---

I slowly turned my body and looked back toward the voice that sounded from behind me.

What caught my eye was the chest of the woman right in front of me.

Keeping my head steady, I subtly raised my eyes to confirm who the owner of that chest was.

And what met my gaze were the blue eyes looking down at me.

Selian’s eyes, which had always reminded me of the blue sky, now shimmered with a deep ocean-like hue.

“Ah, hello, Selly?”

I tried to calm my tense body, raising one hand awkwardly in greeting.

But for some reason, Selian just continued to stare at me without acknowledging my greeting.

“Selian…?”

“Hehe… Elysia really offers her body to anyone, huh…”

Instead of Selian answering me, another voice came from behind her.

I tilted my head slightly and looked to see Yuli standing behind Selian.

“Oh, Yuli, you’re here too. Looks like class is already over.”

“……”

However, just like Selian, I tried to acknowledge Yuli, but received no response either.

What’s going on? Why are both of them just staring at me without saying anything?

Even facing the gazes of the two, a chill ran down my spine, and goosebumps popped up on my arms.

It felt colder than before; it seemed that the air conditioning magic controlling the shop’s temperature had been cranked up too high.

By the way, if Selian and Yuli are here, then Anne, who should be welcoming me first, is nowhere to be found.

I briefly set aside the two who seemed to be ignoring me and scanned the area to find Anne.

Just as I had expected, I spotted Anne standing alone a bit farther away.

Her bright red hair made her easy to identify.

“Anne! Why are you just standing there? Come over here!”

Now a bit less tense, I raised my hand and waved to call her over.

“I saw nothing, I saw nothing, I saw nothing, I saw nothing, I saw nothing, I saw nothing…”

Given the shop’s temperature had dropped excessively, Anne was shivering, curled up tightly.

Even Linne, being a ghost, was shivering beside Anne.

Anne murmured something quietly, but it was hard to discern from a distance.

“Yay! I brought the drinks!”

Just when Selian, Yuli, and Anne were all caught off guard by my words and hadn’t replied, Mariel returned with a drink in each hand.

Mariel, who had successfully skipped along without spilling her drinks, suddenly came to a halt.

As a result, some of the drinks naturally spilled due to inertia, but Mariel calmly walked to the table where we were seated.

“Here you go. The caramel macchiato that Elysia ordered.”

She placed the coffee in front of me and set down a ridiculously expensive drink of unknown name across from her before sitting down.

“Wait a minute, senpai! Your hands are all wet!”

Mariel’s hands were wet from the spilled drinks, yet there was no sign of displeasure on her face—she looked completely at ease.

Seeing her act as if she didn’t notice the drinks on her hands, I pulled out a handkerchief from my pocket to wipe her hands.

“Please don’t fidget too much while I’m cleaning. No, don’t wipe it on my hands, wipe it on the handkerchief….”

The reason she had been still despite having drinks on her hands must have been her prank to get them on mine.

Even as I tried to carefully wipe her hands with the handkerchief, Mariel wiggled her fingers out from under it, tickling my hand.

But since I was holding the handkerchief over my hand, Mariel’s plans to get the drinks on my fingers obviously failed.

Yet, undeterred, even as the drinks on her hands were being cleaned, Mariel continued to rub her fingers insistently against my hand.

“Alright, all clean. No spots left, right?”

I held her hand and checked all around, but thanks to my careful touch, there wasn’t a drop of drink left on her hands.

“Thanks to you. Now I can enjoy the most expensive drink, specially bought by our Elysia-senpai?”

Feeling grateful for the pricey drink Mariel received, she emphasized her thanks as if boasting.

“Between us, this much is nothing. I can’t buy you all the time though.”

“Really? Well, between us, that’s fine.”

Well… if she feels that way, from now on, I hope she avoids bothering me whenever she starts selling something.

“…Can I sit next to you, Elysia?”

“Uh? Oh, yeah. Of course. Speaking of which, I forgot to introduce you.”

“No, I already know the Saint quite well. Right, Mariel?”

Selian pulled out the chair next to me and spoke to Mariel.

Now that I think about it, Selian had previously been assigned to guard the Saint with me.

In addition, we had occasionally met through me as an intermediary.

“…I guess if it’s ‘that’ hero candidate, I should know well enough. Happy to see you again, Selian.”

Brrr.

I shivered slightly from the sudden cold, but Selian and Mariel remained seated without any sign of concern.

“Come on, Anne, sit over here.”

“I did nothing wrong, I did nothing wrong, I did nothing… Hieek!? Y-Yuli? You’re okay now, right?”

“What do you mean? I’ve always been fine! Now, Linne, come over here too.”

Yuli, the first to request permission, pulled over Anne, who was muttering from a distance, and seated her before sitting down herself.

By the way, is it really okay to bring Linne, who is susceptible to sacred magic despite being a ghost, in front of the Saint?

However, much to my relief, Mariel didn’t seem to care at all, even though she clearly knew Linne’s true nature.

“Hehe…. Is it because Elysia-senpai bought the drink? It seems especially delicious!”

Though I had been trembling with cold while paying earlier, seeing her enjoying it like that made every silver coin spent on it worth it.

If I could buy the smile of a beauty like Mariel, a few silver coins would practically feel free.

“You seem to be quite close with Elysia?”

“Of course! As you probably heard earlier, Elysia-senpai and I are close enough that I can easily treat her to these pricey drinks?”

Mariel lifted the drink in her hand slightly as if bragging.

“…Elysia, you really never get tired, huh?”

However, for some reason, Yuli suddenly looked at me and said this with a sigh.

I pondered briefly about Yuli’s unexpected comment regarding my stamina.

And after thinking it through, I realized what she meant.

It was probably about the rehearsal we did earlier.

“Well, I only have stamina left, so as long as my body can keep up, I can’t get tired even during rehearsals.”

Ahem, I struck a pose like I was showing off, with my chin slightly raised and chest out.

Though, while it looks like a fragile girl from the outside, it certainly didn’t compare to how much I had trained my previous body to its limits.

In reality, unlike the instructor wizards who collapsed multiple times during rehearsals, my body never showed signs of tiring.

“Huh?”

Yet, even though part of my statement was bragging, the reactions from those around me were different from what I expected.

Naturally, I thought someone might chuckle or point out that it’s just obvious if you’re a knight student, but no one opened their mouths.

Instead, it seemed?

Selian, Yuli, and Mariel were staring at me silently.

However, rather than their gazes meeting mine, they seemed slightly lower, toward my chest.

Was my joke so cringeworthy they couldn’t even look me in the eyes? Should I just pretend it didn’t happen and let it slide? Just then, Selian broke the silence.

“Well… Elysia’s body does have its reasons to be proud….”

Thanks to Selian, who made her remark to spare me from the awkwardness, I managed to avoid the embarrassing situation.

“Hehe… right, right? After all, Selian knows me best.”

Even knowing it was said to comfort me, hearing a Sword Master acknowledge me couldn’t help but make me smile.

“…That proud body, our Elysia-senpai said she can lend it out for me anytime, right? Isn’t that right, senpai?”

“Well… if you need it, just ask. Like I mentioned, I’m confident in physical tasks.”

“Well, everyone heard that, right? Elysia-senpai and I have that kind of relationship!”

““Ugh…””

For some reason, Mariel seemed to be boasting, while Selian and Yuli seemed a bit irritated.

What is everyone getting worked up about just from lending a hand?

Even Selian and Yuli would surely be willing to help if I just asked them.

“…Honestly, that’s nothing special. I sleep beside Elysia every night.”

“What, what!? That’s outrageous… actually, now that I think of it, you guys are sharing a four-person room, so it makes sense to sleep together. That’s totally fine….”

“We even sleep in the same bed with Elysia! Right, Selian?”

“Well… we did roll around in bed together yesterday.”

At the beginning of the semester, they acted shy about sneaking into my bed, but now it’s as if they treat it as a given.

However, unlike rolling around, at least both of them aren’t as bad as Anne when it comes to sleep habits, so maybe I should be thankful for that.

In reality, when Anne digs into my bed, I often wake up groaning due to her leg being on my stomach.

Compared to that, when the two come into my bed, they behave quietly, and I had never woken up once from it.

At worst, they seemed to feel cramped and hot in bed, and the most that happened was that I’d wake up in the morning with slightly disheveled clothes.

“…Is that really true, senpai?”

“Well… it’s been a bit less lately, maybe three or four times a week.”

I guess I’m attributing part of it to me being busy with rehearsals, and they are trying to be considerate so I could get enough rest.

Well… we’re friends, after all, and it’s nothing strange for close female friends to sleep in the same bed.

Back when I was a guy, I had slept tight in a small tent with others because the old Assassin Guild building had collapsed due to a flood.

Even the fact that I’m a man didn’t change my habits entirely; unlike with guys, there wasn’t any unpleasant smell, but rather a pleasant scent that made it slightly awkward.

If there had been anything wrong, my friends would probably have been the first to be careful or say something.

So, I merely looked at Mariel with a puzzled expression, silently inquiring if something was the matter.

But for some reason, my answer made Mariel’s eyes go wide, and her mouth dropped open in surprise.

Is there something wrong?

 

---