Afterward, there was nothing unusual about the class.
Most of the classes were common ones, except for the summoning magic class. There was one particular point of interest, though.
“Reeti Eleanor.”
“Reeti Eleanor! Is she not here?”
For some strange reason, Reeti hadn’t entered the class.
Certainly, the classes overlapped, and the professors had called for attendance, yet she hadn’t shown up.
‘Was she feeling unwell just a while ago?’
Reeti was a friend who occasionally charged in recklessly, and while slightly burdensome, still a friend.
There was no way not to worry.
Time passed until lunch.
Since Reeti, who normally came bounding to suggest eating, wasn’t there, it felt somewhat empty.
– Shall we go to the room first?
Still, I was supposed to have lunch with Lily—
– No, let’s eat here.
– …Pardon?
What was this sudden talk about?
Lily, who had extended her neck slightly and met my gaze, communicated her feelings through her mind.
– I’ve brought a lunchbox. Let’s eat together.
Even though she suggested eating together…
– Let’s use the recognition hindrance spell and eat?
– No, just like this.
– …Pardon?
If we did that, everyone would see us, right?
Based on Lily’s hints, it seemed she was aware of the situation.
Which meant…
– Would you openly suggest eating together, by any chance?
– …Would it not work?
Lily looked up at me with bright eyes.
– Even if so, other people would see us.
– …Do I make you feel embarrassed?
– Not at all.
– Then why not?
That…
– I don’t want to.
– Why?
Unable to lie while facing Lily’s clear gaze, the truth came forth.
– …Because I only want to see you…
– …Me?
– …Yes.
It was embarrassing.
Normally, I would have bowed my head to hide my face, but Lily was there now.
And raising my head would expose me to other students’ gazes…
Eventually covering my face with both hands, I leaned on a protruding pillar.
Amid this, an echoing voice disturbed my thoughts.
– Hohoho, how delightful.
– …What about?
– That you value me this much.
…It became even more embarrassing.
Under normal circumstances, I could have blocked my ears, but our minds were connected.
Even covering my ears, the voice would still reach through my mind.
‘Magic must be cast for nothing.’
Regret flooded in like a tidal wave.
At that moment, Lily’s voice reached me.
– I also value you. The feeling that you’re not showing me to others because of it, I can well understand. However…
She paused momentarily to continue her sentence.
– I also want to boast about it.
…Boast about what? About me?
– That’s right~ How proud I am. Your cute appearance, your adorable self, …sometimes your cool self. I want to flaunt all of that.
It might have been fine had there been no mention of “sometimes.”
– Especially, I want to boast about our relationship. About our sweet, honey-filled relationship.
– Honey-filled… Now that you say it directly, it’s quite embarrassing.
– So what? Others would probably take it harder than that.
…Was it that severe?
True, judging from the gazes of other men, it did seem so.
‘Boasting…’
Last time, she also wanted to, and it seems Lily wants our relationship to be acknowledged.
Since the news articles are out, almost everyone knows, no need to particularly…?
But anyway…
…To be honest, I also have a slight desire to boast.
People have a tendency for vanity.
What’s the purpose of buying a beautiful jewel?
One doesn’t pay such an exorbitant price just to keep it hidden.
Boasting to others, flaunting.
The subsequent feeling of superiority is the reason.
And Lily is a person with no shortage of appeal to boast about.
Irrespective of gender and age, her beauty is captivating and hard to look away from. Her near-omniscient abilities, her warm(?) disposition add to it.
Of course, the sentiment to show off arises.
However, the gaze of other men on Lily disturbed me.
What is that fellow thinking when he looks at Lily?
Could he possibly be thinking about something lewd?
If so, I’ll use the mace to separate his legs…
K…
Anyway, it was bothersome.
Also, showing Lily here might lead to various complications.
‘If seeing her through photos or articles is already tough, what if they see her in person?’
Indeed, could the envy of the men handle it?
More precisely, could Lily’s retribution be endured by the men even if I can?
Though I managed to let her fall this time, how would Lily react if something even remotely inappropriate came up?
I’m getting dizzy.
That’s why we’ve kept it hidden so far.
– …Would it not be all right…?
…When said with eyes wide open like that, how could I possibly refuse?
– Fine, let’s eat together.
– Hohoho, then where should we eat? A park would be…
– But there is an issue.
– Hmm?
– According to the Academy’s rules, outsiders are not allowed entry unless there is special reason. Co-habitation hasn’t been applied for yet, so Lily is still classified as an outsider. Therefore…
– …It can’t be shown?
– Yes.
Lily’s beard wobbled.
Wanting to boast, yet not being able to in front of others—what a contradiction indeed.
– How long does the co-habitation application take?
– Hmm… I don’t know exactly since we’ve never done it before, but it seems to take about a month.
– …A month?
– Yes, a month.
Lily bowed her head deep.
Despite the connection, a few sporadic words of Lily’s thoughts reached me.
– This…
– Couldn’t imagine…
– How should we handle this?
Seemingly because our minds were connected, snippets of Lily’s thoughts were reaching me.
– Missing out.
– A rare opportunity.
– Honey-filled…
…Some strange words seemed to be coming through.
Could it be that my thoughts are being carried over similarly?
Please, let it not be so.
After much pondering, Lily suddenly raised her head.
– Who approves the co-habitation application?
– …
This person must pass through many hands, but ultimately who signs off…
– The Chancellor.
– Let’s go.
– …?
Suddenly, go where?
– To this person named Chancellor.
While momentarily contemplating the meaning of her words, I…
– …What?!
—
“Hmph…”
A man sat at his desk, cradling his head in his hands.
“Head already aching as if to die, now what is this?”
The man let out a low sigh as he gazed at a document on his desk.
The document was an admission application for one person.
There was nothing particularly special written in the application.
If anything, the only noteworthy detail was the person’s birthplace being the Holy Nation.
Even then, the fact of birthplace wasn’t something that posed an issue.
Since the Academy admitted students regardless of their birth, many students from the Holy Nation were already enrolled.
It was a typical new student’s submission.
But now, I understood how significant the person in this application truly was.
“Geez…”
The man stood up from the desk and looked out the window with a melancholic gaze.
“Having Blaze and Frost in the same era was taxing enough…”
His gaze shifted to a document placed separately at a corner of the desk.
“With Her Royal Highness already here, it’s not enough…”
He recalled an incident from a few days ago.
“An Outer God, no less…”
Finally, the document he held in his hand revealed the ultimate conclusion.
“And now, a candidate for the Divine Maiden.”
The man held his head.
Amidst the gaps in his fingers, eyes of different colors could be seen.
Clever though they once were, the eyes now emitted a somewhat dull hue from overwork.
A voice echoed within his mind.
-Yea, this semester is going to be chaos.
“…Stop pestering me and go.”
-A bit harsh towards a friend who came out of concern, isn’t it?
“Not a friend.”
The man, the Chancellor, ambled over to a cabinet.
He took out his favorite tea and instantly boiled water with magic.
He needed to calm down with tea.
Already stressed to the point of madness, the incidents kept coming one after another, so he needed to rest even a little.
The great Archmage and Sage praised by many had a side that wasn’t shown to others.
Always smiling in front of others, once time by himself was given, his face quickly distorted.
Exhaling deep breaths, lying back in his chair, resembling more of an ordinary salaryman burdened by stress than an extraordinary Archmage.
His gaze caught something by the bookshelf.
In a corner not easily noticed unless you looked for it, a photo sat there.
“…Probably wouldn’t have been this hard if I wasn’t alone back then.”
Suppressing his emotions from long-passed years, the Chancellor quickly diverted his gaze to the tea cup.
“The problem is the problem. Even if she’s a candidate, she’s still a Divine Maiden. A request to remain unnoticed among many is quite an imposition.”
– Hmm. But with an Outer God, they’re bound to recognize each other somehow.
“Fortunately, the fact that they’re not in the same grade is a blessing. I hope they don’t cross paths.”
– Funny how this happened… seems like destiny at work.
“If this kind of coincidence keeps happening, it’s as good as destiny.”
Though often muttered by a certain being on his head, the Chancellor didn’t like the word “destiny.”
It always seemed to take a bad turn.
Bringing the cup of tea to his lips, the aroma of steeped leaves caressed his nose.
The slightly sweet aroma did improve his mood.
“Ah, there’s no rule that things always have to go wrong. Luckily, the contractee is a good child, we’ve established a peace treaty, and if there’s no further trouble…”
At that moment,
Knock knock knock.
Someone knocked on the Chancellor’s office door.
His expression immediately darkened from having his private time interrupted.
But whoever was on the other side of the door didn’t know his true feelings, so he quickly put on his professional smile and opened the door.
“May I ask who’s here at this time…”
The Chancellor was caught speechless.
It was none other than the “contractee” he had been thinking about moments ago.
And when he slightly lowered his gaze, he saw a red-eyed cat cradled in the contractee’s arms.
The cat appeared cute at first glance, but the Chancellor knew of the existence hidden within.
“…Damn destiny.”
The Chancellor seriously wondered whether fate disliked him.
