Chapter 18 – The Calm Before the Storm in a Teacup

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Editor’s Note

Edited

Perhaps I shouldn’t have thought it was a quiet day.

Just thinking it without saying it out loud seemed to cause me to have that incident with Charlotte, and immediately afterward, someone else came to the infirmary.

Anyway.

Before I could clear my mind of what had just happened, I greeted the visitor who had arrived.

Who could it be?

…I hoped it would be a student with a sprained ankle or wrist rather than someone coming because of “that.” My mood was rather peculiar right now.

Though I had received Undine’s help to clean up, somehow my chest still felt sticky.

As the door opened cautiously, a face I’d never met before but somehow seemed familiar entered.

She looked like a student, but her gait seemed exceptionally poised.

Her thick, lustrous hair, mixed with golden and orange tones, swayed gracefully in rhythm with her steady steps.

Eyes like gems commonly called amber swept over my entire body, and their owner politely bowed her head and spoke:

“Good day, Health Teacher.”

“Ah, um… yes. Nice to meet you.”

A business-like tone.

Hair as luxurious as a lion’s mane.

Small, perky ears and sharp eyes.

And a thin, long tail that started from her hips and was neatly groomed, with a brush-like end.

A beast-person with a slightly different feel from Michelle stood before me.

Since she was quite tall, I had to look up at her as she approached me while I sat in my chair.

After taking all this in, I couldn’t help but realize her identity.

That makes sense, as she was one of the characters whose ending I had seen before coming here.

She remained clearly etched in my memory, more so than the characters I vaguely remembered.

That’s probably why she seemed familiar.

Although seeing her in person was completely different from seeing her on a monitor, that was just how this world was, so it wasn’t surprising.

Her name was Leona.

The maid bodyguard of Princess Aileen Edelweiss from somewhere¹… and a student at this academy.

As I mulled over her profile, I inadvertently glanced at her lower body.

…Since there were no visible injuries, I naturally wondered if she had come because “it” had risen.

But fortunately, she was breathing calmly, and her lower body seemed peaceful.

At least she wasn’t injured, and no pillar had risen.

But then, why did she come?

We had never even met, let alone had a conversation, aside from me unilaterally seeing Aileen Edelweiss’s face in the cafeteria last time.

…In times like these, asking directly is the best approach.

Though no dialogue options appeared, it was convenient being a staff member rather than a fellow student.

Not that it created a perfect hierarchical relationship, but still…

“So, what brings you here? Are you feeling unwell somewhere?”

“No, that’s not it. I’ve come to deliver something to you.”

“Pardon?”

While I made a dumbfounded response, Leona, who had been looking at me just as I had been looking at her, pulled out an elegant-looking envelope from inside her uniform.

As I received it reflexively, a fragrant scent rose from the envelope.

The sender was…

Aileen Edelweiss something something…

A name too cumbersome to fully pronounce. It was certainly the princess’s name.

That confirmed that the woman standing before me was indeed Leona.

But why… this?

“What is this?”

“I believe it would be faster for you to read the contents than for me to explain.”

I nodded absently, and Leona bowed her head, then retreated, apparently with no other business.

She was neither someone who was injured nor someone whose “thing” had risen, as I had hoped, but somehow it felt like this might be even more troublesome.

When I looked up from examining the letter, Leona, who had arrived like the wind, had already disappeared like the wind.

…When did she leave? I don’t think I heard her go.

Somehow, I felt cold sweat running down my back.

If I did something careless, would she silently visit me at night and stab a knife in my neck?

Probably not… but considering how the behavior of the characters I knew had changed slightly, I couldn’t be entirely at ease.

After staring at the door Leona had vanished through, I carefully opened the fragrant letter with my fingers.

I wondered if I should use a knife, like I’d seen somewhere, but there wouldn’t be such a thing in the infirmary.

…What if Leona was secretly watching and would jump out yelling, “GAH!!! How dare you damage Her Highness’s letter!”?

Is that too ridiculous an imagination?

I don’t know.

Currently, her attitude seemed very businesslike and cool, but she had a tendency to be… excessively devoted when it came to the princess.

While having these stray thoughts, I safely opened the letter and carefully checked its contents.

Seeing the lengthy content, I wondered if I could read the text, but then again, since arriving here, I had understood the spoken language well, and I was also able to read the text on the envelope.

…It was a belated question, but at this point, worrying about it would be silly.

So, checking the content… there were many flowery phrases, but the essence was this:

She would like to have tea with me this weekend.

Why…?

I had quickly left the cafeteria to avoid drawing attention, precisely to prevent something like this.

It doesn’t even feel like “what was bound to happen.”

I’m just wondering, “Why did this happen?”

Of course, at the end of the letter, it was written that I could decline if I didn’t feel like going.

And… truthfully, even if I didn’t go, it probably wouldn’t be a big deal.

Considering the nature of the academy and this convenience-oriented world setting, that seemed even more likely.

The academy of Freesia Chronicles I had entered wasn’t an institution for training talents for some empire.

It was broader in scope. Although I hadn’t directly visited it in the game, that was the setting.

It’s a bit complicated to explain, so to put it simply…

Princess Aileen Edelweiss is more similar to a princess in a constitutional monarchy rather than a daughter of an emperor with absolute power. Places with different systems also send students to the academy.

If you ask how such a mixed world setting exists, I’d like to say that’s just the nature of these games. Don’t ask me; I don’t know either.

Anyway, even with that, a princess is still a princess. She was indeed someone to be cautious around.

So I felt hesitant to flatly refuse.

…It also seemed like the time to start planting seeds.

Normally, I would focus on one couple at a time, but since I don’t know how things will turn out, wouldn’t it be good to plant the seeds for multiple endings?

The relationship with Aileen Edelweiss and Leona might be a bit tricky, but there’s no harm in trying.

The more plans, the better.

I didn’t intend for this to happen, but… it should be fine.

Checking the date, it didn’t overlap with my appointment with Charlotte, so there shouldn’t be a problem.

Thinking this, I carefully folded the letter and put it back in the envelope.

Trembling like an octopus tentacle in fear that Leona might be watching.

…Hmm, doesn’t seem like she is.

*
*
*
*

Time passed, and the weekend I had promised to meet Charlotte arrived.

Nothing special had happened, except for Aileen Edelweiss inviting me for a tea time.

Since I still had some time, I was sitting absentmindedly when I looked to the side and saw Michelle lying on her side, asleep.

Something wriggling inside the blanket was probably her tail.

Come to think of it, it might be more comfortable for Michelle to sleep on her side.

Her tail was quite bushy, after all.

…Unlike Leona’s.

Then I got up from the bed and headed to the bathroom.

It’s good to get Undine’s help, but when waking up, washing your face with cold water is most effective.

While pouring cold water on my face, I asked Undine to clean my body.

“Aheu….”

This cool sensation.

My foggy mind became clear.

“Haah….”

After awakening my senses with cold water, I came out to the changing room. I looked in the mirror to see if there was any eye gunk left.

“Oh?”

Then I noticed something strange.

My hair, which had been messily sticking out in all directions, was now neatly arranged, which was expected.

But…

“When did I tie it…?”

My head felt heavy, and I realized my hair was tied in what is commonly called a ponytail.

It seems Undine had done it…

I observed her, who was smiling with a certain mature quality. Receiving my gaze, she smiled even more deeply.

She appeared to be one of those peculiar entities that occasionally appear.

With my increased affinity, looking at her… I felt something off.

A feeling like she wasn’t Undine?

Her appearance was identical, but somehow I had that feeling.

Well… even with people, if they look similar but have different personalities, don’t they feel like different people?

It might be the same with Undine.

The sudden hair-tying was a bit surprising, but now that it was done, I wondered why I hadn’t tied it until now.

It felt refreshing with my neck exposed.

Feeling satisfied, I came out, and saw Michelle sitting on the bed with a drowsy face.

She was swaying her tail left and right with a face as if entranced by something.

Seeing that defenseless look I had never seen before, neither in the game nor here, made me smile.

If only I could find her a match…

But for that, I lacked information about the living, breathing Michelle.

In the game, her relationship was intertwined with the protagonist student, so I didn’t have specific data on who might be a good match for Michelle or other students.

Thinking about this, I picked out my clothes.

The options weren’t diverse.

To begin with, all I had were workout clothes, a gown, and a black short skirt with a thick top that came to mind when thinking of a health teacher.

Among them, the workout clothes were the best, so I had no choice but to select them.

After getting dressed and turning around, I saw Michelle looking at me.

“G-Good morning.”

My voice trembled slightly, perhaps because I was a bit startled. Embarrassingly so.

But Michelle didn’t seem to mind and responded in a somewhat slurred voice:

“…Yes. By the way… are you… going somewhere?”

“Ah, yes. I’m planning to go outside the academy with a student to buy some clothes.”

“…”

Michelle blinked, then got up from the bed and approached me. With her being taller than me, her approach was more dynamic than I expected.

She gently grabbed my shoulder and said:

“…Would it be okay if I joined you?”

“Pardon?”

“…I was just thinking I should go out as well.”

This is another event I hadn’t seen before. Just like Charlotte suggesting to go buy clothes.

Indeed… in many ways, I keenly feel the need to gather more data.

Along with the thought that I should be more cautious, since I can’t undo results.

That’s why I readily nodded.

“I’ll get ready quickly and come out.”

With my permission, Michelle rushed to the bathroom.

It was fine since I had plenty of time.

However… I was a bit worried about how Charlotte would react. It’s good for me to collect a lot of data at once, but… after all, someone else has suddenly joined our appointment.

And such worries weren’t unfounded.

Charlotte clung behind me, peeked out her head, and spoke:

“Ah, T-Teacher Iris, w-why is that person here…?”

“…Seeing as you call her by name, you must be quite close with this student.”

For some reason, both of them didn’t seem pleased.

Cold sweat ran down my back.

Somehow, I have a feeling that I’m going to spend a dreadful time.