• The story below was told from the perspective of a certain male student from before the start of the first arc to after the end of the duel

—Riiin… goon…. riiin… goon…

The Fala Rubia Academy, about half a month after the entrance ceremony. The bell chimed at the building of the first year students, announcing the start of their lunch break.

“Uhm, excuse me, did you drop this pen?”

“Huh?”

The students were leaving the classroom for lunch. Oliver Hamilton, who went to the hallway like the other students, was surprised by the sudden, cute, voice that jumped into his ears, and turned around.

“This pen belongs to you, right?”

Oliver turned to the direction of the voice only to find that nobody was there. As he tilted his head, he heard the voice come from just below his eye level.

Crouching down in the hallway was a girl. She was holding a pen in one hand. Perhaps, she had just picked it up.

Her soft hair, which cascaded under her eyes, was a lustrous pale pink. Her eyes, to which his gaze was inevitably drawn, were a soft light blue, one akin to the spring sky. Her prettiness befitted the silvery voice he had just heard earlier.

“Ah, ah, yes, thank you—…”

“That’s a relief. Please take this.”

As the girl stood up, she handed Oliver his pen. Despite the fact that he was tongue-tied, the girl paid him no mind and just smiled. Because he had fallen in love with her at the first sight, Oliver couldn’t even muster a word of thanks. Her smile made him fall for her all over again. His hand trembled as he received the pen.

“What are you doing, Shari? Let’s go eat lunch!”

“Just a moment, Ange! I’m coming!”

While Oliver was still speechless, the girl—who was called ‘Shari’—rushed towards a red-haired girl standing near the door of the classroom over.

“My back is a bit sore. Maybe it’s because I was sitting in class during the entire morning…”

“That’s unfortunate. I recall that today’s menu is rhubarb hot pot. Isn’t that good for joint pain?”

While happily talking with her friend, her lovely voice gradually diminished.

Oliver stood there in a daze until he could no longer hear her, his right hand still extended after having received his pen.

***

Sharina Clydea.

She was the eldest daughter of Count Clydea. While she hailed from a count family, her territory was located in a countryside. Moreover, it had no notable features—such as mines or other specialties.

Nevertheless, at the same time, she had a commoner servant who could tame monsters without the use of magical power. She also possessed a mailing method that was several times faster than other households.

Her house faced no financial difficulties or other crises. For generations, her family was that of a venerable one with stable territorial management.

As for Sharina herself, she was an honor student who excelled with water magic. As a noble lady, said element was considered the next most useful element after the rare attributes of magic. She had a mild-mannered personality and carried a mature atmosphere.

He could recall how striking her strawberry blonde hair was during a joint exercise in the academy grounds. Or the times they occasionally passed each other in the corridor despite belonging to different classes. She wasn’t the most beautiful woman, but there was something truly adorable about her innocent smile that made him want to protect her.

…Such was half of the information Oliver obtained by utilizing all the connections and friendships he had. The other half was based off of Oliver’s personal impressions.

“…Well, to someone like me, she’s an unattainable flower…”

He was Oliver Hamilton—the second son to the Baron of Hamilton. While the Hamilton territory was prosperous due to being a port city, it wasn’t as financially powerful as a high-ranking aristocrat’s. The reason was because its location was far from the sea route utilized by great powers.

As for Oliver himself, due to having an excellent older brother, he wouldn’t be succeeding his family. Moreover, his appearance, grades, and level of magical power were only subpar.

To marry a beautiful girl from a count family, his specs were too unsatisfactorily.

“What am I thinking—!?”

While rolling around on his bed in his room at the boys’ dormitory, Oliver hugged a pillow.

Even though the girl barely knew he existed, even though he had a lot of shortcomings, he still held the wonderful idea of courting the girl.

Before anything else, he should at least practice striking a conversation with her.

“Good morning, Lady Clydea, thank you very much for picking up the pen I had dropped last week. By the way, it seems that something that is much more important than the pen has fallen… Thus, would you mind picking it up? Eh? You’re asking what that important thing is? —It’s my heart, shot down by your smile—No, what the hell am I thinking!?!?”

He raised his upper body from the bed while slamming his fist on the pillow. That kind of statement would only make him seem like a dangerous person. Or like someone with a mental illnesses. Although, he was positive that he was, lovesickness—

—Indeed.

He was in love with Sharina Clydea.

In the spring he turned fifteen, Oliver met his first love.

“Haa…”

Returning his pillow, which had been swung around, to its original position, he sighed deeply while lying down.

No matter how desperately he looked around for information regarding Sharina Clydea, he couldn’t hope for progress when he was struggling just to thank her. Regardless, his courage to take some concrete action towards Sharina never came out.

“…I wish I were the eldest son of a count family.”

The Fala Rubia Academy, where aristocratic children from all over Elgacia gathered, was also a very convenient meeting place for those without a fiancée. It could be said that dating between men and women was rather recommended as long as it didn’t cause any problems such as affairs or bifurcation.

However, the relationship between aristocrats was very strict. Engagements were usually made while in school by those with the same overall standing as aristocrats.

There was no such thing as a male’s version of Cinderella. Oliver, who didn’t have any outstanding advantages, couldn’t offer anything to the eldest daughter of the count family.

“Well… even knowing full well that it won’t come true, I wish I was a duke… No, someone even higher than that…”

Turning away from the sad reality, Oliver closed his eyes and imagined his ideal world.

To become a perfect man who would fulfill all the requirements of aristocratic children…

…In that dream, he’d kneel before Sharina Clydea alone and extended his hand. Then, while receiving the envious gazes of everyone, Sharina would take his hand with a bright expression.

“Guu… munyamunya…”

While envisioning that dreamlike scene, Oliver’s consciousness gradually diminished. Before he knew it, he fell into an actual dream.

---

***T/N: A love rival!? Potential jealous Riol!?

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