A Complicated Day (3)
Theo cleared his throat in front of the mirror, adjusting his clothes with careful tugs.
No wrinkles. No soup stains from breakfast. Of course there weren’t. These were the clothes he’d been saving specifically for today.
He ran a hand through his hair even though he barely knew what he was doing. The only trick he’d mastered was deciding which way to sweep his bangs, but even that small ritual made him feel a little more in control.
“Hey. Which side looks better?”
He even asked his roommate, figuring two heads were better than one, even if the guy had just rolled out of bed.
“Are you insane? You look equally ugly either way, so stop rustling around and just leave already.”
All he got was the usual abuse. He’d expected it.
Still, it would’ve been nice to lean on someone for once. Especially on the morning of his first real date.
Theo had always assumed he’d never have anything to do with this kind of thing in his entire life.
Turns out life had other plans.
After dressing in the most impressive outfit he owned and triple-checking every last detail until it was physically impossible to prepare any more, he finally stepped out of the dormitory.
The meeting spot was the academy’s main gate, a popular place for students who’d arranged to meet for all sorts of reasons.
Plenty of people were already waiting nearby, each with their own motives.
Some leaned against the wall, dozing off. Others pulled out notebooks and studied even in the short gaps between arrivals. And some stood there with obvious excitement, constantly scanning their surroundings.
Theo was somewhere in the middle.
He sat on a nearby bench, pretending to wait calmly while slowly running his hands along his staff. He checked the mana circuits, inspected every inch for bends or cracks, and made sure nothing was damaged.
But the fact that he’d been obsessively examining the exact same section for the past several minutes made it painfully obvious his mind was somewhere else entirely.
“Maybe I came out too early?”
He still remembered how furious Luna had gotten the time he showed up late to meet her. She’d played it off as a slightly mischievous prank in the end, but the fact that someone as easygoing as Luna had gone so far as to drag other people into her revenge told him exactly how angry she’d been.
Because of that memory, he’d arrived well before the appointed time today… but now he was starting to worry he might have overdone it.
“Theo! You’re really early. Have you been waiting long?”
Luckily, he wasn’t the only one who’d shown up ahead of schedule.
He looked up at the voice that suddenly called out right in front of him.
“No, not at all. I haven’t been waiting long.”
When he’d first read that line in one of the romance novels he’d studied in the library, he hadn’t understood why anyone would answer that way. Now he got it.
It was consideration, so the other person wouldn’t feel burdened.
With one more point added to his dating experience, Theo lifted his head and looked at Faye.
“…….”
And promptly lost the ability to speak.
Faye was wearing a sleek black going-out dress. The boldly exposed sides of her torso immediately drew the eye. It wasn’t overly decorated; if anything, it was almost modest for noble standards. Yet it suited Faye’s bright personality perfectly.
Noticing Theo staring in a daze, Faye’s cheeks flushed slightly as she asked,
“Ehehe. How do I look? Does it suit me?”
“Yeah. It really suits you, Faye.”
Faye in an elegant going-out dress was undeniably beautiful.
But what truly stole Theo’s breath wasn’t just her appearance.
It was the atmosphere.
The honest smile that openly displayed her excitement for today’s date and her affection for him was more captivating than anything else.
“Alright, let’s go!”
Faye held out her hand.
Only then did Theo realize he was still sitting on the bench.
“Right. Let’s go.”
“We still have plenty of time, you know!”
“I didn’t expect you to come so early either, Faye. If I’d shown up right on time, I would’ve kept you waiting forever.”
“Maybe! But I wouldn’t have minded at all!”
“Haha, I bet you wouldn’t.”
They exchanged light, meaningless conversation as Theo took her hand.
With a cute little grunt of effort, Faye pulled him to his feet.
Her hand was small and slender, her arm thin. Yet he could feel calluses in several places, and her grip strength was actually greater than his own.
The clear traces of consistent training.
Most ordinary girls would probably feel embarrassed about having rough palms like that. In fact, many noble daughters chose to learn magic instead of swordsmanship for exactly that reason.
But there wasn’t even a hint of shame in the way Faye gripped his hand.
Only sincere confidence that refused to be embarrassed by the evidence of her hard work, and the firm belief that Theo would understand and appreciate that sincerity.
Her heart was so straightforward that even Theo found himself wondering, What did I ever do to deserve this kind of trust?
Still, asking her that directly would’ve been hopelessly mood-killing. Even he knew that much.
So instead, he simply squeezed her hand back, returning her affection in the only way he could.
“Heehee.”
Faye let out a small giggle. Apparently that had been the right answer.
As Theo stood up, still holding her hand, he realized the tension that had been coiled in his chest had completely melted away.
Feeling much lighter, he took the lead this time and gently pulled Faye along.
“Is there anywhere you want to go, Faye?”
“Mmm… hehet. There is. But let’s save it for last! I want to go wherever you want to go first, Theo!”
“How do you know where I want to go?”
“I don’t! But no matter where we go, you’ll be right beside me, Theo.”
“Uh… ah……”
Her straightforward affection hit him like a straight punch. Theo’s face turned bright red.
One of the couples nearby who had been secretly watching let out an impressed sigh and told his girlfriend to try saying something like that too, only to get smacked.
Leaving the commotion behind, Theo recalled the schedule he’d planned in his head and started walking ahead.
First stop: a weapons specialty shop.
Senos’s hidden shop in the general store carried weapons too, but the items there were mostly rare pieces that were difficult to obtain. Dungeon-exclusive gear, incredibly scarce artifacts, that sort of thing.
In terms of sheer quantity, even if the quality was debatable, it was hard to compete with a dedicated weapons shop.
“Whoa, whoa! Theo, look at this! It says if you split the greatsword, it turns into twin blades!”
“That’s pretty interesting. But why would you even do that…?”
“Maybe it’s actually an amazing weapon once you practice with it? In a moment of crisis, you go ‘Hah!’ and split the sword!”
“Oh. When you put it that way, it does sound pretty cool.”
“Right? Right?”
I’m not sure it has any meaning beyond looking cool, though. He kept that last part to himself.
Still, if Faye was enjoying herself, that was what mattered.
When the count’s daughter had told him to take Faye to a weapons shop, Theo had seriously wondered if that was really the right move. Even someone with zero dating experience like him knew that a weapons store didn’t exactly scream “romantic date.”
But the moment she said, “Most girls would probably feel that way. But this is Faye we’re talking about,” he was instantly convinced.
And seeing how genuinely happy she looked now, he had to admit the count’s daughter really did know her friend well.
Theo followed at a leisurely pace behind Faye as she practically skipped down the aisles of the shop.
“Huh.”
Then one particularly unique weapon caught his eye.
It was a pair of boots that, when you twisted the heel, would shoot out a blade from the toe. The shop had named them Knife Boots.
The description said they were useful for surprise attacks at unexpected moments. Which also implied they weren’t exactly ideal as a primary weapon.
Even so, the moment he saw them, the image of a certain white rabbit’s ears popped into his head, and he couldn’t help thinking they might actually be pretty useful for her.
Suddenly, a slender hand grabbed his cheeks. Thin and soft, yet firm in all the right places.
Faye cupped both of Theo’s cheeks and forcibly turned his head toward her.
Her gaze flicked briefly toward the knife boots before returning to him.
It was obvious who Theo had been thinking about while staring at those boots. Faye knew it too.
She puffed out her cheeks in clear displeasure.
“Theo. You’re with me right now, aren’t you? Save those thoughts for later!”
“Ah, uh, sorry.”
Theo apologized immediately.
He was well aware that thinking about another girl during a date was wrong, and he was also surprised by how openly possessive Faye was being.
Fortunately, Faye didn’t drag the matter out. As if she had never puffed her cheeks at all, she smiled brightly again and pulled him along.
This time, she kept a firm grip on his hand so he couldn’t look anywhere else.
While Theo and Faye were stumbling their way through an undeniably sweet date…
Claire was visiting a branch chapel in the Slums.
“Oh my, if it isn’t the Saintess herself paying us a visit!”
The priest in charge of the branch welcomed Claire inside with great enthusiasm.
“I’m only a Holy Knight Candidate, not the Saintess yet.”
“Oh dear, to simple clergy like us, there isn’t much difference. Besides, haven’t your divine powers grown even more refined lately, Saintess?”
“Hehe. It is all thanks to the Goddess’s grace.”
“Indeed, indeed.”
The priest took Claire’s words as nothing more than the humble modesty of a devout believer. It never even occurred to him that she might be speaking the literal truth about the Goddess’s blessing.
The two offered a short prayer of gratitude for the Goddess’s benevolence before moving on to the main topic.
“Are you here for service work again today?”
“Yes. It is an order from the Church.”
“Truly, I find it difficult to understand. To assign someone of your caliber to mere charity work in the slums… Surely there are more suitable tasks?”
“…Well. There must be a reason. I simply do as I am told.”
“Of course, of course. That is how it should be. Everything has been prepared over here.”
The priest led Claire to the storage room. Inside were piles of supplies prepared specifically for charity work.
Claire quickly counted the volume with her eyes and asked,
“Isn’t the amount a bit smaller than last time? Did something happen?”
“Ah, no, nothing like that. It’s simply that the number of people in the slums has decreased recently, so we adjusted the supplies accordingly. The amount each person receives will remain the same.”
“The number has decreased…?”
“Yes. Given that the academy itself was attacked, it seems many felt uneasy and chose to leave. That is our current assumption.”
“Uneasy… That does make sense.”
Even as Claire voiced her agreement, she had a strong feeling that anxiety wasn’t the only reason.
Something was happening.