episode_0047

After all, is ignoring it the answer? … No, General Bigus Dickers has a point.

As an ISTJ, I don’t usually say warm words to others. It’s easy to say something polite and contradictory, but it’s not easy to say something sincere.

But now Miss Juliet, the object of my admiration and the most maiden of all, is sitting heartbroken right next to me. You can see its dead ears lying low and twitching.

Just as Finn and Miss Ratsby tried to lighten my mood, I also tried to make Miss Juliet smile… … It will be a step forward as a full-fledged ‘adult’.

Above all, if you don’t lighten the mood now, there will be awkward silence on the way back! That has to be prevented somehow!!

“… … Miss Juliet!”

“Yes?”

“Trigram, it’s okay… … !”

It was only after saying eight letters, including the ones I stuttered, that I thought, ‘Oh no.’ When I was about to say something, I realized that I had never spoken to someone like this before.

For example, rather than telling a friend who was sitting down and crying after an exam, ‘It’s okay, you’ll do better next time,’ I felt much better at keeping my mouth shut.

When I always look back, even though that friend had good grades, he was just trying to make fun of me, so the words of consolation were meaningless… … .

Moreover, I have experienced many, many instances of my grades being higher than those of those guys and being ridiculed unintentionally… … .

I can’t do it with my head. General Bigus Dickers is no help either. If you were the main character of a novel, what would you say in a situation like this?

“Wait, I will make sure to save you.”

“In this world, ‘winning’ is everything. “The process is not important.”

“Still, I don’t like it, when ‘people who work hard’ are made fun of… … .」

… … Let’s stop referring to novels right now. Reality is different from the past, so dialogue options do not appear in front of your eyes. The same goes for fictional stories.

‘At times like that, close your eyes… … .’

Advice passes through my mind. This is not what General Bigus Dickers or my dad said. The person who told me this… … .

‘Imagine right after you confessed to her.’

It’s mom.

When I first realized that I liked girls with the spirit of a woman, and paradoxically, when I was confused by the penis growing out of my crotch… … .

My mother came to me when I was crying over my first love, whose name and face I no longer remember, and we secretly shared a glass of lemonade together in the middle of the night and had a conversation.

‘You answer “Yes.” The child’s face is red and he is breathing heavily with joy. You too, an angry warmth boiling up under your chest, as if you had drunk a very strong but very sweet drink. ‘Your brain becomes stupid.’

‘Mom, I’ve never drank alcohol… … .’

‘But you can imagine, right? What do you think? When you hear the person you’ve only dreamed of saying that he likes you, and a romantic relationship is established, what words will come out of your mouth?’

I spent over 10 seconds imagining that scene. ‘… … If the situation was that overwhelming, I would probably just say I like it over and over again in various variations… … . ‘Don’t you feel a bit like this?’

‘I feel it, that’s it. Confession is enough. ‘Of all the confessions women have, that’s the cutest.’

What we need now is not a proposal line. But you can imagine something similar.

The moment we fell into the pit of hell together, Miss Juliet gave me the sweetest consolation a person could give. Even in hopeless situations, I am filled with joy and speak out what is in my heart with all my might… … .

“I’m happy anywhere, as long as I’m with Miss Juliet!”

“… … !”

“It’s okay to be threatened with death by grass, and it’s okay to be flaming with lemon… … ! I don’t want to eat fruit or make a wreath, I just want to watch Miss Juliet smile… … Because… … . Huh?”

Miss Juliet looks at me with wide eyes. A silence quieter than the blue part of the sky passed between the two.

At the same time, a feeling that was difficult to hold still like a hot potato sprang up in my heart like a spark. ‘Like drinking a very strong but very sweet drink.’ I’ve never even tried alcohol, but I think I know.

‘Did I just accidentally say something that sounded like a confession…? … ?’

“Wow, you really said that,” General Bigus Dickers said, breaking down the words. “One more dark story.”

“… … You are very passionate, Miss Penny! I’m excited!”

I covered my heated face with both hands. “Forget, forget, forget… … . It’s just that, as long as I can work with Miss Juliet, the location doesn’t matter… … .”

“Hehe─.” Miss Juliet also had a mischievous side, and seemed to enjoy watching me not know what to do.

“I won’t misunderstand. Miss Penny’s ‘Confession of Love’ will be romantic on a different level than this. But you really meant it when you said, ‘You want to see me smile,’ right?”

“Yes… … .” It feels like he knows my heart inside out… … .

“Even though I was like this… … .” Miss Juliet refined her words once. “No… … ‘We’ have the advantage of being quick to notice things like this. Of course, if you exclude running.”

The term ‘us’ seems to refer to centaurs. Wait, did you really just use mind reading?

“I have a relative who got a perfect score when he participated in the Mathematics Olympiad by paying attention to what the test proctor thought. You may feel bad, but you can tell what people are thinking by their facial expressions.”

“Ah… … . That’s right, I was surprised. Miss Edrose guesses everything I think.”

Miss Juliet smiles silently. Even the curves of the eyelids, which shine with a soft skin color in the natural light, have an elegant atmosphere. but… … .

… … Even with my EQ being human-level and not centaur-like, I can tell that Miss Juliet has something to say but isn’t saying it.

Did I say something wrong? … ? Why do I feel a bit of disappointment in that peaceful smile in the first place?

My hair turned white. No matter how much I grit my teeth and take the standard route, I end up with a friend-with-balls ending, just like a piece of garbage that is thrown away. I am looking back at each and every word that cannot be answered by introspection.

“Then… … Later, I’ll have to meet with Miss Sammy, Miss Ratsby, and the members at Belialban to ask their opinions. If we put our heads together, we might get better results, right?”

“Ugh, that’s right… … .”

Without worrying about who would go first, I headed to the exit of the observatory. I felt like I should end the conversation here before I make any more mistakes. If the situation is like this, no matter what you say, it may not be comforting… … .

Strangely enough, the entrance to this watchtower was on the second floor, so the time it took to return to the classroom was short, but the distance up and down was quite long. It looks like you have to be determined to go down.

As I was about to open the door and enter the spiral staircase leading to the passage of the watchtower, some of the miscellaneous items covered in blue waterproof sheet were leaning against the door and fell out, collapsing.

“Kyaa!” Not only I but also Miss Juliet’s tail stood on end in shock, but Miss Juliet maintained her composure relatively gracefully. “Oh my!”

“What is this… … Unauthorized neglect?”

“There are more things like this at the academy than you think. Basically, the mentality of this world is ‘If you don’t get caught, you’re out of luck.’”

I thought it wouldn’t be a good idea to leave it like this, so I closed the door. Then, I slowly lifted the sheet to prevent the contents from getting caught and spilling. The dried dust rose up and made me sneeze.

Beneath the sheet were scattered sketchbooks that seemed to be dozens of volumes old, a very worn art utensil, an easel holding a canvas, and an old, unfinished oil painting. I naturally doubted my eyes.

“… … This is.”

“It’s a portrait. For something that was only half-finished, it seems to have been quite neglected… … . Miss Penny, do you know who this is?”

It was hard to recognize him because he had just started coloring on the sketch, but the characteristic colors used here and there, the mood on his face, and his clothes were enough to give me a good guess.

“Yes. It’s my Soror… … .” It was a portrait of senior InContinentia Virgilia.

───

Is it a self-portrait? However, Senior Berr is not a person with enough self-love to draw a self-portrait, and I cannot understand why he would put it in a corner of a watchtower like this.

Above all, when I opened several sketchbooks piled up like a mountain, I was able to find a croquis drawing of a senior seen from afar, as well as various objects such as a calico cat living around the dormitory and Professor Rolande Vassess.

Portraying oneself like this is something that is difficult to do unless you are a serious narcissist.

And the personality of senior Virgilia, who grew up with both excessive expectations and contempt, is the complete opposite of that. They hate being ignored, but they don’t know how to love themselves.

Since I couldn’t get rid of this many items right away, I flipped through a few more pages of my sketchbook to get a clue as to the owner.

However, the owner of these items did not write his name anywhere, as if he had not even imagined a situation where someone would lose something, let alone return it.

Just like you don’t write your name on the water cup at home… … .

Sometimes, the completed work had a scribbled signature, but it only appeared as a few lines and the name was not legible.

“If you ask for this sign or picture, wouldn’t you be able to find it quickly?”

Flutter, flutter─. The pages of the sketchbook are turning before my eyes. “Yes. Or you can just ask the senior in the picture directly.”

So there was no need to chase after the owner anymore. However, the puzzle pieces floating around in the subspace of my head seemed as if they were somehow going to fit together, so it was difficult for me to leave this place hastily.

I had a hunch that there was definitely going to be some great realization. But what kind of enlightenment will it be? … .

All of the items here have no name tags, just like items you keep at home.

It appears that he only used it alone and did not share it with anyone.

… … There was no reason to bring this much amount to such a high watchtower in the first place.

However, if we look at all these contradictions without considering the characteristics of the place called ‘Watchtower’ itself, there is one hypothesis that can be easily resolved.

And the words written on the back page of the sketchbook, in a way, seem to prove that absurd hypothesis.

“The conversation club is over now.”

“The art club is fine, but this is my first time hearing about the conversation club… … . I heard that there are cases where people who couldn’t join a large club create their own side activities with a similar theme and collect the activity fees.”

“… … Maybe, Miss Juliet. Couldn’t this have been a club room?”

“This is… … Is it outdoors?”

“Drawing contests are usually held outdoors. The owner of this sketchbook used to draw here based on the croquis he had drawn… … . Maybe.”

And for some reason, while he was drawing Vergilia, he disappeared, leaving behind all his art supplies and practice books. The trace is this page, which says ‘the end of the conversation club’.

“Common areas… … Although, this is a ‘vacancy’?”

“It would be best to contact the Academic Affairs Department directly, but wouldn’t that be right?”

I met Juliet’s gaze. If so, it means only one thing. I didn’t pay any attention to it, but the place where we were sitting was also a candidate for a club room.

“More than anything, the sky is open and there is good lighting. It’s a little windy, but it’s not cold. It seems like the perfect condition for the horticulture department… … ?”

“… … Is that so?”

Once all the puzzles were in place, we rushed out of the observatory without even having time to hide our joy.

It was partly because I wasted too much time right before the next class started, but more than anything, it was to convey the good news that I had found a club room.