Vol. 6 Ch. 78

"The 'meeting the parents' part wasn't actually some kind of trap Rosvisser set up for me," Leon thought.

In this memory world, the 'NPC' version of his family really did treat it as an ordinary home visit.

And Rosvisser had simply wanted to learn more about the Leon of the past.

Just as Leon had described to her in the real world, his family was nothing extraordinary—but it was warm and loving.

And it was precisely because he had grown up in such an environment that he had developed the personality he had today.

A man who loved his family, cherished his daughters, and adored his wife.

Of course, having dinner with a retired top-tier dragonslayer and the third princess of the Sea Dragon Clan was also a unique experience for Rosvisser.

But thankfully, at this point in time, Leon had no idea about the true identities of his master and stepmother.

Just like when he was a child, today felt… really nice.

After the visit ended, Leon's master asked him to walk Rosvisser home.

After all, any place large enough to hold academy training grounds was bound to be a bit far from the city center. Out of politeness, it was only right to escort her.

As they walked along the quiet nighttime streets, bathed in the glow of streetlamps, Leon and Rosvisser walked side by side. Neither of them spoke, and the atmosphere between them was somewhat… peculiar.

In the silent night, the rhythmic clicking of Rosvisser's high heels against the pavement echoed softly.

After a while, Rosvisser glanced at Leon from the corner of her eye before casually asking,

"Why did you suddenly go quiet?"

"Huh? Did I?"

Rosvisser nodded. "Are you unhappy that I visited your home?"

Leon shook his head. "No."

After a brief pause, he asked instead, "Professor, I’ve noticed something."

"Oh? What is it?"

"Why do you keep asking if I'm unhappy with the things you do?"

At those words, Rosvisser's steps came to a halt.

She hadn't realized it before.

And now that she thought about it, back in the real world, she rarely used that kind of phrasing when speaking to Leon.

But after spending just two days with the younger version of him, she had already asked similar questions at least twice.

"You first asked me that yesterday, during the last class of the day."

"When I zoned out in class, you didn’t ask if I was paying attention—you asked if I was unhappy with your teaching."

"I could tell, the point was to remind me that I should be paying attention in class."

Leon continued,

"But tonight, including just now, you've asked me that same kind of question three times."

"I know everyone has their own way of speaking, but you only seem to do it when you're talking to me. So, I got curious."

Rosvisser opened her mouth, instinctively wanting to say I don’t know why.

But just as Leon had pointed out, everyone had their own speaking habits—that was normal.

So why did she only do this with him?

Rosvisser wasn’t the kind of person who lied to herself or to others.

She carefully considered the question.

It wasn’t something that required deep psychological analysis or complex theories. So, she tried approaching it from an emotional perspective.

Seeing that Rosvisser didn’t immediately answer, Leon didn’t press her.

He could tell—Professor Melkvey was genuinely thinking about his question.

Being taken seriously like this… felt pretty nice, actually.

After a moment, Rosvisser finally spoke.

"Maybe it’s because… you’re special."

Leon raised an eyebrow. "Special how?"

"…You were the first student I met when I arrived at this academy. You know how important first impressions are."

There was a faint smile at the corner of Rosvisser’s lips as she spoke, her tone slow and deliberate.

Leon’s curiosity was piqued. "Then what was the first impression I left on you?"

"Arrogant, ungrateful, and completely dishonest."

"…None of those sound like compliments."

"But that’s exactly what makes you special—at least, to me."

Rosvisser resumed walking forward, placing her hands behind her back. Her long legs moved gracefully beneath her coat, unhurried.

She tilted her head back slightly, gazing up at the deep night sky.

The glow of the streetlamps reflected in her striking silver eyes, making them shimmer.

"The girls at the academy like you because they see the good in you—your integrity, kindness, determination… and the fact that you look passably decent."

"Hah? Passably?"

"You have the courage to deal with tricky people like Becca. Just like those girls, they are drawn to you because of your various admirable qualities."

"But the reason I was willing to consider you the second person I truly wanted to understand at this academy… wasn't because of those things. After all, as I just mentioned, my first impression of you wasn’t all that great."

As she spoke, she turned around to face Leon and began walking backward at a leisurely pace.

"You are the first person I wanted to understand because of your flaws."

"I wanted to know—behind those flaws, what else was hidden that I hadn’t seen?"

"And as it turns out, those qualities you kept buried… they were indeed worth uncovering."

She had worded this entire explanation in a way that subtly concealed what she truly felt.

Because in reality, the first time Leon had woken up from his two-year daze, Rosvisser's impression of him had still been—a human bastard.

But from that day onward, she had stopped interacting with him, or at least, she had stopped looking at him with such rigid prejudice.

They had hurt each other, tormented each other—sometimes to the point of no return.

But the more she came to understand him, the more she could see through those preconceived notions, those so-called "flaws"—

And what she saw was someone who, despite everything, carried his own pride and principles.

That kind of quality, no matter the race, was inherently attractive.

It was because of this that Rosvisser had been willing to let go of her biases, if only just a little, and take a deeper look into the heart of the man she once despised.

And in this memory world, they had come to know each other in nearly the same way.

Yesterday, when they first met in the magic teaching building, Leon had rejected several girls in front of everyone, then tried to brush off Rosvisser with a half-hearted excuse.

If it had been anyone else, they probably wouldn't have had the slightest desire to get to know someone like him.

That was what made this version of Leon special to Rosvisser in this world—

No matter if it was the present you or the past you, we would still come to know each other in the same way.

"So, back to the original question—why do I only use that kind of phrasing when I talk to you?"

Rosvisser let out a long breath, then smiled.

"Because you intrigue me. You make me want to understand you more. So whenever I talk to you, I can't help but wonder how you're thinking."

She paused for a second before spreading her hands.

"But you’re such an unpredictable person, I can barely keep up with the way your mind jumps from one thing to another."

Teenage boys were always like this. You could never tell what was going on in their heads.

"One second, you’d be discussing whether acts of heroism should be encouraged. The next, you’d pull a donkey out from the corner and call it your one true love."

Rosvisser's explanation was certainly thorough, but she had overlooked one thing—

For a teenage boy, the words 'you’re special to me' had a lethal impact.

Sure, Leon had been confessed to by plenty of fangirls before. He’d heard all kinds of love-struck declarations.

But every single one of them had only ever said how much they liked him.

Not a single one had ever said it the way Rosvisser did—clearly, precisely, and sincerely:

"You are special. You, to me, are special."

And the most dangerous part was—she hadn’t said it in a way that implied because you’re special, we have to be together.

She was distant, in a way. Their identities, ages, backgrounds, and social standings were so vastly different.

And yet, she also felt incredibly close.

They had sat alone in her office for a long time.

He was the student she had visited for a home check.

And now, they were walking side by side along a quiet street, where she was opening up about what she thought of him.

This delicate, in-between feeling…

Leon had never experienced anything like it before.

"Leon? Leon?"

"Ah? Huh? What?"

"You've been staring at me. What are you thinking?"

"N-nothing…"

The lighting was dim, but Rosvisser still caught a faint flush on his face.

After they got married, Leon was never able to hide anything from Rosvisser.

And that had already been true even when he was just a teenage boy.

But even though she could tell what he was thinking, Rosvisser didn’t call him out on it.

She had no intention of developing anything with the Leon from this memory world.

Just as Leon, back in her own memories, had never thought about having feelings for the teenage version of her.

For both of them, this was nothing more than a journey to mend regrets and understand each other better.

Their true love—the love they cherished most—was reserved for the real versions of each other.