A Room for Four
With my business in Depel finished, I returned to the academy the very next day.
During the semester there would be little reason to leave campus, so I probably would not set foot in Depel again for half a year. With her talent for running a general store underground, she should have more than enough time to dig thoroughly into the Frentz name.
The academy I came back to was, frankly, so deserted it was the perfect environment for pure laziness.
No need to attend classes meant I could sleep in as long as I wanted. The friends who usually stuck by my side had all gone home, so if I felt like it I could hole up in my room and loaf around all day. With no dorm supervisor around, I could even stay up late reading novels.
I did not even have to pretend to be a proper young lady the way I usually did. Only a handful of students remained in the dorms, and none of them were particularly close to me.
Even so, whenever I let myself relax and the habits of a noble lady slipped out without thinking, I would flinch and then snort with laughter.
Still, I made sure to keep at least the bare minimum of propriety.
The short time I had spent visiting my friends’ homes had helped me more than I expected. Even now, when I recalled those memories, I could feel my swordsmanship improving little by little.
That was why, no matter how late I slept in, how much I sprawled around my room, or how late I stayed up doing nothing useful, I never skipped my daily training.
Beating Cielian for the top spot right away might be impossible, but I at least wanted to catch up to her once before graduation.
And there was one other thing I never skipped besides training.
My part-time job helping Freesia with her magical research.
Though calling it research was a stretch these days. Freesia herself seemed to have lost interest; she almost never used me as a test subject the way she used to. Most of the time I simply answered her summons to room 707 in the Magic Building, drank a cup of tea, chatted about this and that, and left.
Living that slightly lazy yet still somewhat diligent life, I spent several more weeks of summer break. Then, one by one, students began trickling back into the dorms.
“It’s been a while, Ciel.”
“It really has. I missed you so much it was hard.”
Cielian arrived at the exact time she had written in the letter she sent ahead, without a single minute’s difference. The moment she stepped down from the carriage she threw herself into my waiting arms.
Seeing her again after so long, the way she hugged me out of pure joy caught me off guard, but considering how little distance she kept with me, it was nothing new to get flustered over now.
After a few pats on her back I finally managed to free myself and take a proper look at her face.
“Huh? Those dark circles under your eyes are pretty intense.”
They were not the kind that came from a night or two of fatigue. From my assassin days of staying up for nights on end, I knew circles that dark only appeared after at least a full week of missed sleep.
“Did you stay up every night reading novels just because it was break?”
“W-well, yes. I couldn’t control myself once vacation started…”
Even the ever-exemplary Cielian had a side like this. Our friendship was only half a year old, so every now and then I still discovered new facets of her.
“If the circles got that bad, the books must have been really good. Can I borrow them once you’re finished?”
“O-of course! I’ll pick out the best ones for you, so just wait a little.”
“No need to pick anything special. Whatever you’re reading now is fine…”
“Ah… R-right. Yes. I’ll lend them to you the moment I finish.”
“Okay. Thanks. But try cutting back on the all-nighters.”
Cielian’s natural beauty was so striking that even heavy dark circles could not hide her charm; if anything, they gave her a different kind of allure. Still, habits that ruined her health were not good.
“Haha… Never thought the day would come when I’d be the one saying that to you, Ciel.”
If Cielian’s problem was staying up too late, mine was the opposite—sprawling around far too much—but I decided to keep that secret from her.
“Don’t worry. Starting today I’ll probably be able to sleep properly.”
She must have almost finished the books. She would lend them to me soon enough.
With Cielian back in the dorms, the second-semester application and correction period was drawing to a close.
I had offered to help her unpack, but she refused so vehemently that I left her to it and claimed a table in the dorm lounge, lost in thought.
Double room or quadruple room—I was still weighing the pros and cons of each.
If I had to lean one way, it was toward the quadruple.
As for my secrets, I just had to be careful myself. A double room only lowered the odds compared to a quadruple; the need for caution remained the same either way.
So why not save a little money with the four-person room? That was the thought running through my head when—
“What are you doing here?”
Whether I had been deliberating too long or she simply had little luggage, Cielian was already downstairs and speaking to me.
“Trying to fill out the second-semester application.”
I gave the paper a little wave.
“I figure I’ll be a bit busier next term, so a double or quadruple seems better. I’m leaning toward the four-person for now…”
“Perfect!”
“Huh?”
Her sudden volume made me jump, but she was beaming as she explained what was so perfect.
“Actually, our butler accidentally put me down for a double room on the second-semester form.”
“It’s still the correction period. If you just ask, they’ll fix it right away, won’t they?”
Most students in single rooms came from wealthy families, so the academy handled those matters quickly and efficiently. Even an academy could not afford to neglect VIP customers when money was involved. Special treatment was unnecessary; a little extra diligence fell well within their discretion.
“That’s true, but… it would still be a bother for the staff.”
“But sharing a double with a stranger would be awkward…”
“So how about this? Why don’t you room with me instead?”
She cut in before I could finish. If I could share a double with Cielian, I would have far less to worry about than living with someone I did not know at all. We had already shared a room once before, so the pressure would be minimal.
“But can we just decide the multi-room members ourselves…?”
“I checked the regulations. It’s allowed. Quite a few students do it for the second semester.”
She claimed the double was a mistake this time, yet under normal circumstances Cielian would have stayed in singles forever. Why would a model student bother looking up multi-room rules?
“Hmm… Really? I’m fine with it, but are you sure you’re okay with it, Ciel…?”
“Of course I am! Come on, let’s go apply right now!”
Perhaps the joy of seeing each other again after so long had her especially excited today. She snatched my application from the table with one hand and grabbed my wrist with the other, pulling me along.
Staying put would only leave me stuck between double and quadruple forever. Letting someone else decide for me was not such a bad idea.
Half-dragged by Cielian, I headed for the academy office.
On the final day of the application and correction period, Anne and Yuri returned to the academy after squeezing every last drop out of the break.
We finished unpacking their things in short order and settled around a table at the café outside the academy that the four of us often visited, drinks in hand.
“Vacation’s really over now.”
“Yeah. Ugh… Having to start that endless studying again…”
Anne already looked miserable, clutching her head and groaning.
But Anne, you’ve never studied that hard in the first place.
I kept the thought to myself. Even if it was true, there was no need to say it out loud.
“Oh, right. While you two were unpacking I should’ve gone and packed my own things.”
The thought struck me suddenly. Once the grace period after applications ended, I would be moving into the double I had applied for with Cielian. I did not have much luggage, so it would not take long, but it was better to do it while I still remembered and still had free time.
Yuri, however, looked puzzled.
“Huh? Pack your things? What are you talking about?”
“Oh, I never told you two. Actually, for second semester Cielian and I are sharing a dou—”
“Wow! This coffee is amazing. Here, El, try some!”
“Huh? I ordered the same thing as Cielian… Mmph!”
I was certain Cielian had ordered the same drink as me, yet she acted as if she had forgotten and forced her straw into my mouth. One sip confirmed it was identical to the coffee I had been drinking.
“Ciel? I’d really like to hear more about that…”
“W-well, you see… Haha…”
Meanwhile Yuri was pressing Cielian as if interrogating her, while Anne seemed completely uninterested in their conversation and was staring at the straw still in my mouth.
“Hm? Want a sip too, Anne?”
I pulled my lips away and held the drink out toward her. It was Cielian’s coffee, but one sip would not matter.
“Ah! Th-that’s…”
“You don’t have to force yourself.”
Seeing her hesitate, I started to pull it back, only for petite Anne to practically climb onto the table, snatching my hand.
“No! I-I’ll drink it!”
Even though I had been offering it, her reaction made it sound as if I had been trying to take it away. It was oddly flustering. And because Anne was so small, it felt like I was snatching something from a little sister, which pricked my conscience.
Once she had the drink, Anne took a deep breath and carefully put the straw to her lips.
“Ciel? Next time, no cutting in line, okay?”
“Yes…”
I glanced over to find Cielian pouting slightly, head bowed as if she had just been scolded by Yuri.
What had the two of them talked about while Anne and I were busy? From the snatches I caught, it seemed to be about the dorms.
“Wait… What time does dorm correction close?”
“As far as I know, until the staff leave at five…”
Before I finished speaking, Yuri shot to her feet. Her eyes locked onto the clock hanging on the café wall.
Four-thirty.
“Oh, did you accidentally apply for a double like Ciel? Getting back to the dorms takes twenty minutes, so we’d better hurry—”
“Ciel! Bring Anne and follow me right now!”
Yuri’s voice rang out with a force that made her usual timid image hard to believe, half-ordering Cielian. Before I knew what was happening I was being dragged along by Yuri’s hand, while Anne—still happily sucking on the straw of the coffee she had taken—was pulled along behind me by Cielian.
Even after nearly dropping the cup, Anne’s mouth never left the straw.
“Yes, you’re all registered. I’ve put the four of you down for the same quadruple room.”
I had no idea how everything had unfolded. By the time I came to my senses, the paperwork was already complete: Elicia, Cielian, Yuri, and Anne would be sharing a four-person room.
“Huff… huff…”
Yuri, the least trained of us, was still catching her breath after the long sprint. Cielian still had her lips pursed in a pout. Anne somehow still had the straw in her mouth.
Ah, whatever. It would work out somehow.
“Is there a first-year in the Swordsmanship Department named Elicia Frentz?”
Freesia asked the teaching assistant in the faculty office. Since Freesia was a professor of the Magic Department, the assistant belonged to the same faculty. She had to dig through another department’s roster for a moment before locating the name.
“Yes. Class 1 of Swordsmanship. Is something the matter?”
At the assistant’s words, Freesia recalled what had happened two nights earlier in Elicia’s room.
“Meow. Starting tomorrow I won’t be in this room anymore. I’m moving into a four-person room with my friends.”
Just as she had said, when Freesia visited last night another student was already occupying the space. From the way Elicia had complained to her cat self, the cause seemed to be financial.
“Could I provide that student with a single dorm room under my authority? Call it a scholarship or whatever.”
“Well… the academy’s scholarship slots are already full…”
“Take it out of my salary if you have to.”
Freesia had no taste for luxury; the cost of a single room was nothing to her. Spending a little of her surplus money to secure Elicia’s single room was a trivial price.
“One moment, please.”
But Freesia’s wish was soon dashed.
“Ah, the correction period has already ended. Moving dorms is no longer possible. You’ll have to look into other options.”
That night, outside the four-person room where Elicia now stayed, the heartfelt meow of a frustrated cat could be heard—but that is another story.