Chapter 60

"...Sure. I'll bring it."

However, in contrast to the intimidating atmosphere, it was an unexpectedly compliant response.

'This is troublesome.'

Cheshire glanced at Rom, who was trembling.

He had no choice.

If he kept resisting, Rom would be the one to suffer the consequences.

"Phew!"

Bruce, who had been tense, laughed heartily.

"Kid, you should have done that from the start! Don't mix up Gerard's stuff, and bring it straight!"

Cheshire left the room.

Children with white name tags were busily carrying bread in their arms, coming and going.

'Impressive. Here.'

Lilith felt the same way.

"Ch, Cheshire!"

Someone called out then.

It was Rom, who had followed him out.

"Let's, let's go together. You, you don't know where the cafeteria is, right?"

"Sure."

Rom, slightly leading the way, said,

"I, I'm telling you this for your own good, don't, don't talk back to Bruce. When, when he gets angry, his, his hands often go up... "

"Why do you stutter so much?"

"Ah! S, sorry. It, it's uncomfortable to hear. I, I didn't use to, but... after, after coming here, it suddenly, suddenly became like this..."

It seemed the bullying had even caused a speech impediment.

Cheshire let out a long sigh.

"Here's the cafeteria. Just, just stand in line over there and, and take your food."

There were three serving stations.

There were three types of snacks.

Rye bread, cream buns, and macarons, each packaged and stacked like mountains.

Cheshire, who was about to join the line, hesitated.

'Lilith?'

For some reason, Lilith was stomping her feet alone in the distance.

"Ugh, Cheshire!"

Lilith, spotting Cheshire, waved and ran over. The children's gazes all turned to them.

"I knew you'd come, you!"

Lilith huffed.

"Are you here to get snacks for your... no, roommates?"

"No. I just came to get my share because I'm hungry."

"Lie!"

Lilith shouted.

Then Rom suddenly interjected.

"Y, yeah."

"Huh?"

"A, ah, hi. I, I'm Rom. I, I share a room with Cheshire. A, and we are here to get snacks for our roommates. Cheshire told me to... "

Seeing Rom speak as if he had been waiting, Cheshire chuckled.

He thought Rom was just a timid commoner, but he had a good sense of things.

It seemed he realized Lilith would be his lifeline.

"Thanks for telling me, Rom."

Lilith, who answered, followed closely behind Cheshire.

"You're not going to be our snack delivery boy for the whole time, right? Don't do as you're told. Absolutely not."

"I just came to get my share."

"Ugh, frustrating!"

"Lilith."

Cheshire, noticing the surrounding gazes, whispered in Lilith's ear.

"Don't act like you know me."

"Huh?"

"It won't do you any good."

"What do you think I'll say?"

"You'll say no."

"Yeah, that's right."

"It'll only take a month. Bear with it. I don't want to be noisy. If I cause any trouble here, it will be a nuisance to my uncle."

"Wow!"

Lilith smiled and clapped her hands.

"My dad would really, really be happy to hear that! Cheshire doing snack delivery to avoid being a nuisance to me, how nice~! Isn't it? Isn't it?"

"Don't mock me."

Without getting angry or showing any displeasure.

Lilith gritted her teeth at Cheshire's consistent reaction.

"You, come here."

Lilith suddenly grabbed Cheshire's hand and headed somewhere.

It was the serving station for macarons.

The most popular snack, yet there was no line at the macaron station.

'Ah, could it be?'

Cheshire, puzzled, recalled Bruce's words.

"...Don't mix up Gerard's stuff, and bring it straight!"

Gerard. The golden name tag.

It seemed there was a difference in the snacks they received.

'Really impressive.'

Cheshire inwardly marveled.

"Rom, how many kids are in your room?"

"E, eh? F, five..."

Rom answered, and Lilith gathered five macarons.

"T, this is something we, we can't eat..."

"It's fine. I was told I could take multiple."

"R, really, thanks..."

"Rom, go and distribute these to the kids in your room and tell them—"

"What, what should I say?"

"That Lilith Rubinstein gave them. Make sure to say my name."

Lilith pointed at Cheshire.

"If you see anyone asking this guy to deliver bread, tell them I'll come to their room myself. Then—"

Lilith, trying to look scary, made a fist and added,

"...Something really, really big will happen."

"Lilith."

"O, okay!"

Cheshire, who tried to stop her, frowned at Rom's immediate response.

Lilith, grabbing Rom's hand and shaking it up and down, smiled widely.

"Thanks, Rom! I'm glad we have a friend who doesn't make Cheshire feel frustrated!"

Rom looked down shyly.

* * *

Dinner time.

I arrived at the cafeteria with my roommates.

It was a principle that children sharing a room would eat together.

'Wow.'

The bustling cafeteria was quite a sight.

'Really impressive.'

I thought this to myself many times.

The children with colored name tags, the nobles, were sitting without lifting a finger.

Only the children with white name tags were standing in line at the serving stations, carrying several trays.

"Hmph, annoying."

Alicia, standing next to me in line, pretended to cry.

"Everyone else's room has commoners bringing their food, but why not ours!"

Our room's white name tag, Gem, was a feisty commoner.

She said she had never once complied with the children's demands.

Our room, being more docile compared to others, did not repeatedly ask Gem, who would easily get angry.

'I wish Cheshire's personality was at least half as tough as Gem’s.'

Gem, who had already received her food, was eating alone with dignity.

"Hey, hey! You, bring the food for that room too!"

Then, a noble boy sitting at a nearby table ordered the commoner in his room.

The commoner child ran to me.

"Sit down! I'll bring your food too!"

I looked at him.

The noble child who had ordered the commoner to get the food winked at me when our eyes met.

It was like a gentleman from that table had sent it—

'What a nerve.'

I smiled and shook my head.

"No, it's fine. I'll get my own."

"Huh?"

The commoner child was taken aback.

"Lilith, let's just go and sit down. What's the point of this?"

"Alicia is right. Hmph, it's unbelievable that you're getting your own tray."

Alicia and Michelle spoke in turn.

"No."

I replied firmly.

"Why should I ask someone else to get my food when my hands and feet are fine? I'll do it myself."

"Huh?"

"Do you guys just want to sit down?"

"N, no!"

"Me, me too, no!"

"I, I'll get my own too..."

Clearly reluctant, my roommates followed me anyway.

'Really suffocating here.'

The roommates who followed me to get their own food did so only because my name tag was gold.

They didn't think it was wrong to get their own food.

"......?"

Just as I finished getting my food.

Cheshire, who had just finished at the serving station next to me, was visible.

He was precariously holding three trays.

Rom, standing behind him, held two.

"Ah, my blood pressure..."

I placed my tray on the serving station with a thud.

"Don't."

Cheshire quietly stopped me.

"Why? I can do it."

"Don't cause a commotion. The noble kids are all watching."

"Is that so? I understand. But your trays look too heavy. I'll help!"

"It's fine."

"I can carry one."

"Rilith!"

I took one of the trays from Cheshire's left hand and turned around.

"Ha."

I heard Cheshire's sigh from behind.

I asked Rom,

"Where's your seat?"

"O, over there, at the end."

"Let's go."

"Y, yeah!"

Rom, slightly leading the way, said,

"Y, you know, I, I tried to tell Bruce what you said, but Cheshire stopped me, so I couldn't."

"I figured."

"S, sorry."

"It's fine. It's not your fault, right?"

"T, thanks. You, you're really k, kind..."

"Here?"

"Y, y, yeah."

I stood in front of the table where Cheshire's roommates were gathered.

'Bruce Chamber.'

I read the red name tag.

"Hi, Bruce."

"H, h, huh?"

Bruce fumbled, then jumped up from his seat.

He blushed and grinned, then extended his hand as if to shake it.

"Nice to meet you, Lilith. I'm Bruce Chamber."

"Uh-huh. I brought your tray."

I ignored his outstretched hand and placed the tray in front of Bruce with a thud.

"Huh? Why did you...?"

I grabbed Bruce's wrist and examined it.

"Does your wrist hurt? Is it broken?"

"No?"

"Then why don't you get your own food?"

"Huh?"

"If your wrist isn't hurt, get your own food from now on. The same goes for snacks. Don't ask the kids to do it."

I pointed to Cheshire and Rom behind me.

Bruce, who had been staring at me blankly, tilted his head.

"L, Lilith? You must not know since it's your first day... Usually, the kids with white name tags do all this."

"Is that a rule?"

"No, it's not a rule. Um, everyone just does it."

"Aha! So you have to follow what the kids with better name tag colors say?"

"Right!"

"I see. Then."

I smiled, then my face hardened.

I lifted the collar of my shirt to show the golden name tag.

"You should listen to me, right?"