Me, Scarlett, and Charlotte headed out to the main street.
If there was ever a time to say no news is good news, it’s now. If Charlotte didn’t come looking for me, that means her problem hasn’t resurfaced.
So we hadn’t had any contact until now. Charlotte’s expression was also cheerful as if nothing had happened to her.
It was winter, so the sun had set early, and the evening was already dark.
But there were bright lights everywhere, and it looked like Temple was already celebrating, even though the street was deserted.
“Doesn’t the festival start on Monday?”
Charlotte laughed at my comment.
“Well, the restrictions for outsider access are lifted on Monday, but the restrictions on business and entertainment are lifted today. People with Temple passes get to enjoy the festivities a little earlier.”
With that said, the festivities had already begun.
During the festival, the once impregnable Temple will be open to civilians.
Sure, there’s a lot of extra security, but for the people of the capital, the week of the festival is the only time they get to see what the famous Temple would look like from beyond the massive walls.
But the civilian population hasn’t quite arrived en masse yet.
It’s a period of pre-festival preparation.
The streets of Temple were a little more lively than usual, with bright lights, stalls out in the open, and delicious aromas everywhere.
There were people buying food on the street, and students practicing playing instruments, or singing in the street.
“The normal classes must have been busy preparing for this and that event, but we have nothing but free time?”
Charlotte smirked.
“I should be grateful, then.”
“Ah, yes. I should have known that that would be your reaction.”
The regular classes are busy with their preparations for the festival, but the Royal Class, who should have been the busiest, actually have nothing to do, so they’re wandering the streets leisurely on the eve of the festival.
“Let’s eat that.”
As I remembered our first time out, Charlotte wasn’t very picky about what she ate. At her suggestion, the three of us grabbed some chicken skewers that were being grilled on the street, which smelled incredibly delicious.
I wondered if she just loved street food, and was just making excuses.
“Ouch, hot!”
“Who’s taking it away from you, slow down.”
“I didn’t realize it was so hot.”
Charlotte blows on the hot chicken skewers and takes small, careful bites.
She was nibbling on it, but she was nibbling so hard that it looked like a small mouse was gnawing on it.
What the hell.
That’s ridiculously cute.
Scarlett slowly ate her chicken skewer. I took a bite and just held it.
“…Somehow, it seems I’m the most eager.”
Charlotte looked back and forth between me and Scarlett and said that.
I’m nominally from a beggar’s background.
Scarlett actually grew up in poverty.
“Too sweet.”
“How sweet?”
Charlotte tilts her head curiously, then looks puzzled when I hold it out for her to try.
“Uh… Huh? Why?”
“No, try it.”
“Huh? Huh?”
“What’s wrong with it, is it dirty?”
“Oh, no, it’s not. Not that, but..?”
“If you don’t like it, don’t eat it.”
“Oh, you, I told you it’s not dirty!”
When I tried to take it back, Charlotte grabbed my arm and bit down on the chicken skewer in my hand.
It felt like I was forcing her.
Scarlett’s eyes widened at the sight.
No, really.
What’s the big deal about this, freaking out over something as simple as this? Charlotte blushed and chewed, then shook her head.
“It’s not even that sweet.”
“It’s a matter of taste.”
“Seriously, you’re picky in the strangest places.”
Charlotte clicked her tongue at me, as if I were the weirdest thing she’d ever seen. This time she looked at Scarlett, who, like me, had stopped taking a bite from her skewer.
“What’s wrong, Scarlett?”
“This is too spicy.”
I grabbed another bite, and it was just as sweet as before. When Charlotte stared at her again, Scarlett stammered and held out the chicken skewer she was holding.
“Wo, Wo……. Would you like some?”
This time, Charlotte nodded and took a bite out of the skewer Scarlett was holding.
“….”
Charlotte’s face began to twist.
Hmm.
I thought Scarlett’s reaction was a little muted, so I thought it wasn’t that spicy, but I guess not.
“….”
“I’ll get some water.”
“I, I shouldn’t have let you have a bite….”
Charlotte’s mouth was slightly open, she wasn’t even chewing at all.
‘What the hell.’
‘Just what did I eat?’
That was what the look on her face said.
We sat down at a bench next to a nearby fountain to rest.
Charlotte, who had been rinsing her mouth for a while after gulping down the water I’d bought, was fuming.
“What the hell! How are they selling that for money! They should have put up a warning! Who would eat something like that?!”
Charlotte touched her lips and winced.
“It’s not just spicy, it hurts. My lip hurts.”
“Can’t you eat anything spicy?”
“Do people really eat that?”
“Some people do. I just bought the best-selling one earlier.”
Charlotte’s mouth dropped open at Scarlett’s words.
“Why would you buy something like that?”
“I don’t know.”
The main street sells all sorts of things, but the food in the Royal Class dormitories and the last dinner I had at the Spring Palace was far from spicy.
It seemed that Charlotte lived a life in which chili peppers didn’t exist.
Scarlett was nibbling on a chicken skewer that she said she couldn’t eat because it was too spicy.
I don’t know if she’s good at eating spicy food or if she enjoys it, but she’s eating it anyway.
“Didn’t you say it was spicy?”
“Yes.”
At my question, Scarlett took another bite.
“It would be a shame to throw it away.”
“….”
“….”
Charlotte’s eyes met mine.
What could we say to that?.
Scarlett and Charlotte ate their share of yakitori with relish.
I finished mine quickly even though they were too sweet, but there was more to it than that.
“Can’t you eat neatly? You’re making a mess!”
I handed them both a tissue.
I resisted the urge to wipe it up myself.
I hated getting that stuff on my clothes. It’s wet and dirty.
“What? When did this happen?”
“Well, I guess….”
Both Charlotte and Scarlett wiped the sauce off their skirts, the corners of their mouths, and even their hair.
Eventually, they both began to eat in an odd position, craning their necks forward.
The princess and the pauper ate yakitori in the same position, while both were covered in sauce.
A priceless picture.
“Eh, it tastes good, but it’s uncomfortable to eat.”
After tossing the remaining sticks in the trash, Charlotte brushed her sauce-stained clothes with her hands. Obviously, neither became clean.
“But it’s all part of the experience, right? Come on, let’s try something else!”
Charlotte excitedly led the way. Scarlett watched her and smiled.
“You know, I don’t know why, but you seem to be in a good mood lately.”
Charlotte and Scarlett are close, even by the standards of Class B. Even so, Charlotte probably doesn’t tell Scarlett much. So even though they’re close, there’s still quite a bit of distance between them.
Still, I knew that Charlotte cared about Scarlett.
“I don’t know what’s going on, but I’m glad.”
Just as importantly, Scarlett seemed to care about Charlotte too.
Charlotte certainly seemed to be in a good mood.
Suddenly, I understood why Charlotte had skipped dinner today and called us over.
Once the festival officially starts, there will be so many people that it would be hard to get around.
The tournament qualifiers start tomorrow too.
Even if she had a bracelet with cognitive disruption magic, I had my own things to attend to, and Scarlett would also be occupied with her own matters.
“Doesn’t that look delicious?”
Charlotte wanted the three of us to experience the festival today.
Her platinum hair glistened in the Temple’s winter lights as she ran through the streets.
We didn’t settle on a spot to eat, but rather wandered around and grabbed our favorite street food.
Instead of ordering three for one person each, we ordered one to share between us.
There were fried noodles, and there were drinks too.
“It’s nice to be able to try everything.”
Charlotte seemed to enjoy the experience, even though it was obviously new to her.
Scarlett was the one who was most baffled by the idea of drinking from the same straw. She didn’t mind, but Charlotte’s nonchalance seemed to surprise her.
We also came across some pretty cool stuff.
” Phew, how nostalgic…….”
“… That wasn’t a good memory, though.”
I saw a coconut pierced with a straw for sale, so I bought one and we each took a sip. Scarlett looks at the coconut in disbelief.
“Oh my, was it this bad…?”
“I mean… No, isn’t this a different variety? It doesn’t taste like I remember!”
“It’s flavored, that’s why.”
“… It is?”
I’m sure it didn’t taste like this when I drank coconut as a substitute for drinking water on that deserted island during that scorching summer. It’s even winter now too.
In a place with so much to drink and eat, the coconut was nothing more than a fishy, foul-tasting juice. Charlotte giggled as she remembered the desert island.
“Haha, I thought I was messy now with all these stains on my clothes, but this is nothing compared to back then.”
It didn’t matter if you were a prince,a princess or a grand duchess, there was no courtesy to be found there.
I went through it in Class A, but Charlotte went through it in Class B, assuming a position of leadership.
“So when it rained so hard, you thought it was over?”
“I did.”
“And then when Ashir summoned the light with his divine magic,I felt like I was saved.”
“Yeah, me too.”
They talked about their experiences in Class B during the mission.
“I mean, Ludwig caught dozens of fish on the very first day… He’s amazing, if only he could use his head a little better.”
“But I think he has a lot of good qualities.”
“Uh, I didn’t mean he has a lot of flaws.”
“Yeah, I know what you mean.”
From the way they were talking, I got a sense of how they usually interacted. It’s usually Charlotte talking and Scarlett chiming in with comments or retorts. Scarlett seemed to be a good listener. Charlotte looked at me as if she thought I was being left out.
“You were a big deal back then, Reinhardt.”
“I didn’t do much.”
“I heard from Bertus later that if it weren’t for you, he’d have given up halfway through the first day.”
Bertus said that?
I can’t believe they could even have a conversation in the first place. Granted, they’re not exactly ignoring each other, but when they talk, it’s usually heaped with insults. But I guess it still counts as conversation.
Honestly, I didn’t think of taking the lead. I just showed those kids it was possible.
And then Bertus, who managed to get it together, took over.
To be honest, I didn’t do much.
Bertus took command, Harriet and Adelia’s magic set up the camp, and Ellen hunted for food.
Even on the last orc hunt, Ellen and Harriet did most of the work.
Of course, I can’t deny that a good start is half the battle, and that I was the one who allowed that to happen.
Charlotte took the coconut, which tasted familiar, but so different from what she remembered, and brought her mouth to the straw and took a sip.
“This year, it seems like it’s been so long.”
Charlotte looked up at the night sky.
There were too many street lights to see the stars.
This is a monumental year for humanity, with the end of the Demon World War and the destruction of the Demon Realm.
But in other ways, it’s been a long year.
For me and for Charlotte.
So much has happened.
Now, at the end of the year, at the end of Temple’s second semester, with the festival just around the corner, I’m wrapping up the year and preparing for what’s to come at the end.
Charlotte clutched the coconut tightly.
It doesn’t taste as good as she remembers, but she realized that this was the flavor she remembered it having after all.
“Let’s do better next year, guys.”
“Yeah.”
“I hope so.”
We’ll do better.
Whatever it meant.
I asked Charlotte if she was going to run for Miss Temple, and she said she wasn’t even thinking about it. She said it would be funny whether she won or not.
If she did win, it would be because she’s a princess, and if she didn’t win, she’d be upset.
Of course, I don’t think Olivia’s too noble to care about that.
Anyway, Charlotte didn’t seem to want to do anything at the festival.
But if she participated in the tournament, she’s going to win.
I’m not sure how far Charlotte can go with her supernatural ability, but she did push Saviolin Turner back hard. I don’t know if she can only use it under certain conditions, like in the darkness.
Of course, it’s unlikely that Charlotte, who feared and hated her ability, would enter the tournament and wield shadows.
Friday passed and now it’s Saturday.
The Royal Class dormitory was empty.
Ellen, Cliffman, and Liana would be at her manor. Harriet and Adelia must have spent the night at the Magic Research Society, doing whatever it is they do there. Bertus is back at the Winter Palace.
So there are only five of us left in the dormitory. Me, Heinrich, and the three idiots.
During breakfast.
As I was eating, Heinrich, who was eating nearby, looked at me.
“The qualifying rounds start today, right?”
“Uh, yeah.”
After the incident in the Edina Archipelago, we didn’t get into fights anymore, but we weren’t all buddy buddy either.
The tournament doesn’t have any major restrictions. There’s also no ban on supernatural abilities, so there’s no problem with Heinrich or Liana participating.
But Liana seems to be having more fun dressing up the two, and Heinrich hasn’t joined in.
He clicks his tongue, then snaps.
“If you weren’t participating, I’d have joined too.”
It’s clear he’s not going to compete because he knows he’s going to lose to me. It’s kind of funny to hear him say that so casually. It’s also kind of annoying.
Heinrich seemed to be convinced of my victory, and the three idiots sitting next to him didn’t seem to have much of an opinion.
Kono Lint suddenly looks around.
None of the female classmates who used to glare at him whenever he talked bullshit were here now.
“Hey guys, Have you heard about it?”
Kono Lint speaks up after a quick glance around. Cayer’s curiosity got the better of him and he asked.
“Heard about what?”
“The cross-dressing contest.”
“…?”
“Cross-dressing?”
“Yeah, apparently they do that kind of thing. Not on the scale of Miss Temple or Mister Temple, but they have a contest where men dress up as women and women dress up as men.”
Erich frowned at that.
“Aren’t they crazy? Why would they hold something like that?”
“They do it every year though, and it seems to go over well.”
A cross-dressing contest.
I felt dizzy just hearing it.
I glared at Kono Lint.
“Shut the fuck up, I’m sure everyone who goes to that shit is a pervert.”
I said so.
I said it, having once cross-dressed as a woman and confessing to Kono Lint….
I felt light headed.
I thought I was going to throw up.
Fuck.
And I got nervous.
I felt like something’s going to happen.
I felt like there was going to be an event!
[Event Occurs - Cross-dressing Contest]
[Objective: Win the Cross-dressing Contest].
[Reward: +5 Magic Power, magic resistance increased].
Ah….
My head started hurting….
Fucking asshole.
I don’t know why you’re doing this to me.
“Are you Mr. Reinhardt, A-11, first year Royal Class?”
“…Yes.”
“Your entry for the cross-dressing contest has been accepted.”
Seriously, you’re killing me.
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