Isn't This Dangerous?

Isn't this dangerous?

"Why? Is it weird for me to be here or something?"

Charlotte took the drink from me, then shrugged with shameless nonchalance.

"If I remember correctly… yesterday you very clearly told me to handle it myself?"

"Yeah, well. Once I got back and thought it over, I just couldn't shake the unease no matter how hard I tried. What if I wasn't around and you flunked the makeup exam? The loss would be enormous, right? And since I happened to have nothing on my schedule today, I came to help."

"Aha…"

Charlotte slurped her drink through the straw, set it down on the table, and said,

"What's with that reaction? You don't want my help?"

"Of course not! Hearing that the brilliant Lady Charlotte will personally assist with my studies fills me with nothing but reassurance."

"Then we're good. You—Elys, was it? I'm Charlotte Cervantes. Looking forward to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠working with you."

"Yeah. Likewise."

Elys answered with a casual nod. Charlotte's sudden intrusion didn't seem to bother her much.

"Anyway. Let's actually get started. The subject I have to retake is Continental History."

"Hm? What about the others?"

Elys tilted her head and asked.

"I managed to scrape by on anything involving calculations, but history… with zero background knowledge, none of it would stick no matter how hard I tried."

"You're smarter than I thought."

"I've noticed this before, but Lady Elys seems to have a real talent for casually wounding people."

"Depends how you take it. Still, that's a relief. Continental History is relatively easy compared to the other ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠subjects."

"Haha, for me it was the hardest of them all."

"If we go step by step, it'll be fine. Right, let's start from the First Age of Chaos…"

"Hold it."

Charlotte stopped Elys just as she was about to open the textbook to the very first page.

"…What is it?"

Elys frowned slightly and looked at her.

"This guy's goal is to pass the makeup exam. How much time do you think we have to carefully work through everything from the First Age of Chaos? We need to drill the Second Age of Chaos—the period that shows up on tests the most."

"That way he won't build a solid foundation of knowledge. It'll definitely become an obstacle when he tries to solve the questions."

"We're taking a makeup exam. Compared to the real one we took last time, this is going to be so easy it'll feel childish. Intensive memorization of the key parts will be more than enough to pass."

"…Fine. We'll do it that way."

"Thanks for cooperating. All right, starting from the assassination of the third emperor of the Kirinus Empire…"

The tutoring session moved at a blistering pace.

The two geniuses read the speed of my ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠thoughts with uncanny precision and adjusted their teaching accordingly. Knowledge sank into my head as if it belonged there; every time I got confused, they explained the exact point that was itching, as if scratching an unreachable spot. No exaggeration—it was a hundred times more effective than studying alone.

That said, the session didn't always flow smoothly.

"The important point here is how the isolationist policy enacted by Emperor Alps affected the international situation…"

Just as Charlotte was about to continue her explanation, Elys cut in.

"Aren't you only teaching the conclusions? If you skip around like that, Shion might not remember properly."

"As I've said repeatedly, we're not trying to make him a history major. The goal is getting him through the exam."

"The reason Shion is especially weak at history is the complete lack of background knowledge. Just dumping dry conclusions on him in that state—there's no way he'll understand."

Every so often they clashed over teaching methods, but both of them always had legitimate points when they needled each other, so after a few exchanges one of them would concede and the session would continue.

About three hours had passed when a certain signal arrived. I asked the two of them for a brief leave of absence.

"Um, teachers. Your humble disciple would like to visit the restroom for a moment. May I have your gracious permission?"

"Sure. Treat it as a break and go. You agree, right?"

"Yeah."

"Then I'll be right back."

"I'll be back in a bit."

Shion bowed his head and walked off toward the restroom.

Only Charlotte and Elys remained at the table.

"Hey, there's something I've been curious about."

"Go ahead."

Charlotte spoke as if she had been waiting for exactly this moment.

"How did you meet Shion? Just personal curiosity."

After a very slight pause, Elys answered.

"It's not a particularly pleasant story. Still want to hear it?"

"If you're okay with it."

Elys gave a small nod and continued.

"He saved me when I was being bullied. After that we just naturally became close."

"Oh my, that must have been rough. Bullying a pretty girl like you… whoever it was, they must have some serious personality issues."

"I'll take the compliment gratefully."

Charlotte spoke warmly; Elys answered without any change in expression.

"I see. So in short, Shion is like the prince who rescued you from danger?"

"'Prince' doesn't really suit that guy, but if I had to put it that way, yeah."

"Then…"

Charlotte put on a mischievous expression and casually asked,

"Does that mean Elys has a crush on Shion?"

"……I'm genuinely curious what chain of reasoning leads to that conclusion."

For the first time, a crack appeared in Elys's unchanging face.

"Hm? Was I wrong? I was certain you liked him enough to give up your weekend to help him study. People don't usually go this far unless there's that kind of feeling, right?"

"…It's not like that. Helping Shion is purely as a friend, and partly to repay the debt of him saving me. There's no personal romantic feeling involved."

"Hmm… so that's how it is."

Charlotte narrowed her eyes and stared at Elys.

The gaze was a little too intense; Elys glanced away slightly and said,

"By your logic, that would mean you like Shion too."

"Yep. I do like him."

"What?"

Elys's face hardened in an instant; her hands clenched into fists.

"Pfft. Just kidding, just kidding. That guy and I are nothing more and nothing less than friends. You can relax."

"…That's none of my business."

"For someone who says that, your face just now was pretty scary."

"……"

Elys's cheeks turned the faintest shade of pink. Charlotte watched her with a faint smile and held out her hand.

"There's a saying that a friend of a friend is a friend. Looking forward to getting along, Elys."

Elys stared at the offered hand for a moment, then nodded and clasped it.

"Looking forward to it, Cervantes."

"Charlotte's fine. I'm happy to have a new friend."

After the handshake, Charlotte took a long sip of her drink.

Then, as if something had just occurred to her, her eyes widened and she asked,

"Oh, right. Now that we're friends, there's one thing I'd like to ask. Is that okay?"

"If it's something I can answer."

"Well then, lend me your ear for a second. It's a bit of a sensitive topic for other people to overhear."

Elys nodded. Charlotte smiled brightly and brought her lips close to Elys's ear.

Then she spoke.

"You're a demonkin, aren't you?"

In that instant, Elys's breath stopped.

"…Pfft! Why are you freezing up so hard? I was just joking around. Lately the academy's been crawling with demonkin and dark mages, so teasing people like this has become a trend among kids these days. You've never heard of it?"

"…As the person on the receiving end, it's not exactly pleasant."

"Oh my, I'm sorry. I was only joking to get closer. If it hurt your feelings, I apologize."

Faced with Elys's icy reaction, Charlotte bowed her head in apology.

And while her head was lowered, her face was filled with a smile—as if she had just discovered something fascinating.

"I'm back. Did everyone miss me terribly… huh? Lady Charlotte, did you cause some kind of incident?"

At that moment Shion returned from the restroom.

"I tried teasing Elys a little to get closer, but I think I rubbed her the wrong way. So I was apologizing."

"I see. But don't worry. Unlike a certain someone I know, our Lady Elys possesses a generous character and will surely forgive a small prank."

"…You've been getting a bit full of yourself lately."

"Ahem, ahem. Shall we continue with the lesson, teachers?"

In any case, the tutoring continued.

By the time the sun had disappeared and the sky was growing dark, I was walking back to the dormitory after finishing the makeup exam.

"Woohoo! I feel amazing!"

My steps were light enough to float.

Elys is a goddess. Charlotte too.

There hadn't been a single question I didn't know. Every problem came straight from the parts the two of them had emphasized as important, so missing any of them would have been harder than getting them right.

"I should get them both thank-you gifts tomorrow."

With my worries gone, the whole world looked beautiful. Even the air suddenly tasted delicious.

"On a great day like this… maybe I should grab a snack? I've been holding back a lot lately."

I'd been so busy that even the time it took to visit the tteokbokki shop had felt wasteful, so I'd naturally cut snacks out of my life. As a reward for all that hard work, a little deviation should be fine, right?

Of course it was fine.

Beaming, I turned into the alleyway.

Cutting through here would drastically shorten the trip to the tteokbokki shop. Since it was a place people's eyes didn't reach easily, there was a low chance of running into delinquent students, but honestly, at my level I could leisurely run away from a few delinquents.

The real deal never wastes time hanging around in alleys to begin with.

Pascal, another mysterious L today…?

As I walked down the alley, I sensed something off and turned around.

Just now… did a shadow ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠move strangely?

I tilted my head and activated Nature Realm.

Information my eyes alone had failed to grasp began flooding into my mind.

And I was horrified.

"……!"

Blades formed of pure shadow were hurtling straight toward me.