"...It's difficult to say, but I have plans. It's a personal matter."
"Don't feel pressured, just enjoy the day, student."
It didn't work. He's annoyingly perceptive about these things.
The professor left the classroom with a benevolent smile.
Seeing Elias's face, silently laughing to the point of tears, made me laugh too, but seeing Leo's friends glancing around as they left the classroom quickly turned that into a hollow chuckle.
"Hah..."
Does the professor not realize this makes things more awkward?
He probably means no harm, but I never imagined I'd be in this situation.
'...The good point is that the professor views me positively in his own way...'
Otherwise—unless he's trying to mess with me—there's no reason for him to be this meddlesome.
But he left the classroom looking genuinely pleased, so he probably wasn't trying to mess with me in such a childish way.
It's just that his method of helping unintentionally caused me internal damage.
"...Are you okay?"
Leo, who had appeared beside me at some point, asked while gauging my expression.
"Do you know that asking about this makes it feel even more pathetic?"
"Sorry."
Only a few students remained in the classroom. It seems they were more afraid of something happening to me than wanting to watch the situation unfold.
I quickly left the classroom and spoke softly, just loud enough for Leo to hear.
"You go have fun with your friends. I have something to talk to Narce about."
"I already sent them away. And what is it about?"
"There is, that kind of thing. Anyway, go call them back. I'm heading to the library now."
"The li...!"
Leo stopped in his tracks, unable to finish his sentence.
"..."
I let my guard down because he's such a by-the-book guy. Going to the library on festival day must be shocking news to him too.
I calmly explained my intention.
"There seems to be a misunderstanding. When I say I'm going to the library, it doesn't mean I'm only going to study, but to check the timing."
"...Let's just go together. I'm more comfortable with one person than many anyway. It's also awkward that Elias spent the whole evening yesterday saying things I couldn't understand... You didn't attend the 3rd Education Institute either, and in first year you were only in the dormitory. This isn't your first festival, is it?"
It's not my first.
But I can't say that. For Luca, it is indeed his first.
'It's not like I can't walk around during the festival anyway.'
With the professor involved, my brother won't be on guard just because I hang out with a friend a bit, and since I need to improve Luca's impression points anyway, I have to accept some level of my brother's vigilance now.
"What did Eli say?"
"The way you're dodging the question means I'm right. Let me ask this first. Is it really okay for you to be openly with me?"
"Even if it gets to your brother's ears, won't the professor's story come up too? It's obvious the story that I was ordered to stick with you will also get through."
"Right... It'll be a miracle if it doesn't spread throughout the whole school by today."
That much, huh...
While I was at a loss for words, Leo spoke again.
"You said you had something to tell Narce earlier, right? Then let's meet up and join them in the middle of having fun."
"Okay."
That's the most natural method.
Narce has probably vaguely sensed my suspicion anyway, so calling him out separately wouldn't be a problem, but...
'Fie is here too, so I should take him along later.'
I absentmindedly stroked the furry lump touching my left finger. Fie was still holding onto my hand.
"Is there anything you've wanted to do normally?"
"Well..."
It's Luca who hasn't been to a festival, not me. I've been to many, so I have no particular thoughts.
What do you do at a festival? I should recall memories of high school festivals rather than university ones...
All I can think of is something like making mosquito repellent.
I opened the guidebook I received from the school.
'It's more proper than I thought.'
I could see everyone had prepared hard.
When I closed the booklet, there was a section on the back cover for collecting stamps.
Leo gestured to the booklet and spoke.
"Since we're having fun anyway, you should also fill all the stamps and get a prize. The student council prepared a lot."
"What's the prize?"
"You'll know when you collect all the stamps."
For some reason, he's not flustered at all and naturally dodged the answer.
He must have had a lot of people asking.
I nodded and gestured outside the window.
"Alright, let's get something to eat first."
* * *
"Leo! Ah..."
Once outside, I could feel the situation more clearly.
I feel like a zoo monkey.
Students who heard the rumors were glancing at me from a distance.
Not only that, students who saw Leo and approached with a happy smile quickly distanced themselves when they saw me.
Leo waved to the student stepping back and tried hard to avoid the gazes of other students. Then, as if he couldn't adapt at all, he cast a soundproofing spell and whispered.
"This isn't normal. Have you really lived like this all the time...?"
"Not to this extent. It's like this because you're with me."
"What?"
It must be novel for the guy who particularly blatantly disliked Luca to be hanging out with him.
In my opinion, we've already been close for quite a while, but others have only seen the same external appearance as in first year.
Leo couldn't really answer and just nodded.
Ignoring the guy who was starting to sink back into himself, I pointed to a distant snack booth.
"Let's get some ice cream. We can check out what events there are while eating."
"...Okay..."
I left him behind and went to the booth.
It seems they couldn't bring a cooling device here, as a student from the next class was diligently blowing cooling magic into it.
"Hey, the temperature is too low! Are you trying to make ice?"
"Ah, how far should I go!?"
"..."
Using magic to manually freeze ice cream gives a different feeling.
I spoke appropriately.
"Excuse me."
"Ah, yes... Huh!?"
"Two vanilla, please. Put honey on one."
Perhaps wanting to quickly shoo me away, they were served very fast.
For some reason, I handed Leo a vanilla ice cream covered in cherries.
"Eat up."
"Thanks. But what's with the amount of cherries?"
Leo scooped the ice cream with a spoon, raised his eyebrows upon seeing cherries inside too.
I expected it from Elias bringing a whole basket yesterday without doing anything... but there must be a lot left. At this point, it's cherry ice cream, not vanilla.
"Speaking of which, what's Eli doing?"
"He's probably playing with my friends, not sure."
I turned my head to see if there was anyone I knew around.
The school was filled with various decorations and banners, unlike usual. Among the waves of navy-blue uniforms, a few students wearing school uniforms not usually seen were mixed in.
Now that we've been outside for a while, the stares fixed on me have decreased a lot.
'By the way, Elias probably can't play much because of his leg.'
Especially in such a crowded place.
Since he probably can't play much, he might go to the orphanage to extract information, but since there's a way to get the list without doing that, I should look into it.
While looking around, I took Fie out of my robe pocket.
Perhaps startled by suddenly coming out, Fie turned his head this way and that.
"Peep?"
"Fie, can you go find Elias for me?"
Fie rolled his eyes for a moment, then nodded.
Since I was talking to an animal, Leo turned his head with a suspicious look, wondering if he heard wrong.
When I put Fie back in my pocket, Fie immediately warped and disappeared.
"Let's go see what's going on in the meantime."
"...Do you really think he'll come if you tell Fie to?"
"Probably."
"Okay... Um, let's go over there."
"The art club?"
Entering the first floor of the building, there was a booth not much different from reality.
'Face painting...'
The name posted wasn't that, but what they were doing was the same anyway. I can only give a hollow laugh. There's no place that doesn't fall behind, whether in reality or here.
Are human thoughts not that different over about a hundred years, or is there another modern person here besides me...?
I forcibly ignored the reasonable suspicion and opened the door.
As I entered, the students froze, staring at me with wide eyes. I shook my head and extended my hand.
"Not doing it."
A blatant look of relief washed over the students' faces.
"Phew..."
'...'
These bastards...
Just as another hollow laugh was about to escape, Leo was grabbed by a junior.
"Senior!"
"Ah, Johanna."
"What brings you here?"
"Came to get a stamp. This is my class friend, and a student council junior, Lucas."
Leo said, pointing alternately at me and the junior.
Perhaps happier to meet Leo, the junior didn't show any hostility toward me.
"Hello! Senior, want to do this? I think I have some talent too."
"No, I don't want to do that either. We're just passing by."
Leo waved his hand at the brush the junior was holding out.
But it wasn't something we could pass by so easily.
Leo moved his steps while wiping his cheek with a stiff face.
"Phew..."
"That's harmless."
"Can I take back my words? The more you say things like that, the more bleak it feels."
Leo sighed as if washing his face.
Even so, it was truly harmless. Because it was a Bavarian flag the size of a fingernail.
Moving to the next section, there was an art club exhibition.
Paintings from the Belle Époque era were hung on pure white temporary walls. Perhaps there weren't many members, as there were only a few paintings.
"Hmm, I get why you wanted to come here first."
"Right? If you just take a quick look and leave, they give you a stamp. There are thirty booths but you only need to collect ten stamps, so you should visit places like this first."
Leo answered while casting a soundproofing spell.
Looks like he also looks for easy paths.
When I laughed, finding it absurd, Leo tilted his head, unable to tell if I was mocking him or what.
Anyway, thanks to Leo's information network, we were able to leave just one minute after entering.
A student holding a stamp gestured.
"How was it~?"
"Would like to come again."
"Ah, thank you~! If you draw a picture in the guestbook, I'll give you one more stamp! We're putting up pictures from participants here on the wall."
"Hmm..."
Using tricks right in front of the student council.
While I was surprised, Leo pondered for a moment what to do.
"Yes, please give me a pen."
"...Wow."
"..."
Leo looked at me with an absurd face, then drew a reasonably familiar animal.
"It's Fie."
"Hmm, you recognized it right away?"
Objectively, he drew it well. If you can recognize it right away, it's well drawn, right?
'What should I draw?'
Fie is being compared.
I turned to the next page and drew lines swiftly.
"Wow, what are those lines? Really..."
"..."
"What is this really, Lucas? Should I?"
It's a lion.
I think it's okay?
I didn't bother answering and held out the guidebook.
The student who stamped it carefully asked.
"Oh, by any chance... can we hang this up now?"
"Hang it up."
For some reason, the reason they wanted to hang it up immediately seemed clear, but anyway, I got the stamp, so it's fine.
Leaving behind Leo, who still hadn't recovered from the shock, I left the building.
"Yay~"
As soon as I left the building, a familiar voice was heard.
Elias, who appeared from the alley next to the building with Fie on his shoulder, approached.
Leo, who followed out, saw Elias and shouted without even greeting.
"Your clothes...!"
Sure enough, instead of his uniform, he was wearing Prussian Inquisition attire. It seems he really intended to visit the orphanage.
'Just like the novel.'
"A rabbit suddenly appeared on my shoulder? I was about to leave, but no matter what I did, it wouldn't get off, so I just knew."
"No, more than that, what are you doing walking around like this?"
At Leo's voice, which had lost all sense of reason, Elias shrugged his shoulders leisurely.
"I thought it suited me? Don't you think clothes really make the person?"
"Who said it suits you?"
"I can't refute that~ You can take it as meaning it suits me well, right?"
It's probably because he's too angry to refute, but Elias seemed satisfied with having shut Leo's mouth appropriately and smiled while looking around.
"I thought it was just because of the festival. I deliberately removed the insignia here too. Don't worry too much, Class President."
Elias emphasized the last word. Leo, who had become an old-fashioned person who only knows principles in an instant, smiled with multiple meanings and grabbed the back of his neck.
'He's good at this.'
These friends are definitely better off together.
I thought while picking off a cherry for Fie, who had climbed onto my shoulder and was eyeing the ice cream.
"So, it hasn't even been an hour since it started, what have you done for fun?"
"Haven't really done anything yet. We went to the art club and got two stamps though."
"Nothing? You look like you had fun from your face."
"You know, roughly how it went..."
"Umm, I know."
Elias chuckled and turned around.
"By the way, I came to return the rabbit, but should I do something too?"
"No, don't go, just play. What were you going to do?"
"Should I...? Want to go to the haunted house? Guys, do you get penalized if you hit someone inside?"
"You do."
I nodded at the obvious fact.
More than that, Elias seems to keep forgetting that he's in the middle of leg treatment.
"You'll have to run there, will you be okay?"
"Ah, right."
I opened the guidebook again.
When I raised my head toward the location marked on the map, a building crowded with people in the distance caught my eye.
"Shall we go there?"
"Hmm?"
Elias looked at the sparkling sign in the distance and clapped his hands.
"Oh, casino~ Leo, how did this get approved?"
"It's just the name, there's no betting. They just put your name on a hall of fame for each event."
"Really~?"
At the mention of no betting, Elias's eyes sparkled.
* * *
"No matter how much there's no betting, I never thought we'd really come to a place like this..."
Leo frowned at the dazzlingly bright interior.
"If money doesn't change hands, it's even more welcome. It means you can play real games. In real casinos, the commission they take makes me so angry I can't stand it."
"How old are you?"
Elias didn't answer Leo's question and sat down with a smile.
"Let's play a round of poker. It's been years since I played."
"I've forgotten the rules."
"Tsk, such a model student. Come on, let's try to get our names up. Luca, you're playing too, right?"
"Sure."
We've come this far, no reason to refuse.
Looking around, numerous students here were obsessed with getting their name on the board even though they wouldn't gain much. Even though it's a game without stakes, everyone's desire to win was impressive.
Of course, I had no particular desire to beat anyone, so I let Elias laugh to his heart's content.
I rested my chin on my hand and watched Elias tap the table.
He was already winning alone for the third round in a row.
"Hahaha! Won again~"
"Umm..."
"That's your skill, Leo. Accept it."
"How can I compete when I've forgotten the rules!?"
Elias whistled sharply at Leo's words and shook his head.
Then he clapped his hands.
"Ah, wait a minute. Should I call one more person? To get your name on the hall of fame, you need at least four people, I think."
'He's excited.'
Since he's enjoying it, it was worth suggesting.
Then, a student in black clothes approached.
"Guest."
"Me?" Elias asked.
The student shook his head and pointed at me.
"No, this gentleman here."
Leo and Elias looked back and forth between him and me with puzzled eyes.
I was equally puzzled, but answered calmly.
"Go ahead."
"They're asking if you'd like to join their table over there, are you interested?"
Turning my head, I saw students playing poker in a group of three like us.
From their clothes, they're third years. And they were looking this way, laughing and chatting among themselves without any tension.
"..."
Their goal is obvious.
I shook my head.
"I won't go."
"Yes, understood."
As the student disappeared, Elias snorted.
"Hey, what was that? Let's just play another game among ourselves."
As Elias picked up his crutch to get up, the student who had spoken to me earlier approached again with an awkward face.
"Um, by any chance.... They asked me to ask one more time."
Now Elias gave a hollow laugh, finding it absurd.
"What is this? Then I'll go."
"No, they specifically asked for this gentleman..."
"..."
As a popular game, poker players are a dime a dozen here.
Among them, specifically pointing me out means I'm among those they know as 'the ones who would obviously lose.'
That makes sense. For first-year Luca, that image is natural.
Still...
'It's been a while since I received this kind of treatment.'
What should I do?
After thinking for a while, I got up from my seat.
—-----------
T/N:
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