Chapter 97: So, today was the day.

So, today was the day.

"Huwaaa!!"

Specifically, the day Kina would leave for the Elite Academy.

"Maaasssteerr~"

This should have been, in Julian’s mind, a quiet, unremarkable send-off that wouldn’t draw much attention. But apparently, that wasn’t the case at all.

Julian had genuinely underestimated the influence a great family carried. That was exactly why Julian now stared at the Academy’s front gate with an awkward smile plastered on his face.

He couldn’t help but feel stunned watching the crowd gathered just to catch a glimpse of the figures from the Zoldia family, along with Kina herself.

"Masster~ I’ll never forget you, hic."

Watching the endless flash of cameras clicking away, the deafening roar of the crowd making it impossible to hear anything clearly, and the guards shouting themselves hoarse trying to hold the barrier line back.

’...Should I just use Fearless again?’

Julian felt genuinely tempted. But recalling what had happened the last time he’d used Fearless made him quickly abandon that idea.

I mean, how could he not?

His fearless self had genuinely thought through and decided far too many things at once, and once the skill wore off, Julian had immediately felt the full backlash.

Namely, regret. That day, he hadn’t been able to hold back his nausea, genuinely throwing up the moment he got home.

Of course, Julian wasn’t entirely unreasonable about it. His mindset at that time had actually made perfect sense, given he’d felt no fear at all, while his current self was far too much of a coward, making anything remotely risky feel like something inherently wrong to do.

"HUWAAA!!!!"

Letting out a small sigh, Julian lowered his gaze with a genuinely complicated expression. He looked at Kina, crying, clinging tightly to him.

’Why is this girl acting like we’re about to be separated for years?’

Julian felt a genuine pang of regret watching her tears and snot soak straight into his black coat, a one-of-a-kind piece in this entire world!

Even back in his old world, that hadn’t exactly been cheap to buy.

Julian had to stop the girl before this got any worse.

"Kina, everyone’s watching."

"I dooon’t caaare."

But no matter what Julian tried, Kina simply kept crying. The girl had been at it for nearly twenty minutes straight now.

Shouldn’t she be getting tired by now?

Right as Julian started feeling genuinely hopeless, unsure what to do to stop Kina.

An exceptionally sweet angel arrived.

"Kina... you and Master won’t be apart for too long."

Of course, it was Ilunia.

Hearing that, Kina still hadn’t stopped her theatrics and simply answered with dramatic flair.

"I... feel like I won’t be okay being far from Master."

Yeah, that was genuinely excessive.

Even Ilunia found it somewhat amusing, her lips twitching slightly as she held back a laugh.

"...But, doesn’t the Elite Academy at least allow phones? You can call Master whenever you have free time."

"....."

"Right?"

"....!"

Kina pulled herself away from Julian’s body, blinking a few times in rapid succession. Her forced tears, along with the snot running down her face, vanished almost instantly as she glanced at Ilunia.

"You’re right!"

And, as though by some miracle, it felt exactly like watching storm clouds instantly clear into bright sunshine, or a crescent moon instantly replaced by the sun.

Kina stopped crying entirely and moved to hug Ilunia instead.

"You’re so smart!"

Her target had shifted.

Since Kina stood noticeably taller than Ilunia, Kina could only nuzzle her cheek against Ilunia’s golden hair.

Ilunia’s reaction, for her part, looked perfectly ordinary. I mean, this wasn’t something Kina had done once or twice, it happened often enough that Ilunia always knew exactly how to respond gracefully.

"Kina... my hair’s getting messy."

Meanwhile, Julian let out a breath of relief, silently thanking Ilunia in his heart. He pulled out a clean white handkerchief he always carried for exactly this kind of situation, and started wiping away Kina’s tears and snot.

Right then, Julian heard footsteps approaching, followed by a familiar male voice.

"Lord Julian."

Julian turned, immediately spotting Lurker approaching with an easygoing smile.

"Oh... Lord Lurker."

Julian returned the greeting with a brief nod. Then, he glanced at Kina, still chattering away with Ilunia.

"Kina, Lord Lurker’s here."

The girl froze, blinked a few times, then let go of Ilunia, whose hair was now thoroughly disheveled, and walked lightly toward Lurker.

"Lord Lurker! Are we heading out now?"

Lurker nodded. "Yes. All the preparations are complete. You can head to the car first. I still have a few things to discuss with your Master."

Kina nodded in understanding. But instead of walking straight toward the car, she approached her Master instead, rising slightly on her toes to whisper something.

In response, Julian leaned down slightly, bringing his ear closer, curious what else the girl actually wanted to say.

"So... Master," Kina whispered gently, her soft breath tickling him faintly as she continued.

"When Master eventually gets married, and things start feeling a bit dull... remember that Kina’s always willing to keep Master company."

"....?"

Julian blinked a few times, pulling his ear back once Kina finished. Then, he immediately looked at Kina.

He found the girl smiling in a way that seemed... suspicious?

Her smile carried something mischievous, her cheeks flushing red, suggesting she might be a little embarrassed, or simply flustered.

After that, Kina turned her face away and jogged off cheerfully toward the car.

"See you again, Master!"

She left Julian standing there, completely frozen, his mind stuck in place.

As an actor, Julian had occasionally received a fair amount of attention from women. Especially given he’d been a relatively young actor with a fairly striking appearance.

So, whenever a woman happened to develop feelings for him, Julian could usually pick up on a few telltale signs through her behavior.

Not often, but not never either.

And Kina, right now...

’Ah... what exactly is going on with this girl?’

Julian genuinely hoped it was just her being a little... overconfident.

That wasn’t what he thought it might be, right...?

He let out a sigh.

"Lord Julian."

Julian turned lightly upon hearing Lurker’s voice calling out to him from across the way.

The man himself looked a bit awkward right now, apparently intent on saying something fairly difficult. He took a long breath, let it out, then looked at Julian with genuine seriousness.

"So... would you be willing to attend a gathering hosted by the great families?" The sentence came out smoothly, and Lurker didn’t give Julian time to fully process it before continuing right away.

"As it happens... you’ve received an invitation to attend."