### Chapter Thirty-Three: Dormitory Chit-Chat
“Nothing.”
I lied immediately. No special reason, just an instinctive belief that these things were better kept from them.
“Really nothing?”
Sarah pressed her lips together and stared at me, a hint of confusion in her eyes… it was like she was suspecting something. I suddenly felt a little guilty, awkwardly looked away, and tucked my hands behind my back.
“Uh-huh.”
So it really was her I saw that night in the crowd… Did she recognize me…?
She probably didn’t, right? I mean, it was so dark that even the streetlights went out…
“If you were injured, there’s no way you’d be back so quickly.”
To dispel their doubts, I raised my hand and gently patted my chest, flashing a sweet smile.
“See? I’m just fine!”
“… That’s debatable.”
Sarah took two steps closer and got right in my face, looking extremely stern.
“With you bundled up so tightly, I can’t see if you’re hurt or not…”
She clawed at the air in front of her with both hands, the corners of her mouth curling up as she prepared to pounce on me.
“I need to check!”
“Whoa—!”
I yelped in surprise, ducked down and slipped under her outstretched arms, hiding behind Daisy. When I turned around, I realized Sarah hadn’t followed.
“Just kidding! I’m glad you’re okay!”
She stayed where she was, grinning at me.
“… I’m fine.”
I sighed a small breath of relief.
“You do look alive and kicking… Rumors are truly terrifying.” Sophia shook her head lightly and then patted Sarah on the shoulder. “Well, now you should be at ease, right? I mean, I told you there was nothing to worry about… Peilo, you should have seen Sarah these past few days without you. She was like a lost soul, sighing every day… Just like a lovesick girl pining for her beau, it was so annoying.”
“Stop spreading nonsense!” Sarah’s face flushed a little as she frowned and swatted Sophia’s hand off her shoulder. “I don’t act like that at all!”
“Clearly, you do…”
“What a terrible comparison, being lovesick!”
“I just thought it was very vivid.”
“… You annoying blonde.”
“Her Majesty the Queen has the same hair color, you know. It’s my pride~”
“Stop the noise… Sarah, I really, really am fine… so stop worrying.”
I wanted to change the subject quickly…
I walked over to the desk, looking at the pile of random items and asked, “Why did you just take all this stuff…?”
Hearing my question, Sarah and Sophia immediately stopped arguing and exchanged eye-rolls in perfect harmony.
“Come on, do you know how much those pests cling to you like chewing gum? If we didn’t take it, who knows how long we’d be pestered.”
“Exactly!” Sarah, for once agreeing with Sophia, chimed in, “They ask during class, they ask at meal times, and they even ask when we get back to the tower… The funniest part is, some people are so cowardly they just drop stuff at the door without saying a word… Every morning there’s something new. Some even have names on them, while others don’t bother, so we have no idea who they belong to… we can’t just leave it all lying there, can we?”
“Everyone is so enthusiastic… Tsk tsk. I mean, when Peilo was around, hardly anyone dared to strike up a conversation…”
“What do you mean, around…”
I looked frowningly at the pile of “comfort gifts” on the desk.
“Let’s return it all tomorrow.”
“But there’s so much! Are you going to return each one? Too much hassle… No way, Peilo, you can’t talk to those pests. They’re up to no good!” Sarah said, her eyes twinkling with mischief as she added, “How about we each just pick the stuff we like and split it all up?”
“That… doesn’t seem very good…”
Daisy, who had been quiet for a long time, timidly opposed.
“Sarah, what about your knightly spirit?”
Sophia, who had made her way to the vanity and was applying something to her face, looked just as annoyed upon hearing Sarah’s suggestion.
“What does that have to do with knightly spirit…? What do you think, Peilo?”
“Let’s return it.” I shook my head at Sarah, “Leave it with the admin and Grandma, and whoever it belongs to can collect it.”
“Good idea.”
Sophia shrugged indifferently.
Sarah hesitated at this: “But will the fat lady… the admin Grandma even care about all this?”
“Who knows…”
“She should, right?”
“So, return it all?”
“Uh-huh.”
I answered with an agreeing hum, though my gaze unconsciously wandered to the package wrapped in brown paper.
I don’t think I’ve had that before… But it looks pretty good, sweet or salty?
I want to know what it tastes like…
By the time I realized, I had already grabbed the treat, squeezing it in my hand. After hesitating for a moment, I swallowed hard, cleared my throat, and casually asked them, “Do you know what this is?”
As I spoke, I sneaked a glance at Sophia sitting at the vanity, and our eyes met just as she burst out laughing.
“Just eat it if you want to.”
“… I was just asking…”
“Then give it to me.”
“No.” I quickly shook my head, cradling the treat close to my chest, “I haven’t had dinner yet…”
I lied again. In fact, I had devoured over two pounds of meat before coming here, along with several Captain Gray burgers.
Sophia’s smile widened: “Then just eat it already.”
“… Oh.”
Since my purpose had been spotted, I decided not to hide it any longer and quickly unwrapped the package, pulling out a piece of fluffy pastry and popping it into my mouth while walking over to my bed to drop off my bag and tidy up a bit.
“What are you eating?”
Sarah asked curiously, and then seemed to suddenly remember something: “Ah, by the way, Peilo! I brought you some venison pies! But you didn’t come, and they all went bad…”
“Ugh!”
I quickly swallowed the piece of pastry, my eyes wide as I looked at Sarah: “Venison pies…”
Sarah said her mother’s venison pies were delicious! What a shame!
“Yes, it was a pain to make!”
“Pfft—”
Daisy, sitting on the edge of the bed, suddenly laughed, and when we all turned to look at her, her face turned bright red, and she panickedly covered her mouth.
Sarah looked at her, slightly displeased: “Daisy, what are you laughing at?”
I could swear I saw her wink at Daisy… What is she doing, does she have a bug in her eye?
“Ah no, nothing… Hehe—”
“Stop laughing!”
“Sorry…”
“What’s wrong? Is there something wrong with the venison pies?” Sophia asked.
“Nothing!”
“They’re really good…”
Daisy finally managed to stifle her laughter and explained in a low voice.
Really good…
“What a pity…” I shook my head at Sarah, “Sorry about that.”
I took another piece of the pastry, “Ah-hum,” I popped it in my mouth, savoring every bite.
This is really tasty…
“Don’t worry, I’ll bring you some next time!”
“That’s awesome!”
…………
Time always flies when you’re chatting.
Before long, it began to get dark, and after several girls took turns washing up, lying in bed, Sophia brought up the topic about me again.
“So, Peilo, have you become famous in the academy now?”
“Of course! Just yesterday I heard people discussing what they’re calling you… ‘Cupid’s little angel’? ‘The beautiful black fairy’? I can’t remember the others.”
“Pfft—”
“Who came up with these nicknames? So tasteless…”
“No idea. I guess everyone is talking about it, but Alex is definitely behind it.”
“Alex… Speaking of which, Peilo probably doesn’t know, right?”
“Know what…”
I felt a bit sleepy. Lying in bed with my eyes closed, my voice was lazy and sticky.
“About Alex and the first-year students.”
“Uh-huh…”
My drowsy mind spun for quite a while.
“Alex? Who’s that…”
