Memoirs of the Returnee

To do list (2)

Tuesday is the least burdensome day of the week. The only class on the schedule is ‘Latinel’, an elective that doesn’t require much studying.

That’s not to say I don’t study Latinel at all. I do pre-study and review, and whenever I have time, I mimic Professor Beatrice’s pronunciation. Considering the storage space Latinel takes up, I should quickly attune to it so I can free up some space in my ‘Notepad’.

Creak—

I opened the door to the Latinel classroom. The first thing that hit me was the antiquated scent of a wealthy household.

I sat down and placed my textbook on the desk. A work that embodies Memory, held in place by a mana core. It will persist until I retrieve the mana core.

“Elly~ Let’s go watch a movie~ It’s a highly anticipated one, ‘The Ghost of Larnes’~”

Then, a bubbly voice from beyond the door.

“We have a group project this week, what movie are you talking about?”

The response was dry and cold. It’s only because the other person is Layla that it’s this mild; when dealing with most people, even her casual speech carries a tone of scorn or reprimand.

“Ah~ I’ve already finished the group project. And, you’ll regret it if you don’t watch this, I heard it’s fun… Oh, it’s Shion.”

Layla spotted me. She smiled languidly and reached into her bag.

“Hey Shion. I was just about to ask you… Oh! What the hell!”

She was approaching when she saw my desk and stopped abruptly, pointing at my textbook.

“You bought that?! Do you have money?!”

A strange question. Am I being treated as a new kind of homeless person? Well, I am a homeless person, of course.

I nodded.

“Yeah.”

“Where did you get the money! Why did you suddenly buy it!”

“What.”

“Did you pour all the money you earned from working at the barbecue restaurant into this? You’re so stupid!!”

She suddenly lashed out with a furious face. I was taken aback.

“Are you crazy?”

“What! What did you just say!!”

“Are you crazy?”

“What?!”

She really must be crazy. I flipped her off.

“I’ll cut off that finger-”

“Get in. Quickly.”

Elise pushed the about-to-explode Layla inside.

“Nice to see you~”

It was because Professor Beatrice had just arrived.

“Have you been well?”

The professor, dressed in her usual antique attire, looked at me and smiled warmly.

“You remembered to bring your textbook today?”

“Yes.”

I nodded politely.

“Good. Then, let’s start the class. Today, we’ll start from page 37, chapter 2.”

I carefully opened it, worried it might tear. Fortunately, the print and binding were just as they were last night. Without any torn or melted parts, it was like a new book.

“We’re going to read and interpret a play script called ‘Kasino Amarlia’ together. However, this text is a two-person play, so we’ll work in pairs. Shall we decide the pairs by drawing lots now? It’s up to the goddess of fate.”

Coincidentally, it’s group work again today. Maybe they’ve set a theme for this week. It would be perfect if even Fencing class was group work.

“The first one is……”

Professor Beatrice elegantly shook the box containing the lots and drew one.

“Elise Petra. Please stand up.”

The first name called. Elise rose from her seat. Her movements, her gestures, were as elegant as Professor Beatrice herself.

“Now, let’s pick the protagonist who will pair with Miss Elise.”

She drew the next lot. I glanced around, taking in the reactions of those around me.

Faces filled with desire to pair with Elise, regardless of gender. After all, even among the silver spoons gathered here, Elise and Layla were top-tier.

“Hmm~”

Professor Beatrice, looking at the lot, gave a slight smile. She revealed the name written on the paper.

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“Shion Ascal.”

I thought I had heard wrong.

“Excuse me? I didn’t hear that correctly?”

I actually asked that.

The professor pointed at me with a smile.

“Shion Ascal. Yes, you. Stand up.”

I got up awkwardly. I glanced at Elise, who was also standing. Elise was pretending not to care about me.

“You two are Team 1. Please switch seats and sit together.”

I looked at the seat next to Elise. Layla, with a fierce face, was there.

I looked back at my own seat. Of course, it was empty.

I spoke to Elise.

“Hey. You come here.”

For a moment, her jaw tightened.

I was sitting with Elise. Our desks touching, side by side.

It was uncomfortable.

Elise, with her jaw clenched, was only looking at her textbook, emitting an aura of ‘I have no intention of conversing with you’, and I didn’t particularly have the desire to lead a passionate conversation either.

Rather, if I could, I’d like to hit her. Really give it my all, even if it’s just one hit. A slap would be fine, please.

“——Alright. Did everyone understand up to here?”

Professor Beatrice had just finished explaining the interpretation and pronunciation of the play script.

Of course, I understood. The entire textbook was memorized in my ‘Notepad’.

“Now, let’s read the script with your partner.”

From now on, it’s a common class where we exchange lines in a play.

“We’ll practice for the next 20 minutes and then present. Today’s presentation will be reflected in your performance evaluation and attitude score, okay?”

As soon as Professor Beatrice finished speaking, the sound of exchanging lines echoed from all around.

Of course, we weren’t. Thanks to Elise, who was just mumbling to herself.

I looked at her profile. I glared at her intensely. After a while, Elise glanced at me slightly, and I seized the opportunity.

“You start.”

“……”

Elise seemed to want to ignore me, but Professor Beatrice happened to look our way at the right time. With a frown, she reluctantly muttered her line.

—……You’re always like that.

“No.”

I shook my head immediately.

“You got it wrong there. It’s not ‘always Hartica’, it’s ‘always Hamtica’.”

“…….”

Suddenly, Elise’s eyes flashed sharply like a knife. It was a murderous aura unbefitting of an eighteen-year-old, but it wasn’t scary.

In the underworld, there were psychopathic murderers who killed people with human heads, not knives.

“Try again.”

“…….”

“Try again, I said?”

“……Ha.”

A deep sigh, as if trying to suppress her temper. Elise recited her line again.

—You’re always. Like that.

This time, the pronunciation was correct. I snapped my fingers in satisfaction.

“That’s right. You’re doing well now.”

“……Can you, be, quiet?”

Elise bit her lip tightly.

“How do you read a script quietly? It’s my turn.”

Ahem- I cleared my throat with a fake cough and recited my line.

—Wasn’t it knowing that I’m always like this, that you agreed to meet?

Elise’s trembling fingers, her ears perking up, her mouth slightly open. Even Beatrice, who had been watching us until then, nodded in satisfaction.

I quietly waited for Elise.

“……What are you doing?”

It was time for the next line, but Elise was still silent.

“Next.”

“…….”

“Why aren’t you reading the next line?”

“…….”

“Read it.”

“…….”

She clenched her ballpoint pen tightly. Her shoulders shook as if her pride had been hurt.

“Professor. She’s not reading-”

—Even so. I thought you could change-

“No.”

I cut off Elise, who was hastily reciting her line. Elise’s cheeks turned slightly red. No, they were burning with embarrassment.

“‘Even so Greca’? Your pronunciation is strange.”

“Shut your mouth-”

“You just pronounced ‘Even so Greca’, right? It’s not that, it’s ‘Even so Gretaek’. ‘So etaek’. Roll your tongue a bit more.”

“……Ah.”

Elise put her palm on her forehead as if she had anemia. Her head was so small that more than half of her face was covered.

I said.

“Do it.”

“…….”

She let out a faint sigh. With her lower lip bitten, she glanced at me and recited her line.

“—Even so.”

“That’s right. You’re doing well now. Keep going.”

The veins popped out on Elise’s temples. Especially her ears, they looked like they were about to steam.

Of course, I had no intention of backing down.

“Keep going, I said?”

—……I thought. You could change.

Suppressing the anger welling up inside, Elise read her line as if she was chewing it up.

—I thought you could change. That was my misun……

Every time she said ‘Latinel’, I opened my ears wide.

“‘Misun Obmius’ is not correct, it’s ‘Misunderstanding Obmins’.”

—……That was my misun-

“No. Not the first sound, but the last sound is different, right? It became ‘MisunAbmins’.”

“—……That was my misun-”

“You’re rolling your tongue too much. Roll it moderately. It’s not always good to roll it. It looks like you’re pretending to have what you don’t.”

I pointed out every single pronunciation that Elise got even slightly wrong.

“……You’re arrogant.”

She held back and spat out a word, but that was it. It wasn’t that I said she was wrong when she was right, I was pointing out that she was wrong because she was wrong.

I crossed my arms as if it was amusing.

“That’s why you’re the problem. Shouldn’t you be saying thank you for teaching me?”

“Who asked, you, to teach?”

Elise forced a relaxed smile, though her neck was already flushed as if ready to burst.

“Know your place. There are far more competent professors than a dimwit like you to tutor me—”

—Love me. Don’t go far away~ Love me as I am~

Just as Elise was boasting about her unasked-for connections, a voice resounded like a pansori performance.

I found myself looking in that direction.

—Thought and hoped you would change~

It was Layla. The one who abruptly stood up and started reciting lines with a serious face.

—Don’t say you won’t~

Her pronunciation was a mess due to her short tongue, but her eyes, nose, and mouth were already swollen. It seemed like she might start crying any moment.

“Um, Miss Layla? Maybe you should take a break—”

Even her partner seemed taken aback by her monstrous sensitivity.

I said to Elise.

“You’re doing better than her.”

“……Arrogant.”

Elise repeated the same word.

“Alright~ It’s been 20 minutes. How about each team comes up and presents now?”

Clap- Professor Beatrice clapped her hands.

Silence- The sound of Latinel ceased.

“Let’s start with Team 1, please come up.”

Beatrice pointed at us with a bright smile.

I looked at Elise. Without a word, Elise stood up and walked to the front, and I followed her, standing face to face.

Beatrice spoke with satisfaction.

“It seems both of you have memorized the script. Good.”

Come to think of it, both of us were empty-handed. She had been mumbling to herself for a while at the beginning, had she memorized it during that time?

“Go ahead.”

At that moment, Elise adjusted her gaze first. For the first time, she looked into my eyes.

—……You’re always like that.

She recited in Latinel. Her pronunciation was smoother than during practice. It wasn’t too stiff, nor too cheesy.

I calmly accepted her natural first line.

—Didn’t you agree to meet me knowing that I’m always like this?

—Ah…….

Then, Elise mixed her gaze and slightly widened her eyes.

Is this what they call non-verbal rhetoric, ad-lib filled with soul or something? Even the smallest action seemed to carry a sense of sorrow.

—Even so, I thought you could change.

I was taken aback by her seriousness, completely different from practice, as if she was truly performing in a musical.

—I thought you could change. It seems I was mistaken.

She was so obsessed with her grades.

“Well done~”

The two-person play presentations of all eighteen teams had ended.

First place is obviously us.

“First place, as you might have expected, goes to the team of Elise and Shion. Applause-”

Professor Beatrice clapped her hands. The silver spoon seniors also joined in. It was probably because of Elise. Anyone who saw it would say she acted superbly.

“To briefly evaluate, Shion’s pronunciation is astonishingly accurate and perfect. There’s really nothing to criticize.”

Well, of course. I’m imitating someone’s pronunciation, after all.

“Elise was also very good. In the last class, her pronunciation was a bit lacking compared to her word usage and vocabulary, but it has improved a lot. Not to mention her acting skills.”

Elise nodded her head expressionlessly. It was slightly awkward for me.

In fact, I had intended to tease her under the pretext of teaching, but did I just help improve her grade for no reason?

“Let’s end the class here. Of course, there is homework for today.”

Since the class was almost over, I put my textbook into my bag.

“Write a play script. As a team, write a two-person play.”

Freeze- All actions stopped. It wasn’t just me. The person who had just been my partner, and who seemed to be extended until next week, was the same.

“Well, good work everyone. See you all next week. I’m looking forward to it~”

Beatrice ended the class by elegantly waving her hand. The seniors began to stand up one by one from their seats.

“Ah… this is annoying.”

I muttered and ran my fingers through my hair.

“I don’t know why you’re saying what I want to say. Can you survive until next week?”

Elise sneered at me with a scornful look. Layla also came over at some point and joined in.

“That’s right. Shion, don’t get cocky just because you’re good at Latinel. …But where did you learn Latinel, Shion? Teach me too.”

Layla’s eyes sparkled. I answered briefly.

“Self-taught.”

“…Wow. That’s boring. Never mind. I have places to learn too. I can do wayyyyy~yyy~y better than you.”

She pulled out her smartphone. She tapped the screen rapidly with nimble fingers.

Buzz-

Soon, a small vibration came from my pocket.

[At Your Service].

Buzz-

“What are you doing, Shion? You’re getting a call.”

At Layla’s words, I immediately turned around and ran out of the classroom.