After the Rain, the Ground Gets Swept Away (3)
The VIP lounge of the academy — Princess Seraphin's private parlor.
A blonde imperial princess and two guests seated across a single table from one another.
The man and woman who had come to visit Seraphin's private lounge had spent a long while speaking with her about this and that, their expressions grave and earnest throughout.
After all the talk had wound down, the Third Princess wore a faintly bitter look and asked the two of them in a voice laced with quiet resignation.
"…So you're telling me that Lord Ethan and Miss Lilith intend to serve only through this semester, and then step down from the Student Council?"
"That is correct, Princess Seraphin."
"I, too, will act in accordance with Young Master Ethan's wishes, Princess Seraphin."
"…I see. Since your convictions are both so firm, I suppose I have no right to hold you here any longer. Everyone has their own priorities, after all."
"We're ashamed to bring you such news, Princess Seraphin."
"…No, don't be. This is Ethan's choice and Lilith's choice as well. And truly, I'm only grateful that you've both agreed to handle the financial audits and the administrative affairs through the end of the semester."
Though her heart was quietly burning to cinders in a way her lips would never admit, Seraphin was hardly foolish enough to let that feeling show on her face.
She simply nodded along to Ethan's and Lilith's decision, her smile as serene and composed as she could manage.
"Thank you for telling me in advance. Thanks to you, I'll have time to recruit the next Student Council."
"…We'll take our leave now, Your Highness."
"Yes, Lord Ethan. …Ah, and I must ask that Ethan's and Lilith's departure remain confidential for the time being — if only for the sake of morale within the Council."
"Understood, Your Highness."
"May you have a peaceful day, Your Highness."
Watching the two of them bow and withdraw from her parlor, Seraphin held her smile to the very last. Only after she had seen Ethan and Lilith step out of the VIP building entirely did she finally let loose the sigh she had been holding in.
"Haaaah…."
"Are you all right, Lady Seraphin?"
"Yes, of course. Nothing is the matter with me at all."
"……"
"…That's what I'd like to say, but honestly, this one came as quite a shock even to me."
The truth was that Seraphin had more or less expected this conversation from the moment Ethan requested a meeting.
She had already noticed, after all, that Ethan had spent the winter break looking into Nathalie and Agnes's backgrounds.
It wasn't as though Seraphin had been actively monitoring his movements — the information had simply come to her unavoidably, because his investigation into the two girls had brushed against her own trail.
And once Ethan learned of the connection, guessing what conclusion he would reach had been no difficult task.
So she had prepared her very best arguments to persuade the two of them — but it had proven hopelessly insufficient against Ethan and his personal maid, whose resolve was already set in stone.
"This whole affair was, plainly and simply, my own mistake."
"Lady Seraphin…"
"I should have acted with more care. I never imagined Lord Ethan would be so thoroughly on his guard around Gehmajoshigi-gwat."
"…This was not your fault, my lady. From the start, it was your intention to sever the connection between Lord Ethan and Hero Gehmajoshigi-gwat in that very room, was it not? The plan was merely derailed by an unforeseen circumstance—"
"Which is another way of saying it was a reckless plan, one that could collapse over the smallest trifle. I appreciate your attempt at comfort, but the fact remains that it all sprang from my own error."
"……"
Luke could not bring herself to say another word to her mistress, who stood gazing blankly out the window with a troubled expression.
Some instinct told her that whatever she said now would leave not comfort, but only deeper regret.
"It took so very long to gather everything… and it scatters in a single moment."
"……"
"I suppose this is my due for being the wicked woman that I am. I tried to use other people for my own selfish desires — this is the fair price I must pay for that."
"…You are not a wicked woman, Lady Seraphin. Were it not for your grace and patronage, I would not be standing in this place today."
"No. I keep you at my side because you are useful to me too, Luke. I have always chosen my companions by their utility to my interests, and I believed that as long as I achieved my goals, it was acceptable to shatter whatever small personal bonds stood in the way."
"But Lady Seraphin's goal is precisely the future that everyone needs, is it not?"
"…Who can say. I doubt that 'everyone' would approve of my goal without question. After all, each and every person has one or two things they treasure more than their own life."
Letting out another long sigh, Seraphin quietly stared into empty air and replayed the events of the banquet in her mind once more.
Had the Hero's true purpose, in asking for a chance to meet Lilith, really been nothing more than bringing her into his party?
And if so — why had he set his sights on her in particular?
Powerful as Lilith's magic was, the party already had Agnes, who was far more accomplished in that field.
And Lilith's support magic was, frankly, a shade lacking compared to Serista, who was always at the Hero's side.
The one thing that set Lilith decisively above those two was, as anyone could plainly see and none would bother denying, those overwhelming physical assets of hers.
Perhaps, then, the Hero had some other purpose in mind for Lilith after all…
'…My thoughts simply refuse to come together. That's never happened to me before.'
For whatever reason, everything concerning the Hero made Seraphin's mind sluggish and slow.
She felt anxious every time another woman gathered around him, yet she hated the thought of his displeasure more, and so she bent over backward to grant his requests whenever she could — that was the princess she had become.
This hastily arranged meeting had been at the Hero's urging as well, and she had complied simply because she could not refuse. The Seraphin of old would never have arranged a meeting in such an unseemly rush.
They do say that a girl in love becomes a fool.
No matter how capable she was, Seraphin could not help going blind in the face of love — and so Gehmajoshigi-gwat's sudden request had, in the end, clouded her judgment, if only for a while.
But the incident at that party had not brought Seraphin nothing but ill news, and it was her own private secret that, upon hearing of the rift that had opened in the Hero's party, she had felt a fleeting spark of joy.
'I know I shouldn't be pleased by something like this…'
First, the collapse of Lilith's recruitment — the one person Seraphin had considered her most formidable personal rival.
And then, Nathalie and Agnes had temporarily withdrawn from the Hero's party and were now on awkward terms with him. Small, petty delight had bloomed in Seraphin's heart at the news.
Of course, the newly coolheaded Seraphin would work to bring both girls back into the Hero's party soon enough — but for the present, she didn't have to think of Nathalie and Agnes as competitors at all, and that alone allowed her a small measure of happiness.
'I can still recover from this. Comfort Nathalie over her mistake and bring her back into the Hero's party, and if I persuade Agnes again, then…'
A strained relationship could be mended as easily as anything.
A severed bond could always be tied back together, one way or another.
No one alive surpassed Seraphin at cultivating human relationships, and she was confident that starting over from the beginning would be enough to make up for everything.
'Someone who toys with people's hearts as shamelessly as I do probably won't be let through the gates of heaven when she dies.'
It didn't matter. For Seraphin, the most important thing in this world was, and had always been, the salvation of this world and of all mankind.
…And the second most important thing was winning the heart of the Hero she had come to love.
A week had passed since Ethan and I told Seraphin that we intended to leave the Student Council.
And with the academy's new semester came a fresh wind sweeping through its halls.
It was the year in which most of the fourth-years — who barely touched the original story — graduated, and the new student characters connected to the protagonist finally enrolled.
They weren't as numerous as the current second-years, the so-called "protagonist generation," but this year's incoming class had more than its share of characters who could genuinely be called main-tier figures of Luminor Academy.
The Spearman Department: the barbarian, Liria.
The Martial Arts Department: Kael of the back alleys.
The Pharmacology Department: the kindly Thralia.
The Engineering Department: the inventor, Serdic.
Of these, Liria and Kael were main-tier characters who could eventually even be recruited as the protagonist's companions, while Thralia and Serdic were closer to NPCs.
If you insisted on ranking them by priority, the latter pair actually mattered a little more than the former.
'The Spearman and Martial Arts companion characters have replacements — Thomas and Seraphin — but Thralia and Serdic are the only NPCs who give out potions and gear.'
Put simply, it was the difference between having a substitute and not having one. And of the two, Serdic was the slightly more important.
Thralia's consumable potions could be sourced from other people or NPCs after her graduation, but certain items crafted by Serdic boasted performance so superb you could carry them all the way to the ending without a shred of embarrassment.
There had been a brief flicker of anxiety — what if this changed future kept those four from enrolling at the academy at all? — but in the end, all four of them had safely claimed their places on this year's roster of new students.
Taking the top or second-highest seats in their respective departments, exactly as the original story demanded.
'There was a close call or two, but honestly, this much is nothing.'
I'd also heard that Nathalie, who came to Ethan separately afterward to apologize, had safely resumed her interactions with the Hero alongside Thomas — and I'd crossed paths with Seraphin meeting Agnes privately just the other day.
Gehmajoshigi-gwat's Hero party, briefly scattered as it was, would be whole again before long.
It would be a lie to say I didn't feel a pang of sympathy for Seraphin, running herself ragged this way and that over troubles she'd never asked for — but that, too, was a burden she alone had to bear.
After all, it was a hardship she could have avoided entirely if she simply hadn't invited the Hero party to the Student Council after-party in the first place.
…It was a little strange that Seraphin made a mistake so uncharacteristic of her, but by now it was probably too late to pry into why.
'I suppose I should count myself lucky she's at least stopped clinging to me and Ethan.'
Whether she truly understood that Ethan's heart had left the Student Council for good, or whether she was simply too busy with other priorities to spare us any attention for the moment — either way, Seraphin was showing no particular interest in me or Ethan these days.
It wasn't impossible that one day she'd glance into her Future Sight and come running back with sudden interest — but that was a contingency I had no power to prevent anyway.
Better to savor these quiet days and my returned ordinary life while they lasted.
…Losing my closeness with Seraphin was a personal shame, true, but last semester hadn't left behind nothing but regrets either.
Where some bonds drifted apart, others, by the same token, drew closer.
-Screeeeech.
"……"
First class of the new semester. The front door of the lecture hall opened, and a red-haired mage slipped quietly inside.
Agnes, who had been glancing around the room absentmindedly, went still as her eyes locked with mine, since I happened to be staring blankly in her direction.
She stood frozen for a moment as if deliberating something — then walked, quietly and deliberately, straight toward my seat.
-Plop.
"……"
"……"
She sat down beside me as though it were the most natural thing in the world, said nothing, and averted her eyes.
A strangely awkward silence stretched on. Wondering what on earth she was after, I kept my gaze fixed on her, until finally the reddening profile of Agnes murmured something in my direction.
"…You can call me Agnes."
"Sorry?"
"…Y-you can call me Agnes, I said. …Li, Lilith."
"I apologize, but I didn't quite catch that. Could you say it once more, Miss Blaze?"
"…I said you can call me Agnes!"
"Oh, yes, of course~. So I should just call you Miss Agnes, then?"
"Y-you little—! You understood me from the very beginning, didn't you?! You are seriously…!!"
…Watching her like this, I have to admit she's secretly kind of adorable too.
For one fleeting moment, I found myself thinking that a bond like this one might not be so bad after all.