Club Activities and Sweet Secrets
Talismans come in all sorts of varieties.
From the illusion talismans I've been using the most lately to sound-blocking ones. The luck talismans and courage talismans I sold to the students. The Emperor bought fifty billion gold coins' worth of protection talismans from me.
All because I poured real effort into making them.
A talisman made with genuine care isn't just something you slap together. It means communing with the stars as much as possible, refining your law power to its purest state, and pouring every ounce of effort you have into it.
The protection talisman I sold to the Emperor took a full week of fasting and sleepless work.
The one I used for Serdian last time only took about a day.
"Lirith. Do you know how valuable this talisman is?"
"…A billion gold coins?"
"Nope. A hundred."
The luck talisman fluttering in my hand was just something I made with a quick spirit snap. Since it was created through my own law power, it's still better than what most talisman mages could manage after a full day of careful work. I can churn out hundreds of thousands of these in a single day.
"Then how much do you think this one is worth?"
"…A billion gold coins?"
"Wrong again. You can't buy it with money."
The talisman in my hand was the Dragon-Eating Talisman, the same one I'd used as a medium to reach Transcendent rank. I created it after gaining enlightenment from fighting the Blue Mountain Range, one of the northern region's calamities. Three whole months. I poured every drop of my law power and every bit of that insight into making just three of them. I've already used one, so only two remain.
It's a talisman that lets a human hand replicate a dragon's most powerful attack—the kind of strike only a being called the Proxy of God could unleash.
"Lirith. Hold your arm out straight."
"I-I am holding it out…!"
Lirith raised her smooth arm. I'd told the Emperor I'd punish her instead of cutting off her allowance. She looked a little worried at first, but when Estelia told her not to, she backed down. That was the kind of power I held.
And here I was, wasting time on this nonsense.
"You get what I'm saying, right?"
"…"
Tap tap tap!
…She left.
No matter how quietly she tried to slip away, she couldn't fool my ears once my tattoos were showing through my uniform. I let the law power I'd raised settle down, and the turbulent air around us finally calmed.
Estelia, Serena, and Eileen, who had realized I was angry, stayed quiet and watched carefully. Luka was busy eating the desserts Lirith had been hoarding.
"Alright, lecture's over. We're club members now, yeah?"
"Y-Yes… sniff…"
"Aigoo, maybe I went too far…"
Lirith's voice grew thick as she fought back tears. Her eyes were a little wet, but she quickly wiped them away. From what I'd seen of the Emperor, he'd probably raised her like a precious jewel. No one had ever treated her like this before. Still, this would toughen her up. She had to swallow it.
"There, stop crying."
"…Stop!"
"??"
I'd only said it as a joke, but she actually repeated it. I glanced at Estelia in surprise and saw the same bewildered look on her face. Eileen was staring at Lirith with an expression that screamed "how cute."
Estelia sighed and walked over to Lirith.
"He might not look it, but he's actually pretty kind. Our pretty princess, your makeup's all smudged."
"Sniff… hic… Esteliaaaa!"
"Here, shall I wipe your tears, Your Highness?"
"…Okay!"
Lirith, who had been trembling in front of me, ran straight into Estelia's arms. She was a third-year, so she should have been older than Estelia, but seeing her crying in Estelia's embrace made that hard to believe.
"Sniff… snort!"
Lirith even blew her nose in Estelia's arms. Her face turned red with embarrassment a moment later. Being royalty, her pride was probably sky-high.
"Ahem… Let me introduce our club. Members are Kanahan, Estelia, Luka, Eileen, Lady Louie, and me. Six people total!"
"…That's it?"
"Y-Yeah. Got a problem?"
Lirith spoke with confidence. After all, this club room was ridiculously spacious and luxurious. Even the tablecloth looked suspiciously like something stolen from the imperial palace. When I stared at her like I wanted the truth, she shrank back.
"A-Actually, I made this club a week ago."
Here's what happened.
The Fourth Princess, who had been quietly minding her own business until now, suddenly created a gourmet club. Anyone could tell it was just an excuse for noble ladies to socialize. Plenty of them submitted applications, but none met the "qualifications." A whole week of accepting applications, and not a single person got in.
"So you just wanted to eat good food and made the club, but the ladies misunderstood?"
"Exactly! Dad won't let me eat desserts! Sniff…"
The club was a scheme to secretly devour delicious desserts without the Emperor finding out. It was nothing more than a dessert launchpad.
"Perfect! Let's mooch off the academy's budget then!"
"Mooch…?"
"Eat for free."
"Ooh, that has a nice ring to it…! Mooch!"
Lirith repeated the word like she'd learned something great. Estelia quickly told her to forget it. It wasn't even a bad thing, so why was she acting like that…
"Master, what should we do then?"
"What else… Lirith. Let's eat something tasty."
"Great! Then let's go eat first!"
Even though applications were still open, club activities were allowed. The academy had given Lirith activity funds despite her not meeting the minimum five-member requirement because they'd assumed it would be possible. How could the Fourth Princess fail to gather four people? In the end, they had no choice but to hand over the money. Refusing over such a small amount might have provoked royal wrath.
"Where are we?"
"My favorite dessert shop. Let's go in!"
Lirith strode in with confidence. The moment she entered, the staff who recognized her rushed over.
"Oh my, Your Highness! You're here again!"
"I couldn't forget this taste! Give me a slice of strawberry cake. And the chocolate roll cake, and…"
Before Lirith even finished ordering, the staff were already packing cakes and desserts like it was routine. She really was a regular.
Since we didn't know the menu, we just picked seats and let Lirith order for us. Once she was done, she sat down.
Three on each side.
Lirith | Estelia | Luka
Eileen | Me | Serena
Luka and Serena's side faced a curtained wall.
"Your Highness, what did you order?"
"…Estelia. I told you I hate being called 'Your Highness,' didn't I?"
"Oh, I'm sorry. Miss Lirith. What did you order?"
"Strawberry cake and… Ah, this place is really good too…"
Lirith excitedly explained everything. Looking at her like this, she seemed small in every way. She reminded me of old lady Pinya.
"How do you know Estelia?"
"Because she's from a ducal house."
Of course. The class system was alive and well in this medieval world. It was only natural for high-ranking kids to stick together from a young age. In other words, their families had introduced them when they were little.
"So how old are you, Lirith?"
"Twenty-two."
"I'm twenty."
"…Call me noona! Noona!"
"Don't wanna. Then you call me oppa."
"W-Why would I call you oppa!!!"
Call me oppa…
Call me…
Me…
By the way, this dessert shop was packed with noble ladies. Especially the rich kind who moved around in groups. Realizing this, Lirith quickly sat down, but whispers still reached us.
"Oh my, that party… Isn't that Lord Kanahan's party?"
"Then the princess is with him too? Goodness!"
"Just how amazing must he be… Ah, I'm so curious."
The last part had a slightly spicy tone, but the rest was just innocent admiration from the noble ladies. Lirith was about to explain herself when Estelia grabbed her hand. A clear signal to stay quiet.
"…What do you mean?"
"I just wanted to hold your hand. And it's not a bad thing, right? His Majesty the Emperor seemed to want it too."
What was this? This was the same Estelia who had told me not to add more women. But now she looked like she wanted me to marry Lirith. Why? If I thought about it…
Luka and I were technically imperial citizens. Even northern barbarians counted as imperial citizens. Estelia was from an imperial ducal house. Serena was also an imperial noble.
She wants to make sure Lirith becomes a proper imperial citizen. Is that it?
Marrying Lirith would definitely make her an imperial citizen. But did Estelia really want that?
Even Lirith, who had received all kinds of education, looked confused about the intent.
"Got it."
"Hehe… Good girl, Lirith unni."
"What… Unni?!"
Lirith looked genuinely shocked, like she'd never heard those words before. Her expression screamed Is this a dream or reality? Her over-the-top reaction was hilarious.
"Here are the desserts you ordered."
"Ooh…!"
The desserts arrived soon after. Since everything except drinks was pre-made, it came out fast. The moment Lirith saw them, her eyes sparkled and she started inhaling everything.
"Ah… I've been living wrong."
"Oh my…"
Eileen teared up after just one bite of chocolate cake. Serena froze like a statue after tasting hers. How starved had they been? Though when they were with me, I did feed them good food. Pork rice soup, spicy stir-fried pork, pork cutlets, chicken—how delicious were those? Estelia even dragged me out for tteokbokki sometimes.
Drip…
"Sniff… Serena. Let's eat lots of tasty things together…!"
Eileen forgot all table manners and started stuffing cake into her mouth. Serena wasn't much different.
"Yeah…!"
Serena even forgot to speak formally, probably because her blood sugar had spiked so high. After that, the two of them focused entirely on their cake-eating contest. In the end, they finished everything Lirith had ordered.
"I'm so full…"
"Me too…"
"This sandwich is delicious. The strawberry smoothie too."
The two of them couldn't eat another bite. I ended up finishing the leftover sandwiches and strawberry smoothie.
"I already drank from that…"
"Huh? It's fine."
"Aww, whatever…"
Slurp.
Mmm, tasty.
"Try mine too."
"Oh? Oreo shake. Delicious."
"T-Try mine too!"
"Okay."
"…Eat this."
Seeing this, Estelia offered her own Oreo shake. Then Luka gave her green grape ade, and Eileen offered iced tea. I wasn't sure why, but it felt like they were all in some kind of fierce competition.
"Hah! This is…"
Lirith muttered something, but I was too busy eating everyone else's drinks to care. It'd be a waste to leave them.
"Ahem… This body is craving a mango smoothie…"
The drink I'd ordered was a mango smoothie. There was still a little left.
Whoosh!
"…Shall I order you a new one?"
"Hic…"
Estelia's expression was ice-cold. Lirith flinched at the sight. Estelia herself looked surprised by her own instinctive wariness. They stared at each other in shock.
"Here. Drink."
Thud.
I placed the mango smoothie in front of Lirith.
Jump!
"Hmph… This body's palate is too refined to drink something you've already had!"
Lirith suddenly stood up. Even as she said that, she kept glancing at Estelia. Estelia let out a long sigh.
"Haah… You're so twisted. Miss Lirith, sit back down."
"Ugh…"
Lirith was technically two years older. But somehow Estelia still seemed like the older one…
Boing…
Hmm… Yeah, they're definitely different.
Just as I was thinking that, Estelia spoke.
"Here. Have a sip."
"I-I don't drink things he's had… mmph!!"
"Drink."
"Gulp… mm…"
Estelia stuck the straw into Lirith's mouth. Lirith resisted at first, then quietly sipped the mango smoothie.
"…It's all gone."
Lick…
Lirith unconsciously licked the smoothie from her lips.
"Whoa, that's hot."
"…Eek…?!"
Startled by my words, Lirith quickly covered herself. Her face was bright red.
"Haah…"
Thud.
Estelia could only press a hand to her forehead.