Temporary Reunion
Why are those two here…?
I paused just as I was about to step into Professor John’s office. There were already guests inside besides me—Veronica Eltwin and Felice Ansberg. Both of them averted their eyes the moment they noticed me, wearing expressions that could only be described as awkward.
Seeing those faces made my head start to ache for some reason. A bad feeling began to settle in, but I swallowed hard and walked into the office anyway.
Once the three of us were standing in front of Professor John’s desk, he spoke.
“Right. Louis, Alice, and Cadet Aine.”
He looked us over as he continued.
“First off, Cadet Aine’s matter has been taken care of.”
“Ah, thank you.”
I answered, yet even though it was clearly good news, I couldn’t feel glad about it. The bad feeling only grew stronger. Whatever conversation the professor had already had with Veronica and Felice, I wished he would just send the two of them out now that it was finished. Why were they still lingering in the office, reading the room? And why wasn’t the professor dismissing them?
“Well then, we’ll be taking our leave—”
I spoke carefully on behalf of my master and Aine.
“And another thing.”
At the same moment, Professor John casually crushed my flimsy plan of slipping out of the office.
“Cadet Louis, wouldn’t a party of only three run into quite a few difficulties during activities?”
“No, we’re fine.”
I answered firmly. Whether it was my imagination or not, Veronica and Felice seemed to flinch slightly at my words.
Professor John pressed on undeterred.
“Is that so… Looking at the expulsion request you submitted earlier, there were conflicts over participation in activities and the like.”
I nodded vigorously.
“Was it bad enough that continuing party activities became impossible?”
“Yes, it was.”
I answered just as firmly this time. I had the distinct impression the professor was trying to steer me toward a particular answer—and an equally strong feeling that I absolutely must not give him the one he wanted.
Hearing my decisive replies, the professor let out a sigh and muttered under his breath.
“Ah, what a pain…”
Did I mishear that?
He then spoke to me directly.
“Cadet Louis, I’m sorry to say this is already decided, but…”
I stared at him in disbelief.
“…those two cadets over there will be joining your party. You’re already acquainted, so no introductions are necessary, I take it?”
Is that even something a person should say out loud?
I reacted strongly.
“Professor! How does it make any sense to bring back cadets who were already expelled?!”
At my words, Veronica and Felice flinched once more. I didn’t care.
When I pushed back, the professor unexpectedly agreed with me.
“You’re right. The cadet has a point.”
“Then why?!”
“Because of the upcoming practical evaluation.”
“What does the practical evaluation have to do with—ah.”
I had been shouting in agitation, but I understood what he meant almost immediately.
“As I’ve said before, the practicals are conducted by party. Your party, however, only has three members.”
“We’re fi—”
“You are not fine. Being short one or two people can be compensated with bonus points during evaluation, but conducting a practical with only three is simply not feasible.”
The professor’s tone was just as firm as mine. Even so, I couldn’t give up. All through my first year I had suffered and stressed myself half to death doing party activities. After I finally quit, life had become livable again. And now he wanted me to go back to that?
Leo, the one who had irritated me the most, wasn’t even here—but I still didn’t want it.
I kept arguing with Professor John. Every time I protested against bringing them back in, Veronica and Felice wore wounded expressions, but I had suffered far too much at their hands to spare them any consideration. At least they still had enough conscience left to keep their mouths shut. My master and Aine seemed to think this was my decision to make and remained silent as well.
“If that’s the reason, can’t you just assign other cadets in a similar situation instead of those two?”
Even if it was for the practical evaluation, I simply couldn’t accept bringing back expelled party members. The professor’s answer, however, was simple.
“There aren’t any.”
“Excuse me? Not a single one?”
“To be precise, there were a few cadets who had left their parties for various reasons.”
“Then why not assign those cadets to our party—”
“Every remaining cadet has already formed a new party with Cadet Leo.”
Oh, for fuck’s sake. Leo Epsilt again. That bastard has never once done anything helpful for my life.
Anyway. As I had mentioned before, forming a new party or adding members required going directly to a professor. It was a rule meant to stop people from casually quitting and assembling parties with whoever they pleased. So did that mean Professor John had approved Leo forming a new party?
I was about to open my mouth when the professor, as if reading my thoughts, spoke first.
“For the record, that wasn’t me. Professor Ian Dexter handled it.”
Of course. Ever since the last duel, Leo had been making full use of Professor Ian.
At this point I turned a resentful look on Veronica and Felice. They could have just gone to Leo like before. Why create this awkward mess for everyone? Both of them hung their heads under my gaze.
Watching the three of us, the professor spoke again.
“Haa… I don’t know exactly what happened between you lot. Cadet Louis, how about you just make up already?”
Professor John was still phrasing it as a suggestion, but from his tone I could tell I would ultimately have to accept. I was a cadet, and he was a professor.
“For the record, this is only temporary. You’ll have to operate as the same party until the practical evaluation is over. After that, I’ll leave it up to you.”
In other words, once the practical evaluation ended, I could kick them out again.
Haa… Well, considering we still have to rescue Sally, this might actually be safer…
Fine. Only until the practical evaluation is over.
In the end, I nodded.
Once the matter was settled, we left the office. My master, Aine, and I stepped out first; Veronica and Felice trailed after us hesitantly. Perhaps because I had vented to my master about everything that had happened during our old party activities, the look she gave them was far from friendly. Aine simply looked lost, unsure what to do with the situation.
My eyes met Veronica’s, then Felice’s, in turn. Felice’s lips moved as if she wanted to say something, but ultimately no words came out. I wasn’t particularly interested anyway.
Veronica, on the other hand, opened her mouth in an extremely awkward tone.
“Ah, ahaha… W-well, things just kind of ended up like this…? I mean, I’m happ—”
“Don’t laugh.”
I said coldly.
“O-okay… Sorry…”
Veronica started sniffling. I pressed a hand to my forehead.
The party atmosphere had gone straight to hell again. Was a happy party life simply impossible for me?
A few days passed.
Today we had decided to choose the weekend assignment we would clear together as a party. If it had been up to me, I would have preferred to go out and enjoy ourselves with just my master and Aine. But Professor John had specifically told us to prepare for the practical evaluation, and there was always the chance he would check up on our party. So for now, Veronica and Felice had been called as well.
“Louis! Alice! You’re here?”
Aine greeted us in the classroom. For the record, Aine never ate breakfast—not for any special reason, but simply because she was a heavy sleeper. My master and I were the same, but under my master’s firm insistence I had been eating three proper meals a day.
“Ah, Louis! A letter came from my sister!”
“Really? Is she doing any better?”
“Yes! She says she’s improved a lot!”
She was trying to sound bright, but an unmistakable shadow lingered in her voice. She was clearly worried that her sister’s words were only a lie meant to reassure her.
“Um, Louis… about my sister’s treatment…”
“Yeah. I’ve found a method, so just wait a little longer.”
“Okay!”
Watching Aine smile so purely because she trusted me made my chest ache a little. This was reality, not a game—there was no guarantee her sister would be all right. Even without that, I wanted to heal her as quickly as possible for Aine’s sake. Unfortunately, the only method I knew for treating her and her sister was the one that appeared in the game. In other words, we had no choice but to wait until after summer break.
Just hang on a little longer, Aine.
Still, most of the major events so far had unfolded exactly as they had in the game. For now, I needed to focus on Veronica’s event. We still had to save Sally, after all.