Why You Should Be Responsible For Him - Chapter 6 Part 1

We returned to our daily lives as if nothing had happened, even after the confession. Ash didn’t seem particularly eager to hear my response, so it was possible.

But these days, Ash seems to be gloomy in a different way. As much as he focuses on me when tutoring, he starts whining intensely when it’s time to close the books.

Like now.

“…The vacation is almost over, senior.”

“Oh, that’s unfortunate.”

“It’s terrible how time flies. Soon, we won’t even be able to have these one-on-one study sessions together anymore.”

“We’ll have one more test tomorrow. Since it’s the last test, make sure to review the first chapter properly and come prepared.”

“Senior… I don’t want to talk about studying anymore…”

“What else should we talk about then? Tonight’s dinner menu, current social issues, the political situation, or maybe a popular opera singer?”

“…I don’t want to talk about those things either. Aren’t you even a little bit disappointed, senior?”

“Well, what can I do? Should I cry and sob uncontrollably? Even if I do that, the vacation will still end, Ash.”

Ash looked like a child whose heart had been shattered, and then he burst into tears. Feeling like I’ve turned into a heartless person, I slammed the table and exclaimed, “Enough!” to Ash.

Ash bit his lip to hold back his tears, but the clear drops of tears betrayed his will and fell down his cheeks.

Ugh. It’s not pathetic, it’s pitiful. I’m the problem here, the real problem.

“Just because the vacation is ending doesn’t mean we’ll never see each other again.”

“…You’ll still have classes to attend, assignments to do, friends to meet… I’ll just be pushed aside, won’t I?”

“You have classes, assignments, and friends too. It’s not just me, Ash.”

“It’s different! It’s different. You’re always my top priority.”

…Since when? Come to think of it, we only started having these conversations seriously this vacation. It’s absurd to talk like we’ve been doing this for years when it’s only been two months.

“Alright, alright, I got it. Stop crying now. I’ll come to see you from time to time.”

“Really, really? I’ll really wait for you every day.”

“Just stop it.”

Although I said it softly, Ash, who seemed to understand it somehow, looked even more tearful. Oh no. I spread my arms to comfort him. As if he had been waiting for that, Ash came over and knelt on the floor, pressing his face against my chest.

“I don’t want to break up, senior.”

“Anyone would think I’m going to study abroad.”

“I’ll go with you.”

I expected him to say that. While gently patting his head, which he was rubbing against me, I moved my hand from his head to his shoulder as his crying subsided.

“Alright, calm down now and go back to your seat.”

“…I can’t.”

“Ash.”

“I can’t go, senior.”

“Why are you acting like such a child.”

Due to his persistently clinging behavior, I spoke a bit harshly. Normally, he would have flinched, but Ash remained steadfast, resting his head against my chest. With no other choice, I forcibly pushed Ash’s shoulder, which I had been holding onto.

“Ow! That hurts!”

“……?”

He let out a painful sound as he grabbed onto a strand of hair near my chest, and his head, or rather the hair around it, bulged out as my clothes pushed it away.

“…My hair got caught, senior.”

What a hassle, really!

“Ah, senior. If you pull too hard, you’ll…….”

“Just stay still. It’ll only get worse if I don’t see something.”

Blonde strands of hair were tangled like vines around the buttons of my shirt. No matter how I twisted and pulled, it only seemed to get more tangled, with no sign of improvement.

Now what?

“Just cut it.”

Ash said firmly. With his scalp tightly attached, cutting his hair would undoubtedly leave it looking like a patchwork.

So I tried relentlessly to untangle it, but Ash’s cries of pain only grew louder.

“It hurts, senior.”

With no other option, I draped Ash over my chest, stood up awkwardly, and grabbed a pair of scissors. Snip. With one cut, Ash fell back. His already messy hair now looked like it had been hit by a bomb.

“Senior, your clothes…”

Ash asked with a surprised expression.

“I’ll just sew the buttons back on.”

I ended up cutting the buttons instead of Ash’s hair. Though my shirt was left gaping, at least the embarrassment was minimal, considering I’d seen the worst of it already.

“…Senior, I think I’ve fallen for you again.”

“At what point exactly?”

No matter how much I tried to understand his thinking, it always veered off in the wrong direction. Ash calling out to me with a voice full of emotion somehow gave me a creepy feeling.

“If you build a statue, you die.”

“…….”

He shut his mouth. Maybe he really was thinking that.

“Come sit here. It won’t work otherwise.”

Ash, obedient like a well-trained large dog, approached and sat down on the chair.

I should just let it slide today.

I ran my fingers through Ash’s tangled hair, and he closed his eyes with a content expression. Still, I continued to cut away the buttons entangled in Ash’s hair with scissors and untangled them with my hands.

“Would you please cut my hair?”

“Do you not like it?”

“Why would I refuse when it’s you doing it, senior?”

Feels good to be touched.

Ash said with excitement in his voice.

I wasn’t confident about cutting someone else’s hair, but I couldn’t stand his messy hair any longer.

Thinking I’d just trim the length, I raised the scissors without hesitation and snipped off his dazzling blonde locks. Snip. Hair fell to the ground.

As it piled up on the floor, I became bolder and cut more enthusiastically. Ash seemed content to leave his hair in my hands, not bothering about how it was changing.

“With this much hair, you could even share some with Prince Judiver.”

“Oh, the prince’s hair.”

Ash finally realized and spoke with a tone of realization. Judiver Prince must be under extreme stress from his hair falling out day by day… Isn’t this too cruel?

“Your worry makes me even more reluctant to put it back.”

“It’s not worry, it’s empathy.”

“I don’t like it when anything but me gets your attention.”

“Am I supposed to be flattered?”

“Senior.”

Ash’s voice turned rough.

“Okay, okay, I got it.”

After making appropriate responses, I focused on cutting his hair. We remained silent for a while, pouring all our attention into the task at hand.

As his long hair became shorter, his white, smooth neck was revealed. The neatly trimmed hair looked quite decent to me.

Tsk.

I set the scissors down on the table and brushed off the hair that had fallen onto his skin and clothes.

“Look at me.”

Ash stood up, brushed himself off, and soon flashed a confident smile, asking, “How is it?”

“Uh…….”

Good-looking, very.

I had been so focused on the hair that I hadn’t noticed Ash’s face. His appearance was dangerously striking. The sleek lines and graceful features were all too captivating, as if he were a being from another dimension.

In fact, perhaps Ash had grown his hair so long to partially conceal his undeniable presence. Had I done something unnecessary?

“My head feels lighter, it’s weird. Do you not like it?”

Ash genuinely asked if his new look was okay.

“…I’m only hanging out with you like this because I’m older.”

I don’t know why those words came out like that. If I were to go out like this right now, anyone I bumped into, just meeting their gaze, would likely make their heart race.

Ash seemed to empathize with my words, and he nodded as if truly grateful.

“Thank you, senior. There’s really no one else for me but you.”

A twinge of pain struck a corner of my heart.

* * *

Despite Ash’s desperate pleas, the time flew by, and soon there was only one day left of what could be called vacation. One by one, the students who had gone home entered the dormitory, and the quiet of the night was replaced by the chatter of reunion.

Rose was back.

Her thick, voluminous hair tied up in a bun looked even larger than her petite face, causing a dull ache in my throat as I gazed at it.

I couldn’t help but feel a twinge of anxiety, wondering if Rose’s neck might accidentally snap under the weight of that massive hair. But Rose, with her big hair, happily laughed and embraced me.

“I missed you, Yveline!”

“It seems like you spent your vacation well; your skin is really dark now.”

“Did I get that much of a tan? I did travel more than usual this vacation… Oh! The sea in Railblue was truly beautiful! Both Roy and I even thought about living there for the rest of our lives.”

“If you live there, make sure to hire a new head chef.”

“Such a kid. Oh, by the way, how was my villa in Whalton? Did anything special happen there?”

Rose asked, her eyes sparkling.

There was… something… special. But how could I tell Rose about that ‘special something’ – how I’d been accused of asexuality by her, how I’d stolen the virginity of the empire’s youngest prince during the school holidays – never.

“It was good. Thanks to you, I was able to change my mood.”

“Hmm… Is that all?”

“What else do you need?”

Rose narrowed her eyes at me, then shrugged.

“No, Yveline, if you rested well, that’s enough.”

Does she know about Ash and me?

But how…?

Rose began unpacking her bag, saying she had a bunch of souvenirs for me. But I couldn’t focus on the gifts. The discomfort from Rose’s subtle reactions lingered unpleasantly.

Should I ask her what she meant?

But before I could bring up the past topic again, Rose had already unpacked so many gifts and started explaining each one of them one by one. By the time the gifts filled the room to the point where they almost reached my arms, Rose clapped her hands.

“Oh, Yveline, I noticed there’s a new golden plaque at the entrance… At first, I thought I was mistaken. But no matter how many times I looked at it, it seemed like someone like you…”

Crash.

The precarious stack of gifts I had been holding collapsed sadly downwards. Thankfully, nothing seemed to have broken.

“Oh, damn it.”

“Yveline? Why are you suddenly getting so worked up… Wait, where are you going? We still have plenty of time, Yveline!”

I must be crazy. I should have somehow gotten rid of it before the start of the semester. I was completely forgetting about its existence, all because my mind was preoccupied with Ash.

No, I was getting too comfortable with it. Tomorrow, more students would return to the dormitory. Before I faced humiliation, I had to get rid of it tonight, no matter what.

But it seemed like the security guards were a step ahead of my plans, as their numbers had doubled.

Why strengthen the security of such a useless and dishonorable golden plaque?!

Some of the guards who already knew me swiftly subdued me as I sprinted towards the golden plaque, effortlessly restraining me and dragging me away.

“You guys! At least erase the damn thing!”

My desperate plea fell on deaf ears, or rather, it was like a silent scream to them.

* * *

The new semester has begun.

I stood amidst the students who entered the academy with their excitement and aspirations, feeling distinctly out of place. Because—

“Hey! Isn’t it Yveline Rovensdi, who generously treated Ash Kindropper to a meal worth a whopping 30 ludens? Wow, what an honor to meet you!”

“Shut up.”

From the moment I stepped out of the dormitory until I returned after all classes were over, I had to endure this mockery. It was the first time so many people had gathered around me, relentlessly repeating the same words.

Some were amused by my cold response and walked away, but there were others who persisted, like that oily brown-haired guy who stuck to my side.

What was his name……. Rendit?

“I wonder when I’ll get to have a meal with you too. But do they even serve a meal worth 30 ludens? What kind of meal did you offer to that esteemed prince?”

“If you’re curious, go ask the prince himself.”

“Do you think it’s easy to approach the prince? Even if he seems approachable, once you try to get closer, the pressure is no joke. The way he brushes off people who try to get friendly with him is quite intimidating. I wonder if he’s of noble blood.”

“Ash? That’s just your inferiority complex talking.”

Rendit jumped up in protest.

“No! While it’s true that Ash Kindropper is exceptionally talented to the point of being favored by the gods, I don’t feel inferior! It’s not like I’m trying to climb a mountain that’s too high… Anyway, it’s not an inferiority complex, Ash Kindropper is really—”

“Enough. I’m not someone who has time to engage in meaningless debates with you. If you have nothing else to do, why don’t you go feed the goldfish in the lake? If you’re hungry, you can pick some up for yourself too.”

As Rendit vented his grievances with arms flailing, he scratched his head and blocked my path.

What? Won’t you move aside?

“Oof, don’t glare at me like that. You’re not exactly busy either. Our professors may be stuffy, but it’s not like they’re already assigning assignments on the first day of class… You’re not already studying for exams, are you? Come on, even if you’re a top student—”

“Actually, I do need to study for exams.”

“Stop that and let’s grab a bite to eat. I also want to experience the lavish meal worth 30 ludens. If you don’t want to, well, I can take you to a fabulous restaurant instead.”

Does ‘today’s menu’ really include a meal worth 30 ludens?

After waving my hand dismissively at the persistent Rendit, I turned away. He didn’t give up and continued to follow me annoyingly.

Ugh, should I just give him a good smack?

Truth be told, it was almost time for me to go to the bakery. I was eager to get rid of this nuisance as soon as possible, especially since there would be nothing good coming from the revelation of my part-time job to the public. If rumors spread that a noblewoman attending the Royal Academy was earning a living through menial jobs like the common folk, it could lead to all sorts of gossip, and I might even be forced to quit the bakery, which would be a terrible outcome.

“Don’t you have any sense? I’m clearly showing that I don’t want to be with you right now. The meal worth 30 ludens is sold at a shabby restaurant on the side street next to the academy gate. Go there, taste it, learn to cook, or do whatever you want.”

Rendit burst into laughter. My expression couldn’t help but twist at the sight of him.

“It’s you who has no sense, isn’t it? I’m only trying to eat that 30 ludens meal…”

Suddenly, there was a commotion around us. Rendit’s voice was completely drowned out by the bustling noise.

I didn’t know what was happening, but I felt relieved that it might be a good thing. I quickly tried to leave the scene. However, just as I was about to pull my wrist away from Rendit’s grasp, I felt genuinely irritated, and my face scrunched up.

“Already leaving? I haven’t finished talking yet.”

“You’re persistent.”

“It’s an honor.”

As I tried to shake off his hand, a large shadow appeared over my head. Instinctively, I looked up and saw the gracefully displayed features.

It was Ash. I had seen his face enough during the vacation, but now he seemed somewhat unfamiliar. It wasn’t because his hair was shorter, but perhaps… he looked a little… angry.

Thud.

Ash grabbed Rendit’s hand and shook it off as if he were tearing it away. Rendit looked stunned as he held his wrist and stared at Ash with a bewildered expression.

“Senior, do you realize you’re seeing me for the first time today?”

His voice was heavy with gravity.

“I’ve been trying my best to resist the urge to hold you as soon as you came out of the dormitory. And now some strange guy is holding your hand.”

“Hey,” Rendit said, but Ash didn’t respond. Ash took a deep breath and spoke.

“…I’m really sorry, Senior.”

Ash’s fingertips trembled. His gaze, filled with a wounded expression, pierced through me, causing a sharp pain in my heart.

It was difficult to find a valid reason why Ash was so angry and upset. However, just knowing that he felt those emotions because of me filled me with overwhelming guilt.

“Ash.”

As I thought about embracing him tenderly… amidst the buzzing whispers around us, sharp words pierced my ears.

“Since when did you and Yveline Rovensdi become such a thing?”

“The prince scandal. Oh, my God, with Rovensdi? I can’t believe it!”

Royal scandal. Ash. And Rovensdi.

Gossipy eyes thirsty for news were fixed on me and Ash. Ash seemed oblivious, but I was not. I was driven mad by the thought of Ash’s name being associated with the ‘Rovensdi’ surname. I would do anything to prevent his memory from being tainted by me.

Furthermore, when the time comes, I will disappear without a trace, to a remote island where no one, not even Ceres, can find me. So, the idea of being intertwined with Ash, leaving traces in his memory… I hated it.

Just yesterday, during the break, it wasn’t something I had even considered. But reality had become a sharp blade, slicing through the boundary between dreams and reality.

A twitch.

My outstretched arm towards Ash froze in midair. Ash’s eyebrows furrowed. Awkwardly, I withdrew my hand and patted his back loudly.

“I’ll return the book I borrowed during the break tomorrow! I didn’t know you treasured it so much. It was quite a journey coming all this way just for it.”

“…….”

“I read it cleanly without dirtying it, so don’t worry, Ash.”

“…Senior.”

“Well, my stomach hurts, so I better go first. Honestly, I’ve been holding it in since earlier.”

I stepped back faster than Ash’s outstretched hand. I saw Rendit smirking behind me, and I thought about cursing him out.

Ash’s neatly trimmed hair looked beautiful. His exposed face was so captivating and beautiful that I wanted to praise him, to compliment him. I wanted to ask who had cut it so nicely for him. Then I could hear his shy voice saying, “Senior.”

But our vacation, just the two of us, had come to an end.

* * *

A week had passed.

The Academy has been buzzing with three hot topics: the golden statue of Yveline at the front gate, Ash’s new hairstyle, and Princess Rosetta’s enrollment.

Among them, the hottest topic was Ash’s changed hairstyle. In the blink of an eye, Ash became the official representative handsome man of Penterion within the academy (previously, he was unofficially recognized due to his indistinct facial features). Although there was hardly any difference in Ash’s behavior before and after the haircut, noble youths openly flocked to him like snowballs rolling downhill.

I wanted to explain to Ash why I hastily left after mentioning returning the book I didn’t even borrow, but it was difficult to approach him due to the noble youths sticking to him like watchdogs.

Watching Ash surrounded by students, I sighed deeply.

“30 Luden. Want to work on the group project in pharmacology with me?”

“Your name is…”

“Denian.”

“Oh, right. Denian. But why should I work with you on the group project?”

Sitting on a bench in the garden and admiring Ash’s face like a masterpiece, I was suddenly disturbed by a guy sitting next to me, with three buttons of his shirt undone.

“Well, you’re smart, and I’m getting attention from professors because of my looks.”

“From Professor Hemmel?”

“Yes.”

Denian shrugged confidently.

Even if the world were to end tomorrow, Professor Hemmel would probably be lecturing about the ratio of compost, like an emotionless machine. Apart from herbs, he had no interest whatsoever. That such an indifferent person could favor Denian as a disciple was intriguing.

“But how am I to believe that you are Professor Hemmel’s favorite?”

“Last semester, I aced the test every time, even if I didn’t get an A+, I got an A. My only peer, who was better at herbal practice, only got a B. So, what do you say? If the two of us join forces, an A+ shouldn’t be a problem, right?”

Indeed. I was more inclined to memorize textbooks diligently with the motto of ‘If you can’t, make it look like you can’. Theoretically, I knew a lot about pharmacology, but in practice, I often made minor mistakes.

However, if those mistakes were compensated for by Denian’s disciple buff, it would be very beneficial for me.

“Okay. But group projects usually require at least four people, right? By the way, I don’t know anyone except Rose Prowse.”

“I’ll take care of finding the last person. Someone perfect just came to mind. He’s a genius in compounding.”

“I’ll take your word for it.”

Although Rose was inexperienced, she was good at what she was told to do. And as Denian said, he possessed an SS-tier buff, so he was a welcome addition. As for the last person, I didn’t really care, as long as they were competent enough.

While unintentionally discussing the pharmacology group project with Denian for a long time, I suddenly felt a prickling sensation on my side. When I turned my head, I saw Ash glaring at me with a cold expression.

Ah, not this situation again…

I felt uncomfortable. Our gazes were locked in the midst of the bustling crowd, creating an awkward silence. I was the first to avert my gaze. As noble youths began to turn their heads towards me, following Ash’s gaze, I headed towards the dormitory.

“Let’s continue our conversation during the next class, Denian.”

“Already? Well, alright. We have plenty of time. It was nice talking to you, Yveline.”

I walked past Denian towards the dormitory. As I walked, I felt a prickling sensation at the back of my head.

<Why you should be responsible for him> Continued in Volume 2