When the Superior Points, the Underling Rolls - 4

A cherry blossom petal drifted down and settled gently atop the cookie in my hand. I blew it away with a light puff of breath, and it rode the wind, swirling into the open air. Mingling with the other petals, it looked for all the world like a rain of pink.

Pretty.

How long had it been since I'd simply sat and watched the cherry blossoms? I had never been the sort who particularly enjoyed flower-viewing to begin with. I gazed quietly at the pink rain for a moment, then took a bite of the cookie. The cookie was tasty, too.

I casually shifted my gaze to the club members. Each of them held a sandwich or a piece of toast and was eating away. Even for those with refined palates, these seemed palatable enough—their faces weren't contorting; they were managing just fine. So they could eat those without complaint, yet when it came to the cookies…

Thanks to that, Luise's cookies—still untouched by anyone else—had naturally become my responsibility. The five of them refusing to eat them even through gritted teeth was impressive, but Luise, steadfastly continuing to bake them, was something else entirely. Did she figure that as long as even one person ate them, that was reason enough to keep going? What an incredible conviction.

In the middle of that, one of the cherry blossom petals dancing in the air stuck to Luise's hair. Looking at her like that, her hair really was the color of cherry blossoms. Even in this world that boasted free-spirited hair colors, such a clean shade of pink was rare.

"I only just realized it was a petal—I couldn't tell it apart from Sister."

Good grief.

I quietly averted my eyes at the sight of Tanian reaching out to pluck the petal from Luise's hair as he said that.

Tanian had lived his entire life in the closed-off Holy Kingdom. Of course he had no talent for heart-fluttering romantic expressions. Still, the fact that his best effort after declaring he would try hard amounted to that left me feeling rather desolate.

"Thank you."

Luise, too, seemed embarrassed to hear something like that to her face; she smiled awkwardly and offered her thanks. Tanian nodded, looking satisfied even with that reaction. His bar for happiness was truly low. Was that what people meant by "a life without greed is a happy life"? Of course, I had no desire to live that way myself.

"You sound so old-fashioned 'cause you're a priest, huh!"

Ryutis, finding something endlessly amusing, laughed as he smacked Tanian on the back a few times. Old-fashioned? Was that what "old-fashioned" meant now—completely different from anything I'd ever known?

"Ryutis, don't tease him too much."

I felt relieved at the sight of Ainter smiling as he reined Ryutis in. Right—the "old-fashioned" I knew was still alive and well. Ah, what a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠relief. I'd been so on edge lately that I hadn't even caught a light joke.

"Orabeoni, are you sure you don't want anything else?"

"Yeah. This is enough."

Luise, who had been smiling as she watched the club members ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠chat, suddenly spoke to me. She seemed about to offer me the sandwich she was holding, but this really was enough. Ever since we had settled under the cherry tree and spread out the lunch, I hadn't stopped eating cookies. Would I even finish them all before we headed back to the Academy?

"The other things are delicious too…"

"I like these the best, so it's fine."

So please stop pushing them on me. One sandwich's worth of room in my stomach was six cookies…

I naturally turned my gaze up toward the sky to dodge Luise's eyes. Hey—those cherry blossoms sure were pretty.

I stared fixedly at Orabeoni Karl, who had declined the sandwich and was once again putting a cookie in his mouth. Orabeoni himself seemed too busy flower-gazing to notice my gaze.

It can't taste good.

I wasn't a fool. I knew perfectly well that the cookies I made weren't particularly good. Even the club members, who always treated me with smiling faces, would awkwardly try to avoid them whenever they saw the cookies.

Of course, it wasn't that I was truly bad at baking cookies. If I were, I wouldn't have been able to teach the club members pastry-making. I was fine with the basics. It was just that I wanted to go beyond those basics and try making my own unique cookies. So I had tried all sorts of things, and all sorts of unappetizing results had come of it.

Even so, the Orabeoni Karl right in front of me had always eaten those results. Even though they must have tasted terrible, without a single sign of dislike. Rather, he ate them day after day as if he were cheering me on.

A good person.

As I had told Erich before, I thought of Orabeoni Karl as a good person. No matter how cold and brusque he might seem on the outside, a person's true nature always showed through in their words and actions. The first time I met him, the way he looked at Erich was the image of an ideal older brother worried about his younger sibling.

I took that as Orabeoni's true nature. No matter how thorough a person was, they couldn't control unconscious expressions—and if his acting were that good, he would have treated Erich warmly on the surface as well. Someone awkward with expressing himself—that was my first impression of Orabeoni.

And after that, I didn't think about him again. He was staying at the Academy for work-related reasons, but I never imagined it would have anything to do with me. Just someone I might greet if we happened to pass each other. That was all—until I tried to start the club.

I had managed to gather the minimum of three members, but when I couldn't find an advisor—something I had thought would be simple—and it looked like the club wouldn't happen, I couldn't hide how dejected I felt. The Baking Club I had wanted since before enrollment was about to vanish into thin air.

"You don't have to look anymore. I'll take on the advisor role."

When Orabeoni Karl said he would take on the advisor position then, how happy I had been. Looking back later it was embarrassing, but I had beamed so brightly and bowed my head over and over to express my thanks. At that, Orabeoni had patted my shoulder and then turned and gone off somewhere.

Once he became the club advisor, Orabeoni always looked after us so carefully. And yet he never put on airs or showed any sign of finding it hard. As if it were simply something he was supposed to do.

To me, who had been receiving almost embarrassing levels of consideration from Erich and the other club members, that way he had of stepping one pace back and watching over us was a great comfort. It felt as though the older brother I had always wanted was solidly supporting me from behind.

From then on, with the feeling that I now had an older brother I could rely on, I found myself watching Orabeoni Karl. What he was doing, where he was going. Whether there was anything I could do in return.

"It's good. You could sell these."

"If there are any left, I'll take care of them. Put them in here."

The more I thought about it, the more it was me who kept receiving the consideration. He always ate the cookies in case my feelings might be hurt. Thanks to that, I had gained confidence and could make decent cookies these days.

…Yes, they've gotten better than before, haven't they? At least a little…?

Since Orabeoni said they all tasted good, there was no way to know even if the flavor had changed.

Just ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠as a smile of gratitude and apology was about to form, yesterday's events came to mind and I bit my lip lightly. When Irina had asked about Orabeoni Karl and I had brought it up, the way he had tried to brush it off. It had seemed like he was hiding something, and in the end he never told me.

The fact that there was a relationship I didn't know about between my closest friend and the older brother I could rely on—and that he wouldn't tell me—hurt my feelings. Of course Orabeoni had no obligation to tell me, but I couldn't help feeling hurt all the same.

When I looked at Orabeoni with discontented eyes, he seemed to notice my gaze at last; his eyes finally turned toward me.

"What?"

"Could I have a cookie too!"

At that, Orabeoni Karl held out the cookie he had just picked up. Instead of taking it with my hand, I bit into it right from his hand with my mouth.

Seeing Orabeoni's eyes waver in surprise, I caught a glimpse of my own face smiling with my eyes. For some reason the hurt feelings settled, and my mood improved.

Back at the Audit Department dormitory after the picnic, I sat on the edge of the bed with a weary heart and let out a sigh.

I had nearly ended up in a one-versus-five duel right there at the picnic spot. Luise's sudden prank had drawn such sharp stares from those five—if glares had physical force, it would have hurt a lot…

Why did she suddenly…

I never expected Luise ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to suddenly bite the cookie I was holding with her mouth. Watching her smile as she did it, I almost thought we had gotten close enough for her to tease me. Not exactly bad news, but of all people, five witnesses.

I dry-washed my face and then just lay down on the bed. Luise getting lively in unexpected directions wasn't anything new, so fretting wouldn't reveal the reason. Tomorrow when we met at the club room, she would greet me cheerfully as if nothing had happened.

And just as I was about to drift off, the communication orb I had tossed onto the desk began glowing, flaunting its presence. It was purple.

…? Purple?

"Fuck!"

I scrambled over and took the call that had come through the communication orb. An old man's face greeted me.

"Not at all. You're too kind. I'm only doing what must be done for the Empire."

I awkwardly laughed along with the old man as he chuckled.

The old man who had contacted me was the one who oversaw all affairs related to the imperial family, and the minister of the Ministry of Palace Affairs—ranked first among the Empire's administrative departments. In short, he was the pinnacle of imperial civil servants. Above him there was only the imperial family itself—an absolute endgame boss.

He wasn't my direct superior on the organizational chart, but the fact that this old man—essentially the mouthpiece of the imperial family—had contacted me meant the will of the imperial family had come down. What was bound to come had come…

"His Majesty the Emperor's grace reaches the entire Empire—what discomfort could I possibly face?"

"You flatter me."

The Minister of Palace Affairs laughed heartily like a friendly neighborhood grandfather, but I felt cold sweat running down my back. I had expected it, but the Crown Prince's orders had been delivered more directly than I thought.

The true meaning of these words that appeared to be simple pleasantries was as follows. "Discomfort" referred to the Third Prince Ainter's movements; "the Empire's order" meant the stability of the imperial family and the line of succession; and "my labors" translated to a delightful purge operation—and you had the correct answer.

I'm going to lose my mind.

If there was a silver lining, it was that it was conditional handling rather than immediate. Leaving it entirely to my judgment. With no bloodshed needed for so long, it seemed even the Crown Prince had developed something like mercy.

"I am overwhelmed by such undeserved words. I shall strive even harder so as not to betray His Highness the Crown Prince's trust."

At that reply, the Minister of Palace Affairs nodded with a smiling face.

"Thank you."

The light faded as the call ended. I let out a small sigh and tossed the communication orb back onto the desk.

The Crown Prince's a real piece of work too.

Now I had to watch not only Ainter as a contender in the contest for Luise, but Ainter as the Third Prince as well.

What a headache. Damn it.