STM 038

《The Brooch contains the Phoenix ember! There’s a story that there have been quite a few cases where people have actually gotten together after giving this to the ‘person they want’ at the ball on the last day of the festival….》

Oh, a chorus of people followed.

《Anyway! There are a total of five Brooches! They are in bags tied around the necks of cats. It won’t be easy to catch the cats, but try to figure it out! Okay, everyone, scatter. Kitties!》

It was right after the echoing voice disappeared.

Some humans started wandering around leisurely, saying it would be fun, and some humans started running around with their eyes on fire.

The latter were really looking crazy, so it was scary to watch from a third-person perspective.

It was then.

In the midst of the chaos, I suddenly felt a light sensation as if something was landing below. So, I unconsciously turned my head in the direction where I felt the sensation.

“Nyaa.”

That was… a ‘cat’. It was a cat with a white body and black spotted patterns, and a small bag around its neck.

Could the Brooch that the voice was talking about be in that bag?

“Oh… a cat.”

Tom, who happened to discover the cat wagging its tail in front of our eyes, was also muttering blankly.

The other servants also froze when they saw the cat.

A stiff silence flowed for a moment.

Everyone’s eyes were on the cat.

“Nya?”

The topaz-like sparkling eyes stared at me intently. I unintentionally continued the staring contest with the small animal.

I wasn’t sure, but it felt like it was showing off as if daring me to come at it.

It was then.

I felt a sudden sensation from both sides. A movement of quickly running out…. When I wondered who it was, it was Herman and Ardian.

Thud!

The two people suddenly showed a strong will to grab it and rushed forward quickly. But what was even more embarrassing was that the cat avoided their hands and ran away.

Not only that, but it was definitely not an ordinary cat, as it turned transparent and slipped away at the moment it seemed to be caught.

Perhaps it was a Mana creature created with Creation Magic, like the ‘Recorder’ that Polargehen had shown before.

“Uh… those guys….”

Tom, who was watching, trailed off in embarrassment. This was because Herman and Ardian had disappeared, chasing after the fleeing cat.

“What is it? Did they both find someone they like?”

Tom tilted his head.

Zeon seemed to follow the traces of the two who had disappeared for a while with his eyes, then turned to me and lowered his voice.

“What shall we do?”

“Hmm.”

Because the school was crowded, it seemed difficult to walk around freely and look around. It was not a pleasant thing to be pushed around by humans.

I pondered for a moment what to do, but the pondering did not last long.

“Didn’t you say there were other things to see in the central building? It seems complicated to walk around here, so let’s go there.”

There was no reason for me to chase the cat, and there was no reason for me to wait for them, who had gone after the cat on their own.

I decided to continue enjoying the festival on my own.

☠

The cat-catching seemed to continue until the next day.

I heard that the time limit was about two days. Even though they were given that much time, not a single person had caught the cat during the mid-term check.

That meant that Herman and Ardian had not caught the cat either. I didn’t see those two guys at all today.

Ardian didn’t appear in front of me at all, and Herman didn’t come back yesterday because he was out until late at night, and he was already gone this morning.

It was a passion that I couldn’t understand at all.

Humans are so active in strange things.

Anyway, it’s not something to worry about.

I returned to the dormitory before evening to rest early today, and had a fulfilling time storing Mana and reading Magic books.

When I checked outside the window, it was getting dark. Feeling hungry, I had a simple dinner at the restaurant and went back to my room. It was not long after I opened the book.

Tidick.

I heard the sound of the door opening from outside. Since Herman and I were the only ones using this dormitory room, I could tell who was at the door without looking.

As expected. The one who opened the door and came in was Herman.

I glanced up from reading the book.

As if he had been rolling around somewhere, he was so dirty that he looked like someone who had fallen into a sewer and barely crawled out.

Looking at his appearance, I was dumbfounded and asked him.

“So. Did you catch the cat?”

“…Yeah.”

Herman scratched the back of his neck with a very embarrassed look, then took his clothes and went into the bathroom, saying he was going to wash.

I shook my head once, cut off my interest in him, and dropped my gaze back onto the book.

Herman must have been very tired that day. He fell asleep earlier than usual and never woke up to the noise I made. After that, I read the book with more concentration, and only when it was time to go to bed did I turn off the lamp and go to bed.

The next day passed like that.

After finishing the final Class Stage rehearsal from morning, Class A headed to the training ground where the finale would be held in the late afternoon. It was finally time to show off the prepared stage.

“Ah! I’m so nervous.”

“What if I make a mistake? This is my first time.”

“It’s my first time too. It’s okay, let’s relax!”

The children are comforting each other and relieving their tension.

Herman and Clona, who have the most weight, and Zeon and Newit, who will be the busiest helping with the Magic performance, are gathered in a corner behind the stage, talking.

Being detached from this excited tension… it seemed to be just me.

“Ray.”

I was standing in the dark rear, calmly watching the Class Stage of the Class A. Suddenly, Ardian, who had appeared, approached me again. When I turned around, he reached out and gently pulled my hand. Then he gently interlocked his fingers and held my hand.

I was speechless at the act of doing something without permission, and raised one eyebrow. I asked, setting up my guard in case.

“What are you doing.”

“I’m nervous too.”

Ardian smiled, speaking gently. There was not a trace of nervousness on his face as he said that. When I narrowed my brows, Ardian added.

“I’ll just be like this for a moment. It’ll be just a moment.”

“How does this help?”

“It helps. Because it’s the hand of someone I like.”

At that moment, I was about to argue further, but I lost my words.

It was another song about liking me or something.

“……”

When I glared at him, Ardian, who was quietly receiving my stinging gaze, slightly folded his eyes. The golden eyes, shining through the folded eyes like a crescent moon, were shining brightly, receiving the light leaking from the stage.

“Warm.”

While fixing his gaze for a moment, Ardian leaned his cheek on the back of my hand and muttered. If it were usual, I would have shaken him off already. I couldn’t easily do that.

I didn’t feel any pressure like last time, and I wasn’t cursed either.

Why?

I just stared at him for a moment with an awkward feeling.

“Everyone! It’s our turn to go out now!”

It was Ibelia’s voice that resolved the situation. When I turned to the stage where the curtain was lowered, Ibelia was waving at us and shouting.

It seemed that the Class Stage of the Department of Magic Class B, which was held before Class A, had just ended.

“Thank you. Ray.”

When I glanced at the voice that was heard quietly, Ardian released my hand and showed a smile as if it were drawn in a picture.

I felt uncomfortable and unwell for some reason.

It was a situation where I was disturbed and my concentration was low, so I could make a mistake, but wouldn’t I not make such a mistake? No, I myself do not tolerate such mistakes.

I was going to properly carry out what was entrusted to me.

…I was definitely going to do that.

“Hunter. I see. What’s your name?”

Ardian, who came out as a supporting role to save Snow White, Clona, who was running away from me, the hunter, kissed the back of my hand and asked for my name.

“We met here, so why don’t we introduce ourselves?”

As if he didn’t care about Snow White.

He didn’t seem to have any intention of doing it properly.

[The knight, who felt some kind of fate as soon as he saw the hunter, began to show interest in the hunter! He thought he must find out the hunter’s name here.]

Ardian was spouting out content that was not in the script, so Ibelia, who was in charge of the narration, was also embarrassed and matched it up randomly.

The Class Stage, which would have flowed smoothly, was going awry.

“What… what is this doing?”

“I’m in love, so I’m asking you to go out with me. I worked hard to get this for you too.”

He took something out of his pocket and showed it to me. It was a Brooch called Eternity Fire containing Phoenix ember.

This guy was cleverly mixing reality and play.

I frowned slightly.

If that’s the case, I have to match it up somehow….

I was thinking about the conversation to continue calmly.

“Enough!”

Herman, who was supposed to be waiting behind the stage as the prince, shouted with an angry face. When I turned around, he was shaking off Tom, who was desperately trying to stop him, and was approaching.

Eventually, he grabbed Ardian by the collar.

“Heh.”

Clona, who had forgotten her role and was quietly watching, covered her reddish cheeks and let out a sound that was neither a scream nor an exclamation.

[But, then! The prince appeared and grabbed the knight who was showing interest in the hunter by the collar. It turned out that the hunter was the prince’s childhood friend who had been separated a long time ago. He couldn’t forgive the knight who was flirting with his friend!]

I no longer had the confidence to properly handle this mess without killing those two guys who didn’t care about the play anymore.

‘Ha.’

I sighed, holding my throbbing forehead.

Now there was no choice.

I picked up Clona, who was sitting on the floor and watching leisurely, and hugged her. Clona opened her eyes wide as if she was embarrassed, so I just winked once and shouted.

“In fact, this woman is the one I promised to marry!”

Fortunately, Clona seemed to understand and started to match it appropriately.

She didn’t forget to act in the meantime.

“Yes, that’s right. I thought my stepmother sent the hunter to kill me, but in fact, he is the one who promised me ten million years of love. He acted to run away with me! So please don’t flirt with my husband.”

Her voice was quite excited, so it felt like she was enjoying the situation, but I decided not to mention that.

[Yes. The stepmother was completely deceived and played by the smart Snow White and the hunter! The two people who promised ten million years of love succeeded in eloping and lived happily ever after. Oh, that’s good. That’s good.]

After the narration that quickly announced the end, the blackout slowly covered the stage. It was a completely ruined play. That’s what I thought, but the applause from the audience that followed was considerable.

“Is this the taste of Makjang!”

“The adaptation was fun!”

“I was sweating in my hands without knowing it!”

For some reason, the reaction was too good.

“The Class that won the Excellence Award for this finale is the Department of Magic Class A, which showed a great adaptation! Um! It was a very shocking and fun stage!”

Thanks to that, Class A also received the Excellence Award for the finale.

“……”

It was the first time in my life that I had such an uncomfortable victory.