“?”
He was red to the tips of his ears like a ripe fruit, and I stared, a little taken aback. I had no idea what was going on at all.
What, what? What the hell happened, young man?
“Eh, ah…uh.”
Mumbling incomprehensibly, Georg took a fumbling step forward, and I wanted to tell him he shouldn’t.
“Uh, Georg…”
“Whaa?!”
And then, sure enough, he wavered.
Right away, he planted his hand down on the desk to save himself, but the stacked books were knocked and they began to fall from the desk.
“Gaah!”
The sound of rustling pages rose into the air with the avalanche of books and documents. Georg’s outstretched hands fumbled through the air, and his elbow knocked over a pot of ink with great enthusiasm.
“Ahhh!”
The emptied pot fell hard on the floor, but thanks to the the carpet it did not break. The mahogany surface of the desk was left in a tragic state, and Georg picked up the safe documents in a panic.
However, like lively fish splashing around, the documents fell to the floor.
What a disaster.
“Agh! Wait…”
“Um, maybe…”
TRIP. SPLAT.
“…………”
“…………”
It might be difficult to tell from only sounds, but you could probably take a good guess what happened.
What I just witnessed live was Georg first taking a precarious step and falling over himself as he chased after the documents. But the scattered books and documents were at his feet.
He lost his footing, and fell when he pitched over the books, diving to the floor. There was nothing else to explain.
An extremely unpleasant hush fell inside the room. I stood stock still, unable to do anything.
What sort of expression should I make at a time like this?
“I want to die,” Georg whispered in a low voice from where he’d face-planted on the floor.
I understand your pain, but live on!
And then, stand up quickly as if nothing ever happened.
“…—fft.”
“……?!”
After the long silence, a stifled sound burst through the air.
Speechless, I turned to my neighbor, wondering if some sort of escape method had appeared.
I trusted Master Julius to do something to break the ice.
That he would come up with a smart and elegant response the rest of us couldn’t to deal with the situation, saving his nephew’s pride and myself the worry.
But, heartlessly, the figure in the guise of a gentleman standing next to me was clutching his stomach and mouth, desperately holding back his laughter.
“Uhmm…Master Julius.”
“Pff…ft.”
Wait a minute, this was unbelievable.
Even though the rest of us broke into a cold sweat, worrying what the right response to make would be, the gentleman I’d believed would set an example for others was snickering over the disgrace of his nephew.
The next moment, he seriously began to roar with laughter.
“Hahahaha…!! I, I can’t! This is too good!”
The cheerful sound of it began to fill the previously silent room.
A bit excessively, and he did not hold back. Confused, I lost my mind and began to wonder if laughing would make the cut sting less.
No, no, no. That was definitely not the right way to go about it. Throwing the spirit of a young man with a bright future into a mixer after smashing it, then pulverizing it, was the act of an ogress.
My fallacy was evident in the way Georg clutched the carpet—trembling at the humiliation.
“You find your nephew’s blunder so amusing…?” he asked.
“N-no. S…sorr…pft.”
“Master Julius!” I said.
“I-I apologize. Could you, snic.