Chapter 11
Chapter 11
Episode 11
"Ta-da! Ta-da-da! Ta-da-da-da! Tun-ta-ta tun-ta-ta~"
"..."
As we entered the academy and walked down the hallway, Eleanor started making sound effects with her mouth. And she was shouting them so loudly that every time we passed a classroom, I could hear bursts of laughter from inside.
Why did I have to be the one embarrassed?
[1-4]
We arrived at our classroom. I wasn't surprised that we were in the same class. It was the same in the game.
"Alright, Master. Are you ready?"
"Yes..."
Eleanor, who had been making sound effects, whispered to me. As expected, the attention-seeker refused an ordinary entrance. It was exasperating, but there was nothing I could do. She was a character who would die without attention.
"So, I just need to cause an explosion when you open the door? That's all I have to do, right?"
I compromised to satisfy her attention-seeking tendencies. If I refused, I would be swept up in her unpredictable actions, so I had no choice but to comply.
"That's right. This will imprint my existence on everyone. I'm looking forward to it. Hmm, hmm."
Eleanor started to put on a serious expression. But seeing one corner of her mouth twitching upwards, I couldn't help but feel sorry for her.
Eleanor was not very bright.
"Shall we begin?"
"Wait, Noah."
"...?"
I stopped Eleanor before she could make a scene. Eleanor looked up at me with an innocent expression, as if asking what was wrong. I felt a pang of guilt, but it couldn't be helped.
"...It would be better to draw attention by opening the front door, rather than the back door."
"Oh... You're right. As expected of Master."
"Alright, are you ready? You open the door, and I'll cast the spell from a distance, right?"
"Yes!"
Eleanor took a deep breath and stood in front of the door, getting into position. It was embarrassing to watch.
Bang!
She was confident. Confident enough that you wouldn't imagine she was someone who was late. Anyone would think she was the teacher.
Anyway, as planned, the moment Eleanor opened the door and made her declaration, I triggered the spell I had prepared behind her.
Basic Magic:
[Little Bomb]
An explosion erupted behind her as she struck a strange pose. It looked silly, but also like a scene from a blockbuster movie.
Everyone's eyes, including Professor Aira's, were fixed on Eleanor.
"Hello! This is the entrance of Noah, who will become the protagonist of Class 4 from today!"
Wow, how could someone say something like that with a straight face? Anyway, while Eleanor smiled smugly, I quietly opened the back door, entered, and sat down.
"Hmm?"
I blended in with the crowd and discreetly observed Eleanor. She seemed puzzled by my sudden disappearance, but then, realizing she had everyone's attention, she started to smile.
Thanks to that, I was able to completely avoid the gazes directed at me.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Aside from the minor incident of the strange Eleanor, the orientation concluded smoothly. While everyone was preparing for the next day or making plans to hang out, Eleanor approached me with a disgruntled expression.
"Master, don't you think something is strange?"
"What is?"
"Why do I have to write a reflection essay?"
"You have to write a reflection essay because you did something you need to reflect on."
"Master was late too."
"That's not the point."
Being late wasn't the problem. It was what she did afterwards. Besides her lack of remorse, considering the commotion she caused, wasn't this a natural punishment?
"...You'll help me, right? We're accomplices."
"Are you insulting my honor? You commoner?"
"It's too late to act like a prince now. It doesn't suit you, Master. If you keep this up, I'll tell everyone about the poses you were striking in front of the window earlier."
"How did you...?"
She was talking about the time I was experimenting with using [Contemplation] discreetly. Was she watching me? And she was using it to blackmail me?
"...Give it here."
"One-third is enough."
"Thank... Alright."
I almost felt grateful when she said one-third was enough. Was it a thoughtless remark, or was she shrewd?
It was my first time writing a reflection essay. Still, it was nothing compared to writing a self-introduction letter. Moreover, I had [Contemplation], which could see through all principles.
[Contemplation - Activated]
But just like during the exam, [Contemplation] was useless. Even if I could see through principles, it couldn't write a reflection essay for me. [Contemplation] was more useless than I thought.
Anyway, I handed the barely finished essay to Eleanor.
"Here, just copy this."
"That was fast... As expected of Master."
"What?"
It took a normal amount of time since [Contemplation] was no help. I glanced at Eleanor's paper, and as expected...
"...Why is it blank?"
"Actually, I don't know what I did wrong."
"That's a terrifying answer."
If Eleanor wasn't the protagonist, wouldn't she have become a criminal? I was worried.
"Oh? Noah! What are you doing here?"
I heard another familiar voice. The overly cheerful voice annoyed me, so I activated [Contemplation] to check, and it was indeed her.
"Ah, Lucia."
"What's wrong?"
A member of the Empire's intelligence agency, Tenebris.
[SR Mingling Cat]
Lucia Punisher
She had already infiltrated Eleanor's circle. She looked quite different. Perhaps to match Eleanor's attention-seeking tendencies, she was speaking in a very cutesy and flattering manner. It was unsettling, and the unnaturalness made me uncomfortable. I was cringing so hard today.
"Look! Professor Aira told me to write this much for a reflection essay! Isn't that too much?"
"Really? That's too much. But don't worry! I'll help you. Give it here."
"Yes, yes. Thanks for helping, Lucia. You're the best."
"..."
What a disastrous combination. Their high-pitched voices made it hard to even join the conversation. Moreover, Eleanor's casual act of passing off the entire reflection essay gave me goosebumps. Eleanor had eight sheets of paper in front of her. The two she gave me were supposed to be one-third. Those two, plus the two to copy them, and the four she was supposed to write herself. But by passing off those four as "half," she didn't have to write a single page.
"Hee hee."
What a nasty personality. Eleanor smiled mischievously. Well... it was shrewd, but still just a prank. It wasn't directed at me, and Lucia was also deceiving Eleanor, so I let it slide. Still, I needed to be wary of her in the future. I learned that this attention-seeker was far more cunning than I imagined.
"Here, Eleanor! Just copy this, and it'll be perfect!"
"Wow~ Thank you! As expected of Lucia! You're even faster than Master Oz!"
Their theatrical conversation was extremely unpleasant. Eleanor, only verbally expressing gratitude, started copying the reflection essay Lucia had written in her own handwriting. Meanwhile, Lucia started winking at me. It was a rather sharp look. Did she have a complaint against me? It wasn't my fault she was a bad actor.
[Contemplation - Activated]
I activated [Contemplation] in response to Lucia's gaze, and her tail twitched and stiffened. She stroked her tail with both hands and glared at me with a slightly different expression than before. Loser. It seemed like she still couldn't control her tail.
"Then, Noah, I'll be going now."
"Yes! Thank you, Master."
As I left the classroom, leaving Eleanor behind, Lucia started talking to Eleanor as if she had something urgent to attend to.
"Ah! Noah! Come to think of it, I have something to do in the faculty office! See you later at the dormitory!"
It was so awkward. Was she really okay with such exaggerated acting? She was from the Empire's intelligence agency, was this really acceptable?
"Okay! See you later, Lucia."
Well, it didn't seem to matter to Eleanor. I left the classroom after confirming that Eleanor, while verbally expressing gratitude, hadn't taken her eyes off the reflection essay she was copying. Lucia would probably follow me soon.
As soon as I left the classroom, I leaned against a pillar, trying to look cool. Lucia appeared shortly after.
"I'm surprised, Prince Oz."
"Yeah, me too. That was quite the performance. Is that really how the Empire's intelligence agency operates?"
"..."
Lucia covered her face with both hands without saying a word. She seemed embarrassed. It was probably like having a secret hobby exposed to an acquaintance. Her tail curled up tightly. Were her hands and feet not enough? She was quite expressive.
"W-What a coincidence, isn't it? Prince Oz. I never imagined we'd be in the same class."
"Really? It can't be a coincidence. The Empire was planning to approach Noah anyway, weren't they?"
There were several reasons why Lucia infiltrated Scientia, but one of them was to monitor and protect Eleanor. No matter how much she tried to hide her identity, Eleanor was a princess of a kingdom. It was unlikely that she, who had struggled to escape Chrysos, would have the time to cover her tracks. Ultimately, she was able to stay here safely thanks to the Empire's protection and observation. The Empire probably erased her information for her, since Eleanor was clueless about the world.
...In reality, even the Empire's actions were just groundwork for their own benefit, but it was true that their favor brought peace to Eleanor.
"So you knew who she was too?"
As I relayed what I knew, Lucia narrowed her eyes as if it was expected. However, since embarrassment still lingered on her face, she didn't look particularly intimidating. Her tail was still curled up tight.
"So, Prince Oz, your objective was Noah as well. Do you know her true identity, by the way?"
"You should stop trying to sound me out, Lucia Punisher. Do you think I wouldn't even know her name is Eleanor?"
"A-As expected, you know."
Her tail twitched, despite her attempt to appear nonchalant. Was [Contemplation] that intimidating? Intimidating enough to make even an Imperial agent unable to hide her emotions? Eleanor didn't seem to mind it, which was strange.
"Then do you know this?"
Whether it was to compare information or to extract information from me, Lucia started talking about Eleanor and Chrysos. She had a somewhat smug expression.
[Erosion Rate 20%]
She was only relaying objective facts, but...
"Princess Eleanor's homeland, the Chrysos Kingdom..."
"You're talking about its destruction, aren't you?"
I didn't like her callousness. They were like friends just a moment ago. How could she speak so indifferently about it? How could she so casually mention the fact that her friend had lost everything?
"Or are you talking about the fact that there are no other survivors among the Chrysos royal family besides her?"
Was it because she was from Tenebris? Because it was just a fake relationship, a temporary infiltration? If she was only close to Eleanor for work, why was she acting so friendly towards her? Was it just to make it easier to extract information?
"I'm warning you, it's best not to try anything funny out of curiosity."
Eleanor would continue to grow from Chapter 1 to Chapter 12 of the main story. Not just physically, but mentally as well. And that was paradoxically the same as saying,
"Remember that I'm always watching Noah."
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Eleanor von Chrysos was that fragile.
Eleanor was more perceptive of others' gazes than I thought. Not only the gazes directed at her, but she was also sensitive to the direction of others' gazes. Otherwise, she wouldn't have been able to escape Chrysos, which was right under the shattered sky.
"Hmm..."
Eleanor was focused on copying the reflection essay, but she noticed the strange atmosphere between Lucia and Oz. She saw Oz's distorted expression when Lucia spoke to him. Along with the trivial thought, 'He's still handsome even with that expression,' Eleanor decided not to pry into their relationship for now.
A friend of a friend is a friend.
She wasn't going to make such a ridiculous claim. Eleanor had already been betrayed by someone she considered a friend, or even family, until just yesterday. Trusting others was more difficult than she thought.
"What's their relationship...?"
Eleanor knew how her actions appeared to others. Most of them probably thought she was a nuisance. But she didn't care.
'As long as they remember me, it's okay even if they hate me...'
But even she liked people who were kind to her. Lucia Punisher and Oz Quabadis. Ironically, it was those two whose relationship was currently suspicious.
'Master is considerate of me.'
He was different from the rumors. She had heard that he was extremely arrogant and wouldn't even speak to those who were incompetent, but he was kinder than she expected. Above all, he seemed similar to her, which made her comfortable.
'Lucia adjusts to me.'
She couldn't figure out Lucia. But she knew that Lucia was making a lot of concessions for her. Moreover, Lucia was the only one who could stay with her at night since they shared a room.
"Should I... eavesdrop...?"
A girl with a considerably low sense of guilt. Eleanor decided to spy on them to see what was going on. She knew it wasn't a good thing to do. But she couldn't help it.
"If I don't check..."
This was the only way she could live now.
-Princess, how about this dress? You look good in anything, but I think blue, similar to your eyes, suits you best.
She had an attendant who was so close to her that they were like sisters. Her name was "Decentura Heros." Eleanor's current persona was modeled after her. Decentura, who was always cheerful and positive, was the ideal image Eleanor aspired to.
But Decentura forgot about Eleanor.
-Who are you?
At first, she thought it was a joke. But as time passed, she realized. She had been forgotten. And as more and more people forgot about Eleanor, she became increasingly confused. The relationship she had cherished like family for her entire life crumbled overnight. She didn't know what had happened.
'Look at me.'
Something started happening in places she couldn't see. And so, she was forgotten by everyone. She endured those experiences. But she couldn't endure it any longer. Around the time she started to wonder if her existence itself had vanished, Eleanor escaped Chrysos.
'Please look at me.'
But even the world outside was filled with malice. Even though nothing had been revealed yet, many people condemned and resented her. In the end, she had no choice but to hide her existence from everyone...
'Please, everyone, look at me...'
But by then, the fear of disappearing had already consumed her. Eleanor couldn't stand being alone. She was afraid that something would happen again in a place she couldn't see. She was afraid that her existence would be forgotten by everyone again.
"Ah..."
Eleanor realized she was hiding behind the classroom door, peeking at Oz and Lucia. A wave of self-loathing washed over her, but she suppressed it. She had to. This was how she had to live now. She could only live in this disgusting way, craving attention while simultaneously distrusting others.
"I'm warning you, it's best not to try anything funny out of curiosity."
Flinch!
Eleanor flinched and trembled at Oz's cold words. It was a voice she had never heard before. A voice clearly laced with anger. For a moment, Eleanor trembled, thinking it might be directed at her. But then she realized it wasn't and felt relieved. And then she felt disgusted with herself again.
'I need to stop doing this.'
Eavesdropping on others arguing wasn't good. She shouldn't intrude on their affairs. She knew this. As she was about to turn back...
"Remember that I'm always watching Noah."
In that single moment, with those simple words...
The conversation between the two...
Her childish actions...
Her selfish desire to be seen...
Her sense of duty to rebuild the fallen Chrysos Kingdom and u
ncover the truth...
Even the fear of being forgotten again...
Yes, with those simple words...
"Uh..."
...she could forget everything. She could put down those heavy burdens, even for a moment.
"Ugh..."
And she wept alone. She was just Noah, not Eleanor von Chrysos, but she was here, and someone was watching over her.