37. Invitation to a Tea Party

37. Invitation to a Tea Party

“So, Skadi, you still remember you agreed to come to the tea party, right?”

“Yeah. Of course.”

The room was still warm from the lingering effects of earlier. Priscilla, who had been drying my hair and tail, suddenly spoke.

“The exact time has been decided. So I wanted to let you know….”

“Aha.”

After hearing that, I realized that while I had heard the tea party was on the weekend, I hadn’t heard the exact time.

Was I an idiot for being happy about going to the tea party without even knowing that?

While I was lamenting my own intelligence, Priscilla was telling me the time and place of the tea party.

“It’s scheduled for Saturday. For the details….”

Saturday at 1 PM. The location, hmm, I heard it, but I probably wouldn’t be able to find it alone, so I decided to just follow Priscilla that day. There was no need to insist on going alone and get lost.

Meanwhile, Claire, who had been lying unconscious on the bed, woke up.

“Ugh.”

“You’re awake?”

Claire looked around with her sparkling golden eyes and then opened her mouth. Her voice sounded flustered.

“What? Why am I lying down?”

“You fell asleep when I stroked you?”

“I slept?”

When I hugged her and stroked her head, she fell asleep quickly, so I quietly placed her on the bed so as not to wake her. In the meantime, I hid the sword under the bed.

Claire muttered with a frown.

“Umm.”

“What’s wrong?”

“No, I can’t quite remember what I was doing earlier… I remember my face being buried somewhere and having trouble breathing, but I can’t recall what happened next.”

Amnesia all of a sudden. I approached Claire with genuine concern. If there was any physical problem, I would have to send her to a doctor immediately.

However, Claire flinched and stepped back as I approached. Perhaps it was a reflexive movement, as Claire herself seemed surprised by her own backward step.

“Uh… S-sorry. What’s wrong with my body?”

“Maybe you’re tired? Why don’t you rest for a bit.”

I retracted my outstretched hand awkwardly and said. Claire replied that it wasn’t necessary, enveloped herself in a golden aura, and then smiled at me, looking completely fine. It was a cute smile.

Claire stretched her body as if doing stretches and muttered.

“Okay, I feel a bit more myself now.”

“That’s good to hear… but why don’t you go see a doctor later? Just in case.”

“Later, later. I think if I use this well, I can legally skip classes.”

Is she using her own health as a means to skip classes?

While I couldn’t say anything about skipping lectures, I chided Claire, saying she should at least take care of her health. Claire immediately covered her ears with both hands.

“Eeeeh~ I can’t hear you, I can’t hear you. It’s nothing much anyway. When I’m really sick, this won’t even help.”

Claire said, waving her hand surrounded by a golden aura. I didn’t know the specifics, but it seemed that aura had the ability to slightly restore the body.

If she doesn’t want to go, I can’t force her. Besides, she looks fine on the outside.

I sighed and turned my gaze to Priscilla.

It was about something else.

“Priscilla, by the way, what time did you say the tea party was?”

Because I forgot the time.

“… Saturday at 1 PM.”

Ah, right. Of course.

I wasn’t the only one who reacted to Priscilla’s answer. Claire opened her mouth.

“A tea party all of a sudden?”

“Yes? Ah, my family matters were recently settled, so I decided to host a tea party as a celebration. That’s what it’s about.”

“Can I go too?”

“Yes?”

Priscilla looked at Claire in surprise, as if it was an unexpected question. Claire’s golden eyes sparkled as she continued.

“Actually, I’ve never properly been invited to anything like that. I’ve always been curious about what they do at those events. Huh? Can’t I go too?”

“Um… It’s not like it matters if one more person joins.”

Hearing that answer, I, who had been listening from the side, was quite surprised. I couldn’t hide my flustered expression and spoke to Priscilla.

“Priscilla, isn’t a tea party something only two people attend?”

“Yes? No, of course, other people come too. Though not many.”

I widened my eyes.

A tea party isn’t something only two people attend?

This is what the tea parties in the novels I’ve read so far were like. At a table in a beautiful garden, two girls laugh while eating tea and snacks, and then they get tangled up and do all sorts of things.

Since all of them featured only the protagonist and supporting characters, with just two people appearing, I naturally assumed tea parties were for two people, but it turns out that’s not the case. It was shocking news.

Wait a minute, how do you kiss with multiple people? Do you have to take turns?

With two people, there’s no need to worry. You just have to match your mouth to the other person’s. But what happens when it increases to three, four people?

Suddenly, the relationship dynamics in my head became tangled. Even if only 4 people attend the tea party, A kisses B, B kisses C, C kisses D, D kisses A, and A kisses C, B kisses D….

What kind of monstrous spiderweb is this?

It’s not just kissing that’s the problem. You also have to hug, rub, and touch each other, and if you do that one by one, the time required will undoubtedly increase tremendously.

So, when there are many people, do you take different positions? So that everyone can touch each other simultaneously, arranging yourselves in a circle for orgy… no, for a tea party….

I tapped my tail back and forth, pondering, but eventually, my brain overloaded from the excessive calculations. With a hazy mind, I hugged Priscilla and buried my face in her neck.

“Ah-hit.”

A nice scent.

I feel a bit clearer. While I was cooling my head for a moment, Claire asked us.

“… You two aren’t in any kind of relationship, right?”

“Of course.”

Priscilla and I are just ordinary friends.

Anyway, Claire ended up attending the tea party too. I decided not to think about what I was pondering earlier, thinking I’d figure it out when I got there.

And then-

“Princess. You were here.”

A voice from behind me. I was startled and puffed up my tail. At the moment when all my fur stood on end and all my muscles tensed, Priscilla and Claire both froze like stone.

“I’ve been looking for you for quite some time.”

“E-Edel? How did you get here….”

“There’s always a way.”

Short black hair. A maid in a neat maid uniform, looking at the princess indifferently. I was unable to hide my astonishment that I hadn’t even noticed her sneaking into the dormitory, let alone standing so close behind us.

The maid glanced towards me and Priscilla and gave a slight bow.

“Nice to meet you, Miss Priscilla, Princess Lyra. I apologize for trespassing in your room. However, I feared the princess would escape if I knocked before entering.”

“Uh, yeah. Hello.”

Claire was pressed against the wall, trembling. Claire rolled her small, round eyes, seemingly searching for an escape route, but the maid stood blocking the window and door, rendering her feeble struggles meaningless.

In the end, Claire was caught by the maid. Dangling from the maid’s hand, Claire cried out indignantly.

“Wait, Edel! There’s no need to take me away right now. The lecture should be over by now anyway!”

“What do you mean it’s over? There are still two more left.”

“Why so many?!”

“His Majesty the Emperor prepared them with great determination. Since you’ve been skipping class every time, how would you know how many lectures there are today?”

“J-just a moment. Edel, I still have something to do. Let me at least finish that!”

“… Sigh.”

The maid let out a deep sigh. Then, with a thump, she released her hand, and Claire fell to the floor, lying limply.

“Hurry up, Princess.”

“Ah, yes!”

As if her previous collapse was a lie, Claire sprang up and looked towards me and Priscilla. Towards Priscilla, who was in my arms, Claire opened her mouth.

“I haven’t heard the location of the tea party yet. Tell me!”

“Ah… Well, it’s here.”

Priscilla told Claire the location. The maid listened silently and then asked.

“A tea party…? Princess, did you make some kind of arrangement?”

“Yes! Priscilla is hosting it, and I’m going on Saturday.”

“….”

The maid seemed about to say something but then closed her mouth. Perhaps in its place, the maid picked up Claire with one hand and stepped out of the room.

The maid looked towards us and bowed.

“Then we shall take our leave. Princess, my apologies for the intrusion, Miss Skadi, Miss Priscilla.”

“Ah, it’s okay. Goodbye.”

“Bye, Claire.”

Claire, dangling from my hand, complained to the maid, asking if she could at least let go of her hand, and slowly disappeared outside the dormitory.

After confirming Claire’s disappearance, I took out the sword I had hidden under the bed.

“Huh?”

And, for some reason, my training clothes were found under the bed again. I tilted my head and carefully folded the clothes and put them in the drawer.

It was a confusing day in many ways.