Chapter 52: The creature of a woman is …

……So, I decided never to set foot in that shop again.

“Ahahaha! See, I told you to be careful.”

“I’m not exactly known for my perceptiveness……”

“That’s true.”

“……”

The unproductive conversation continued, and only the food piled up on the table.

I humored Elisha while simultaneously keeping an eye on Yulia.

She wasn’t participating in the conversation, listening silently to Elisha and me.

‘This is getting a bit much, could you take over…?’

“Mmm! This is tasty too. You should try some. Here, ah~!”

“N-no, thank you.”

Having barely managed to refuse Elisha’s absurd demand, I racked my brain for a way to end this situation.

I didn’t want to stay in this awkward, nerve-wracking situation any longer.

For that to happen, Elisha would have to let me go, but unfortunately, the chances were low.

“Haa… It’s so good to see you after a long time.”

“Th-thank you…?”

“Right, right, keep pretending you don’t know.”

“……”

‘…I was on the fence until a moment ago, but it seems Elisha is truly furious.’

I don’t know what she’s so displeased about, but her unique aura was incomparably chilling compared to usual.

In contrast, her expression as she leisurely ate the cafe food remained serene.

‘She’s really scary…’

“Ahem, ahem…”

Yulia, ever so oblivious to the atmosphere, cleared her throat, drawing Elisha’s attention.

‘Good, the boss monster’s aggro has shifted that way, so maybe I can slip away now?’

“Oh, right, I have an urgent matter, so I’ll be going first. Please, you two take your time talking.”

“Sit.”

“I’m sorry, but I’m busy…”

I tried to refuse Elisha’s demand and stand up, but the moment her eyes turned to me…

I instinctively felt that I absolutely couldn’t escape this spot.

“Are you going?”

“……”

Elisha’s eyes, asking if I was truly leaving, gleamed with an empty light.

Her blue eyes seemed to hold a multitude of things…

Yet, they contained neither disappointment nor regret, nor did they hold any unspoken threat.

Even though she was just staring intently at me, her will for me not to go was clearly conveyed.

‘…Isn’t that what transcendent beings do?’

‘She’s already manipulating will…?’

“Are you going?”

“……No, actually, it wasn’t that important of an appointment.”

At her chilling voice, I finally relented.

It was because I felt that if I made one wrong move, I might be stabbed with a knife… no, a spear.

Well, Elisha probably isn’t that crazy.

‘Probably……’

And so, I was trapped in the mire of a chat with the Regressor, silently despairing and waiting for time to pass endlessly, when it happened.

“……Lady Elisha.”

Yulia, who had been silent until now, spoke.

Simultaneously, Elisha’s and my gazes turned to her.

This was because I hadn’t expected Yulia, who seemed disinclined to join the conversation, to speak first.

“Hmm?”

Elisha… seemed to be thinking something else, though.

Smiling inscrutably, she tilted her head slightly and gazed at Yulia.

From my seat right next to her, tilting her head looked rather cute, but I wondered how it appeared to Yulia, who was facing it directly.

As expected, Yulia flinched and avoided Elisha’s gaze…

She subtly cast a glance my way, as if asking if she had made a mistake.

However, that very action was the real mistake.

Her glance towards me caught Elisha’s eye…

At that moment, Elisha’s smile became terrifyingly bright.

“Interesting, isn’t it?”

“……”

“……”

At her soulless remark, Yulia and I couldn’t help but keep our mouths shut.

We hadn’t done anything wrong, but it felt like we absolutely had to.

Fortunately, Elisha’s eyes were directed at Yulia; if they had been on me…

I might have reacted exactly like the terrified Yulia.

“Um… Th-that is……”

Unable to even meet her gaze, she hesitated before finally gathering her courage and cautiously speaking.

Contrary to my expectation that she would say something like, ‘Who are you to butt into our conversation?’, she spoke in a rather gentle tone.

“Perhaps, do you have business with the Holy Maiden?”

“Arie? Why her?”

“…I thought there might be a reason you came to see her…”

At Yulia’s hesitant manner, Elisha tilted her head as if genuinely unaware.

“I don’t really have any business with you or Arie?”

“H-how dare you utter the Holy Maiden’s name so casually…!”

Yulia had held back once out of fear of Elisha, but she couldn’t hold back a second time and finally started to argue.

Elisha silently watched her.

Her gaze, which seemed to imply ‘come at me if you have a complaint,’ was nothing short of a provocation.

Realizing this wouldn’t do, I stepped in.

“Haha… Please calm down, Ms. Yulia. It seems Ms. Elisha came to see me.”

“…? Were you already acquainted?”

“As you just saw, yes, we knew each other. We first met as partners in class.”

“Well, that wasn’t the first time, though……”

‘Shut up.’

‘You lunging at me on the first day doesn’t count.’

Anyway, to clarify the situation, I recounted a few anecdotes involving Elisha.

Most of it was related to classes we took together, but since Elisha had caused so many bizarre incidents, there was a lot to talk about.

‘…I’m not praising you, so don’t nod and look proud…’

Just like that, the atmosphere softened instantly.

“Right, right! That happened too…!”

Elisha giggled, playfully slapping my arm.

‘…It’s starting to hurt, I wish she’d stop hitting me.’

However, lacking the courage to argue with her in her obsessive state, I reluctantly swallowed harsh words internally and offered an awkward smile.

Yulia, who had been watching us, suddenly asked me.

“Are you two… perhaps close?”

“No, not exactly……”

“Yes.”

My opinion was, of course, dismissed.

“Ah, then you came to us to monitor the teacher?”

“Teacher…? If you’re talking about this cute one next to me, then yes.”

Elisha spouted some nonsensical rubbish, then wrapped her arm around my neck and pulled me strongly towards herself.

The soft sensation, which I hadn’t felt in a long time since Hestia, was now against the side of my head.

‘…It’s always so ambiguous how I should react in these situations…’

Fortunately, Yulia seemed to have little interest in me leaning against Elisha, merely nodding as if she understood.

“I apologize for the intrusion. I’m sorry for taking Lady Elisha’s person.”

“It’s fine. It’s not like she would have been taken anyway…”

‘She was just annoying, that’s all…’

Elisha’s soft murmur was audible only to me.

For a moment, goosebumps spread all over my body, but I tried my best to pretend I didn’t notice, feeling like I had to ignore it again.

‘My instincts are rarely wrong…’

****

Elisha and Yulia, having chatted with each other while completely excluding me, parted ways amicably.

Of course, it wasn’t that they genuinely became close, but rather the feeling of unilateral wariness from Elisha’s side had disappeared.

‘It seems there was some misunderstanding…’

As soon as we left the cafe, Yulia spoke to Elisha.

“I’m planning to return to the dormitory now, Lady Elisha, would you like to come along?”

“No, I’m going to escort her to her dormitory and then go separately.”

“Then, I’ll also… Ah, I understand.”

“Still, she’s more perceptive than this one.”

“…Why have you been talking about me like that since earlier?”

She seemed to keep insulting me, so I said something, but Elisha merely chuckled and shrugged as if she knew nothing about it.

‘This is really infuriating…’

“See you next time, Teacher.”

“Yes, you too, Ms. Yulia.”

Yulia, oblivious to my inner turmoil, bid farewell in a calm tone and departed.

It seemed she had completely forgotten that I had saved her when she was being harassed by Elisha.

After seeing off that ungrateful person, only Elisha and I remained.

As I silently watched Yulia’s retreating figure, Elisha called out to me.

“Alright, let’s go.”

“…Yes.”

Not wanting to provoke her, I decided to obediently follow.

We walked side by side towards the dormitory.

What was surprising was that she didn’t say a word to me.

She simply walked right beside me, looking straight ahead.

It was I who, unable to bear the awkward silence, spoke first.

“Um… Ms. Elisha…?”

“Yes, what is it?”

“So, what’s the real reason you came looking for me?”

“I told you. It’s because I don’t like anyone trying to make a move on you…”

Elisha offered me a warm smile.

It was a gaze that seemed to look at a child needing protection, and it was somewhat burdensome to me.

But I found her words difficult to accept.

“Make a move? There’s no way Lady Yulia would try to make a move on me.”

“Well…”

“She’s a cleric, isn’t she? So I didn’t particularly guard against her.”

“Hmph, what do you know about women?”

Elisha scoffed at my words.

“You might not know it, but that woman once targeted you.”

“Huh?”

“Of course, you wouldn’t remember. It hasn’t happened yet.”

For a moment, I felt an urge to clap my hand over Elisha’s mouth, but I held back.

‘…Are you just advertising that you’re a Regressor?’

‘Don’t say things like that in front of other people…’

‘Anyway, Yulia targeted me once?’

‘Even if I search through my memories of other timelines, it’s not in my head…’

Just as I, truly clueless, was tilting my head, Elisha raised her hand.

– *Swoosh.*

‘…And then, she naturally started stroking my head…’

“Eh…?”

As I stood there with my mouth agape, genuinely flustered, she chuckled and whispered to me.

“I’m a woman too, so I prefer receiving, but… this isn’t bad either.”

“Eh, Ms. Elisha…?”

“From now on, remember what I’m about to say.”

Elisha ignored my reaction and brought her face close to my ear.

Then she whispered softly.

“The creature known as ‘woman’ is more cowardly than you think.”

After saying that, Elisha walked silently until we arrived at the dormitory.

I mulled over her words, briefly recalling Yulia.

‘Oh, right.’

‘I should have asked why she came.’

‘Damn Regressor, seriously…’