As soon as she opened her eyes, seeing a stranger in the room cooking for her would bewilder anyone.
To add to her surprise, the room was completely tidy; it would have been even stranger had she not been taken aback.
Stella looked down at the food placed in front of her with a blank expression.
It was nothing special.
Or rather, it might be special.
After living her whole life in the Red Magician’s Tower, dishes she had never eaten before were lying on the table.
“Vegetables…? Greens…? Is this soup? But it looks too clear and different in shape…”
The meat usually served was entirely unlike the steak she was familiar with.
However, whether a dish she had never seen before or not, compared to the special meals she remembered from the Academy, it was a pitiful meal.
She thought her curiosity would only go so far and that she wouldn’t have any more interest than that.
But for some reason.
“It looks delicious…”
It did look delicious.
Very much so.
Stella instinctively picked up the spoon.
Actually, she didn’t even know how to use a spoon.
Though she had never used such a utensil in her life, she was able to figure out with instinct how to use it just by looking at its shape.
With the spoon, Stella scooped up some “rice” and stared down at it for a long moment before carefully putting it in her mouth.
The warmth of the rice grains, the chewy texture, and the subtly sweet flavor momentarily stunned her.
Then, as if entranced, she moved the spoon to the next dish.
There were two stick-like things present, but she had no time to pay attention to that.
Stella quickly scooped up the side dish with the spoon and pushed it into her mouth.
“…!!”
At that moment, Stella froze once more.
With trembling hands, she stared down at the food she had just scooped onto her flat spoon.
“Ah…”
Despite being a dish she had never tried before, it was more to her liking than any food she had ever eaten in her life.
The taste itself was nothing compared to the special meals she had had at the Academy.
Nevertheless, the food before her was so pleasing that it made up for that difference.
“…”
Somehow, Stella had entirely forgotten the presence of Aria, who was watching her intently from the front, as she immersed herself in her meal.
With each bite, she rejoiced in encountering new flavors.
And then,
Ding.
“…?!”
Stella finally snapped back to reality at the sound of her spoon clinking against the empty bowl.
She looked down at the completely vanished food with a shocked expression.
Just moments ago, there had been so much left, and now there wasn’t a single bit.
She thought she had been savoring it slowly, but had she really finished it this quickly?
“Ah…”
It was only then that Stella glanced at the girl who had been smiling at her since earlier.
“You…?”
“[How did it taste? I worked hard to make it…]”
“Y-Yeah… it was delicious… really…”
“[I’m glad to hear that. Hehe…]”
Who are you?
Stella thought to ask that, but seeing the girl genuinely expressing happiness at her simple compliment, she couldn’t bring herself to spoil the mood.
“… So, who are you?”
After some time had passed, she finally managed to initiate a conversation.
The girl smiled sweetly in response to Stella’s question.
“[Should I say… roommate?]”
“Just as I thought…”
Stella sighed.
She preferred to live alone as much as possible.
She deeply disliked being bothered.
Just living with someone else was already a significant source of stress for her.
Even while she had individual space in the Red Magician’s Tower, now it felt like all her personal space was disappearing, and anyone would need at least a little private space.
Not many would enjoy living in close quarters.
But…
“You, maybe I wouldn’t mind…”
It didn’t seem like she would be bothersome…
Most importantly, she was satisfied just having made such delicious food.
Since the roommate was assigned by the Academy, there was no way to request to be paired with someone else unless there was a sufficiently valid reason.
“[Hehe… I’m relieved to hear you say that.]”
Even at what could have been perceived as a rude statement from Stella, the girl kept smiling.
Stella, observing Aria with a peculiar gaze, found herself inexplicably wondering something.
She was curious about why the girl kept her eyes closed and didn’t converse in a traditional manner while speaking to her.
There was no ill intent.
It was merely a question that arose out of curiosity, a natural instinct of a magician.
Most magicians find it hard to suppress their curiosity, and on a whim, Stella had asked the girl her question.
However, immediately after, she regretted her inquiry.
“[It’s nothing much. I’m just… congenitally deaf and blind.]”
The answer had caught her completely off-guard.
—
If one were to ask a girl who often keeps her eyes closed why she does so, what kind of response would be expected?
For an ordinary person, going through daily life with their eyes closed is practically impossible.
Nonetheless, being able to live day to day with them closed implies one thing.
That they do not need their eyes.
That they cannot see the world with those eyes.
Knowing that it is common sense, why did she ask?
And how should she have responded to such a statement?
Stella felt bewildered.
She had never met a person with a disability in her life.
However, having grown up in the Red Magician’s Tower and considering herself an adequate magician, she understood that such a question could be a significant offense to someone like Aria.
“Ah… um…”
Not knowing how to articulate her thoughts, Stella fumbled her words and involuntarily glanced around.
The room was clean.
Moreover, had she not prepared the meal for her?
Was that something a person with disabilities who couldn’t see or hear could achieve?
Such doubts had almost no meaning.
If one couldn’t see or hear, learning a language would be impossible.
Of course, it wasn’t completely unfeasible, but it would be more of an act of force-feeding the concept of language into one’s mind rather than a normal educational approach.
In other words, it meant that there was something else capable of replacing her sight and hearing.
The sharp mind of a magician led her to conjecture that this ‘something’ was related to the way she communicated.
Stella quickly analyzed her preceding thoughts to discern what kind of form they took.
Identifying the form of power wasn’t particularly difficult.
“Divine Power…!!”
The image of a blind and platinum-haired girl, who looked much younger than she was.
Although Stella was ignorant about many matters in the world and had no interest in them, she was not unaware of the concept of a saint.
The girl known for sacrificing herself to save numerous lives in the Realm, despite being blind and deaf.
She had spent years in a hellish dimension, filled with monsters, and saved thousands, which had led soldiers and knights alike to shake their heads in disbelief.
In the eyes of the people living in that realm, she was practically revered as a deity.
Moreover, the Emperor of the Empire had personally visited the Holy Kingdom to express his gratitude, and statues of the saint were even being erected in the Empire’s Grand Cathedral.
Even someone as uncaring about world affairs as Stella could not be oblivious to this.
The Saint of “Hope,” Aria Saint Anastasio
Stella stared at the girl in front of her, who was clearing away the empty bowl and humming a tune, with trembling eyes.
‘I… surely…’
Someone so remarkable… even someone with disabilities…
Was she really serving and cleaning up after her just because they shared the same room?
‘What have I done…?’
Naturally, all these actions were simply Aria wanting to befriend Stella and doing things she wanted to do, but from Stella’s perspective, it felt entirely different.
‘If they find out in the Holy Kingdom, I’m done…’
As could be inferred from her title of saint, she was practically one of the highest figures of the kingdom.
It was clear that someone like Stella, a mere magician from the Red Magician’s Tower, had no authority to dictate what she could or could not do.
Stella’s complexion turned pale, filled with guilt, self-loathing, and despair.
It seemed she had thoroughly ruined her life this time, she muttered to herself.
