“Today was really amazing. The rhythm and pitch were perfect, and the emotion matched the lyrics… I can’t believe she’s only 11 years old.”
Helena had joined the band late, completely unaware of the situation, and despite having absolutely no time to practice, she was quickly blending in with the band day by day.
Moreover, even with the distinct personalities of the children in the band, there was not a single instance of discord among the members.
No, one might say there was nothing to fight about.
Helena’s voice had such a deep capacity for acceptance that it could harmonize effortlessly regardless of the individuality of the other members.
This alone made her voice exceptional.
Emma, despite being a music teacher, felt a sense of guilt for noticing the child’s talent so late.
Helena was truly a gem.
No, perhaps she was already a shining jewel.
However, despite receiving such praise, Helena’s reaction was completely indifferent.
“Um… thank you for the compliment. But I wish you would just get to the point quickly. Shirud is waiting.”
“Ah? Hahaha, I see. Okay, I understand. I’m sorry, teacher. Then I’ll get to the point quickly.”
With a slightly awkward smile at Helena’s blunt tone, Emma asked, “Do you really not think about becoming a singer?”
“A singer?”
Helena’s eyes widened as if she had heard something strange.
She had merely taken on the role of vocalist by chance, and suddenly being called a singer seemed utterly ridiculous.
Of course, she was somewhat aware that she sang quite well…
Helena looked up, thinking that perhaps this was just a common compliment.
But the expression and voice of Emma, as she examined her, were far too serious.
It was clearly the look and expression of someone sincerely advising about the future.
And only after receiving a piece of paper from Emma did Helena realize it was definitely not just empty words or a joke.
——–
Thus, Helena’s consultation ended quickly as scheduled.
In fact, it was closer to a simple conversation than a proper consultation.
Since it was a hurried discussion, there weren’t many prepared talking points.
However, that brief conversation lodged deeply within Helena’s heart as a concern.
An audition.
Helena thought as she looked down at the advertisement Emma had handed her.
‘An audition…’
The printed stage scene of someone on the flyer caught Helena’s eye.
Although preparing for a performance with her seniors had been somewhat tough, it was enjoyable, and when she sang on stage, she felt undeniably free. The sense of achievement felt after finishing the performance was exhilarating.
All those sensations seemed to tell her that this was her destiny.
However, Helena had a predetermined path.
There was a certain future of inheriting and managing the company run by her father, with success guaranteed.
Her father would never allow her to kick that future aside to pursue singing.
Moreover, there was no assurance that she would succeed in singing at all.
Rationally speaking, there was no reason at least for Helena to abandon a guaranteed success for an uncertain one.
Helena preferred to shy away from paths that did not have assured guarantees.
She was a perfectionist like Luke.
The difference between Luke and Helena was that Luke understood his abilities and potential extremely well, while Helena lacked confidence in her own.
So, Helena did not have the courage to throw herself into something she wanted without considering the chances of success.
“Well, I can always sing as a hobby in my spare time even if I don’t become a singer.”
So, for Helena, this seemed like the best option.
Yes, that’s it.
After concluding in this way, Helena felt a slight sense of relief.
However, what was this lingering feeling of loneliness mixed in with the relief?
‘…….’
Between the refreshing feeling and the sense of emptiness, Helena, thinking it was due to the cold wind blowing, adjusted the scarf Shirud had given her.
As she did, it felt as though some distractions vanished, and her mind cleared up.
It was quite remarkable.
“By the way, is this the café Luke mentioned?”
Helena, who had come to a halt as she reached the street, looked bewildered.
The reason was not just the excessively long line in front of the café.
It was because the outfits of the people directing customers outside looked too familiar.
‘Aren’t those maid outfits?’
Could it be that they hired maids from home due to a shortage of staff at the café?
However, hiring external personnel for festival duties was against school rules since it would muddle the essence of the festival.
This meant that those directing the line were clearly violating school rules or were definitely students of the Academy.
“Hm, but Luke wouldn’t be so blatant about breaking school rules.”
At the very least, if he wanted to secretly use external help, he would have found uniforms for them instead of openly putting them in maid outfits.
Moreover, with so many people around, two festival management committee members were also standing by, looking at the crowd.
As far as Helena knew, Luke was definitely not a fool.
Furthermore, the festival management committee members beside him were not fools either.
Helena did not remember every face, but the chances were high that they were students in the Academy.
One glance at their faces made it clear they matched the age of students.
‘Well, I guess that girl has a thing for outfits like that.’
There are many types of people, and among them, there are those who have a preference for wearing maid outfits.
And besides… maid outfits are honestly cute.
Honestly, even when watching the maids cleaning at home, who hasn’t thought about wanting to wear those outfits at least once?
Also, the nature of the enjoyable festival provides a pretty good excuse to wear such clothing.
Or maybe it’s just a way to promote using cute outfits.
‘By the way, business is booming.’
Helena counted the line slowly in front of the café and murmured to herself.
While she vaguely thought that with Luke around, it would naturally do well, this seemed to be almost as many people as those who came to see her performance, didn’t it?
Just for a café to attract this many people…
If there were this many people, she worried if Shirud still hadn’t gotten inside the café.
However, she couldn’t see Shirud in that long line.
Perhaps Luke had let him in?
Thinking this, Helena passed the line and went inside.
Helena pressed her scarf against her face, worried that her actions might appear as cutting in line, but since the orders used number tickets, there was no one to say harsh words to the girl who continuously asked, “Excuse me, let me pass. My friend is waiting.”
—–
Somehow managing to get herself into the café, Helena was slightly shocked by the sight she encountered.
The reason was that all the students working here were in ‘maid outfits.’
Could it be that the style of that one girl outside wasn’t a personal preference or just to attract attention?
The shock didn’t end there.
Inside the café, even Luke was wearing a maid outfit with his hair neatly tied up!
“Oh my god, Luke too?”
Helena was in complete shock.
She never thought maid outfits suited Luke, but now that she looked, he was so cute that everything seemed to fit.
Not only that, the maid in front of Luke, who was quietly listening to him, seemed quite familiar.
Her height, body shape, hair, and facial features all resembled someone Helena knew.
And soon, Helena exclaimed in disbelief.
“Wait, Shirud? Is that you?”
“Uh, Helena?”
The person she momentarily thought was not Shirud turned out to actually be him.
——
Luke shouted from the kitchen.
“Ah, I’m sorry! There are so many customers right now… I stubbornly insisted on helping until the friend the manager called arrives in an hour.”
“So that’s what happened…”
Shirud said quietly, his fingers fidgeting and his face turning red, as if he was truly embarrassed.
It seemed he was not used to wearing a skirt and stockings on his first time ever.
He must have felt so ashamed that he would rather run away than face the situation, but Luke had made an offer he couldn’t refuse.
Promising to teach him many circle spells he hadn’t disclosed due to their ‘dangerous’ nature, what mage would refuse that?
For Shirud, who had been lacking in motivation because the range of magic he could use was far too limited compared to what he possessed, this was undeniably an enticing proposal.
Moreover, he had already made a promise to help in the past…
“So, can you wait just one hour? We can hang out afterward.”
“Um, okay, I will.”
Thus, Helena decided to patiently wait for an hour.
Having seen Shirud promise to help Luke with serving, she needed that time to calm her astonishment.
Although it was beyond his control, it was too shocking to see him in a way she had never imagined.
And somehow, it suited him unexpectedly well.
It felt like she had discovered a new side of Shirud…
She was so surprised that the concerns she had been thinking about until a moment ago were wiped completely from her mind.
“By the way, how did you recognize me? …Of course it’s weird, isn’t it?”
Shirud’s voice was really small as he asked.
He didn’t want to loudly reveal the fact that he was a boy.
In reality, Shirud’s outfit wasn’t too strange, and it matched him adequately.
Given that Shirud had such a pretty face, there was really nothing about it that looked off.
Moreover, as a pure-blooded high elf, Shirud matured slowly.
He hadn’t reached the point where secondary sexual characteristics began distinguishing male and female bodies.
Thanks to that, even his voice didn’t carry a strong sense of gender differentiation.
Thus, it was only natural for anyone who didn’t know him well to think he was simply a cute short-haired albino elf maid.
“No, it’s not weird. I was actually surprised at how cute you look. I just noticed it based on the overall atmosphere and such.”
“Is, is that so…? Uh, hmm.”
Shirud cleared his throat awkwardly, looking troubled by Helena’s words.
It wasn’t easy for him to take it as a compliment that someone found him cute, being a boy.
And just then, Luke popped out from the kitchen, as if sensing the moment.
“Right? Isn’t she super cute? So you should really say it’s okay. Being embarrassed about it is actually the strange part.”
Luke, saying that, looked curiously excited.
“Uh, Luke is right, really cute…”
“Wait.”
Watching Luke like that, a certain thought flashed through Helena’s mind.
‘Luke liked girls, not boys.’
To be specific, Luke’s preference was not for boys like Shirud but for women with reddish hair, passionate will, and beauty, like Renie Arinseia…
‘Aside from the hair, Shirud is just like that!’
Now that she thought about it, Luke’s ideal type seemed surprisingly broad, as long as it didn’t include hair color!
And, since hair can simply be dyed…
‘This is dangerous…!’
Helena fell into another deep worry.
——-
Of course, Luke’s excitement stemmed from a different reason.
Just earlier, he had taught Shirud a form of makeup called ‘Polymorph’ and was thrilled that Shirud learned and used it successfully.
Since Shirud was on the verge of reaching the fourth circle, he had the authority to perform a subtle level of polymorph, which was enough to slightly adjust the width of his eyes and nose, elevating his feminine traits from his androgynous face. This was a notable achievement for his first successful fourth circle spell.
So, wouldn’t it be natural for a mentor to be excited about the progress of his student?
Although Helena’s keen perception, which pierced through the essence of beings, couldn’t be misled, that was too high of a hurdle.
While lost in thoughts, Luke suddenly tilted his head as he faced Helena’s subtle gaze.
“Hmm? Why do you look like that, Helena? Ah, if you’re bored, should I make you some grapefruit herbal tea?”
“No, I’m fine.”
“…?”
No matter how softly Luke spoke, Helena’s gaze remained sharp.
Did he do something wrong?
