"Student Vallhall~! You~! You shouldn't have~!"
Assistant teacher Hervolst gasped, gushing over the expensive gift she received from the bleached-blond-haired student. Despite the meaning of her words, the way she said them betrayed her honest feelings of happiness and pride.
"I definitely did, though, teacher. You and teacher Karlasth are both truly exceptional educators, and despite a little mishap at the beginning of the school year, I can safely say that I'm in this spot thanks to both of you."
Rotsard lowered his head and declared.
He wasn't humble or taken over by gratitude.
He simply could not control his expression the same way he did with his voice, and if the assistant teacher Hervolst somehow caught even a glimpse of his face, she would have shit herself in fear.
"Not at all, not at all~! I'm only helping teacher Karlasth a little bit! He is the most amazing one!"
"...no. You're only living through this because you didn't…"
The woman waved her hand and assured the boy with a chuckle, making him lose his nerves and spit through his teeth.
"Eh…? I'm sorry, student Vallhall, I didn't quite…"
Assistant teacher Hervolst froze up with the gift in her hand and asked, slightly nervous because although she didn't catch the words, something in Rotsard's tone made her skin crawl.
"..."
Rotsard scowled, internally cursing his own idiocy. The whole plan could be ruined just because he couldn't hold his tongue!
"I said that you're putting yourself down too much, teacher. Oh, but of course I'm not trying to talk down about teacher Karlasth! This is for him. I've heard he loves good wine. You two could even share it~"
Rotsard gritted his teeth and raised his head, showing off a wide smile that left his eyes closed as he declared while offering the assistant teacher a second gift.
Just like he said, it was a bottle of wine.
"...!"
And not just any wine, even assistant teacher Hervolst, who wasn't a big drinker at all, recognized the label at first glance as one of the most expensive brands.
This one in particular was known for being a gift for special occasions.
Birthdays, weddings...
…and sometimes poured out at the funerals of the loved ones…
Although, of course, for the woman taking the bottle out of the student's hands, only the second occasion for such a gift came to mind.
"We will! We most definitely will!"
Assistant teacher Hervolst gasped, unable to hide her excitement, saving herself from a heart attack by focusing solely on the bottle and missing the murderous glare of the beastly yellow eyes.
"Oh, I shouldn't be saying this…~"
The woman fidgeted and spoke up suddenly.
"But the truth is, teacher Karlasth and I will be spending the summer break together at a quaint little hut in the countryside~ And since we've already submitted the grades of all the students to the headmaster, we won't be waiting for the official announcement of the results and are leaving tomorrow! We've already sent our baggage there~! This… this will be just perfect for the two of us~!"
Assistant teacher Hervolst started gushing over her plans for the summer break, completely immersing herself in the perfect world of her fantasies.
"Then, I'm very lucky that I came by today… Here. This is a little something extra for teacher Karlasth, too."
"Oh…?! S-student Vallhall, how did you know…?!"
Rotsard wasn't bothered by her behavior in the slightest and instead took out a thick envelope, which seemed to have caused a misunderstanding.
From the assistant teacher's reaction, it looked like she believed that the envelope was filled with money... On top of that, it appeared like Joshua Karlasth was facing some financial troubles and could use as much of that kind of appreciation as possible.
At least judging from how eagerly the woman snatched the envelope from Rostard's hand.
"I didn't see a thing! I didn't see a thing, but I will give it to teacher Karlasth without fail!"
"..."
Since direct monetary bribes were frowned upon, assistant teacher Hervolst's reaction could not be more perfect for Rotsard's plans.
There was no reason for him to add anything, as even a single comment could make the assistant teacher suspicious and check the envelope's content just in case.
"I wish you all the best."
"Oh~! Thank you, student Vallhall! I'm sure that from the new semester, we will get along a lot better!"
Rotsard ended up lowering his head again and turning around, walking to the door as the assistant teacher Hervolst spoke to his back.
"..."
He didn't say another word, merely nodding his head and leaving.
"Oh, we misunderstood him so much~!"
With the student gone, Brice Hervolst sat down and leaned back on her chair, putting the envelope with the presumed bribe inside, and instead focused on the wine.
"I should have known that there would be someone who will not look down on this love of mine~!"
She added to herself, already imagining herself and teacher Karlasth's romantic getaway.
But when some time later she finished relaying everything that occurred to Joshua Karlasth, his expression wasn't at all as positive as she expected.
He didn't bother with the wine, placing the bottle on his desk while hurriedly opening the envelope.
Assistant teacher Hervolst didn't want to be nosy or seen as prying, so she tried to avert her gaze, but she did notice with some dose of surprise that the letter inside had appeared to be written on a crumpled piece of paper.
She was curious about it, but didn't dare to ask in fear of appearing as even more of a country-bumpkin than she already was in the eyes of her older, more experienced, and worldly lover.
That paper, it must have only appeared as wrinkly and crumpled, and instead was some very expensive novelty that all rich and classy aristocrats used for fancy gifts…
Surely…
"..."
Although teacher Karlasth was keeping an indifferent face, his eyes widened, and he seemed to be tensing up.
The next moment, his gaze moved from the letter, but not to his inexperienced and naive lover, but rather to the bottle he originally put aside.
"...that Vallhall boy…"
"He was very polite and seemed genuinely grateful to us… I-I mean to you first, of course! Is… Is there something wrong…?"
The man asked in a strained voice, making the young woman tilt her head in confusion and point out before flinching and asking in an apologetic voice.
"No… not at all. It's as you said, Bri. Everything's fine, it's just that…"
"Yes…?"
Karlasth shook his head, carefully hiding the letter back into the envelope and then pocketing it instead of just putting it into the desk drawer as he used to do with normal correspondence.
"It just got me thinking. If a student figured us out, it means that someone else might have too, and although young Vallhall might wish us the best, others might not share his stance."
"...oh…"
The man said, already standing up from his desk, while the young woman with a worried expression stepped to the side.
"To keep the appearances… we shouldn't leave on our vacation at the same time. I will be leaving tonight. You should wait until the announcement of the exam results and the official end of the school year before going yourself."
"..."
Kalrasth declared, barely even looking at his crestfallen lover, lowering her head while clenching her hands together.
"Oh, Bri…"
When he actually looked, Karlasth let out a soft sigh and approached the young woman, reaching out and taking her hands.
"I know. Appearances this and appearances that. But in the big world, that's how things work. You don't want to make things difficult for me, do you?"
Karlasth discreetly rolled his eyes before kissing the top of the young woman's head and pointing out in a tone of a mentor gently guiding a silly student of his.
"Eh!? O-of course not!"
Assistant teacher Hervolst flinched and gasped, with a blush of embarrassment taking over her face as she became once again reminded and ashamed of her humble origin of being merely the third daughter of a countryside baron who was deeply indebted to Joshua Karlasth.
"Now, go to sleep for the night. I'll leave immediately… I'll be waiting for you in my… in OUR hut."
"...yes…"
She was obviously yearning for a kiss, so he magnanimously fulfilled her desire before declaring after a brief moment of hesitation. What he did not expect was that she would go in for a hug.
Luckily for him, there was no elaborate set of reflective surfaces set up in the office, and nothing could show the naive young woman the grimace of annoyance on his face.
"I'll be waiting."
"...I'll miss you…"
After shaking his head to put his act together, teacher Karlsath pulled away from the clingy assistant teacher Hervolst and said in a soft voice, making her lower her head and mutter adorably.
Ah… was there anything better than a naive, countryside girl offering her whole heart, soul, and body to the first worldly gentleman showing a crumb of interest in her?
There wasn't! There wasn't anything better than that! Especially in the opinion of Joshua Karlasth!
That was it for their farewells. Karlasth simply nodded and left while the assistant teacher Hervolst was bashfully waving her hand towards him, even long after he closed the door.