Little by Little, It Seeps In (3)
In the dim warehouse, Lydia and Morgan sat back to back, sharing an evening meal. A single small crate served as their chair; they faced away from each other, listening to one another chew.
“…”
“…”
It was an odd arrangement, but there were reasons for it. The meal had been Lydia’s idea first—a deliberate “deal.” She had arrived at Morgan’s workshop-like warehouse with a basket of fresh food in one hand.
Morgan’s eyes widened at the sight.
“!”
The basket was packed with neat, colorful, mouthwatering dishes. To Morgan, who usually had to make do with cafeteria leftovers because she couldn’t eat openly in the dormitory, this was a rare, proper meal.
She understood at once that Lydia had come to propose they eat together. Still, she answered curtly on purpose. She refused to look eager.
“What do you want?”
Lydia smiled gently. The smile was a little stiff, yet warm—like a stone that had soaked up sunlight for a long time.
“Would you keep this princess company for dinner?”
“…”
“I wish to share a meal with someone wise.”
“…”
Morgan fidgeted with her fingers. What now? If I accept right away, I’ll look like some starving commoner obsessed with food…
‘I hate that.’
While her mind hesitated, her stomach gave a loud, enthusiastic reply.
Gurgle—
“—?!”
Morgan’s face flushed scarlet. In the dark warehouse it was almost indistinguishable from her red hair. A tiny, mosquito-like squeak slipped from her lips.
Damn it…!
Lydia, of course, said nothing. She pretended not to notice and simply repeated the invitation in a quiet voice.
“Please. Will you dine with this princess?”
“…”
Seizing the moment, Morgan frantically constructed a logical justification in her head.
Hmph. I’ll save on food costs. Plus, I get to satisfy my curiosity about what’s so special about eating with a friend. And most importantly, she’s the one who asked.
1. This is a perfectly reasonable request.
2. It satisfies my curiosity.
3. I hold the initiative here.
Once the internal logic was in place, her heart steadied. She answered.
“…Fine. I permit it. I’ll let you experience what it feels like to eat with a wise person.”
“Understood.”
There was, however, one condition. Morgan pulled a fork from the corner of her desk and warned her sternly.
“Never—absolutely never—watch me eat. Even if you see it, keep your mouth shut and say nothing. If you comment, I’ll curse you.”
“…”
It was an overly sensitive reaction, but Lydia had expected it. In the game, her unusual eating habits were part of her complex. Her family constantly mocked her for eating like a commoner.
Lydia had not come to lecture her on table manners. How Morgan ate was her own business. She understood that perfectly.
“Understood.”
So the two of them sat back to back and ate. While Lydia dined, she casually mentioned events from the Swordsmanship Department. Morgan chewed on soft fruit and listened in silence.
“…That happened in class today.”
“Hmph. The Swordsmanship Department is full of idiots. The whole Gallia Kingdom is idiotic. Clinging to outdated values about noble duty and all that nonsense… The world already runs on mana engineering and money. The only place knights have any value is in front of monsters.”
It was bold to criticize the kingdom in front of royalty, yet Lydia replied calmly.
“Hehe. Call it romance.”
“I didn’t expect that from you. The way you usually talk, I thought you’d be the first to curse your kingdom’s stupidity.”
“How could I only hate it? Both those I love and those I dislike… they all belong to the Gallia Kingdom.”
“…”
What about me? The moment that thought crossed Morgan’s mind—
Lydia continued smoothly.
“Of course, I’ve made friends in the Republic and the Holy Theocracy now as well. Even so, I cannot view everything about the Gallia Kingdom in a purely negative light.”
“…”
Morgan let out a breath of relief.
“…Tsk. You don’t have to think about me.”
“Hehe.”
But she was happy. Lydia had not left her out. She hid that feeling. If it showed, she might be taken advantage of. After all, she and Lydia had only known each other for a week. She couldn’t let her guard down yet.
“…”
Morgan stabbed a piece of fruit with her fork, irritated. Thud! Juice dripped from the inverted fork. As she stared at it, a thought occurred to her.
Strange. Every dish Lydia brought is mild. I thought people from the Gallia Kingdom went crazy for heavy stews and grilled meat. The fruits aren’t even tart…
Thanks to that, even her badly damaged mouth could eat without pain. Morgan decided it was simply Lydia’s preference and felt a small sense of relief.
So Lydia can’t handle spicy or sour food either.
For some reason, that made her glad.
“…”
…Wait, what?
Morgan shook her head, brushing the thought away. How stupid.
The two continued eating in silence. Lydia ate with refined, textbook grace; Morgan tore small pieces with her inverted fork.
“…”
“…”
Morgan hesitated. Given the flow of conversation, it was Lydia’s turn to ask, “What about you?” But that question would inevitably lead to Morgan’s own ostracized life in the Magic Department. She didn’t want that.
“…”
And it was pathetic. She was trembling over a single question.
“…”
Morgan bit her lip. Stress surged through her. She hated the version of herself that was already simulating the conversation in her head, desperately trying to look less pathetic.
This is why I hate friends.
Just then, Lydia spoke.
“Now that I think about it.”
“!”
Ah, crap…
But Lydia’s words were different from what she feared.
“The joint classes for all three departments will begin soon.”
“Huh? Yeah.”
Morgan relaxed. Lydia wasn’t digging into her personal affairs.
“…That’s true.”
“Yet this princess is worried.”
“?”
“I have no confidence in Magic Department classes.”
“…Pfft.”
Morgan shrugged, speaking with clear confidence.
“Hmph. That old man Edmond won’t expect much from a bunch of sword-brained tin cans anyway. Even that strict geezer has some sense. If you can just get through the basic liberal-arts text Foundations of Mana Theory, you’ll be fine. A village kid could learn it in three days. I memorized the whole thing in an hour.”
“…”
“That’s the level every royal is taught, right?”
Morgan pointed toward a pile of rumpled blankets in the corner of the warehouse. A single book served as her pillow. It was an especially worn copy of Foundations of Mana Theory, one of the first-year Magic Department textbooks. The old edition was covered in dense handwriting, even on the covers. She had clearly memorized the content long ago and was now using the book as a notebook.
Lydia looked at it and thought, Her handwriting is terrible… Then she gave a small, wry smile.
“This princess studied that book on her own but couldn’t understand it for an entire year.”
“…”
“It seems I truly have no talent for magic.”
“…”
Morgan swallowed hard. It felt as if someone had dumped cold water over her entire body. Her mind went blank. She didn’t know why, but she suddenly felt like she was being sucked down into the floor.
“…”
Uh… That wasn’t supposed to be mocking…
“…”
What do I do?If she thinks I was making fun of her…What do I do…?
The tip of the inverted fork trembled faintly. Shiver—
“…”
Dizziness washed over her. Her mind reflexively scrambled to create an excuse that would protect her.
I-it’s not my fault. Who could’ve known her level in magic was that pathetic? Damn it. I should’ve paused before answering. But she suddenly brought up magic and I got excited… No, still, I should have thought more—
Stupid. I ruined it again.
She’s going to leave now…
“Hic… hic…”
Morgan’s breathing grew ragged. Dust flew into her nose with each gasp, tickling her lungs. A cough burst out, and a small piece of fruit lodged in her throat. She began to choke.
“Ugh—cough! Ack!”
“!”
Lydia immediately turned and gently patted the back hidden beneath red hair. Tap, tap. Precisely controlled energy flowed into Morgan’s internal organs, pushing the obstruction out of her airway.
“Hic…!”
In an instant, Morgan could breathe again. She wiped her nose with her sleeve and spoke urgently. The inverted fork shook in her grip.
“I-I’m fine. It’s fine now…”
“Understood.”
“N-now turn back around. Cough! Don’t look.”
“…Understood.”
Even in this situation, Morgan refused to let anyone see her eating “like a commoner.” It was a desperate act of self-defense. An awkward silence filled the room.
“…”
“…”
While Morgan quietly berated herself, Lydia reviewed the brief glimpse she had caught of the girl’s condition and let out a soft sigh.
It isn’t that her eating habits are strange… Her grip is so weak she can’t even hold a fork properly. And they mocked her for being like a commoner? Her muscle density is far too low. This isn’t just petite—it’s frail.
It was probably the result of long-term stress and malnutrition. If someone had properly told the clever Morgan about her condition, she would have fixed it somehow. But no one had. Even when her mouth was full of ulcers, even when she held forks and pens strangely… no one told her it was abnormal.
Morgan still believed she was normal. She hadn’t even noticed she was slowly falling apart.
“…”
If the people of the Gallia Kingdom were old-fashioned fossils, the people of the Republic were even worse—disgustingly so. She couldn’t put this off any longer.
…I’m sorry I came so late. I thought you were doing better than this.
Lydia spoke softly.
“Morgan.”
“…What?”
“Give me advice on magic while staying at my side.”
“What…?!”
Morgan flinched so hard she forgot to hide her eating and instinctively turned around. Lydia was already looking at her. Those blue eyes shone with crystal clarity.
“!”
For the first time, their eyes truly met. Lydia continued calmly.
“This princess is a discarded royal. When I entered the Academy, I could only bring a single maid. Even now, only two of us live in that huge royal dormitory annex.”
“…”
It wasn’t that she hadn’t brought more—it was that she couldn’t. Morgan caught the subtle difference and felt a thread of sympathy. Her voice softened.
“And?”
“That royal annex also contains a magic laboratory. It was probably meant for a court mage to use.”
“R-really…?!”
“But neither this princess nor the maid knows anything about magic. We had no idea how to use it, so we simply closed the door and left it untouched.”
“?!”
The moment she heard those words, Morgan cried out without thinking. A regretful longing surged up from deep in her chest.
“What a waste—! If it were me…!”
If it were me, I would have used it better than anyone. I’m a genius. I could be more helpful to you than anyone else in the world—
Lydia smiled at the outburst.
“Therefore.”
“?”
“Would you not come live there and help this princess?”
“…!”
What…?
Morgan’s eyes trembled. Lydia gazed at them steadily and began to persuade her in a gentle, measured tone.
“This princess has unintentionally formed a faction within the Swordsmanship Department. It has nothing to do with Gallia’s politics—it’s simply a friendly circle—yet it has begun to draw the attention of both the noble faction and the reformists.”
“The reformists… those Gallia nobles who hide in the Magic Department to avoid the noble faction? The ones who are terrible at studying?”
“Indeed. And since studying is an individual difference, do not criticize them too harshly.”
“…”
“In any case, it has become difficult for this princess to visit the Magic Department freely. Even today, several reformist nobles approached me on the way, urging me to join them.”
“!”
“That is why entering the Magic Department—where you are—has become awkward.”
Morgan muttered without thinking. Hearing that Lydia found it hard to come here stung more than she expected.
“So that’s why…”
“That is the situation.”
“You’re saying that because it’s hard for you to come here, you want me to stay in the magic lab in your annex?”
“Yes. This is the ‘deal’ this princess desires. If you stay by my side, I believe I can rest easier.”
Of course, it was an exaggeration. A few reformist nobles had hesitantly spoken to her when she visited the Magic Department, but they had not been as fervent as she described. It was merely mild interest.
It may become that way in the future, but not yet.
Still, to persuade the proud Morgan, a little exaggeration was necessary.
What I need right now is to keep this child close and restore her health.
That was the responsibility of the Adjuster who had removed “Arty” from Morgan’s fated path. At least, that was how Lydia saw it.
Morgan fidgeted for a long time.
“…”
“…”
Then she turned her head away again.
“…”
“…”
The tips of Morgan’s ears were faintly red.
“…When?”
“Whenever you wish. Even today.”
“…”
Morgan gave a small nod.
A few hours later, Mirian—the maid who had secretly spoken with Instructor Zack—returned to the annex and widened her eyes in surprise. Piles of miscellaneous belongings were stacked in front of the door. Lydia, sleeves rolled up, pointed to the petite girl hiding in the shadow of the clutter.
“Mirian, this is the genius mage who will be advising me on magic from today onward. She will be sharing the unused magic laboratory with us.”
“!”
Mirian remembered the conversation from a few days earlier.
—Sir Mirian, let’s clean the magic lab. It may be needed someday.
—Do the two of us, who only know swords, really need a magic laboratory?
—Well, a friend might come soon. A true genius.
Mirian smiled softly.
“…Your Highness, may I ask this person’s name?”
It was not Lydia who answered. The red-haired girl spoke in a tiny, crawling voice.
“…Morgan.”
“It is a pleasure, Lady Morgan.”
“…”
Welcome.
At those words, Morgan’s eyes grew wide.
“!”
It was the first time in her life she had ever heard them. Embarrassed, she turned her head away.
“…”
“Lady Morgan?”
“…Yeah.”
I’ll be in your care too.
It was the first time she had ever said those words. So it felt awkward.
“…”
Everything felt awkward, yet she didn’t dislike it.