Several days later, nothing much happened and the days went by peacefully.
Rather, there is absolutely nothing wrong. Anyway, I had lunch with Senpai every day. I shouldn’t say something like peaceful. Ugh, I’m scared of getting used to it…
My classmates, who initially directed their curiosity towards us, also seemed to have become accustomed as well. Whenever they see senpai, everyone calls me like it’s natural. Hey, I am not Senpai’s equal! It could be business other than me! Though he never had other business!
“What is it, Meryl?”
“……No, nothing.”
Today as well, he came again as usual and we walked side by side like it is normal. Senpai is Senpai. He doesn’t need come and meet me regularly everyday.
As the other day, the last lesson seems to be a group combat training called “exercises”, and although the uniform was dirty and the hair was disheveled, he came running appearing like that. While breathing heavily.
Does he really want to have lunch with me so much? I really don’t understand at all.
…Well, he touched me gently that day though.
“Is eating in the shop better?”
“The cafeteria is fine. I’m sorry, it’s really nothing.”
I stopped walking and Senpai turned back, so I tried to return to normal. Today, Senpai also grabbed my hand. But he roughly grabbed it only once… only before that one after school.
He and I stay side by side, with our connected hands that could be easily untangled if I wanted to. That’s right, side by side. Even though I knew, there’s a difference between his and my strides. Needless to say, Senpai adjusted his pace according to my short legs. There’s no harm with holding hands but I’m worried about his gesture. I cannot treat him cruelly for his gentle attitude so it just continued for days until now.
I should escape. I should not get involved.
I am the one who knows best that those words are just an official statement or something.
……I am getting used to this so much. I had overlooked even the parts I need to watch out and had been swept away in these half-hearted days. That’s why I think I did not notice the problem that I should be worrying about.
“Meryl, I was tasked to tell you a message. ‘Senpai will wait after school.’ The place is in the second practical room.”
I went back to the classroom after eating lunch and those unexpected words were told to me the moment I entered the door.
“What the heck? After school?”
“That’s what I heard.”
A classmate who I didn’t have much interaction with told me the message and went back to his/her seat. I answered with a soft thank you to his/her retreating back and I also returned to my seat.
Now, what on earth is he doing?
We’ve been together until a while ago, so he should have told me in the cafeteria.
Spending time with Senpai after school hours. . . Becoming a subject of a love story that I didn’t want to hear and pushing me down the first time we met, it’s hard to say that both were good memories.
I was careless the last time… I wonder if it’s time to get down to “business”.
Recalling something I heard from Monica last time, a shiver ran down my spine. Although I got accustomed so much, it does not change the fact that he is a noble and an heir of a well-known family.
…Maybe I should go after consulting Monica.
While encouraging my scared heart, I opened up the teaching materials of the next lesson.
……Without noticing that I was wrong at that moment.
My classmates and I were too used to it. I did not suspect, believing that I was called by him.
Even though there is a “Senpai” in the message, but “Kralvane-senpai” was not indicated.
* * *
“Second practical room… Ah, it’s here.”
Several hours passed after lunch, the promised time came. As the name suggests, the Practical Room is a room for practicing magical skills, and it is in a different place from the classroom building. Again, I was reminded of the hugeness and the wide scale of this institution… It is truly the best school in Japan. I did well to be admitted here.
Anyway, because it is a place used mainly for dangerous magical lessons, second year students were not yet allowed to enter here. A little bit of dangerous magic will be taught when they become third year.
“Excuse me. Are you there, Senpai?”
A door that seems to be sturdier than the classroom opens with a heavy noise. The inside is less embellished than other rooms and the ceiling is quite high. However, when the walls and the other contents of the room are touched, I completely understood that this room is equipped with safety precautions. Of course, there seems to be a barrier with various kinds of protection. If you look closely, magic circles emitting faint lights are written here and there.
…There’s no deep significance to it but soundproofing seems to be high.
“…Senpai?”
Well, should we observe the room later? I was called here today and I came expressly here. I closed the door and looked around but . . . there is no sign of Senpai. There is nothing inside the room except for blocks and it is just silent.
“Maybe I went in the wrong room.”
Even if I go to the center of the room, nobody is there. From the skylight far above, a hint of orange light entered. It seems pretty . . . Ah, no. I cannot deny the possibility that I mistook the room because it is a place without boundaries. I checked once the name plate but it may be a room with different designation or abbreviation.
Anyway, he is not here. I’ll go home……
“……You really came.”
The door opened and I looked back. But this time, it is not the voice of Kralvane-senpai. High-pitched, it is a voice of a woman that reached my ears.
“Wh-Who are you?”
“That’s what I want to ask you.”
The door opened again and what appeared was a woman with strawberry blonde hair. Loose and wavy and has a length to her waist, it is extremely gorgeous just by that and the strands of her hair are extraordinary. An ideal figure of a woman with curves at the right places . . . this observation made me want to hide my poor chest. I am not really knowledgeable but I can say that her makeup is obviously good. I cannot imitate her no matter how hard I try.
“E-Eh…?”
However, that is not the only surprising thing. Five people also appeared from behind her, one after another. Everyone seemed to devote themselves to look feminine; from how well they look in their uniforms and makeup to nail care, which were different from the aforementioned girl.
Neither Monica nor I actively dress up, and really, there’s a huge difference in our abilities… No, they are those who lived in the world opposite to us.
“Hey, it’s bothersome if you’re mentally slow.”
“Ah, I’m, I’m sorry.”
I spontaneously lowered my head to that slightly harsh voice. There’s something in the air when they came in but I’m not probably wrong. Every one of them is my upperclassman…… in other words, “Senpai”.
………Ah, is that so?
That’s not it. Being in front of them, I finally noticed my mistake. It was not he, Kralvane-senpai, who summoned me.
As soon as I regretted my failure, the heavy door of the strange room was closed with a dull sound.
