I Start with a Bad Hand!

With the new semester, many changes came to the academy.

“Why do they look so cheerful as a group?”

“Look at their stiff uniforms. They’re new students.”

“No wonder.”

First, a wave of new students arrived. Agnes and I watched the newcomers with bright faces wandering around the campus through the window. They were the only ones genuinely happy about the start of the new term.

“Someone asked me for directions yesterday. Of all people, they chose me. I’m almost as new as they are…”

Agnes muttered with a slightly weary face, holding a bundle of play scripts. Her unkempt curly hair was hastily tied back, and her uniform looked like it hadn’t seen an iron. Despite just returning from vacation, she appeared as though she’d spent the entire break camping out at the school.

“Guess we don’t look like new students anymore. Hey, let’s go get ready for PE class.”

I wasn’t much different. My hair, which had grown slightly, was half-tied to manage the stray locks, and I had a blanket draped over my shoulders. The academy, once so alien, had now become a fully integrated part of my life.

“New students will join our classes starting this week.”

“Yeah. I hope we get more people in the archery club.”

“I hope fewer people join the dance club. Last year, the practice room was so crowded we almost bumped into each other, according to the seniors.”

Hearing laughter burst through the slightly open window, we headed towards our classes, finding our way effortlessly through the familiar halls.

The changes also came in other forms.

“Sorry, I’m late.”

The door opened, and Icarus walked in, his hair neatly slicked back. He wore a formal uniform for the ball, looking well-groomed for the first time in a while, causing me to pause momentarily.

‘Not that he ever doesn’t look polished.’

Seeing me staring, Icarus smiled, dimples forming at the corners of his mouth.

“Entrance ball.”

“Ah, so that’s why the school has been so lively.”

Our relationship with Icarus had also subtly shifted. It became more relaxed and natural, our time together feeling more routine since returning to the academy. It wasn’t unusual for him to come for tea without any particular reason.

‘Although there’s usually some reason…’

Icarus hung his outer coat and jacket neatly on my coat rack and glanced back at me.

“Why didn’t you come? I noticed even the curly-haired one wasn’t there.”

“I didn’t enroll, so I didn’t see the point.”

“There’s nothing lamer than a senior hanging around where the freshmen are playing,” was a sentiment shared by Agnes and me. Having finally come to terms with the harsh reality that we were no longer freshmen, Agnes had fully embraced her role as a senior.

“I’m planning to skip all the balls this year. I honestly think this academy holds way too many events.”

“Yeah.”

More importantly, now was not the time for attending balls. As I poured the tea, I continued, “Besides, I’m afraid someone will criticize my terrible dancing again.”

“Who would say that to you…?”

Icarus narrowed his eyes, clearly having guessed the subject of my omitted sentence, and stared at me.

“Just how much did you step on my feet?”

“You told me to step on them!”

“I thought it would hurt less if you just stepped on them instead of stumbling around.”

As I gave him a playful nudge with a sarcastic tone, Icarus laughed and followed me, taking the teapot from my hand. Clearing some space on the desk cluttered with stacks of papers, I handed him a bundle of documents I had set aside for him.

“Sorry to put you to work as soon as you arrived, but I think it’s best to get this sorted out quickly.”

“You want help with translating these?”

“These are the documents the priest gave me before the break. I only now have the time to go through them… but as you know, they’re all in foreign languages, and the only one I can handle is Lucero. You’re the only person I can trust with this.”

Icarus looked down at the bundle of documents with an unreadable expression, and a long silence followed. I stopped preparing the tea and turned to look at him.

“Is this a difficult request?”

Given how effortlessly he handled various foreign languages when meeting with Sereti’s students and others, I had assumed he would manage the translations just as well. But maybe translating was a different challenge. He might be too busy to dedicate time to this. I reached out to take the documents back, understandingly.

“Sorry. I guess I didn’t consider your schedule.”

“It’s not that,” Icarus began, momentarily covering his mouth with his large hand before continuing shyly, “I can understand the languages spoken here, but… well…”

“If you’re busy, it’s okay to say so. I’ll find another way.”

“I can’t read them.”

“…What?”

“I can listen, understand, and even speak them, but reading and writing are a different story. Especially with languages that aren’t phonetic.”

His ears were tinged with a hint of red, and his explanation didn’t immediately make sense to someone like me, who had always relied on formal education.

‘How can you not be able to read them?’

“Isn’t reading the foundation of learning a foreign language?” I stared at him, unable to believe it. Icarus grumbled defensively.

“I kept moving countries before I could master the languages properly, and the only time I really held a pen was in the Kingdom of Lucero. I wasn’t exactly a diligent student either.”

“Then how did you manage to live in those places?”

“They assigned interpreters to me, among other things.”

Icarus didn’t elaborate further, and I didn’t press him. It was clear he didn’t want to delve into it.

I spent a while pondering how this could be, and eventually, I accepted it. It’s like those who love Japanese anime but can’t read Japanese, or people who enjoy American dramas but can’t transcribe the dialogues—comprehension without literacy. Even I, who could manage some German, struggled with English, barely able to read and understand it.

“…I guess that can happen. There are some languages I can only just read,” I said, watching Icarus sort through the documents he could read with some difficulty.

“Which ones?”

“This one here.”

“Ah, I can only speak it a bit. It’s good you can read it well.”

Well… not that well. Watching him laboriously flip through the papers, I thought about the daunting task of using a dictionary to decipher the words. English was tormenting me even in this world. How persistent.

Without realizing it, I spoke out.

“I’m jealous you can converse.”

“…What?”

“I studied for a long time too, but speaking… I mean, talking is still hard for me. What’s the point of knowing a language if you can’t converse with the people? I’m not going into academia or anything.”

“…You’re good at Lucero.”

“I have to be good at Lucero. But I should be better at this language, considering how long I’ve studied it.” 

Icarus, sifting through the papers, spoke casually as I sighed and muttered, clutching my head.

“We can be together.”

When I stared at him, he quickly added, as if to explain.

“I can’t read, and you can’t speak. In situations where both are needed, like now…”

“…”

“Like now.”

I gazed at his eyes for a moment before speaking slowly.

“Then what about situations that require writing?”

“Well… there’s nothing we can do about that.”

Icarus, grunting as he spoke, made me chuckle softly.

With our complementary language skills, we began tackling the remnants left by Dietrich, like blind men feeling their way around an elephant.

***

‘Hmm, that’s a hair color I haven’t seen before.’

Ever since arriving in this world, I had developed a habit of identifying people by their hair color.

‘People here have such a rainbow of hair colors…’

As I noticed the silver hair from afar, I walked toward the archery range. Until I saw that face up close, I didn’t think much of it. Even though I knew silver hair was rare, I didn’t immediately connect it to Roxanne. I assumed it was a new student and approached the person standing there, out of courtesy.

“Is this your first time at archery class? The protective gear is over there, ah.”

“…”

When our eyes met, I involuntarily stopped speaking.

“Uh… hello.”

“…”

When the owner of the silver hair moved without a word, I finally realized what was going on.

‘Roxanne has joined the archery club.’

Hadn’t she been in the equestrian club all last year? Of course, just because she was in the equestrian club last semester didn’t mean she had to stick with it. Agnes had switched clubs too. But I couldn’t recall any mention in the original story of Roxanne being in the archery club.

I watched Roxanne’s back as she turned away from me and walked towards the shooting stand.

‘Well… it’s not like I own the archery club…’

Maybe she just wanted to learn. Still, the thought of having to deal with the awkward tension with Roxanne for the rest of the semester was unsettling. With a slight unease, I drew my bowstring.

“…?”

But soon, a problem arose that made Roxanne’s presence seem trivial by comparison.