“Millia. Why are you wearing a maid outfit?”
“How’s it look? Does it suit me?”
“It suits you, but…”
Her basic face complements the look, making her an adorable and lovely maid, but I wondered if the world had suddenly changed. Millia’s bright personality made this dark fantasy world feel like an ordinary slice-of-life setting.
It’s a world with little dream or hope.
“Hehe.”
“Millia, you’re so cute.”
“Hehe, thanks! Karina! I mean, Saint!”
Look at how she instantly relaxes when Karina compliments her. Is being praised that great? Renny and I stifled laughs at that sight.
“Alright, darling maid. Can you take us into the café?”
“Yes! I’ll guide you right away.”
Millia elegantly pretended to be a maid and led us into the café. Besides familiar faces, there were also some I hadn’t seen before.
Are they second or third-years?
“Sa-Saint!”
“Weclo, welcome, Saint!”
Pretty intimidating. I sighed at the sight of the students all bowing in maid and butler outfits.
It felt like I suddenly jumped into another world. Was this place always so bright and cheery? Well, it was, in a way. Both good and bad.
…Whatever.
Just enjoy the ride.
Seems like no assassins will come crashing in here. If they could hide in this cheerful atmosphere, they’d be quite a character. We headed to the center of the café, altered from an empty classroom, to prepare for the speech.
Preparation was really just Karina calming herself down and assuming a pious pose, but hey, preparation is preparation.
“Don’t be too nervous. You’re just speaking to students.”
“That makes it worse.”
“Just relax, Karina.”
“Yeah, yeah. They won’t even know what you’re talking about because they’ll be too busy staring at your face.”
Millia hit the nail on the head. Since Karina wasn’t wearing her veil today, her pretty face was on display. The boys were already staring at her like they were hypnotized.
“Ow! Why did you pinch me?!”
“Are you crazy?!”
“I’m innocent! You saw it too!”
…Looks like they’re a couple. I shifted my gaze from the poor guy being bullied to inspect the café. Just in case, checking the tunnel I made.
Hmm. It’s still intact.
This means we have an escape route secured.
If the ceiling collapses, I can just lead them through the tunnel.
Besides, if something falls on Karina, Renny can just swat it away, so no worries about injuries.
“Then I’ll begin the speech.”
Ahem, Karina cleared her throat. At her voice, all eyes turned to her. With a slight blush, she began her speech.
It wasn’t the same content as the martial arts tournament, but it was pretty normal and nice, so once it was over, everyone erupted into applause.
It’s nice how peacefully things went.
There’s no annoying prince creating trouble.
But where did that first prince go? Even though he’s utterly annoying, it’s hard not to think about him since he’s still a first prince.
I couldn’t be sure Karina was his only target.
If he’s hunting, why not take him down too? It’d cause chaos in the empire, wouldn’t it? Their goal seems to cause mayhem in the world.
If that jerk is from the Halphas Cult like in the original…
Ugh. I really need to take those guys down fast to break Karina’s curse.
Since that curse originates from them, if I wipe them all out, the curse should vanish too.
But that’s a long way off.
They usually start their rampage from the beginning of the second year.
“Hey, Saint! Please come this way! We’ll give you the best service!”
“What about everyone else?”
“Are you really wanting a different maid to guide you…?”
“No, it’s just that others aren’t even approaching.”
I’m a bit curious.
“Karina’s my responsibility! We’re close!”
Ah, so Millia took the initiative because she felt it might be too much pressure. That actually was the wisest choice. Since they’re friends, even if she messes up, it won’t be a big deal. Plus, for Karina, Millia would be a better option than a nervous maid.
“I understand. Thank you for your help.”
Millia and Karina smiled at each other. I casually glanced into Karina’s eyes and could see how cute she found Millia. It’s like she treats her as a younger sister. It’s only natural since Millia normally acts like one.
We followed Millia to the table, which was by the sunlight streaming through the window. Millia, in a cheerful voice, asked:
“What would you like to drink? We have coffee, black tea, or milk tea!”
…Just three options?
Well, this isn’t a professional café, so I guess they wouldn’t have iced Americano or anything.
Ah, I really want iced Americano.
Maybe I’ll whip one up later.
“I’ll have black tea.”
“Me too.”
“I’ll go with black tea as well.”
It’s easier to just keep it uniform. As we watched Millia dash off, we chatted about our upcoming schedule and our impressions of the café, and time flew until Millia returned with the tea.
“Ta-da! Here’s the black tea~”
“…Oh. It smells good.”
“Really. The temperature is just right, and it seems well-brewed.”
“They brewed it perfectly.”
Honestly, I don’t know much about tea aside from it smelling nice.
“Hehe. I made it myself!”
“Oh wow, really? I think I can trust you to make black tea from now on.”
“Since we’re at it, I’ll make mine too.”
“Hehe, I’ll make it for you! I promise!”
“Thanks a lot.”
The atmosphere was so cheerful, it was almost as if the assassination threat from earlier was a lie.
I wish it would stay like this, but with the mission and the definite threat of an assassin, I pretended to look outside to check if anything strange was happening.
…It’s too peaceful; it makes me feel like I’ll loosen up.
And just like that, our peaceful café break ended without a hitch.
———–
“The next stop is the Magic Department.”
The Magic Department was having a magic demonstration, so it ought to be easy to just watch, right? Elisa told me they might even showcase creative magic.
…I learned then that magic can also be created.
In the game, that kind of thing wouldn’t happen, and I never thought a student could create new magic in reality either.
“This Magic Department is quite simple.”
“Those folks are practical.”
“Still, just writing ‘Magic Department Demonstration’ on the door is a bit too minimalistic.”
The Liberal Arts Department at least decorated their door, but here it feels more like a ‘Hey, you know what this is, hurry up and come see’ vibe. Is there no guide? Looking around, I spotted a familiar figure.
“Elisa.”
“Oh, uh, hello…”
Elisa approached us, fumbling as always in her school uniform. Her shy demeanor confirmed she was indeed Elisa.
There can’t be anyone else who could pull off such a clumsy move other than her.
“What are you doing here?”
“Um, I’m, uh, doing hospitality…”
“For that, you’re too tucked away in a corner.”
“I… I’m too scared to talk to people…”
Is it too early for her to be on hospitality duty? I sighed and patted her shoulder.
“Elisa, you can do it. So don’t be so down.”
“Right! Elisa, take your time. Don’t be too scared.”
“Yeah, just think of people as walking corn.”
“Corn?”
Why is corn coming up? I glanced at Renny, who looked away, scratching her cheek.
“Uh, I just said that.”
“Thanks…”
“Can you take us inside then?”
“Y-yes…”
We followed Elisa, who guided us inside the magic demonstration hall, timidly leading the way.
As we entered, all eyes immediately turned to us from the magic department students.
“Saint has arrived…”
“She’s here to give the opening remarks, right?”
“…”
“Karina, you’re truly beautiful.”
“Oh my, Martina.”
Kind-hearted Martina approached us with a soft smile. As a first-year representative of the Magic Department, she must have stepped up since the seniors were likely intimidated by the title of ‘Saint.’
“The magic demonstration will start in 30 minutes. Why not relax over there until then?”
“Oh my, thank you.”
“Elisa, could you help out over there?”
“Y-yes!”
As Martina directed, Elisa hurried off to assist the students preparing for the demonstration. I was a bit worried seeing her so flustered, but she’s not such a child, so I figured she’d be fine.
“I’ll show you the way.”
Following Martina, we moved towards a table set aside in the corner. This seemed to be the VIP table, looking more elegant than the others.
“We didn’t need to go this far for such a nice spot…”
“Don’t say that. It’s no trouble at all to provide a good seat for the Saint.”
Martina smiled and said she had to go lead again.
Looks like it’s just us now.
“The atmosphere here in the Magic Department is quite different.”
“There’s that kind of vibe specific to magicians.”
“Everything seems very practical.”
That was true. At first glance, the tools looked roughly made with functionality in mind. Even the decorative items were oddly distinctive and a bit hard to comprehend.
Like a teapot with two spouts on top and bottom or two dishes stuck together with a slight gap. Even the cups looked like mugs but had no handles, only to mold to the shape of my hand when I held them.
…They really have a lot of strange stuff.
“How do you use this teapot?”
“Maybe it’s meant to hold different things in each spout?”
“That sounds reasonable.”
While we marveled at the strange gadgets, suddenly, 30 minutes passed.
When the time came, we quietly climbed onto the platform in the demonstration hall to prepare for the speech. This time, Karina looked more relaxed as she cleared her throat.
“…Then, I will begin the speech.”
Karina’s lovely voice started echoing throughout the hall.
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