“Wow? Long time no see!”
Elise was surprised to see an unexpected face at the royal year-end party and approached her without realizing it.
Dressed in a brown dress that matched her reddish-brown hair. A little revealing, but sadly lacking in volume due to her slim figure, she still showcased her down-to-earth charm.
“Ugh, even if it’s been a while, I don’t want to see you.”
It was a rather harsh response for a greeting, but Elise smiled as if she missed her and stealthily stood next to Mei.
“I have to say, it’s nice to meet my academy friend like this. That friend happens to be a princess of the kingdom.”
Using her status, Elise attempted to pressure Mei indirectly, and Mei, after a brief moment of silence, cautiously whispered so as not to be overheard by those around them.
“Get lost, you crazy girl.”
“If it weren’t for my lord…”
Elise stared at Mei who looked like she was at a loss for words about how to handle this. Her boldness had always been a charm of Mei’s, and Elise didn’t dislike it.
It felt like a female version of Daniel.
“Of course, it’s not quite the same feeling as my lord’s blessing.”
It had already been over two months since she’d heard his voice. There had been times when she wanted to dash out of the royal palace, especially after the first prince, Oliver, had been executed.
She had no choice but to remain in the palace to assist the second prince, Alois.
“Damn it, you just reminded me of him.”
“…That’s something I should be saying.”
Mei seemed like she wanted to shove her hands into her pockets, but with a dress that had no pockets, her hands floated uselessly in the air.
Usually, she’d grab some candy and pop it into her mouth right away.
“I wonder what he’s doing now.”
“I should’ve had some lavender kids do some investigating.”
The two sighed heavily. Rumors were circulating that the three princesses and the troublemaker of the Plov family were close friends.
“Isn’t there a way for him to come back? It’s really so disappointing.”
“I confirmed that he used a warp to Nirva, but what happened after that is anyone’s guess.”
Even if Mei had been dragged back to her family, Elise had seen Daniel introducing an eccentric through the warp to Nirva.
Since they couldn’t figure out what happened afterward, both felt frustrated when they suddenly noticed three girls in the corner chatting amongst themselves.
A lively blonde girl, a girl with dark blue hair who had taken off her usual glasses, and lastly, a girl with a slightly tattered dress and black bobbed hair.
“Tana, Eve… and Hayun?”
Mei was surprised at their presence, but Elise was already moving her feet.
“Let’s go.”
Especially since Hayun was one of the group that had gone to Nirva with Daniel. They might be able to explain what had happened.
The reason those three were at the royal year-end party was simple.
Firstly, Eve was able to come thanks to Tana. Tana, from the branch family of the royal house of Mayas, had been valued highly after going to the royal palace instead of the twins last time.
Thanks to this, she could attend such an event, and Eve was there as Tana’s friend.
Hayun had managed to come on short notice.
After parting with Daniel and arriving in Nirva, Hayun checked the royal year-end party invitation waiting at her family’s residence and hurriedly grabbed a dress to head to the palace.
It was also a chance to naturally inform that she was the new head of the Len family and that her uncle had tragically passed away.
So, the impromptu year-end gathering of the Aios Academy had been created. Although there were only five of them, everyone was excited to catch up after a long time.
Naturally, the topic dominated by Daniel McLean.
“So, I gave him some candy, but he refused it!”
“Wow, did you really go that far with Daniel?”
When Mei’s words made Eve exclaim in surprise, Mei awkwardly smiled and replied.
“Without putting in this much effort, do you think he’d even notice? He’s got his head turned towards that elf and is drooling. Ugh, I thought he was going to finally switch over, but now it’s vacation.”
Remembering how Daniel had been flustered at the fifth-grade graduation party upon seeing her and Rin, Mei genuinely felt disappointed.
It was an excellent chance to capture Daniel as he was wavering.
However, according to Hayun, he had now gone to the land of the beastmen to rescue the elf.
“Missed my shot.”
She wasn’t sure what would happen with the elf, but it felt like the tower she had built up until now was crumbling, and all she could do was sigh.
“Well, I don’t know if Eris-sama will end up well. Nothing major should happen for now.”
Hayun’s most recent words drew the attention of the other girls. Although a bit flustered by their scrutinizing gazes, Hayun explained while clearing her throat.
“Daniel had been questioning the nature of his feelings a bit. He wasn’t sure if he liked the Eris-sama he knows now or the Eris-sama he saw in the future.”
Elise raised her hand to ask.
“I’ve been curious since last time, but does my lord really have the ability to see the future? He saw the future Eris-sama through that ability?”
If it had been a while ago, she wouldn’t have believed it. However, Hayun awkwardly laughed and shrugged.
“Time seems to stop now, you know.”
This sounded completely ridiculous, but for some reason, everyone was just accepting it because Daniel said so.
They’d probably believe it if he said he flew to the moon.
But here, Eve raised her hand enthusiastically to give her opinion.
“However, did Daniel really start to like Eris-sama from seeing the future? Doesn’t that seem a bit odd?”
“Huh?”
Tana tilted her head in curiosity, while some of the girls fell silent for a moment to think and then cautiously agreed.
“That’s true. A guy who builds walls even if we try to appeal to him suddenly starts liking someone just because he saw a future version? Seems a bit off.”
“I agree. I don’t think my lord would fall for someone just like that. And there’s no way he’d fail to distinguish between the current and future Eris-sama.”
“He hasn’t experienced it himself; it’s just something he saw.”
As Mei, Elise, and Hayun spoke in succession, it truly began to feel like something was off. It seemed that Daniel McLean was hiding something more.
The lie he told about simply seeing the future while concealing his regression was beginning to crack.
“Um, Princess.”
“Mei!”
At that moment, two people approached them at the same time.
The person who called Elise was the well-known maid Bertia, who urgently pulled Elise away with a pale face.
The person who called Mei was the opposite.
A lively and cheerful voice belonged to Lucia, the saint of Batian dressed in a nun’s outfit.
“Lucia?”
“Mei! You haven’t grown at all!”
“Look at how you talk for a saint!”
Despite saying that, the two hugged each other tightly and exchanged updates on their lives.
Saint Lucia of Batian was also invited to the royal party to recite a prayer celebrating the coming year.
With Elise stepping back, Lucia entered the conversation. Since they were the ones who hadn’t gone on the school trip to Batian, it was initially awkward, but they quickly warmed up to each other through their shared empathy for Daniel.
“By the way, doesn’t Batian usually have a big gathering at year-end? Shouldn’t you be there?”
At Mei’s question, Lucia put a finger to her chin and seemed to ponder for a moment. It looked like she hesitated for a second but then—
Because Mei nudged her side to hurry her up, Lucia quietly gathered the girls and whispered.
“Actually, the sun god delivered a message to us this time.”
“Huh? Is that a thing too?”
A startled Mei. Lucia shrugged her shoulders and pointed to herself.
“This saint is special, you know?”
“……”
“Ahem, to be honest, it’s more of a… sign rather than a prophecy. There were red letters burned into the floor of our temple saying to prevent the apocalypse that would silence the world.”
“Uh?”
Lucia was unaware of “The Earliest Apocalypse.” Therefore, the other girls couldn’t help but listen with surprised expressions.
“So there’s been a huge ruckus over this. The reason we’re here today is largely because of that. We wanted to request a bit of help from the royal palace.”
“……”
As the girls began to ponder over her words once more, Elise, who had been called away by Bertia, rushed over to Hayun.
“Uh, where’s my lord? Where is he?”
“Huh? He’s in the land of the beastmen! He’s going to rescue Eris-sama, who is locked up in the royal prison…”
Having overheard this, Bertia hurriedly ran off somewhere.
“What? Is he really going to catch Daniel?”
Recognizing the situation was serious, Mei slyly asked, while Elise took a deep breath and answered as calmly as possible, but—
The content was anything but calm.
“The magical beasts in the Forest of the Demon Realm have all come out and are starting to invade the kingdom.”
