“—Anyway, I wonder what happened in the end. Why did the wind magic teacher change his mind at the last second?”

“I have no clue. Now that I think about it, I find it strange that he kept mentioning His Highness the First Prince… I wonder what that was supposed to mean…”

“Still, I’m glad you were allowed to take the written test. Besides, it was fun practicing alongside Lithia late into night, but that teacher was still unreasonable! I can’t be too happy about it.”

“Actually, me too… It was fu—no, never mind… I’m sorry for the trouble…”

The day after Lithia’s wind magic exam ended, after school.

Upon hearing that Lithia didn’t have to take the practical exam, and that there was no surprise call after the test, Geo was relieved. Nevertheless, he was still confused.

“Since we don’t know the reason, we can’t think of any future countermeasures… Uhm, Lithia? Aren’t you going home?”

However, as he was about to discuss it further while they walked, he noticed that Lithia had stopped. Since they had met in the middle of the hallway, he had assumed they’d go home together.

“No, I’m sorry, but I have a supplementary class. It’s in the special classroom behind the academy.”

“Eh?”

Apparently though, Lithia had reached her destination. She pointed to a path that led in a different direction from the entrance of the academy. Then, she turned around.

“All right, see you.”

“Why don’t I escort you to the front of the classroom? I thought we were going to head back to the dormitory together. It’s lonely to part ways here. Even if it’s only for a bit longer, please let me stay beside you.”

“…! O-okay, that’s fine…”

Geo immediately changed direction to match Lithia.

…And there he thought that they could stay together for at least ten more minutes. It stung to think that it was about to be over.

“When does that supplementary lesson start? Is the teacher already waiting?”

“Ah, well… There’s no set time for it to start. I’m supposed to study there for a bit as I wait for the teacher in charge that day to come. After that, the lesson will begin.”

If she had to hurry, he was willing to give up. But if not, they might as well slow down a little.

When Geo slowed down his speed, Lithia did the same.

“Wait, this isn’t a supplementary lesson for the wind practical exam, right?”

“If that had been the case, I’d have spoken to Geo right away. Don’t worry, nothing unreasonable will happen today.”

“That’s a relief…”

He thought he was walking slowly, but he ended up walking ahead of Lithia. Geo halted. He had ended up walking faster than Lithia before he knew it.

Let’s walk a bit slower…

“What other elements of magic are you incompatible with?”

“Hm… Wind element is my weakness, but the same goes for fire…”

“Fire? Then, let’s do some special training for fire magic! Just in case something happens.”

How strange…

Somehow, he ended up leaving Lithia behind again. Even a turtle wouldn’t have had a problem surpassing him at that point.

“—Other than for the practical exam, it’s the most useful element to have if you get lost in the middle of nowhere…”

“…What kind of emergency planning is that?”

…It happened again. Somehow, he was outpacing her again.

When he was still working at the downtown store, all the women used to say that a man who walked ahead of a girl without trying to match her pace was the worst.

He couldn’t possibly let Lithia think that way?

“As long as there are fruit trees, I can always provide food.”

“…So this is an emergency plan for when we get lost in the middle of nowhere together?”

“—This is where you come in. With your fire magic, we can roast apples over a bonfire at night.”

“…It ended up becoming a fun camping trip.”

…I won’t outspeed her this time.

Geo tried to stop as naturally as possible, before carefully glancing at her feet.

—The only thing left to do next was to visually confirm that Lithia’s feet were ahead of his before taking another step.

“But you’re right, it’s better to practice…”

“Once you’ve made your decision, definitely let me in on it. I’ll spend as much time with you as you want.”

“Hehe, thank you.”

“Roasted sweet potatoes are also tasty this season.”

“Stop with the camping trip planning.”

I should wait until Lithia starts walking…

Of course, I also won’t rush her.

Geo heard from his superiors that men who told girls that they were slow were the worst.

…Thus, Geo came into an ultimate halt. Even after a while had passed, neither of them started walking. In the end, they stood there until the teacher overseeing the day’s supplementary lesson passed.

---

***T/N: HHAHAAHAHAHA THIS IS SO FUNNY HAHAHAHAHA

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