SPO 21

Chapter 21

“Creator Yehisha embraces us with infinite love. His love overcomes all fear. Yehisha is—”

A pale, whitish light of dawn filtered in through the windows.
Cold morning air drifted between the sparsely seated worshippers in the vast chapel.

Despite the long sermon, I fixed my gaze on the unmoving back seated at the very front.

It was only a back view, yet humility and devotion somehow radiated from it.

Maybe it’s because he’s truly loved by Yehisha.

I had come to the early morning service held at 6:30 a.m. to meet Johan Derial.
Because I arrived too early from nervousness, the chapel had been almost empty.

The front seats felt too intimidating, so I chose a pew a little farther back.
The atmosphere made it feel wrong not to pray, so I fidgeted with my hands.

Creeeak—.

The second visitor arrived.

Unable to suppress my curiosity, I glanced back—and met warm golden eyes.
Soft irises reflected faint starlight like a mirror, shimmering mysteriously.

Johan Derial.

I recognized him instantly.

The official senior of Dumea, the hidden character who had captured everyone’s heart rather than being a male lead candidate.

Embarrassed, I quickly rolled my eyes away, but Johan greeted me first with a polite nod.
Then he passed by me and walked to the very front row.

Even though he had done nothing, the sense of reverence surrounding him made me bow my head in silent respect.

Can I really connect him with Rena?

I felt strangely like a demon sent to corrupt a holy monk, and my mouth went dry for no reason.

I wasn’t the only one who had come just to see his face. Quite a few female students were attending the service.
Pretending otherwise, glances were cast his way from all around.

“…Let us give thanks to Yehisha for granting us another beautiful day.”

Suddenly, guilt stabbed at my conscience.

I bowed my head deeper than anyone, pretending to pray with utmost sincerity.

Lord Yehisha, please forgive me. This is all for the sake of saving the world you created. I swear I didn’t come here with impure intentions.

I never managed to speak with Johan.

But the goal was just to make my face familiar, so there was no need to force anything.

I should head to the student council room.

The path from the temple to the main building was eerily quiet.

A pristine road, a cloudless blue sky, leaves swaying with the breeze, and flowers and grass in full bloom.
Unlike the neatly lined trees, wildflowers filled every corner untouched by human hands.

While my gaze was stolen by nature’s harmony, something unexpected caught my eye—for an entirely different reason.

“…A person?”

A man lay sprawled among the flowers, his clothes disheveled, framed by blossoms in full bloom.

He was handsome even from afar—but up close, undeniably more so.
So much so that I wondered what he would look like once he opened his eyes.

I crouched by the low stone border separating the path from the flowerbed.

Each time the breeze stirred, his soft black hair spilled across his pale forehead.

“Um… excuse me.”

Long eyelashes fluttered like butterfly wings.
As his eyelids slowly lifted, ruby-red eyes emerged—captivating and vivid.

For a moment, I forgot how to breathe.

It wasn’t just his looks—the contrast of colors created an oddly intoxicating atmosphere.

While I was still stunned by the harmony of his smooth forehead, sharp nose, and clean jawline, the man blinked once, twice, then stared at me.

Snapped back to my senses by his intense gaze, I pointed at a small sign nearby.

“This area is off-limits.”

The polished wooden sign bore red letters: Do Not Enter.
It was meant to prevent damage to the flowerbeds.

Ever since spotting him, it had bothered me.
Maybe it was because I wore the title of student council president, but I’d always lived by rules and principles.

I gestured to him.

“Please come out.”

Instead, a lazy, breathy sound slipped from between his brush-painted lips.

“Come on.”

At my urging, the man slowly raised his upper body.
The movement reminded me of a well-fed predator rising at leisure, and I tensed without realizing it.

Why am I nervous? I didn’t do anything wrong.

Maybe I still wasn’t immune to handsome faces.

As my thoughts wandered, the man reached both hands toward me.

Is he asking for help getting up?

Thinking he was quite a hassle, I took his large hands in mine.

As warmth seeped into my fingers and I tried to pull him up—

“Ah!”

I lost my balance as he pulled instead, tumbling forward.

What the hell just happened?

My nose slammed into his solid chest, sending a sharp sting through me.
The scent of roses flooded my senses, making it hard to think straight.

As I flailed in embarrassment, a low voice dropped above my head.

“Now you’ve come in too.”

My shoulders twitched as I slowly lifted my head.

Half-lidded crimson eyes glittered lazily beneath long lashes.

After staring blankly for a moment, I quickly untangled my legs and scrambled off him.

My heart pounded violently.

Taking deep breaths, I tried to calm my racing chest.

“…I guess so.”

I then looked at him suspiciously.

A white shirt with several buttons undone, black trousers—his build was lean yet powerfully defined.
Since this was a Western-style setting, most students were well-developed, but he stood out even among them.

Even seated, the length of his arms and legs made it obvious.

Third year, maybe?

“Are you a student here?”

If I learned his name, I could assign demerit points.
I didn’t like the idea of sharing the penalty, but as he said, I’d stepped in too.

Unaware of my thoughts, the man tilted his head and smirked.

“Probably.”

Probably?

My brow furrowed.

Is he an intruder?

Yudea strictly prohibited outsiders. Security was tight, and even parents needed passes to enter.

Suspicious beyond measure, I held out my hand.

“Then please show me your student ID.”

The man glanced at my hand and raised an eyebrow.

“Don’t have one.”

“Then what year and department are you in? Your name?”

“……”

Definitely an outsider.

“Yudea doesn’t allow non-students. I don’t know how you got in, but please leave.”

When I spoke firmly, he finally replied lazily.

“Second year.”

The delayed answer only made him seem more suspicious.

“And your name?”

I’d look him up the moment I got back.

“Ban.”

“…That’s it?”

“Yeah.”

No family name? A commoner?

The unexpected answer startled me.

A commoner at Yudea?

He must be a genius.

From my own experience as a baron’s child in name only, students without high-ranking backgrounds were easily ostracized.
At least I had a surname. He didn’t even have that.

Is that why he hesitated when I asked if he was a student…?

Though he didn’t look like the type to be intimidated by such things, you never knew.

Just look at Reihart.

I stared at him in silence.

Then I noticed his undone buttons. Between the parted fabric, his firm chest appeared and disappeared.

“Um… you should button your shirt properly. I don’t know if you’re aware, but the school rules include grooming regulations.”

I wasn’t being nitpicky—it was true.

Yudea even had guidelines on how many buttons one was allowed to undo.

“No more than three.”

At first, I’d thought it absurd.

Who would walk around with more than three buttons undone? And even if they did, so what?

But now I understood.

This was practically public indecency.

When I glared at him, he merely shrugged.

“Close your eyes.”

“My eyes?”

Why now?

As I squinted suspiciously, he fumbled with the buttons using his large hands—completely mismatched.

“Embarrassing.”

Watching him act like he might button up—or might not—with a face utterly devoid of shame, I let out a dry laugh.

If you’re buttoning up, what’s there to be embarrassed about?

Still, since he insisted, I obediently closed my eyes.

Time passed, yet I heard nothing.

“Are you done?”

Enough time had passed to sew the buttons on permanently.

Bored, I wiggled my toes, reminiscing about the days I stitched doll eyes and noses.

When no answer came, unease crept in. I opened my eyes—

“…That man!”

I sucked in a sharp breath at the empty flowerbed.

Did he realize I was going to assign demerit points and run?

Looks can be deceiving—he’s sly.

Same situation or not, being a commoner didn’t earn him leniency.

Next time I saw him, I’d find out his department and dock his points.

Judging by his build, he was likely from the fencing department.

But… was there a character like that in the game? With a face like that, there’s no way I’d forget.

No matter how I looked at it, he was no background extra.

At that level, he should’ve been a main character.

A definite male-lead face.

And yet—

There was no character named Ban in my memory.