Peaceful Routine, Isn't It?
“Ah, what a peaceful day it is, right?”
“Hooaa…! A lively and bright morning!”
I stretched with satisfaction and rose from my fluffy bed.
Normally I would have lingered just a little longer to squeeze in a few more minutes of sleep, but today my mood was so refreshingly upbeat that I got up without even realizing it, full of energy.
The reason? ……As you might expect, I had finally resolved the long-standing issues with Charlotte cleanly and completely yesterday!
During that process I accidentally confessed my favorite character right in front of the actual person involved, which was an unfortunate mishap. But it’s nothing a little embarrassment can’t fix.
Now at least I don’t have to worry about being shot in the back by a handgun while I’m walking around!
I hummed a little tune as I casually styled my hair and headed out to eat breakfast.
“Kyah…! Killing it?”
Even after all this time, the meals were always unbelievably lavish.
Food so elegant that even pre-possession me could never have imagined it. Since I was eating alone anyway, I loaded up as much as I wanted.
I made my way to a suitably quiet corner table and started eating.
Mmm~ Because my mental burden felt lighter, my appetite was sharper than usual today.
“You always eat like this by yourself?”
As I happily continued my meal, someone sat down in the seat across from me and asked.
That voice…
“Oh? Isn’t that Lady Charlotte, who generously created a ventilation hole in my shoulder so I wouldn’t be stuffy? Good morning!”
“……So that was an apology, huh.”
“Hahaha, it’s hard to see Lady Charlotte apologizing. This is a perfect chance to witness it more often… without using any magic, please.”
Her voice trembled as she requested, and Charlotte snorted, cutting off the mana flow.
“Who said I was tickling you? Ruining my morning like this.”
“I’m sorry. Anyway, you asked a question, right? I got so caught up in the sight of Lady Charlotte’s beauty from the very start of breakfast that I forgot everything.”
“It’s fine. I just meant it as a greeting. But…….”
Charlotte looked at the overflowing plate of food in front of me and asked in a disgusted tone.
“You’re eating that much from breakfast?”
“Ahaha, there are so many Earth foods I can’t get enough of, so it’s hard to hold back. My family situation wasn’t great.”
“Yeah, that makes sense. But if you keep eating like that, you’ll get fat, won’t you? I suffered a lot at first because I ate that much like you.”
Charlotte’s sincere advice sounded as though she’d never heard of it before.
But it didn’t really click with me.
“Strange as it may sound, my body refuses to gain weight no matter how much I eat. It’s been a week since I started eating this much, and there’s been no change at all. In fact, I seem to be losing weight. Isn’t that the case for you too, Lady Charlotte?”
“………”
Ahem, seeing her reaction, it looked like Charlotte was one of those people who gained weight in direct proportion to how much they ate, unlike me.
“Hmm… Right now you look like you’ve gained a little more weight than on the first day….”
“……Shut up?”
“Hiiik! Violence is against the rules!”
Charlotte, who had been holding a fork, scowled and stood up from her seat at that moment. At the same time, two rescue reinforcements appeared behind her.
“……When did the two of you become so close?”
“Um, Chloe? And… Astorius?”
My half-sister Chloe and the ever-reliable Shiena came walking over. Oh, it was the first time I’d ever seen this many people gather for breakfast.
“Good morning. Lady Servantes…?”
Shiena, who had been glancing at me, narrowed her eyes slightly and let her tone trail off. What the heck? Did I do something wrong somewhere?
“……Is it normal for you to eat breakfast with Sion at the same table every morning?”
She shook her head slightly in response and turned to Charlotte.
There was something strange about it, though.
Shiena’s usually cheerful face seemed to hold some dissatisfaction.
What? Did I mess up?
“No. This is the first time I’ve ever sat with that guy during breakfast. And Chloe, don’t misunderstand. I have no intention of becoming friendly with a guy who laughs so casually without any depth whatsoever.”
“That’s right. Everyone. Lady Charlotte is just eating with me. She was only trying to work out some small worries she had with me.”
“Worries?”
Chloe tilted her head, and I answered as if it were nothing.
“It’s nothing big. Lady Charlotte was just… complaining about her weight… Ow!”
Right then something slammed down on top of my head. I looked up and saw a crack in the ceiling right above me.
Suppressing a cry, I glanced forward and saw Charlotte pulling her arm out from another crack in the wall.
It seemed she had jammed her arm down the crack to slam my head hard.
“What unnecessary words are you saying!”
Charlotte’s face flushed red and she glared. Just as I thought, Charlotte was really the type to hit back when poked.
Unlike Shiena, she might actually react if I kept teasing her, so I should tone it down a bit.
At that moment Shiena muttered softly.
“……You’re pretty close, aren’t you.”
But her voice was so small I couldn’t hear it properly.
“Charlotte, ignore what that guy is saying. He’s barely gained any weight.”
“Thank you, Chloe… No! I’m telling you I haven’t gained weight!”
Yeah, the scene was a total mess. I watched the sitcom unfold in real time right in front of me with a satisfied snort.
Even without me opening my mouth, the way the two of them kept bickering back and forth was genuinely beautiful.
Their combination was a classic one that often appeared in games.
Chloe would subtly tease Charlotte, who would then counter with a sulky rebuttal in a never-ending loop.
If no one interfered, their conversation would never end. I ate my meal while using the lively scene as seasoning.
Then, as I watched them with a blank stare, Shiena’s expression suddenly hardened and I saw her muttering something.
It sounded like it was filled with dissatisfaction, but I couldn’t hear the words clearly.
“……I’m leaving first.”
“Huh? Shiena, you haven’t even started eating yet….”
“It’s just… I don’t feel like eating much. Excuse me.”
Shiena bowed her head slightly and left the table.
I felt a faint sense of her departing figure, and I almost stood up, but since I couldn’t think of anything to say after grabbing her, I was left staring blankly like an idiot.
Just as I was continuing to eat with a gloomy feeling, the food didn’t go down properly, so I sighed and stood up from my seat.
“Ahh… My stomach’s a bit sore, so I’ll head back to my room early.”
“Exactly, I told you to let me know.”
“Hmm, hearing Lady Charlotte say that makes me feel a little odd….”
“Shut up!”
I stood up and dodged Charlotte’s fist, slipping out of the seat like I was running away.
Just in case, I glanced around, but Shiena was nowhere to be seen.
“……It’s a little worrying.”
Is something wrong? I should ask her later if the chance arises.
With a strange feeling in my chest, I walked slowly down the street. Every now and then a newspaper left behind by the weekly Wednesday morning edition was discarded on the benches.
That newspaper carried all sorts of events happening around the world, so I needed to read it regularly.
Ah, speaking of which, I must have forgotten to check the newspaper in my dorm room too. I’ll read it slowly at home after returning from school.
“……Eh? That’s….”
Thinking that, I slowly moved my feet and spotted someone reading a newspaper on a bench far off in the distance.
Her face felt familiar. I frowned and looked closer… It was Alice. The Alice who had beaten me up on my first day of school.
Even from a distance her appearance was so distinctive that I recognized her instantly. But…
“……What’s this?”
Alice was crying.
Her eyes were red, tears were frozen as she sobbed, and she was crying hot tears.
The newspaper she was holding was soaked in places from her tears.
What on earth was making her so sad?
“…….”
I was still a demon in Alice’s eyes. Her hatred for me surely hadn’t disappeared just because I apologized once.
Clearly she didn’t want to look at me.
So I felt even more worried—could these tears she was shedding not be because of me?
I wanted to check if there was anything left for me to apologize for.
I slowly approached Alice.
She should have noticed my presence, but she was so busy crying that she didn’t sense me at all.
“Excuse me… Lady Alice?”
She flinched as if startled by my cautious question.
She slowly turned her head and looked at me, Alice.
“…….”
Then, still shedding hot tears, she clenched her teeth and stood up, rushing away somewhere without a word.
“……What happened?”
I stared at the spot she had left in a daze, frowning and tilting my head.
An uneasy premonition wouldn’t go away.
***
“Haa… I’m done for. Done for. If I just started doing a little proper exercise and ended up like this, I’m finished. Sion’s body is literally garbage. This is….”
I had barely made it back to the dorm in a state of utter exhaustion and immediately headed to the bathroom.
I quickly rinsed off the sweat with a simple shower, staggered over to the bed, and collapsed.
Training? How incredibly hard it is. How do the others do this every single day?
I slowly turned my head toward the window and saw that it was already evening, half-dark outside.
Still, it was worth celebrating that I had persevered until this time on my very first day.
So now I could finally rest for a bit…
“Ah, speaking of which, I forgot to check the newspaper.”
Tch, there was still something I had to do.
With my body heavy as lead, I pushed myself up and picked up the newspaper left outside the door, then headed back into the room.
I flopped down into the desk chair and spread the paper open. Okay, where to start…
“Is there any mention of ‘Chaos’ in this issue?”
I muttered the two characters of Chaos and stared hard at the newspaper.