‘Looking at him now, he’s not a model student—he’s a student who stayed up all night gaming.’

What’s wrong, got something on your mind? Did the principal’s aide give you hell? Want me to call that bastard out?

“Ah, Professor… Greetings. I apologize for you having to see me in this state. I’ve been feeling a bit unwell.”

No, this clearly looks like a mental issue. There’s no exclamation mark at the end of his sentences.

“Um, did you perhaps come to the library because you had business with me? I suppose not… Then, would it be alright if I passed by now…?”

You’re the one who’s always studying in the library, so of course I came! This guy who’d normally be bouncing off the walls talking about what an honor it is, sitting here looking pathetic instead.

‘The model student whose overflowing confidence was practically a problem—what reason could he have to suddenly wither like this?’

“Nika Tot.”

I need to hear this one out.

“Follow me.”

* * *

Beneath the tree that ‘Chris’ frequented.

A perfect spot for a quiet conversation.

‘Pretty gentle summons, for my character.’

But the model student hadn’t even noticed that much—his head was just bowed low.

I leaned against the tree at an angle and let the words slip out.

“What’s the problem?”

“Huh?”

“Sigh… I asked what’s wrong.”

As I rubbed my furrowed brow and continued, the model student answered with a bitter smile.

“Impressive, Professor. You noticed after all, didn’t you? That I was—”

Mm-hmm, right. Let’s go with the premise that I’d already noticed. You were…

“—considering withdrawing from school.”

Considering with—huh? What? Withdrawing from what?!

I bit the inside of my cheek desperately to hold back a scream. The taste of blood spread through my mouth, but was that important right now?

‘The party’s only tank says he’s leaving!’

I barely managed to secure a healer, and now the tank pulls this? No, why? His family’s well-off, his grades are excellent, his social relationships are smooth—there’s absolutely no reason to leave.

‘Even the protagonist considers the model student his best friend.’

Could… could something bad have happened that I don’t know about? My hands threatened to tremble, so I quickly folded my arms.

“Um, I apologize! I know I should have consulted you about this kind of matter first, but I couldn’t muster the courage. Because I had to confess that I… harbored such shameful feelings.”

Given the model student’s personality, whatever feelings he’d label as shameful would certainly be something unbefitting a knight.

‘What could that even be? The model student is bold and straightforward. He doesn’t hold grudges and has a generous spirit—this kind of storyline never came up in the original work—’

Ah.

I realized it.

I’d been thinking of him only as a character from the original work, so I missed it. If I just looked at him as an ordinary teenager, the answer was obvious.

“Truthfully, over the break, my mother put me through brutal training. I worked incredibly hard because I wanted to be useful to X-Class. No, more precisely, I thought that if I tried hard enough, I could cover Michael’s share as well… I had such an arrogant thought.”

The model student’s expression darkened.

It was actually a fairly accurate assessment. The problem was…

“But the moment I saw Michael this time, I realized it. That thought was completely wrong. The one who couldn’t pull his own weight was me.”

The protagonist had awakened. And the model student had witnessed that overwhelming power firsthand, time and time again.

Even—

“Let’s put down our hands and talk first, okay? We can guide these people through perfectly gentlemanly means!”

“…….”

The experience of having his words completely ignored, unlike before.

‘Even if it wasn’t the protagonist’s intention, the timing was terrible.’

The earlier conversation with the principal’s aide had probably revolved around the protagonist too. To the model student, the protagonist was certainly a good friend, and would continue to be, but—

“This… isn’t right. Feeling this way. It’s too petty, unbefitting a knight. I watched from his side the whole time, seeing how much Michael suffered all this while.”

The emotions you feel when someone suddenly surpasses you have nothing to do with any of that.

“And yet I hate myself for being jealous of my friend! Even knowing this feeling is irrational, I… I can’t forgive myself for starting to resent Michael…”

An inferiority complex. Having lived in South Korea’s hyper-competitive society, I knew all too well how terrifying that could be.

‘Trust the model student to be a model student. He could have easily blamed Michael.’

He was so kind that the arrow’s tip pointed only at himself, breeding nothing but self-loathing, until finally—

“Since this is a result of my insufficient training, I thought I should leave the academy. I wanted to meet Michael again after I’d grown into a bigger person, separated from him for a while. My mother kept urging me to come home, saying something big was about to happen soon, too…”

So he’d arrived at the extreme conclusion of withdrawing.

‘Well then, what do I do about this?’

‘Merely’ a problem of inferiority. But ‘a full-blown’ problem of inferiority.

If I left him alone, the model student might resolve it himself. That kind of escape helps sometimes. He was simply stimulated by the protagonist’s awakening while still immature.

‘But I need you, Model Student.’

The protagonist’s best friend and brake, our tank, the one who interprets my words perfectly. Those are all your roles.

So.

“Here’s what we’ll do, Nika Tot.”

You can’t run.

* * *

The next day, evening, after afternoon classes had ended.

‘I thought I’d die from discomfort during class…’

Nika slipped out of the building, sighing where no one could see. He was trying his best to act like his usual self, but it wasn’t easy.

‘Even the other kids asked me if I was sick today.’

…Michael wasn’t among them, though.

‘No! I can’t keep thinking like this! To go beyond jealousy and feel resentful! Nika Tot, is this the best you can do as a man?!’

Nika shook his head violently. Truly, he was unfit to be a knight. What was he thinking, letting himself be swayed by emotions like this?

“This makes me feel so guilty toward Michael.”

He knew Michael was a good person. Since his hair turned white, he’d become quieter and wore frightening expressions more often, but Michael was still Michael. Nika’s friend. That fact remained unchanged.

But why was it that being together was no longer enjoyable, only painful? Why did he keep comparing himself to Michael?

‘It’s all because I’m inadequate and lacking.’

And now he’d even dragged the professor into his problems for no reason…

Nika recalled the not-quite-counseling session he’d had with Chris yesterday.

“Here’s what we’ll do, Nika Tot.”

“Come to the garden pond this evening. I’ll sort it out for you.”

Leaving those words behind, Chris had departed briskly. Announcing something out of nowhere and vanishing was very much her style.

‘Still, it’s the professor’s word, so it’ll definitely be resolved.’

The trust in Chris among all of X-Class was beyond solid—it was like a pillar driven into the foundation of a temple—so there was no hesitation.

‘B-But what is she planning to make me do at the pond? Some kind of brutal training to forge my pathetic heart?’

For a moment, the hellish training he’d received from his mother flashed through his mind. If it were Chris, she’d do more if anything—she certainly wouldn’t do less.

Ugh… goosebumps rose on his back involuntarily.

‘If it’s necessary, I will humbly accept it as a son of the Tot family!’

Nika arrived at the pond with a resolute expression.

But what he actually found there was—

“…Nika?”

“W-Why are you here…”

Michael Foxin, with a face that was still somewhat unfamiliar.

An encounter he hadn’t anticipated at all.

* * *

‘Professor, what’s going on here? Professo-or!’

…That was probably what those two were thinking inside.

What else would it be? Have you never read a novel?

‘The most common trick in the book to get two people to meet.’

Make separate appointments with the model student and the protagonist to meet at the pond. Then I slip away and give them space to talk.

[Bead: So in other words, you played both sides?]

Oh, come on. If I hadn’t done this, it would’ve taken an eternity for them to face each other like this.

With the Demon Lord’s army making suspicious moves, a rift in the protagonist’s party was the last thing we needed.

‘So keep quiet for a second. Let me hear what they’re saying.’

I was currently perched on a nearby tree. I couldn’t look down openly, but hearing their voices was enough.

“The professor called me here.”

“You too?! The professor told me to come here too…”

“Hmm, I see.”

“Right, yeah…”

Ugh, suffocating. These two had been so natural with each other until recently, and now things were this awkward.

In the end, it was the protagonist who broke the silence first.

“Since we’re here, there’s something I want to say.”

“Huh?”

“Sorry. I changed so suddenly, it must have been confusing. You haven’t looked so great lately.”

“…No! No, you haven’t done anything wrong! It’s just my… my problem…”

I could picture the model student’s flustered face perfectly.