Is It Easier If You Give Up? (1)

It goes without saying, but Mari’s action required considerable courage. To Mari, Ariel was like an idol she aspired to be. Just being able to have a normal conversation was joyful, but to suddenly ask to be called casually was, from her perspective, quite a brazen request in many ways.

‘Will she dislike it?’

Mari was well aware of her position. Even though she possessed light-attribute magic, she was ultimately just an ordinary country girl without any lineage. Although she was trying to live proudly without caring about others’ gazes, this was a separate matter.

Unless Mari was going to live completely alone in a remote place, there were rules to be followed among people. And those rules included the class system.

Having been born knowing the class system from childhood, Mari didn’t feel any strangeness about this fact. She was just a commoner, and it was natural for her to bow her head to nobles. It was only because there was a saying that everyone was equal inside the academy that she could attend like this.

‘But it’s not like that outside.’

This was Mari’s hidden weakness that she hadn’t told anyone. It was okay inside the academy. After all, everyone was just a student. Thinking like that, she could bow her head to others but not bend her heart, and could easily brush off the occasional malicious nitpicking.

But after graduating from the academy? She would return to being a commoner, and Ariel would return to being a duke’s daughter. If she thought this way, how much more so would Ariel? As a duke’s daughter, she would probably be even stricter about social status.

Ariel is certainly a kind and good-hearted person. She treats everyone equally without showing any dislike, whether they approach her or not. It doesn’t matter if they’re the child of a high noble family or a commoner with nothing. To her, they are all the same people.

However, there’s a public stance. No matter what Ariel’s true feelings are, considering her status, there’s a limit to how well she can get along with commoners. And Mari’s question had clearly crossed that line.

She had appealed to go beyond just being academy classmates, beyond just being roommates, to something more.

Even Mari herself thought she had severely crossed the line. It wouldn’t be strange at all if Ariel got angry.

‘But I was finally encouraged. I don’t want to lie to my heart.’

Ironically, what gave Mari courage was none other than Ariel’s words. The words that one should be honest with oneself if no one else. Hearing those words, Mari felt the things that had been suppressing her disappear one by one. And the strongest among those feelings was the desire to get closer to Ariel.

Mari decided to be a bit more greedy, just for this moment. Because she wanted to get a little closer to the light she admired. And above all, because she wanted to become friends with Ariel, beyond just idolizing her.

Mari had clearly conveyed her feelings. Then, what was Ariel’s reaction to hearing this?

“I, well…”

Ariel was visibly shaken. Was her words too sudden? She was so confused that it was hard to believe it was her usual self.

‘Why is she acting like that…?’

All of her expected reactions had missed the mark. She thought Ariel would get angry, be dumbfounded, or in an extremely unlikely case, nod indifferently. But Ariel chose none of those, instead showing agitation.

‘Why?’

Whether viewed lightly or heavily, there shouldn’t have been any reaction other than what she had thought. Was there any reason to be so surprised?

“My Lady?”

“Yes, I understand. Mari.”

“W-what?!”

Mari couldn’t immediately distinguish if what she was hearing was real or not. They say that when people are too happy, they ignore reality and interpret things as they like. Could it be that? Just in case, she decided to ask again.

“Is it really okay?”

“Of course, Mari.”

It wasn’t a dream. This was reality, not a dream. Mari had to try especially hard to calm her twitching lips.

But Mari’s trial(?) didn’t end there.

“And if it’s alright.”

“Yes?”

“Would you call me Ariel from now on?”

“Whaaaat?!”

What did she just hear? Call Ariel by her name? Does that make any sense? Unable to contain the sudden happiness, Mari ended up pinching her cheek.

“Ouch!”

She only felt a stinging pain. This wasn’t a dream. It was clearly reality. Although Mari had denied reality twice in a short time, her instinct to not miss this opportunity moved first.

“A-Ariel!”

She called out with her eyes tightly shut, wondering if something might come flying. Even if she got hit here, she would have no regrets. Even if she was cursed at for actually doing it when told to, or called a shameless girl, it didn’t matter. Although it was an impulsive act, she had no regrets.

“Yes, Mari.”

But what came back was not that, but a warm word. Like spring coming to frozen ground, a warm feeling enveloped Mari.

‘Is it okay to be this happy?’

Mari thought without realizing it.

As dreamlike time passed, Mari was still struggling to accept reality. But Ariel spent her day as usual, regardless of Mari’s state. It was fortunate that it was still the weekend; if this had happened on a school day, Mari would have been so confused that she couldn’t properly attend a single class.

Ariel wandered around the room, exuding an unusually languid atmosphere. She cleaned the already clean room, put all slightly disorganized items back in their place, made tea and drank it…

In fact, if Mari had been in her right mind, she would have been more than horrified. What? A duke’s daughter doing cleaning herself? This kind of work could be done by calling the maids stationed in the dormitory. They would do at least that much work no matter what.

Of course, some people do it themselves or neglect it because it’s troublesome, as they have circumstances where others shouldn’t touch their room. But how often would a noble, let alone a duke’s daughter, move around and clean herself?

Probably, it could be asserted that no one in the empire would do so. If Mari had been in her right mind, she could have been certain of this.

But whether fortunately or unfortunately, Mari was still dazed lying in her room, and thanks to that(?), Ariel was able to finish her work without any interruption.

“Ah, the time…”

Mari, who had been lying blankly on the bed, checked the time and suddenly got up. It was already almost lunchtime. The student cafeteria in the dormitory is open from morning to evening on weekdays, but on rest days like this, it closes no matter what. Therefore, on weekends, students either go out to eat, request from the servants, or cook for themselves.

In Mari’s case, she was naturally in the camp of cooking for herself. However, in Ariel’s case, she always ate out, saying she had to maintain her dignity, and whenever she did so, she would ask Mari’s opinion and buy her share too.

The meals Ariel bought often had many unique menus, such as being a bit spicy or having a distinctive aroma, and whenever she saw Mari eating them deliciously, Ariel’s expression would change strangely. She didn’t know why though.

‘She probably hasn’t fully recovered from the alcohol yet?’

Seeing that Ariel was at home but hadn’t asked her anything yet, it was clear that yesterday’s fatigue hadn’t fully dissipated. Although she drank honey water earlier, seeing how drunk she came back, that alone was clearly not enough.

The smell of alcohol wasn’t too strong. But while the usual Ariel maintained an expressionless and calm appearance, yesterday she was excessively passionate. How much alcohol does one have to drink for a person to change like that? For Mari, who had never drunk alcohol before, it was a moment that made her fear alcohol in many ways.

But Mari’s shocking day wasn’t over yet. Mari, who came out to ask Ariel about lunch plans, smelled something that stimulated her appetite.

‘What’s this?’

A delicious smell flowing from the kitchen. Had Ariel ordered a servant to cook in the meantime? That alone would be something to be grateful for. Thinking this, Mari…

Stopped in her tracks when she saw Ariel wearing an apron and tasting the food in the kitchen.

Perhaps feeling her gaze, Ariel slowly turned her head. Her appearance, which Mari had only thought of as noble, surprisingly suited the apron look quite well. However, due to her unique atmosphere, it didn’t feel like she was a commoner at all, and even wearing an apron, she exuded dignity.

The first thing such an Ariel said when her eyes met Mari’s was,

“Ah, Mari. I’m about to have lunch, would you like to join me if that’s okay?”

Mari finally stopped thinking.