IGBDS 2

Chapter 2

I still wonder what he was thinking, agreeing to meet me at that late hour, but I paid it no mind and stated my business.

“I like you, Belgrave.”

“What?”

“I’ve liked you for a long time. Compared to you, my status and abilities are… no, scratch abilities. Anyway, I know I’m sorely lacking, but I wanted to at least confess my feelings before graduation.”

His brow furrowed slightly and his lips pressed together. The subtle difference from his usual composed expression was puzzling.

The Knox Belgrave I knew should have rejected me on the spot and walked away…

‘Why… does he look like he’s deliberating?’

Surely he wasn’t going to accept? That wasn’t part of the plan.

Though maybe that would be better. If I dumped him right after he accepted, the blow would be even harder.

On the other hand, I had this thought too.

I came to the academy to enjoy my one and only youth—how did I end up becoming such a vicious person who toys with people’s feelings…

“That’s a delusion, I think.”

“Huh?”

“Your feelings for me—they’re a delusion.”

Excuse me, but why are you the one deciding that?

I was momentarily stunned by the unexpected response.

But I didn’t want to throw a tantrum asking why he didn’t understand my feelings, so I said I’d think about it more and retreated.

I’d known for a while he was a strange one, but the more I learned, the stranger he got.

‘The confession attack strategy is a failure.’

Whatever, forget it. I felt uneasy doing it anyway.

Since it had come to this, I hoped to at least achieve co-valedictorian. There was nowhere higher to go, and that would be a good enough finish, wouldn’t it?

“Tell me honestly, Maze.”

But then I found myself facing yet another unexpected situation.

“Did you cheat?”

Knox Belgrave hadn’t actually gotten a perfect score!

‘Wait, did that actually work?’

Apparently he’d made a small mistake on the theory exam.

Meanwhile, I’d gotten a perfect score and taken first place, which made me a suspect for academic dishonesty.

What followed was a grueling verification process. Questions bordering on interrogation from the professor in charge, several retests.

Even after passing all of that, there were suspicious looks suggesting I must have some other trick, and harassment for daring to not know my place.

“Hah……”

Was this the weight of first place? The price of cowardly taking first through a confession attack?

“Maze.”

My head snapped up as I trudged weakly back to my room.

Knox Belgrave was leaning against the wall. As if he’d been waiting for someone.

He was smiling. Leaning down slightly to meet my eye level, he asked.

“Are you satisfied now?”

Satisfied?

The moment I heard that question, a hypothesis struck my mind like lightning.

This bastard—he got it wrong on purpose.

He must have seen through my scheme from the very beginning. What an infuriating bastard.

“What are you talking about? Get lost.”

I returned to my room with my fists clenched tight.

My insides were boiling, but if this would end everything, I could endure any amount of wounded pride.

And then on the long-awaited graduation day, I finally stepped onto the podium.

I, who had always only looked up at Knox Belgrave from below, for the first time.

“Hello. I am Maze from the Alchemy faculty, giving the student representative address.”

I was looking down at him.

I recited the speech clearly and deliberately.

Most looked at me with displeasure, but I didn’t care. I just, simply…

I just wanted to go home now.

“Thank you.”

As I bowed deeply, I was certain. This time was truly perfect!

Tempo, pronunciation, content—nothing to criticize.

This should be enough, this should be…

In that moment, a chill ran through me and I quickly raised my head.

“XX.”

It was my dorm room.

I don’t remember clearly how I spent the beginning of the fourth cycle. I think I got angry and cried all day.

After living like a madman and finishing the fall semester, I went home for the first time.

My parents, whom I hadn’t seen in a long while, still had a good marriage and loved me.

It felt like the whole world was on my side. Coming home really was the right choice.

Thanks to that, around the end of winter break, on the train back, I wanted to live a little better.

So I made a new plan. The so-called “Make Friends” operation!

Academy, youth, romance… have you ever seen those words without “friends” included? I certainly haven’t.

Though there was the minor issue that I’d spent over four years including regressions without a single friend…

Still, before enrollment I’d been fairly popular in my village.

‘Right! I’m someone who’s even been valedictorian with perfect scores in every subject—surely I can make at least one friend?’

…I was pointlessly overconfident, and thus regressed with zero friends.

Damn it.

As soon as the fifth cycle began, I analyzed my memories like writing a correction notebook.

What the people around me liked and disliked, why the kids avoided getting close to me.

After that, it became very clear what I needed to do.

Swallow my pride, hold back my temper, don’t throw the first punch.

Thanks to that, I succeeded in making new friends. Four of them, no less!

Though three of them were more like me having worked on grade-obsessed kids.

I gave them some predicted exam questions and shared alchemy recipes only I knew, and they handed me the best friend title.

‘This time for sure I can graduate!’

My confidence lasted only a moment.

Suddenly, before exams, three of them fought over who would monopolize me, then left saying fairly that no one should have me.

The one remaining friend was indignant enough to ask how they could do such a thing.

Then a week before graduation, a rumor spread that I was a witch.

Before I could do anything about it, the rumor spread in an instant, and its source was… the mouth of my one remaining best friend.

‘Wow, insane.’

I regressed without even getting to clear up the misunderstanding.

The sixth cycle began with me cursing my four enemies.

As expected, there’s no one in the world to trust, and the only person who can save me is myself.

Apparently, acting like I knew everything and arousing people’s suspicion was the biggest cause of discord.

Taking that into account and being more careful…

“Let’s try just one more time.”

After that, I exercised extreme caution.

Erasing debts and pretending nothing happened, subtly ingratiating myself, not standing on pride, yielding whenever possible, and so on…

Doing things I’d never done for over two years made me feel like I’d get stress-induced stomach cramps, but I endured it.

Thus I achieved moderate social relationships, grades that wouldn’t invite envy, and a flawless reputation.

It couldn’t have been more perfect. Definitely.

“Why are you going that far?”

Though due to that excessive effort, I’d caught someone’s unnecessary attention.

“What do you mean?”

“That’s not your real personality.”

“?”

Suddenly a valid question occurred to me.

Could this Knox bastard also be regressing?

‘No, no…’

I’d had this question before and checked, but the result was “no.”

Unless I changed something, his patterns were always identical down to the smallest detail.

If he remembered anything, a person couldn’t act like that—I knew that better than anyone.

So I brushed it off vaguely. Just pre-graduation reputation laundering.

“…As long as nothing’s wrong, fine.”

He didn’t look like he believed me much, but there was even a hint of freshness in his reply.

I suddenly wondered why, but I could never learn his true intentions. Because I regressed the next day.

And now, the seventh cycle. As soon as I came to, I scribbled out a withdrawal form and left the room.

Half out of my mind at the thought that all my efforts had turned to foam.

As I practically ran down the dormitory stairs, I bumped shoulders with someone. Of course. It was Knox Belgrave.

I didn’t have the presence of mind to exchange words and tried to pass by, but he grabbed my wrist.

“What.”

“Where are you going?”