I Broke Off My Engagement and Got a Job at the Academy

5 – 5. Blush

Leaning back on the chair, I sat down. And I took a deep breath.

“Phew.”

Already, it was evening when the sun was setting. The magical training had finally come to an end.

My magical energy was depleted, and I had little strength left to move.

In that state, I slumped into the chair.

“Now…”

In two days, it would be my birthday. However, there wasn’t much change expected. It would just be another usual situation.

My birthday falls in early summer, barely a month apart from Ariel’s.

I had struggled to prepare a gift for Ariel, so this birthday, I just wanted it to pass without much fuss.

Of course, birthdays should be celebrated to some extent, showing a certain level of sincerity. Fortunately, as someone already engaged, I had some room for relaxation.

– There was no need to force myself to fit in with potential engagement candidates.

With such thoughts in mind, as I was about to take a break, a maid suddenly approached and said,

“Young master, a guest has arrived.”

Guest? I was puzzled and headed to the reception room to greet the guest.

There, Ariel was seated, waiting.

“What’s this? Why did you suddenly come here when it’s already late?”

Ariel looked at me with that remark.

“Do I need a reason?”

She lifted the necklace hanging around her neck.

The amethyst-decorated necklace sparkled under the lights. It was the necklace I had given her.

Seeing it, I spoke with a somewhat uneasy expression.

“Oh, I really have no idea. Why did you bring that?”

Ariel sighed and looked at me.

“Do you see me as a beast that only knows how to receive? Whatever, just expect something surprising on your birthday. I’ll give you a gift that will make you jump in surprise.”

Was she trying to make her gift sound like a challenge? I heard her words and responded,

“…It’s not that valuable of an item. Well, it has its own value, but honestly, my magical abilities aren’t that remarkable, so the artifact’s worth isn’t much.”

Ariel made a dismissive sound, crossed her legs, and said,

“Stop making a fuss. It’s not up to you to determine the value of the gift. I’ve decided to repay you with it, and you just have to accept it. Got it?”

“…Well, okay. I’ll be looking forward to it then.”

What else could I say? That was the only thing I could say.

Ariel seemed dissatisfied with my lukewarm response, judging by the subtle pout, but she didn’t say anything more.

“…Really, what else is there to say? Fine, I’ve said what I wanted to say, so I’ll leave now.”

“Wait.”

Ariel, who had stood up at my words, looked at me.

“Why?”

I stiffened momentarily. I couldn’t even figure out why I had grabbed her.

Why did I hold onto Ariel? There was surely nothing more to say or do.

I would simply meet her in two days and accept whatever gratitude she offered.

But something was off. Ariel showed a sharper reaction today, of all days.

No, to be precise, she seemed irritated. For some reason, I couldn’t fathom why, but there was undoubtedly a reason.

Lost in that thought, I unintentionally requested the action we had most frequently engaged in.

“Wanna play a game of chess?”

…

Ariel and I faced each other over the chessboard.

It was surprising that Ariel readily agreed to my request. She was the kind of woman who would immediately drop something if it didn’t sit well with her.

Thud. My move was made. Seeing that, Ariel concentrated for a moment, then thud, she made her move.

“Still not improving, huh?”

I asked Ariel. She chuckled and replied, “Well… I did improve. Just a little.”

Still, that was some progress. I smiled and made my next move. However, Ariel, looking at me, seemed oddly dissatisfied.

Thud. Ariel captured my bishop with her knight.

And as I focused on the chessboard, I only noticed her change when I saw her hand making the move.

“A ring, huh?”

I asked her.

And I grabbed her hand, adorned with the engagement ring. I continued to gaze intently at that hand.

Her face turned red, hastily pulling her hand away, and she said,

“What, what are you doing!”

“No, just curious, that’s all.”

I smiled.

Despite the discomfort in singing about the engagement ring, I felt grateful for her deliberate effort to wear it.

Ariel took a deep breath with the aforementioned face, finally composed herself, and said,

“…It’s nothing. Just…I thought it would look better in people’s eyes if we did this.”

Even though there was no one else around, and she chose to tell such a meaningless lie in our private moment. Whatever the reason, I decided to trust her words. It was grateful that she cared for me.

Suddenly, a thought occurred to me, and I made a sound of realization, looking at her and asking,

“By any chance, did you get upset earlier because of that?”

As soon as Ariel heard those words, her face turned even redder than before, and she exclaimed,

“Wh-who said I was upset!”

“Why, because you didn’t recognize the ring you put on?”

Ariel glared at me defiantly and quickly made a move.

Even after contemplating for a few minutes, I only managed to make a move after several seconds, while she effortlessly made her move in an instant. I looked at her and said,

“Can you do it that quickly? It seems like you’re overdoing it, no matter how I think about it.”

Ariel, still blushing, confidently said,

“Hush. I’ll handle it myself, so just turn off your brain.”

Continuing the chess game, I emerged victorious. It was also my first win. Ariel, who had been staring at the chessboard with her king surrounded, finally spoke.

What should I say? Although Ariel’s condition wasn’t normal, as someone who had historically achieved their first victory, I couldn’t help but be curious about what she would say.

And Ariel opened her lips and said,

“Checkmate…”

“Huh?”

What is he talking about? I was momentarily caught in confusion.

“We’re playing a game, like x.”

Ariel overturned the board.

I looked at it and said, “No, what’s this?”

The words that came from Ariel were not congratulations, nor were they a casual voice as usual. It was just pure anger to the extent that it was surprising… Not even a word of celebration.

“Are you deliberately disturbing me and gloating?”

I shrugged my shoulders and said nothing.

“When did I ever disturb you?”

Ariel frowned and said, “When is when! Just now, holding hands and…”

Her voice gradually decreased as she spoke. Approaching her, who had completely closed her mouth, I put my hand on her shoulder and said,

“Really? Then I guess I’ll have to keep winning like this. Keep winning.”

“What!?”

She quickly pulled my hand off her shoulder and moved away from me.

“Why do you keep acting like this?”

I chuckled at Ariel’s reaction. Ah… I just can’t stop. Her reaction was too amusing, and I couldn’t resist.

“Why, we’ve already seen the worst of each other, haven’t we? Don’t you remember? You were practicing shooting arrows and got tired, and in front of me, you…”

“Hey!”

Ariel covered my mouth. Then, with determination, she stood up.

Hmm, seems like she’s really upset. I seem to have created trouble just for the sake of a joke.

I approached her and said, “Sorry. I went a bit too far.”

Ariel took a step back from me, glaring at me with guarded eyes.

“Stay back.”

She seems genuinely angry.

Feeling as though my efforts in preparing that gift last time were about to lose their meaning, I grabbed her wrist and spoke.

“I’m really sorry. I said something unnecessary. Okay?”

Ariel just stared at me silently. I took another step towards her and said, “I was really wrong. Your reaction was cute, and I blabbered unnecessarily. Okay?”

Ariel looked at me with a surprised expression and said, “What…!? A-are you crazy? What’s cute about it!?”

I chuckled at her words and replied, “Alright. You’re always cute. Okay?”

I meant to calm her down, but I ended up teasing her unintentionally. Ariel looked at me once and said, “Youuuu…”

She seemed to think for a moment and then, finally, stared at me and said, “I’ll return the favor for the gift. I promised already.”

I listened carefully to her words. She looked at me with eyes filled with restrained anger and a smile.

“But… be prepared. I’ll repay today’s favor for sure.”

Repay? I gazed at her with a blank expression, but Ariel just made a hmph sound and started to walk away.

A sense of foreboding crept in.