episode_0436

The princess’s reception on the third day went as smoothly as the second day’s visit.

I served her the menu while almost falling over twice, her broken heel was temporarily fixed by Thomas, who was the blacksmith’s son and therefore had some handy skills, and I somehow managed to handle other minor near misses.

Since I was somewhat accustomed to dealing with Princess Raini and running the store as a whole, it was much easier than the day before.

“Please be careful on your way in, Rainy Youngae.”

“… … .”

-Nod, nod.

Princess Raini returns home after spending about 30 minutes today, just like yesterday.

She could have stayed longer if she had wanted to, but leaving the place was probably a kind of consideration. The longer she stayed in one place, the more the misfortune she brought on the people around her got involved.

… That may be the reason why he came to study abroad from the distant Kingdom of Dephrin to the Argentia Empire as soon as he became old enough to enter the academy.

‘Well, that’ll all end sooner or later.’

There was no need for me to feel sorry for Princess Raini, as she would have a bright future ahead of her in just a few months. … Of course, whether she would be able to see that end safely or not depended on the abilities of the guy.

Even if you don’t choose her as a heroine, she’ll be a strong ally once you save her, so I wasn’t too worried.

Judging from the skills we saw at the coast of Pliana last time, at least that guy has trustworthy strength and judgment, so he probably won’t ignore or abandon Princess Raini’s crisis.

“Today was hard again, Lilith.”

“Thank you for your hard work, Master Ethan.”

After finishing the third day of business without any problems, Ethan and I took a breath and smiled.

Prince Antonio, who had worked three days in a row like Ethan and I, spoke of her visiting him two days in a row.

“I never thought the princess of the Defrin Kingdom would visit again. Did she like the hospitality she received the day before?”

“Aren’t you interested in the release?”

“… No way, Miss Agnes.”

… If I had to be specific, I would say that it was Ethan who was interested, not me, but at this point, I was the only one who knew about their engagement, so I just kept silent.

If I suddenly bring up the subject without the parties involved, Ethan or Princess Raini speaking first, the atmosphere will only get weird.

“By the way, when on earth will Mr. Harold come visit… . If Mr. Harold doesn’t come visit, there’s no reason for me to wear a maid outfit and serve the common people… .”

“… My father said that he would probably have some free time the day after tomorrow, but is there any reason for Your Highness to wait for my father’s visit?”

“You don’t know… . Hey, what happened between me and Mr. Harold is none of your business… .”

… No, Harold, it’s probably more of a concern to Ethan than to you.

If you do something wrong, a younger stepmother may come into the house, but seeing you treat her like an unrelated person shows just how self-centered your thinking is.

Of course, since the other person was a princess, Ethan didn’t bother to ask more questions. In the first place, it would have been more certain to ask Harold directly about the situation rather than the princess in that state.

“By the way, if this continues, it could be a big problem.”

“Yes?”

“If Princess Rainy comes tomorrow, who will be able to receive her? It’s fortunate that Lady Rosewood was there yesterday and today, but tomorrow… .”

“That’s right. Tomorrow is Lilith and Blackwood’s day off, right?”

“… Ah.”

Now that I think about it, that’s right. At this point, when Princess Raini comes to visit, I’m the only one who can perfectly welcome her.

It wasn’t just about preparing for misfortune, but also responding to crisis situations, so it was impossible for me, who had a general understanding of the misfortunes targeting Princess Raini in the game, to do so.

Aside from me, the person with the most relevant knowledge is probably that guy, but he’s only played it once at most, so he probably can’t handle all scenarios.

“Then tomorrow, I will go to work only in the morning and check the situation for a while, and if it doesn’t seem like Princess Raini will come to visit, then I will rest… .”

“Ah, that’s not necessary. Even if Princess Rainy visits again, it would be a problem if we couldn’t even respond. It would be better for Lady Rosewood to rest as scheduled.”

“That’s right! Please, Lady Release Youngae, don’t worry and just rest!”

“But, if I’m not there, there’s no one to greet Princess Raini… .”

“Now that you’re done, rest if you want. I don’t want to interrupt your Blackwood date.”

“Day… .”

… Well, if you think about it, a date is a date.

Agnes was right, because it was a rare opportunity to have a festival date, but it would be a waste to not be able to enjoy it properly because you were too focused on Princess Raini.

“… Okay. Then I’ll ask you to take care of me tomorrow.”

“Don’t worry, Lilith Youngae!”

“Starting tomorrow, the warriors and saints will be back at work, so there won’t be any problems. Well, everyone, get some rest.”

Although I still have some lingering feelings of anxiety, it is important to trust your colleagues at times like this.

I hope that you will do well without me, and I can’t help but take the burden off your shoulders for a day or so.

⁎ ⁎ ⁎

Luminor Festival event at 『Luminor Academy』.

Of course, this event doesn’t end with just work throughout the festival.

Although they are treated as NPCs in the game, in this world, each and every student is a living person, and they gather together to participate in department events and club activities.

Of course, most of them were full of the desire to play, so they tried to secure as much time as possible for themselves by holding exhibitions and demonstrations, but there were also some who enjoyed holding these events themselves, so Ethan and I just had to go around to those departments and enjoy ourselves.

‘Ethan will probably suggest that we go wherever I say like usual, so tomorrow I’ll just go around to a few booths that have a good atmosphere…’

“Release.”

“Yes, Master Ethan.”

“If the release is okay, I would like to go around to where I want to go tomorrow. Is that okay?”

“… … Yes?”

… I didn’t expect Ethan to say something like that.

It didn’t really matter if he wanted it, but it was a little sudden. It was a little strange that Ethan, who always said, “Do whatever Lilith wants,” whether it was going on dates or taking an exploration class or anything else, would say something like this.

‘Do you really want to lead, or do you have another purpose?’

… Well, either way, it doesn’t matter. There was no need to be stubborn and get in the way of her wanting to act like a man.

Rather than moving according to a tight schedule to have a perfect date, wandering around a bit was also part of the festival.

“Yes, if Master Ethan wishes, do as you wish.”

“Thank you, Lilith.”

After having a conversation like that, Ethan and I started our date the next morning.

As the festival reached its fourth day, it was now obvious just by looking around which departments were doing a good job and which were running things haphazardly.

In particular, stores with a line mean that word of mouth has spread to some extent or that there is a high rate of repeat customers, meaning that they are trustworthy stores.

Actually, when I was enjoying the festival in my previous life, I would mostly be lining up for the stores where the heroine’s favorability rating would go up a lot, so it probably wouldn’t be that hard for Ethan to tell which stores would be good for dates.

We bought a butter potato from a street vendor with a reasonable line and shared it, shot arrows at souvenirs in a gift shop where only the archery club could enter, and watched demonstrations of strange but useless items made by the engineering club kids.

It was still hard to figure out what Ethan was really thinking, since he was just wandering around stores, probably the same as if I had been the one initiating the date.

‘Did you really just want to take the lead on today’s date?’

For that matter, it seems like I’ve only been going around to ordinary booths that don’t seem like they’d fail.

Actually, there may be a store that I really want to go to, but I may be going in circles to hide my true intention.

As if he had discovered it by chance, he might have said, “Should I go in here too?” and taken me to a place like a fantasy magic show (a haunted house).

‘… Well, even if you bring me here with such sinister intentions, I guess I’ll get along with you.’

If a woman wants to be held in my arms while screaming in fear, I’ll do it.

However, contrary to my expectations, Ethan passed by the illusion magic demonstration booth naturally, and after that, his attitude of going to a few ordinary but boring stores became awkward at some point.

“This looks fun too, Lilith. Do you want to come in and take a look?”

“Witch’s Astrology Demonstration”

‘……huh?’

… It certainly looks fun, though.

But was there a store like this in the original 『Luminor Academy』?