Is This Right? (4)

From the moment she confirmed her roommate, Mari couldn’t calm down at all.

‘Oh my goodness, this isn’t a dream, is it?!’

Even when she absentmindedly pinched her cheek, she only felt a stinging pain. Yes. This was reality.

That day, after the entrance exam, the name Ariel Walpurgis remained an object of admiration for Mari. Despite her noble Walpurgis bloodline, she didn’t boast about her family and moved forward with her own abilities. Above all, her kind demeanor that embraced and comforted Mari remained a strong admiration for her.

And now she’s going to share a room with such an admired person? From now on? Continuously?

‘What, what should I do…’

Once roommates are decided in Milano Academy’s dormitories, they usually don’t change until graduation. This means she’ll be staying in the same room with Ariel until graduation.

“Should I, should I dress up or something?”

Although Ariel has a kind heart that comforted her, she is inherently a noble, and a young lady from a famous ducal family that everyone knows. Everyone around her must have only shown their best sides.

Mari has never felt ashamed of being from a commoner background. Her family members are good people who wouldn’t be embarrassed anywhere, and she’s satisfied living with that.

But this is a different case. It’s very different. The other person is a duke’s daughter. To avoid causing her trouble, there’s a need to match to some extent. But in this case, there was a problem…

“The clothes I have are just…”

Unfortunately, most of the clothes Mari has are those she brought from her hometown, and among these, the only somewhat fancy outfit is her school uniform. But she can’t wear her school uniform all the time in the dormitory. At the very least, she needs to buy comfortable clothes to wear inside and clothes to wear when going out. And considering she can’t wear just one outfit…

‘Should I buy something later?’

Since she’s going to receive a scholarship, it might be good to buy something with that money. Although her aesthetic sense is probably far inferior to Ariel’s, at least she shouldn’t make others doubt Ariel’s dignity just by being there.

It was then that she heard a knock on the door.

“Excuse me. Are you in there?”

“Ah, just a moment!”

I haven’t finished tidying up the room yet! Mari finished tidying up the room at an unprecedented speed at this moment. She even used magic, thinking it might take time if she did it manually. If her family back home saw this, wouldn’t their eyes widen in surprise?

Surely this wasn’t what she learned magic for… While mentally apologizing to the magician who taught her, Mari demonstrated an almost possessed level of magical control. If other students or professors had seen this scene, wouldn’t they have been amazed at how remarkable it was?s exert strength beyond what they normally think possible in extreme situations. At this moment, Mari excellently surpassed her limits.

After barely finishing tidying up and opening the door, Ariel was looking this way with her characteristic expressionless face.

‘She’s beautiful…’

As she felt when she saw her at the exam site, and again at today’s entrance ceremony, Ariel was truly beautiful. The way she carelessly tucked her flowing silver hair behind her ear exuded dignity even at a glance.

“If you don’t mind, would you like to have a cup of tea?”

“What? With me?”

What did I just hear? Surely I didn’t mishear? Oh, please God. Please let this not be a dream. I promise I’ll pray diligently from now on, so please.

“Yes.”

“Y-Yes!”

There was no reason to refuse this. My goodness, not only talking with someone I admire but also drinking tea? How could I possibly resist this! Mari briefly wondered if she had done something good recently to deserve such repeated good fortune, but soon gave up on that thought. Right now, being grateful for the given luck takes priority over thinking about such things.

‘Was I too hasty?’

Although she quickly came out due to her eagerness, she started to worry if it was too rushed. Fortunately, Ariel naturally guided her to the table in the living room as if not minding.

“Please sit here.”

“Th-Thank you…”

As Mari awkwardly sat down, Ariel took out a teapot from somewhere and started preparing with skillful hands. Surprised by this unexpected sight, Mari was momentarily lost for words.

“Um, excuse me…”

“Yes?”

“Aren’t you going to ask a maid or something to do this?”

There are maids stationed in the dormitory, and if you tell them, they can easily prepare for tea time. In fact, there’s a handbell placed prominently on the table to call a maid. But Ariel is deliberately not doing that and preparing everything with her own hands.

‘If anything, I was going to do it…’

Seeing the beyond imaginable sight of a duke’s daughter personally making tea, Mari was at a loss for words and just gaped blankly.

“Please have some.”

“Th-Thank you…”

And receiving tea personally made by such a duke’s daughter made her even more unsure of what to say. Mari tried to calm her confused feelings and tilted the teacup in an awkward posture while watching Ariel.

‘Will it be okay?’

It might be redundant to say, but Mari has no connection with tea. She was born to farmers and has never left her village until now. There’s no way she could have had the luxury to appreciate the taste of tea.

‘It’s delicious!’

Her eyes widened without her realizing. The aroma felt even before it touched her lips and the warmth that spread the moment it entered her mouth. How can a single cup of tea give such a feeling? So this is why nobles enjoy tea!

She wanted to gulp it all down at once, but Mari didn’t rush. Ariel herself took only a sip before setting it down, and Mari instinctively realized that if she drank it all at once just because it was delicious, the happiness would be shorter.

“Tea alone might not be enough, so please have some cookies too.”

“What? When did you…”

“I brought them from home. I’ve put a preservation spell on them, so there should be no problem eating them.”

Brought from home? Snacks eaten in a ducal family, all the way here? Mari’s eyes lost their place to go. They just wandered aimlessly, looking at the innocent ceiling or walls.

“These are cookies I tried making for the first time… I’m not sure if they’ll suit your taste.”

“What? You made them yourself?!”

“Yes. It’s an amateurish attempt, but…”

No matter how you look at it, she’s quite unique for a duke’s daughter. Usually, I heard that a duke’s daughter could command dozens of people with just the flick of a finger from a high position, but she seems surprisingly accustomed to doing things herself.

‘They look well-baked.’

Since Mari often baked cookies as snacks at home, she could tell that what Ariel offered was by no means lacking in quality. Moreover, while Mari’s cookies were made with eggs laid by chickens raised at home, flour, and ingredients bought from occasional merchants, Ariel must have used plenty of high-quality ingredients, right?

With expectation and excitement, Mari carefully picked up a cookie and tasted it. Ariel was watching with a somewhat expectant look on her face.

‘Huh?’

The first emotion she felt was confusion. Why does this cookie taste like this? It’s not that it tastes bad. It’s just too unfamiliar.

The basic taste itself is that of a chocolate chip cookie. But there’s an inexplicable freshness to it. To feel freshness from chocolate, something seems odd.

Just in case, she took another bite. She still felt it. Is this what nobles eat? It’s quite a unique taste. But…

‘It might be pretty good?’

While it’s not exactly to her taste, it’s a flavor that could be eaten occasionally as a specialty. Mari concluded that about the taste of this mysterious cookie and finished eating all of the remaining ones.

“Eh?”

Somehow hearing a strange sound from across, she quickly turned her gaze to see Ariel with an indescribable expression.

“Wh-What’s wrong?”

“…No, it’s nothing.”

Why is she suddenly acting like that? Did I commit some faux pas? Perhaps nobles have to do something after eating cookies? Wondering about this, she asked again, but Ariel just answered that it was nothing with an unreadable expression.

She could see Ariel’s expression becoming even stranger as she ate everything, thinking it would be rude to leave what was offered.

‘Why on earth is she acting like that?’

Mari couldn’t understand.