Lunaria's Blessing Lottery
You have won the Lunaria Blessing Lottery. (7)
After finishing morning training, I headed straight to the cafeteria. I usually skipped breakfast, but last night's dinner of nothing but jerky had left me starving. There was no way I could endure it. If I went to class like this, my stomach would start growling. Even the nobles-only cafeteria didn't offer anything extravagant for the morning menu. Checking the board near the entrance, I saw the options were standardized: vegetable soup with meat, bread, and salad. Swallowing my disappointment, I stepped inside—and ran into a completely unexpected encounter.
"You must be really hungry. Want some of mine?"
"Yum yum... gulp. But... that's your breakfast, senior. I shouldn't..."
"It's fine, it's fine. I can just eat the salad. Here, take the bread and soup."
"W-well, if you insist. Thank you, senior! Yum yum..."
Inside, Leisa and Elaine were sitting side by side at the same table, eating. Elaine, wearing the summer uniform like Leisa, had a different charm from the training outfit that resembled leggings she'd worn yesterday morning. Her white short-sleeved shirt was neatly tucked in, the curves of her ample chest impossible to hide, with a red tie—signifying third-year—nestled between them. Below her checkered uniform skirt, her toned thighs and calves were wrapped in black stockings, radiating a mature, subtle sensuality.
I stared at her blankly for a moment until I felt Leisa's sidelong glance and snapped back to reality. Whoa... I thought my heart had stopped. I'd seen Elaine in her uniform countless times in Leon's memories, but this was the first time for me. My heart was pounding. Leisa had been watching me for a while now, so I couldn't afford to make a fool of myself any longer. I took a deep breath and calmed myself.
Still... when did those two get so close? Elaine was handing Leisa her share of the soup and bread. Leisa accepted it eagerly and was devouring it in a way that didn't suit a marquess's daughter at all—probably because she'd skipped dinner yesterday. Watching her eat so desperately made me realize my mistake. Before heading out to hunt in the alley with Leisa, I should have thought about dinner first. I should have known that noble students like Leon rarely stocked up on jerky in advance...
I'd been so focused on how to get her to use a staff instead of a wand, or how to naturally trigger the favorability glitch, that I'd overlooked the most basic thing. Reflecting on my inexperience, I approached their table before going to get my own food.
"Hey. Good morning, Leisa, Elaine."
"Morning, Leon. Here for breakfast too?"
"Munch munch, gulp. Good morning, senior!"
Once the greetings were done, I quickly apologized to Leisa.
"Sorry, Leisa. I should've thought about dinner yesterday..."
"Munch munch. It's okay, senior. I didn't think about meals at all either. More than that, I was sore all over before bed. We both moved pretty intensely yesterday, didn't we? Probably from using muscles we don't usually use."
As she spoke, she rubbed the inside of her thigh with her left hand, the one not holding her spoon. Uh... Leisa? That sounds like something people could misunderstand...
Sweating, I rolled my eyes toward Elaine. As expected, her gaze sharpened, piercing right through me as she demanded an explanation.
"Leon? What exactly did you two do last night that Leisa here is suffering from muscle pain and couldn't even eat dinner? Hmm?"
"No... that's... well..."
I hesitated, unable to say we'd been hunting in the alley to train for Alhazard's dungeon. That hesitation was a fatal mistake. Seeing me falter, Elaine's eyebrows twisted, a deep crease forming between her elegant brows. Crap... from Leon's experience, that meant she was on the verge of getting truly angry.
"Whatever you're thinking right now... it's all a misunderstanding. I'm innocent."
I tried pushing the usual blunt Leon persona, keeping my expression blank and my voice flat. Elaine seemed to regain her composure, her furrowed brows slowly relaxing—until Leisa poured oil on the dying flames.
"Munch munch... By the way, Leon senior. We're doing it again after afternoon classes today, right? Please try not to make me bleed this time. The uniform I wore yesterday ended up so dirty I had to throw it away."
Leisa was definitely doing this on purpose, one hundred percent! My blank expression cracked into panic, and Elaine's forehead wrinkled again like a tiger's stripes. A low growl rumbled in her voice.
"Leooooon...!"
"W-wait! Just listen to me!"
In the end, I had no choice but to tell her about the alley hunting.
After that, the three of us sat together at one table for breakfast. I explained to Elaine that Leisa and I had started alley hunting yesterday for training purposes, carefully omitting any mention of Alhazard's dungeon. Fortunately, thanks to the image Leon had built, she believed me. Leisa seemed focused only on her meal, ignoring us—but no matter how I looked at it, that kid was tormenting me with the personality of the future "big sis" I knew from the original story.
While I was coldly staring at Leisa, Elaine suddenly dropped a bombshell.
"I want to join this alley hunting thing too."
I looked at her in surprise. She had a stubborn look in her eyes, her lips slightly pursed... Was she sulking? Seeing her like that, I suddenly recalled what the god Papiyas had told me before the possession. Elaine's first love was Leon... and like me before I died, she hadn't fully realized her own feelings yet. Then... could this be jealousy? Elaine, jealous of her junior Leisa? That was something I'd never imagined while playing as the hero in King's Crown. The Elaine who became crown princess had never shown jealousy toward anyone...
Her fresh, unfamiliar side felt both strange and incredibly endearing. Still, I couldn't just drag her into something unplanned.
"...Why do you want to hunt in the alley with us? Leisa and I are in the same classes and paired up, so that makes sense, but you have no connection to it, right?"
Elaine looked slightly flustered at my question, then insisted urgently.
"W-who says there's no connection?! Leisa and I are close enough to eat together! Right, junior?"
Forcing a smile, Elaine half-pleaded for Leisa's agreement. Leisa, pretending to eat, tilted her head slightly and replied.
"Were Elaine senior and I that close?"
"Of course! We met and greeted each other at His Majesty's birthday banquet before. Don't you remember?"
"Eh—I don't know about that?"
Leisa probably felt the same as me. She might not want a third party intruding. Realizing she couldn't persuade us this way, Elaine put on a serious expression, crossed her arms, and lifted her chin slightly as she spoke. Thanks to that, her overwhelming bust pushed upward, the tie between them riding up.
"Do you even realize how dangerous what you're doing is? Outside the academy is extremely dangerous! Someone strong like me needs to come along and protect you! And what do you think will happen if the student council or professors find out about this?"
Wait, she's pulling the snitching card now? The Elaine in front of me was unbelievably childish and desperate. I knew that once someone with the Stubborn Trait like her started being willful, no one could stop her. A chuckle escaped me despite myself. I wanted to protect that innocence of hers.
"Fine, I got it. Starting today, Elaine joins the alley hunting too."
"Senior... are you serious?"
At my sudden decision, Leisa silently asked with her eyes, careful not to let Elaine notice. What about the dungeon, then? In that case, I'd just have to dramatically increase our chances of clearing it. I'd mentioned it once before—Elaine's participation as a companion changed the difficulty of hero playthroughs... and the same applied to Alhazard's dungeon. If Elaine helped us, our odds of conquering it would skyrocket.