Dark ponytail hair, long, untidy black strands that covered her face, and a green ribbon hung around her neck.
“Senior Dinua?”
“Hehehe, hello, Ian.”
It was Dinua, my kind senior at the academy.
I hadn’t made an appointment with her, so I turned my head and looked at her, wondering if I had missed something.
As I stared, she shuddered and began to shrink as if she had done something wrong.
“I-I… Have I disturbed you?”
“Yes?”
“Eh…is that so!? I’ll just go back, okay?”
“No, it’s not a problem. You can stay senior.”
I shook my head and smiled. Stella was supposed to come, but she hadn’t promised to arrive at a specific time.
Dinua slowly walked into the room, widening her eyes. As she entered, she tilted her head, looking at the wide-open bathroom and window.
“It’s still cold… Why did you open the window?”
“Oh, it’s hot…”
“Ugh… Sniff, I think I smell something strange…”
“…There seems to be an odor coming from the sewer.”
I lied with a desperate excuse. She was so easily deceived that it showed just how innocent she was.
‘There’s no s*x education in this world…’
Her innocence was enough to make me think that way, which worked in my favor. How else could I keep fooling her like this?
“So, senior. What brings you here?”
“…Can’t I come if there’s no reason?”
“It’s not that you can’t…”
I was at a loss for words at her reasoning. I told her she was a friend, so what was wrong with visiting a friend? Changing the subject, I turned my attention to the basket in her hand.
“What’s that?”
“Oh, this… I brought a book I recommend, something to read here, and a snack to eat together, though it’s not much…”
“…Do you want to read a book here?”
“No…?”
“Why not leave it at the library…”
“Just… I thought it would be nice here.”
Saying that, she began to take the bread out of the basket. It was fresh, with steam rising from it and a crust that looked crispy. She smiled and offered me some.
“Here!”
“…Thank you.”
I took a bite of the bread, and the sweet aroma of butter and milk spread through my mouth. Glancing at Dinua with slightly startled eyes, she looked at me expectantly and asked,
“How does it taste?”
“It’s good, senior. You could make it for the party later.”
“Ehehe, I’m not that good.”
“Where did you learn to cook?”
“From a book…”
“You made this just by reading a book?”
It was an unbelievable talent. Leveling up doesn’t just come from reading books, so how was that possible? But whether I was surprised or not, she casually took another bite of bread, placed it back in the basket, and then spoke slowly.
“Ian.”
“Yes, senior?”
“I said I just came by… actually, that was a lie.”
“Oh?”
“Actually… I came here because of you.”
“Because of me?”
“I have something to ask you.”
After licking the butter from her lips and fingers, she looked into my eyes.
Was she going to ask me something big? Had she come after hearing the rumors about my ability to summon creatures? Or had she realized that Noah and Syrah’s summons had evolved through the power of Marquis Erebus and wanted to ask me for help leveling up?
As I looked at her with a serious expression, she opened her mouth, revealing the real reason.
“Hey, it’s about the academy trip… Won’t you come with me?”
“…academy trip?”
“You didn’t know?”
“Is there really a academy trip?”
“Yes.”
Why was there a academy trip in an academy that trained students to fight demons? However, her next words cleared my confusion.
“They send cadets to different regions as a group… It’s a practical experience where you can actually fight demons.”
“Ah.”
That made sense. Practice was just as important as training. But there was still the issue of how I, a freshman, could go to the same place as her, a sophomore. She solved that issue quickly.
“It’s okay! During academy trips, you can team up with anyone you want! Last year, I didn’t have anyone, so I went alone… Anyway, we can go together!”
“…By the way, how many summons do you have, senior?”
“Huh? Oh, this one.”
She summoned a small creature. From the back of her hand, a black cat emerged, meowing softly.
Summoning a creature at academy was against the rules, but unless someone told on her, it wasn’t really a crime. How would anyone find out she had summoned it anyway? Especially since it was just a small cat, unlike Noah’s much larger summon.
“…Cute.”
“Isn’t it? Call her Dim.”
“Aren’t debuffs your specialty?”
“H-How did you know?”
Of course, no one in this world knew more about summoned creatures than I did. I realized it wasn’t a bad idea to team up with her. Debuffs and tanks were always a fantastic combination.
“Alright then, I’ll go with you, senior.”
“Really?!”
She was visibly delighted at the thought of being on the same team as me. Seeing her happy lifted my spirits as well.
Afterward, instead of leaving the room, she began reading the book she had brought.
I also sat beside her, reading along.
* * *
“So…”
I forgot.
“Even though you knew I was coming, you flirted with your senior and ate snacks?”
Stella Eritz remarked, as her presence chilled the air.
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Check out my other projects: Flower Stealing Master, Rehabilitating the Villainess, Pushover Extra Trains the Villainesses, I Picked Up an Amnesiac Witch, Dual Cultivation with a Fox Demon, Ask the Mirror and Immortal Divine Tribulation