episode_0025

It didn’t take long to decorate the club room.

After all, it was a small space.

But it was still quite tiring.

I grumbled to Deron and returned to the dormitory almost leaning on him.

“Thank you for today!”

We used 950,000 leafs for a large-sized bed.

And since Deron bore all the expenses, I straightened up and bowed my head to thank him.

He had taken care of the most expensive part of decorating the club room.

Even though it was a form of compensation, I felt the need to repay him later.

“I’ll definitely repay you later!”

“…You don’t have to. It was just a form of compensation.”

“That’s one thing, but this is another. You don’t have to be so stiff about it.”

With a sweet smile, I gently scolded him on his bad habit of getting violent too easily.

He was a violent little guy, but not a bad one.

But still.

“It’s better to control your violence! Women don’t like men who raise their hands at the drop of a hat, you know?”

It’s something that everyone dislikes, not just women.

I let out a sharp remark, as it was a habit that needed to be fixed from a young age. Deron nodded without much enthusiasm.

“…Okay.”

“Anyway, thank you for giving me a ride today!”

“…Today?”

Astel, who was following us, muttered something strangely, but I ignored it as it seemed like an insignificant comment.

As we entered the dormitory, Shasha spotted me and came up to me, pinching my cheeks.

“…It’s fine to touch, but shouldn’t you start with a greeting first, Shasha?”

There’s a princess behind me with the illustrious title of Star’s Child.

Strangely, these guys show more interest in me than the princess.

It’s not a bad thing, but it’s uncomfortable as my status is what it is.

I hugged Shasha and turned to Astel.

“…Uh.”

“Hello.”

What’s with the ‘hello’?

“This is my friend, Shasha.”

“…Interesting color.”

“And this, as you know, is Princess Astel.”

“…Uh, uh, hello….”

I chuckled as I looked at the trembling Shasha.

I knew that he seemed very timid at first, but once he got a little closer, he was a person without any reservations.

“No need to be scared.”

“Yes, I’m sorry….”

But if I leave them like this, the atmosphere might get awkward.

So, I intervened between the two.

“Just ignore him, he’s just putting on airs.”

“…Putting on airs!”

“You get along really well with the prince.”

He was really good at teasing me.

When I stared at him, Shasha avoided my gaze.

He must feel guilty.

After a sigh, I turned around to introduce the other person.

“And the princess is using translation magic, so sometimes it sounds strange, but it’s not meant to be offensive.”

Magic in this world is synonymous with miracles, but the translation magic I witnessed Astel using was only applied to listening and speaking, and there were difficulties in writing and reading.

It wasn’t perfect.

“…Yeah.”

“…Hmm.”

They glanced at each other for a moment and then started staring at me intently.

“Something seems to be bothering them.”

They’re both 10 years old, just like me, but there’s a difference of at least a hand span in height, so I looked up at them, and they didn’t like looking down at me.

“…I’ll grow taller too.”

“Being small is charming, Shasha.”

“Don’t speak ill of others’ height, Shasha.”

I reluctantly raised my heels and looked up.

Now the eye contact felt a bit more equal.

But still, what hurt was,

Dropping my head in deference to the adult, even though I raised my heels, I was still smaller because of it.

“Why are you so tall…?”

“It’s not that we’re tall, it’s that the Chief is small.”

There’s no need to reiterate a fact I already know in such a stiff tone.

In the novel, it was described as ‘petite,’ so I can acknowledge that I’m small in stature.

But as I mentioned before, it’s not just about being small, it’s a big issue being ‘the smallest’ within the academy.

Feeling dejected, Shasha started babbling beside me.

“…It’s, it’s okay! Lia is cute, so being short might actually be charming!”

Rather than trying to cheer me up, she just poked me with her finger, meaning I should just take it and flinched.

Then, a box at the edge of my vision caught my eye.

A fruit box distributed to students to eat.

The fruits were all taken out in the morning, leaving an empty box.

Instead of throwing away the empty box, it was placed in a corner.

I ran over, picked up the wooden box, set it on the floor, and stood on top of it.

The fruit must have been high-quality because it was quite sturdy.

“…Now my perspective is right.”

Yes, as an adult, I should be looking down on the kids, not the other way around.

“Hehe….”

With my arms crossed and a smug expression, Shasha poked my waist with her finger.

“Eek!”

I twisted my body, feeling like I was going to fall, and closed my eyes tightly, but the expected pain didn’t come, so I opened my eyes quietly.

“Be careful.”

“…Uh.”

Astel hugged me.

In a princess-carry pose.

Embarrassed, I blushed and bowed my head.

This is something I should be doing, not receiving.

“…Thank you. But, please put me down for now.”

“Yes.”

I was lowered to the ground, and I glared at Shasha.

“…Shasha.”

“…I’m, I’m sorry….”

Looking at Shasha, who seemed genuinely sorry, I sighed.

Well, she probably didn’t mean anything by it.

“It’s okay, I’m not hurt, and falling over wouldn’t have caused much harm anyway.”

When considering just the intensity of pain, falling over on the wooden box would have hurt much more than being hit by Delon.

“…Be careful.”

“I will.”

Despite being mature, the kids lacked caution and had short attention spans.

That’s why they need to grow, and that’s why they gather here to learn.

I reached out and patted Shasha.

It could happen.

The important thing is whether it will be repeated or not.

Knowing Shasha’s personality, I didn’t say anything and moved on.

“By the way, how was the club activity today?”

I changed the subject a bit.

I didn’t want to blame the young ones.

As I casually asked the question, Shasha looked up at me and timidly replied.

“…It was quiet.”

“Quiet?”

“…And it was scary.”

“Scary?”

Was she being bullied?

Looking a bit serious, Shasha let out a sigh that didn’t quite match the heavy atmosphere.

“…The library, it was scary… They told me to be quiet even if I coughed once, and they hit my shoulders with bamboo-like things?”

“Was it only Shasha?”

If it was only Shasha, it would be clear discrimination against commoners, but Shasha shook her head, indicating it was different for everyone.

“No, even the Viscount and the Duke were treated the same way.”

“Oh, I see.”

If they treated a noble like that, the Chief must be at least a Marquis or higher.

“Is, is the Chief a commoner too?”

“He’s a commoner….”

He’s insane.

Seriously, that guy is insane.

While it may seem like a place of equality on the surface at the Academy, behaving like that could become very dangerous as graduation approaches.

I wonder if it’s okay.

Regardless of what happens, there’s no doubt that he’s completely lost his mind.

“Anyway, the Reading Club was really just a place for reading… They said they wouldn’t bother us as long as we kept quiet.”

Shasha looked distressed.

Perhaps it was because the club activities were so different from what Shasha had in mind.

Something was definitely off, so I reached out and placed Shasha’s hand on my cheek.

“You can touch it.”

I liked having my cheek touched.

It was a form of comfort.

“Thank you….”

As Shasha continued to touch my cheek without hesitation, I noticed Seina entering the dormitory with dirt and dust on her.

“Seina! What happened?”

If a noble lady, especially a high-ranking one, looked like this, there must be some reason for it, and I worried that it might be due to harassment this time.

Could it be that her personality will completely change in two years because of this incident?

Now that I look closely, there seems to be blood stains on her clothes.

“Is it blood?”

“Oh, this, it’s not my blood, so it’s okay….”

“Excuse me?”

I think I heard something strange just now. Is that right?

Blinking my eyes, I listened to Seina’s following words.

“The club test for the Magic Research Club was to fight and win against the existing club members….”

“I see…”

“So I fought….”

Is that so.

In that case, what matters most in a fight is the outcome?

“…Did you win?”

“Y-yes.”

“Easily?”

“As long as I won.”

If a fight broke out, the outcome is more important than the reason for the fight.

I reached out and brushed off the dust on Seina.

“Would you like to celebrate passing the club with a drink?”

We don’t have alcohol, but we have some drinks prepared.

I smiled brightly.

It seemed like everyone had a lot going on today.

They looked tired and worn out.

In that case, the best way to relax is to drink to relieve fatigue.

“Come on! Let’s have a drink!”

I brought out the drinks from the room, poured them each a glass, and we all drank in one go.

It felt like the fatigue was melting away.