What Were You Trying to Do Just Now...?
Standing at the podium and delivering an unremarkable speech as the freshman representative, Yi Siyun sensed a shift in the students' mood and lifted her head.
Unlike the mild chatter of moments before, the students had all fallen silent as one, staring in a single direction.
Wondering if someone had collapsed, she followed their gazes — only to find a few vaguely familiar women at the end of them.
Familiar, though not in the sense that they knew each other. She alone knew of them, one-sidedly.
But one question arose.
Of the three women, the two on either side were so famous that not knowing them would have been harder — yet she had no idea who the woman in the middle was, the one clinging to both their arms.
She was certain she'd seen her somewhere before… but she couldn't place exactly where.
Still, one thing she could guess: the odds that this woman was a villain were high.
After all, the fame of the two women she was embracing was built mostly on notoriety.
The black-haired woman hanging her head — so different from the rumors — was Tania Apocalypse, the youngest of the infamous Shamash Family. As the mafia boss's youngest daughter, she was known for her extreme cruelty and merciless nature.
Opposite her, the platinum-blonde woman was Adele Moonlight, second daughter of the Lucia Family, one of the three major guilds.
People who didn't know her might ask if being the second daughter of one of the three major guilds meant she was a good person. Anyone who actually knew her would shake their head without a moment's hesitation.
Looking at her usual demeanor, one might not call her a villain. Adele simply paid not the slightest attention to anything that didn't interest her. If someone she had no interest in spoke to her, she ignored them. If they tried to get in her way, she simply removed them.
But if something she truly wanted appeared, she would stop at nothing — by any means necessary — to obtain it. Without caring in the slightest what happened to others in the process.
Someone who could make women like that cling to her and fluster them was unlikely to be any less dangerous. She was surely a villain of the age, with power or backing enough to bring even Tania and Adele to their knees.
Yi Siyun furrowed her brow hard and carefully burned the woman's face into her memory. Better to know who to watch out for.
Under the barrage of Yi Siyun's scorching stares, I furrowed my brow.
Too much attention. Yi Siyun, the surrounding students — all of them.
I'd thought about becoming an idol with this fine face after graduating from the Academy, but getting this nervous made it clear idol life wasn't for me.
Tania seemed embarrassed by the stares too, hanging her head low, so I followed suit and stayed still with my head down.
But… there was this ticklish feeling right in the middle of my chest that didn't feel entirely bad…
With our heads bowed, the atmosphere around us gradually returned to normal. The students who'd edged away came back to their places, and Yi Siyun at the podium cleared her throat with a polite ahem before resuming her speech.
Even so, Tania and Adele still seemed embarrassed — frozen stiff in place, not moving an inch.
I gave the arms I had around them a little shake.
"Tania? Adele?"
"……"
"……"
They still didn't budge, just kept their heads down.
"Mmm……"
Well, maybe they just hated being stared at. Feeling a little guilty, I started to carefully loosen my arms from around them, looking a bit dejected…
Grab!
Tania and Adele both jumped and seized my arms.
"E-Eli! I'm fine!"
"Hm?"
"Mmm… this is more than I imagined……"
"Hmm…?"
Glad they were fine, but… both of them had a faint flush on their faces, which made me wonder if something was wrong.
"Are you… hurt somewhere?"
When I asked carefully, Tania fidgeted and gave a little shudder.
"I just… got a little startled, that's all, Elysia."
"I see……"
Honestly I didn't understand what Adele could have been startled by, but I nodded for now. Probably just surprised by all the sudden attention?
Looking at the back of Tania's head as she hung it again, she seemed to have been startled too.
I wanted to stroke both their heads, but unfortunately both my arms were being held, so I couldn't. So I just hugged them tighter instead.
Squeeze—.
"Ugh…"
"Mm."
Their startled hearts seemed to have calmed a little — their voices were steadier than before.
Meanwhile, Yi Siyun was coming down from the podium, so the freshman representative speech must have ended.
Is that it, then?
"Next, we will hear words of encouragement from the principal."
"……"
I knew it. The other students weren't showing it, but they were clearly thinking this was boring.
Soon the round little principal appeared and took the podium. He seemed like the type who sweated a lot normally — even though he wasn't particularly sweaty, he pulled out a towel out of habit and wiped his shiny head.
Fortunately, the Academy principal wasn't the type to give long speeches, so it was over quickly. And with that, the joyful entrance-and-opening ceremony came to an end.
Students began filing out of the gymnasium in order under the teachers' instructions. I wanted out just as badly, so I gave Tania and Adele's arms a little tug.
"Tania, Adele! Let's go already!"
"Huh? Mm…"
Tania made a dazed sound and let herself be pulled along, while Adele followed quietly without a word. Even so, Tania's face was still faintly flushed.
Was she really not feeling well? She said she was fine, but sometimes people don't even realize they're sick, right?
I wanted to check her forehead for a fever… but again, no free hands.
Ah! That would work!
If I didn't have a free hand, I could just press my forehead against hers. You know those romance movie scenes where someone presses their forehead to their sick lover's to check for a fever? If that scene wasn't based on completely wrong information, I should be able to check Tania's temperature the same way.
If she'd been a guy I might have hesitated, but… we were both girls, so it shouldn't matter.
Having decided, I carefully called her name.
"Tania."
"Y-Yeah?"
She still had her head slightly bowed, looking dizzy, and when she lifted it a little to look at me—
Smack—.
I seized the moment and pressed our foreheads together. I'd heard that closing your eyes makes the other senses sharper, so I closed mine too. Better to be sure whether she had a fever or not.
Hmm… doesn't seem like she has a fever.
When I slowly opened my eyes, Tania's startled face was right in front of me. Those blood-red eyes reflecting me were trembling wildly.
Looking into them, I suddenly noticed how long her eyelashes were.
She's so pretty…
Tania seemed to accept something and slowly closed her eyes. Suddenly her forehead went blazing hot.
She's got a fever! It's hot! Should I send her to the nurse's office right now?
But the line of students heading for the exit was way too long to leave quickly.
Should I just clear them out?
The thought crossed my mind for a second, but I shook my head. There were so many pretty, beautiful kids in that line — how could I do something like that?
Then what about punching through the wall? The Academy building would be sturdy, sure, but not unbreakable. The Academy was famous for being loaded with money — they wouldn't care much about one broken wall, right?
I was thinking about the best way to smash through the wall when Tania's voice reached me.
"E-Eli…?"
"Hm?"
Tania was looking at me with one eye cracked open. She fidgeted, shifting her feet, then carefully asked:
"Just now… what were you trying to do……?"
"Hm? Your face was red, so I was checking for a fever? Are you okay now?"
"……A fever?"
Come to think of it, her face wasn't red anymore. Had I been imagining things?
As I stood there looking puzzled, Adele let out a small sigh.
"Elysia… I think it's our turn to leave now?"
"Ah!"
Before I knew it, the space in front of us was empty. Good thing we could get out soon.
Tania was somehow muttering, "A fever…? A fever…… so it was because of a fever…," so I gently tugged her arm and led her out of the gymnasium.
The cool morning air greeted us warmly.
Now we needed to go check our class assignments… I really hoped I'd end up in the same class as Tania and Adele.