The Duty Of An Academy Student Should Be To Study - Chapter 68
Episode 68
To my beloved mother,
It’s your eldest daughter, Rose. I apologize for not sending letters more often.
Can you believe there’s only about a month left in the spring semester at the academy? I promised myself that I would visit Quilts during this vacation…
I’m thrilled to be participating in the contest, but it’s painful to think that I won’t see my family again this summer. Mother insists that I focus solely on my studies, and I’m doing my best to suppress my longing for home.
Mother, the capital is lush and green. How is Quilts? It must be starting to warm up by now. Whenever I feel lonely, I try to visualize the scenery in Quilts, but these days, the images aren’t as vivid. I suppose it’s because it’s been so long since I’ve been there.
Nevertheless, I can look forward to hearing your voice soon. That’s such wonderful news! A makeshift communication station has finally been established near Quilts.
I’ll be waiting at the makeshift communication station at the date and time you’ve mentioned. I hope we can share as many stories as possible through the communication link. There’s so much I want to tell you.
The preparations for the contest are going smoothly! The laboratory support provided by the academy is much better than I expected. I need to work diligently to complete everything by summer for submission.
I’ll save more stories for our conversation through the communication link. I’m eagerly counting down the days until I can hear your voice. Please take good care of yourself.
With love, from Rose.
P.S. I forgot to mention the most important thing. Is it true that Ellie has a crush on a boy from the neighborhood? Ellie is… still just a little kid! I’ll have to hear more details about who this boy is next time. For now, I’m on the opposing side, Mother. First love? It’s unbelievable. Little Ellie? I’m so surprised; my neck feels stiff from it!
* * *
Rose had been summoned by Ethan, and a few days had passed.
Being busy, she found that the events of that time could be pushed aside in her mind.
Late Wednesday evening, Rose was intensely staring at her design drawings, feeling no fatigue at all. Her experiment partner, Theo Lixton, had left due to Professor Margaret’s call.
Rose squinted her eyes and murmured.
“Ah… is this right?”
What was drawn on the design was the invention she intended to submit to the contest, the “Band Brake.” The existing car braking systems couldn’t guarantee safety and lacked commercial efficiency.
Rose’s invention was a new braking system that utilized tension and friction.
The design drawings were mostly complete, but there were still several unresolved issues. They needed to find a friction material that could withstand the heat emitted from the mana engine’s main body. They needed a material that had high durability and was easy to process.
‘To commercialize it, the material can’t be too expensive.’
They were experimenting with various materials, but most of them seemed like they wouldn’t endure the heat and friction of the engine for long, needing replacement every week. Would any company be willing to use components with such low durability?
‘Adding a device to dissipate the engine’s heat or finding a new material…’
Recently, the mana materials industry has been booming. Innovative materials using mana extracted from sources other than fire mana stones were emerging one by one. They even utilized mana from sources other than fire mana stones.
‘Maybe I should start experimenting with cheaper mana stones.’
Rose believed that technology that couldn’t be practically used wasn’t technology. She wanted to create an invention that could go all the way to commercialization.
That was the only way she could win the contest.
“Haah…”
Rose had been staring at the design drawings for too long, and her eyes were starting to ache. She let out a long sigh and closed her eyes, covering her eyelids with her palms.
“My head hurts…”
Rose muttered to herself and lowered her head deeply. She wanted to do well. It would be great if she could not just win but also secure first place in the contest.
As ambitious as she was about the contest, there were many moments of anxiety and difficulty. Days like today, when her thoughts were stuck, were especially challenging.
‘…But what can I do? I need to work harder.’
After a moment of slumping, Rose removed her hands from her eyes and stood up abruptly. She was about to meet Jasper for a tutoring session soon.
Rose slapped her cheek lightly, snapping herself back to reality, and then packed her things and left the lab.
However, instead of heading to the annex lab, Rose’s steps took her in a different direction. Her destination was the recently established club room, not the annex lab.
After being summoned by Ethan Conway, Rose decided to change the tutoring location for a while. If they were seen entering the annex building together as a pair, it might raise unnecessary suspicions.
In that regard, the club room was a safe place. It was natural for club members to come and go from the club room in the eyes of others.
There were also advantages to the new tutoring location. The corridor leading to the club room was very well-lit, so there was no need to carry a lamp to avoid the darkness.
Rose quickly arrived at the club room, opened the door, and entered.
Jasper’s voice immediately echoed.
“You’re here.”
Jasper, who had arrived early, was sitting on the couch leaning sideways. Rose looked at him briefly as she put her bag on the corner of the couch.
In truth, since their encounter at the Conway Townhouse, Rose had not had the opportunity for extended conversations with Jasper. It wasn’t intentional, but circumstances had turned out that way.
From last Friday to the weekend, Jasper seemed to have been busy going back to his family’s estate. Therefore, they couldn’t have their tutoring session on Friday, and Jasper didn’t show up for club activities on the weekend.
They did cross paths during yesterday’s mineralogy class, but there wasn’t enough time for a lengthy conversation.
‘…I wonder what happened with Ethan.’
Rose suddenly felt curious, but she hesitated to bring up the topic first. She wasn’t sure if it was the right time to discuss what happened back then.
Feeling Jasper’s awkwardness for no apparent reason, Rose rolled her eyes around and finally spoke up.
“Jasper, you’re here early.”
“Well, I’m the model student.”
“Hmm.”
“You don’t seem to agree? Even though I got a perfect score on the midterm.”
As Jasper joked, Rose felt her awkwardness dissipating.
“Right. You’re the model student now.”
Rose nodded and busily took out and organized the tutoring materials. Jasper looked at her in silence for a moment and then spoke.
“I’ve taken measures to ensure that what happened last time won’t happen again.”
Rose turned to Jasper at the unexpected statement. After exhaling softly, Jasper added.
“About how my brother called you out and treated you, I’ll apologize on his behalf. I’m sorry.”
“Uh…”
Rose was momentarily frozen and stood there awkwardly. Jasper’s voice, spoken in a subdued tone, carried sincerity. It was a heartfelt apology.
Since she hadn’t expected an apology, Rose was confused about how to react.
Seeing her dilemma, Jasper gestured silently toward the empty couch opposite him.
Rose sat on the couch with her tutoring materials in her arms. She placed the materials on the long table between the couches and nervously clutched her skirt with her hands. Facing Jasper, various thoughts crossed her mind.
To avoid thinking about Ethan Conway anymore, she had intentionally buried those memories for the past few days.
‘Was it something worth apologizing for?’
Ethan was a noble, and she was a commoner, so she half-believed that receiving such treatment was inevitable. After all, Ethan hadn’t broken any laws or done anything socially condemnable.
He had merely given her a snub because she was a commoner. Was that wrong?
However, Jasper had implied that it was wrong. He had said that she shouldn’t have received such treatment.
The situation of Jasper, who seemed more valuable than anyone else in the world, apologizing to her felt surreal. Her surroundings seemed to blur momentarily like a mist had risen and then cleared.
Rose hesitated for a moment before speaking slowly.
“…Thanks for apologizing. I appreciate it. I’m fine, so you don’t have to worry.”
“Didn’t it make you angry? My brother spoke as if he was ignoring you.”
“Well… I just felt even more determined to succeed so that no one could ignore me! It didn’t hurt me.”
Jasper’s eyes, which had been looking directly at Rose, wavered for a moment. He lowered his head slightly and spoke in a subdued voice.
“I was hurt, though.”
“Why? Did you have a big fight with your family after that?”
Rose’s confident gaze dropped.
‘During the weekend, you kept going back and forth to your home… I guess it was quite a fight, wasn’t it?’
Memories of the time Rose left Ethan’s study came to mind. It had been a tense and rigid atmosphere. Jasper had even gotten slapped during an argument with Ethan.
Jasper let out a deep sigh and raised his head.
“No, I was hurt too, watching you endure those hurtful words.”
“…Huh?”
“Getting scolded by my brother is an everyday thing, so it doesn’t bother me. I was just frustrated because of you.”
Rose stumbled over her words momentarily, taken aback.
“J-Jasper. You’re more sensitive than you look.”
“You’re more indifferent than you appear.”
“…Really?”
“Yeah. I was so down over the weekend. Why are you so unaffected?”
Jasper looked at Rose incredulously and chuckled.
“Well, that’s why I like you.”
Rose blinked quickly, holding her breath for a moment. It felt like her heart skipped a beat. But Jasper just gazed at her with a casual expression.
‘…Did I misunderstand something?’
Surprised, Rose’s eyes widened, and her eyelashes quivered.