A weekend morning, just a day to relax.

I was resting at my accommodation when the butler called me to the reception room on the first floor, saying a guard had arrived.

As I headed there, I found a rare sight—a girl with black hair sitting there. I sat down across from her.

“Hello.”

“Hey! So, you must be Bell? The one the guard is protecting?”

She seemed quite lively. She looked young for a guard, but if she’s set to attend the Royal Academy alongside me, it’s not that strange.

“I heard someone like you was coming. Are you starting your guard duties today?”

“Yep. That’s right.”

As she spoke, she handed me a piece of paper. I took it and found it was a royal order stating she was assigned to guard me.

The period was for this year. And the name was—

“Merryweather Alquet?”

“Uh-huh. But I’d prefer you call me Mali instead of that stiff name.”

I nodded at Merryweather’s words. I expected a stiff person for a guard, but she seems otherwise.

Kanna mentioned that the northern folks, despite being called knights, fit the label of barbarian warriors more, and Aurora’s knights patrol the castle with stern expressions.

“Will you be following me all the time?”

“The job description is on the next page!”

Turning the page, I indeed found the job description. She was to be with me almost all day long.

Guard duty, huh? It might be more demanding than I thought. There’s not a single day off. Merryweather’s the only one handling it without shifts.

Perhaps the royal family prioritizes capturing witches over controlling me.

I can only heal once after harvesting, and if a witch curses me again, there won’t be much I can do, so they likely want to catch the witch first instead of focusing on me.

There’s even a chance she’s not a knight at all. Someone said they’d guard me, but no one specified who.

“Okay. I understand.”

After my reply, Merryweather was staring at me intently. I wondered what was odd and waited for her to speak. Eventually, she did.

“Uh, is that it? Not very cute, you know. Well, if that’s the case, I guess I’ll have to do my best! Let’s get along well, Bell.”

Merryweather said that while flashing a smile.

Though her words sounded cheerful, there was a faint hint of hostility in one corner of her face. Her expression was excellent, but I could read her emotions.

I bet the king warned her to be careful because I might be a monster.

But I have no intention of doing anything bad, so I’m good.

I’ve already finished everything I can do. People can’t stay vigilant for too long. Being on guard is tiring, boring, and annoying, right?

“Yeah. Nice to meet you, Merryweather.”

“Call me Mali, I said!”

Today, I’ve got a guard assigned to me.

*

The next day. It’s a weekday now.

As usual, I woke up in the morning, washed up, changed clothes, had breakfast, and headed to school. The difference? Merryweather followed me when I went to school.

Merryweather wore clothes similar to mine. However, being taller than me, she gave a different vibe.

I guess the problem is I look too young.

I don’t know how old she actually is, but walking into school together makes us look like students. Is she entering as a student?

Isn’t transferring too noticeable?

Thinking about that, I entered the classroom. As I sat down, Merryweather sat next to me.

It felt strange.

Here’s a brand new student sitting beside me, yet no one seems to notice her at all.

On the first day Victoria and I came, though no one spoke, the stares were inevitable. This is exceptionally strange.

No one gives us a second glance at Merryweather lounging comfortably beside me. According to Kanna’s memories, this would definitely raise some eyebrows.

At that moment, Victoria walked into the room.

“Hey, Bell. You, um, sorry. What’s your name again?”

She then sat next to me, appearing to have an amicable but slightly forgetful relationship with Merryweather.

“I’m Mali. You must be Victoria?”

“Yeah, that’s right. Oh, why did I forget? You can call me Tori too.”

Victoria accepted that without any doubts. She must have some sort of mind-bending talent.

Could she be someone from the information department instead of a knight?

Aurora knows nothing, and Kanna only knows it exists but has never seen one. Maybe this person could be from that field.

If it genuinely seems like one can blend in anywhere and have familiar ties, it fits well for someone working in intelligence.

I thought magic only advanced technologically, but it seems this technique exists too.

Even without rummaging through Daegon’s memories, Yasle’s memories hold knowledge of such skills. Since it’s a human ability, it’s probably not super rare.

“Are you two close?”

“Yep! We’re super friendly.”

While this was being said, the two engaged in conversation, with me in the middle.

“You seemed so quiet at home. Were you bored?”

That would be referring to yesterday afternoon and evening. Though I didn’t have much conversation, they mostly observed me quietly.

“Really? When we were at home, that wasn’t the case. I did the cleaning, cooked, and honestly was closer to Mom than anyone else. Even waking you up early every morning! Ugh, if it’s break, just let it be.”

So, that was a big complaint.

Beatrice’s lively personality meant that Victoria disliked sleeping in during break time.

“Haha, I get it. I also love lounging around during breaks. But you’re like a totally different person from where Bell lives now!”

“How different can it be?”

I understand talking about me, but I wish they wouldn’t speak about me over my head.

“This kid just sat still in the same position from noon to night, and once it was time for bed, she just went right away. Like a doll.”

Merryweather’s words made Victoria look at me with concern.

“Is it tough there?”

“Nope. I don’t need to do anything, so I don’t.”

I at least picked up on that hint. Since it’s a place for serving high-ranking individuals, they seem to enforce such things rigorously.

Even with my lack of rank, they’ve kept things separated and held some pride in that, I assume. I wouldn’t want to rob them of that and cause needless hostility.

“Having pride in your work is good. That’s what I expect from those who are contracted with me.”

Suddenly, that pride could quickly crumble into arrogance, and the skills might turn outdated, leaving only those out of touch with the times.

Eventually, those people will start exploiting others.

It’s cozy and easy.

Think about the guild system, for instance.

Mind you, the guild system isn’t bad. Passing down the correct skills and evolving beyond that is still good.

But the teacher holds the power. The learner becomes the weaker party. And that’s not good. It’s easy to exploit and discard someone if desired.

Of course, blatantly doing so goes against some sort of ethics. But there are plenty of ways to do it subtly.

For example, giving someone just slightly more than they can handle while emotionally abusing them for not accomplishing even that.

Human wisdom shines brightest in situations like this.

Making them eventually take their own life is the ideal outcome.

To harness that evil allows me to gain warmth easily. I don’t have to dirty my hands; I just pretend to give them strength.

“Yeah, Bell talks like this again. Bell’s a bit scary when he gets like this~”

Victoria giggles while pointing at me. No, wait, that’s slander. How am I supposed to be scary here?

“Why scary? I like it too. Having pride in your work isn’t that bad, right?”

In response to Merryweather’s question, Victoria stared at her.

“Why?”

“Uh, well, it’s certainly nice to hear. It means you’re fully supportive of me doing whatever I want. But…”

“But?”

Victoria trailed off, deep in thought. Merryweather, curious, nudged her, and I looked at Victoria, eager to know her thoughts too.

After crossing her arms and organizing her thoughts, Victoria spoke.

“Bell will be positive no matter what I do, right?”

“Yes, that’s true.”

You know it well. I’d support Victoria even if she did something wrong. Even if she used her psychic power to dominate someone, I’d cheer her on.

“It’s lacking in discernment then. Bell. In that sense, it’s not very human.”

“Ah, that’s a bit unpleasant. Honestly, that.”

To be discussing this with me in between them—Is this gossip? No, to do that right here feels like bullying.

Victoria looked at me with a bewildered expression.

“Indifferent? Him?”

“No, isn’t it that being okay with whatever means a certain level of indifference? That’s indifference, right?”

“That’s not it! It’s more like endless capacity for depth? Strong attraction? Something like that?”

I’m starting to get it.

Merryweather Alquet. She indeed seems to be from the information department rather than a knight. While performing her guard duties, she’s also collecting information about me.

If this odd perception twist is directed toward me as well, she must think I should not suspect anything from our current conversation.

Plus, with the pretense of guarding me, she can brush off any exposure as just being part of her duty. Very clever, King.

Since she seemed to know something about me, it’s not strange he deployed someone like her here.

While it feels a bit blunt, it seems there’s something special about it… I guess I’ll have to play along like I’m caught in this web. They didn’t ask directly, so I’m in the clear.

I just need to state that I only accommodated my doubts. If asked why I didn’t point it out, I’d say it was because I thought it was your culture.

Hehe.

“Aren’t you indifferent? You keep using honorifics, and even call Tori Tori, not Victoria.”

At that remark, Victoria’s gaze landed on me.

“That bothers me too. But if I say that…”

“Calls it mental illness.”

“Then, see what happens.”

Merryweather looked at me as if questioning my sincerity. I nodded in reply.

“That’s a bit cowardly.”

“Right?”

It seems no issue to spend time with Victoria and Merryweather. Though I’m worried how our friendship will evolve once this cognitive distortion technique fades,

Hmm.

Well, they’ll probably figure it out.

Soon, the teacher entered. After calling the roll, the class began. Somewhere along, I noticed Merryweather’s name on the attendance sheet, which would scare anyone else. The kingdom’s intelligence department.

I need to be cautious.