Love Letter From The Future

1. The First Letter (77)

The first day I entered the academy, I was silent.

It was because of the tension. To compare, it was the feeling of an adventurer stepping into unexplored territory.

Never in all the years had I been so far away from my family. At most, going to Ainstern Mansion or Hastur Mansion for a few months was all of my sleepover experience.

However, to spend four years in an unfamiliar place, away from the arms of the family he missed, he had no choice but to be scared. Of course, as I wanted to enter the school, I was also looking forward to the youth I would spend at the rumored academy.

However, the pounding heart had to hold its breath as soon as it arrived at the plaza where the entrance ceremony was held. Everywhere I looked, there were only people I was seeing for the first time. Until now, I felt less lonely because I had stuck with Leto, but since I left alone to go to the swordsmanship department, I couldn’t see my place among the crowds of people in twos and threes.

Presumed to be high-ranking nobles, they were already walking around and greeting each other. It must have been the children of a family he knew. No matter how much I look around, the starting point was different from me, who was the only person I didn’t even know his name, let alone his face.

I shook my head with a sigh. The moment I tried to regain my will, thinking about what to do because I was already scared.

“Ah, aww!”

A girl bumped into me. It seemed that they made a mistake after being pushed around because of the crowds. My eyes slipped over to her.

It was an innocent eye. That was how I felt when I first saw her. It was an impressive woman with pale green eyes resembling dark green.

She stared blankly at me, terrified.

“Sin, sorry! Do, Bitch. please forgive me… … .”

As soon as I heard that, my eyes went blank like the girl’s.

What do you mean, I couldn’t understand for a moment, and the uniform of a girl with a tear-stained face came into my eyes.

The fabric was not good. It meant writing supplies. Aristocrats used to find luxurious fabrics for their academy uniforms even out of pride.

I was no exception either. He was unable to cope with his younger sister’s annoyance, so he paid a high price and put on a nice uniform. And judging from her unknown reaction, there was only one answer.

You are a commoner.

Thinking about it now, it can’t be rude, but at that time I seemed to be looking at the girl with a little wonder. On the second day after entering the academy to join the dormitory, I finally confirmed the reality that I had only heard about in rumors.

At the academy, there is no identification. The gap between rich and poor was also the same.

Only skill, that was the only value followed by the academy, which aims for fairness and equality.

Looking at the girl who was trembling as if she would be punished at any moment, I burst into laughter involuntarily.

In no time, the tension was relieved. So I opened my mouth in a somewhat benevolent voice.

“You are not a young boy.”

“Ha, but then what should I call you… … .”

“Ian.”

Then I held out my hand. At first, she was startled and stiffened, but after a while she carefully looked at my hand.

And she looks at me with eyes that have discovered even a mystery.

Did he think that the rules of the academy were in fact absurd? So I decided to convince her.

“My name is Ian Percus. Good luck in the future, friend.”

The girl didn’t say anything for a while. He glanced back and forth at my face and outstretched hand, only after a little while.

“… … Yes Yes.”

Like a cat that finds something it has never seen before, it just cautiously held my hand.

It turns out that she was from the Faculty of Alchemy, and because there were so many nobles, she was intimidated, so I heard that she was pushed to a position in the Faculty of Swordsmanship.

Her name is Emma. He was the first commoner friend I made at the academy.

“What are you thinking about?”

Suddenly, the quiet voice brought me back to my senses. The time axis that wandered in the past returns again. This was a hospital room.

Until then, the girl, who still had a youthful appearance, was showing off a beauty that had matured over the years.

The light green eyes of the girl with a soft smile were staring at me. At that time, I had a taste of being a little scared, but now I couldn’t even see the slightest bit of fear.

It’s already been 3 years since I’ve been living in the academy. Even if they weren’t close friends, they were friends with whom they shared memories, so I’d seen their faces quite a few times.

If you were afraid of me until now, it was something that would hurt you. I shook my head with a bitter smile.

“Wait, I thought about the old days.”

“Entrance ceremony day?”

My eyes, stabbed to the point, flinched and trembled. I looked at Emma with a bit of surprise, but she still only had a strange smile on her face.

In any case, she was a woman with a good sense of humor. He had a knack for reading other people’s minds.

“Yeah, I was a country girl back then.”

“Then you were a noble boy, weren’t you?”

“Instead, you were that kind to the lady, don’t you remember I took you to the alchemy department?”

Cook-cook, Emma covered her mouth and let out a faint laugh. The sickness wasn’t completely gone yet, but just seeing her smile put me at ease.

I was finally able to relieve the guilt. Both Emma and her father will be able to live happily ever after.

There hasn’t been a day when I feel comfortable since she fell. I think it was my fault, because I was the only one who could stop it then.

It was fortunate that I was able to put it back, albeit belatedly. I sincerely thought so. Although I missed the opportunity to earn tens of thousands of gold coins, I wasn’t in a hurry to put my friend’s life and gold coins on the scales.

Emma smiled for a moment, then looked straight ahead with deep sunken eyes. Then, he glanced at me.

It was a gaze that only those who groped for the past could see.

“… … Looking back, it’s amazing. The relationship from then continues to this day.”

It was an insight that was nothing special. I said with a snort.

“It’s all about fate, well, somehow we run into each other and somehow connect.”

“That’s right. But until I entered the academy, I never imagined that I would become friends with a noble boy.”

There was also a story called ‘Nobility’. Emma has always been like that.

While pretending not to care on the outside, on the inside, he clearly divided the boundary between ‘nobleman’ and ‘commoner’ more than anyone else. In fact, this might be a characteristic of not only Emma, but all commoners attending the academy.

While there were nobles with a light sense of class, there were also nobles with a deep sense of class. I belong to the former, so it’s fine if I’m comfortable with it, but it was obvious without asking what the latter would think of the commoners.

So I deliberately didn’t bother to point it out even though Emma was showing that way. But today, Emma who says that looks very lonely, so I couldn’t help but say something.

“Emma, I told you. After all, at the academy, nobility and commoners are the same. So you and I became friends… … .”

“I know. By the way, were we this close?”

I was silent for a while. It was a misleading statement. Words that would haunt your brain like a nightmare for a week if you hear them from a friend you thought you were close to.

But Emma seemed to have a slightly different meaning. Her helpless gaze was on me.

“I heard that it is over 10,000 gold. A demonic beast corpse that was offered to God to save me.”

“… … don’t mind.”

“How can you not care?”

It was a sincere statement, but Emma’s returning question was also sincere, so I had no choice but to keep my mouth shut again.

Emma was looking at me with shaky eyes. She even looked a little scared.

“I am a commoner! I can’t repay the favor of 10,000 gold. Where would I sell my life and still not get a tenth of that? But how could you make such a decision without hesitation?”

“So, it’s a decision I made on my own, so don’t mind… … .”

“what do you want?”

It was a straightforward question. I looked at Emma with puzzled eyes. Her pale green eyes trembled wildly.

“What can I do? Should I live as the exclusive alchemist of the Percus family? If not, do you even want my body?”

“Emma.”

A low voice came from my mouth to calm her down. But Emma’s anxiety was not easily calmed down.

It’s like 10,000 gold. It was money that commoners could not touch even if they worked for a lifetime. Even high-ranking nobles pay a lot of attention to transactions involving such amounts.

units are different. Money she could not repay no matter what she did, she hadn’t thought that it would be such a burden to Emma.

At that time, all I wanted to do was save Emma. Maybe I was selfish too.

To relieve my guilt, I didn’t even consider Emma’s feelings. Of course, even if I knew the heart, I would have only one conclusion.

“How on earth… Uh, how should I repay the favor… … !”

“… … Emma!”

Eventually, a scream came out of my mouth. Emma trembled and looked at me with startled eyes. Then I sighed and got up.

Then, I carefully placed my hand on Emma’s shoulder, who was looking at me with trembling eyes.

“live.”

It was an unexpected word. Emma’s watery eyes blinked a few times, and then a blank question returned.

“… … What?”

“Live, as usual… And just like it should have been. Graduate safely from the academy, and make a potion that herbalists won’t get hurt as you dreamed of. Earn money like that, take care of your father, and live. happily.”

The words came pouring out like a rapid-fire cannon. So Emma couldn’t help but stare at my eyes in bewilderment. As if you could see my true intentions by looking into my eyes.

But no matter how much I looked at it, I couldn’t help it. Because now I was speaking the truth without even a single lie mixed in.

It was only then that Emma recognized my sincerity, and Emma’s trembling decreased noticeably. He didn’t say anything, just stared at me.

I couldn’t help but smile bitterly.

“That is my only wish. And it’s a way for you to return the favor to me.”

There was no answer for a long while. It didn’t matter though. It would be enough if only the heart was conveyed.

I sat back quietly in my seat. The silence lasted for so long that I felt embarrassed for nothing. The moment I cleared my throat and slightly looked away.

Puff, and laughter burst out. The epicenter is, of course, Emma.

“Puch, aha, ahahaha!”

“… … Why, again.”

I was a little shy even if I didn’t, so I had no choice but to ask timidly. Emma laughed out loud, then covered her mouth with a chuckle.

He seemed to be trying to calm down somehow. It took a little more time for her mouth to open.

“Because you talk so much like Ian… Cuckoo, that’s funny. idiot, idiot, idiot. Then, you are only being used by a commoner girl like me.”

“Curse yourself very much… … .”

I pouted at her words, but I soon smiled faintly.

At last, Emma’s countenance was at ease. It might be impossible to get rid of all the burden on her heart, but she was smiling as if she had become somewhat relieved.

It was fortunate. I was worried that I would fall into a debt consciousness and groan.

But Emma’s words were not over. She spoke to me with a kind smile, as always.

“… … But Ian, don’t be mean to women.”

It was a warm smile. A smile that makes a corner of my heart feel at ease just by looking at it, I stared blankly at Emma’s face.

It was clean skin without any blemishes. I heard that common people can’t even wash their face properly.

There were water droplets around the eyes that drew a light arc, and the girl’s hair, which was absorbing the sunlight outside the window, took on a peculiar red color. reddish-brown hair.

As if to shyly confess, the girl said.

“Then, you’ll be mistaken.”

“… … What illusion?”

I instinctively asked that question. But there was no answer from Emma. She didn’t erase her smile, she just shook her head.

“Ugh, no. Because it’s already too late anyway.”

With sad eyes, he put his hand on his chest and let out a light sigh.

“… … It’s a big deal, me.”

That figure looked especially beautiful, I thought to myself, but I did not dare to put language into that impression.

It was the moment when a relationship from a few years ago tied a strange knot again.

**

After the hospital visit, I had to be admitted to the treatment room right away.

At first, I was thinking of coming tomorrow. Tonight, there was an after-party for the hunting festival, and the groups who participated in the hunting festival were each assigned a table in the clearing in front of the southern forest.

Then, a banquet with an unlimited supply of food and alcohol continues throughout the night. It was an opportunity not to be missed. Even since I was the winner of the hunting festival, I was able to be assigned 4 tables.

This meant that I could invite friends I knew. First of all, Leto made up his mind to call unconditionally.

However, my plan soon met with reefs. It was the saintess.

“You must come right away, Brother Ian. Did you know?”

The saintess who said that had such a terrifying look in her eyes that I had no choice but to surrender.

To be precise, her expression was not much different from usual. I just smiled, but for some reason I felt a chill.

After entering the treatment room, I was keeping an eye on the saintess. The saintess, who was changing the bandages on my arm with an upset expression, soon glanced at me with sullen eyes.

“Brother Ian, didn’t you promise not to participate in the hunting festival?”

“Yeah, there was a situation. In fact, to save a friend… … .”

Fortunately, my excuse was perfect. How much would the heavenly deity think it would be right to take risks because there was no money for treatment for a poor friend?

As if the saintess had nothing to say about that, she made a sullen expression. It’s a little cute, so I decided to keep it in my head.

As I was putting on the bandage, the saintess’s feminine curves passed by my arm. Every time that happened, the sweet smell of the body passed the tip of my nose. I have never felt as resentful as today about the fact that the nerves in my left arm were not properly revived.

I was trying to look away when I heard the saintess’s voice as if she had just remembered.

“… … Come to think of it, that friend was also a woman, right?”

“Yes, what… … .”

I couldn’t figure out the intention of the question, so I just looked around like that.

Even so, the dissatisfied look from the saintess did not go away. Rather, she said, “Huh,” and narrowed her eyes.

“The members of the hunting festival are all women.”

“Yes, what. I didn’t mean to, but somehow… … .”

Looking back, it was a very strange thing. Even if you intend to put them together, it’s not easy to get three women together, but the hunting team is so organized.

It was also the result of thinking about the best personnel for myself. And all of them are women who are reputed to be beautiful.

Should this be called luck, or misfortune since it can lead to misunderstandings?

It was an incredible coincidence. That moment when I burst into admiration inwardly.

“… … Do you think those women were more important than me?”

At the sound of that subtly chilled voice, my head creaked and turned.

There, there was the face of the saintess with a smile on her face. Why does that benevolent smile feel scary today?

“That’s why you broke the promise you made with me and went to the hunting festival. Yes? Brother Ian.”

My heart went cold in an instant.