episode_0079

“… … .”

“… … .”

After lunch, on the train back to the island.

An awkward silence descended on me in many ways.

No, to be honest, the train car itself was quiet.

When I went to the Kingdom of Belbourg in my role as the Emperor’s representative, my escort was of course on par with the Emperor’s, so the only people in the guest room I was in were Princess Alice, and Princes Jaden and Lucas. If you think of it as one room, it means that one fairly large guest room was used just for the four of us.

However, as an academy student, once you get on the train, you cannot receive any special treatment compared to other students.

Of course, the entire room was rented from the academy. Since the Noble Class A only had fifteen students, there were a lot of seats left over after renting an entire room. Even so, since it was just an ordinary first-class room, there were just a lot of empty seats, so it was ambiguous to walk around and do anything.

After finishing my meal and staying in my room as if I was running away from Lena Meyer, I headed straight to the train station as soon as it was time, and the person I encountered was Lena Meyer.

I think I arrived almost 40 minutes early, but Lena Meyer was already there earlier and waiting for me.

No, he may not have been waiting for me on purpose. He may have just come first and waited for the train because of his sincere personality.

When our eyes met, his expression was still expressionless.

chuck.

This time, it was a salute so sharp that a sound effect could be heard. Then, with a thud, the sound of heels hitting each other was heard again.

“… … You don’t have to salute me like that every time we meet. Since you’re in the academy, we’re just classmates. ”

“Okay.”

… … .

That stiff tone.

It doesn’t adapt.

It wasn’t the first time I had encountered a character with a blank expression. If it weren’t for this situation, Lottie, who hung out with Jake, would have been a blank maid character.

But… … how should I put it. The feeling is a bit different. Loti is someone who is awkward about expressing her emotions. It’s the same in the game, so she’s not the type to melt down or burst into laughter when you become close to her. So… … if you look at it strictly, her personality is similar to Charlotte’s. It’s just that she pursues safety a bit more than Charlotte and doesn’t want to cause trouble.

So, whenever Jake comes around, she reacts as if she’s annoyed or troubled. This is separate from the fact that she likes Jake.

There is no reason for people to be shocked when Roti laughs. It is not a reversal of character, it is just a natural expression that is shown when they become close.

On the other hand, in my case, I was playing a character with ‘repressed emotions’…

For some reason, Lena Mayer had a similar vibe to me. She had a blank expression, as if she was wearing a mask.

“… … .”

“… … .”

40 minutes before the train arrives. As a civilian train station, it is the northernmost train station in the empire, so the train arrives 30 minutes before departure and waits. Although Lena Mayer’s hometown, the autonomous state, is located further north, the area around the border is too unsafe for civilian trains to run.

“… … .”

“… … .”

The conversation doesn’t flow because two expressionless characters are standing face to face.

Will he feel as awkward towards me as I do?

“… … Is this your first time visiting the Empire?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

But when I spoke to him, he answered right away. And his attitude was strangely like that of a soldier. I guess I should say it felt like I was looking at a Grade A new recruit. Should I say he was very disciplined?

… … Although he wasn’t actually a soldier.

“The atmosphere will be different from the Likland Autonomous Region in many ways, is that okay?”

“Yes, I am very much looking forward to it.”

He doesn’t seem to be expecting much. His expression is expressionless so I can’t tell what he’s feeling.

… … Do the people around me feel this way when they see me?

Come to think of it, I once woke up at dawn and went out to do something to get ahead of Leo and Claire who were going to do a favor.

I came to carry out a request, but was waiting for me at the entrance with the requested corpse? Was this how the two people felt?

“… … .”

Well, I guess that wasn’t it.

Because Claire was so happy to see me every time. Even at dawn, Claire greeted me with a bright smile.

The person who felt uncomfortable was Leo.

… … Did I go too far?

While I was thinking about this and that, a train came into the station. Doreo and his group had not yet arrived at the station. In the game, if you clear the quest to meet Geomseong, an event was added where you would arrive right before the train departs.

And that meant that I had to wait on the train alone with Lena Meyer until the group arrived.

We weren’t the only students who had come and waited before the train arrived, but no one spoke to us. How many people would be able to talk to a princess who could kill people without hesitation and two expressionless students who had never been seen before?

Normally, I would feel comfortable with the fact that no one would talk to me, but right now, I really wish someone would talk to me.

While riding the train, I had hoped that Lena Meyer would sit a little bit away from me instead of right next to me… …

… … Such hopes were in vain.

As I sat down by the window, Lena Meyer confidently sat down in the front seat facing me.

“… … .”

“… … .”

And silence.

That doesn’t mean I can go somewhere else. No matter how expressionless you are, you still have emotions, and if I do something like that, you’ll get hurt.

If he had always sat alone and walked around, as time went by, you would have thought, ‘That’s just how he is,’ but I usually hung out with friends. Of course, I wasn’t the one leading the group.

If I were to sit here, Leona Claire, Alice, Charlotte, Mia Crowfield, and even Jake would all naturally gather around me.

But if you leave this child here and move to another seat and meet a friend and sit together… …

… … That feels a bit like ignoring something.

“… … .”

“… … .”

So I had no choice but to endure the awkwardness and sit there. Lena Mayer, although expressionless, seemed to express her feelings through her actions in her own way… … though I’m not sure.

Maybe I feel a sense of closeness with the first academy student I’ve ever talked to… … I’m not sure though.

I think I sat there in silence for 20 minutes.

As other students entered the train, it gradually became noisy. Well, even so, there were less than ten people.

If you think about it, the number of main characters in the group is more than a third of the class. … … In the original work, there was no description of anyone among the main characters being ostracized from the class, but thinking about it this way, they were the group with the largest number in the class.

Rather, they were people with so much power that they could do whatever they wanted to turn anyone away.

Now that I look at it, it was a really popular gathering.

After waiting for about 5 more minutes, I saw some children rushing into the train.

It was only in the morning that the children came down from their umbrellas and rode back in the car with Jennifer.

If I think about it, Jennifer, who was a teacher, was with us, so even if we arrived a little late and missed the train, wouldn’t we have been able to return to the Academy anyway? Since they are the kind of people who absolutely have to keep their promises, they might have tried to make it on time somehow.

“Sister!… … Huh?”

Claire, who was greeting me warmly and coming towards my seat, was a little taken aback when she saw Lena Meyer sitting in front of me.

As soon as she saw Claire, Lena Meyer jumped up from her seat. Without even mentioning my introduction, Imina gave a perfect military salute that I had seen her do twice before, and Lena Meyer said,

“My name is Lena Mayer. Greetings to the princess.”

“… … Huh?”

Claire muttered absentmindedly once again.

I resisted the urge to wipe my face with my hands.

……I’m embarrassed.

Even I, who am not a party to this, find it embarrassing to see this.

It seems that Lena Mayer mistook Claire, who called me ‘sister’, for another princess.

… … Ah, right.

Even among the imperial nobles, they knew that I was not a single drop of Pangriphon blood, but in a small country with relatively poor information, it was impossible for them to know. Even so, the empire never officially announced that I was an ‘adopted child’. The nobles would have kept quiet when meeting outsiders.

If it were an autonomous country, it would have been overwhelmed with resolving domestic issues, so even if it were a country right next door, it would not have had the capacity to investigate the history of the royal family in detail.

“… … .”

The atmosphere inside the train froze for a while, leaving Lena doing a wonderful military salute.