Somehow while walking, Addis who had been at the circle’s center earlier was now beside kana.
For him to be able to invite the daughter of the Foreign Minister handling diplomacy so casually, there likely weren’t many boys who could. From the “Miss kana” address, it seemed the two had some association before entering the academy. Raze observed and guessed they were acquainted through high society.
“I have a prior appointment so I must decline.”
Carne lightly brushed off Addis with composure.
“That’s too bad. But since Miss Carne went to the trouble of enrolling, why not go on a date with your fiancé sometime?”
“D-Date?!”
Up until then composed kana’s face went bright red.
“W-With His Highness at school? A rare uniform date event might happen to me…?”
Carne covered her blushing face with both hands as if to hide it, losing herself in her own world. More than muttering to herself, it seemed she wasn’t aware her thoughts were coming out of her mouth. Seeing Carne so flustered, Folia’s eyes widened and Addis laughed.
“Haha. I should have said that to His Highness instead of Miss kana.”
Watching the exchange, Raze understood.
(kana-sama likes the prince.)
Carne completely in lovestruck maiden mode. Her straightforward blushing made her very charming. Raze felt relieved at the sight.
Their engagement was decided when Ruben and Carne were twelve. Even if it was decided considering status, Raze wanted things to go well for kindhearted Carne who had addressed a commoner like her.
For now, most of all she seemed not to dislike the engagement.
(Hmm? Does that mean the girl beside me now might become the empress?)
An obvious thing, but as one who served the nation, Raze felt a little conflicted. She worried belatedly that she might not be in a position to go out with kana.
However, after inviting Folia, she couldn’t not invite Carne right next to her. She didn’t regret being swept up and taking the initiative to call out. Also, Carne seemed interested in Folia too, so if they went out together this time, it might be the last time she associated deeply with them. Worrying excessively was pointless.
But having seen Carne in love with Ruben, Raze felt bad if she got in the way of that chance.
“kana-sama, there will be many more opportunities, so why not go play on a different day than us? Right, Folia-san?”
She felt guilty monopolizing Folia, but sought agreement from her.
“Y-Yes, I think so too.”
Folia nodded vigorously, her voice like a bell. Hearing it, Carne who had been absorbed in her own world looked up.
“Oh…”
She seemed surprised to be pulled back to reality, letting out a confused voice. Only Folia was reflected in her eyes.
(kana-sama said she wanted to befriend Folia-san. Yet here I am monopolizing her…)
JAs Raze felt guilty about the situation, memories from her past life suddenly popped into her mind.
“How much are you spending on this…?”
“It can’t be helped. This is all I can do. It’s what gives my life meaning.”
It was a conversation between young women. One of them sounded genuinely exasperated, while the other was tapping the purchase button for something called the “Mystic Magic Stone” on her smartphone.
In a brief moment, memories from her past life were outputting, and Raze was struck with a realization.
“That’s right. I should also contribute to Folia-san!”
The devoted fans who held precious beings in high regard were willing to spend even at the cost of their own well-being. So, Raze thought that if she truly admired the angelic Folia, she should do something for her. She pledged in her heart to treat Folia to dessert or something similar.
Unfortunately, Raze Granoorii was, in essence, a “bright and shiny civilian first-year student” who had put on the mask of a military person. As such, she had no experience in making friends like a child would.
“We are fine to accompany you, even if kana-sama cannot come!”
As Raze began to get swayed by her past life’s knowledge and started to lose focus, Folia added these words. The way she chose her words, emphasizing “we,” made Raze feel that Folia was conscious of her commoner status. Raze somewhat understood that Folia was probably considering her background when speaking.
Seeing Folia’s smile, kana’s expression changed from the maiden-like mode she had been in just a moment ago to a sad face.
“…No, it’s fine.”
Her denial lacked strength, and Raze found herself captivated by her gaze.
“There is someone more suitable for him than me—”
“Huh?”
Picking up on kana’s words, Raze was taken aback and her expression changed.
(What’s this? Are you saying that there’s someone else kana-sama likes?)
Despite being an engagement from their childhood, kana’s reaction clearly showed that she had genuine feelings for Ruben. And yet, the words she just uttered were hard to overlook.
Granted, it might be unavoidable for political reasons that she would develop feelings for someone else. However, as a person in the position of a prince of a country, shouldn’t he be more considerate and not make her aware of it? Raze glanced briefly at the Death God’s son with this thought.
However, he also seemed surprised and had a perplexed expression. If Adis knew about the circumstances surrounding Ruben, he wouldn’t be pulling a stunt like introducing Carne to him. He probably didn’t know the cause of kana’s distress either.
With Shin and the atmosphere becoming still, Carne suddenly realized that everyone was looking at her and seemed flustered.
“F-forget what I just said. It’s nothing. It’s not the prince’s fault; it’s just that I’m inadequate…”
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Appearing troubled, she smiled at Raze as if to say, “Please don’t ask anything more.” Raze accepted that and didn’t press further.
They were still only acquaintances, and their bond was quite shallow for Carne to open up about her worries.
“Well, then, shall we go to the shopping district with us after all? I know quite a lot of shops there, so I can be your guide.”
Feeling awkward, Raze suggested to kana.
“Is that so? I haven’t been to the town much.”
“Then, please look forward to it. I’ll do my best to prepare, so I can show you around.”
“Yes, I’m looking forward to it.”
By changing the topic to visiting the shopping district, kana’s smile returned. Raze felt relieved and continued the conversation.
“Do you like sweets, kana-sama? You too, Folia-san?”
“Yes, I do.”
“I love them!”
“That’s great. I love eating too, especially sweets. I wanna eat pancakes.”
“That sounds wonderful! Good idea!”
You could tell from her expression she was truly happy. However important a figure she would become in the future, right now she was a comrade gathered at the same academy. Perhaps she needn’t hold back enjoying herself.
Eating sweet treats and chatting with cute girls—
It was one of the things she had sought from academy life. Reaching the everyday life she had dreamed of as a student made Raze very happy.
“It seems an odd combination, but when did you two get so close? If I recall, Folia-san with healing magic aptitude, and the scholarship student…”
Addis who was still beside Carne asked curiously.
Looks like Folia was properly remembered for her healing magic.
“Granoll.” Raze reluctantly gave her name, and
“Oh, sorry. Granoll-san. I’m putting all my effort into remembering the names of girls to play with.”
Addis gave an excuse for forgetting her.
It seemed they wouldn’t get along. With his face the spitting image of the Grim Reaper’s to begin with, he was someone she didn’t want to associate with much, but he had shot to #1 on her dislike list on the first day. Congratulations, she should tell him.
“No worries. Please don’t concern yourself, Zarus-sama. Thanks to you, kana-sama called out to me, and we swiftly made plans to play together. Thank you very much.”
Raze also smiled the Grim Reaper’s smile back at Addis. She had gotten “That smile, just like His Excellency’s!” reputation among the Shadow Eyes folks, so her own smile was quite polished.
She felt his expression slip for an instant, but it was such a slight change she thought nothing of it.
“As expected of Lord Addis. If you keep this up, you’ll have trouble when you truly fall for someone.”
Having regained her vigor, Carne spoke exasperatedly to Addis.
“Thanks for the advice. I’ll take it to heart.”
With a light wave to kana, Addis went to Prince Ruben and Claude ahead of them.
She couldn’t quite grasp what he was thinking. She could read the Grim Reaper to some degree since he was a superior officer, but it was difficult with his son.
Joining them, Addis addressed Ruben and Claude familiarly. As Raze watched over the scene, she returned her gaze to kana. The gentle lilac-like purple hair swayed in the wind, her eyes following only Prince Ruben.
Seeing her, kana’s words from earlier came back to Raze. She was bothered by it after all.
(Her reaction when she saw Folia-san, it looked like her expression changed…)
On just the first day after enrolling today, it didn’t seem something happened that would make Carne worry about Ruben and Folia. She must just be overthinking it, Raze told herself, but somehow something felt off. She felt a creeping sense of impatience like when you can’t recall something.
(What is it? Somewhere, I’ve…)
While being guided to the dorms, Raze thought hard about it but couldn’t come up with the answer. Once it reached this point she knew nothing would come out, so she decided to just naturally remember later.
(For now, gotta be vigilant about the area around His Highness. A scandal could shake the country after all.)
Muttering that internally, she stopped in her tracks.
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