A Peaceful Daily Life, Right?

“Urgh…! A bright and energetic morning!”

I woke up from the soft bed, stretching with satisfaction.

Normally I would have lazed around to sleep a little longer, but today I felt so refreshed that I found myself getting up energetically without even realizing it.

The reason for that… of course, because I just cleanly resolved my long-standing issue with Charlotte yesterday!

In the process, there was an unfortunate incident where I unintentionally confessed that she was my favorite character right to her face, but that’s just a matter of me feeling a bit embarrassed.

Now I don’t have to worry about getting shot by a pistol just walking around!

Humming a tune, I quickly got ready and went to have breakfast.

“Wow…! This is killer!”

The menu is always luxurious no matter when I look at it.

These high-class foods that I couldn’t have imagined before my possession—since I’ll be eating alone anyway, I load up my plate.

Let’s head to a corner seat and start eating.

Hmm~ Maybe it’s because a weight has been lifted from my mind, but my appetite seems especially good today.

“Do you always eat alone like this?”

In the midst of my happy meal, someone sat in the seat across from me and asked.

This voice…

“Oh? Isn’t this Lady Charlotte, who kindly made a ventilation hole in my shoulder? Good morning!”

“…I already said I was sorry about that.”

“Hahaha, it’s rare to see Lady Charlotte apologize, so I should enjoy it while I can… please don’t use magic.”

Hearing my trembling voice, Charlotte snorted and stopped arranging her magic.

“Who told you to rub it in? Making me irritated first thing in the morning.”

“I apologize. Anyway, what did you ask earlier? Seeing Lady Charlotte’s beautiful appearance first thing in the morning made me forget.”

“Forget it. I was just saying it as a greeting. But…”

Charlotte looked at my plate loaded with food and asked with a disgusted expression.

“You eat that much first thing in the morning?”

“Ahaha, with all these foods I couldn’t eat on Earth, it’s hard to control myself. My family circumstances weren’t good, you see.”

“I see. That makes sense then. But if you keep eating like that, won’t you get fat? I also ate a lot like you at first and had a hard time.”

This seemed to be sincere advice from Charlotte that I hadn’t heard before.

But it doesn’t really resonate with me.

“Strangely, this body doesn’t gain weight no matter how much I eat. It’s already been a week since I started eating like this, but there’s been no change. If anything, I might have lost weight. Isn’t it the same for you, Lady Charlotte?”

“…….”

Hmm, judging by her reaction, it seems Charlotte has a body type that gains weight proportional to how much she eats, unlike me.

“Hmm… looking at you now, you seem to have gained a little weight since the first day…”

“…Shut up, will you?”

“Eek..! I’m against violence!”

Just as Charlotte, who was holding a fork, frowned intensely and stood up, two saviors appeared simultaneously from behind her.

“…Since when were you two so close?”

“Hmm, Chloe? And… Miss Astorius?”

My half-sister Chloe and the always reliable Sheena approached us. Oh, this is the first time so many people have gathered during breakfast.

“Good morning. Miss Cervantes…?”

Sheena, who was glancing at me, narrowed her eyes slightly and drew out the end of her sentence. What is it? Is there something on me?

“…Do you sit with Sion like this every morning?”

She shook her head slightly and asked Charlotte.

But there’s something strange.

Sheena, who always maintains a pleasant expression, seems to have some dissatisfaction on her face.

What’s going on? Did I do something wrong?

“No. Today is the first time I’ve met that guy during breakfast. And Chloe? Don’t misunderstand. There’s no way I would become friends with someone who just smiles frivolously like that.”

“That’s right, everyone. Lady Charlotte sitting with me? Lady Charlotte was just solving a minor concern with me.”

“A concern?”

Chloe tilted her head, and I answered as if it was nothing.

“It’s nothing much. Lady Charlotte has recently been gaining weigh— Ack!”

At that moment, something hit me on the head. Looking up, I saw a dimensional rift deployed above my head.

Swallowing a groan, I looked forward and saw Charlotte pulling her arm out of another dimensional rift.

It seems she hit my head hard through the dimensional rift.

“What useless things are you saying!”

Charlotte’s face turned red as she fumed. As expected, Charlotte’s strikes really hurt.

Unlike with Sheena, I need to tease her moderately since she might bite if I keep bothering her.

Just then, Sheena muttered softly.

“…You seem plenty close.”

But her voice was so quiet that I couldn’t hear it clearly.

“Charlotte, ignore what that person says. You’ve only gained a little weight.”

“Thanks, Chloe… Wait! I’m telling you I haven’t gained weight!”

Well, this is a mess. I watched the sitcom unfolding in front of me with satisfaction, sniffing slightly.

It’s truly beautiful to see the two of them carrying on a comedy routine without me having to say anything.

This combination appears frequently in the game as well.

The repertoire consists of Chloe subtly teasing Charlotte, and Charlotte shrieking in protest in response, in a continuing cycle.

If no one stops them, their chatter won’t end. I continued my meal, using this interesting scene as a side dish.

Just then, I saw Sheena, who had been blankly watching the scene, slightly stiffen her expression and mutter something.

It was a voice filled with some dissatisfaction, but I couldn’t hear it properly.

“…I’ll be going ahead.”

“What? Miss Sheena, you haven’t even started your meal yet…”

“I just don’t seem to have an appetite. Excuse me.”

Sheena gave a small bow and left the table.

Her departing figure somehow felt wistful, and for a moment I wanted to get up from my seat, but since I couldn’t think of what to say if I stopped her, I could only watch her stupidly like an idiot.

As I continued my meal in a somewhat gloomy mood, the food eventually wouldn’t go down my throat properly, so I sighed a little and stood up from my seat.

“Oh my… My stomach is hurting a bit, so I’ll have to leave first.”

“See, that’s why I told you to eat less, didn’t I?”

“Hmm, hearing that from Lady Charlotte feels a bit strange…”

“Get lost!”

Having stood up, I fled from my seat to avoid Charlotte’s fist.

Just in case, I looked around gently, but there was no sign of Sheena.

“…It’s bothering me a bit.”

Is something wrong? I should ask her about it later if I get the chance.

I walked slowly through the campus with mixed feelings. On the benches placed here and there were discarded newspapers published every Wednesday morning.

Those newspapers contain various events happening around the world, so I need to read them regularly.

Oh, come to think of it, I should have one of those newspapers in my dorm room too, but I forgot to check. I’ll have to read it slowly at home after school.

“…Huh? What’s that?”

As I was thinking this and slowly walking, I spotted someone reading a newspaper on a bench in the distance.

There was something familiar about them that made me frown and look closer… it’s Elise. The Elise who beat me up on the first day of school.

Even though I was looking from a distance, her appearance was so distinctive that I could recognize her immediately. But…

“…What’s going on?”

Elise is crying.

With reddened eyes, she’s shedding hot tears while trying to stifle her sobs.

The newspaper she’s holding is wet in places from her tears.

What could possibly be making her so sad?

“……”

To Elise, I’m still no different from a demon. The grudge she holds against me wouldn’t have cleanly disappeared with just one apology.

She probably hates seeing me.

That’s why I’m even more worried—whether the tears she’s shedding now might be because of me.

I want to find out if there’s anything I can do to apologize to her.

I slowly approached Elise.

She should have noticed my presence by now, but she seems too busy shedding tears to notice me at all.

“Excuse me… Lady Elise?”

When I carefully asked, her entire body trembled.

Elise slowly turned her head and looked at me.

“…….”

Then, shedding hot tears and gritting her teeth, she stood up from her seat and started running off somewhere without saying a word.

“…What’s going on?”

I stared blankly at the place she had left, frowning and tilting my head.

I can’t shake this uneasy feeling.

---

“Whew… I’m dying here. Dying. To be this exhausted just from starting a bit of proper exercise. Sion’s body itself is no better than trash, really.”

Entering the dormitory in an exhausted state, I immediately went into the bathroom.

After washing away the sweat soaking my body with a quick shower, I staggered toward the bed.

Physical training is really damn hard. How do the other kids do this every day?

Slowly turning my head to look out the window, I see it’s already half dark in the evening.

Still, it’s worth celebrating that I persevered with training until this time on the first day.

So now I can rest a bit…

“Ah, I forgot to check the newspaper.”

Tsk, there’s still something I need to do.

With a heave-ho, I raised my body that felt like it weighed a thousand pounds, picked up the newspaper placed outside the door, and returned to my room.

Then I plopped down on the desk chair and opened the newspaper wide. Now, let’s see…

“I wonder if there’s any content about ‘chaos’ in this newspaper?”

Muttering those two words, “chaos,” I stared intently at the newspaper.