The Battle of Wits Begins
The battle of wits was about to begin.
Two women who seemed utterly mismatched—a princess and a saintess.
Everything about them was different. They were a combination that simply should not have worked.
One gave off a warm, cozy feeling… yet happened to be the absolute worst at exercise.
The other was willful and completely impossible to read, a powerhouse of terrifying strength.
Under ordinary circumstances, the two of them failing to understand each other and remaining at odds would have been perfectly fine.
But…
"What's this, Saintess? You're eating ice cream all of a sudden?"
"This? I happened to try it by chance, and I just couldn't stop thinking about it!"
"Really? Hmm. Then give me a bite too."
"E-eh? W-wait a second?! You can just order one for yourself, Princess!"
"I'm not gonna eat that much. So just one bite."
"C-couldn't you just order another one and have more of that?!"
"Just one bite, Saintess. Really."
Yulika kept pestering her for a single bite, while the Saintess agonized between the princess and her ice cream.
In the end she seemed to concede defeat and held the spoon out so Yulika could take a mouthful.
Yulika chewed thoughtfully, then asked for "one more bite?" with a hopeful look. The Saintess hesitated… and scooped up another spoonful for her anyway.
Watching that scene, could anyone still claim the two of them couldn't understand each other or were at odds?
To any observer it looked exactly like a pair of very close friends—or even sisters.
Ironically, it was Tisha and Elga, who actually knew each other to some degree, who sat there unable to exchange a single word.
Everyone's watching and I can't even open my mouth!!
A saintess and a grand duchy's successor she could handle, but a princess on top of that was simply too much! Waaah!
Tisha was mentally pounding her own head with both fists, while Elga was screaming inside her own mind.
Just what kind of relationships does Kyle have with all these people?! Why do more and more difficult rivals keep showing up!?
Whether she noticed their turmoil or not, Yulika kept noisily licking the spoon clean.
The way she smacked her lips made it clear the ice cream had been a huge hit.
Or maybe it just tasted best because she had stolen it.
"This is good. When I get back to the palace I'll have them make some for me."
"Right? It's delicious, isn't it? Of course it is. Brother Kyle recommended it so strongly!"
One word from the Saintess's mouth. Brother Kyle.
At that single phrase, Yulika, Elga, and Tisha all reacted in their own ways.
Elga and Tisha only flinched the tiniest bit, trying not to show it.
Yulika, however, narrowed her eyes with a thoughtful "Hmm?"
She remembered the day not long ago when she had stormed into the chapel looking for Kyle.
The expression and voice the Saintess had used when she blocked her path were still vivid.
They had known each other for quite a while, and Yulika had put the Saintess in awkward situations any number of times.
Yet the Saintess had never once worn such a cold face or used such a stern tone.
She had always spoken gently, with a warm smile, quietly saying that one shouldn't do such things.
But in that moment—when she had cried out not to make Brother Kyle uncomfortable—she had seemed like a completely different person. Utterly unlike the Saintess Yulika thought she knew.
More than anything, in that brief instant of genuine anger, even Yulika had felt a flicker of tension.
"Saintess."
At the time she had simply assumed the Saintess was angry because of the ruckus in the chapel.
Even a kind-hearted cleric would naturally grow furious at disrespect shown before the gods.
A devout saintess had every right to be angry, she had thought.
But looking back now—and looking at her now—that clearly hadn't been the whole story.
The anger of that day hadn't been directed solely at the rudeness committed before the gods. It had also been aimed at the rudeness toward Kyle.
Yulika, who was hopeless at reading her own heart, had once again read someone else's with uncanny speed.
"The way you talk, you sound like you're really close to Kyle."
"E-excuse me?"
"What is it? Be honest. You two don't seem like just ordinary acquaintances."
When Yulika suddenly leaned in close, the Saintess flinched and drew back.
The princess flashed a thoroughly dangerous smile.
"Why are you running? So there is something, huh?"
"…Ahem, ahem! I have no idea what Your Highness is talking about."
The Saintess wasn't completely lacking in social awareness either.
Depending on how she handled this moment, the amount of trouble Kyle would have to endure would change dramatically.
The princess herself isn't a bad person… but she always lacks consideration for others.
If she left any opening, Yulika would absolutely try to pester Kyle.
And that kind of constant annoyance was more than enough to make even the kindest people lose their temper.
The Saintess had absolutely no desire to see the gentle Kyle angry.
Which meant her response right now was more important than anything.
If she panicked or left a gap, this princess would force her way in without fail.
Then Kyle would have to deal with it—all because of her own carelessness!
I don't want to make Brother Kyle uncomfortable!
The Saintess gave a firm shake of her head and parted her lips in a resolute tone.
"You asked if I was close with Brother Kyle? I am. Of course I am. He is a man of truly kind heart, always humble, kind to everyone, and he has given the Holy Order a great deal of help. Thanks to him the priests seek the gods with even more devout hearts."
In truth the priests were seeking the gods in a half-fainting state rather than with devout hearts.
But the Saintess didn't know that. She only believed, just as Kyle had said, that the priests were becoming sturdier.
And that, she thought, would allow them to hold onto their faith with even firmer hearts.
So she genuinely believed Kyle had done the Church a great service.
"Uh-huh. I see."
Yet Yulika's eyes still held that dangerous gleam.
It was only natural—without realizing it herself, the Saintess had packed far too much praise for Kyle into her answer.
Yulika had zeroed in on that very point and still found it suspicious.
"A-and also! On top of that, he's helping me with my exercise."
"He's helping you with exercise?"
"Yes. He was so worried about my health that I felt terrible, so I said I would start training, and he smiled so brightly and offered to coach me himself."
Flinch—!
Elga's body trembled a little more noticeably than before.
Tisha, sitting beside her, noticed and wondered, Is something wrong?
A bright smile…? That means he was having a blast.
Come to think of it, she had heard that the Tisha sitting next to her also exercised with Kyle.
When she first heard that, she had assumed it was something similar to the tea times she shared with him.
So she hadn't paid Tisha any particular attention even when they were face to face.
Knowing how much Kyle loved training, she had simply accepted it and moved on.
But hearing this now, it seemed a little different from what she had imagined.
She had thought Kyle would just casually teach a few tips for staying healthy.
Yet after Tisha it was the Saintess as well? Suddenly a strange scene began playing out in her mind.
"That's not how you do it. Here, I'll correct your form… like this."
"Eep. Y-you're too close, Kyle."
At first he would only take her hand, then her shoulder, then her waist…
Growing closer and closer until one day they could no longer pull apart…
"Hic!"
Goodness, that startled me. What's gotten into her today?
Tisha, who had just been about to take a sip of her freshly poured tea, nearly jumped out of her skin and stared at Elga.
The girl had been trembling nonstop and had now even made a weird noise.
Tisha wanted nothing more than to ask, "Is something the matter?" but the people gathered here were all so important that opening her mouth felt enormously burdensome.
Meanwhile Elga's imagination continued to expand without restraint.
C-could it be?! What if the exercise was just an excuse?! Y-yes! It's possible! He told me he'd coach me but then dumped the version of me he doesn't like, and he's only being nice to Tisha and the Saintess on purpose…!
If Kyle had heard Elga's thoughts he would have shouted, "What nonsense is that?!"
Whether the other person was Tisha or the Saintess, in front of a PT session they were nothing more than ordinary clients.
No matter how provocative the clothes they wore, no matter how blatantly they tried to seduce him—
"Proper form! Focus on the muscle! Don't put strain on the joints!"
—he would simply bark those orders without the slightest concern for anything else.
But Elga, who had no way of knowing that, was free to spread the wings of her imagination—no, of her full-blown delusions—as far as they would go.
She had even begun seriously considering, Should I ask Kyle to teach me exercise too?
"So he's coaching her. Personally, no less."
While Elga spun every possible fantasy inside her head, the Yulika sitting across from her did not think nearly so long or so hard.
Is that so. Then couldn't I just keep coming over with exercise as the excuse?
He was helping the Saintess—so why not her? She wanted to learn exercise too.
If she put it that way, even Kyle wouldn't have a good counterargument.
In fact, since her physical abilities far outstripped the Saintess's, Kyle might even like it better!
She already knew the John Nassen family extremely well.
She didn't have to look far—she had attended the Academy with Lear John Nassen himself.
Naturally she knew most of the things a John Nassen person liked.
And among those things was sincere, wholehearted training.
Which meant exercising together with Kyle wouldn't end as mere exercise.
It would be more than enough to serve as a catalyst for something more!
"Hey, Saintess. When Kyle teaches you exercise… does he do other things too?"
"What else could you possibly mean?"
"You know. The kinds of things a man and woman usually end up doing when they're alone together?"
"Princess! That's—!"
"Kyle has never done anything like that!!"
Just as the Saintess was about to get angry, an even louder voice exploded from across the table.
The owner of that voice was none other than Tisha.
Until now she had been quietly drinking her tea, carefully reading the three women's moods.
But the moment Yulika said something that could easily create a misunderstanding—something that seemed to smear Kyle's pure intentions—she had opened her mouth in a rougher voice than she intended.