Ch.2121. The Princess Is Too Easy

The student cafeteria wasn’t overwhelmingly large compared to other academy buildings.

With only about 600 students in total, and not everyone eating at the same time, there was no need for it to be particularly spacious.

Still, it could accommodate around 300 people at once, so it certainly wasn’t small.

And the ceiling of that large building… was currently open.

Wide open, with a clear, cloudless sky fully visible.

“Hey, Celia. What are you going to do about this?”

“I don’t know either…”

It was all Celia’s fault.

More precisely, it was because Celia had suddenly blown away the cafeteria ceiling.

It was quite impressive how thoroughly she’d cast her magic—she hadn’t just punched a hole in part of it, but had completely blown the entire thing off like opening a can.

“Why did you suddenly do this?”

“It’s all Ludion’s fault.”

“What did I even do…?”

But she keeps blaming me. What exactly did I do?

The situation rewinds to a moment ago, when I barged in.

Celia was the first to notice me approaching.

“Ludion?”

“Fancy meeting you here. Came for lunch?”

“Yes! Do you want to eat with us, Ludion?”

“…What’s with this sudden temperature change?”

The chilly atmosphere instantly returned to normal with my arrival.

Lilith seemed a bit taken aback, but the mood had definitely lightened.

I exchanged brief greetings with the two of them and sat down next to Celia.

Shortly after, Grain joined us naturally, bringing food for me as well….

“Is this really the same girl as before?”

She said this with a smile, looking at Celia who was grinning cheerfully.

Compared to how she was earlier, she did look like a completely different person.

After that, I couldn’t really hear what they were saying because I was focused on eating.

I hadn’t realized it until now, but I was apparently quite hungry.

The food here really went down smoothly. I knew it was supposed to be delicious, but I didn’t expect it to be this good.

Before I knew it, I’d finished my solo mukbang and my plate was empty. With a satisfied stomach, I was able to complete my meal.

But… after finishing, I noticed Celia staring at me from the seat next to mine.

“…Why are you staring at me like that? Did I do something wrong?”

The situation was so awkward that I couldn’t find the right words.

Grain and Lilith were whispering to each other, showing no intention of helping me.

As I sat there dumbfounded, unable to speak while facing her, Celia put down her utensils and asked:

“Ludion. I heard you’re going to help Lilith with her training after lectures. Is that true?”

It seemed to be a continuation of what Lilith had mentioned earlier.

Having no reason to hide it, I nodded in confirmation.

“Well… that’s how it is.”

“How long do you plan to do it?”

Duration? I hadn’t really set a timeframe since I figured I’d soon be saying, “There’s nothing more I can teach you. Go forth.”

“…Not setting a timeframe means you’ll continue helping her indefinitely…”

At that moment, Celia abruptly stopped speaking and awkwardly averted her gaze.

Then, as if she’d seen something, her expression suddenly hardened.

“What’s wrong?”

“…It’s nothing. Nothing at all.”

That’s definitely not a “nothing” expression. Her face is even turning red.

Wondering if she might be sick, I placed my hand on her forehead to check for a fever.

Hmm, it’s a bit warm, but seems about average body temperature.

But she must have been startled by my sudden touch, as her body jerked backward.

If you move that suddenly while sitting in a chair, you’ll fall over.

“Kyaah!”

Just as I expected.

Since I’d anticipated this, I was able to react quickly.

I extended my arm to support Celia as she fell backward, chair and all.

That was good reflexes. This makes me quite the gentleman.

While I was congratulating myself, Celia apparently didn’t share my sentiment.

“Ah…”

Suddenly, she started casting magic into the air… Hey, why is she actually firing it?

It happened so unexpectedly and quickly that I couldn’t completely stop it.

But if I left it alone, it would clearly strike the cafeteria interior and all the students inside, so I had to do something.

It was too late for anyone else to help. Being right next to her, I needed to act…

‘Oh right! If I just change the direction, at least no one will get hit!’

In a moment of quick thinking, I grabbed both of Celia’s hands while she was casting and pointed them upward.

The magical light surrounding her hands became quite unstable due to my intervention, but I succeeded in changing its direction…

BOOM!

The powerful blast tore off the cafeteria ceiling, taking the debris with it as it disappeared into the sky.

After the thunderous noise subsided, only endless silence remained.

…And that brings us back to the present.

Celia, who had been blankly staring at the gaping hole in the ceiling, finally lowered her gaze to meet mine.

“It really is Ludion’s fault.”

What am I supposed to say to this troublemaker who still blames me?

She looks so refreshed that I can’t bring myself to say anything.

Is this what they mean by “can’t spit on a smiling face”?

I don’t know. It’s her mess, so she’ll probably handle it.

Must be nice being an imperial princess. She can destroy buildings and still be so carefree.

///

I wasn’t in a good mood.

After becoming aware of my feelings for that man, my already fluctuating emotions cooled completely at the words of an uninvited guest during the meal.

I’m not sure why. No, I know why, but I don’t want to admit it.

It’s not that I dislike my feelings for him, but rather that I’m embarrassed to have such feelings.

Developing feelings for a man I’ve only known for a day? It makes me seem like an easy woman.

If there’s any consolation, it’s that my current favorability rating isn’t very high.

[Current Favorability: 8/100]

This level could just be considered friendship.

Yes, I’m not easy. This is a normal rating.

While rationalizing like this and trying to collect myself, a familiar face caught my eye.

“Fancy meeting you here. Came for lunch?”

It was the man I’d been thinking about.

…Honestly, I was glad to see him. So much for rationalizing with talk of friendship.

I was even relieved when he naturally sat down next to me.

If he had sat next to Lilith instead…

‘What am I thinking?’

I quickly scattered these pointless hypotheticals that I didn’t even understand the significance of.

Then I looked at Ludion sitting beside me again.

Noticing he was empty-handed, I was about to ask what he planned to eat when someone brought food for him and sat at our table.

It was a familiar face. A senior I’d seen at the student council.

Her name was Grain. The one who picked a fight with Ludion and suffered for it.

‘…Did they come together? Why is Grain buying him food?’

I had many questions, but seeing Ludion suddenly focus intensely on eating, I lost all desire to ask.

There was no point asking such things to a man who was more focused on food than the three women around him.

“…Hey, does she like Ludion?”

“I was wondering the same thing. I nearly froze to death after saying one wrong word.”

“I saw that too. It was really intense.”

“Excuse me. I can hear you, you know? It’s rude to talk about someone right in front of them.”

“You’ve got really sharp ears.”

“But you’re not denying it, are you?”

These people… they’re so shameless.

But they weren’t exactly wrong, so I didn’t feel the need to say anything.

It was a bit embarrassing that my feelings were obvious enough for others to notice, but at this point, hiding them would be even more awkward.

I actually felt good when people talked about my relationship with Ludion, so maintaining this flow didn’t seem so bad.

Hmm, but Ludion secretly agreed to help Lilith?

If someone sees that, I can already imagine what they’ll say, and it suddenly made me feel bad again.

Since Ludion seemed to have finished eating, I decided to ask about it.

“Ludion. I heard you’re going to help Lilith with her training after lectures. Is that true?”

“Well… that’s how it is.”

A direct answer.

He seemed so nonchalant about it, which made me even more annoyed.

This makes me look like I’m the one being clingy.

Wondering, I asked how long he planned to help her, but he just looked flustered and couldn’t answer.

He probably hadn’t decided on that.

Such a careless man.

I was about to say something out of irritation when…

[You feel uncomfortable with the subject’s kindness toward others. Favorability decreases by 1.]

[Current Favorability: 7/100]

Thanks to these suddenly appearing words, I was able to regain my composure.

‘Why am I acting like this?’

What Ludion does is none of my business.

I have no right to tell him what to do.

What kind of embarrassing behavior am I displaying?

My face flushed with shame.

That’s when something cold suddenly touched my forehead.

“Are you really okay?”

I was momentarily stunned, not understanding what was happening, but when I came to my senses, I saw Ludion’s hand on my forehead.

Maybe because of our size difference, his hand felt very large, which was quite thrilling…

No, no, no. That’s not the point. Right now, Ludion’s hand is on my… hand is… ah…?

‘So suddenly?!’

My first thought was to escape, so I jerked my body backward.

It was a stupid move—I didn’t consider that I’d fall backward with the chair.

But I didn’t end up sprawled embarrassingly on the floor.

As if he’d anticipated it, Ludion’s already extended arm supported me from behind.

At that moment, new words appeared before my eyes.

[You feel hot from the subject’s touch. Favorability increases by 1.]

[Your heart leaps at the subject’s kindness! Favorability increases by 2!]

[Current Favorability: 10/100]

My mind went blank when I saw that.

All the emotions I’d been denying were displayed so plainly that I couldn’t make any excuses.

I don’t even know who I’d be making excuses to, since only I can see this.

I just felt endlessly embarrassed and wanted to blow away those words.

So I cast a spell, knowing it was a meaningless resistance.

Of course, I was in my right mind and didn’t intend to actually release it here, so at the last moment I tried to minimize its power and scale…

Whoosh!

“Ugh?!”

Suddenly, Ludion grabbed both my hands and lifted them upward.

He’s such an uncanny man. Just like during the entrance exam, how does he immediately notice when I’m about to use magic?

I could immediately understand his intention.

He was trying to redirect my magic so it wouldn’t hit anyone.

But because of his interference, the formula I was adjusting at the end completely twisted and broke, and the magic I was originally trying to cast shot out.

What could have passed without any damage ended up destroying the cafeteria ceiling, thanks to him.

His completely unhelpful action triggered new words to appear.

Wondering if it had decreased this time, I looked and saw:

[You find the subject’s absurd action amusing. Favorability increases by 1.]

[Current Favorability: 11/100]

…How annoying.

Whatever. I’ll just be an easy woman.

There’s nothing to gain by overthinking about a man like this.

So… it’s all his fault. The collapsed ceiling, my developing these feelings.

It’s his fault, so he should take responsibility.

“What exactly did I do that you keep blaming me?”

Even if he doesn’t admit it, that fact won’t change.

Looking forward to working with you, Ludion.

I decided to keep words that didn’t fit the situation and might burden him to myself.