Today, unlike yesterday, was a little more relaxed. Even after all the other friends had gone out to run their errands, Selian and I remained in the room, leisurely preparing to go out.
“How is the Celestial Festival treating you? Are you enjoying it?”
Today it was Selian and I’s turn to stroll through the festival streets, following Anne and Yuli. Moreover, I had even planned to walk with Presia tomorrow and with Mariel the day after that.
It feels strange, acting like some playboy Casanova, switching women every day. But at the end of the day, I’m just another woman.
Still, I should be content that I get to experience what it’s like to be a successful man, even if it’s just for a little while.
“Of course, it’s fun. There are so many new foods I’ve never seen before and plenty of fascinating things to look at… Since this is my first time experiencing a festival like this, everything I see seems interesting.”
Before joining the Assassin Guild, I had no memories at all, and since then, living like a would-be assassin, celebrating festivals was a luxury I couldn’t afford. That’s why this is the first time I’ve ever been able to enjoy a festival like a participant.
“Hmph… I’m glad you’re having fun. What did you do with Yuli yesterday during the festival?”
We did a lot walking through the festival streets with Yuli. But what came to mind first at Selian’s question wasn’t something that happened out there. Instead, it was something that happened back in the dormitory, specifically inside the bathhouse.
“Uh… yesterday? With Yuli?”
Caught off guard by the question, I stuttered instead of answering, my voice unnaturally high.
There’s no way I could tell Selian that Yuli saw the Master-Slave Mark on my abdomen.
Selian, realizing from my voice that I was hiding something, stared at me with her eyes half-closed, giving me a suspicious look.
“El? Yesterday, you and Yuli, what exactly… did you do alone?”
Selian, who had been sitting on the bed putting on her socks, stood up and approached me step by step, pausing between each word as she advanced.
Despite the smile Selian was wearing when she was standing right in front of me, the temperature around me seemed to drop a few degrees.
Even though she was demanding an answer through her gaze without a word, it was too big a secret to cave under the pressure.
“Well, nothing really. What’s there to talk about?”
The key to lying effectively is to maintain eye contact with the person you’re lying to.
Some people instinctively avoid eye contact during normal conversations, but when a person is lying, this tendency tends to become more exaggerated. On the contrary, if you can maintain steady eye contact while lying, there’s a good chance the other person will think, “Hmm? Is it really nothing?”
How long was I locked in this stare-down with Selian?
Eventually, Selian sighed and took a step back, signaling her surrender.
Phew. Thanks to the acting skills I used to deceive Yuli, I managed to get through this crisis.
Honestly, I should consider becoming a professional actor if I ever find myself without other options for survival. Considering I’m also quite a pretty girl and happen to be a good actress, any theater troupe would probably try to snatch me up.
“That’s… good. Since Yuli surely didn’t break any rules, I was probably just worrying unnecessarily.”
Rules… Could Selian be suspecting that Yuli and I broke some school rules or laws?
“Come on, why would Yuli and I do something that breaks the rules? You really worry about strange things, Selian.”
As a former assassin, you might think I’d break rules like it’s nothing, but aside from sneaking out on the first night of school, I haven’t violated any school rules.
Let alone any kind of illegal activity.
Let me clarify: I’m a model student, a model citizen. Ahem.
“…Yeah. I was only joking earlier. Let’s forget about it…”
“Why is that?”
“No reason, but for some reason, your uniform jacket looks like it belongs to someone else. That’s definitely not your El jacket…”
Upon hearing Selian’s words, I took off the jacket I was wearing and examined it. The parts that had been fraying or unraveling, which I’d noticed before, were no longer there.
I hadn’t realized it until Selian pointed it out, but after checking closely, I could tell it wasn’t mine.
Still, how could our uniforms have gotten mixed up?
“Ah, Yuli and I must have switched jackets when we went into the bathhouse together.”
Since I had entered the bathhouse first, I should have taken the jacket that was on the bottom of the pile, thinking it was mine. Instead, I absentmindedly grabbed the one on top without thinking.
If it had been something like an undershirt or a tight-fitting shirt, we might have noticed the size difference, but since it was a loose-fitting jacket, I hadn’t felt any difference. Besides, this jacket was originally one I borrowed from Yuli.
It’s likely that Yuli also put on the wrong jacket without realizing it.
I hadn’t noticed until now, but Selian perceptively spotted the discrepancy and pointed it out.
“W…What? Bathhouse… together…?”
…
Cold.
It was colder than the chill I had felt earlier—so cold, in fact, that it felt like all the blood was draining from my body.
All this time, I’ve been dodging it when my friends suggested going in together to the bathhouse or when they suggested bringing me to the communal bathing area. But now that Selian knows I went into the bathhouse with Yuli, I can’t keep dodging these suggestions anymore.
Not only that, yesterday when I went into the bathhouse, I forgot to lock the door, which led to me being caught bathing with Yuli. This also resulted in the revelation of the Master-Slave Mark, another disaster.
In doing this, I’ve now unwittingly given Selian the chance to discover the Mark as well.
What if one day Selian asks why she can’t take a bath with me but Yuli could?
“Um… Did you do something unusual in the bathhouse?”
“Why would we do anything weird in the bathhouse? I just had a little sweat and wanted to wash it off. Yuli just came with me to save some time.”
“Sweat…?”
“Yeah. Since I used my body a bit too aggressively in the morning, I ended up sweating.”
There’s no way I could casually wash myself while training against a Sword Master.
Rather, I need to exert my full strength to learn as much as possible, so that approach is correct.
“Aggressively…?”
“Yeah, we moved a bit more aggressively than when we were hanging out at Yuli’s mansion during the summer vacation.”
During the summer vacation, when I practiced with Craig, I was far less skilled, and Craig took it easier on me. But yesterday, Craig didn’t hold back, and so I had to struggle quite a bit. Of course, I also learned a lot from it.
“What did Yuli, who agreed to go together, do instead…!”
For some reason, Selian looked upset.
After stomping her feet for a while, she suddenly paused, and then moved toward her underwear drawer, opening it and rummaging through its contents.
“Since Yuli was the one who broke the rules first, I should be allowed to do this much…”
Although my conscience pricked me for peeking into Selian’s underwear drawer, I turned my head away as she muttered something incomprehensible.
After a while of rustling sounds, it seemed she had finally found what she was looking for, as the noises stopped.
Looking back cautiously using “Blurred Focus,” I saw Selian sitting quietly with something in her hand.
“Uh… Selian?”
“Eek!”
Worried that what she was holding shouldn’t be seen by me, Selian hurriedly stuffed it into her pocket.
“What’s the matter? Is there an issue?”
“…Hmm. Even so, this is over the line. I think I should confiscate Yuli’s turn for a week.”
“I don’t know exactly what it is, but even if Yuli did something wrong, can you calm down a bit? It seems to involve me as well, so let me apologize for her.”
Of course, friends fight from time to time, and that’s okay.
But still, I don’t want to see two of my favorite friends arguing.
Rather, if two friends are in conflict, isn’t part of being a true friend mediating between them to reconcile?
“I’m not angry, so don’t worry too much. I’m just imposing a penalty because Yuli broke the agreement.”
Perhaps I had jumped the gun.
I carefully examined Selian’s face in case she was lying to me, but there was no sign of deceit.
Phew, thank goodness.
“Anyway, what’s in your pocket?”
Relieved, I tried to change the subject to divert Selian’s attention from Yuli to something else.
“What!? Pocket? Oh, come on, El. You must have mistaken.”
For some reason, Selian was evasive, but a considerate and polite person—well, a polite girl—would know to overlook such things, right?
“No, it’s nothing. But anyway, look how much time has passed. Let’s head out soon?”
I acted as if I had no interest and switched to a different topic, and Selian seemed to relax, sighing in relief.
It’s safer to act calm when you’re hiding something, but seeing Selian visibly relax made her seem all the cuter to me, the acting prodigy.
Still, I’m not one to point that out to Selian.
Selian seemed to be debating whether to hide what she had put in her pocket deeper in the underwear drawer, but fortunately, she didn’t take it out in front of me.
Well, Selian isn’t dumb after all, and wouldn’t act so foolishly.
Of course, I’m not rude enough to secretly peek at something Selian wants to keep secret, so it’s all good.
“Well, shall we go then? On the way, I’ll stop by Yuli’s to hear the full story and pass on the punishment as well.”
Unfortunately, I don’t know what the punishment will be, but good luck, Yuli! At least I tried to help by covering for you, and that’s all I could do.
