142. The Stormy Transfer Student (End)
142. The Stormy Transfer Student (End)
"Yohan, this color won't do."
"Red really is a little much, then."
"That too, but doesn't the design look like something a ghost would wear? You were planning to put this on Karina?"
At Ashley's sharp rebuke, I scratched my head and tossed the red veil onto the pile to my right.
Ashley had seen far more luxury goods than either of us, and her discerning eye made the work much easier.
Ashley explained the colors and clothing currently in fashion, as well as what to watch for when making a veil. All we had to do was select a few suitable ones.
"You're quite skilled with your hands too, Yohan. Veils are harder to make than they look..."
"I only made them this easily because you helped."
If Sif and I had continued blindly through trial and error, we'd still have been sorting them into left and right piles. Ashley had come despite being busy, and thanks to her, the work ended quickly.
"Then I'll go prepare for dinner."
"Got it. We'll finish up and head over."
"Ugh, is it finally over..."
Sif stretched with a refreshed expression. After sitting and sorting for hours, that was only natural. I cleaned the workshop and placed all the veils from the right-hand pile into a wooden box.
"The leftover veils are a problem too."
"Should we try selling some? A few have decent designs, so if we pick those out and sell them, we might recover around thirty percent of the cost—"
"Think they'll sell?"
"Hey, I've worked at a general store before to get by. Though I did end up quitting 'cause they just worked me without pay..."
Sif clenched her fist angrily as the memory returned. Although it was long past, being exploited at that shop clearly remained vivid.
"I see."
"Hmph. That's why no matter where else I go, I'm never going back there! That damned bald pig..."
"You've had it rough."
Living at the bottom of society in this world meant surviving without labor laws or protections for children, so I understood why she'd tried to rob explorers. A single successful attempt could earn far more than working without proper pay.
Her first target here had happened to be me, so instead of earning money, she had merely taken a few hits...
"Enough small talk. Let's get this workshop tidied up quickly so we can eat dinner on time."
"Got it. It's been a while since I had a feast... If there are leftovers, I should ask them to wrap some up. My sisters need to eat too..."
...Younger siblings.
Had I ever had a younger sibling?
-----------------
"Yohan! I'm back!"
"I-I'm back..."
"Have you finished the work?"
"Most of it's done."
I set the box from the workshop beside the table. It contained the veils I would give Karina after dinner, each one selected under Ashley's exacting scrutiny.
"Most of it? You're doing more work after eating?"
"There's one last thing I have to do."
"Are you really busy?"
"No, it's something that'll be over in a moment."
"I see—"
Did she want to play with me after dinner? I brushed aside Millia's persistent questions and examined the food being placed on the table: chicken steak, mushroom soup, a salad with fresh greens and tomatoes, and soft bread.
The meal was less extravagant than one might expect for a Saintess, but every dish was easy to eat.
"Then I'll lead the prayer. Almighty Kalon..."
We all clasped hands and closed our eyes in the customary posture of prayer. Dawn Hall was filled with followers of the Church of Kalon, so meals always began with grace.
"Watch over us... and accept our gratitude for the daily bread you have given us..."
The prayer itself was ordinary, but the person reciting it was not. Every time we said grace, I found myself growing reverent despite myself—enough to wonder whether I might truly convert to the Church of Kalon at this rate.
"...we pray."
The prayer, long in one sense and short in another, ended, and the clinking of tableware sounded around the room. The meal had properly begun. I lifted my spoon and tasted the mushroom soup first.
The mushroom's savory flavor blended with the slightly thick soup and melted across my tongue. I'd traveled widely and tasted many dishes while raiding unexplored dungeons, but no one made soup as well as Dawn Hall's cook.
The steak too, of course.
"It's yummy~"
"Eat a lot."
"'Kay!"
Gluttonous Millia barely observed the table manners she'd worked so hard to learn as she devoured the mushroom soup, then held her bowl toward a maid for another serving. The maid behind her smiled and collected it.
Meanwhile, Millia tore enthusiastically into the chicken steak with her fork and knife. The behavior contrasted so sharply with her cute face that Sif stopped eating and stared.
How many plates would she polish off that day?
"Millia, eat slowly. You'll get indigestion."
"I'b fibe..."
"Swallow what's in your mouth before you talk."
"Millia. We studied dining etiquette together, remember?"
Exactly. Eat neatly like Karina. Why were you eating as though you'd spent ten years on an uninhabited island? Even I was eating properly.
"Mmn."
"The other students were startled at lunch too, weren't they? If you eat like that outside, people will look at you strangely. It'll make it difficult to make friends."
"Really?"
"Yes."
"Okaaay..."
Compared with before, Millia began cutting and eating her steak with relative composure.
Once Millia calmed down, Karina elegantly cut a piece of steak and brought it to her mouth. Her complexion was better than on the first day, but still pale, and I watched her with concern.
"Karina. Are you all right?"
"No. She is absolutely not all right."
Reni, who was eating beside Karina, answered instead. Having cleaned her own plate, she spoke with a thoroughly fed-up expression.
"When I heard it from you, I thought you had exaggerated, but every word was true. If we don't do something, the cathedral will become a morgue. Is it because they're theology students? They practically deify Karina. I've never seen even the most devout believers act like that."
"I brought a solution, so I'll try it after dinner."
"Oh, really?"
"I don't know whether it will solve the problem completely, but it should help. If it fails completely, I plan to ask Principal Merlin for assistance."
An Archmage should have been able to use something like perception-obscuring magic. I had no idea whether such a convenient spell existed in this world, though.
After saying that, I focused on eating before all the food grew cold. I emptied my bowl and plate, pushed them aside, then lifted the box from beside my chair onto the table.
"This is the solution I came up with."
"...Isn't this just cloth?"
"It's a veil."
"A veil... That's the cloth worn over the head, right?"
"Yes. I thought a veil would be the most appropriate way to cover Karina's face."
Carrying the box, I approached Karina, who watched it with tired eyes, took out a veil, and placed it on her. Pure white, translucent cloth covered her face in an instant.
"It's soft..."
"At the very least, nobody should faint from seeing your face now."
"That would be a relief..."
Reni continued to watch Karina beneath the veil with worried eyes. Ultimately, the choice belonged to Karina. She disliked special treatment, so she might not welcome wearing a veil either.
"Karina. Is it all right?"
"Can people outside see my face?"
"Only the outline, more or less."
"So it's hard to see from the outside, but easy to see from the inside."
Fortunately, Karina seemed quite pleased with the veil. She turned toward me, and the fluttering cloth lent her a mysterious air.
"Yohan, thank you."
"There's no need to thank me. I'm your Escort Knight."
What expression was Karina making beneath the veil?
Unfortunately, I couldn't see through it well enough to tell.
-------------
Another sigh, one of countless by then, reached my ears.
"My wish was to behold the Saintess's countenance once every day..."
"The Saintess finds it burdensome. It can't be helped."
Two days later, the introductory theology lecture hall was less chaotic than before. I couldn't tell whether the veil prevented them from seeing her directly or whether they'd simply grown accustomed to her, but it was certainly better than the first day.
Even the professor who entered looked disappointed, but he took his place at the lectern and began the lecture normally.
...The problem was...
"But isn't the one the Saintess is wearing pretty?"
"Where do you think they sell them?"
The problem was that it attracted the theology students' attention in an entirely different way.
...Should I try selling some of the rejects?
A few days later, the veil trend began to spread among the theology students like wildfire.