“Alicia-san?”
“Yes~ Is there something you need, Selian-san?”
At our Lady Selian’s call, I quickly scan her face.
Just moments ago, Selian’s voice was about three degrees colder than usual. Though I have a bad feeling, it’s always better to be cautious.
Her eyebrows are angled around five degrees sharper than usual. A kind smile at the corners of her mouth remains, but the blueness of her eyes doesn’t feel like a clear sky, but rather a deep, deep abyss!
Are the dimples there, which appear when she’s genuinely smiling?
No!!!
Emergency! Emergency!!!
Selian Pattern 3!
Her face clearly shows dissatisfaction. Selian at a time like this is truly terrifying!
Rather than Anne’s straightforward, albeit painful, slaps, Selian’s frosty voice feels like a direct assault on my soul!
Ah, where are you, Anne? Please don’t leave me alone!
Unfortunately, Anne has just left for the snack stand with Ian.
“Alicia-san?”
Again, Selian, still smiling sweetly, called my name. Lady Selian, you’re probably aware, aren’t you, that even though your mouth is smiling, your eyes certainly aren’t? If you looked in a mirror, you’d probably be shocked too!
“Yes, Selian-san, Alicia is here.”
But professional assassins never reveal their thoughts on their faces! To avoid upsetting Selian, I respond with my usual poker face and a cheerful tone.
“Alicia-san?”
“…”
However, as if she hadn’t heard my response, Selian calls out again.
The probability that Selian, who was just happily conversing, suddenly became deaf is, by any calculation, 0.01%. It’s definitely an impossible occurrence.
Ahaha, Lady Selian, really. If you suddenly can’t hear, of course, anyone would feel uneasy, right? So that’s why, right? Shall we go to the Shrine together for healing magic now? I can escort you?
“…”
…Father somewhere out there! If you’re watching, please give me the answer!
I cannot for the life of me figure out how to tackle Selian. I swear, conquering the Demon King’s Castle is nothing compared to handling Selian right now. If someone asked me to bring back the Demon King’s head, I’d do it before the tea gets cold!
“Why aren’t you answering, Alicia-san?”
“I-I’m very sorry!”
Oh no! In my haste to respond, I bit my tongue and my poker face slipped.
I don’t even have time to feel the pain. I must figure out why Selian is upset before she gets even more unhappy.
What mistake did I make with Selian?
Was it because I replied 0.4 seconds later than usual when she greeted me during the morning commute? Or could it be because I accidentally crossed 0.8 cm into her desk during class?
Or… could it be… that thing?
No, it’s definitely “that.” There’s no other reason for Selian to be this upset. I must be out of my mind. It was so obvious, yet I still did it…
Right away, I bow deeply to Selian and confess.
“I’m sorry, Selian-san. That time when you told me to take one candy from the jar… I pretended to take just one but actually took two! It was just too delicious, and I couldn’t help it…”
Certainly, those candies must have been expensive, and taking two at once is surely a reason for Selian to be upset.
But back in my assassin days, such snacks were unimaginable, you know? The guild was poor, so I never developed an immunity to tasty things.
If patience training meant daily finger bending or occasional fingernail pulling, resisting temptation was something I never managed.
I peek up to gauge Selian’s reaction.
The gleam is back in Selian’s eyes! The expression reads… disappointment!
Pattern 3 terminated!
Indeed, worthy of a Hero (or candidate) who will save the world—after heartfelt apologies, she gracefully forgives.
“Haa… You can eat candy whenever you want.”
She didn’t just say it but immediately took a candy and placed it directly in my mouth.
Mmm~ sweet! And delicious!
“That’s not what I wanted to talk about.”
I flinch.
“It wasn’t about the candy?”
As the sugar rushes through my system, I quickly begin to think.
If it’s not about the candy, then what’s the problem?
What did I do wrong, past me?
“You’re still doing it.”
What are you doing, future me?
Selian’s mouth ever so slightly curves upwards.
“Why does Alicia-san use honorifics with me?”
“Huh? Because you’re Selian-san?”
“What do you mean by that?! Aren’t Alicia-san and I friends?”
Father, who ignored my plea, are you listening? Selian acknowledges me as a friend.
“But Selian-san uses honorifics too, right?”
“This is just how I talk! I use honorifics with everyone else too! But why does Alicia-san use honorifics only with me when you’re informal with Anne and other classmates?”
Upon reflection, I realized nearly the entire class already speaks informally with me, with Selian being the only exception as she claimed.
“Be… because Selian-san is special to me?”
Selian is a person I need to be extra cautious with. I have to avoid offending her at all costs, and thus I couldn’t help but use honorifics naturally.
“Uh! Uh? What!”
Teacher, Selian’s malfunctioning. She’s making strange sounds all of a sudden.
After making strange noises while bowing her head, Selian suddenly looked up.
“Though I appreciate the special treatment, the distance feels… I get that Alicia-san thinks of me as special, but please be more familiar and informal.”
“Okay, got it. Selian. Is that fine?”
If our Lady Selian wishes it, I’ll oblige.
But even after my response, Selian seems dissatisfied. She grabs my sleeve with her slender fingers and tugs at it firmly.
“Sel…”
“Uh-huh?”
“Selian… no, call me Selri. Please.”
Now that I think about it, she mentioned this during our first meeting. Close friends call her Selri as a nickname.
“Alright! Selri!”
Thrilled to finally gain Selian’s recognition (?), I called her nickname with a heartfelt smile from deep within my chest.
Hey, do you know what? Selian usually doesn’t have any nicknames at home!
—
“Alicia~ Selian~”
Ta-daa~ And here comes Anne from the snack stand with a mysterious-looking envelope.
Anne wiggles it in front of me, showing off, then pulls a small something from the bag and shoves it into my mouth.
Is it jelly today?
“How’s it? What flavor is it?”
Since the last outing when Anne made me taste cake, she has enjoyed feeding me like Selian does.
At first, small things like candy, chocolates, and jelly were the norm, but over time, it’s turned into a competition between her and Selian.
Things like feeding me pieces of bread, offering me a bite of their lunch sides, and so on.
Though they think that I, a former assassin who underwent all kinds of training, am weak against food… Well, they know me too well.
As I mentioned before, I’m weak against delicious things. My old assassin guild had poor finances, so all we ate were tasteless meals.
“What were you two talking about?”
Anne seemed curious about the pleasant conversation Selri and I were having.
Even while asking, Anne kept pulling jelly from the bag—one for herself, one for me, one for Selri, one for me, one for me, and then another for me…
“Mmph, b-buh!”
“Ahahaha! Alicia, what’s wrong? That’s funny!”
Is this a new way of teasing me? It’s annoying because she’s laughing at what she caused.
I start tickling her side.
Even though she appears female, with masculine tendencies, tickling a girl on her side is slightly weird, but Anne makes it acceptable.
Anne feels more like my cute little sister than a peer.
“Heeuh! Hyuck! Stop! I give up…”
Finding her laughter and bizarre sounds entertaining, I continued tickling her nonstop.
Haha!
Never make fun of me again! If I’m serious, I can…
Punch!
“Uh-heuck!”
There goes Anne’s perfect right straight punch from the times I’ve seen before…
Thankfully, she delivered the straight punch once, but then she slapped my back continuously with her palms.
Wait, I got punched in the chest. Really… I might throw up…
“Bluuuurg!”
—
Thankfully, no vomiting incident occurred. The moment I felt nauseated, Anne stopped hitting me.
Is it right to call it “thankfully”?
Anyway, the tickling and slapping were passed off as play.
Even though Anne shoveled jelly into my mouth, it tasted good, so everything’s fine in the end.
Back to the original conversation—
“Isn’t that right, Selri?”
Haha! What do you think? I’ve been granted a nickname by Selian!
Anne, don’t mock me so casually!
“That’s right, El.”
“Huh?”
“El… short for Alicia. That works, doesn’t it? Or would Eli be better…?”
It’s true that I agreed to call her “Selri,” so it’s not wrong for Selian to call me by a nickname too.
Still, Eli sounds a little too similar to Selri, so it’s embarrassing.
“No, just ‘El’ is fine!”
“Hehehe. Then from now on, I’ll call you ‘El.'”
“Hold on! What’s going on? Why did the two of you…?!”
Out of nowhere, Anne swung her arms and interrupted with a tackle.
“I want to! I’ll call you both like this! Selri! El! Selri! El! Selri! El!”
Anne shouted out our nicknames repeatedly before seemingly realizing something and gaping in shock.
“I… I have no nickname! ‘Ann’? If I shorten ‘Anne,’ then… then…”
The struggle to comfort Anne while she mumbled to herself continued long after that.
