Early the next morning, Felyn got up to make breakfast.
Daiyi seemed to have stayed up late last night and was still asleep now.
Felyn drew a heart on the toast with ketchup and left a note for Daiyi.
[Miss Daiyi, the world is more beautiful today because of you]
When he got to school, Felyn saw a group of people gathered around the class bulletin board, discussing something.
"This year’s school festival is going to be held together with Lanche Academy!"
"That’s great! Lanche Academy has so many cute noble girls!"
"Are you saying the girls at our academy aren’t cute?"
"Whoa, they’re even inviting that super cute idol, Tsirvini, to perform?!"
"Look, even Lady Seraphina is going to attend. Her luxury brand Seraphina that’s named after herself is super popular and stylish. She’s just so talented."
Hearing those two names, Felyn subconsciously scratched the back of his head.
"Is Lady Adelina coming? I really want to meet her in person."
"Same here. If only I could be partnered with Lady Adelina—ahhh!"
Adelina’s perfect looks and gentle nature made her popular with both boys and girls at St. Andros Academy.
Felyn scanned the notice and got the gist of what was going on.
The academy was promoting partnerships between commoners and nobles for the upcoming school festival held jointly with Lanche Academy.
But the catch was—they had to pass the joint exams.
Felyn felt like that might be a bit of a stretch for him.
"Felyn. Felyn."
He turned around and saw a hand waving to him from around the corner.
"Huh? Teacher Sophia?!"
Sophia glanced around to make sure no one else was nearby and gave Felyn a pat on the shoulder.
"I’ve thought it through. I think there might really be something between you and Viloti."
"Huh?"
Come on, what part of us looks like that to you, Teacher?
"You like Viloti, don’t you? And I can tell Viloti doesn’t treat you like just anybody either. You’ve got some real skills, kid! Guess I misjudged you before."
Sophia leaned in close and whispered.
"The school formed study groups for the joint exam to help students support each other. Not sure how, but you and Viloti got assigned together. Isn't that a coincidence?"
What the—?!
"Hahaha, what’s that look on your face? Too shocked to speak? To be paired up with Viloti one-on-one, you really lucked out!"
Felyn felt a little dazed.
These days, he suddenly had three beautiful female teachers taking turns tutoring him day and night.
In a way, maybe he was lucky?
Though it felt a little showy to say out loud, being surrounded by that many beautiful girls... he really was starting to feel the pressure.
Fifth floor of the school building.
The afternoon sunlight poured softly into the classroom, carrying a hint of drowsiness.
The wind chime by the window tinkled lightly with a crisp sound.
In the small classroom specially approved by Sophia, only Felyn and Viloti were present.
The top-tier noble student Viloti was tutoring the underperforming commoner student Felyn.
"I’ll explain it again."
Viloti’s pen scratched lightly against the paper.
Though her expression was cold, her tone was gentle.
So far, she was the only beautiful teacher who hadn’t looked at him with that weird expression and asked, “Are you really from this world? How do you not know this common knowledge?”
Maybe it was thanks to Adelina already covering most of the common knowledge with him.
A strange thought suddenly popped into Felyn’s head.
Adelina was like an ex-girlfriend—she taught him everything he needed to know, and now Viloti could just reap the benefits.
If Adelina knew what he was thinking, she’d probably drop dead on the spot.
Working with former clients really was complicated. Felyn didn’t actually want to do this.
But he couldn’t afford a tutor. All his money went toward paying off debts and treating his sister’s illness.
Having a top student from the capital district tutor him for free—if he still had complaints, that’d be pushing it.
Besides, Sophia basically dragged him here. Where did she get that kind of strength anyway?
As these thoughts drifted through his mind, Felyn’s gaze unconsciously settled on Viloti.
Today she wore a pale pink dress, with her school blazer neatly folded to the side. The sash at her waist gently accentuated her slender figure, and the slightly puffed sleeves added a touch of girlish charm.
Viloti wasn’t wearing stockings today. Beneath her skirt were long, slender legs that could honestly be called works of art. On her feet were cream-colored sandals.
Her toenails were painted a soft pink, making her pale feet look like freshly baked peach buns from a bakery.
The skin on the top of her feet was slightly red where the sandal straps pressed down, revealing an adorably pink hue.
Felyn had to admit—Viloti had very pretty feet.
Those cute toes suddenly curled up and shyly drew back.
"F-Felyn…" Viloti’s voice trembled slightly. "Pervert…"
She had noticed Felyn staring at her feet for quite a while now.
“Eh?!”
Felyn snapped his head up in a panic, only to see Viloti biting her lip, a flash of embarrassed annoyance in her eyes.
"Your feet really are pretty. The nail polish is cute today."
Crap.
The all-in praise tactic!
Felyn had accidentally let his professional phrases slip out.
Viloti’s expression froze, her eyes darting around in a fluster.
She instinctively hid her feet under her skirt, then as if remembering something, slowly extended them back out into his line of sight.
Felyn wasn’t sure if it was just his imagination, but they looked even pinker now.
"Ahem, sorry Miss Viloti, I guess I zoned out a bit from studying too long."
He’d looked, sure, but he wasn’t going to pretend like he hadn’t or deny it with some “Who’d want to look anyway” nonsense.
Still, this was the perfect time to change the subject.
"It’s getting late. Why don’t we eat?"
The smell of food drifting in through the classroom, mixed with the scent of summer greenery, made the midday feel unusually peaceful.
Seeing Felyn pull a lunchbox from his bag, Viloti’s eyes lit up.
"Felyn…"
"Wow, Miss Viloti, your bento looks amazing! It must taste way better than mine. I just made mine with scraps—it’s probably not even sanitary."
Spare me, please.
After taking money from her last time, Felyn had gone home and seriously reflected.
If Viloti kept this up, wouldn’t he basically be making lunch for her every time?
If Silafiel knew his precious daughter was spending a thousand crowns a meal on plain lunchboxes, he’d absolutely flip out.
No way was he taking money.
Felyn believed that aside from the power of money, his morals were still pretty solid.
"I… I want to show you something..."
"Huh?"
Viloti, head down, stretched one leg out and twirled her hair with her fingers.
"My feet..."
?
???
Viloti shut her eyes tightly, her face nearly blending in with the pink of her outfit.
Milady, do you really think I’m that kind of guy?
He didn’t realize his hand had already nudged his lunchbox a little closer to her.
In the end, Big Felyn won over Little Felyn.
No trade.
Viloti let out a small whimper and, looking a bit dejected, pulled out her ultra-luxurious gourmet bento.
She had a third-tier heating sigil with her, bringing the temperature of the meal to a perfectly stable forty-five degrees.
These cost a hundred apiece.
By comparison, Felyn’s heating sigils weren’t nearly as reliable—two apiece and prone to warping the lunchbox with heat.
Looking at Viloti’s bento, Felyn once again sighed at the strength of his own moral compass.
Had he known, he would’ve just swapped lunches with her earlier.
He’d get to see her feet and eat a fancy lunch.
Perfect combo.
Viloti had no idea that the person beside her was currently putting himself through a moral tribunal.
Today’s tutoring gave her another chance to spend time with Felyn.
That gave her a sense of peace.
Just like… just like in the past…
Viloti snuck a glance at Felyn and shoved a big bite of food into her mouth.
What Felyn didn’t know was—whether now or back during the contract period—Viloti always secretly watched him while eating.
For the same reason as Felyn.
It made the food taste better.
Felyn was like a lighthouse in the middle of a storm, reminding her that not everyone hated her.
Only by seeing Felyn could she appear in front of others without fear.
Only by watching him could Viloti relax and eat.
If only Felyn could fail every exam for the rest of his life—then this scene would repeat over and over again.
As Felyn happily wolfed down his food, he had no idea someone beside him was cursing him under her breath.
Viloti kept her head down. Just thinking about what they’d do after school made her body tremble with nervous anticipation.
(End of Chapter)