At Anton's words, the magicians got up and looked for a classroom to attend.
Since everyone was from Escolleia, finding the way wasn't difficult.
Reed moved with Dolores.
No, rather than moving with Reed, she was moving with Rosaria, and Reed felt more like being dragged along.
Arriving at the classroom where the seniors were having class, Dolores warned Rosaria.
"Rosaria, from now on, we're going to watch your dad’s and unni's classes, so you have to be quiet. Got it?"
"Yes, shhh..."
Dolores smiled as she saw Rosaria pretending to cover her mouth with her index finger.
Then, glancing up at Reed.
"......"
She didn't say anything and just went straight into the classroom.
Reed, having no time to say anything, followed her in.
The magic academy was a four-year program, like a university.
The senior students at the academy were worn out from being pushed hard for their graduation preparations.
'It must be hard.'
Would they really be motivated to teach students who are graduating tomorrow?
The professor, who was conducting the class, noticed Reed and Dolores standing behind them, paused the class for a moment, and then began writing something on the blackboard.
The professor, who filled the upper part with numbers and formulas, said to the students.
"Behind you are the tower masters who will pass on advanced magic to you and help you find your path."
Only then did the students notice Reed and Dolores.
Dolores smiled, and Reed simply looked down at them, ending his reaction.
"This problem wasn't on the final exam, but it's one of the problems I was going to use for the final exam, so take a good look."
The students, who were dozing off, woke up at the mention of the observation.
Their eyes began to burn with enthusiasm, tired as they were.
It was their last moment at school, and as soon as they left, they would become first-year members of society.
To survive in a world of endless competition, they had to focus more than anyone else.
"Rosaria, do you want to try solving it?"
"Can you solve it?"
"Yes!"
Could she really solve it?
It was probably impossible, but Reed asked the professor for a pen and paper.
Rosaria's enthusiasm was no less than that of any college student with a pen and paper in hand.
Unlike the students, Reed began to solve each problem mentally.
'It's difficult.'
He had studied hard not to be ignored at Escolleia, but solving the problem written on the blackboard mentally was difficult.
While struggling to find the answer, someone's head touched his side.
It was Dolores.
She was also concentrating, trying to solve the problem with great focus.
Her eyes narrowed, and her lips pursed as she concentrated, then her face brightened like a blooming flower.
"It's 3. 3......"
Upon hearing her answer, Reed was able to find the solution to the part he was stuck on.
'Last time, I didn't praise her, did I?'
Thinking that he should do it this time, Reed whispered into her ear.
"Good job."
Dolores flinched at his very soft whisper and backed away.
"No, I didn't do it for praise. I just found the answer to be 3."
"Is that so?"
"Yes, it's just 3, 3."
Dolores kept her distance again.
No, she moved even further away.
She was like a cat on guard after touching a forbidden spot.
A moment later, a few people raised their hands and offered the solution to the problem.
However, all of them gave wrong answers, and only after waiting a bit longer did one person finally get the correct answer.
It took Dolores one minute to solve the problem.
For them, it took over 15 minutes to finally get the right answer.
It was a moment when he understood why Anton favored her.
The professor's class ended with that math problem.
The students moved to their next class.
The only ones left in the classroom were Reed, Dolores, and Rosaria.
Rosaria was lying down and sleeping as if under a sleep spell, having put down her pen and paper.
Dolores opened her mouth, pointing to Rosaria with her chin.
"Let's wake her up before we go."
Just as Dolores was about to leave, Reed grabbed her hand.
"Wallin Tower Master, come out, let's talk for a moment."
"......"
Dolores looked down at Reed with angry eyes.
She was nervous, thinking he was trying to provoke her, but she chose to suppress her anger.
"What... do you want... to talk about?"
Her grumbling tone softened a bit.
"You've looked quite upset lately."
"It's just my mood."
"Is it related to Adonis?"
"......No."
Yes.
100% yes.
It was definitely there, but she was trying to brush it off because of her pride.
"I'm talking about your recent behavior. It seems like you have some negative emotions?"
"So what?"
"I'm asking if you have any grudges against Adonis."
"I don't have anything like that."
Dolores answered immediately.
"Then it must be my problem. If you have any complaints about me, tell me."
Dolores didn't open her mouth for a while.
She looked up at him with hatred in her eyes, only biting her lips inside her mouth.
As Reed waited for a few minutes without an answer, he began to get irritated.
"Fine. If you want our relationship to remain twisted... I'll gladly do so."
"It's not that!"
Dolores raised her voice.
"No... that's not it."
She lowered it again.
Fortunately, Rosaria didn't wake up.
After hesitating for a while, Dolores finally opened her mouth.
"You said... you'd have a strategic marriage."
"Strategic marriage?"
"Rosaria told me. You're going to marry the princess of the Hupper Kingdom."
"What did Rosaria say..."
Strategic marriage.
Reed recalled the stories he had long forgotten.
However, they were vague stories.
"What exactly did she say?"
"She said you were going to have a strategic marriage… and that you and Adonis, that woman, were going to get married."
"......"
Upon hearing that, Reed covered his face.
'It was because of that misunderstanding.'
An unexpected misunderstanding.
To be honest, Reed couldn't even imagine that Dolores would think that way.
'I thought it was a problem between the tower master.'
He thought it was more technical, political, and complicated, not simply a story between a man and a woman.
As Reed looked pained, Dolores felt a sense of unease.
"That reaction... Did I misunderstand something?"
"Unfortunately, you're right. It was just something Morgan II suddenly brought up. We're not that close, and we decided long ago to treat it as if it never happened."
"Really? Wait... what about shopping?"
"Shopping?"
"I heard you bought her a dress and jewelry."
"That was all chosen by Phoebe. I can't pick such things with my taste."
"What about going to Cohen on the weekend?"
"Since we became allies, we went to discuss if there was a cooperation project we could do. Since we were busy on weekdays, we made time on the weekend."
"What about what the Master of the Black Sky Tower said? She caught your weak spot when you went to Black Sky Tower because of that."
"Did it seem that way?"
"Everyone thought so."
Since it came up, Reed told her about the Hupper siblings.
As she listened, Dolores' eyes grew deeper.
What she liked was a story of good overcoming evil.
Though it was a cliché story, she always enjoyed the happy endings.
The conclusion of his story was simple.
He helped Adonis simply because she was unhappy.
Feeling sorry for her, who had been played by her father's scheme and hated her sibling, he helped them.
As a result, he gained benefits and obtained resources as allies.
There was no loss, both morally and materially.
"That's... what happened."
Dolores' sullen eyes softened.
She could feel that the misunderstanding had been somewhat cleared.
Even if there was still some left, it would be at the level of sticky gum stuck to a wall.
With the intention of resolving everything while cleaning up, he spoke to her.
"You can ask more questions if you have any. We haven't talked about marriage at all since that day."
"......Really?"
"Really."
"Not even... a little?"
Dolores timidly asked, making a gesture as if pinching a grain of rice between her index and thumb.
The fierce stray cat-like girl was asking with the eyes of a scared puppy.
"Pffft."
He couldn't help but laugh.
Reed quickly covered his laughing face with his hand, but Dolores looked at his face and exclaimed in surprise.
"Why, why are you laughing? I was really serious about it! Do you know how much I cried because of that?"
"Sorry, sorry. It's just... I thought even the tower owner of Wallin has a lot of worries."
Instead of feeling sorry, he found it amusing.
She had solved the problem that the college students couldn't solve even after several minutes, yet she struggled and fretted over this issue.
It was almost too much to handle.
It was so cute that it felt like it could be the death of him.
