Rebecca, Danvers, and Yulia
Herbena had been studying the cat with close attention, and she could feel it plainly: a current of mana no ordinary cat would ever give off. Something familiar in it — mana clear and limpid as still water.
Who was it, again?
In the brief moment she hesitated, the cat suddenly twisted its whole body and thrashed, and she had no choice but to let it go.
"Nyaaang!"
"Ah!"
Herbena stared blankly after the cat as it shot into a hole and vanished. Skadi, who had been watching the whole affair in silence, shook her head.
"I told you to quit tormenting the cat."
"When did I ever torment it? This is seriously unfair."
"Even its own mother would be scared if you shoved your face in like that."
"Why, you little—"
Skadi was giggling as she said it, and Herbena pouted.
"Ugh, forget it!"
"You talked with Senior Julbert earlier, didn't you?"
"Yeah. Why is that man suddenly trying to twist my fate?"
Skadi stretched, got to her feet, and clicked her tongue as if the whole thing irritated her.
"Then just don't do it."
"I can't help it getting under my skin. My mood's rotten anyway, so I might as well go to Blow's shop and drink beer until I drop."
"You're really going again today?"
"Someone's got to help him sell. What's the point of having friends otherwise? You're busy again, aren't you?"
"Yeah. I've got an assignment."
"See you tomorrow. I'll go ask what on earth that cat thought it was doing."
With that farewell, Skadi took herself off as coolly as ever.
Herbena watched her back recede, called the white cat to mind one more time, and went into Whittaker Hall.
That was far too close.
Jane would rather have died than be found out by Herbena of all people, and she hurried in the opposite direction from where they had run into each other.
"A cat!!"
Every time she passed, students' voices rang out bright with delight. To them, she was probably a single ray of light in an otherwise dreary school life.
Hmm. Maybe this isn't so bad...?
Those bright voices left her with a small sense of satisfaction, close call and all. She glanced up at the clock on the bell tower. It stood at a quarter to eight.
About an hour left. I've still got a little time.
It was about time she started back. She turned her steps toward the rear gate.
"Mm."
A sudden sensation of floating startled her, and she twisted around at once to look. What met her eyes was Danvers De Winter, a fourth-year with a full head of voluminous gray hair and a stubborn, razor-sharp glare.
"Cute little creature, no matter how many times I see one."
"Nya!?"
"I ought to show you to my lady."
Danvers De Winter smiled — and, humming a tune that suited her not at all, set off toward the student council building.
Huh...?
Panicking, Jane tried the full-body twist that had worked on Herbena, but Danvers halted mid-stride, clamped down hard, and leaned her face in close.
"Hss. Hold still."
"Nya... nyaa!!"
Under that fierce downward stare, Jane was utterly terrified.
I... I think I've been caught by the wrong person. What do I do...
Held fast in Danvers's arms, she thought back to the few times they had exchanged words before.
"Nyaang..."
"There. Good kitty."
The moment Danvers carried her into the student council building, the members who spotted Jane each had something to say.
"Whoa, a cat!"
"Jelly! Jelly!"
Danvers slipped right past them, and a cautious-looking boy in glasses attached himself to her side.
"Danvers? That cat?"
"Oh. Maxim, is it? I picked it up."
"Hm? Isn't that the cat that was wandering around outside earlier?"
"Is it?"
"Doesn't it say Deblique Potato House on there?"
Only then did Danvers check the little cloak Jane was wearing, and contempt settled over her face.
"What? This belongs to that scoundrel?"
"Maybe."
"Hmph. Mood's ruined."
The grip on her seemed to loosen a little, and Jane tried to drop straight down. Strength flooded back into Danvers's arms, though, and she was sucked right back into that embrace.
"Nyaa!?"
"Mm. Even so, I should show her to my lady at least once."
"True enough. She always did like cats quite a bit."
"Don't you 'she' her. That's the Department Head."
"I'm not even in your department, so what does it matter."
The two of them waged a subtle war of nerves. Maxim spoke to Danvers, who was looking at him with open displeasure.
"Let's go together. I've got business with the Department Head as well."
"I'm going to the Planning Department."
"Both of them are in Planning right now."
The student council building they were climbing was decorated so lavishly it was hard to believe it belonged to a school. The ivory wallpaper alone gave off a warmth just to look at, and the crystal lamps hanging from the ceiling glittered with light magic.
I've ended up on the second floor I never once visited, even as a student.
Jane was sweating buckets on the inside, but Danvers's arm bound her like a chain. Before she knew it they stood before the Planning Department Head's office, and loud voices were coming from within.
"I-I, too, as a member of the student council, have given this year my very best...!"
"I acknowledge that merit."
"Then why won't you put me on the election committee?!"
"Because the direction you are heading and the direction we are heading are not the same."
"Just how different could those directions be!"
A voice thick with fat, like a pig's. Jane's hearing, sharpened by the transformation, told her who it was at once.
Greig Campbell?
Danvers, still holding her, met Maxim's eyes once, then knocked.
"My lady, it's Danvers. I'm coming in."
The door opened from within, and the first thing Jane's eyes caught was a round table. Seated at it were Yulia Edfolk — fifth-year head of Public Relations, the one they called the Indigo Witch — and Greig.
Beside Yulia, sitting perfectly upright, was Danvers's mistress, Rebecca Settelund. Her gaze moved from Danvers, who was paying her respects, and fixed on the cat gathered in her arms.
Rebecca Settelund: the one and only daughter of that formidable Northern Grand Duke, and the current head of Planning. They called her the Ice Princess, for she almost never let an emotion show, and even among people her own age she had a way of holding the world at a distance. Golden hair in a neat braid, eyes the blue of deep ocean, a straight nose that lent her an air of elegance, and lips touched with red. She was the tallest girl in the school, and yet her head was small enough that if you looked too long she began to seem unreal.
Those qualities together made her someone even the imperial prince — the current student council president — could not treat lightly. Jane, who knew perfectly well who she was, could do nothing but stay still and pray her identity would not be exposed.
"Y-you'll regret this!"
"Over a school matter, do you mean to call your father?"
Yulia's calm, settled voice rang clear through the room. At those words Greig went rigid.
"And I am a department head in my own right, so certain stories reach my ears. Coming to us — the opposing side — the moment Julbert turns you down looks, if anything, like an insult."
"Th-that's..."
Yulia was younger than him, and lower in office, and yet every word she spoke seemed to look down on him. Jane felt as if she were sitting on a cushion of thorns.
"Please leave."
The moment Yulia spoke, without so much as looking at him, Greig ground his teeth and stormed out.
"What could His Highness the Prince have been thinking, putting that man on the council."
"I know. There was no end of talk at the time."
Maxim took up her words as naturally as breathing. Jane stole glances at Yulia and Rebecca, both seated in cool composure.
"Danvers. And where did you find this adorable little creature?"
Yulia broke a long silence, addressing Danvers, who stood straight-backed behind Rebecca.
"It was wandering in front of the student council building, so I brought it."
"Too cute. Just like cotton candy."
Yulia gently stroked Jane, who was trembling on Rebecca's lap.
"My lady ought to pet it as well."
"...All right."
A moment later Rebecca's hand moved slowly over the cat's fur. The more she stroked, the redder her face became. Seeing her like that for the first time, Jane could not hide her shock.
"Gyaak—?"
"Oh my."
"It seems awestruck by my lady's beauty. That aside... it's unexpected that Julbert refused that Greig."
"It is. I'd heard they kept up a relationship, of a sort."
Yulia answered in a calm tone and lifted her teacup. Danvers went on, her voice thick with anger.
"There's something about that Julbert I simply cannot stand."
"'That Julbert'? This building has many ears, Danvers De Winter."
"Ah — forgive me. Still, the man isn't straightforward, is he?"
The others agreed with silence. Jane, recalling how kindly Julbert had always treated her, was startled to learn talk like this was circulating behind his back.
Have I been cooped up in the lab too long?
Silence fell among them again, and Maxim stepped closer to Yulia.
"Department Head."
"Yes. What brings you, Maxim? Has Redfrin put out another strange article?"
"Ah, fortunately not that. Before Greig went to see Julbert, he made contact with Herbena, and..."
Maxim glanced at Rebecca and Danvers beside him, then added the rest.
"With Skadi, I'm told."
"Nyaang?!"
Rebecca's hand, which had been stroking Jane, stopped dead.
"Hah. That fake brat."
A grind of teeth — Danvers's — echoed through the room. The air had turned murderous, and Jane decided she had to get out of there somehow.
"Herbena was within what we'd expected. Skadi was not."
"Oh, come to think of it — Department Head, you haven't made contact with Herbena yourself?"
"She isn't a great mage. She's a 'possibility.' I judged it irrational to pour the price of several mansions into her already. And that Blow Deblique has woken, besides. It would be lacking in dignity."
Yulia's eyes narrowed. Maxim, who had been thinking hard, opened his mouth with care.
"Could this be meant to provoke us?"
"How do you mean?"
"He went out of his way to summon Skadi to the student council building, where so many eyes are on her. It's obvious, isn't it? Not a soul in this school is unaware of the relationship between Skadi and Department Head Rebecca."
"Looked at that way, it may well be so."
"By about tomorrow, there's a strong chance the school will be in an uproar."
"Maxim. Leave it there."
At Danvers's snap, Maxim narrowed his eyes and shot back.
"Why?"
"My lady is displeased."
"How does that follow? If I shut my mouth, does what already happened simply vanish?"
"What did you say?"
"Enough."
Yulia's voice had an edge to it, and both of them had no choice but to fall silent.
"Danvers? As I see it, what Maxim just said is well within what he is entitled to say. Rebecca and I are meant to fight this election together, are we not?"
"I apologize."
"Rebecca?"
Rebecca, silent until now, inclined her head to Yulia and spoke for the first time.
"...I will see that Danvers is properly cautioned."
"Honestly. If it's come to this, Julbert's strategy has landed. A single move, and he's scraped our nerves this raw."
By the time nothing but their breathing filled the room, Jane had quietly slipped down to the floor and was making for the window.
"For now..."
Maxim began, and the rest of them launched into an earnest discussion among themselves. Through a window left slightly ajar, Jane barely managed to slip outside.
That hour between evening and night.
Jane, back right on time, got dressed, came downstairs, and lit into Blow.
"This is seriously too much!"
She was still panting. Blow scratched his head and asked, apologetic.
"...Was it rough?"
"The most ridiculous things happened!!"
"Yeah, yeah. I know."
Starting tomorrow she'd have hard labor on top of it. Say that now, though, and Jane would probably kill him, so Blow offered nothing but an awkward smile.
"I almost got caught by Herbena! And then Danvers and Rebecca on top of that!"
Blow raised an index finger to his lips and pointed toward the hall.
"Skadi's over there."
The words died in Jane's throat, and her clenched fist trembled all the harder. Seeing it, Blow kept apologizing and did his best to soothe her.
"Still, that was one strange potion. It worked properly, though."
"Hmph."
"Let's use that potion for our marketing for now, and sell it later."
"What? I have to do that again..."
"Linne says she will."
Jane asked again, as if she couldn't believe it.
"...She means it?"
"Yeah, she means it. How much can you produce?"
"If we've got the materials, small batches are possible."
"Every day?"
Jane shook her head, and Blow said it with genuine regret.
"That's a shame. Advertising works best when you repeat it every day. Anyway, good work. Why don't you go up and rest? You'll have to be up early again tomorrow..."
"I'm too annoyed. I'm going to drink."
With that, Jane went into the hall. Skadi recognized her, waved, and pointed to the seat beside her own.
"Sit here! Jane!"
After what had just happened, Jane wanted to avoid her, but there was no other table to go to, so she took the seat at Skadi's side.
"Skadi, hi."
"Where've you been? Hardly ever see your face."
"Nowhere. Just a walk..."
Her words were trailing off when Linne, who had come over as a matter of course to take their order, caught sight of Jane and flinched.
"Since Jane's here too — two beers! One potato!"
"Y-yes, I'll bring them right away."
Linne fled toward the kitchen and called to Hans.
"One potato for table two!"
"Okay!"
Hans was already roasting potatoes at a level that, while not Melo's, was pretty impressive.
Yeah. Repeat a thing often enough, and there's nothing you can't do.
Blow watched him with satisfaction, but his head was a mess from everything else weighing on it. He'd been distracted enough that he'd nearly forgotten he'd sent Jane out at all.
Just now he had two great worries. The first was the restaurant menu. They were in the Dusk Block, so it couldn't be too expensive, and yet it still had to be something students would actually be satisfied with. The second was how to seize people's attention when they unveiled the renewal — something other than the cat. This time the potion shop would be opening alongside it, and his aim was to fan expectations for that as well.
"How about a blowout sale?!"
After closing, Skadi was still holding her seat. She heard him out and offered it at once.
"We're already selling potatoes for one silver."
"You get rid of whatever's left."
"And labor costs fall out of the sky, do they?"
"Not that! Haha! Two more beers!"
"And the potion shop takes another week?"
"Hm? Does it? I don't really know."
...Has she already had something like fifty?
Blow was studying her, having noticed how oddly subdued she was, when Jane, quiet until then, opened her mouth.
"What about a who-can-drink-the-most contest?"
"What are you talking about?"
"A team drinking contest! If we did something like that, wouldn't Skadi and our young master win the whole thing!"
Tired as she was, Jane was drunk in no time. Skadi grinned and backed her up.
"Yeah — put up a huge prize and we're set! Our duo would smash through a hundred glasses easy! Haha!"
"But isn't that too simple?"
At Blow's words, Jane's shoulders slumped.
"So mean. You only ever pick on me. Today I— hic..."
Sensing danger, Blow focused everything on turning the conversation, and fast.
"No! Simple is always the right call. It was an idea like clear water, Jane!"
"Yeah, yeah! Booze is always right!!! In that spirit, Jane, drink!!"
Jane pouted and picked up the mug Skadi shoved at her.
"Blow, still — what Jane just said sounds like it'd be fun. A team match especially."
"If we do it, there's an entry fee. For you in particular, double."
At his words, Skadi's mug suddenly thunked down onto the table.
"...I don't even have anything to say."
"I'm joking. What's with you? Something happen today? Why the long face?"
"No. Nothing."
Skadi looking sulky, Jane pouting beside her, Melo who seemed to have it in for him... Before he knew it, Blow had squeezed his eyes shut.
A little later, perhaps embarrassed, Skadi spoke first.
"But if we held a contest like that, the hangover the next morning would be brutal. Shouldn't we at least offer a service where someone comes by in the morning and wakes you up?"
It was only a joke, folded into her words. Even so, Blow felt his foggy head clear all at once.
"Jane!"
"...Yes?"
"Let's draw up the plan right now."
"Y-yes?"
"We hold that drinking contest, and we push the hangover potion."
"Oh. That's not bad?"
The light came back into Jane's eyes, and she downed the water sitting beside her.
"Then we announce the opening and the hangover potion at the same time. Two birds with one stone. An idea like water, sure enough! No — an explosive idea, Jane!"
"R-really?"
"Of course! Skadi, you were good too. A perfect assist."
"What's that?"
"It means you were a huge help! Let's do it — team battle! We'll call in the knight-school lot and show them how terrifying mages are."
"Obviously! I'll knock some discipline into them properly."
Her mood somewhat improved by his words, Skadi raised her mug again. Amid the clink of glasses, the night deepened, and Blow, thinking he had weathered yet another crisis, pressed a hand to his chest in relief.
The next morning.
Should I just kill that Blow Deblique? A colorless, odorless, deadly poison, sprinkled over the potatoes...?
Dragged out to the potion shop renovation, Jane stared at him with a perfectly straight face. Doing his best to ignore that gaze, Blow — deep in talk with the barbarian Ornn — pointed to the middle of the room.
"First, run display shelves all along the walls. And could we put another row straight down the center?"
"In the center, you mean?"
"Yeah. Even if the aisles get a little narrow, it's better to stock as much as we can."
"Aha. Then people could pick things up from both sides."
"Exactly."
Ornn, who had jotted the words down, nodded.
"I'll talk it over with the craftsmen."
"And those shelves going up against the wall."
"Yes."
"Could you make them with a gap between them and the ceiling?"
"I'm not sure I follow."
Blow stretched an arm overhead, then brought it down about two handspans.
"About this high should do."
"So you're leaving the space above the shelves empty? Dust will collect."
"No. We'll close that upper space off with glass or wood and use it as storage."
"Ah, storage? Well, considering how tall humans are, putting goods up there would only make people angry."
All he had done was pass along know-how from convenience stores. The more Ornn thought about it, though, the better it seemed, and he stuck up a thumb.
After that, around the time Blow was picturing the shop's overall shape in his head, Ornn went over to Jane and Hans and spoke as if sharing a secret.
"Boss Blow is incredibly meticulous."
"Our young master is a bit like that, isn't he?"
Hans beamed as if the praise were his own. Ornn nodded and went on.
"There are so many things I hadn't thought of that I learn just from hearing him talk. That shelf height earlier, especially — I hadn't paid it any mind at all."
"The lighting, too!! I've never seen a potion shop this bright!!"
"And the shelves in front of the counter are cute!! Just like elderflower!!"
Jane turned their words over carefully, then looked at Blow, who was surveying the shop with a serious face.
Something's off.
A thin thread of suspicion rose in her.
Even so... isn't that far too practiced?
Watching Blow, Jane tilted her head to one side.