Male Lead, Don’t Push, Pull!

When did he get so close?

I blinked in surprise, but Daniel pointed a finger at the paper.

“Here.”

“Huh?”

“Here. I think it would work better if you wrote the connection as something other than this….”

He took the fountain pen from my hand and began to scribble something. When I saw what Daniel had written, my eyes widened.

Wow, holy sh*t.

This is how it works?

“If you write it like this, I think you can condense those two separate instructions into one.”

“Right. Daniel, you’re a genius, aren’t you?”

No other department uses ancient languages as often as the Department of Magic.

Looking at Daniel’s ability to outperform other students, I wondered if genius was the word that should be used in situations like this.

“You’re more of a genius than I am, Vivian, for coming up with this,” Daniel complimented me with his usual playfulness.

I smiled, hiding a shrug at his modest response.

It had taken me days and days of pondering over thick stacks of academic books on my desk to come up with the basic structure of that formula.

Daniel, when I say genius, I mean someone like you….

Someone who can figure out the basic structure and even modify it efficiently after just one look….

Of course, this was still just the basics and I’d have to work on it more to make it last long enough to actually be used for distribution.

In any case, this was enough to get me through graduation.

I opened my mouth carefully.

“So, I was wondering if we could do some research together on this…. If you don’t have a thesis in progress, we can publish it together as a collaboration.”

“Are you sure about that?” Daniel asked.

“Huh?”

“You mean I can share this amazing discovery with you, and with a few modifications, we can present it at a conference?”

Of course, presenting at a conference would be a breeze if Daniel, the original creator, had a hand in it.

Unfortunately, there were limits to what I knew.

I shook my head lightly.

“Anyway, it’s not something I can do alone, and it requires the cooperation of the Department of Magic. I would prefer to do it with someone I know well.”

“If you say so….,” Daniel murmured. “Actually, I don’t even want to hand it over to someone else. It’s a fascinating study. The formula could revolutionize the current distribution structure.”

“If you’re thinking of making a business out of it, I’m all for it,” I replied enthusiastically.

I wouldn’t mind forming a one-on-one alliance with Daniel and making money together.

We’ve already worked together on the Yttenum mine development.

I’d be able to borrow his idea and use it for my personal use.

“I will invest. Rosiere has a lot of money.”

“What? Ahaha.”

Daniel burst out laughing. After laughing for a while, Daniel wiped a tear from his eye with his fingertip.

“Then will you allow me to sit on the money cushion?”

“That’s pretty simple.”

“Okay, let’s do this together, Vivian.”

Daniel had another class coming up, so we decided to move on. 

As we walked down the corridor side by side, Daniel asked, “By the way, Vivian. I wanted to ask you something.”

“Oh, sure. What is it?”

I gulped down the rest of my drink with the intention of throwing it away altogether….

“Are you going out with Kyle after all?”

“Pfft–”

I spit out my drink at the unexpected question.

“Are you okay?”

Daniel was worried when he heard a cough. I raised my hand to indicate that I was fine. I blinked my eyes rapidly, finally coming to my senses.

That Kyle and I were dating.

“Where did you hear that?”

Had Margaret put it in Daniel’s ear while I was gone?

After running down a few possible suspects, Daniel replied, “I just heard it here and there.”

“Here and there?”

“No?”

“No,” I answered calmly, but my stomach churned.

I never thought I’d get this question from Daniel. Lately, I’d been getting a lot of questions about whether I’m dating Kyle.

In fact, I’d been asked if I was in a relationship with Kyle since the moment I joined the Academy.

‘There were even rumors that I was his fiancée at the beginning of my time at the Academy.’

When I was younger, Kyle tended to be even more closed off to people than he is now, which may have made my friendship with him seem more remarkable.

Regardless, whenever the question came up, my answer was ‘no’. Because I really wasn’t.

And the answer hadn’t changed.

“We’re just friends.”

Except….

Thump.

It’s weird how my heart starts to race, even though it’s the same question I’ve always been asked.

Suddenly, I remember Kyle’s face from the top of the tower on the last night of the festival. His cheeks were flushed red from the colorful fireworks, and he looked as if he was embarrassed.

As if he had a rational crush on me.

I’d already sorted out my feelings. I swear to you, I have no ulterior motives.

I just want to be treated a little bit better than everyone else as an old friend of Kyle’s, the future emperor. I want to be well fed and have a good life, and I think that’s enough.

But when I saw Kyle like that…. It made me think of a future that is different from our current relationship.

Still, we’re not dating, but we’re friends. Neither Kyle nor I have confessed anything.

Of course, it’s possible that I was mistaken for a moment.

“Well, I guess you could say I have a chance, then,” Daniel murmured with a soft smile.

“Huh?”

“Ah, well, we should probably part ways here.”

Before I knew it, we had reached the fork in the road that separated the Department of Magic from the main building.

Daniel looked back at me and asked, “Are you okay with starting your research at the end of this week?”

“Yeah, it’s fine.”

“We’ll need some potions to use as samples, so…, Vivian, if you don’t mind, why don’t we do it in the labs of the Department of Magic building? I think it would be dangerous to take the potions outside.”

“I guess that would be a good idea.”

I nodded in agreement with Daniel’s suggestion. There was no better place to experiment with potions than in the lab.

“Then I’ll see you on Saturday at 2pm.”

And just like that, the first step to my graduation thesis was completed.

I watched Daniel’s back as he walked away, the corner of my mouth twitching with pride.

I had made the right choice in bringing him into my life. I think we can help each other more than I expected.

‘As soon as my research is done and my graduation is officially confirmed, we should apply for a joint patent.’

And maybe I’d even propose to Daniel that we launch a new brand that we both have a stake in.

I’d take a small cut as a fee, and that’s it.

If we did it right, I could have the greatest wealth in my generation, and even exceed my father.

“Eh?”

As I was purring like a full cat at the thought of having solved a difficult task, I saw Kyle walking by.

I waved wildly and called out to him.

“Kyle!”

Kyle must have spotted me too because a beautiful smile appeared on his face.

He was close by in a flash, and when he saw the books I was carrying, he asked, “Are you on your way from the library?”

“Yep. What about you, Kyle? Are you done training for the day? Are you going to dinner?”

Kyle nodded.

The sun was setting behind us. The smell of dinner was wafting from the building that contained the cafeteria.

Hmm, nothing more to do today anyway.

Okay, I’m feeling good.

“Kyle, let’s go!”

I scored a big one today.

“I’m going to get us something to eat outside!”

I’m feeling so good, in fact, that I’m tempted to shoot for a full course meal at the capital’s most famous restaurant.

But this is the Academy of Arene, and as students, the only place we can go out during the school year is downtown near the school….

“Let’s go to Cornell for a day, eat, and then return to campus. Is that okay?”

“Okay.”

To my relief, Kyle didn’t waste any time taking me up on my offer.

“Is something good going on? You seem to be in a good mood.”

Kyle was a sharp reader. I smirked.

“Yeah, I finally decided on a topic for my graduation thesis.”

“Really? What is it?”

“It’s a study on prolonging the storage period of magic potions….”

We chatted for a while and headed for the eastern gate.

We couldn’t use the main entrance right now because we needed a pass to leave the academy building, which was a tricky process to get.

The side door also requires a pass, but there is an opening near it.

These are some of the tips I learnt from the kitchen staff to make life at the academy more enjoyable.

Kyle, who had already followed me back and forth several times, deftly slipped through the opening and out.

“Vivi.”

Kyle, who had gone first, held out his hand to me.

Suddenly, a halo of sunset light formed behind him. It was a sight to behold, his dark hair glistening golden in the light.

…He was handsome, very handsome.

Even at this moment passing through a dog hole, you realize the beauty of the male protagonist.