Top Student Dirt Spoon (4): Bonfire Confessions
A bonfire crackles warmly through the night. Buried in soft wood shavings, the two women's conversation feels intimately cozy.
"What's your relationship with Cadet Leclerc?"
Roin's question makes Georges' face scrunch up in an instant.
"We're fellow cadets and comrades-in-arms. We maintain a cordial relationship."
"Aw, come on~ It doesn't seem like that at all?"
Roin grins mischievously, like she knows something, and pokes Georges in the side.
"Eek! No! There's really nothing between us..."
"Aw~"
As Roin keeps pressing with that sly smile, Georges finally relents and opens her mouth.
"Actually, I really..."
"Yeah, yeah."
Roin leans in close, her face brimming with anticipation.
Soon, Georges speaks.
"...despise him. He's utterly repulsive."
"Huh?"
Roin's eyes go wide at the unexpected answer.
Georges huffs and starts venting.
"When I was a first-year, I met that Leclerc jerk for the first time at the entrance ceremony. He wasn't watching where he was going, chatting with his buddy on the side, and we collided at the hallway corner..."
"Lemme guess—did he not apologize and instead ask about your family background or try to settle it with money?"
"Yes! How did you know? He did both! No apology—instead, he flaunted his noble house and told me to get lost since he was too precious to touch, then tossed a few bills on the floor as 'medical compensation.'"
"So you slapped him in response?"
"Yes! How did you—!? I didn't slap him, but I did kick him in the gut. Cadets are all equals anyway. Even if he tried to sue for noble insult, it'd take four years to pay off..."
"And then Leclerc just stood there dumbfounded, like 'You're the first one to treat me this way,' right? You brushed right past him?"
"Yes! Spot on! Were you there!? That gave me chills!"
"After that, he kept picking petty fights with you, right?"
"Yes! He'd insult me, saying having rich parents is a skill in itself. He'd bring extras of supplies on purpose and throw one away right in front of me..."
"...Wasn't that just him looking out for you?"
"No! He specifically said he had tons of that stuff at home, so he was tossing it!"
"...And you never used them?"
"Not once!"
"...And the more you ignored it, the more he'd hover around, nitpicking at every little thing?"
"Exactly!"
"...But sometimes, when you were in a pinch, he'd bail you out?"
"Well, he never directly saved me, but... there were a few times when noble girls who always looked down on me suddenly got expelled, or framed for stealing lunch money and it all got cleared up overnight. Leclerc was lurking around each time, but... no reason he'd help me."
"Ugh! I've just watched a whole drama episode. Pretty sure it was Leclerc doing all that."
"What? No way. How can Your Majesty be so certain?"
"I read it in a novel I borrowed from AlphaGo. Called 'My Boyfriend Is a Delinquent King.'"
"Never heard of it. Fascinating."
"Not really. Poor, feisty heroine. Rich, tsundere hero. Total cliché."
"Cliché? Isn't that the name of the Pink Dragon Knights' captain?"
"Oh, yeah it is."
The two women look at each other and giggle.
They're not queen and knight anymore—just friends on a school trip, bonding fast.
"So, what are you gonna do about Cadet Leclerc now? Graduation's coming up soon."
"...I don't think so, but if he really did help me like Your Majesty says..."
"Oh, he totally did! So, if that's true? What then?"
Roin asks, bubbling with excitement. She's more thrilled than Georges.
But Georges' answer dashes her hopes again.
"Then... I'll make him pay for his crimes."
"...Huh? What crime? Loving you too much?"
"No. For toying with me these past four years. Mocking me. I'll chop his head off."
Roin scratches her head at Georges' firm declaration.
"That... could just be him liking you, you know?"
"Ugh! No way in hell!"
"But what if, just hypothetically?"
Georges' face drains of color.
"I'd still chop his head off."
"...What? Why?"
"Just... it grosses me out. Never even crossed my mind before... but I'd draw my sword first. If that ever happened."
"You're such a romance idiot, Georges..."
Roin suddenly feels sorry for Cadet Leclerc.
Now it's Georges' turn to ask.
"Doesn't Your Majesty have someone you like?"
"Huh? Me?"
Roin startles way too much, making Georges jump too.
"Ah... no! How impertinent of me...! This mouth of mine!"
"Whoa, no! It's fine! Just caught me off guard. Really, it's okay."
As Roin insists it's fine, Georges finally relaxes.
Roin lies back, rolling her eyes around.
Someone she likes? A face flashes in her mind.
Recalling it again, her cheeks flush pink.
"Hmm... don't think so yet."
"That's a shame."
Georges drops it quick.
Instead, Roin starts sharing her life story.
"I was a total third-rate royal, you know. Without the Pink Dragon Knights, I'd probably still be. Maybe married off in some political alliance by now."
"But now you're the queen."
"Yeah. I'm really happy. Hope others can be happy because of me too."
"I've already become happy thanks to Your Majesty."
"Huh? Why?"
"What king would grace such a shabby place? And even track down my discarded final exam sheet..."
"That was Cadet Leclerc who delivered it."
"Eh? Why would he...? Anyway. Just being here alone with Your Majesty feels like a dream. I'm happy."
Georges lies on the newspaper-shaving pile and declares it vigorously.
Roin rolls over to look at her.
Her eyes warm in the darkness.
Blonde hair, clear eyes. Straight loyalty toward her.
She sees Georges.
Suddenly, Roin wonders about Georges' upbringing, why she lives like this.
"Georges, why do you live like this? Cadets get paid, right? Do you keep a household ledger?"
"Ah, the ledger! Of course."
Georges pulls out a glowing red ember from the drum barrel and shines it on a notebook by her head.
Household Ledger.
"Hmm... surviving on 990,000 gold a month. Seems doable?"
Roin flips to the next page.
"School cafeteria is crazy expensive, huh?"
"I was shocked too. It's ultra-luxury meals, so yeah. I eat as much as possible at lunch. Can't understand leaving leftovers."
"No friends or partying?"
"I skip all that—MTs, dinners. Use the time for PT, specialty training, tactics, sword theory, languages. No cost, self-improvement, win-win."
"Clothes?"
"Uniforms and gym clothes mostly. These are donations from grads. Nobles buy all-new and discard hand-me-downs, so I take them all."
"Eeek!? 500,000 gold rent for this dump!?"
"School area's all like this."
"This isn't even near!"
"Quick by carriage or train."
"Water bill's steep..."
"Yeah, highlands cost more."
"And you send all the surplus to your mom?"
"Yes. One illness wipes it out, so staying healthy is key."
"All of it? That's okay?"
"Yes. It's fine. My mom... it's fine."
Georges' eyes redden.
"Mom raised me alone in a fishing village, barely scraping by. One memory sticks out..."
"What?"
"As a kid, when Mom went fishing, I'd study alone. She'd come back late, cook. We weren't well-off, so meals weren't filling."
"That's tough..."
"But Mom had this weird habit."
"What?"
"She'd always leave half her rice and throw it out."
"To give you more?"
"No. She'd dump it."
"Why?"
"I wondered too. Once, I finished mine clean, checked hers—half rice left."
"Why not give it to her daughter?"
"Exactly. One day, starving, I snapped. Asked why waste it, just give it to me."
"Oh no..."
"Kid me threw a fit at the table. But she never gave it."
"Why...?"
"Couldn't figure it. That day, too hungry, I snatched her bowl."
"Oh."
"She tried to grab it back. We tussled, and... I smashed it on the floor."
"All the rice spilled, huh?"
"No..."
Georges' face darkens.
"What spilled from Mom's bowl... were shaved radish chunks."
"...!"
"Perfectly cut to half-bowl height. A few rice grains stuck to the outside."
"..."
"After that, I studied like mad, got into officer school. Almost didn't—scholarship fell through. Principal pitied me, covered tuition."
Georges grins at the ceiling.
"Even after 15 years, I can't forget those white radish chunks in Mom's bowl."
Roin wipes away tears unconsciously.
"...Like a bittersweet fairy tale. Sad and touching."
"Haha! Really?"
Georges rubs her nose and continues.
"Other cadets blow their monthly pay on day-one parties. I've never gone. That money's Mom's monthly living costs."
"...Isn't living like that hard?"
"I'm lucky. Found my dream, environment to chase it."
Roin nods.
Once back at the palace after this night, first thing: new laws.
Unaware of Roin's thoughts, Georges raises her hand to the ceiling, clenches a fist.
"I'll become an outstanding knight and care for Mom."
Her hopeful vow.
Roin asks, half-wondering.
"Which knight order do you want, Georges?"
Usually orders scout cadets, but top two fourth-years pick their order.
No hesitation from Georges.
"The one that earned the greatest merit in crowning you queen..."
Roin's expression shifts subtly as Georges shouts.
"I want to join the Pink Dragon Knights!"