episode_0040

It was strangely not unpleasant to have my head patted after a long time.

Anyway, after finishing the conversation, let’s come to a conclusion.

Shasha and Deron, Seina and me.

We decided to spend the day in pairs.

Deron deliberately took Shasha to a place far away from us, and Seina noticed his intentions.

＂…Why, why？”

Seina seemed to realize that I was trying to figure her out, and she stuttered in confusion, but instead of answering, I thought carefully.

I suggested it, but is it really okay?

I know that Seina is not as bad as I think.

But it doesn’t hurt to be cautious.

“Are you okay?”

“W-what do you mean?”

“Being with the prince and Shasha.”

“I’m a little worried about Shasha, but… it’s okay.”

I stared at Seina and scratched my cheek.

Not yet.

I don’t believe everything that happens in novels, but there is usually a main plotline.

So, if Seina falls in love with Deron, it will be one of the main plotlines, and she will eventually harbor feelings for him.

It didn’t seem like that was happening now.

“If you ever fall in love with the prince, let me know. I’ll support you from behind!”

“T-there’s no way that will happen…!”

Blushing and lowering her head, Seina pretended to hit my arm.

She probably thought I was teasing her.

But I was sincere.

It’s best if Seina doesn’t become a villainess, but if she does, it’s wise to prepare for that eventuality.

I don’t want to fight against a villainess Seina, and I have no reason to.

I won’t rush towards the worst possible outcome like in a novel, but still, from the perspective of someone who has read the novel.

I shivered at the thought of what Seina might do if she becomes a villainess.

“W-what about you, Lea?”

“…Yes?”

Suddenly not understanding what she meant, I tilted my head, and Seina, gathering her courage, swallowed and spoke a little louder.

“…D-do you not like the prince? A-are you okay!”

What’s this, a trap?

If I make a mistake here, she won’t suddenly change her mind.

Despite Seina’s attack, I didn’t think she had any ulterior motives, so I answered honestly.

“I do like the prince, but only as a friend… there’s no deeper meaning to it!”

I don’t want to be involved in the relationship between the male lead and the female lead.

There’s no reason to dislike Deron himself.

He has a good personality, comes from a good family, and is handsome. Why would anyone dislike him?

If the relationship doesn’t progress beyond friendship, then that’s the best kind of friendship.

“Really…?”

“…Yes.”

If the relationship tries to progress beyond friendship, I plan to run away just like I originally intended.

Where to?

I don’t know.

But it’s better to run away anywhere than to let the relationship progress beyond friendship.

“…It’s strange…”

There’s nothing strange about it.

I swung my legs that didn’t touch the ground and cleared my throat.

Since there’s nothing good that can come from continuing this topic, I casually changed the subject.

“Are you enjoying club activities?”

“…I easily defeated them until the 4th year… but it was tough from the 5th year…”

Wait, I asked if club activities were okay, and what kind of answer is that?

“…Defeated them?”

“They said fighting with seniors is a tradition in the Magic Research Club…”

Seina explained about the Magic Research Club in a small voice, and that was the gist of it.

In the unique tradition of the Magic Research Department, the seniors now take it upon themselves to personally make the new freshmen experience defeat.

Occasionally, there were cases where seniors, who were a year apart from the new students, ended up being defeated in return due to the exceptional skills of the freshmen.

In those cases, a senior of higher rank than the defeated one would step in, and the cycle would continue until the newcomer was defeated.

And in the midst of such a tradition in the Magic Research Department, Seina achieved victory against a fourth-year student.

＂Seina-nim, you’re really amazing!”

“Hehehe….”

Scratching the back of her head and chuckling softly, she looked adorable.

“Seina-nim, are you the best in history？”

“Well, not really. There was someone three years ago… I’m second place…”

Trailing off with a hint of regret, it seemed like she had some ambition in this regard.

“I heard that you were a disciple of Matapju-nim… and that you defeated everyone up to the sixth year and then voluntarily withdrew from the Magic Research Department because there was nothing left to learn…”

“Umm….”

Defeating all the seniors right after joining and then leaving because there was nothing left to learn. It was an action that could be perceived differently depending on who was watching.

Some might find it impressive, while others might see it as disrespectful.

I was somewhere in the middle of those opinions. But if I had to choose, I was probably closer to the latter.

Having confidence is great, but it’s hard to appreciate it when it comes at the expense of others.

I lightly clicked my tongue.

Why are the sub male leads all like this?

Fran and Matapju’s disciple are the same.

From the start, I didn’t expect the sub male leads to have decent personalities, considering that they approach the female lead out of curiosity about Deron’s love.

If only they were at least half like Deron.

Arrogant people just like to act however they please, so I guess I have to accept it as inevitable.

If we were to nitpick, it wasn’t that the sub male leads were strange, but rather that Deron, who played with me, was the odd one.

“…Which department did that person join?”

It would be nice to know so I could avoid that area.

Unfortunately, Seina seemed to not know that much as she shook her head.

It’s not the sub male leads who go to the female lead, but rather the sub male lead characters who come to the female lead.

Their daily activities, where they live, or even what group they belong to were lacking in basic information, so I sighed and, in response to my sigh, Seina threw out some vague information while glancing around.

“I heard that he likes books, so maybe he went in that direction…”

“…Books?”

Hmm, suddenly feeling a strong sense of discomfort.

The moment you bring up the word ‘maybe,’ the discomfort materializes and appears.

I decided to keep my mouth shut.

A commoner who goes around hitting nobles….

Positioned in the position of a chief in charge, and the number of subordinates is not small either.

As Shasha said, if they looked down on commoners and did such things, it would be natural for them to stand up to the chief, but instead of showing that, they quietly accepted it….

The more I thought about it, the closer I got to the right answer, so I raised my head.

No matter how much, I tried to be in such an obvious place.

I shook off unnecessary thoughts and cheerfully exclaimed.

“Anyway, today we’re playing together. Seina-nim!”

“Yes, yes!”

Since Shasha and Deron would be together today.

Today, it’s just us playing together.

I gently embraced Seina and nuzzled her face.

The faint scent of roses and the warm body temperature of a child had a comforting effect on people.

Sniffle-

“Hehe, heehee-”

Seina jumped in surprise, but the more she did, the stronger the grip of my hand became.

Seina tried to escape, but the more she resisted, the deeper the joke embraced her.

＂…What’s going on there？ Sit properly now that the class has started.”

Professor Mosan, who seemed to be looking down on everyone, made a pathetic expression.

Laughter could be heard from all around in response to Professor Mosan’s comment.

Feeling embarrassed for no reason, both Seina and I quickly adjusted our seats, blushing and bowing our heads.

“It’s because of Lady Ria.”

“…It’s my fault…”

Being an adult who knew how to apologize, I apologized.

And so, the class began, with Professor Mosan sighing habitually every time he looked at me.

Although Professor Mosan kindly pointed out what to take notes on, I had no idea what he was talking about, so I just drew pictures in my notebook.

I concentrated and stuck out my tongue slightly.

“Lady Ria, what are you doing…?”

“I’m drawing.”

Listening was not a problem, but taking notes was still difficult.

But I had to pretend to take notes, so I drew pictures.

After all, the oldest form of writing for humans is drawing.

Maybe I wasn’t just pretending to take notes, maybe I was actually taking notes.

“…You have a unique drawing style.”

“…It’s okay to just say I can’t draw.”

I pursed my lips.

I know I can’t draw.

But saying it like that would hurt my feelings.

“I can hear all the chattering over there…”

I glanced at Seina in response to Professor Mosan’s comment.

“This is Seina’s fault…”

“…I’m sorry…”

Although Professor Mosan had made a promise not to give us demerits, it didn’t mean he couldn’t see what was going on.

Puffing out my cheeks to show my dissatisfaction, I noticed Deron and Shasha, sitting on the other side of the room, blushing.

It’s embarrassing to have them as friends.

They seem like bad influences.