episode_0112

I don’t have any great memories from my school days.

It’s not like I have any particularly bad memories. I just went to school like everyone else and graduated like everyone else. My grades weren’t particularly good or bad, and I think I was able to make some friends.

But I haven’t had a girlfriend.

I was an otaku, and my friends were otaku too. We never got together and went out to play or anything, but we would go to related events together, buy comics with the money we saved, and go to PC rooms after exams.

Yes, those were definitely trivial memories that couldn’t be compared to the things I experienced while attending the academy here. It wasn’t a memory so vivid that I could remember the exact dates, and in fact, out of the friends I hung out with back then, I could count on one hand the number of people I kept in touch with until the end. There were some people whose faces or even names I couldn’t even remember.

But even so, perhaps because it was a school where teenagers like me went, strangely enough, whenever I went there, those days would come to mind.

“It’s goodbye for a while.”

The first person to speak was Charlotte.

It was the same here that school ended early during exam period. Since we finished early, we gathered right away and wandered around.

I spent my time walking around the streets outside of school doing nothing much, or sitting in a cafe drinking a cup of tea and eating a parfait. During that time, I don’t remember exactly what we talked about, but we talked about trivial things about everyday life, and we laughed and chatted.

It didn’t seem like much time had passed, but the sun was already setting and turning the sky red.

“Are you going back to Lutetia?”

“That’s right. I’m the princess of Belbourg.”

Charlotte smiled faintly at Alice, who seemed a little disappointed, and said:

“But I guess we’ll meet again soon. The vacation won’t be that long after all.”

It was a little over a month of vacation, so unless something special comes up, we’ll meet again when the second semester starts.

But, if you think about it again, it also means that after graduating from school, it will not be easy to meet again.

If Charlotte had been not the princess of Belbourg but just one of the nobles of Belbourg, she might have been able to take a vacation to Rondarium for a few days a year. She might have been able to meet Alice again, have a leisurely cup of tea, talk about recent events, stay for a few days, and then say goodbye and go back.

The opposite is also true.

However, both Alice and Charlotte were extremely important figures in their respective imperial and royal families. Although it had not been announced yet, Alice was a strong candidate to be the next emperor, and Charlotte did not have any other brothers or sisters.

“… … .”

Alice’s expression darkened a little, perhaps because she had that thought.

… … If the story had gone as planned, these two would have become enemies. Of course, they would have reconciled when Alice confronted the Emperor to end the war, but the joy would not last long.

Charlotte stared blankly at Alice and then suddenly reached out her hand.

“Then, I’ll see you after the holidays. If you ever visit Lutetia again… …then I’ll make sure to let you know that Belbourg’s food is much tastier and more varied than the Empire’s food.”

Alice only laughed after seeing Charlotte speak so provocatively.

And then he took Charlotte’s hand and said.

“The imperial cuisine is also developing a lot. Come back in about 10 years. Then I will treat you to a meal that even the Belbur people cannot easily disparage. ”

Charlotte shrugged her shoulders slightly.

“I know that Lenado is going back to the autonomous country.”

“Yes, I have already packed my bags.”

Lena answered my question in a still posture. Lena wasn’t wearing short sleeves even on a day like this. I guess she thought that wearing such light clothing would bring out her military spirit.

Of course, that doesn’t mean Lena doesn’t suffer from the heat.

Rather, since she lived in a cool climate even in the summer, this weather would not be easy for Lena to endure. In fact, the nape of her neck was a little wet.

“I will definitely develop my skills, and in the second semester, I will make sure that I have the skills to not hold the princess back.”

It seemed that Lena was mindful of the fact that we went to a different dungeon without her last June. Although she didn’t show any expression of regret, she seemed to think, ‘It’s natural that my skills are lacking.’

Lena is definitely not a kid with low grades.

“That… ….”

When Lena, who was talking, spoke cautiously, I was a little surprised inside. It wasn’t often that Lena would show herself like this, or that she would show herself so openly in front of others.

Lena, who had been hesitating a bit, looked at me and spoke cautiously.

“Can I write you a letter?”

I almost laughed for a moment.

To be honest, there wasn’t really anything that Lena had done that would make me respect her. The only time I did that was when I ran around the training grounds in front of Lena, but it seems that Lena had a very strong impression on me at that time.

He already had respect for me after hearing about what happened on the battlefield, so that moment must have been decisive. He saw with his own eyes how I fought.

“Of course.”

As I answered, the corners of Lena’s mouth twitched slightly.

*

I didn’t bother to see them off to the train station. It would already be crowded because of the academy break, and if two princesses showed up, it would be almost paralyzed.

Charlotte rides in the VIP section, and Lena takes the less crowded train north, but they end up at the same station. It might be fine near the Academy, where there isn’t much to worry about, but if the princess is going to a place full of unidentifiable commoners, she needs to be escorted around.

Airships are not yet in civilian use, and although passenger aircraft are being built, they are not yet commercially available. So, although it was difficult, we said goodbye early at the Academy.

“Then… …I’ll go too.”

Mia Crowfield still spoke in a somewhat timid voice.

“Thank you for your hard work. Thanks to you, I received a lot of help.”

“Oh, no… … .”

At Alice’s words, Mia Crowfield blushed and lowered her head.

and-

“… … .”

He looked at me with a somewhat complicated expression.

“Thank you for everything.”

And as he said that, he bowed his head.

There was no cane in hand. It was the last day, so the students could not be walking around the academy grounds holding weapons.

However, the blue jewel shining at the end of the staff was the one I gave it to.

Come to think of it, it’s a jewel that I still haven’t been able to obtain.

When I thought about it that way, it wasn’t strange for him to make that kind of expression.

“Thank you for your hard work.”

I bowed my head to Mia Crowfield in the same way. She looked embarrassed for a moment, then quickly turned around and ran away at a brisk pace.

“Ah, you don’t have to say hello to me.”

As I was looking at his back with a slightly sad feeling, I heard a man’s light voice.

I looked back and Jake was there.

There is also a loyal maid by your side.

“We plan to stay for about a day.”

Lottie glared at her husband, who was moving too lightly even though there were two princesses present, but Jake’s attitude did not change at all.

“Even so, you should still say hello.”

Alice said.

“We’re thinking of going out today too.”

“Oh, really?”

Alice shrugged and said to Jake, who made a face as if to say that there was no need to rush since it was the same system anyway.

“Since it’s the same system anyway, it’s easier to finish what we have to do quickly. And even if we leave first, it doesn’t matter if we leave the luggage for a while, right?”

Anyway, we’re not going to be doing the subtraction ourselves.

“Is that so?”

Jake probably stayed because he wanted to spend at least one day here with Dorothy.

“Then, I guess I should say hello in advance. You’ve worked hard. Let’s meet again in the second semester.”

“Come back in the second semester as a man with a little more weight to him.”

Jake just laughed cheerfully at Alice’s words.

*

“Well, then… … .”

Leo said with a very nervous expression.

“As the next heir of the Grace family, I would like to invite the two princesses to our territory.”

“… … .”

And Alice said, looking at Leo with a somewhat dumbfounded expression.

“There’s no need to be so formal. Even if you’re aristocrats, if you’re close with each other, you just talk roughly. ”

“Is that so… …?”

“No, so formal speech is… …no.”

Alice sighed deeply, and Claire wiped her face.

“Well, I did receive such a formal invitation though.”

Alice, with a slightly playful expression on her face, stood towards Leo and spoke while lightly touching the hem of his skirt with both hands.

“I will gladly accept that invitation.”

Then, he slightly pulled one leg back, and bowed nicely by slightly bending his knee without lowering his head.

It was no wonder Leo’s face turned redder.