By Zephyria 
Thanks to browsing the stalls as if sweeping them clean, the group’s hands were full of strange items.
While waiting for their food at a restaurant they found for a slightly late lunch, they poured everything onto the table and looked through it. A music box that arbitrarily chose a song from many and sang it, a frog-shaped clip that could be attached to anything, a ball that, if left alone, would constantly roll away somewhere, jerky that tasted like wine, a lamp that emitted bright light when it was bright outside…
“Why on earth did you buy this lamp, Ivan?”
“…It wasn’t for me to use.”
“Then?”
“To give to my twin brother.”
“Ah, in that case, I approve.”
Everyone burst into laughter at the banter.
“Still, this is surprisingly delicious. It tastes like wine and jerky together.”
“The food will be out soon, so let’s eat that instead, shall we?”
“No, you don’t have to dislike it that much. Wow, what’s with that expression, really.”
As Jenny showed off what she bought, Damian immediately retorted. Marianne, while playing with her hands by snatching the ball that kept rolling from one side of the table to the other and placing it back down, found it amazing that it kept trying to roll away even though the table was flat and not tilted. It seemed useless, but it was fascinating.
Shayden playfully clipped the frog-shaped clip onto Marianne’s hair like a hairpin, and Marianne chuckled, striking a pretty pose. It was amusing how the waiter entered with trays full of food just at that moment, making them all look embarrassed.
Secretly, I thought the chick doll I bought was the most useful among them. At least it wasn’t as hard as the others… Ever since I was young, I only knew how to swing a sword; I had never owned something so suspiciously soft, so my hands wouldn’t let go of the doll.
“You have to put away your toys when we eat, Mika.”
“Mhm.”
“No, you were just playing around…”
“I was playing around too.”
“…”
Shayden, who had been trying to act like my nanny, helped cut the flat meat served on large plates and divide it onto everyone’s plates with a sulky expression.
I, too, put the doll down beside me and picked up my cutlery. I don’t know what they coated it with before grilling, but the outside was crispy and the inside was moist and well-cooked, fitting my taste perfectly. If it had been just a little softer, it could have passed for Dongpo pork.
A hint of inexplicable nostalgia made me feel a slight disappointment, but I quickly forgot it as I watched the children erupt in laughter.
After we all finished eating, we agreed to buy items truly needed for the camping class.
Marianne, who bravely took the lead, declaring we would find a place selling proper goods this time, met a wizard she knew, which allowed us to get quite good items at a good price.
These included insect repellent, reusable firewood, and blankets with cold-proofing magic.
Shayden insisted he also desperately needed insect repellent, so we decided that three of the five remaining units would be shared among the children in our group, and two would go to Shayden. Seeing how much he detested insects, I figured the vermin of Sierren’s world were more poisonous and potent than those of the Central Plains.
Adding the useless and the useful, we had a heavy load.
I, having good physical strength, carried the heavy items like the firewood, while the children each carried the small, light ones. Two boys, who had only grown tall but lacked strength, stepped forward to carry the load, claiming they were men, but I didn’t allow it.
We considered eating dinner out before heading back, but we had eaten so much street food that we had no room left in our stomachs, so we gave up.
Then, as we said, “Alright, let’s head back to the dormitory now,” Marianne suddenly grabbed my sleeve.
She hadn’t grabbed my wrist, but rather just barely managed to grasp the very edge of my loose sleeve. Puzzled, I asked why, and she looked around at the others with a look of great determination before finally speaking.
“…Mikael, I have something I need to tell you privately.”
“Something to tell me? What is it?”
“…It’s about the Department of Magic.”
I couldn’t guess what it could be.
Shayden, who had been watching Marianne’s behavior more keenly than I, stammered, “Oh,” upon hearing it was related to the Department of Magic. Before I could react, I moved to block him.
“Let’s hear what it is first.”
“Is it a long story, Marianne?”
“…I don’t know. It’s not something I can talk about inside the academy.”
“I said I’ll listen.”
Marianne, who was usually spirited and bold, had never swallowed her words like this when we were all together. While Shayden treating her like a child was nothing new, I felt he shouldn’t act as a proxy even in matters like this, so I acted decisively.
Startled by my cold demeanor, the other children hesitated, then mumbled, “Oh, well, then…” I put on a gentle expression to reassure them, so they wouldn’t be scared, and continued.
“Could you do me a favor with this?”
“…”
“When you’re done talking, let’s have some tea, Shayden.”
I handed over the load I was carrying, slinging it over to Shayden. Even though he had a handsome, fox-like appearance, he was a member of the Swordsmanship Department. There was no way a Sword Expert martial artist would struggle with this much weight.
He frowned slightly, looking disappointed for a moment, then nodded and let his shoulders droop. If I weren’t so young, I would have offered him a drink, but a tea appointment was sufficient for now.
The boys and girls all bowed in unison, and I indulged their attempts to lighten the mood by saying things like, “Today was really fun, let’s go out again next time.” Even so, my mind was troubled, as I had only memories of diligently attending magic classes, with nothing else coming to mind.
❖ ❖ ❖
The path I walked with Marianne was not the main road, but a back alley. Taking a sword-wielding martial artist down a back alley clearly showed she trusted me a great deal.
Unlike the main street and the bustling shops, we occasionally saw young men in shabby clothes, wearing flat hats, with cigarettes in their mouths, chattering amongst themselves.
After winding our way through for a long time, we entered a small teahouse where the elderly owner merely served tea and then retreated into a room. Only then did I calmly watch the girl, who clasped her hands tightly on her lap with a relieved expression.
Since she said she had something to tell me, I figured she would speak when she had organized her thoughts, so I waited without a word.
She soon began to mumble in a voice that sounded on the verge of tears.
“First, I’m sorry for pretending not to see you in class, Mikael.”
“Mhm?”
It was a completely unexpected statement. I widened my eyes in surprise.
No, had she ignored me? I had no memory of it. Confused as to why, I looked utterly bewildered, and she also looked taken aback, saying, “Oh.” Then, she slammed the tea table and stood up abruptly, her behavior quite bold.
Now that was more like her.
“What, you really didn’t know?!”
“Didn’t we make eye contact?”
“Th-that was just you seeing me! Because the door opened! You saw other people too, not just me!”
“Are you talking about this week’s class? I don’t remember.”
“Last week! No, from the first week, continuously!”
“No, please sit down and talk first.”
Her stance was so determined, as if she might stomp her foot, that I gestured for her to sit and leaned back in my chair. The old sofa, fitting for the small Daru (*teahouse), had a sunken seat, making it a bit uncomfortable.
As I shifted slightly, Marianne also let out a sigh, “Huh, huh,” and sat down. Sensing her frustration, I handed her the chick doll I had been holding, which I hadn’t given to Shayden. She pressed the doll hard, flattening her cheeks, which looked quite amusing.
“I, I felt so sorry… Every time I saw your face…”
“No, okay, let’s assume that. But why did you do it?”
“…Because I was scared.”
“Scared of what?”
“Edwin Kiadris. Surely you don’t say you don’t know him too? People shouldn’t live that virtuously. Really, they shouldn’t.”
“Ah… I know the name. The one who… combs his hair nicely.”
“No, no, noooo…”
As if she were flustered that it wasn’t that, I added a piece of information I knew.
“Wesley Kiadris’s brother?”
“Uwoooork!”
Her sudden shriek truly surprised me this time.
To calm myself, I picked up the teacup in front of me and took a sip. As my mother had taught me since I was young, after taking a sip, I quietly placed the teacup back on the saucer and looked at her.
Marianne covered her face with both hands, as if embarrassed, and mumbled, “No.” What was she saying no to? Everything from bringing me here to the words she had just spoken was so unfamiliar and awkward that I gently urged her to speak slowly.
The story about the bead with the purification spell, which I had received in the first basic magic and spell formula principles class, came up first.
As I had expected, the bead was no ordinary object. Marianne explained that because it was a bead manipulated by Edwin Kiadris, even a regular wizard, let alone a student from the Swordsmanship Department like myself, would have coughed up blood. She lowered her head again with a pained expression.
Marianne, letting out a soft whimper, told me that the fact I received a contaminated purification spell-inscribed crystal bead on the first day was itself an act of ostracization by the entire Department of Magic against me, a student from the Swordsmanship Department.
She said that everyone knew I would get hurt because Edwin Kiadris had done something malicious to the bead right before I entered the class. Even though they didn’t directly participate, the fact that no one told me the bead was faulty was a great mistake.
Marianne particularly disliked that the students positioned between Edwin’s and my seats had handed me the crystal bead with such brazen faces, she said with an indignant voice.
She claimed that if it had been her, she would have handed over the crystal bead with visible anxiety and nervousness, so that someone with my keen observation skills would notice.
That, too, was amusing, so I asked if there was no option not to hand it over, and she said there wasn’t. When I asked why, she remained silent for a long time before repeating the same words.
“…Because I was scared.”
Her voice, which sounded like it was crawling out of her throat, was so pathetic that I couldn’t help but click my tongue.
“What were you so scared of?”
“It’s a Duke’s family. If Edwin goes to his father and says the second daughter of the Philodendor Barony is rude, my family will be ruined that very day. In their eyes, they can ruin me just by flicking their pinky finger. We see each other often since we’re in the same Department of Magic…”
“Ho, just because of social status?”
“And, he’s very rude.”
I remembered what Shayden had told me before. He had said something like a dog with three leashes, but seeing Edwin in person, he seemed rather docile, so I had thought he was a decent guy, which now felt awkward.
Moyong, who resembled that guy, was just competitive, but he had manners. How could they be so alike…
Marianne gulped down the tea in front of her and began her long story.