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Chapter 70
“Are you crazy? Don’t touch me. It’s disgusting.”
Adrian recoiled in disgust, but Lionel didn’t budge. He didn’t care in the least how Adrian reacted.
As soon as there was enough space for one person to sit, Lionel offered the seat to Jaelyn.
“Sit here.”
Sasha also gestured quickly for Jaelyn to sit.
“Th-thank you.”
There was a wider spot between Nathan and Stefan, but since Lionel had personally made space and offered it, Jaelyn had no choice but to squeeze into the narrow spot.
Lionel’s arm pressed against Jaelyn’s left shoulder, and Sasha’s knee brushed against her right leg.
Jaelyn shrank her body as much as possible to avoid touching either of them.
Lionel pulled over bagels, sandwiches, and various kinds of bread, setting them in front of her.
“Th-thank you for the food.”
He even pushed the juice and milk closer to her, saying,
“Eat a lot.”
“Y-yes.”
Meanwhile, Nathan sat across from them, glancing back and forth between Jaelyn and Lionel.
Something felt off. What was this atmosphere drifting between the two of them? It seemed suspicious—like the precarious tension that exists between people who had only just begun to develop good feelings for each other.
Lionel was famous at the Academy for his looks and skill, and he was kind and considerate toward female students, so it was perfectly possible Jaelyn might see him as more than a friend.
But why didn’t it feel like this was just Jaelyn’s one-sided feeling?
Lionel, liking someone? That Lionel who even drew lines with his oldest friends sometimes?
Sure, Lionel treated every Academy student with kindness, so it wasn’t strange that he was helping Jaelyn a little.
As if to prove it, after handing Jaelyn her drink, Lionel also gave Sasha the apple cider she usually liked. Clearly, it could just be friendliness.
But even so, Lionel’s actions felt too proactive. The Astronomy Club had nothing to do with him. Coming here at all was unusual for him.
Yes, Lionel was friendly, but anyone who spent enough time around him would know one thing: he avoided unnecessary personal involvement. Outside of official or public gatherings, he was rarely seen.
While Nathan was lost in thought, Sasha cut in.
“Nathan! You’re in the student council, so what are you doing here? You don’t even help with our club, but you’re helping someone else’s?”
“I didn’t have much to do for this festival anyway. There are plenty of others who can handle things without me.”
Nathan shrugged it off casually.
“Still, you should stay in your position. You can’t skip council meetings just to help another club.”
“Eh, you still got everything done fine without me, right? With you and Lionel around, what’s there to worry about? Besides…”
Nathan turned his gaze naturally toward Lionel. If he wasn’t sure, he could just test him. No problem there.
Fixing his eyes on Lionel, Nathan spoke, waiting to observe the effect.
“I couldn’t just leave a friend in trouble, could I? Jaelyn really needed my help. She said no one else could do it—only me. How could I refuse that?”
“H-huh? N-no, I never said it like that…”
Jaelyn, flustered, tried to correct Nathan’s completely false words, but Nathan quickly cut her off.
“Right, Jaelyn?”
He winked at her, though his eyes weren’t really on her.
“Uh… Y-yeah.”
She answered awkwardly, bewildered.
Nathan was acting strange. Sure, he had told her before to ask if she ever needed help, but today it felt different. Sticky, somehow. Uncomfortable.
Did he eat something weird? Or maybe the food went bad?
Jaelyn eyed the bagel in Nathan’s hand and firmly resolved never to eat that.
But despite Nathan’s baiting, Lionel showed no change at all. With the same faint smile as usual, he simply took a sip of his drink.
There was no way Lionel, always sharp, hadn’t noticed what Nathan had implied toward Jaelyn just now.
Instead, it was Sasha who seemed to sense something odd, looking back and forth between Jaelyn and Nathan.
“What’s with you? Did you eat something bad today?”
Nathan only shrugged again, chewing his bread absentmindedly while continuing his train of thought.
Lionel wouldn’t fall for such obvious tricks.
In that case…
The reason Lionel had come here! If Nathan dug into that, he might get a clearer picture.
How had Lionel known Jaelyn would still be here at this hour? That she hadn’t eaten dinner, and even brought food with him?
“How did you know they were here?” Nathan stared at Lionel’s mouth, but the answer came from somewhere else—Sasha.
“Because Stefan wouldn’t stop whining. He kept pestering me through my comms artifact, saying he hadn’t eaten dinner and was still working. What else could I do?”
“Hahaha… I see.”
So it wasn’t Lionel. That made sense. Stefan was exactly Sasha’s type—she couldn’t resist anything cute. The only reason she had dogged Lionel when they were younger was because of his pretty face.
Once Lionel grew more manly and drifted away from her taste, she stopped following him around.
Nathan had to admit his mistake. Even someone as proud of his sharp instincts as he was could be wrong sometimes.
“All right, if you’re done eating, let’s get moving. We have to finish before it gets too late.”
Sasha stood, rallying everyone.
Adrian brushed crumbs off his clothes and hands, muttering,
“Don’t tell me… you’re actually helping?”
Stefan’s eyes sparkled as he looked up at Sasha.
“Of course! We came all the way here—what kind of heartless person would just leave?”
“Sasha! You’re the best!”
Overcome with emotion, Stefan beamed at her. Sasha tucked her hair behind her ear and snapped,
“Then make sure you do your best. We have to get first place on finals. And keep that pretty face of yours in top shape, too. Got it?”
“Uh… Y-yeah, got it.”
“Then let’s get started.”
Sasha and Lionel joined Adrian and Nathan outside the greenhouse to help cover the glass dome with blackout fabric.
With the extra hands, the work went much faster than when it had just been Adrian and Nathan.
Inside, Jaelyn and Stefan returned to their design work. The short break had refreshed them, and their focus sharpened, speeding up the drawing process.
Stefan continued filling in the constellation formulas in the center of the paper.
Meanwhile, Jaelyn handled the technical and complex parts—formulas that made the constellations rise to the ceiling, gave them three-dimensional realism, and linked the separate diagrams into one.
By the time Jaelyn finished her portion, a long while had passed.
Her shoulders and arms were stiff from crouching on the floor so long. She rubbed them and looked around.
The blackout cloth was already hung. Thanks to Sasha and Lionel, they had finished much faster than expected. Without them, they’d still be halfway done.
The star-shaped cutouts Adrian had prepared were gone, meaning they must have started decorating the booth exterior.
As for Stefan… he was dozing off, head lolling as he clutched a pencil. He was clearly exhausted from staying up all night.
Jaelyn went over and shook his shoulder. Stefan startled awake, eyes flying open.
“Stefan, I-I’ll handle the rest. Get some rest.”
“Wh-what? No, I’m fine. I can do it.”
He slapped his cheeks to wake himself up, but his eyelids kept drooping.
“Y-you’re tired from not sleeping yesterday. I finished my part already. A-and look.”
Jaelyn pointed at the section Stefan had been drawing.
Following her finger, Stefan realized what he’d been doing. Instead of rune formulas, his page was filled with squiggly worm-like lines.
“Ugh… sorry. Then I’ll leave just this part to you. Once that’s done, it’s finished.”
Knowing he was only getting in the way, Stefan handed it over.
It was better to let Jaelyn finish than make a mess.
“O-okay. Don’t worry, just get some sleep.”
Yawning, Stefan curled up on the blackout cloth they’d spread out earlier. Soon, soft snores filled the greenhouse—he must have been truly exhausted.
Before continuing, Jaelyn got up and draped another piece of cloth over him. Even in early summer, the night was chilly.
After finishing Stefan’s constellation formulas, Jaelyn stretched and stood up.
Just then, Adrian, Lionel, Nathan, and Sasha came back into the greenhouse. They must have finished decorating the outside, too.
