episode_0043

Once again, I received a bunch of snacks today.

Suddenly, everyone started handing out snacks one by one.

I couldn’t find a reason to refuse, so I always had plenty to eat.

＂Seina, you should try this too!”

I handed a lemon bread to Seina, and she hesitantly accepted it.

Sitting in the garden chair, looking at the flowers, the lemon bread I bit into was delicious.

Soft bread with tangy lemon cream.

Not only was the taste excellent, but this small indulgence of filling my stomach with snacks instead of school meals felt enjoyable.

Back in reality, when I used to go to school.

I always wanted to try this.

Skipping the school meal with a friend and playing while eating bread.

I never expected to experience something I couldn’t do before, here where I have no friends and no money.

Seina also took a bite of the lemon bread following me.

She must have bitten into the side with more cream, as it smeared all over her mouth, so I reached out to wipe the cream off her lips.

Then, not wanting to waste it, yum.

The refreshing and sweet cream made her smile with satisfaction.

“…It’s dirty!”

Seina blushed and timidly protested, but it didn’t really bother me.

“Where’s the dirtiness？”

I knew she showered more than three times a day.

The cream was meant to be eaten, and Seina’s body was very clean.

There was nothing dirty about it.

“By the way… how are Prince and Sasha doing?”

“I hope they’re doing well…”

I hoped they were doing well.

I wanted Sasha to show people that she was close friends with Deron, so no one would dare harm her.

Lost in thought, I twisted my legs that didn’t touch the ground.

Me and Sasha.

Both of us had to be cautious as commoners.

Even if we faced unfairness, it was best to endure it.

I knew this fact well, and maybe what I was doing now could lead to a solution.

But, knowing it in my head and accepting it were quite uncomfortable.

If someone had touched me directly, I would have just smiled and let it go, but…

When a child, especially my friend, was treated unfairly, irritation surged within me.

“Ugh… it’s annoying.”

“Maybe it would be easier if I took care of it…?”

“Uh, no, it’s okay.”

I couldn’t quite figure out what Seina was thinking, but it didn’t seem like a peaceful solution was on her mind.

Despite Seina appearing timid in her words, I confirmed that her actions were anything but timid.

Rather than being timid, she was quite bold.

From knocking down fourth-year seniors in the Magic Research Department to feeling regretful for not being able to knock down a fifth-year, she surprisingly had a competitive spirit.

If I were to ask Seina to resolve this issue…

Based on the reactions I’ve seen so far, it didn’t seem like things would go smoothly, so I shook my head.

“By the way, Seina, is there any recent problem bothering you?”

“…A problem?”

“Just something on your mind?”

Since Deron was handling Sasha’s problem, I put that aside for now.

I was concerned about this side of things as well.

Seina, who was cast as the villainess in the novel, didn’t seem capable of being so cruel based on the descriptions in the novel.

Although her actions were a bit aggressive now, she didn’t show any signs of being bad.

That is to say, unless there was some catalyst, Seina’s deviation from her character was just a rumor.

In the novel, Seina wasn’t the final boss,

If we had to compare, she was more like a mid-boss, but having to deal with a noble who had turned malicious throughout her academy life.

Perhaps, realistically, she was a much more difficult opponent than the final boss.

This was something I had to be especially cautious about.

＂…Uh, I don’t have any particular concerns….”

“You haven’t developed any feelings for the prince yet？”

“…No, not at all! Why do you keep asking me that every time….”

“Just because you two look good together.”

Pretending to be innocent, I shrugged my shoulders with a forced smile.

If the two of them could get together, then even if Seina turned into a villainess, there would be no reason for her to be hostile towards me.

It was the best scenario.

But it seemed like it wasn’t the right time yet.

Since I didn’t know exactly when Seina would start to like Deron, it was inevitable that I would keep asking every time we met.

After all, this was ultimately related to my safety.

“…I actually think Liana and the prince look really good together….”

What did you say?

“…Me?”

“Yes….”

“…Why?”

Why, really.

“…Well, you’re very cute….”

Cute? Me? When?

“…And your personality is nice, and you’re pretty….”

Well, it’s nice to receive compliments, but if the direction of the compliment leads to ‘that’s why you go well with Deron,’ then it’s a problem.

“My personality is actually really bad, I can’t deny that I’m pretty, but I don’t have any aegyo! I’m even a commoner!”

I tried to deny as much as I could, Seina looked at me with a strange expression and then reached out her hand.

Thinking she might hit me, I closed my eyes tightly and hunched my body as much as possible.

A soft, gentle hand came up to my head and started stroking it, so I opened my eyes slightly and awkwardly smiled.

“The prince will meet someone with a better personality and a better family than me!”

Conscience-wise, there couldn’t be a prettier existence than the female lead, so I excluded that part.

“…See that over there?”

“…The flower?”

I nodded.

“The red flower over there is Seina, and next to it is a weed.”

“…Yes, yes….”

“That’s me.”

“In reality, being in a flower bed is not good, it’s not helpful, it has no value!”

Being in the academy is not good, I didn’t want to come, and apart from being pretty, there was nothing I could do, so it was true that I had no value.

“…Who says that?”

Uh, um.

If I say that I think so, they would probably reassure me and say it’s not true.

It would be more convincing to create someone who said such things and claim that it was said by someone else, so after thinking for a moment, I timidly spoke.

“…My father.”

What if it was said by my father.

Since he is not at the academy, there would be no way to verify it, and since it was said by family, it would feel genuine.

Although, I felt a slight pang of guilt for falsely accusing my father,

since he forced me to go to the academy in the first place.

Even if I were to force things a bit in return, I believed he would understand.

Family is supposed to support each other.

Hehe- I weakly smiled, satisfied that I had successfully conveyed my intentions.

“Because I’m like a useless weed with just a decent face! There’s no way I could fit in with the prince!”

“…Please don’t say that….”

“Ugh, everyone knows how useless my existence is anyway!”

I knew that I was really belittling myself right now.

But if I didn’t do this, Seina might misunderstand, so I had no choice.

“I can’t study, I have a bad personality, I’m not a noble, and I have no abilities!”

With a bright smile, Seina’s expression gradually turned sad with each word she spat out, until she gently pulled me into a hug.

For reasons unknown, I closed my eyes, feeling the warmth of Seina’s body temperature and the faint scent of roses.

I reached out and patted Seina’s back.

＂I, I will protect you… so please, don’t say such hurtful things…”

Protect？

Who is protecting whom?

As I pondered while being embraced by Seina, I couldn’t figure out why those words came out, so I just scratched my cheek awkwardly.

“My, my first friend… it hurts to hear those words…”

“…Oh, was that friend me?”

Seina was taken aback by my casual remark, pulling away from me with a shocked expression as she stared at me.

Unable to find words to say in response to her expression, I awkwardly scratched my cheek.

“…Fr-friend? We, we are?”

“…We are friends, but I thought we were closer than that.”

“Cl-close?”

“Pet?”

While Seina was indeed my friend, I didn’t think of her as a 100% friend.

It’s a bit complicated.

A friend and a pet.

That’s how I saw our relationship, and if I had to choose which one had a greater significance, I would say the latter.

“Pe-pet?”

“Pets don’t have abilities, they just need to be cute and dumb.”

That’s totally me.

Looking at the shocked Seina, I playfully gathered my hands in front of my chest and giggled, making a barking sound.

“Woof woof!”

Sticking out my tongue, I playfully barked.

Seina stared at me in bewilderment.

She then fed me the lemon bread she was eating.

“…Eugh!”

I almost gagged as she forcefully fed me, but it did taste good.

“…P-please eat this for now.”

It seemed like she was going to cover my mouth if I kept making strange noises.