86. Simmering
86. Simmering
Shara Phrygia had many complaints.
She had succeeded in getting an invite to the 'party' on a whim when Atlas was in a good mood, but she couldn't move the party date up.
If it were a party she was hosting, she could have adjusted the schedule as much as she wanted, but this party was hosted by the family... meaning it was hosted by Duke Phrygia.
In her impatience, she had asked if the date could be moved up, but Duke Phrygia had coldly refused.
It was impossible to persuade the Golden Duke with mere feelings of affection.
Still, she was satisfied that once the party began, she would have the entire time to spend with Atlas.
Because no uninvited guest could set foot at that Phrygia party.
Since the two were officially nothing to each other, they thoroughly pretended not to know each other in front of others, so going to a party together was a meaningful event.
Then, the terror attack in the Clover Kingdom occurred.
The incident itself was quickly suppressed and most of the Five Pillars were safe... except for one person. Only Lucia suffered a major injury.
She had fought against the Sword Saint who was trying to escape.
As the price for standing against a Master, Lucia had sustained a terrible injury.
They said it was a miracle she had been treated successfully, but she had nearly been unable to ever hold a sword again.
To stand against an opponent she couldn't possibly beat was an incredibly stupid thing to do.
She had thought they really were inflexible, rock-headed people, but Lucia's actions led to a result Shara had never even imagined.
'Russell...!!! Don't tell me... you calculated even this...?'
Atlas had begun to genuinely worry about the severely injured Lucia.
Atlas spent most of his day visiting Lucia in the infirmary.
Still, since there was some interaction between the households, she had gone to pay a courtesy visit, and there she witnessed an unbelievable sight.
'Say ah~'
'A...ahh...'
That very Atlas was helping Lucia eat her meal.
He was carefully cooling the hot porridge, checking the temperature, then feeding it to Lucia with an affectionate voice.
Flushed even hotter than the steaming porridge, Lucia was accepting the spoonfuls from Atlas like a baby bird, her face overcome with happiness.
Watching Lucia chew and swallow the porridge, Atlas wore an extremely benevolent expression.
Atlas hadn't just come for a simple visit; he was even nursing Lucia personally.
Unable to bear the sight any longer, Shara immediately fled the hospital.
Her hands trembled and her breathing grew ragged.
The whole time she was leaving the hospital, the last image she had seen of the two of them wouldn't leave her eyes.
When the group from her class who had been waiting outside saw her rush out, they followed in concern, but none of it registered with her.
'She was pretending to be clumsy all along... was it all an act...?'
Suddenly, the stark difference in how she and Lucia were treated hit her.
Shara, who even in the same space couldn't so much as speak to him if others were watching, versus Lucia, who had reached such an intimate relationship.
Suddenly a thought came to her.
'If I get hurt like that, would Lord Atlas worry about me as much as he did for Russell?'
It wasn't that Atlas disliked Shara.
If he did, he wouldn't have run into her at all.
Whether it was because of the 'education' that night where he said he would make her into a proper person, or perhaps because she was one of the very few people at this academy shorter than Atlas, she still received some goodwill from him.
The lack of a clear answer left her feeling bitterly frustrated and defeated.
And then, having recovered far faster than anyone expected, Lucia went to find Shara the moment she was on her feet.
She wanted help because she was going out to the harbor's downtown district with Atlas over the weekend.
"If you're going to ask something like that..."
Fury surged from the top of her head.
She had monopolized Atlas for two whole weeks and now she was going out to have fun in the downtown district?
A man and a woman leaving the academy alone together was a typical date course for couples.
She was obviously asking her to tell her about that...
Since there were two full days over the weekend, it was very common to play in the downtown district, then stay at a harbor hotel and have a good night together.
'She doesn't know what's in the downtown district, so she wants me to recommend where to go??'
It was an unbelievably spoiled complaint from someone who got to be with him, while others who wanted the same had been rejected.
She wanted to shout at her to get lost immediately, but held back.
She had almost let pointless emotions get the better of her.
Judgment required weighing things coldly on a scale, excluding emotions.
Even if those emotions were her own.
'This... maybe I can use this?'
Suddenly, a decent idea popped into Shara's head.
"Fine. Since we're both from the Five Pillars, I'll help you that much. But I only heard these things from people around me, so just take it as a reference."
"Thanks!"
———————————
On the morning of the outing with Lucia, he regretted that he only had his everyday clothes.
His sparse wardrobe only contained a few sets of clothes he often wore at the academy and some clothes for training.
He could have brought more clothes from the family, but he didn't want to bring anything else from there, so he had only taken the clothes he bought as an adventurer and some newly tailored clothes he got nearby.
He had left everything he bought during his Knight Order days back in the capital.
After mulling over this and that, he ultimately chose the clothes he always wore around the academy.
Since they were made to be worn at an academy full of nobles, they were at least the most luxurious clothes he had.
While gathering his wallet and various things, his eyes suddenly went to the longsword hanging on the wall.
"Hmm... no, never mind."
Bringing Squete along was overdoing it.
Walking through the downtown district with a sword taller than himself strapped to his back would not be a pretty picture.
He always carried a multi-purpose dagger, so he would have to be satisfied with that.
Surely, a fight of a scale so severe that he couldn't handle it without Squete wouldn't break out in the downtown district today, of all days.
As he left the dormitory, he briefly considered greeting Liber and Amy, but decided against it.
If he met them now, it would just feel awkward for no reason.
Because he had been careful to avoid them on his way over, he ended up arriving far earlier than the appointed time.
"Uh... huh? You're already here...? I thought I came early."
"I got here quickly too. I guess I was looking forward to my first outing."
Before long, Lucia arrived.
Lucia had also come out in the clothes she frequently wore at the academy.
They were achromatic clothes.
Considering her personality, it was clear that she too had only prepared clothes suited for wearing around the academy.
But one thing stood out as different from usual.
"You put on makeup?"
"Uh huh? Is it... obvious...?"
Lucia, who usually wore only basic skincare makeup at the academy, today had on color makeup, something she rarely did.
She hadn't applied it thickly, but subtly enough to be barely noticeable, yet it was clearly there.
Perhaps because her hair concealed it a bit, but Lucia was a great beauty with a good base, so she was stunning even with just basic care; the hint of color only enhanced her natural looks.
When he complimented her, she blushed.
It seemed Lucia had really been looking forward to this outing, but from my standpoint, going out right now was a bit worrying.
The fact that she had been a patient with mobility issues just a short while ago kept nagging at me.
Because the downtown district wasn't exactly a safe place.
"Lucia, are you sure it's okay for you to move around like this right after being discharged? You can't go and collapse."
"...It's fine. I'm not going to swing a sword or anything... I am doing rehab exercises, but there's no problem with daily life at all."
She really seemed to be looking forward to it.
Seeing her like that, I couldn't say anything more.
Just then, the regular ferry arrived behind Lucia as she spoke.
"...Well, shall we go then?"
—————————
The morning workout went on even if one or two people were missing.
Amy looked at the empty spot and asked Liber, who had come with her.
"Where's Atlas?"
"He went on an outing with Miss Russell."
"What?? What about you, Liber?? They went out just the two of them??"
Amy was startled by Liber's nonchalant statement.
She hadn't explicitly mentioned it, but Amy had sensed that the atmosphere between the two had changed.
"Is that okay?? Atlas is with you, Liber...!"
"No, I told him it was fine."
Liber cut her off before Amy could even finish her sentence.
Since Liber said so, Amy had nothing more to say and just stared at Liber with round eyes.
Liber's face looked as if nothing was wrong.
"It's really fine. I made plans to go with him next week anyway.
Hey, Amy. How about the three of us go out together the week after next? I heard there are a lot of fun places in the downtown district."
Liber clapped her hands as if a good idea had just struck her, changing the subject.
Amy wondered if it really was fine, but she accepted that Liber didn't want to talk about this topic any further.
-Ppuuuuu
"That's the ship's horn."
The sound of the regular ferry departing could be heard from afar.
It was a sound signaling that Lucia and Atlas were leaving the academy grounds.