The Duty Of An Academy Student Should Be To Study - Chapter 80

Episode 80

After checking the note’s contents, when Rose looked up, Jasper had already disappeared into the distance. 

She folded the note a couple of times and tucked it into her jacket pocket, then took a deep breath.

‘…I should just go and see.’

Arranging a covert meeting with a note made her unnecessarily nervous.

‘Why is he calling me?’

Several possible reasons vaguely crossed her mind. 

Jasper could ask about magic engineering problems, or maybe he had information from being in contact with the Redmark Gang that he wanted to share. Or perhaps…

Rose shook her head to stop herself from delving deeper into speculation. She realized once again how many things were intertwined with Jasper.

After offering a suitable excuse to Briley and Rebecca, Rose headed towards the club room alone. As she arrived in front of the club room, she took a deep breath and opened the door.

Inside, she saw Jasper already seated comfortably on the sofa. 

To Rose, Jasper seemed calm and at ease, in stark contrast to her nervousness.

Anxious, Rose sat across from Jasper and spoke.

“What did you call me here for?” 

Jasper looked at Rose with an unreadable expression before slowly speaking.

“I received a message from the Redmark side.”

Rose involuntarily let out a deep breath, her anxiety evident. It was indeed one of the several reasons she had speculated before coming to the club room.

“A person claiming to have seen George Bell emerged a few weeks ago.” 

At the mention of George’s name, Rose’s eyes turned cold.

“Where was this sighting?”

“We haven’t confirmed the exact location yet. Speculations suggest he might have headed towards Valloch.”

Valloch was a territory of the Baskirk Republic, not within the Lepti Empire. It was a harbor city on the coast of the continent, frequented by multinational gangs.

Even in the Republic, law enforcement in Valloch was quite ineffective, and they had almost given up on maintaining security. The streets of Valloch were chaotic and dangerous, with a mix of illegal residents coming from various parts of the east.

‘Of course, there must be plenty of gambling houses in Valloch.’

It would make sense for George Bell to choose it as his next destination.

Jasper looked at Rose’s increasingly serious expression and, as if trying to ease her tension, spoke in a deliberately light tone.

“Caleb said he’d look into it separately, so wait and see.”

“…Caleb isn’t going to Valloch without a plan, right?”

“I don’t think that’s the plan.”

“What? It’s too dangerous there.”

Rose was startled, her voice rising. While she wasn’t in a position to refuse someone’s help, she didn’t want to endanger Caleb either.

Caleb still couldn’t show his face at the academy. It seemed like he was truly going through the process of dropping out.

Rose briefly passed on rumors about Caleb to Rebecca, but Rebecca showed no reaction. She seemed to be trying not to worry about Caleb in her own way.

Rebecca had already stated that her relationship with Caleb was over, but Rose sometimes felt that Rebecca was thinking about Caleb. 

If Caleb left the capital and went to Valloch like this…

‘I wonder what will happen to them.’

At that moment, Jasper gently touched Rose’s worried hand. Startled, Rose hid her hand behind her back. 

Jasper shrugged and spoke.

“Don’t worry. Anyway, Caleb was planning to go to the Republic. He’ll stop by there and check things out.”

“There are a lot of dangerous people in Valloch… What if something happens to him?”

“Caleb isn’t weak enough to get hurt by those lurking around there.”

Jasper sounded quite confident. He had always criticized Caleb, but he never belittled Caleb’s skills.

“Don’t worry too much and just wait. I’ll make sure to figure something out.”

Rose nodded reluctantly.

“…Thank you, Jasper.”

Caleb risked danger to help Rose because of Jasper. Because Jasper cared for Rose.

Rose knew that fact, so she couldn’t help but feel strange. Moreover, she had realized that Jasper taking care of her was not merely a matter of friendship.

Rose pressed her lips together, barely holding back the trembling. 

‘He’s so kind to me.’

She shouldn’t like Jasper. She was a poor commoner, so there was nothing she could do about it. She couldn’t freely pursue romance or love.

Jasper noticed Rose’s face seeming to darken, so he changed the subject.

“By the way, are you still thinking about what happened?”

Rose widened her eyes at Jasper’s sudden question. It was the first time the incident from the day he confessed by the river was blatantly brought up as a topic.

It seemed like Jasper was joking, but Rose, who had been wrestling with the matter for the past few days because of Jasper, couldn’t help but feel unsettled.

With a slightly raised eyebrow, Rose replied.

“Well, since I heard about it…”

“Did you really care about me?”

Jasper asked, quite surprised. Rose’s pulse quickened at Jasper’s reaction. The look on her face said she hadn’t even expected that.

“Jasper, I’m quite serious right now. I can’t focus on my studies because of you.”

As Rose expressed her frustration, Jasper’s face stiffened momentarily. He blinked slowly, staring at Rose in apparent surprise.

“…You’re saying you can’t study because of me. You? Not someone else, but Rose Bell?”

Jasper continued to display a shocked reaction, seemingly unable to believe it. Rose felt a bit aggrieved. Suddenly, memories of the restless night due to Jasper came rushing back.

Rose mumbled with a mix of resentment and petulance in her voice.

“Will I be able to study…”

“I didn’t think you’d be affected this much.”

“What do you think of me…”

“The girl who only knows magic engineering?”

Unable to deny it, Rose momentarily fell silent. Of course, there was a point to Jasper’s words. 

Normally, Rose’s passion for magic engineering would overshadow everything else.

Whether she received a confession or not, it would have been pushed to the back of her mind. She might have been briefly shaken, but her heart wouldn’t have been this restless for the past few days.

So Jasper Conway was the only exception.

‘…This isn’t good.’

It was an unfavorable sign. Rose bit her lip nervously.

Rose tried her best not to look directly at Jasper. She kept her gaze somewhere ambiguous. When her eyes met Jasper’s face head-on, it felt strangely unsettling for some reason.

At that moment, Jasper’s soft voice resonated.

“Should I be happy about this? I finally managed to beat magic engineering.”

Rose cleared her throat unnecessarily and glanced at Jasper. He had a languid smile on his lips. 

Rose protested in a slightly annoyed voice.

“Why are you smiling?”

“Because I feel good, that’s why I’m smiling.”

“It’s ridiculous…”

“Is my face still bothering your thoughts? Or is it flashing before you? That would be awkward.”

“N-No, stop teasing.”

Rose clenched her skirt tightly with her small hands. Now Jasper looked excited and animated, a rare sight for him, who usually maintained a dry and cool demeanor.

Conscious of her cheeks feeling warm, Rose thought.

‘I keep getting entangled with Jasper.’

Briley was right. Jasper Conway seemed oddly mischievous.

“My head hurts. It seems like you’re completely fine, why only me…”

Jasper chuckled without giving a direct answer.

“Don’t get all worked up already. Take your time to think. We have plenty of time. We won’t see each other during the break anyway.”

“What are you talking about? Jasper, are you going to the mansion too?”

Rebecca mentioned spending the summer in a mansion on their family’s uninhabited island, and Briley said she was going to the Republic after a brief stay in the capital.

Rose was the only one slated to spend the entire break guarding the Berkley Academy dorms and labs. It wasn’t particularly surprising anymore to see the dorms empty during the break.

Jasper tilted his head slightly.

“No, I’m going to the border for training. It’s a remote place, so there won’t be any contact.”

“Where exactly are you going… to a place with no post office or communication center?”

“Yeah. During those two months, you won’t hear a word from me.”

Jasper casually said while raising one corner of his mouth, but Rose was quite shocked. Even Quilts, a remote valley, had letters going back and forth, so how remote must this place be to completely lose contact? 

Rose’s large pupils shook back and forth.

“…Isn’t it a dangerous place?”

“I wonder. I’m expected to be put into real action.”

“Real action? You mean going into battle?”

Jasper seemed indifferent.

“I’ll be working as a military officer from next year. I need to accumulate real-life experience beforehand.”

“But that’s dangerous, isn’t it…!”

“Why, worried?”

Jasper leaned his upper body closer to Rose. His intense gaze was fixed on her.

Rose felt overwhelmed, almost involuntarily, by Jasper’s closeness. Even though they were sitting on a spacious sofa in the common room, she felt as if she were pushed into a corner.

Rose responded meekly.

“I’m just worried… What if you get hurt?”

“Is it just worry? Don’t you think you might miss me?”

Rose pursed her lips. Her face, already lost for words, began to blush even more. It seemed like Jasper had become bolder since his confession. 

Rose wanted to escape the club room immediately if she could.

Jasper added another remark to the flustered Rose, driving the point further.

“I’m going to miss you.”