EWH Chapter 125

Side Story. A Tale from the Past.

─1 year ago.

“On this Coming of Age Day, to you who are now fully recognized as adults…”

Nathan fiddled with his stifling cravat.

‘I’m tired.’

Leaning against a wall in a corner of the lavish banquet hall teeming with people, he let out a short sigh. Nathan adjusted his slightly slipped glasses. The glasses chain clinked. The clothes he had donned for the banquet were uncomfortable, and with so many people around, he felt more exhausted than ever, as if his energy had been completely drained.

“…It seems like only yesterday when you first entered the academy, but those little children who barely reached my knees have already grown so much into fine adults! What a truly moving day this is!”

Lifting his gaze, he saw the chancellor, whom he had only seen once or twice before, delivering a boring speech. The content was so tedious, and why was his voice so gentle, unfitting for his large build? It wouldn’t be strange to fall asleep to it as a lullaby. As evidence, several students could be seen yawning here and there while pretending not to.

As he quietly took in the sight of students all dressed up for tonight, chattering with their partners or friends, he thought, well, I can understand why the chancellor is acting like this, but…

‘…I want to go back to my room.’

Nathan just wanted to leave this place as soon as possible. He really disliked crowded places. Moreover, with a mountain of things to read and organize by the end of the day, he felt uneasy wasting time in a place like this. But what could he do? If told to come, he had to come.

“Sigh.”

This banquet was prepared by the school for students turning 18 this year, coming of age. Attendance was voluntary, but one couldn’t simply not attend without reason. Moreover, Professor Melchiel had specifically recommended that he attend, so he had to participate to avoid falling out of favor with the professor.

Thud.

“…!”

Lost in thought, Nathan was startled by the sudden contact and turned his body. Looking to the side with a surprised face, he saw Ethan awkwardly raising his hand.

“Sorry, did I startle you? I was just trying to let you know the speech ended…”

He blinked and smiled awkwardly. Only then did Nathan realize that the boring speech had ended. Instead of the chancellor’s voice, music now filled the banquet hall.

“Ah, I must have dozed off.”

“Haha, the speech was boring! This guy almost fell over dozing next to me too!”

“You dozed off too, Nover, why pick on just me?”

Robert grumbled in response to Ethan’s teasing.

“Anyway, Nathan, take this!”

“Huh?”

Nathan reflexively took what Ethan offered. Golden liquid swirled in a transparent glass. A faint smell of alcohol mixed with the sweet scent.

“What is this… alcohol?”

Nathan’s eyes widened as he realized what the drink was.

“It’s low in alcohol content. Just a slight kick?”

“Uh, no, I’m fine.”

“Come on, don’t back out, have a sip! Nover, when else would we get to taste alcohol inside the academy if not now?”

They must have provided low-alcohol drinks for Coming of Age Day…

In truth, he didn’t like alcohol. He had never even touched alcohol before. He was afraid of losing control of himself under the influence of alcohol. Moreover, he was originally weak to alcohol. Just smelling it would make him tipsy and his face turn red.

‘I’m not sure about this body, but…’

Judging from the physical conditions he had experienced so far, it seemed similar if not worse. Nathan slightly furrowed his brow as he looked at the glass. It looked similar to champagne on the outside. With Robert urging so much, Nathan had no choice but to pretend to drink, just wetting his lips.

“It’s already a drinking party over there!”

“Hahaha! Isn’t that Killa from the Swordsmanship Department? He’s crawling on all fours!”

What a mess.

It hadn’t been long since the banquet started, but it was already chaotic. Perhaps because there were no adults and only students who had just become adults, this banquet was very different from usual ones. It was lighter and noisier.

Listening to the two laughing beside him, Nathan looked with worried eyes at the area where the drinking was happening. He wondered if it was okay to leave them like that, but there was no need for him to worry. Professors had already approached and taken the rowdy students out of the banquet hall.

Seeing Professor Matilda among them, he guessed they might use holy power to dispel the effects of alcohol before bringing them back in. Now that he looked, professors were stationed throughout the banquet hall to prevent major disturbances. The professors were dressed differently from usual, which he only now noticed.

“Look over there. They’re all going crazy trying to ask Professor Melchiel for a dance.”

Nathan vaguely responded to Ethan’s fawning words about how handsome some unknown professor was and how it seemed like extra light had been added there, while he pondered how to escape this place. If he were alone, he could have slipped away now that he had made an appearance at the banquet, and no one would say anything. But Ethan and Robert flanking him on both sides didn’t seem likely to let him go easily.

“…Aren’t you two going to dance?”

Nathan asked, secretly swallowing a sigh. He said this because students who had formed pairs were dancing in the center of the hall. Ethan had paired with Robert, and Berry, who wasn’t here now, had attended the banquet with a classmate from another class as her partner. Nathan was the only one without a partner among them.

“Hm? Ah, we’re planning to dance a bit later.”

“That’s right, Berry asked us not to leave you alone.”

“…”

“She left a request to keep you here until she comes, saying you’d slip back to the dormitory as soon as you made an appearance.”

“Haa…”

As Ethan said this jokingly while arbitrarily linking arms with him, Nathan finally let out a sigh.

“Or how about going over there and dancing? Look, those lovely ladies are waiting for you!”

“What?”

Ethan said, poking Nathan’s side with his elbow. Nathan responded as if in disbelief. Turning his gaze to where Ethan was pointing, he made eye contact with several female students. They all awkwardly avoided his gaze or smiled at him, making Nathan smile back awkwardly before turning his head away.

“Ethan, stop with those jokes. It’s disrespectful to those girls.”

Nathan said, looking uncomfortable.

“Huh? But it’s true…”

“I said stop it.”

Nathan shook his head as if there was nothing more to hear. Ethan was rather taken aback by this resolute response. He glanced at Robert, his fiancé beside him, as if asking him to do something, but this stupid Robert was just shrugging his shoulders and drinking.

Ethan could feel his back tingling from the glares directed at him. The owners of those glares were the female students who had made eye contact with Nathan earlier. They had been waiting for an opportunity to dance with Nathan today and had even slightly asked Ethan for help in advance.

While Ethan was pondering what to do next, Berry approached them with her partner in tow. And as soon as she arrived, she asked Nathan to dance.

“Dance? I can’t dance!”

Nathan exclaimed, waving his hands.

“This music is slow, so it’ll be fine. I’ll teach you.”

“But what about your partner, and with me…”

Wasn’t it usual to dance with your partner at these banquets? Nathan looked at the boy next to Berry in confusion.

“I don’t mind, Nover. We just had our first dance, you know?”

“Is that so?”

Nathan was troubled. While he might easily refuse others, it was difficult to turn down a request from someone he was relatively close to. As he hesitated, Berry wiggled her outstretched hand.

“Are you going to embarrass my hand?”

Unable to do that, Nathan let out a small sigh.

“Even if I step all over your feet…”

“I’ll try my best to avoid that.”

“…Haa. Alright. Let’s go.”

And so, as if he had no choice, he took Berry’s hand and headed towards the hall. As the two faced each other, the music circling the banquet hall changed.

Ethan watched the two and scratched his cheek as he spoke.

“…So that’s how it turned out, girls.”

“What, Ethan! You told us to trust you…”

“When did I say that? I said not to trust me too much because it might not work out! Don’t just hear what you want to hear!”

“Nover, are you sure he doesn’t have a fiancée?”

…Nathan probably didn’t know, but some of the noble girls of his age studying at the academy thought that someone like Nathan Nover would be good enough to marry.

Within the academy, there were some who had fiancés arranged by their families from childhood, some who were engaged, and even some who were already married. Moreover, there were those who needed to start thinking about marriage after graduation, and some of them had decided to look for themselves during their time at the academy rather than simply following a marriage arranged by their parents.

So it wasn’t really strange that some people started to view Nathan, who wasn’t engaged and didn’t have anyone he was dating, in that way.

Isn’t that right? A peer who exudes a more mature atmosphere than others, with a gentle way of speaking and a kind personality. Despite having a sensitive-looking face and putting up walls, he responds kindly when approached, so how could anyone dislike him? It goes without saying that his seemingly frail body adds a touch of pathos that increases his appeal.

Moreover, he was different from his male peers. He didn’t act childishly, wasn’t aggressive, and treated everyone fairly. The difference was stark when he was with other male students. On top of that, he didn’t persecute commoners, unlike nobles steeped in their sense of privilege. His words were imbued with courtesy. Well, the fact that he was only a noble in name was a bit of a drawback, but if he were to become a son-in-law, that position wouldn’t be bad.

Therefore, quite a few people were waiting for an opportunity to at least strike up a conversation with him before Coming of Age Day, but unfortunately, he was completely oblivious to such matters.

…Of course, this happened because Nathan didn’t view students younger than himself as potential romantic interests.

Even before Coming of Age Day, several students had subtly hinted at partner proposals to him, but whether he didn’t notice or deliberately ignored them, he always brushed them off smoothly. Those who gathered the courage to ask directly were all politely rejected.

Thus, Nathan Nover attended the banquet alone. Looking at the boy whose simple yet neat attire suited him quite well, even when his friends were pressured to create a bit of atmosphere, his obliviousness shone through. At that point, everyone had no choice but to give up.

“That’s charming in its own way, I suppose…”

Someone muttered, looking at Nathan as if lamenting.

“You’re lucky to be close to Nover.”

“Well, it’s probably different from what you’re thinking…”

While Nathan put up walls and was surprisingly good at rejecting, he would eventually give in if pushed even after saying no. But that attitude was no different from an older brother dealing with a younger sibling. No, it even seemed more mature than their own older brothers.

‘He certainly seems to have a higher mental age than other boys.’

Watching Robert guzzling alcohol straight from the bottle beside him, Ethan heaved a deep sigh. How starkly they contrasted.