Once the break was over, Sharl resumed her gathering.
Soon after, deciding to head back to the academy earlier because it was Sunday, they began their return.
The reason, of course, was that she didn’t want to be anywhere near the lovers’ haunt.
“Wouldn’t it have been nice to watch the sunset together…? It’s simply beautiful, you know?”
While climbing the hill toward the dormitory, Chloe teased her.
“I’d never do that. No way I’m going there on a Sunday afternoon.”
Apparently, Sharl hadn’t known it was a lovers’ haunt and had gone there many times unknowingly.
“Did you know about it, Chloe?”
“About the unspoken rule on Sunday evenings? Of course I do. I’m also a graduate from this academy, you know.”
“Eh? Is that so?”
“Did you know!? And by the way, were you ever a student here?! When did you attend?”
Sharl didn’t know any of this, did she?
“I maintained my duties to the young lady while sacrificing sleep to attend classes here. Naturally, I also know the unspoken rules.”
“Sacrificing sleep… weren’t you the one lecturing me about sleeping the other day?”
That was when Sharl was staying up late talking to her parents.
“From my own experience, yes. Besides, the classes I chose weren’t that demanding, so it wasn’t a problem.”
“So…so? And why didn’t you tell me!?”
“Which one? Attending the academy or the unspoken rule?”
Chloe tilts her head in confusion.
“Both!”
“It wasn’t for the young lady to know, that’s all. There’s no need for her to worry about a maid’s struggles. Besides, I didn’t mind it; I enjoyed it.”
“That’s…so…”
Sharl seems conflicted.
“Also, I thought the young lady already knew and didn’t care, which is usually the case. Normally, you’d hear this kind of thing from friends or seniors. I didn’t expect the lady to have no friends at all…”
“I’m so sorry…”
I don’t know what to say…
“Tsukasa, please, I kindly ask you to take care of the young lady. She can depend only on you.”
“Ah, yes.”
“Hmph. Anyway, there’s no way I’m going back to that lake on a Sunday evening!”
Yeah, I don’t want to go either.
“Hmm…”
Chloe is grinning deviously.
“What is it?”
Sharl shoots Chloe a sidelong glance.
“Not at all, just saying… Well, this is where we part ways,” Chloe says as they’ve reached the point where the boys’ and girls’ dormitory paths diverge.
“Right. Tsukasa, thank you for today?”
“It was fun. Thanks for the potion as well.”
“Don’t mention it, it was my pleasure. It’s purely a hobby.”
Well…
“The young lady…”
Chloe speaks to Sharl as she looks toward the boys’ dormitory.
“Hmm?”
Sharl looks in the same direction and we notice Joan approaching from the boys’ dormitory.
“Is that the boys’ dormitory?”
“Right… well, never mind. Let’s go. Tsukasa, see you again sometime.”
“Thank you for today. Look forward to meeting on the weekend.”
Sharl waves, Chloe bows deeply, and the two head toward the girls’ dormitory.
Left behind, I look toward Joan.
“Hello, sorry again for interrupting.”
“It’s fine, I was just about to head back anyway.”
“Out on another date? I thought I saw a maid earlier…”
Apparently, the maid does stand out.
“It was just gathering herbal ingredients. Sharl also practices alchemy.”
“Really? That’s unexpected.”
“She finished her alchemy studies back in middle school.”
“Huh. Even though Iver comes from a warrior family?”
Seems like I thought the same thing, but it’s a personal interest, so it’s understandable.
“It might be her hobby. What were you doing there, by the way? Isn’t this the boys’ dormitory?”
Could it have been Andy-senpai?
“Ah, right! Actually, I had something to ask you. I stopped by to ask if you were around, but they said you were out. By the way, you’re a half-boarder, right?”
“It’s about three hours’ time difference between here and Japan, so it’s barely manageable to get here.”
“You’ve got it tough.”
“It’s a 4 a.m. wake-up call, but it’s not impossible once you get used to it.”
“Good for you..”
“So, what was it you needed?”
“Mr. Wallace called for you.”
“Mr. Wallace…?”
The homeroom teacher of Sharl’s class.
“What does he need?”
“He wants to assign you a task. I’m also studying under Mr. Wallace. Since alchemy is one of the things he teaches, I asked to be taken on as his disciple.”
“Disciple?”
“Isn’t Mr. Wallace a crafting instructor? Alchemy is part of that, so I asked to be his disciple.”
That’s interesting…
“Understood. Where should I go?”
“Ah, I’ll guide you. Is now okay?”
Is now…
It’s 4 p.m. If I return home, it’ll be 1 a.m…
Nothing to do anyway, might as well go.
“Yes, please guide me.”
“Alright, this way.”
Joan begins walking down the slope, and I follow.
“Where are we going?”
“To the teacher’s lab. It’s on the first floor of the C building. It’s hard to get close during weekdays, but it’s fine on holidays.”
So, there is some tension between the D and C classes…
“Why are D and C grouped into factions?”
“No idea. We’ve speculated about it, but we don’t know for sure?”
“Speculation?”
“The main ones are to prevent bullying or to foster competition through division. None of these have much evidence. This academy has alumni who donate large sums of money, but because of that, they exert a lot of influence. I imagine these alumni have some plans behind it all.”
It’s complicated with all these factions.
I do think it’s a bad system, but thanks to this, I entered through unconventional means, so I can’t really say anything.
“It’s complicated, isn’t it?”
“It’s not much of an issue for the students. As I said before, the good kids are good, and friends remain friends, right? Just like you, aren’t we?”
That’s right, Sharl is from a rival family to Iver’s…
“Yes. In the first place, I didn’t even know about these factions, and I’ve never been part of any.”
“Most people are the same. And as the times change, these things will naturally change too, right? Not sure though.”
“Perhaps… It’d be nice if they did.”
While chatting, we walked down the hill, passed the D building, and approached the C building. We entered and walked toward the back.
—
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