4. Food

4. Food

Priscilla von Louer, the second daughter of the Louer Marquisate, was a talent whose sense of justice overflowed like a waterfall.

Deeply influenced by the family motto of punishing evil and pursuing good, she would rush headlong to punish any sinner she heard of, and…

She only began to pay the price for her unchecked actions after arriving at the Academy.

“Shall we be friends?”

Skadi von Lyra, the daughter of the Northern Grand Duke, stood with the sunlight behind her, wearing a chillingly expressionless face. It felt as if an icy chill emanated from the white blade at her neck.

… In reality, the chill was indeed flowing from the sword, but Priscilla would only learn later that Skadi’s sword was a frost-elemental magic sword.

Thus, Priscilla, who had become a plaything of the white demon… or rather, who thought she had, headed to the dormitory to change her urine-soaked underwear, but fatefully, on her way, she encountered her dreaded older sister, the eldest daughter of the Louer family.

Her sister pointed out Priscilla’s mistakes one by one.

The fact that she had recklessly challenged someone of higher rank than herself to a duel. The fact that her judgment of Skadi as a sinner was based on mere rumors.

Of course, there was also the incident at the entrance ceremony, a concrete reason for her desire to punish Skadi, but she was in no position to make excuses then.

In the end, she closed her eyes tightly, anticipating the ‘punishment’ she would receive from her own sister, but… she received help from someone completely unexpected.

It was Skadi von Lyra, the very person she had considered an evil doer.

“What on earth is that person!”

Priscilla thought as she stood under the hot water gushing from the magical artifact-what is commonly called a shower.

She thought she was evil. She thought she was a sinner. But…

Was she not? Or was she? Was it a misunderstanding? But judging by the actions of that person, it seemed like she was indeed a bad person.

Her thoughts were complicated. Priscilla had, her entire life, categorized people as either good or evil. She had never anticipated that there might be people in an intermediate stage, or rather, people who couldn’t be classified in such a way.

However, if there was one thing she could conclude with certainty, it was that Skadi von Lyra…

Her mind felt a little strange.

Yes, let’s concede a hundred times over that she is actually a good person. Then, what was the reason for her constantly trying to touch her body, and even trying to intrude on someone’s shower under the guise of common sense? What on earth was it?

“Ughhhhhh…”

If only she were a true villain, or at least, if she hadn’t been assigned to the same room, she wouldn’t have had to worry about this.

Amidst these thoughts, what flashed through Priscilla’s mind was the image of the white wolf turning its gaze towards her after chasing away her sister.

Soft, flowing strands of pure white. Perky ears. A swaying tail.

And sky-blue eyes gazing intently at her.

“Because you’re my friend.”

“Ughhhhhhhhhhhhh!”

Priscilla tried to shake off the strange thoughts that kept invading her mind while standing under the steaming water.

… It was only much later that she remembered she hadn’t brought clothes to change into when she entered the bathroom.

——

“Shall I dry your hair?”

“Whoa, s-scared me! Why are you standing at the door!”

“Is that not allowed?”

“No…!”

Priscilla, who had finished showering, was only wearing underwear. Perhaps due to the heat of the warm water, her slightly flushed skin and damp hair caught my eye.

Despite being thoroughly soaked, Priscilla’s rolled-up hair remained unchanged, maintaining its shape. How strange.

I want to touch it…

Hmm.

Right.

I should touch it.

Since we’re friends, this should be nothing.

“W-what are you doing!”

“Because I’m curious.”

After all, it’s a common and ordinary thing for girls to fiddle with each other’s hair.

As I gently took her hair in my hand, I saw Priscilla become greatly flustered, but I paid no mind and focused on touching her rolled-up hair.

Hmm.

Hmmmm.

Even though I tried to change her hairstyle by touching, twisting, and bending it in various ways, it only returned to its original state. Priscilla’s rolled-up hair showed no sign of changing its shape.

It’s truly… amazing. Like a spring.

As I lifted the rolled-up hair experimentally, the unstyled part of her hair slid through my fingers. Meanwhile, the rolled-up hair remained in my hand, showcasing its springiness.

I lowered my head forward in that state. Her red hair touched my nose, and then…

Sniff sniff.

The smell of soap.

“Wh-wh-wh-what are you doing! G-get away from me!”

“What’s wrong?”

As I smelled her hair, Priscilla pushed my hand away and fled to the far end of the dormitory room. In the moment my hand was suddenly empty, I felt a sense of emptiness, and Priscilla, pressed against the wall, shouted at me.

“Are, are you crazy? Why are you smelling someone else’s hair?”

“Ah… wolf beastmen often sniff each other. Didn’t you know?”

Priscilla is a normal human, so it’s understandable that she wouldn’t know the common customs of wolf beastmen. I didn’t know such habits existed until my sister taught me.

“Th-that can’t be true…”

“It’s true. I often do this with my sister too.”

“Ugh…”

Wolves naturally know wolf customs better. Priscilla, though half-believing, soon began to be persuaded by me.

Finally convinced, Priscilla took out clothes from her luggage and said.

“St-still, don’t do that to me. W-we’re not that close yet, are we?”

“… We weren’t close?”

That’s strange. I thought we had become close enough.

Making friends is harder than I thought. But it’s not a big problem. Challenging difficult things is always fun.

Okay.

I’ll introduce her to my sister after we become much, much closer.

I decided this with a smile.

——

“Where are you going?”

“To the dining hall?”

Priscilla asked me back as if asking why I would ask such a thing.

“Are we eating there?”

“… Then where else would we eat?”

Oh…

My stomach was starting to rumble, so this was perfect. It seemed I could eat if I followed Priscilla like this.

As I naturally stepped outside and followed Priscilla, she opened her mouth as if to say something, then gave up and closed it.

Hmm.

Priscilla sometimes does strange things. It’s probably nothing.

After following Priscilla for a few minutes, I saw a plain, large building. Seeing many students bustling around, it seemed to be the dining hall.

I took a step towards the entrance, where students were coming and going…

“Where are you going!!”

“Why?”

“That’s the dining hall for commoners!!”

Hearing that, I widened my eyes. Are the dining halls for commoners and nobles separated?

“Of course!”

This was new information. In the North, there wasn’t much distinction between commoners and nobles.

In the first place, it wasn’t a place where life was so comfortable that such distinctions could be made.

Thanks to magic tools, warm water was easily accessible, but that was about it. Even then, commoners couldn’t use them, so as winter approached, the mansion doors were opened to let in the villagers.

For me, who had only experienced that, the fact that even buildings used by nobles and commoners were separate was a new piece of knowledge.

“At the entrance ceremony, we sat separately from the commoners, and the dormitories are also divided by commoners and nobles, so how could you think that…”

“It was like that there too?”

Priscilla clutched her forehead.

… Despite a small mishap, we managed to find the dining hall and enter. It was a building that was not as large as the commoners’ dining hall, but it was decorated in a stately manner.

Priscilla went somewhere and took out a few silver coins from her pocket.

“What are you doing?”

“Paying, aren’t I?”

“…”

Money.

As soon as I heard that word, I looked at Priscilla with trembling eyes.

“Don’t tell me you…”

“… Won’t you pay for me?”

It was the day I learned the important common sense that in this world’s Academy, you have to pay money to eat.

Priscilla looked at me as if I were absurd, then sighed and took out more silver coins.

The other students, seeing Priscilla paying for me, seemed to avoid making eye contact with me, but that was probably just my imagination.

The nobles’ dining hall was a buffet. It was a system where you took a plate and got as much food as you wanted.

My plate was piled high with steaks. Seeing that, Priscilla’s eyes twitched.

“… Can you eat all of that?”

“Of course.”

To survive the cold of the North, you have to eat at least this much.

As soon as I sat down, I felt an intense hunger and immediately picked up my fork, stabbing and eating the steak. The sweet taste that melted on my tongue, the flavor of the steak.

Chomp chomp chomp.

It seemed the name ‘Imperial Central Academy’ was not just for show. The quality of the food was vastly superior to that of the North.

As I savored dozens of pieces of meat, I felt several gazes directed at me for some reason.

“…?”

Even Priscilla, in front of me, had stopped eating and was looking at me.

After pondering the reason for a moment, a line of ‘common sense’ flashed through my mind.

“-Big sis! It’s basic etiquette for girls to feed each other!”

Ah, I can’t forget something so important. No, no.

I stopped the steak I was about to bring to my mouth and fed it to Priscilla instead.

“Ugh, mff?!”

With the physical abilities honed over 20 years, I put the entire steak into Priscilla’s mouth before she could even notice. I could see Priscilla’s face redden with surprise at the steak filling her mouth.

Good.

Next is my turn.

I gazed intently at Priscilla, conveying the meaning that she should feed me. The food on her plate was reflected in my eyes. A balanced meal with an appropriate mix of vegetables and meat.

I’d prefer meat over vegetables, if possible.

I looked at Priscilla again.

Intently.

Intently…

Intently…….

“Why, why are you looking at me like that…?”

Finally, after swallowing the meat, Priscilla asked me. Isn’t feeding each other the most basic of etiquette? Why is she asking me this?

Ah.

Perhaps she’s asking what I want to eat.

With that thought, I answered without hesitation.

“Meat.”

Priscilla, who had been looking back and forth between her plate and my face, gently picked up a well-cut piece of meat and placed it on my plate.

“…”

I looked at Priscilla with a displeased expression.

“……”

“H-here you go.”

Priscilla then picked up more meat and put it in my mouth.

Hmm. Yes, this is how it should be.

I nodded, indicating my approval.

The taste of the meat in my mouth was excellent.