Chapter 11

After finishing the mock battle practice and taking a shower, I returned to the podium which transforms into a park every lunch hour.

As I sat down on a mat spread out neatly under the shade of the trees planted sporadically along the edge of the grass, I soon noticed a girl with cherry blossom-pink twin tails rushing over from the female dormitory.

“Hey—♡”

Joining me in the shade, Rusika leaned down and playfully tapped my head.

“Ahaha♡ Were you waiting like a good pup? Such a good girl♡”

“Don’t girls take long showers? What’s with the speedy arrival?”

“Hehe, lunch breaks are short after all♡”

“You could’ve taken your time. You did wash up properly, right?”

Looking up at her with a playful suspicious gaze, Rusika grinned and knelt beside me.

“If you’re curious, why not sniff me yourself?”

As she said that, she lifted one arm and shoved it close to my face.

“Ugh.”

“Ahahaha♡ How does it smell, how does it smell? Take a deep breath, you pervert♡”

“I apologize for my errors.”

“You came here before me and you’re the one smelling worse, aren’t ya? Disgusting♡”

With her arm around my neck, she pressed her nose against my nape this time.

“Get away!”

“Hmm, hmm, agh♡ Smells like sweat♡ So annoying♡”

“Then stop smelling me!”

It was truly diabolical bullying to come close just to sniff and mock someone else’s scent.

“Erto must have a rough shower too♡”

“Sit down already, you little rascal.”

“Hehehe♡”

As I pushed her cherry blossom-colored hair away with a finger, Rusika finally took her shoes off and hopped onto the mat.

“I came as you asked, just my body♡”

“Okay, okay, I was pretty active today, so I’m starving. Let’s eat quickly.”

Stretching out the lunch I had prepared between us, Rusika’s pink eyes sparkled as she scanned each dish.

“Hee—? For such a shabby lunch, it’s pretty decent♡”

“It’s nothing too special; I just made what I usually eat.”

After setting everything up, I passed Rusika the chopsticks, and we both lifted our bowls.

“Well then, let’s dig in♡”

“Eat well. Also, Rusika, we’ve known each other for a while, so I’m sorry I haven’t taken better care of you.”

“Forget it♡ Just enjoy your pretty romance with Tirisia♡”

Rusika happily savored the taste, shoveling food into her mouth one dish at a time.

“Mmm, mahihur—♡”

“What’s with the compliments all of a sudden?”

“If you mess with food, you won’t be able to use it♡ Rusika is a good girl♡”

“You can’t just ignore what I said there.”

Though I made a teasing remark, Rusika munched away, pretending not to hear.

“So you used to do this for Tirisia every day?”

“To be honest, their meals at home are much fancier… but they just eat without complaints.”

“Ahaha♡ Makes sense. Sure, I’ve made some effort, but if you want to be with Tirisia, that kind of dedication is natural. You know that, right?”

“Not that again. I’m getting tired of hearing it.”

Rusika waved her chopsticks like a conductors baton, launching into a speech.

“The only daughter of a grand noble family, ranked first in the Academy, and perfectly beautiful—a multi-talented beauty like Tirisia dating an ordinary guy like Erto is just unfathomable♡ So always be grateful and devoted, got it?”

“Yeah, yeah…”

She’d been drumming that into me since I started dating Tirisia a year ago.

That I should feel honored to be dating someone like Tirisia.

And that I should always make an effort to repay her heart.

Not that I completely disagreed, so I just continued to nod along.

Rusika had been a childhood friend, watching us for so long; she knew us too well.

Normally, such words would be easy to brush off.

But hearing them again now stirred something bittersweet and complicated within me.

Because those… those words felt all too real.

Unaware of my inner turmoil, Rusika gleefully placed a hand on her heart and exclaimed,

“I, Rusika, will sincerely support you two, so don’t disappoint me and be happy!”

“…Haha.”

“Well, after all, it’s not like the perfect superhuman Tirisia would ever mess up, so all our ordinary self has to do is behave, right?”

Though completely wrong in this situation, I couldn’t even discuss timing with Tirisia yet and had no way to clarify our relationship, so I just laughed it off.

“I’ll try.”

“Get anxious! Erto, you’re nice, but how can I say this… your charm as a man? You lack assertiveness? That sort of thing.”

“Re-really?”

Since it was just the two of us dining, she was particularly lengthy with her nagging today.

“Of course, it’s great to be nice and kind, but… women sometimes want a strong man who can take charge and lead them roughly. Our ordinary guy lacks that part♡”

“Oh… that’s some helpful advice.”

“Don’t be too soft, or who knows? You might lose Tirisia to a handsome and capable guy from another noble family?”

“Hey, hey, what do you mean by that?”

“Hehe♡ That was a bit too harsh, huh? Cancel that♡”

A sudden sharp comment caused cold sweat to trickle down my back.

This girl, is she digging a wound and sprinkling salt on it?

Of course, Rusika didn’t know the full story, so it wasn’t intentional, but all of her comments hit way too close to home and made me laugh sarcastically.

I paused my chopsticks and looked at Rusika, asking,

“What exactly is this strong man you’re talking about? Can you enlighten me?”

Her pink eyes gleamed mischievously as she recalled some devilish joke.

“Hmmm? If I just tell you, it’d be boring♡”

“What, are you going to make a deal?”

“Just think for yourself♡ If you feel like it, you’re welcome to show me directly as practice♡”

“Ah—really?”

I leaned forward immediately and grabbed Rusika’s wrist, pulling her closer.

“Like this?”

“Eh…?”

As I pushed her delicate body away with my other hand, her back hit a tree with a thump.

“Ah…”

Her playful expression froze as if doused with cold water and,

“Hey.”

With my low murmur, Rusika’s pink eyes widened in surprise.

Confusion, fear, chaos. Looking down at her mixed expressions, I said:

“Shut up and just eat your food.”

With a huff, I leaned in close to her ear—

“Or should I just shut that mouth of yours right now?”

I dropped a line I’d heard somewhere before as my closing remark.

And after saying it, I realized, wait, this isn’t strong at all; just makes me seem like a buttery, gooey dork.

“…”

Checking her reaction, I lifted my head only to see

“……”

Rusika was just staring at me blankly, her mouth hanging open like a fool.

“Hey.”

“Ah.”

I gave her shoulder a light tap, and coming to her senses, Rusika pulled away and forced a laugh.

“W-What the heck! You scared me! I’m n-not a pervert! It’s gross♡”

“…So that wasn’t it, huh. Well, forget about it.”

Seeing her with no compliments to offer, it was clear that my performance failed to meet her standards for a strong man.

Returning to my spot, I resumed my meal without another word.

“……”

“……”

Huh?

Feeling an unusual silence, I noticed that Rusika had also shut her mouth, staring blankly at the ground while having her meal.

“Hey, why are we suddenly quiet?”

“…”

“Hey—Rafisla?”

Waving my chopsticks in front of her face, her pink eyes glanced at me briefly.

“W-Well, just eat your food…”

“What?”

“You said you’d shut my mouth…”

“…”

After squeezing my brow for a moment, I turned to her with a bright smile.

“Wanna take that chance?”

What a tiring lunch break it was.

*

After class,

“Hmph, I had a great meal today, you slob♡”

“Yeah, see you tomorrow.”

“By the way, I have something else planned for tomorrow♡ So make sure to feed your lunch to someone else♡”

“I was already planning on it. I want to treat some acquaintances to a meal.”

“Don’t show your strong side to anyone else♡ Got it?”

“Are you serious?!”

“Hehe♡ Then see ya~♡”

With that, I bid farewell to Rusika, who had returned to her usual energy, and walked down the hallway to find Tirisia’s classroom, ready to head home together.

The Academy allows students to choose their subjects, and since everyone has different schedules, the concept of being in the same class is non-existent.

“Let’s see… today’s last lecture for Tirisia is…”

As I checked the day and compared it to Tirisia’s schedule in my head, I was searching for her classroom when—

Goooonnnng

“Huh?”

A strange sound echoed from somewhere.

…Togooooong

The eerie, sinister, and deep echo was like a lament from a dark well.

Turning around to find the source of the sound, I spotted

“Erto Gooong…”

A tall girl dressed in black was shyly waving her hand from the far corner’s shadows.

Despite being overwhelming in size, her presence felt strangely tiny.

I squinted at her hidden eyes tucked away in her bangs and greeted her.

“What are you doing all the way over there, Haidiera?”

The girl with her messy black hair smiled faintly, as if proud of her own actions, and whispered in a barely audible voice.

“I-I was wondering if you’d be surprised if I greeted you from up close…”

Why does she skip the middle ground?

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