SIDE STORY 1 (Part 3)

Twenty minutes passed, and it was time to wake her up. He felt sorry for disturbing her deep sleep, but he had made a promise.

“Rienn.”

His low whisper didn’t reach her. Even though there was no one else around, he couldn’t speak aloud in the library. He raised his hand and lightly tapped Rienn’s back, trying to feel her slender back beneath his coat and her clothes.

Since she didn’t wake up immediately, he could continue to touch her naturally. He gently caressed her back, and she let out a soft moan.

“Are you awake?”

Dian whispered, moving his hand to her shoulder. A soft, feminine body that made him wonder how she held and wielded a sword.

Rienn lay still, frowning slightly. Without opening her eyes, she reached for his hand.

“Oh, I’m sorry.”

He quickly apologized, thinking she might not want to be touched, but Rienn grabbed his arm and hugged it to her chest, preventing him from moving. He chuckled at being unable to move.

“Don’t want me to wake you?”

Rienn nodded with her eyes still closed.

“Get some more sleep.”

Dian held still, one arm out, and looked down at her beautiful face.

For now, he thought it would be better to confess after the exam was over.

***

After five days of graduation exams, Rienn caught up on her sleep in the dormitory. Dian waited for her, doing various things alone. He rested by reading books or writing a brief letter to his father about future plans. There were many times when he was quietly lost in thought. He thought and thought again about when and how to confess to Rienn.

Then, after getting enough sleep, Rienn went to the training ground with Dian and sparred without restraint.

In the euphoria of the end of the graduation exams, the end-of-semester festivities began. Even the nearby city streets were bustling with Academy students. The two roamed freely, enjoying the festivities, until Rienn decided she wanted some banana pudding so they headed to a café.

“You were craving banana pudding?”

“Yeah, this place reminds me of banana pudding periodically. Should we come back to eat this after graduation?”

She smiled happily as she scooped up the pale yellow cream.

“It’s okay. We’ll both graduate anyways.”

Rienn had escaped the crisis of retaking exams. Dian wasn’t surprised, as he’d been thinking about both situations, her graduation and retaking situation. He was just a little disappointed…

“Thank goodness, really. But how did you manage to be the top student?! Amazing, truly amazing.”

Rienn clapped her hands together.

“Haha.”

Dian chuckled lightly and shook his head. He didn’t bother to mention that he had always been the top student in all the exams over the three years. The first and second runners-up in this year’s graduation exams would naturally be announced at the graduation ceremony for receiving awards.

“How can our grades be so different when we’ve always been together? It may not seem like a big deal to you, but…….”

Rienn stopped eating and took something out of her bag. It was the result of yesterday’s graduation exam.

“I got a decent grade this time, do you want to take a look?”

“Sure.”

Dian readily reached out and took the result sheet. It was his first time looking at someone else’s exam result, but he really wanted to see her. He quickly glanced over it; overall, it was a decent result that slightly exceeded the average. Mid-range score and rank.

“Well done, Rienn .”

He praised her enthusiastically. He reached out and stroked her soft golden hair. Rienn smiled happily and replied.

“It is, isn’t it? I guess I did well this time because I studied hard. I was shocked when I saw the last exam result, so I studied even harder this time. Back then, it was really…”

Rienn trailed off with a still astonished expression.

“How did you do then?”

“I can’t tell you. That exam didn’t mean much to me.”

Dian remembered how quietly distressed Rienn had seemed when she received the result sheet during the mid-term exam.

“Yeah, you did really well this time. You worked hard, Rienn.”

He choked back a laugh and continued to praise her. Rienn’s face lit up with confidence, and it was so cute.

“Now, give it to me. Let’s show it to Dad when we get home. He’ll be pleasantly surprised.”

I want to hug her.

Feeling the urge to embrace the proud Rienn, Dian turned the result sheet around and handed it back.

“Here.”

“Now, it’s really graduation. We’re free!”

“…….”

Free.

Dian knew that Rienn didn’t share the same sentiment as him, otherwise, she wouldn’t be celebrating her graduation like this.

Still, even if their perspectives differed, as long as their direction aligned… they’d be able to get along.

“Did you find life at the academy frustrating?”

“Well, there were definitely more constraints than before, right? There were just too many classes and exams.”

“But there were some good things, right?”

“Yes, there were a lot of good things! I had a lot of fun in general.”

“What was the best part?”

“Umm…….”

Rienn pondered deeply.

“I liked my professors, and I liked my friends. It’s a pity to think we won’t see each other as often anymore.”

Dian wondered if he was included in the ‘friends’ or not.

“What about you? What was the best thing for you, Dian?”

“Same here. I liked not being separated from you.”

Dian subtly revealed his feelings and observed her reaction. Rienn nodded with a smile.

“At least we’ll see each other often.”

“It might be difficult to do so like now, though…”

His life would be divided again into two periods: one with Rienn, and one waiting for the day he could be with her. Dian felt a certain sense of crisis, but Rienn seemed relaxed.

“At least we don’t have classes, so we’ll be more free when we meet. Maybe we can take a trip somewhere else.”

“Trips, that sounds nice.”

Dian sincerely agreed. Just the thought of traveling with Rienn was delightful.

Of course, he was going to stick to his plan. If things went well, they might end up living together without ever having to part, but that would require success not only in confession but also in proposing.

Dian pulled out his pocket watch and checked the time.

“What time is it?”

“Five twenty.”

“There’s a lot of people outside, so let’s stay here and then go to dinner.”

“Okay.”

“Then we can watch the fireworks at nine o’clock.”

“Yeah.”

Dian was aiming for that time. His heart already beating fast, he slowly lifted the teacup and sipped. The herbal tea was cool and lukewarm.

“Dian, eat some of this, too.”

Rienn pushed the banana pudding she had been eating toward him. It seemed like she was already full.

“Okay.”

He casually scooped up some cream and sweets with the same spoon. The overly sweet taste spread in his mouth.