply from the seat behind us. Misitaine shrugged and replied calmly.

“I was asking Joy.”

Oh. I don’t remember him being like this.

The quiet, gentle, deer-like boy who liked being alone—what happened to him? Was my memory wrong?

“Joy’s answer will be the same. I guarantee it.”

David snorted. He was definitely holding back his temper—you could tell from the twitching of his nose. As I watched his tightly furrowed face, David turned to me.

“Isn’t that right?”

“Uh… y-yeah. That’s right. Sorry, Misitaine. I already promised to eat with my friends.”

If I didn’t side with David here, he’d torment me for at least a week. I forced an awkward smile, eyebrows drooping apologetically.

“I see. Then could I join you? Of course, only if you and your friends are okay with it.”

I thought he’d give up easily if I refused…

Instead of looking embarrassed, Misitaine smiled and made another suggestion.

“I’m fine with it. The more people, the better.”

Rosemary answered cheerfully, either oblivious to David’s murderous glare or simply clueless.

She still seemed convinced that Misitaine had fallen for me at first sight.

“I-I’m f-fine too! M-more f-friends is g-good!”

Koi, who had joined us late, read the situation and gave a positive answer. She must’ve enjoyed her conversation with Noah Renato—her face was practically blooming with smiles.

That was probably why she agreed to anything.

“….”

With Rosemary and Koi both in favor, David couldn’t say much. He just kept shooting glares at Misitaine.

I’ll have to calm David down later.

Given the situation, I couldn’t refuse. I nodded in agreement. Misitaine’s face brightened, while David’s twisted in misery.

“Thanks. I’ll go finish packing my bag, then.”

Misitaine returned to his seat with light steps. At the same time, David leaned in close to me, fuming, while still glaring at Misitaine.

“Just what the hell is Misitaine Porta up to?”

“M-maybe he d-didn’t have any f-friends to eat w-with?”

“No, Koi!”

“H-huh?”

Rosemary clapped her hands together.

“This is love!”

No, it’s not, Rosie…

I stared coldly at romance-obsessed Rosemary.

How did she even come to that conclusion? Were kids this age always so quick to link everything to love? It had been ten years, so my memory was hazy.

“S-s-so Misitaine l-likes J-Joy…!”

Koi wavered at Rosemary’s words. I shook my head and let out a long sigh.

Suddenly, I really wanted to be alone.