The Pink-Haired Heroine and the Croffle

The next morning.

I dragged my exhausted body to the Magic Department first thing in the morning.

Coincidentally, Carden had switched on her gentle Leni mode and was chatting with her friends nearby.

“Good morning, Master~?”

“…”

“She just called him Master…”

“What the…?”

The whispers from Carden’s friends grew louder.

Carden panicked and began flailing around in a fluster.

Operation: success.

“Follow me for a second.”

Carden grabbed my sleeve and dragged me into a nearby empty classroom, leaving her friends’ strange stares behind us.

“Have you lost your mind?”

The moment the door closed, Carden dropped her Leni act completely.

“Why? You are my master, aren’t you?”

“Well… yes, but still…”

“Then it’s fine.”

When I tried to leave the classroom, Carden grabbed me again.

“Y-you’re not seriously planning to keep calling me that in front of other people from now on, are you?”

“Of course I am. You’re my master, after all.”

“…Please. I’m begging you, don’t.”

Carden clasped my hands desperately.

In truth, I also wanted her to graduate safely, so I hadn’t been entirely serious.

“If you cover for my attendance today…”

I’d asked about her schedule yesterday and discovered, by pure coincidence, that all her classes overlapped with mine.

There was no way I could pass up an opportunity like this.

“Even so… covering for attendance is still cheating…”

For the daughter of the Demon King to get cold feet over something as minor as proxy attendance… it really seemed like she wasn’t cut out to become the next Demon King.

Looked like I’d need to sweeten the deal a little more.

“I’ll buy you dinner tonight.”

“…One week.”

“Fine. One week it is.”

Carden nodded.

I immediately left the Magic Department building.

Today’s objective: surveillance on Marine.

I needed to see with my own two eyes exactly how she lived her daily life.

“Kyaa!”

“Hahaha.”

Maybe it was the nice weather, but the campus seemed to have an unusually high number of couples today.

Ugh. Tsk tsk. You’ll all end up marrying for family connections anyway.

Feeling unnecessarily jealous, I quickened my pace.

In the distance stood the Knight Academy building.

It was grand, as expected from the department with the largest enrollment, but it still looked shabby ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠compared to our Magic Department building.

Even the Administrative Studies building had been impressive.

“Pollen Veil.”

Marine’s ability to sense mana had been frighteningly sharp even when we were children.

Because I hadn’t known that back then, I’d always lost at hide-and-seek.

Now that we were older, her skill would have only improved, never deteriorated.

That was why I hid my mana before following her.

My proficiency was still lacking, so six hours was my limit, but the Archmage ghost had assured me that unless the other person was at Archmage level, they wouldn’t be able to detect it.

With my mana completely concealed, I strode confidently into the building.

Knight Department students were bustling about everywhere.

Compared to the frail-looking students in the Magic Department, these sturdy knights made me feel a little intimidated.

Hmm. Where should I go?

I’d come here full of confidence, but now that I was inside, I had no idea where to look.

Still, I couldn’t just grab a passing student and ask where Marine was—that would defeat the purpose of sneaking in.

I might as well explore the building while I’m at it.

Since standing still ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠wouldn’t accomplish anything, I started moving.

“Haaap!”

“Chiyaaat!”

Half the Knight Department building was classrooms, the other half training grounds.

Since most of their classes involved physical movement, many classrooms were empty while every training ground was packed, echoing with fierce battle cries.

It might have been my imagination, but I thought I could even smell sweat in the air.

Feeling slightly overwhelmed, I sat down in a nearby rest area.

When I glanced at the coffee machine, I saw that this simple-minded Knight Department only offered two options.

Good grief.

No matter how uncultured the Knight Department was, most students were still nobles. Only two kinds of coffee? It was terrifying.

“Serina, the imperial family sent over some new tea recently. The aroma is truly excellent. If you have time after class, would you care to savor it with me?”

“Our tower just received the new Carde Magic Tower cola before anyone else. Want to share a glass?”

Cola?

I turned toward the familiar word.

“Haha. I appreciate the offers, but… I have work to do after this…”

There, a girl with short pink hair was walking alongside two unnecessarily sleazy-looking men.

Sigh. As expected of the Knight Department. Everyone’s starving for female attention.

The pink-haired girl was clearly showing how uncomfortable she was, yet ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the two sleazy guys showed no sign of backing off.

“Pffft.”

While staring at the two men who couldn’t live up to their faces, I accidentally spat out my coffee.

The blond man had the imperial family’s crest on his uniform, and the blue-haired man wore a cloak symbolizing the Blue Magic Tower.

I remembered the conversation I’d overheard from merchants before entering the capital.

I’d dismissed it as ridiculous nonsense at the time, but seeing it with my own eyes, I finally believed them.

She reeked of main-character energy from a romance fantasy novel.

A commoner with pink hair, and high-ranking nobles obsessing over her to a suspicious degree?

It was basically confirmed.

I needed to change my target.

Confirming Marine’s daily routine was important, of course, but that could be done anytime.

Chasing after the protagonist of this world took priority.

I’d hidden my mana, but not my body.

So I held my breath as much as possible and began tailing their group.

Tracking them wasn’t particularly difficult.

I lost sight of them a few times while hiding, but their ridiculous combination attracted so much attention that I could always find them again quickly.

The place they eventually led me to was the cooking room.

“You can’t even cook! Please leave now!”

Serina, standing in front of the cooking room door, firmly ordered them to leave.

To speak so boldly in front of a prince and the next Magic Tower Master… her personality was exactly like a typical ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠romance fantasy heroine too.

“Ugh… understood.”

“Can’t be helped.”

The two men obediently withdrew.

“Haa…”

Once they were gone, Serina let out a tired sigh.

She then went inside the cooking room.

Hmm… should I go in too?

If someone who couldn’t cook entered the cooking room, it would look suspicious.

But thanks to my partnership with the Carde Magic Tower, I’d gained quite a bit of knowledge about food.

If a Magic Department student was asked why they’d come all the way to the Knight Department…

Well…

I could just say the Magic Department didn’t have a cooking room and I’d come here because I really wanted to cook.

I confidently opened the door and stepped inside.

Serina glanced at me.

I glanced back.

She was peeling an apple. From the ingredients laid out, it looked like she was planning to make an apple pie.

The dough seemed to be prepped already.

I looked around at the ingredients stocked in the cooking room.

It seemed they’d put some thought into it—there was quite a variety available.

What should I make?

Since I hadn’t planned anything specific, I was at a loss.

Serina seemed to enjoy baking, so I wanted to make something in that category if possible.

Desserts that girls like…

My eyes suddenly landed on a small box containing croissants.

[Eat when you’re hungry!!!]

A cute rabbit was drawn on the box in an adorable style.

When I showed interest in the croissants, Serina forgot about peeling her apple and stared at me intently. It seemed she had made them.

Since the ingredients were right here, I figured I should show her a taste of modern flavors.

I took out all the croissants from the box.

Serina beamed brightly, apparently thinking I was going to eat them.

Some people enjoy feeding others more than eating themselves—Serina seemed to be one of them.

I picked up a knife and sliced the baked croissants in half.

What I was planning to make was a croffle.

Since it was a dessert that had succeeded even in Korea, where every kind of sweet flooded the market, Serina would surely like it too.

When I cut the croissants in half, her curiosity must have been piqued. She set down all her ingredients and focused entirely on watching me.

The halved croissants.

“Water.”

I used a simple 1st-circle spell to sprinkle water onto the cut surfaces.

Because I’d modified my mana to specialize in the Archmage’s magic, my efficiency with other spells had dropped, but 1st-circle magic was still no problem.

The moistened croissant surfaces.

Using raw dough was best for making croffles, but making dough was too much hassle.

I placed the croissants inside the waffle iron that, for some reason, existed in the room.

“Eek?”

Serina looked shocked at the unimaginable action.

She hurried over and tried to stop me from pressing the waffle iron.

“W-what are you doing right now?”

“Just trust me.”

“No, that looks totally wrong!”

Pioneers are always met with suspicion.

I shook off Serina’s hand and pressed down on the waffle iron.

Psheee—

“Kyaaak!”

Serina made a huge fuss.

After about a minute, I checked. It looked perfectly cooked.

A rich, savory aroma filled the entire cooking room.

I plated it with the vanilla ice cream and maple syrup I’d prepared in advance.

“Try it.”

Serina looked at it suspiciously, then cut off a piece of the croffle and put it in her mouth.

“Wow…”

She let out a sound of pure admiration.

I grinned.

“How is it? Pretty good, right?”