Chapter 42
Chapter 42
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 42
Chapter Title: Her Date (3)
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"...What are you all doing?"
At my call, Emily and Mary flinched, while Rafne subtly lifted her head.
Then, one by one, the other two set aside their menus and showed their faces.
"What brings you all here? And wearing sunglasses..."
Of course, I was wearing mine too, but in my case, it was to hide my identity.
But sunglasses indoors? No matter how I thought about it, it seemed weird.
"Ken... Th-the truth is..."
Mary was the first to try answering my question.
Bam—!
But before she could, Emily slammed the table and stood up, cutting her off.
"Th-this is, you know...! A, a... celebration party!"
"Celebration... party?"
"Y-yeah...! That's right! A party to celebrate Rafne's return."
Emily spoke, and Mary supplemented the explanation before averting her eyes.
More than that.
A celebration party for Rafne...?
Rafne stared blankly at the two of them in turn.
And on the table were sliced cakes and drinks.
"S-so... to help Rafne, who's back at the academy after a year, adjust more easily...?"
"Y-yeah! Exactly! We've gotten really close starting today! R-right, Rafne?"
"Huh? ...You two are both kind. Ken."
Emily urgently grabbed Rafne's hand with a beaming smile, and Rafne awkwardly affirmed her words.
I see.
For Rafne, who hadn't interacted with anyone for a year...
"Sniff...!"
"K-Ken...?"
"Wh-why are you crying?!"
"It's nothing... I just... feel grateful to everyone."
In a way, both of them could be considered to have a bad history with Rafne.
Yet they understood her circumstances and were helping her settle into academy life.
Holding hands so amicably like that.
For me, who had been inwardly anxious that a fight might break out, it was incredibly touching.
I wiped away my unseemly tears and smiled at the three of them.
"Well then, since special flowers are blooming today... how about we all go flower viewing together?"
It was something I'd originally planned to suggest to Rafne.
But today marked Rafne's first day back at the academy after a year and her first time making friends.
I should make an effort.
And the first to react to my suggestion was Mary.
"I-I want to go! I'll go!"
Her eyes sparkling as she raised her hand. Mary seemed to like flowers.
After hurriedly clearing her cup and dessert and returning them to the cafe, Mary rushed over to me.
She linked her arm with mine and pulled me along.
"Come on, let's go quick. How about we eat the tea and desserts picnic-style?"
"Huh? B-but the others..."
"Ah—! W-wait—!"
"H-hold on, Mary, why are you going ahead on your own!"
With Mary taking the lead to join the flower viewing, Rafne and Emily reacted immediately and hastily cleared the table.
After that, we spread mats at the city-designated picnic spot, enjoyed tea and cookies, and admired the flowers.
Unlike the flower-packed walking path, this place was an open field with pretty flowers blooming here and there, and other city folk had also laid out their spots to enjoy the blooms.
"Wow...! They're shaped so uniquely. Ken, smell this too! The scent is amazing!"
"Emily's pockets really have a variety of food. Do you always carry that much around?"
"I-it's just a hobby...! You never know when someone might need a bite..."
We each munched on cookies and sipped tea, happily admiring the flowers.
And far off, I could see Elis and Siegfried enjoying their own time together, laughing happily.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ "Zeke really likes flowers, huh?"
While touring the field covered in white flowers together, Elis asked Siegfried.
From childhood, while training in swordsmanship to get stronger,
Siegfried had liked tending to flowers.
Of course, since it was his only ability, that made sense.
But especially when looking at flowers, a smile different from his usual one appeared on Siegfried's face.
Elis liked that smile.
His efforts in sword training despite lacking talent were cool,
but when the blunt, emotionally awkward guy smiled gently at flowers,
her heart fluttered without her realizing it.
And to her question, Siegfried plucked a single white flower and sniffed it.
"Flowers struggle from a tiny seed, sprout with difficulty, and ultimately bear beautiful results. I've liked that effort since I was little."
Then he brought the plucked flower to Elis and tucked it behind her ear.
A beautiful white flower blending with her pink hair.
Thump.
Thump thump.
At his sudden touch, Elis's heart raced, and heat rose to her face.
"And above all, you liked them the most when I grew pretty flowers. Tending flowers reminded me of you, and it always put me in a good mood for no reason."
"Ugh..."
It had been like this since childhood.
She alone felt embarrassed and thrilled at his casual actions, like a fool.
And whenever she saw that,
she wondered if he did the same to other girls, feeling anxious for no reason.
She wanted him to do it only for her.
"...Idiot. Dummy."
"...I guess I am an idiot."
She didn't really think he was an idiot.
But when those complex emotions mixed and she felt shy, harsh words slipped out unwittingly.
She hated herself for it.
So Elis turned her body and walked ahead first.
To avoid him noticing her flushed face and panicking more.
'...Is the medicine wearing off?'
Rubbing her cheeks with both hands, Elis recalled.
Until just moments ago, thanks to the medicine Ken gave her, she'd been able to converse smoothly with Zeke.
'Should've asked for one more.'
But a single touch made her heart race again and her cheeks flush.
The real idiot was her.
"...Wait, Elis."
"H-huh?"
Siegfried caught up to Elis, who had gone ahead.
"What, worried I'll get lost?"
"No, it's not that..."
Then Siegfried pulled something from his pocket.
"......What's this?"
A small pouch wrapped with a ribbon.
"A gift."
"...G-gift? Suddenly? Why?"
"...Why? It's your birthday today."
To her surprised question, Siegfried tilted his head and answered.
"Ah!"
Then she remembered today's date.
Come to think of it, these flowers always bloomed around her birthday.
Elis, who wasn't too concerned about her birthday, had forgotten.
And carefully taking out the gift from Siegfried,
inside was a necklace with a small clover ornament.
Elis struggled to hide her touched expression that looked ready to tear up at the sight of the necklace.
Instead, she flashed her usual cheeky grin and teased Siegfried.
"What~? You can't just give stuff like this to a girl carelessly; she'll get the wrong idea. Idiot!"
"...The wrong idea?"
"Yeah, like thinking you like her or something. Ahaha."
"If that's the misunderstanding, it's fine."
To her playful words, Siegfried replied like that, took the necklace from her hand,
and personally clasped it around her neck.
"You're the only one I give gifts like this to."
"......"
Looking at the necklace around her neck, he smiled faintly.
"It suits you well. Good."
Elis stared blankly at him.
Unable to even think of hiding her red cheeks.
"Shall we head back?"
"H-huh?"
"We've seen enough flowers, and I gave you the gift I wanted to."
Siegfried turned to head down the opposite path.
"W-wait...!"
Snapping out of it, Elis urgently grabbed his hand.
Siegfried turned back, puzzled.
"J-just a bit... let's look around a little more."
"But we've seen plenty of flowers?"
"Th-then the stalls! There are tons of street vendors over there! I'm hungry!"
Elis wanted to spend more of today's date with him.
Until moments ago, she would've followed him back,
but now that she'd received a gift,
she wanted to savor this precious fluttering feeling longer together.
"...You're really impossible."
"Ugh."
Seeing her earnest face, Siegfried smiled and patted Elis's head.
And so, the two spent a little more precious, warm time together.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ "Hmhmhmm~."
Elis hummed as she returned to her dorm after her date with Siegfried.
The gift around her neck made her feel inexplicably happy,
and
'You're the only one I give gifts like this to.'
his words when giving the necklace made her feel happy all over again.
"Ehehehe..."
The date she'd worried about messing up somehow went off without a hitch.
Especially from the end, it was pure sweetness, making it all the more satisfying.
'Zeke doesn't seem to get the mood, though.'
But if it made her thrilled and happy, that was good enough.
Basking in happiness, Elis lightly walked the darkening path.
Then, something suddenly caught her eye ahead on the road.
"......A ring?"
She spotted a ring fallen on the ground, strangely sparkling.
"Wow... Pretty."
She picked it up.
Did someone lose it?
But looking around, she was the only one on the road.
'...If someone claims it, I should return it.'
Enchanted by the beautiful ring, Elis absentmindedly slipped it onto her left ring finger.
"Wow! Perfect fit?"
Admiring its beauty on her finger, Elis smiled brightly.
Having received a necklace from Siegfried and found a pretty ring, today felt like a happy birthday.
With light steps, Elis headed back to her dorm.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ About a week had passed since Elis's date commotion ended and Rafne returned to the academy.
"What do you think? Isn't that novel fun?"
"Oh! Yeah, I read it, and it was super touching! Especially the part where the protagonist sacrifices for the young lady..."
"Ahh! That part's great! Then after the protagonist loses his arm..."
"Wait, wait! I haven't gotten there yet!"
Rafne and Emily had grown so close they were even swapping novels.
At first, when I blocked Rafne's curse and brought her to the academy, I'd worried if she'd fit in with the students or if the demon army might attack.
All sorts of concerns.
But fortunately, contrary to my worries, Rafne was adapting well to the academy.
Not just Emily, but she seemed to get along with Mary too.
And most importantly, there was no sign of the demon army I'd feared.
'Peaceful...'
Before, with Rafne trapped in the tower, I'd been struggling to lift her curse amid various incidents.
Lately, training with Siegfried was going smoothly, and Rafne's condition had improved a lot.
So I was enjoying the peaceful academy youth.
"What do you think, Ken? Wanna read this one? It's really fun!"
"Yeah, yeah. Give it a try. It's my recommendation too."
Rafne and Emily, chatting happily about novels, offered the book to me too as I joined their conversation.
"A novel, huh... That fun?"
The moment I took the novel Rafne offered and joined their talk,
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [System: You have been cursed.] "......Huh?"
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [System: Due to the curse's effect, you will die in 3 days.] I received a death sentence with a time limit.