Chapter 160

“Everyone around me calls me Reynard. So, you should too.”

As Nathan reluctantly nodded, he lowered Aiden’s hand to below his mouth.

“Okay.”

Then, he introduced Alex and Thomas.

Reynard seemed to like Thomas the most, who was relatively the calmest of them all. According to Aiden’s subjective evaluation.

Even though he liked him, there were hardly any changes in his expression, so he fell into a maze as to what it really meant.

After that, the five of them always hung out together. The main reason being Aiden’s intentional effort to never leave Reynard alone.

They always ate meals together in the cafeteria, took classes together, and did assignments together in the library.

If Reynard would go back to his room alone after dinner, fearing that he might feel depressed, they intentionally kept him late until he started yawning as if he would fall asleep soon.

However, despite such efforts, Reynard barely managed to cheer up. The children seemed to have gotten used to it, but as soon as they let their guard down, he would gaze out of the window, watching the people passing by.

He acted as if he was waiting for someone.

Then, there was this day. That day, the five of them were struggling with the assignment given by the professor in the library.

“It’s too hard.”

Nathan, the one with the weakest comprehension, first declared giving up and sprawled on the desk. It was inevitable. He struggled even with reading the Imperial language, let alone understanding the magic theory.

In fact, the others were the same. They had learned the common language of the Empire, but before they entered the academy, they had no special opportunity to learn the Imperial language.

They pinned their hopes on Reynard, who was of Imperial origin. He was a bit better than the others, but he still couldn’t read fluently.

Yet, he kept looking at the book and writing on the paper persistently until Aiden was the last one to declare giving up.

‘He writes well.’

Reynard’s handwriting seemed cute and round, like a girl’s.

Could it be that the teacher who taught him the alphabet was a woman? As Aiden was thinking this, someone approached them. It was a child who delivered letters at the academy.

“It’s nice to see you all gathered here. I can deliver these all at once.”

He first handed a letter to Nathan.

Seeing his mother’s name, Nathan sniffed and soon began to shed tears. His entire family was in the capital and he saw them not long ago, yet he seemed still a child.

Next, Thomas received a letter. He checked the sender and calmly opened the seal and read the letter.

“What about me? Don’t I have anything?”

Frantically asking and confirming the owner of the last letter in the boy’s hand, Aiden slapped his chin in disappointment.

‘Those siblings don’t have a bit of fraternal love.’

His brothers, or elder siblings, who he had been with every day, hadn’t sent him a single letter for months after he left for the distant capital. When he returned to the mansion during the holiday, he would tickle them until they cried.

“Reynard, here.”

Reynard, who was pretending to write and was sneakily looking at the boy, received the letter while licking his lips. A faint scent of spring flowers came from the lilac-colored envelope.

Reynard turned the letter over and checked the sender on the back.

At that moment, Aiden doubted his eyes.

Over the past week, Reynard, who had been languidly indifferent to everything, had a smile blossoming on his face as if a flower bud burst and bloomed.

He buried his face in the letter and shook his head from side to side. Nathan asked, ‘Why is Reynard behaving like that?’ with a serious expression, but to Aiden, it looked as if Reynard was so overjoyed he couldn’t control himself.

In fact, he even heard a sound like a leaky laugh. It seemed like his two legs under the table were also trembling.

“Hey, Reynard. Are you okay? Who sent you the letter to make you react like that?”

Reynard suddenly raised his head and glanced at them. He seemed to be trying to stop smiling, but his lips were constantly twitching, so it wasn’t very effective.

“I-I have something urgent, so I’ll go back to the room first!”

His words, stuttered while packing his books, were much higher than usual. His cheeks, which had always been pale, were also blushing.

“What about dinner?”

“Have it among yourselves today. I’ll eat in my room. See you tomorrow!”

Before Aiden could catch him, Reynard rushed out of the library like an arrow.

“Brother Reynard is weird.”

Nathan muttered, wiping his reddened eyes. Alex, who was doodling in his notebook with a sulky face because he didn’t receive a letter, nodded his head.

“You’re right, he’s really weird.”

Aiden had no choice but to agree with them this time.

“Yeah, he’s weird.”

Who could have sent a letter that made him so happy? A sponsor? A friend from the Empire he used to know?

He couldn’t know, but one thing was certain, Reynard’s mood drastically improved after receiving that letter. In fact, from the next day, he started to regain his energy as if he had drunk a lot of water and sprouted fresh shoots.

Watching him attentively listening to the professor with sparkling eyes, Aiden felt grateful to the sender of the unknown letter.

* * *

Year 468 of the Imperial calendar, Spring, Reynard 14 years old.

“Suddenly, why swordsmanship?”

Despite responding apprehensively to the unexpected proposal, Reynard couldn’t take his eyes off the book. Aiden swiftly sat opposite him and snatched the book from his hand.

“A healthy mind dwells in a healthy body! Studying all day in the library will make you weak, how can you properly study with such a body?”

“I can…”

“That’s the problem with magicians.”

Aiden clicked his tongue as if he himself were not a magician.

“Because of kids like you, there’s prejudice against magicians. Everyone says they’re skinny, shaky, and irritable. I don’t like that.”

“That’s your problem.”

Reynard refuted firmly as always. Aiden, who often talked a lot and was interested in many things, often made ridiculous remarks like this.

Swordsmanship. It might seem trivial to Aiden, but as far as Reynard knew, swordsmanship was a sport that consumed more time than one might think. It wasn’t simply about waving a sword; there was a mountain of things to do, such as basic physical training and sparring.

If he had time for such things, it was better to read one more page of a magic book.

“Stop talking nonsense and give me the book.”

“Don’t frown and listen carefully!”

Avoiding Reynard’s reaching hand, Aiden sprung up from his seat with a raised arm.

“It’s not nonsense. In today’s world, who learns the sword only to become a knight? Even if you’re not a warrior, swordsmanship is a basic skill in noble families. That’s how it was before I came to the academy. Look, do you see your biceps here?”

“I don’t know.”

Reynard, who also got up from his seat, somehow managed to retrieve his book from Aiden and sat back down.

This time Aiden went to the seat next to him and nudged Reynard’s shoulder with his own. As Reynard staggered momentarily from the impact, a smile of victory spread across Aiden’s face.

“See, you’re shaky because you’re weak.”

“It’s not about strength, anyone would do the same if suddenly attacked like that.”

“No! If you have muscles like me, you can withstand even a sudden attack without falling… ugh.”

Aiden twisted as he failed to resist the force with which Reynard suddenly pushed his shoulder. Before Aiden fell off the chair, Reynard grabbed his arm, raised his eyebrows, and let him down.

“What did I tell you? It’s the same for everyone.”

“This is… That’s right! This is because I haven’t been practicing my swordsmanship lately! So, to regain my strength, I suggest we both take a swordsmanship class. What do you say? Let’s do it. Let’s do it.”

“I’m not interested. If you want to, you can do it alone.”

“It’s embarrassing to go to a swordsmanship class where only kids chatter alone.”

“Then make new friends there. It’s your specialty.”

“Really? I care for your health.”

“I’m too busy with the assignments the professor gave me.”

Showing no interest, Reynard no longer paid attention to Aiden and began flipping through his book again.

“Or ask Alex or Thomas to join.”

“Those guys…”

Suddenly speechless, Aiden closed his mouth.

He could never say that he had already asked them to join him that morning and had been rejected. The moment he said that, Reynard would argue that there’s no need to learn swordsmanship, which would only strengthen his resolve.

Even if that weren’t the reason, Aiden wanted to do it most with Reynard. Regardless of what anyone says, Reynard was his first friend at the academy, and they were the same age!

Aiden quickly came up with another reason to persuade him.

“If you learn swordsmanship, it stimulates your bones and muscles, and you grow taller.”

“I’m going to be tall anyway. It’s in my family history.”

“But you’re smaller than me now, aren’t you?”

“Wait and see in about 3 years.”

This isn’t working. Seeing Reynard dismissing it without hesitation, he had to come up with another reason.

“If you have good stamina, you won’t feel tired even if you don’t sleep much. If you reduce your sleeping hours, you’ll have more time to study.”

“But I would be practicing swordsmanship during that extra time, right?”

“Ah, is that so?”

Unconsciously mumbling, Aiden belatedly realized that he was being wrapped around Reynard’s finger.

Ugh, another failure. Aiden banged his forehead on the desk, wrapping his head. He needed to think.

He needed to think. He needed to think…

“Reynard.”

Aiden moved closer to Reynard. He whispered into his ear as if sharing a big secret.

“Do you know, if you learn swordsmanship, you become popular with girls?”

Reynard, who was turning the pages of a book, hesitated for a moment.

“By learning to use a sword, not only do you grow taller, but your shoulders get broader, and you develop muscles. Girls prefer men who are muscular and healthy rather than those who are too thin. Wouldn’t they prefer a sturdy and reliable magician who can protect them over a thin magician with no stamina?”

Even he thought it was the most absurd and ridiculous thing he had ever said. Who on earth would learn swordsmanship just to look good to women?

Moreover, Reynard was a boy who had no interest in the opposite sex. He would indifferently receive gifts or letters from girls and reject confessions without even considering them.

Such an absurd advantage wouldn’t work on him.

…It wouldn’t work, but strangely, Reynard didn’t tell him to stop talking nonsense. He was just looking at the book with his mouth shut, and the pages weren’t turning.