A Certain Girl
A certain girl.
Three months had already passed since Schwarz was appointed Milia’s personal attendant and arrived at the academy.
"My Lady, where shall I put these documents?"
"Take them to Dane. Oh, and while you’re at it, pick up the materials I finished organizing."
"Understood."
…
"Schwarz, sorry, but could you run these up to the student council? It’s urgent."
"Got it."
…
"S-Schwarz, could you organize the materials you got from Dane? We have to submit them by the end of the day."
"Leave it to me."
In those three months as a member of the General Affairs Department, his position had grown beyond that of Milia’s attendant. He had become the department’s irreplaceable jack-of-all-trades, the one everyone turned to when something needed solving.
"Uwaaaaah… another day done."
"W-we can finally rest…"
Orange sunset light poured through the windows. Dane and Neris, having finished the last of the paperwork, groaned and stretched their bodies to the limit.
"You’ve both worked hard. Would you care for a cup of tea?"
"P-please…"
Neris answered in a voice that sounded ready to faint at any moment. Schwarz gave her a light nod and headed for the small stove set up in one corner of the office, beginning to boil water.
"You’re really something else… Don’t you ever get tired?"
"It’s nothing special. Want a cup too?"
Dane spoke as if he were thoroughly fed up, and Schwarz answered with a faint smile.
One served Milia as her master; the other served her as department chief. That shared position had forged a quiet understanding between them, and by now the two had grown close enough to drop all formality.
"Lots of sugar for me!"
"Lots of sugar? Got it."
Schwarz nodded at Dane’s order and took a jar of paper-wrapped sugar cubes from the cupboard above the stove.
Only later had he learned that Dane himself was also a member of the General Affairs Department. When Schwarz asked why he hadn’t said so earlier, Dane’s answer had been a masterpiece in its own right.
"Because I was sleepy."
At first Schwarz had wondered what kind of person said something like that. But after living as a member of the department and seeing the sheer volume of work the staff handled, he could understand the reaction to some degree.
With only three people in the entire General Affairs Department, the workload was simply impossible to manage. Overtime was a daily fact of life; there had even been stretches when they went three days without sleep. It was child labor in all but name—yet this world, regrettably, seemed to have no labor laws.
That the department had kept functioning at all until now was thanks entirely to Milia. Her own abilities were exceptional, of course, but she had also poured even her scarce personal time into the work. It was a true one-woman carry.
Of course, once Schwarz arrived, the late nights had all but vanished.
"Here you are, Lady Neris."
"Th-thank you. I’ll enjoy it…"
"And this is yours. Two sugar cubes, right?"
"Thanks!"
He set a cup before each of them. Both offered their thanks and lifted the tea.
"Haaaah…"
"Your tea really is the best…"
"It’s nothing special."
Seeing the almost blissful looks on their faces, Schwarz gave a slightly embarrassed smile.
"Come to think of it, where’s the Chief? Haven’t seen her all day."
Dane drained his cup in one go, set it down, and looked at Schwarz.
"President Arze summoned her. Seemed pretty urgent."
"Hmm… I’ve got a bad feeling about this…"
Dane narrowed his eyes.
When Arze called for Milia, it almost always meant there was a new task waiting for her. For Dane and Neris, who had only just finished their work, it was like sitting on a bed of nails.
And then it happened.
"Haaaah…"
The door clicked open, and Milia appeared—looking thoroughly exhausted.
"My Lady?"
"Chief?"
"Milia?"
All three tilted their heads at once.
Something had happened…
Sensing it instinctively, Neris and Dane immediately began re-checking the already-finished documents, doing their best to stay out of her line of sight so her anger wouldn’t land on them.
"I’d like a cup of black tea too…"
"At once, My Lady."
In a voice heavy with fatigue, Milia made her request and walked with leaden steps toward her desk. A short sigh later she collapsed into her chair, and a cold silence settled over the office.
Everyone was watching her carefully when Neris and Dane began shooting pointed looks at Schwarz, silently urging him to find out what was wrong. No matter how thoroughly irritated Milia might be, she never took it out on him.
Under those stares, Schwarz reluctantly approached her.
"My Lady… is something the matter?"
"I seriously want to quit the General Affairs Department…"
The moment he asked, she began muttering in a voice thick with genuine seriousness.
"It seems you’ve had quite a difficult time… Here. Your tea."
"Thanks…"
Schwarz set the cup of black tea before her. Milia nodded weakly and lifted it. For a while the only sound in the office was the soft sip of her tea.
Then, after a moment:
"This year’s martial arts tournament… His Majesty the King and the Princess are coming to observe. So we have to scrap the entire existing plan and start over from scratch…"
"Whoa…"
Schwarz let out a groan of pure dismay.
"Wait a second. What did you just say? Start over? From the beginning?"
"Y-you’re joking, right? I misheard that, didn’t I?"
Neris and Dane, hearing the same words, tried desperately to escape reality with identical looks of disbelief. But no amount of denial could change what stood before them.
"What did the President say?"
"What could she say? She’s my sister… All she could do was apologize."
Arze probably hadn’t seen this coming either. Understanding the weight behind those words, Schwarz let out a short sigh.
"I’m really sorry. You’ve already worked so hard, and now this…"
"It isn’t your fault, My Lady."
Looking at Milia’s apologetic face, Schwarz offered a light smile. If anything, this was closer to an unexpected accident. No one could be held responsible for something like that.
"Chief! Are we working overtime again? Please say no! Please!"
"Uwaaaaah—!! I wanna go home!!"
"Everyone, just hang in a little longer… Once the tournament is over it’ll be vacation, and we can rest for real."
Milia tried to soothe the two whose spirits had clearly been shredded to pieces.
"Chaos! Destruction! Ruin—!!"
"Uwaaaaaah—!!"
It would take them a fair amount of time to pull themselves together. With sweet free days so close they could almost taste them, only to watch those days vanish into the distance, their despair was bound to be immense.
I’d better brew some extra tea.
They would be so busy over the coming days that even the time to make tea would feel like a luxury. Thinking that, Schwarz opened the tea canister.
"Ah…"
"What is it, Schwarz? Is something wrong?"
Seeing the empty canister, he let out a low murmur. Milia tilted her head.
"It’s nothing. We’re out of black tea."
They had been working late for several nights in a row to finish the tournament proposal, and the tea had simply run out.
"Already? I thought we bought a fresh supply just last week."
"I’ll go buy more. The usual kind is fine, yes?"
"Mm. Please."
Milia answered and drew a gleaming gold coin from her pocket, holding it out to him.
"Is there anything else you’d like me to get?"
"Hmm… I don’t think so. Just grab some snacks if you can. Something sweet, preferably."
Schwarz tucked the coin away and asked; Milia made a thoughtful little sound before answering.
"Yes. Understood."
He bowed to her and left the General Affairs office.
"Thank you."
"Come again soon."
People often said humans were animals of adaptation. Whether the same held true for dragons, Schwarz wasn’t sure—but since his mind was essentially human, he supposed it didn’t matter much. With that thought he accepted the bag of black tea and stepped out into the crowded street.
At first every street in Barenberg had looked the same to him. Now he no longer got lost.
"What should I get for snacks…"
He murmured to himself as he walked. Following the throng of people, a wide plaza opened before him. He crossed it at a steady pace and soon arrived at a small shop tucked into one corner of the square.
"Hello."
"Well, if it isn’t the black-haired young man!"
The moment he opened the door, the sweet scent of bread and pastries wrapped around him, and a woman with a warm, motherly face greeted him. Her name was Ronera—the owner of the bakery.
"It’s been a while. Been busy lately?"
"Yes. One thing after another."
Ronera beamed as though delighted to see him; Schwarz answered with a polite bow.
"Still, drop by more often. It’s not every day you meet someone from the same hometown in a place like this."
Schwarz had only recently learned that Ronera was originally from the Valentine Countship. She had left long before Milia was born, so he had never met her there, but the mere fact that they shared a hometown was enough for her to fuss over him every time he came.
"I’ll try."
He answered with a light smile and began carefully examining the desserts on display. He could feel people glancing at him now and then, but he had grown used to that as well.
"By the way, I heard you had a limited-time snack recently. What was it again?"
"Ah! You mean the raspberry tart?"
Recalling something Milia had once mentioned, Schwarz asked. Ronera walked over to a display case and brought out a tart piled high with bright red raspberries.
Then and now, Milia’s favorite fruit had always been raspberries. Even after everything that had happened, she still loved them—so she must have liked them a great deal.
Five years ago, while picking raspberries, she had nearly been killed by a manticore. Remembering that day, Schwarz let out a quiet chuckle.
"How many are left?"
"Four slices. How many do you want?"
"I’ll take all of them."
Perfect timing.
He watched as the tarts were carefully packed into a box.
"You’re always so good to us, young man. I threw in a few macarons as a freebie. Share them with everyone."
"Thank you. I’ll come again."
Ronera handed him the box with those words. Schwarz nodded and turned to leave.
And at that exact moment—
"E-excuse me!!"
The shop door flew open and a girl rushed in, voice urgent. She was wrapped in a robe, so her face was hard to make out, but the ragged breathing beneath the fabric made it clear she was in a hurry.
"D-do you still have any raspberry tarts left?"
"Oh dear. I’m afraid this young man just bought the last of them."
"Ah… I see…"
Ronera answered awkwardly, and the girl’s voice drooped.
"Hmm…"
Schwarz looked back and forth between the girl and the box of tarts, then carefully spoke.
"If you don’t mind, would you like one?"
"I-is that really all right!?"
The girl sounded startled. Offering a limited-edition treat to a complete stranger wasn’t something people did lightly; her reaction was understandable.
"I only bought them all because leaving just one felt odd. I don’t actually care for sweets."
"Th-thank you so much!! I’ll repay this kindness someday, I promise!"
"It’s nothing worth mentioning."
The girl kept bowing; Schwarz waved a hand as if to say it was fine. Truthfully, he had never been particularly fond of sweet things, so giving away a single tart was no hardship.
"If you would, please."
"Honestly, you’re too kind, young man. Wait just a moment—I’ll gather some leftover snacks for you as well."
Schwarz handed the box back to Ronera. She nodded approvingly and disappeared into the shop. A short while later she returned with a smaller box containing a single tart and gave it to the girl.
"Thank you! I’ll never forget this kindness!"
"Please don’t worry about it."
The girl paid, bowed repeatedly to Schwarz, then clutched the box to her chest as though it were treasure and hurried out of the shop.
"Wonder what she was in such a rush for."
"She must have her reasons."
Ronera murmured as she watched the girl vanish. Schwarz answered and bowed to her.
"Well then, I’ll be going. Sorry for the trouble."
"Oh, stop that. It was no trouble at all. Come again soon."
Ronera waved him off. Schwarz turned and stepped out into the street.
"The sun’s already set."
The sky that had been painted orange was now a deep, dusky blue.
"Let’s see… Nothing else to buy, so I should head back."
He checked once more that he hadn’t forgotten anything, then nodded and crossed the crowded plaza, making his way toward the academy.