SRC 5

“Teacher, class is over!”

As if getting revenge for being forced to take over the lesson, Noah chopped the back of the sleeping teacher’s head with the edge of his hand.

“Huh? Oh… dismissed.”

Still wandering in dreamland, the teacher waved his hand lazily, as if swatting away a fly. He didn’t seem to care at all that Noah had just smacked him.

“Can he really not get fired when he sleeps like that?”

“They say once a teacher is appointed at this academy, they can’t be dismissed unless they cause a major incident.”

What a cushy job.

I briefly considered changing my future dream to “academy teacher,” just as Noah stepped down from the podium to loud cheers and left the classroom first. Simply for enabling everyone to use magic, he had already become an instant star among our classmates.

“Siana, sorry, but I’m heading out first.”

“Where are you going?”

“I have something important to take care of. See you back in class.”

“Olivia!”

Before Siana could stop me, I ducked slightly and slipped quietly out of the room.

I didn’t know my way around the second-year building, but that was fine.

I just had to follow Noah.

“I need to figure out what kind of relationship he has with my sister.”

Only then could I decide whether to officially include him as Candidate for Second Brother-in-Law… or eliminate him.

Noah strolled confidently through the second-year building, humming to himself. I followed at a measured distance.

Maybe it was because I was so utterly ordinary in every way, but I was surprisingly good at erasing my presence. I felt rather proud of my stealth skills—until I turned a corner and Noah suddenly disappeared from sight.

“Huh?”

I turned my head left and right, searching for him.

That was when—

“Do you need something from Noah?”

“Eek!”

A hand suddenly grabbed my shoulder from behind, and I nearly jumped out of my skin.

When I spun around, Noah was standing much closer than I’d expected, looking down at me. The way he smiled in circles—almost teasing—was oddly terrifying.

“N-Noah sunbae. You were here.”

“Hm? You’re the one who’s been following me since the Elemental Magic classroom.”

“How did you know?”

“Hm? How could I not?”

“And weren’t you just right in front of me?”

“If you turn that corner, there’s a passage that leads back out this way!”

Watching him speak so cheerfully, I scratched the back of my head.

So he’d known from the very beginning that I was tailing him.

As expected, a skilled mage was on a different level. No matter how confident I was in my stealth, tricking him had apparently been impossible.

“Besides, you’re wearing a first-year uniform and wandering around the second-year building in a suspicious posture. You stand out way too much.”

“Huh?”

Only then did I look down at my clothes.

Right… At Saint Louis Academy, each year had its own building and even different uniforms.

I’d foolishly overlooked that fact.

It wasn’t that I hadn’t drawn attention. I’d been so blatantly suspicious that no one dared to approach me.

Now I could finally hear the whispers about me.

“What a mistake…”

“That’s not called a mistake. That’s called stupidity.”

Noah seemed to enjoy hitting people with blunt facts. It hurt enough that my chest actually throbbed for a moment.

“So why were you following Noah?”

“Well…”

Because I need to see if you’re worthy of being my second brother-in-law candidate.

…Obviously, I couldn’t say that.

As I struggled to come up with an answer that would preserve my cover, Noah spoke first.

“Don’t tell me you fell for Noah at first sight?”

“Absolutely not!”

Unfortunately, there was no way I’d fall for even a brother-in-law candidate.

When I denied it emphatically, Noah looked faintly disappointed.

“Tch. If that’s not it, then why were you following Noah?”

“I was wondering if I could get some advanced lessons!”

The excuse popped into my head reflexively.

It was improvised, but honestly, it sounded quite plausible. My quick thinking really was impressive.

Feeling proud, I elaborated smoothly.

“Thanks to you, I was able to use magic for the first time. So I want to get better at it faster than the other students. If you have time, could you teach me a little more?”

Perhaps my passionate explanation moved him. Instead of looking annoyed, Noah beamed.

“A student volunteering for extra lessons? How admirable! Noah doesn’t dislike students like that.”

“Then…!”

“But there’s a condition.”

From within his long sleeves, he raised his index finger.

“What is it?”

“You have to become Noah’s friend!”

“You’re my sunbae, though.”

“I may be a second-year, but I’m only sixteen!”

Of course, I already knew that from the comic. Brilliant Noah had entered the academy early and even skipped grades, becoming a second-year at sixteen.

Which meant that although he was my senior, he was actually younger than me.

“Sixteen?”

I covered my mouth and pretended to be surprised.

“Yep. And you’re Emma’s little sister. Emma is Noah’s friend, so that makes you practically Noah’s friend too.”

He was Emma’s friend as well?

“Didn’t you say earlier that you weren’t very close?”

“I said I don’t know her that well. Do friends have to know every little detail about each other?”

Well… he had a point.

“If you’re considerate enough to look after her little sister, then Emma must be a rather spe…cial friend to you, right?”

I slipped the question in casually, fishing for his true feelings.

“Yeah, Emma is a special friend.”

I had definitely meant something more loaded by that question—but his answer came out refreshingly straightforward.

Just as I thought!

He did like my sister.

“So that’s why you want to be friends with me too?”

“Hmm, you just look interesting.”

“I see. As expected.”

It was obvious he found me interesting because I was Emma’s sister. If he was willing to befriend me for that reason alone, then he must have quite a bit of goodwill toward her.

I’d need to dig deeper into their relationship.

To keep observing him, becoming his friend wasn’t a bad idea.

“Okay. I’d like to be your friend too, Noah sunbae.”

“Really? Then from now on, call me Noah and speak comfortably!”

“Nice to meet you, Noah.”

Technically, I was a year older than him—but what did that matter?

If it meant getting closer to him, I could even call him oppa.

Since his hands were hidden deep within his sleeves, I grabbed the hem of his clothing and shook it up and down.

“So you’ll give me advanced lessons, right?”

I said it jokingly, but I truly did want them. It was an opportunity to spend time with him—and I also wanted to try using magic again.

“Of course. When you have time, come find Noah in Class S of the second year.”

I vaguely remembered reading in the academy rules that communication devices weren’t allowed on campus. So arranging meetings directly like this must have been his solution.

“Aren’t you busy? What if I come and you’re not there?”

“If you just come to Noah’s seat in S-Class, a notification spell will automatically alert me. So don’t worry—just wait.”

“Isn’t magic only allowed in designated locations or classrooms?”

“What student actually follows all the school rules?”

That was odd.

Hadn’t he just told us earlier to follow the rules properly?

Well, with Noah’s skills, he could probably bypass the academy’s alarm spells anyway. And even if he got caught, the teachers would likely treat him as an exception.

He even substitutes for academy teachers. That said it all.

“Then I’ll definitely come by when I have time, Noah.”

“Okay. See you, Emma’s little sister.”

“My name is Olivia Vardedor.”

Now that we were friends, I realized we hadn’t even formally introduced ourselves.

“I’m Noah Logan. Nice to meet you!”

With a bright smile, Noah headed back toward his classroom.

I’d confirmed that he considered my sister special, so it wasn’t a fruitless encounter.

And at the very least, he didn’t call me by some ridiculous nickname like “Kongkong.”

For that alone, he deserved a promotion to “Brother-in-Law Candidate No. 2.”

“He’s skilled in magic, his personality isn’t bad, and his future looks bright…”

His qualifications weren’t inferior to Liam’s.

The only thing that bothered me was that his affection for my sister didn’t seem particularly intense.

“I’ll have to observe him more.”

There was still plenty of time. There was no need to decide on my future brother-in-law yet.

After all, I hadn’t even met all the candidates.

I turned and retraced my steps.

I wanted to use my stealth skill again, but just as Noah had said, my first-year uniform stood out too much. I had no choice but to endure the second-years’ stares.

All I could do was pretend not to be flustered, avoid getting lost, and make it back to my classroom on time.