漫画大王

Chapter 77

Since no one else used the lab, it was cluttered with what appeared to be the two girls’ personal belongings, which were strewn all over the place.

Since no one knew which items were important and which were not, the cleaning staff could not clean the place unless they were specifically asked to do so.

Hence, the lab was a complete mess.

"You’re really enjoying the personal space here, I see."

Aplie of plates filled with leftover food was piled up on one side, and for some reason, there were clothes scattered about, which I couldn\'t understand. I cleared a space on the sofa next to the cluttered side table and sat down.

Adelia hesitantly sat on the other side, her face blushing red.

"Hey, why don’t you just ask someone to clean this all up?” I asked. “It\'s not like you\'re the one who has to do the cleaning.”

"O... Okay...” Adelia responded, her voice as faint as a mosquito\'s. Her head dropped, and her expression resembled that of a child being scolded.

The lab was full of research equipment and things I didn\'t recognize, and the mess was ridiculous.

"By the way, do you know if Harriet decided to take a leave of absence?"

"It seems like she has...” Adelia muttered in a gloomy voice.

Harriet and Adelia shared the same major, so they were close. Harriet had a tendency to look down on the Class B students and had a strong sense of privilege, often despising those of a common background. However, although Adelia was a commoner, even Harriet couldn\'t stand being lonely, and made Adelia an exception.

"What will you do if she really leaves school?"

"I don\'t know... I really hope she doesn\'t, but that’s just my opinion.”

Adelia did not appreciate the idea of Harriet taking a leave of absence as well. Her hands and feet fidgeted continuously, as if my presence made her nervous.

I did conceive of her as a character with an extremely timid nature, but actually seeing it with my own eyes made me genuinely uncomfortable. It was as if I was bullying her or something.

Anyway, Adelia didn\'t want Harriet to leave the Temple.

"Then why don\'t you try to convince her to stay here instead?" I suggested.

It would be great if she could handle this task for me.

At my words, Adelia lifted her head to look at me, her eyes filled with horror.

"H-how can I... Harriet is of such high... high nobility... How could I possibly make such a request...?”

Adelia was still not used to the Temple’s dynamics, so despite being close to Harriet, she was still intimidated by her. Given the immense gap in their social standing, Adelia struggled with thoughts about whether it was appropriate for her to speak in a certain way to someone like her, or to be friends with her.

"Hey, it’s okay. If you want to do something, just go for it. Why overthink it so much?"

In principle, within the Temple, students were supposed to treat each other as equals, and it was forbidden to exploit one’s social rank. Of course, there were those like me who took this principle at face value, and then there were those like Mayaton who exploited it. But there were also those who couldn\'t accept it at all.

This was true for nobles and royals, but also for commoners, like Adelia, who was in front of me.

At my words, Adelia\'s eyes darted about frantically, betraying her nervousness.

"Th-that might be easy for you... but... for me, it\'s scary.”

She seemed unable to comprehend how I dealt with everyone so nonchalantly.

"How could I say something that would go against what the Duke of Saint-Ouen has decided...?”

It seemed that, in her mind, making such a comment was not only being rude to Harriet, but it was also an affront to Harriet\'s father, the Duke of Saint-Ouen.

Wow. She really was the epitome of pessimism. Some brats in Class A had such excessive pride and self-esteem that it made them unbearable to look at, but dealing with someone with such rock-bottom self-esteem was also a headache, in a different sort of way.

"Wow... You sure are going to live a pretty tough life with that kind of mindset.”

"W-why are you being mean to me...”

Adelia, who had reached the pinnacle of social awkwardness, whined softly in response to my sarcastic remark, and then quickly clamped her mouth shut in sudden shock. She seemed to think that I was angry because she had talked back to me.

If Harriet had a thick skull, Adelia was a coward.

She was timid to the max, but in a cute and charming way.

She felt intimidated by Harriet because she was a noble, and she was scared of me because, despite being a commoner, I came off as a thug. I guess I’d found a friend who got scared easily.

"D-do you.... dislike the idea of Harriet taking a leave of absence as well?" Adelia asked in a small voice, her eyes darting about again.

"Yeah, I don\'t."

My straightforward answer seemed to surprise her, and her eyes widened. Her gaze carried a myriad of implications.

‘I thought you two didn’t get along?’

‘I thought you would be happy if Harriet took a leave?’

‘Does that mean... You like her?!’

‘Oh, so all this time, you’ve been teasing Harriet because you...?!!’

Wow. I had never before encountered someone whose thoughts I could read so clearly just by looking into their eyes.

Then, suddenly...

Thump!

"Adelia? You were her—"

Harriet flung the door open and barged into the magic research lab, and froze like a block of ice when she saw me.

Upon seeing Adelia and me sitting face-to-face and chatting, Harriet\'s face turned deathly pale.

"Y-you, you... w-why are you... why are you here?"

"Why, is there any reason I’m not allowed to be in here?"

There was no rule that said only those majoring in magic could enter here. Harriet’s pale face grew progressively redder.

She looked back and forth between the unorganized state of the research lab and me.

In addition to plates and leftover food, there were clothing items scattered about chaotically.

Though it was a shared space, these two seemed to be using it like their own private workshop, so it must have felt as though I was an unwelcome person barging into her personal space.

Her expression was that of someone caught in a most undesirable state by the very last person she wanted to see.

"G... Ge-... Get out of here nowwww!!!" she screeched, demanding that I leave.

Of course, there was no way I was going to leave just because she told me to.

Not a chance.

"No way. It’s not like you two have rented this place exclusively for yourselves."

"Get out! Get out! Out, I said! Get ouuuut!!!"

Her face was almost crimson, and she began to pull at my arm. It seemed she was so embarrassed that she, who would usually have been disgusted to even touch me, was willing to resort to physical contact.

"Hey, watch it! You\'re going to rip my clothes! Do you know how much they\'re worth?"

‘Probably just a couple of bucks... It may not be a fancy outfit, but it’s the casual wear Eleris gave me!’

"Out out out out out!!!"

"Oh come on, it’s not like I called you guys out for being filthy or anything! Why are you like this?"

"Aaaaack! Ack! Ack!"

Harriet, who was repeating \'get out\' like a broken record, eventually managed to drag me to the entrance of the magic research lab and tossed me out.

It wasn’t as if I had seen anything scandalous—it was just a bit messy, which was totally acceptable for teenagers like her, so what was the big deal?

A little while later, she cracked open the door to the magic research lab and peeked her head out. Her face was still beet red. Apparently, she was still unable to hide her embarrassment.

"What do you want?" She asked with a wary expression, wanting to know what business I had for being in the magic research lab.

"I was looking for you."

“... Me?"

Her face turned an even deeper shade of red.

***

I thought she would snap at me, demanding why I was looking for her. Surprisingly, though, after pondering for a moment, she quietly stepped outside.

"Why can\'t we just talk inside?"

"No! I\'d rather die than do that!" Harriet screamed vehemently.

It was not like I was a corporate spy out to steal their research or anything, and besides, I’d already seen the mess, so what difference did it make if I saw it again?

‘Kids these days...’

I had no choice, and in the end, I took Harriet to the cafeteria. It was well before mealtime, so the place was deserted.

Surprisingly, she followed me without any resistance. She didn\'t say much, but quietly accompanied me all the way to the cafeteria.

Harriet and I sat down facing each other at a table.

"What is it?"

Her demeanor suggested she was willing to listen to whatever nonsense I had to say. That was unexpectedly cooperative.

Without beating around the bush, I went straight to the point.

"Are you planning on taking a leave of absence?"

"... So what if I am? It’s good news for me, since it means I don\'t have to see a disgusting beggar for a year,” Harriet said with a false air of nonchalance, as though she preferred it, and that it was a blessing that she wouldn\'t have to see me for a while.

"Don\'t."

"... What?"

"Don\'t take a leave of absence."

The straightforwardness of my statement, spoken almost like a command, caused Harriet\'s face to distort bizarrely.

Furthermore, her face was gradually turning redder. In an attempt to cool herself down, she even started fanning her face with her hand.

She had the expression of someone who had just been on the receiving end of a romantic confession.

"Pffft! Hah! Ha Ha! Wh-what... What the! Ha! Ha! This is... wh-what...? Pfft

‘Could you at least pretend you’re not blushing?’

After fanning herself for some time, she finally folded her arms and glared at me as though flabbergasted.

"Why should I listen to anything a lowlife like you says?"

‘Whoa it’s not like I asked you to go on a date with me, okay? Why are you looking at me with such anticipation?’

She seemed ready to revel in the satisfaction of thinking, “Ha! How dare a commoner confess their love to me!”

She was prepared to bask in her feelings of superiority and pride.

"Um... I\'m not exactly sure what you\'re thinking, but if you take a leave, you’re going to come back next year as a first-year again, right?"

“...”

Her expression stiffened, as though she was getting an inkling of what I was about to say. I flashed her a sly smile.

"That means you\'d be a year below me and I’d be your senior, right? Is that okay with you?"

"That’s ridiculous! I’m just redoing a grade! That doesn’t change the fact that we’re still the same age!"

Clearly, this was something she had been seriously worrying about. Despite my teasing her by calling her Thick-Skull, she was certainly no idiot.

She must have painted a picture in her head about what the situation would look like if she was held back a year because of her leave of absence.

She had certainly been living in fear, anticipating what Reinhart—who she knew enjoyed tormenting her—might do when he became her senior.

"Next year, I\'ll be the one educating the juniors. Think you can handle that?"

"No way! You said you hated that tradition! You said it was terrible!"

She was almost bouncing off the walls in anger as if she couldn’t believe what I was suggesting, especially after I had even fought a duel over it.

"Maybe I dislike being on the receiving end of it, but who says I wouldn\'t enjoy being the one dishing it out?"

I played the devil\'s advocate with a wicked smile, and Harriet\'s mouth fell open.

"You\'re the worst! You really are insane!"

"Yep, I’ll be expecting a hundred push-ups and fifty laps around the training grounds next year. Good luck!"

"Aaaah!"

Harriet\'s face grew even redder, and she began to tremble violently.

Ah... It was just so entertaining to speak with her, seeing her offer these lively, no-filter reactions after being subjected repeatedly to Ellen\'s utterly non-responsive demeanor.

"So, think about it. If you don\'t want me to be your senior next year, taking a leave of absence might not be your best option, right?"

"Y-you! You little! You are... You’re such a... Ugh!"

In the end, Harriet started to quiver, and then burst into tears.

‘Wait, is she seriously going to start crying over this? No way, tell me this is a dream!’

"Waaaaaah! You rotten... you rotten jerk! You trashbag...!" she sobbed. Tears began to flow freely down her face.

"I don\'t want to take a leave of absence either! I really, really don\'t want to...” she said, her words punctuated by more crying. “I\'d rather die than have a lowlife like you be my senior! Forget it! I’m not going to attend classes at the Temple anymore!"

The thought of what an insane classmate like me could do to her as a senior was enough to make Harriet consider dropping out of the Temple altogether.

However, one thing became clear to me.

Harriet de Saint-Ouen had no intention of taking a leave of absence from the Temple.

Adelia was right.

It had to be her parents—the Duke de Saint-Ouen in particular—who were pushing for her to take this leave.