A Wild Man Has Entered the Academy

Chapter 192

With time, Luna and I no longer had any penalty points.

Since it was a freshman banquet and thanks to the testimony of those around us, the committee didn't pursue the matter.

However, living together with Grace was not progressing easily. Apparently, the rules were stricter than expected.

If I were a woman, it might have been approved more easily, but being a man was the problem. Regardless of being a bodyguard, cohabitation between different genders is almost impossible.

"Why isn't it allowed?"

Ellie, who had heard the situation, asked. Her wide eyes reflected surprise.

In response, Grace, seated across, let out a long sigh. She seemed frustrated as well.

"They say it's difficult because of the rules. Firstly, having a student as a bodyguard knight is already challenging. Moreover, we're in the same class."

"Why does that matter?"

"Even if everything else was fine, the issue is the exams. If we end up in different groups, it'll cause all sorts of complications."

In the end, it meant that it was against the rules. It seemed like it would take more time than expected.

Still, since it was a contract stamped with the seal of Duke Berche's Household, there was a high likelihood of resolving it quickly.

Besides, Grace had a clear justification for it, so the academy couldn't easily ignore it.

They're being cautious to avoid any potential nitpicking. Isn't it said that precedents are important in everything?

"So the only way is for Mr. Sivar and I to consistently be in the same team. By now, the professors are likely discussing it."

"I see."

"Nom nom."

I was too preoccupied eating snacks to care whether they were talking or not.

Today's snack was a cake Grace personally bought. A sweet chocolate cake, to be exact.

Grace had visited while I was training with Rod as usual.

For reference, Rod, Luna, and Kara were currently training in the backyard.

"I'm jealous. Could I live with you too?"

"Sorry, but even if it were two people, I can't do anything about three or more. Besides, the contract only pertains to Mr. Sivar's bodyguard duties."

"That's unfair."

"I know."

Grace puffed up her chest in pride at Ellie's grumbling. Ellie grumbling like that was quite cute.

Of course, for me right now, the cake was the most important thing. It was so sweet that my tongue tingled a bit, but that made it even better.

Moreover, it wasn't cloying. It seemed she had bought a rather expensive cake.

"Don't be like that. I want to live with Sivar too. Hogging him all to yourself is unfair."

"Sorry, but I have trouble sleeping without Mr. Sivar. That's not the case for you, Ms. Ellie, right?"

"What are you two talking about now? Include me too."

Just then, Kara, who seemed to have finished training, chimed in. She was wiping her sweat with a towel.

Her outfit was the same one I had seen before, and my gaze naturally shifted to her abdomen.

Abs that were impressively firm. Honestly, I wanted to touch them at least once.

Of course, doing so would get me labeled a pervert, so I held myself back.

Instead, I thought about touching Ellie's chest later. Lately, my desires seemed unusually strong.

'Is this puberty?'

I kept finding myself drawn to such thoughts, making it hard to suppress them.

As a male, it seemed to be a trial I had to endure.

After all, being a man meant having strong instincts. It wasn't just me; other people were probably the same.

"Unnie, don't you think it's unfair that Grace is monopolizing Sivar?"

"Ah, you're talking about the bodyguard, right?"

Kara naturally sat beside me. Then, she gently placed her hand on my head.

After lightly stroking my head, she spoke as if to say it was fine.

"What can you do? She really wants to live with him. It's not like Sivar dislikes us."

"Hmm... is that so?"

"Yeah. Judging by the situation, I don't think she'll do anything unnecessary... Just don't cross the line. The moment you do, it'll turn into a mud fight. Got it?"

"Nom nom."

While Kara was warning Grace, I finished the remaining cake. I thought it would be good to buy another piece later and eat it.

"Don't worry about that. I have no such intentions for now. After all, Mr. Sivar is my bodyguard."

Grace brushed off Kara's warning as insignificant. She seemed quite confident.

I also had no reason to do anything inappropriate with her, so the likelihood of any issues arising was low.

Instead, the most important thing was the duration. After finishing the lingering cake in my mouth, I asked Grace a question.

"How long?"

"Pardon?"

"How long is the bodyguard period?"

Depending on the duration, reactions could vary.

If it were about a year, it might be fine, but if it lasted the entire time at the academy, that would be a bit much.

Grace rolled her eyes at my question, gauging the mood, and cautiously answered.

"...About five years?"

"What? Five years? Fiiive years?! Did you sell your conscience or something?"

"Five years means it extends even after graduation!"

"Well, that's how bodyguard duties work!"

Wow. I didn't even know that. She's really trying to tie me down.

While I struggled to hide my bewilderment, a mud fight began. The saying "too much is as bad as too little" fit perfectly.

Honestly, I wanted to slip away quietly, but being caught in the middle, I couldn't. I just stayed put and listened.

"Fine. I admit I was being too greedy. But still, the fact that we have to spend quite a long time together remains the same."

"That's fine. But isn't five years a bit much? In that amount of time, even a non-existent child could appear."

"Grace, don't be too greedy. We're holding back too, not refraining completely."

As Ellie said that, she pulled me into her arms. My body naturally sank into her embrace.

I felt a soft and squishy sensation on my head. As always, it was an enchanting feeling.

My entire body relaxed, and I felt an urge to nestle in further. But I stayed still, mindful of the situation.

"Then I want to live with Sivar under the pretext of being his bodyguard too. Or we can take turns living together each quarter."

"Oh, that's a good idea. It's fair and nice."

I'm not public property, though. Do my opinions not matter?

Ellie's statement sparked another round of heated debate, but Grace couldn't help but falter.

No matter how justified she was, the duration was just too unreasonable. She had no choice but to back down.

"Fine. Then let's discuss it after this semester ends."

"Sounds good. By the way, what's the first thing you'd do living with Sivar?"

"Hehe."

At Ellie's question, Grace chuckled softly. Though the reason was unclear, it was a rather sinister laugh.

Her appearance added to it. It looked as if she were scheming something.

"I've already planned everything. First, I'll teach him various general knowledge, including etiquette."

"Etiquette?"

"Yes. I predict that Mr. Sivar will likely meet people of higher status than me. He even met the Crown Prince last time, didn't he?"

That was a special case due to the freshman banquet. Moreover, the Crown Prince, Karas, was an eccentric among eccentrics, so they could converse.

You could say it was sheer luck. Nobles tend to be meticulous, paying attention to every single action.

"You can't remain childish forever, can you? Understanding and tolerance are separate matters. So, I plan to teach him etiquette to prepare."

"It's not a bad plan. Even though I'm a princess, I'm not used to etiquette."

Etiquette. Like Kara's evaluation, it wasn't such a bad plan.

Rather, it could slightly reduce the perception of me as a wild man.

Of course, separate from that, my natural behavior would be hard to change. From my perspective, it was like cosplay.

-Ahhhh!

Suddenly, a piercing scream came from the backyard. It was Luna's scream.

It seemed she was being beaten under the guise of training by Rod. From what I knew, she got hit quite a lot.

"Ms. Luna is having a hard time. How strong will she become by next semester?"

"She's growing at a terrifying rate. In just a year, she might become as strong as me."

"Really?"

"Her mouth is the problem, but her skills and talent are undeniable."

As Kara said, Luna's recent progress was remarkable. She was absorbing Rod's teachings literally.

Perhaps it was because the more Rod taught, the more interested he became, as he was conducting training that resembled actual combat.

Thanks to that, Luna's skills were improving by leaps and bounds. It was a talent befitting a protagonist.

"Come to think of it, who was that again? Was it Lee Yeonju?"

"Why do you ask about Ms. Yeonju?"

"I haven't seen her at all during the vacation. During the semester, she used to stick around you all the time."

Originally, Lee Yeonju was treated as Grace's beloved doll. And there was no sight of her throughout the vacation period.

Grace had returned to her family, but Lee Yeonju was nowhere to be seen. Staying cooped up in the dormitory every day was difficult.

"She probably went back to her hometown. She told me as much."

"Her hometown? The Hwan Empire?"

"Yes. Ah!"

At the mention of the Hwan Empire, Grace seemed to recall something and exclaimed.

This drew everyone's attention to her. With the level of intelligence Grace had, she likely knew a lot.

Kara was on a similar level as us when it came to information. It was only natural since she practically lived as if she had discarded the authority of being a princess.

"I heard a transfer student will be coming from the Hwan Empire. The name is... was it Dan Yerin?"

"Dan Yerin?"

"Yes. I heard she is a princess and fifth in line for the throne."

Everyone would know about Dan Yerin. She was the woman I had offered a drink to, and she had readily accepted it.

She was a graceful and dignified woman in a way that was different from Grace. Although she had a sharp tongue, it was understandable due to the stress.

Anyway, Dan Yerin entering as a transfer student was an expected development. And she would inevitably clash with Lee Yeonju in one way or another.

'Dan Yerin must have some idea of who Lee Yeonju is.'

There was a high likelihood that a rather complicated incident would unfold. The day when Lee Yeonju's mask would crack was not far off.

In other words, it meant that I had more things to worry about. Thankfully, Luna could take on some of the burden.

...Although she wasn't entirely dependable, being the protagonist, she would likely handle it well. I was planning to subtly offload some of the burden onto her.

"Why is someone like that coming to the academy? Is something happening in the Hwan Empire?"

"Well, I don't know much about it either. It might be for a reason similar to Ms. Kara."

"It seems like there are a lot of internal issues."

"From what I've heard, they're having trouble because of minority groups."

As I explained before, the Hwan Empire is similar to the Soviet Union. It's closer to a federation of countries rather than a single nation.

However, the Hwan Empire had outright backstabbed and swallowed up the other countries. The backlash was only natural.

They were suppressing dissent as much as they could, but as seen with Lee Yeonju's case, they were steadily building up power. After the incident, a civil war would likely break out.

The so-called 'minority groups' Grace mentioned were, in reality, not minorities but the citizens of each nation. They even had different languages.

"Oh, and also..."

Knock knock knock-

Grace was about to continue speaking when someone knocked on the door.

The sound of the knock turned everyone's attention to the door. There shouldn't have been anyone else expected to come.

While everyone was looking puzzled, unfamiliar voices came from behind the door.

-Is this not the place? I heard the Chancellor has been staying here during the vacation.

-Could it be that he is absent?

Judging by the voices, they were women. It seemed they had come looking for Rod.

"I'll go call the Headmaster. Ms. Ellie, can you open the door?"

"Yes."

Grace headed toward the backyard, and Ellie got up to open the door.

Following that, Ellie said, "I'll go," and opened the door. I looked at the people standing behind it.

"Hmm. Who are you? I came to see the Chancellor."

It was a face I had seen at the Freshman Banquet. Black hair and black eyes.

Their appearance hadn't changed from back then. Elegant and distinct features. The lips, in particular, stood out strikingly.

Their attire was also Eastern-styled, a harmonious combination of black and red. Elegance and dignity naturally radiated from them.

"Ah. I'm Ellie. The Chancellor will be here soon."

"Is that so? Got it. I'll come in then."

"... ..."

Dan Yerin entered with her characteristic refined way of speaking. A tall woman accompanied her.

In terms of height, she was similar to or taller than Kara. It was what one might describe as a commanding presence.

Her hair was neatly tied into a ponytail, giving her a strict appearance. The stubborn impression was an added bonus.

"Hmm?"

Upon entering, Dan Yerin raised her eyebrows as she looked at Kara and me. Her expression seemed to ask why we were here.

Kara, meeting her for the first time, just stared blankly, and I also looked at her absent-mindedly.

Afterward, Dan Yerin gazed at Kara and then at me with a curious expression.

"That's strange. Just by the look of it, you're the wild man from back then... Do you have a brother?"

"It's me."

Considering my face had changed since we last met, her reaction was understandable.

"You've changed this much in such a short time? Hmm..."

Dan Yerin seemed slightly surprised and observed me intently.

Afterward, she gave a subtle smile and spoke as if she was pleased.

"You've become more dignified than before. It won't feel awkward to drink together now."

"Shall we drink later?"

"Sure. I still remember the wine you poured for me."

"......?"

Wait a minute. Isn't she agreeing too naturally?

'I was joking, though?'

Before I knew it, we ended up making plans to drink together.