The Reason I Keep Avoiding My Childhood Friend

“It’s not that I don’t want to see you at all. Don’t we sometimes have tea time?”

“You’re going to put it off by saying that you’re busy.”

Studying can make you busy, so you can postpone your appointments!

“People can be busy.”

I looked at Kir’s eyes and got shocked as he shot back at me.

“You won’t come so soon!”

What a surprise. I was stunned by Kir’s shouting outrage.

It seems that the time to play house is over, so I tried to keep a distance from Kir, if not immediately. I didn’t expect this simple kid to notice that. So that’s why he was so desperate.

Tears welled up in Kir’s eyes as he looked at me. Even though I know the hot head behind that look, it makes me feel like I’m committing a big sin because of his cute face.

“So, let’s take classes together.”

I want to keep a regular meeting! Kir’s desperate feelings were conveyed to me. As I sighed, my eyes met with Knight Henry. ‘He’s begging like that, so please listen,’ said the knight with his eyes.

If I say no here, I’ll look like a very cold kid. I already had an image of a violent child who slapped him on the cheek, so I didn’t want to have a cruel image here.

“Then, let’s have a trial period first. Study and keep pace with me. If you follow along well, I’ll keep taking the class, if not, I’ll quit the class. Will you still do it?”

“Let’s do it!”

Kir answered without even breathing. Hope spread across his face.

“Good. Then, let’s just take history class and instrument class together.”

Among Kir’s teachers, the one I thought was the best was Mr. Jeremy whom I met for the first time. When I saw someone who could play an instrument in my previous life, I was envious, so I took an instrument class.

“I will try to catch up with you soon. Promise!”

Would it be that good? When I told him I was going to class together with him, Kir smiled broadly, as if he had never almost burst into tears. It was a bright smile as if flowers were floating around. My annoyance subsided slightly at that childish smile.

But after doing this, that guy is going to stick to me. I don’t know why he was so obsessed with me. Well, it’s probably because he was still young, so he was not used to parting. I’ll have to give it some more time and widen the distance. He would be the kind of guy who grew a little bit bigger and when he reached puberty, he would scold me for being annoying.

“If you say you can’t follow along, I’m going to study separately, then don’t force yourself. I’m really going to study on my own.”

I made sure that Kir didn’t say anything else later.

“Don’t worry.”

Kir showed a confident attitude. He even looked rather determined. Anyway, Kir’s sickness that doesn’t like to study, won’t go anywhere, so he might get tired of it and finish class sooner.

* * *

Unfortunately, I didn’t have great musical talent. Even when I started my first class, I thought wouldn’t I still be a genius in my heart? As expected, it was mediocre. I wasn’t disappointed though. I’m not going to become a musician, but I don’t have to have excellent playing skills. So, I took the instrument class comfortably and only learned how to handle it.

Mr. Jeremy’s teaching method was a little different from Mr. Hafterry’s. While Mr. Hafterry’s class was in a comfortable way of asking and answering questions, Mr. Jeremy’s approach was more like an educator’s way of teaching students in general. He teach only the essentials in the simplest and most concise way possible.

A class with Mr. Jeremy wouldn’t be bad if it was just a way to accumulate knowledge. Let’s just think of it as a grace period. As I thought, Kir’s class went smoothly. In fact, it’s something only I know from my point of view, so it’s a bit of a bummer, but Kir’s class volume has increased tremendously.

But again, this little boy was following the lesson diligently. I wasn’t as surprised even though Kir hadn’t studied much, but Mr. Jeremy, who taught him, seems to take it differently. He couldn’t help but be amazed at Kir’s changed attitude in class.

He won’t do anything else in class and study properly. In my view, Kir has been praised for taking things for granted. So as the class continued, his patience was getting shallower.

I don’t know if it’s an arrogant thought, but I suddenly wondered if I need to keep entertaining this. I felt pressured to step back because I couldn’t learn new things. I don’t know what kind of loss this is just because I feel sorry for Kir’s melancholy appearance.

The class itself isn’t bad, should I say that I was nervous? I couldn’t shake the feeling that the more I listened to the class, the more time was wasted. When should I say I want to study alone? I was looking for a gap. And the quick-witted Kir seemed to have read my expression.

“I am studying hard. Right?”

“Yes, Grand Prince. You improved a lot. If you keep doing this in the future, you will be able to catch up with Lady Aide’s progress in no time.”

I ignored their petty conversation at first. But at the end of the class, Kir gave a signal, and Mr. Jeremy gave a clumsy compliment.

“You got a perfect score on today’s test. You did a great job studying.”

“Grand Prince’s learning progress is fast. You are improving your skills.”

“You’re great today! Soon, you will be on the same level as Lady Aide.”

When Kir started, Mr. Jeremy gave a series of compliments for me to listen to.