LIGHTNOVELONLINE Chapter 31
Time with Selian
“Yawn.”
“Huh? It’s rare to see Selian looking tired. Did you not sleep well?”
Selian normally never showed signs of yawning, but today she was yawning from the moment she arrived at school in the morning.
“Ah, no… it just happened…”
“Really? If you’re too tired, how about skipping what you were going to teach me today and just resting?”
“No! I’m wide awake! You don’t have to worry about me.”
Wow, that startled me. Just a moment ago, Selian was leaning against her desk with dark circles under her eyes, but now she was responding with tremendous energy.
“Uh, okay. Then where should we do this?”
“…How about my room?”
Just yesterday, I had invited her to my room for some one-on-one time, and now she was inviting me to her room for the same thing. Of course, it was too late to object, so I accepted it.
“Sure. I’ll come to your room after dinner.”
“Yes. I’ll be waiting!”
*
After yesterday’s math lesson, today I planned to learn about military strategy from Selian. I gathered a few relevant textbooks and a notebook and headed to Selian’s room. It was on the same floor and quite nearby, so I soon found myself standing in front of her door.
Knock, knock.
“Come in, El.”
“Then I’ll excuse myself.”
As soon as I knocked, she opened the door right away. Following Selian’s gesture to come in, I stepped inside and noticed her room was nicely decorated, unlike my own.
Inviting a girl into my room was a first just yesterday, and entering a girl’s room was a first today. While I was curiously looking around, I made eye contact with Selian.
“Ah! Sorry. It’s just so different from my room.”
“It’s okay. You’re always welcome, El.”
I stopped sightseeing and decided to focus on the main purpose. I walked over to the desk and set down the books and notebook I had brought.
“Can we start right away?”
“Yes, anytime.”
I took the seat at the desk, with Selian pulling over a chair to sit next to me. Thus began another round of one-on-one tutoring with Selian, following Yuli from yesterday.
“Okay, let’s take a look at this section. This tactic was used in a past small kingdom, and you can see it has various characteristics unique to that country.”
Selian began to explain the content of the book in detail, going through each point one by one.
“This part will be on the exam, so it’s good to memorize it. Oh, you can skip this; it won’t be on the test.”
Of course, comparing subjects between different tutors wouldn’t be fair to either of them, but in Selian’s case, unlike Yuli, she pointed out the key parts, focusing on what would be important for the exam. I remembered that the things Selian had identified as likely to be on the midterm had indeed shown up with notable frequency.
“Now, let’s take a look at this content too.”
Tap.
“Oh, sorry.”
While trying to check that section at Selian’s guidance, my arm unintentionally bumped against hers. A quick glance showed that we were sitting a little closer than when we first started studying.
I suppose we had naturally gravitated closer as we shared the textbook. Still, moving away or pointing it out might embarrass Selian, so I quietly let it slide.
“No, don’t worry about it. Let’s keep focusing on studying.”
Selian also didn’t seem concerned, and she continued to highlight likely exam content. However, every time I reached for something at the far edge of the page, I noticed Selian gradually inching closer, just a tiny bit at a time.
“Um… it’s hard to take notes like this…”
As we sat like that, at some point we ended up quite close, our arms brushing against each other as we studied together. Eventually, I couldn’t bear it any longer and asked Selian for a little favor that wasn’t exactly a favor.
“Ah, I didn’t think about that. Then…”
Selian said this and stood up, took her chair, and moved to my left. After sitting down again, she leaned in closer to me.
“So, shall we continue?”
Having just moved, I didn’t understand why she would come back closer, but I realized my excuse had vanished thanks to Selian. If I said anything more, it would be like openly saying, “It bothers me to be so close to you.”
Ultimately, I had no choice but to keep my mouth shut, and the study session continued.
*
“So why does this part work that way?”
While we were studying, I came across an awkwardly curious part that was a bit too ambiguous to simply memorize it and move on, so I asked Selian. I couldn’t quite imagine why this strategy was attempted in this particular place.
“Well, I could tell you, but why don’t you think about it yourself?”
Selian, who had been giving pinpoint tutoring, seemed to want to give me some thinking time this time. I pictured the execution area of the strategy, the timing, the enemy’s situation, our allies’ situation, and so on. However, the more I tried to visualize it in my head, the more confused I became.
In the end, I wanted to sketch out a rough situation, so I looked at my notebook. However, there was already some writing in it. It was a bit awkward to doodle over the text. Sure, I could turn to the next page to sketch, but there weren’t many pages left in the notebook.
Just when I was about to glance away and think about something else, I noticed a piece of paper sticking out between the books on the shelf. I couldn’t see the back, but from what was peeking out, it didn’t look like there was anything written on it.
“Selian, if that paper isn’t being used, can I write on it?”
I leaned a bit to touch the paper, making a small request to Selian.
“What paper…? Eek!”
However, Selian appeared overly flustered by my simple request, quickly pulling out the paper and hiding it behind her back with a swift movement usually reserved for dueling. When she pulled it out, I could see there was indeed writing on the part that was hidden from view.
“Huh?”
“T-this is… um… Ah! A letter! Yes! It’s a letter from home! It’s very precious, so… I’m sorry.”
So, it seemed she didn’t want to show it to me. Even though we were friends, showing private family correspondence could be quite embarrassing.
“No, no, I’m sorry. I had no idea it was such an important paper. I just thought it might be scrap paper or something.”
“No, it’s my fault for leaving the important letter in a visible place. Just a moment, please. I’ll lend you my notebook.”
Selian said this and put the letter away in the depths of her drawer.
“You can write as much as you want in the unused notebook.”
“Thanks.”
As I took the notebook and sketched out the problem I was pondering over, I found the answer much faster than I expected. I asked Selian if my solution was correct, but she seemed to be more concerned about the letter, glancing between me and the drawer.
“Don’t worry. I really didn’t see any contents.”
“Of course, I know you didn’t see it…”
Yet, she didn’t seem reassured. However, it seemed she had no further comments, as she then continued to help me with my studies. Occasionally, she would glance at the hidden letter, but only for brief moments.
“If you memorize just this section I covered today, you probably won’t have to worry about the final exam at all.”
Since this subject was a memory-heavy one compared to the math Yuli had taught, and because Selian was pinpointing the important parts, we managed to cover an entire week’s worth of material before roll call time.
“Thank you so much for today. Even if I had attended class directly, I wouldn’t have understood as well as I did today.”
This was sincere. Had I studied separately, I would have struggled to memorize the key points for the test instead of just cramming the whole book.
“Well, it’s about time for me to prepare for roll call. Thanks again for today. You must be tired since it’s the morning; make sure to get some good rest.”
While she appeared lively while tutoring me, she still had noticeable dark circles under her eyes. So I started tidying up the desk to let her rest.
“Uh… um!”
As I was leaving the room with the books and notebook in hand, preparing to bow my head again, I heard Selian call out to me.
“Would you… like to sleep over in my room tonight?”
“Huh?”
A sudden suggestion. Of course, I had slept alone with Yuli in my room yesterday, but that was only because we had a lot of material to cover. However, today we had already reviewed everything we had missed over the week. I had no reason to accept Selian’s invitation, nor did I feel it was appropriate.
“But you must be tired too…”
“No! I’m fine! Actually, I think I’d sleep better if I were with you, El.”
For some reason, there was no hint of her backing down.
“But…”
“You slept next to Yuli yesterday, after all. I’d like to sleep next to you too…”
Since we had been studying with Yuli since last night, I had no memory of actually encountering her, but it seemed Selian was already aware that Yuli had come to my room to sleep together. Perhaps she had seen Yuli bringing her pillow after roll call yesterday.
Rejecting her here would mean favoring Yuli over Selian. It was truly a dilemma.
I could see the truth in Selian’s eyes, her determination to have her way. Despite the dark circles under her eyes, she seemed resolute.
In the end, the only answer I could give was YES.
*
Thus, I changed into pajamas in my room and returned to Selian’s room with my pillow. The moment the door opened in response to my knock, I couldn’t help but pause.
Selian’s pajamas, which I hadn’t seen until now, were quite different from Yuli’s. In fact, very much so.
Yuli’s pajamas were a simple pink long-sleeve top and long pants. However, Selian’s pajamas were a style I couldn’t even bear to look at directly.
Honestly, the shape itself wasn’t really an issue. It was a little less covering, but it was an actual dress held up by shoulder straps. The problem wasn’t just that it was smaller in area, but rather that the part of the dress excluding the bra and panty was made of a thin material that seemed almost see-through. I had already seen her bare skin once, but seeing it like this felt completely different. The near-invisibility only made it feel more tantalizing.
Unable to say a word, I slightly lowered my head, but I still caught a glimpse of her bare skin above, prompting me to turn my head completely away.
“El?”
However, Selian called out to me, standing at the entrance as if nothing was wrong. I couldn’t just keep standing there, so I stepped inside.
“No, it’s nothing.”
Although I said that, I couldn’t bring myself to look at Selian. Even if I wanted to see her face, I naturally caught sight of more below it.
“Where are you looking? Why aren’t you meeting my eyes?”
Attempting to pretend I was oblivious, Selian didn’t acknowledge my efforts. So I continued the conversation while trying my best to avoid looking at her.
“No, I just got startled by your pajamas.”
“Is it strange? I like wearing this as it’s quite comfortable…”
“No! It’s not strange.”
“Hehe. Now, shall we go to sleep? Like you said, I’m a little tired too.”
But there was only one place in Selian’s room where a blanket was available—on the bed.
“Could you give me just one blanket? I have a habit of tossing and turning in my sleep, so I’ll sleep on the floor.”
“I’m fine with sharing the bed with you. After all, there’s only one blanket.”
“Then I’ll just go back to my room to grab my blanket. Please wait a moment.”
The moment I turned to go back to my room, Selian grabbed my hand.
“Yesterday…”
“Huh?”
“You slept close to Yuli, so why can’t you sleep close to me?”
Selian brought up her case once again. No, if she said it like that, it was correct to say I had no argument…
By the way, how did Selian know I had slept next to Yuli? It seemed she must have heard it from our conversations earlier.
“…Fine. Let’s just sleep in the bed.”
Just like before, I couldn’t refuse.
So there we were, laying in the same bed under the same blanket, but I turned my gaze toward the ceiling, trying to avoid looking at her.
In my heart, I wanted to turn my back to her completely and show my consideration, but she might take it as a lack of consideration and feel uncomfortable instead, so I couldn’t do that.
“El?”
“Yeah?”
Just as I lay with my eyes closed, Selian called me again. It wasn’t long since we’d laid down, so I couldn’t pretend to be asleep.
“Could we sleep facing each other? I’d like to talk until I fall asleep…”
“…Okay.”
I figured that if I denied her, Selian would clearly try to persuade me again in various ways. After all, we were under the same blanket now, so I decided to accept my fate. Turning to face Selian, I was, of course, immediately drawn to her ample bosom pressed against my arm.
In the end, long after our conversation, I remained unable to sleep even after Selian drifted off to dreamland.
I hadn’t even realized how tense I was until we got so close. The familiar fragrance was wafting up; it was the same scent as my shampoo. She used the same product as I did!