I Became the Savior of the Academy’s Villains

Chapter 163

"...."

"...."

"...."

Luca and Wylde fell silent.

And between them, Bella was pursing her lips as if she could barely breathe.

Despite it being summer, Luca's dorm room felt so cold it could have been covered in frost.

'Why is that man here...?'

Luca's eyes quivered as he looked at Wylde, who had shown up since morning.

This time, Luca hadn't even caused any trouble.

It wasn't as if Wylde was here because he wanted to eat Bella's food, either.

'And if you've come, just get to the point already!'

What was even worse was that Wylde was just standing there, not saying a word.

Especially because Luca had a morning routine lately, he wished this uncomfortable moment would end soon.

But as for Wylde...

'What kind of greeting do kids these days use?'

He simply wanted to offer Luca a fitting greeting.

Then, he suddenly recalled when he'd confessed this dilemma to his friend.

—I want to get close to Luca, but I have no idea what kids these days like.

—Aren't we kids these days, too?

—But there's a three-year difference...

—Hmm, you have a point. Then I'll give you a book that's popular with kids these days!

—A book?

—Yeah. It's a novel that's all the rage among the lower grades right now!

The book his friend handed him was called "Knight of the Mask Z".

And there was only one greeting said by Z in it.

"Good night, everyone."

"...?"

At Wylde's words, Luca made a rare dumbstruck face.

He sneaked a glance out the window.

Chirp! Chirp!

It was still morning, with birds singing.

'What nonsense is that...?'

Because the original story never mentioned Knight of the Mask Z, there was no way for Luca to get the reference.

As the awkward silence lingered, Bella finally broke in with a forced cough.

"Ahem! Eldest young master, what brings you here?"

"... Luca. Do you have any plans for the break?"

At last, there was a reason.

Barely collecting himself, Luca replied flatly.

"I was planning to travel with a friend again this time."

"Cancel it."

"... Pardon?"

Luca's expression soured at the unexpected words.

Wylde normally didn't meddle in things like this, so the sudden interference was a little startling.

But Bella seemed to understand immediately.

"Is the family calling?"

"That's right."

"!"

At the mention that the family was calling him, Luca's eyes widened slightly.

'Don't tell me...!'

While Luca was thinking something to himself, Wylde spoke in his usual flat tone.

"Father and Mother plan to take some leave and come home for a short time during this break."

"!"

It would be the first time since Luca Traverse had possessed this body that he would meet the Traverse family's head and mistress.

***

"So that's how it is. Sorry."

"No, it's fine! If the family calls, there's no helping it!"

"... I still feel bad though."

Ottbo said it was alright, but Luca was still uncomfortable at heart.

He'd made plans first, and he felt bad things had turned out this way.

But Ottbo was still beaming brightly.

"It's fine! I'll take this chance to visit my family too. I have to talk about how I modified Rivik and about how I took first place in the Magic Department!"

"... That's good then."

"Haha! Seriously, it's no problem. And we can keep in touch!"

Waving his student notebook, Ottbo tried to reassure Luca, who still looked a bit uneasy, but Luca soon nodded.

"Alright. I'll contact you once I arrive."

After Ottbo left, Bella whispered next to him.

"Young master, is that man perhaps your lover?"

"Are you looking to get fired?"

"Hehe, I'm just joking. But do you not need to tell your actual lover?"

His real lover.

He had been meeting Pasmo briefly between training sessions.

Of course, after parting with Wylde yesterday, he had also gone straight to the tearoom and met Pasmo.

"Pasmo is going back home, too. Apparently, Eltima Cross spoke with Duke Thier about something."

"Is that so?"

According to Pasmo, Duke Thier had fully approved her Hernan Academy studies.

Apparently, he had some expectations regarding her spending time with Luca as well.

—Huhu, seems like that hero of the continent gave Luca a glowing recommendation!

—I see.

—Father said he'd like Luca to visit Thier duchy during the break if possible. And he wants my younger brother to come too.

—That's unfortunate.

—There's plenty of time! You must visit next break for sure!

And so he had finished his goodbyes with Pasmo.

Luca spoke flatly.

"My next break has already been scheduled."

"Did you just make an engagement appointment?"

"..."

Bella smiled brightly as Luca stuck out his lips a bit.

"This Bella is looking forward to it, too!"

Though that was still a long ways off.

After canceling his plans with Ottbo, Luca received all sorts of invitations.

"Luca! Want to come hang out at our villa over summer break? Lots of other friends will be there!"

"I refuse."

"You're so cold!"

Archiond.

"We're going to visit our master—want to come?"

"I have plans. Even if I didn't, going there in the summer would be awful."

"That's true. See you next time!"

Hav and Moula.

"Luca, how about staying at the academy during break to refine your swordsmanship?"

"I appreciate the suggestion, but my parents are coming home to the family for the first time in a while, so I must return to the main house."

"Oh, my! It's rare for Lord Malox to take a vacation. Please give him my regards."

Even Kryphi.

Milia and Herote had also made some odd suggestions, but he turned them all down.

"Young master, you sure are popular."

"Nonsense."

Luca answered dryly as Bella chuckled at the scene.

'Well, it doesn't feel bad.'

Having people seek him out was still a little strange and gratifying for someone who had rarely experienced that in the past.

"Then, young master, shall we start getting ready?"

"Let's."

Having ended his farewells with his friends, Luca returned to his dorm room with Bella to pack their things.

They would have to leave for the main house early the next morning.

***

Most students return home for vacation.

Naturally, as soon as the end-of-term ceremony ends and everyone tries to leave at once, things get crowded.

There was often a shortage of auto-carriages going down to Havok, so waiting was common.

So the academy sometimes let students who applied skip the term-closing ceremony and leave at dawn.

Luca and Wylde were among those students.

"Are you packed and ready?"

"Yes."

Luca and Wylde stood together a bit awkwardly.

And there were people seeing them off.

"Yaaawn. Luca. See you next time."

"Yaaawn. Wylde. Stay in touch."

Ottbo and Mika bade farewell with long yawns.

Luca and Wylde replied at the same time.

"See you next time."

"See you next time."

"..."

They looked different but at moments like these, the two brothers acted exactly alike.

They glanced at each other before boarding the auto-carriage without a word.

When the auto-carriage carrying the Traverse brothers left, only Ottbo and Mika were left.

"...."

"...."

But somehow, the two felt a sense of kinship.

A sense of solidarity born of suffering thanks to their strangely fated friend.

"Have a good break, senior."

"You too, have a great vacation."

Exchanging farewells, the two left.

They both wanted to sleep a bit more.

"... They're good friends."

"... Yes."

Meanwhile, inside the auto-carriage, Luca and Wylde sat facing each other in silence.

It was suffocatingly quiet, but neither could say a word.

'What should I say?'

'What should I say?'

They both had the exact same thought.

Not knowing what to say in this situation.

After all, neither was the type to start a conversation.

'Huhu. Even Bella cannot bring herself to joke in a situation like this.'

Bella, squeezed between them, felt no less suffocated.

And yet, she couldn't bring herself to say anything either.

It would take real courage to break this silence.

Creak.

In the midst of the silence, they arrived at Havok.

They changed to another auto-carriage for the journey to the Traverse territory.

It would take three days by auto-carriage to reach the Traverse territory.

Though it belonged to the central region, the Traverse territory was located almost at the edge, so it took quite a long time to reach.

They had no special local products, and the family mostly made its living off the stipends the head and knights earned fighting on battlefields, so there was no railroad either.

At least the roads were decent, so an auto-carriage could get them there in one go—that was something to be grateful for.

"...."

"...."

"...."

Even there, the three remained silent.

Eventually, unable to stand the stifling silence, Bella finally whispered to Luca.

"Young master, why not say something?"

"Say what?"

"Well... Ah! How about the story of what happened in the south...?"

At least that was an experience both Luca and Wylde had shared.

With that, maybe they could get some conversation going.

Luca swallowed nervously and glanced at Wylde.

"...."

Wylde was sitting with his arms folded and a blank expression on his face, as if deeply lost in thought.

Seeing him, Luca whispered to Bella.

"Doesn't it seem like I shouldn't?"

"That may be, but... Spending three days like this is just torture...!"

Seeing Bella on the verge of tears, Luca sighed inwardly.

—Even Bella's saying so. Say something.

Luca Traverse spoke up in his mind, observing Bella.

Luca stuck out his lips in exasperation.

'Easy for you to say... Then why don't you come out and talk?'

—Are you being serious?

'Ugh... Are you proud of having zero communication skills?'

Luca's inner past self was even worse at conversation, so there was no way he could lead things in this atmosphere.

Luca sighed to himself once more and looked at Wylde.

"... What happened back then?"

"Back then?"

As Luca started to speak, Wylde gave a small start, but regained his composure quickly.

"You're talking about the mining city, right?"

"Yes. I haven't heard from you since then."

Wylde replied blandly.

"I took a friend's auto-carriage back to the port. Then did some 'hunting' or whatever it was."

"... Pardon?"

An entirely unexpected term came out of Wylde's mouth.

Luca and Bella's eyes widened, but Wylde continued placidly.

"Malcolm said he'd die if he came all this way and didn't meet a girl, so I didn't have much choice."

"I... So, what happened?"

"Malcolm and Mika aside, everyone else struck out. But Mika was about to get a girlfriend but ended up not going all the way because the girl cried, so he stayed with her to comfort her. I felt a little bad for him."

Wylde started telling a deadpan but ridiculous story.

Luca's eye twitched, and inwardly he whispered to his past self.

'Hey. Your brother... seriously...'

He fumbled for the right words, then finally found the right expression.

'Isn't he, like, kind of different from how you remember?'

—...

In Luca Traverse's memories, Wylde Traverse was a cold, training-obsessed monster.

But the man before him was a little different.

"But Malcolm, too, didn't manage to go all the way with the girl he picked up. He got a room at an inn with her, but while he was washing up, she made off with his wallet."

"... Wow."

Wylde Traverse was a more ordinary person than he'd imagined.