Love Letter From The Future

On the day I first entered the Academy, I was maintaining silence.

It was due to my nervousness. If I were to compare it, I felt like an adventurer taking a step into uncharted territory.

Throughout the years, I had never been away from my family for this long. My experiences outside had only consisted of a few-month visits to the Ainstern Territory or Haster Territory.

But suddenly, being told to spend four years away from my beloved family in this unfamiliar place left me scared. Of course, since I had wanted to enroll, I was also looking forward to spending my youth at the well-known Academy.

However, as soon as I arrived at the grand plaza where the entrance ceremony was to take place, my racing heart had to quiet down. Wherever I looked, all I saw were unfamiliar faces. Until now, I had been hanging around with Reto, so the loneliness had been manageable, but now, as I found myself alone in the Swordsmanship Department, I couldn’t find a place among the clusters of people.

Those who appeared to be high-ranking nobles were already mingling and exchanging greetings here and there. They were likely the children of families I was somewhat familiar with. No matter how I looked around, everyone I saw was a stranger to me, starting from a different point.

With a sigh, I shook my head. I couldn’t believe I was already getting scared at this point, and just as I was trying to bolster my will again.

“Ouch!”

A girl bumped into me. It seemed she got jostled in the crowd and made a mistake. My eyes briefly caught her as she gazed at me blankly.

She had innocent eyes. That was my first impression of her. She had striking light green eyes reminiscent of the deep blue of the sky.

She stared at me, clearly frightened, and then stammered.

“I-I’m so sorry! P-Please forgive me….”

As soon as I heard her words, my eyes widened in shock, mirroring her expression.

What did she just say? For a moment, I couldn’t comprehend, but then I noticed her uniformed dress with a sorrowful look.

The fabric wasn’t of good quality. That meant she was using the standard supplies. Nobles, out of pride, tended to look for luxurious fabrics for their Academy uniforms.

I was no exception. Pressured by my younger sister, I had splurged on an expensive, stylish uniform. And based on her perplexed reaction, the answer became clear.

She was a commoner.

Thinking about it now, it might have been rude, but at that moment, I must have looked at her with a slight fascination. It was my second day since entering the Academy, and I was finally confirming the reality I had only heard about through rumors.

At the Academy, there was no distinction between social classes. The gap between rich and poor was the same.

Only merit matters; that was the singular value the Academy upheld as a beacon of fairness and equality.

Seeing the girl trembling as if she might be punished at any moment made me smile unexpectedly.

Before long, my tension eased. So, I spoke in a somewhat friendly tone.

“You don’t need to call me that.”

“B-but what should I address you as…?”

“Ian.”

As I extended my hand, she flinched at first, surprised and frozen, but after a moment, she cautiously looked at my hand.

Her gaze was as if she had found a riddle, watching me intently.

Did she think the Academy’s regulations were nothing but a farce? So I decided to instill confidence in her.

“My name is Ian Percus. Let’s be friends from now on.”

For a while, the girl didn’t say anything. She stared blankly between my face and the hand I had extended. Finally, after a bit more time passed.

“…Y-yes.”

She cautiously took my hand, like a cat discovering something it had never seen before.

It turned out she was from the Alchemy Department and had been so terrified amidst the abundance of nobles that she had somehow slipped into the Swordsmanship Department.

Her name was Emma. She was the first commoner friend I’d made at the Academy.

“What are you thinking about?”

At the gentle voice, I was jolted back to the present. The timeline I was wandering in the past returned. This was the hospital room.

The girl, who until then had retained a youthful appearance, had undergone years of change and now showcased a mature beauty.

Her soft-eyed smile gazed at me with those light green eyes. Back then, there had been a trace of fear in her eyes, but now there was not even a hint of fright.

My time at the Academy had already reached the third year. Although we weren’t particularly close, we had shared some memories, so I had seen her quite a few times.

If she still feared me now, that would indeed be hurtful. I shook my head with a bittersweet smile.

“I just suddenly remembered something.”

“On the day of the entrance ceremony?”

The piercing stare of her gaze made my eyes twitch. I glanced at Emma, surprised, but she merely continued to hold an inscrutable smile.

She really had a knack for perception; she could read emotions well.

“Back then, I looked like a true countryside girl.”

“And you were a noble young man, weren’t you?”

“Sure, but I was kind to ladies; I even helped you get to the Alchemy Department. Don’t you remember?”

Emma chuckled softly, covering her mouth as she laughed. Though she still hadn’t completely recovered from her illness, just seeing her smile brought me relief.

Finally, I could relieve my guilty conscience. Emma too, and her father, would hopefully live happily now.

Not a single day had passed since she collapsed where I felt at ease. I had felt it was my fault; I was the only one who could have stopped it at that moment.

I was lucky to be able to restore what had gone wrong, albeit belatedly. I truly thought so. Although I had lost the chance to earn thousands of gold coins, I was not in need of money severe enough to weigh friendship and life against.

Emma smiled for a moment before turning her gaze forward with a depth in her eyes. Then she glanced at me from the corner of her eye.

Her look was one that only those who reflected on the past could possess.

“…Thinking back, isn’t it remarkable? That our bond has continued until now.”

It was a rather unremarkable observation. I scoffed and replied.

“Connections are like that; you meet by chance, somehow continuing on.”

“Right. But before I entered the Academy, I could never have imagined becoming friends with a noble young man.”

And again, the topic of nobility came up. Emma was always like this.

Though she pretended not to care outwardly, she internally made clear distinctions between ‘noble’ and ‘commoner’ more than anyone else. In fact, this trait might not be exclusive to Emma but perhaps a characteristic of every commoner enrolled in the Academy.

There were nobles with faint class consciousness and those with deep-seated views. I belonged to the former; as long as I treated her casually, that was enough. But it was clear how the latter thought about commoners.

And so, I intentionally refrained from pointing out Emma’s sentiments, even when she showed signs of such feelings. However, she seemed particularly lonely today, making it hard for me to remain silent.

“Emma, I’ve told you; it doesn’t matter. At the Academy, nobles and commoners are the same. So, my friendship with you….”

“I know. But were we that close?”

I fell silent for a moment. It was a statement that could be misunderstood. If a friend I thought was close heard it, it would surely linger in their mind like a nightmare for a week.

Yet Emma appeared to mean something slightly different. Her powerless gaze was directed at me.

“I heard it was over 10,000 gold coins. The monster carcass offered to the deity to save me.”

“…Don’t worry about it.”

“How can I not worry?”

It was a genuine statement, but Emma’s retort came from sincerity, and I had no choice but to close my mouth again.

Emma was looking at me with trembling eyes. She looked somewhat frightened even.

“I’m a commoner! I can never repay a favor worth 10,000 gold coins. Even if I sold my life, I wouldn’t get a tenth of that! How could you make such a decision without hesitation?”

“Because it was a decision I made on my own, so don’t worry about it…”

“What do you want?”

It was a straightforward question. I looked at Emma in disbelief. Her light green eyes were shaking violently.

“What can I do? Should I live as the personal alchemist of the Percus Family? Or do you want my body instead?”

“Emma.”

A low voice escaped my lips to soothe her. But Emma’s anxiety was not so easily alleviated.

A staggering 10,000 gold coins. That was money a commoner could never touch, even after a lifetime of hard work. Even high-ranking nobles would tread carefully about transactions involving that amount.

The scale was different. I hadn’t considered how that would weigh on Emma so heavily.

At that moment, all I thought about was that I had to save Emma. Perhaps I had been selfish.

To relieve my guilt, I hadn’t even considered her feelings. Of course, if I had known her thoughts, my conclusion wouldn’t have changed.

“How… how do I repay this favor…!”

“…Emma!”

Finally, a shout escaped my lips. Emma flinched and stared at me with startled eyes. Just then, I let out a sigh and sat up.

Then, gently placing my hand on the shoulder of Emma, who was looking at me with trembling eyes.

“Just live.”

It was an unexpected statement. Emma’s tearful gaze blinked several times before she returned a bewildered response.

“…What?”

“Live as you normally would… and as you should. Graduate from the Academy safely, become an herbalist who makes potions that won’t harm anyone. Earn money, take care of your father, and live. Happily.”

My words poured out like a machine gun. Because of that, Emma could only stare blankly into my eyes. As if she thought she could understand my true intention by looking into my eyes.

But no matter how much she looked, there was no other answer. I was speaking with complete sincerity, without a single drop of falsehood.

Was it then that she finally understood my sincerity? Emma’s trembling noticeably decreased. She could only look at me without saying a word.

I could only manage a bitter smile.

“That’s my only wish. And it’s also how you can repay your favor to me.”

For a long time, there was no response. But that didn’t matter. As long as my feelings got across, that was enough.

I quietly returned to my seat. The prolonged silence made me feel awkward. I cleared my throat and glanced away for a moment.

Then, I burst into laughter. The origin of that laughter, of course, was Emma.

“Pfft, haha, hahahaha!”

“…What’s so funny?”

I was already slightly embarrassed, so I couldn’t help but ask timidly. Emma laughed loudly before covering her mouth and giggling softly.

She seemed to be trying to calm down. It would take a bit longer until her lips parted again.

“You sound so much like Ian… haha, it’s funny. Fool, idiot, sucker. At this rate, you’ll only end up being used by a common girl like me.”

“Go ahead and curse me out…”

Although I pouted as though I was sulking at her remark, I soon wore a slight smile.

Finally, Emma’s expression relaxed. While it was impossible to shed all her burdens, she was at least smiling a bit lighter.

That was a relief. I had worried she might be burdened with guilt for no reason.

However, Emma’s words were not over yet. She wore her usual kind smile and spoke to me.

“…But Ian, you shouldn’t say such things recklessly to a girl.”

It was a warm smile. Just looking at it made a corner of my heart feel at ease; I gazed at Emma’s face.

Her skin was flawless and clean. How could that be possible? I had heard that commoners couldn’t even wash their faces properly.

Moisture lingered at the corners of her eyes, which had light lines tracing them, and her hair glimmered red as it caught the sunlight. Reddish-brown hair.

As if shyly confessing, she said.

“If you do that, it makes me misunderstand.”

“…What misunderstanding?”

I instinctively asked back. However, no answer came from Emma. She simply shook her head, her smile intact.

“Hmm, no. It’s already too late anyway.”

With a wistful look, she placed her hand on her chest and let out a soft sigh.

“…I’m in trouble now.”

I thought that sight looked particularly beautiful, but I dared not voice that sentiment.

It was a moment when the ties formed years ago began to weave another strange knot.

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

At first, I had planned to visit tomorrow. Tonight, there was the Night Festival after the Hunting Festival, and those participating in the event would be assigned tables in front of the Southern Forest.

Unlimited food and drinks would flow throughout the night in a grand feast. It was an opportunity I could not miss. Moreover, as the winner of the Hunting Festival, I could even reserve four tables.

That meant I could invite friends I knew. I had already made up my mind to definitely call Reto.

However, my plans soon met a snag. It was none other than the Lady Virgin Saint.

“You need to come here immediately, Brother Ian. Understood?”

Given her fearsome gaze as she spoke, I had no choice but to yield.

To be exact, her expression was no different from usual. She was simply smiling brightly, yet for some reason, it felt icy.

Once inside the treatment room, I was busy watching for the Lady Virgin Saint’s reactions. She was dutifully changing the bandages wrapped around my arm while casting me an annoyed stare.

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

“T-that was due to circumstances. I actually went to rescue a friend….”

Fortunately, my excuse was flawless. Risking myself to help a poor friend who couldn’t pay for treatment; how righteous would the Deity find that story?

Perhaps it was because of that, but it seemed the Lady Virgin Saint had no retort, making a sulky expression. It was so cute that I decided to engrave it in my mind.

As she tended to my bandages, her feminine curves grazed my arm. Each time, a sweet fragrance wafted to my nostrils. I had never felt more resentful of the fact that my left arm’s nerves hadn’t fully revived than at this moment.

As I strained to avert my gaze, the Lady Virgin Saint’s voice suddenly broke through.

“…By the way, wasn’t that friend of yours a girl?”

“Yes, well…”

Unable to grasp the intent behind her question, I responded evasively.

Even so, the displeased look did not leave the Lady Virgin Saint’s face. Instead, her eyes narrowed slightly.

“The members participating in the Hunting Festival are all girls, too.”

“Yes, I guess… it wasn’t intentional, but it turned out that way…”

Thinking back, it truly was quite a curious occurrence. Even if planned, gathering just three girls wasn’t an easy feat, yet that’s how the Hunting group had formed.

And it’d been my best possible selection, comprised entirely of girls known for their beauty.

Should I call it luck or misfortune as it risked misunderstanding?

It was an incomprehensible coincidence. Just as I was marveling at it internally, the Lady Virgin Saint’s voice pierced through.

“…So I must have been less important to you than those girls?”

Her voice had grown subtly cold, causing my head to turn in surprise.

There was the Lady Virgin Saint, smiling brightly. For some reason, that benevolent smile felt intimidating today.

“And that’s why you broke the promise you made with me and joined the Hunting Festival. Isn’t that right, Brother Ian?”

In an instant, a chill ran down my spine.

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