Chapter 11

Fiona and Muriel talked in the room for a while, but it was time for lunch, so they headed to the cafeteria.

"Fiona, what are you going to eat?"

"I don't know... I want something sweet."

"You should save that for after. You need to eat a balanced meal with vegetables and all."

"Muriel, you sound like my mom."

"Stop making me sound like your mom!"

"Okay."

Fiona chose a set meal that seemed to have a good nutritional balance, as suggested. The two of them stood side by side at the counter, waiting for their orders, and the members of the First Magic Corps who were there smiled at their backs.

After some back and forth, they sat across from each other and started eating.

After a while, Matthias, who had returned from his mission, came to the cafeteria. He brought his tray of food and naturally sat next to Fiona.

"Welcome back."

"Thanks. Did you get along with Muriel?"

"Yeah, we just got along."

"I see."

Matthias's expression relaxed, and his eyes looked at Fiona lovingly.

Muriel, who was eating pasta, glared at the two of them.

It's unbelievable that Fiona thinks of him as a 'mom' when it's so obvious.

She sighed deeply, resting her cheek on her hand. The man she had always admired like a brother suddenly seemed like a disappointing guy.

Fiona, unaware of Muriel's thoughts, made a request to Matthias.

"Hey, Matthias, I want you to treat Muriel the way you used to when I wasn't here."

"Huh?"

Clang.

Muriel, surprised that she was suddenly mentioned, dropped her fork on her plate.

"Huh? What do you mean?"

Matthias, who didn't understand, stared at Muriel, who was asked to explain, and she was flustered.

"Ah... um, well... you know..."

She couldn't think of what to say. She had wanted to say it for a long time.

"I want you to pay more attention to me." She had wanted to say this many times, but the words got stuck in her throat when she faced him.

Seeing Muriel's blushing and flustered face, Fiona leaned in close to Matthias.

"Matthias, you've been so focused on me that Muriel, who has always seen you as a brother, felt neglected. So, I want you to pay more attention to her."

Fiona spoke on Muriel's behalf, conveying everything she couldn't say.

Muriel felt both embarrassed and relieved, but the embarrassment was overwhelming, and she tightly pursed her lips.

"Oh, I see."

Matthias understood. Indeed, he had been focusing on Fiona recently.

Muriel had always looked up to him like a brother since she was young, and he had treated her like a little sister.

However, she was now seventeen, and he thought it was time for her to start distancing herself from him. But if she had felt lonely because of that, he felt sorry.

"I'm sorry, Muriel."

He reached out and gently patted her head. It was a familiar sensation for Muriel. He used to do this often when she was younger.

"...Yeah."

Just that made her loneliness fade away.

Seeing Muriel, who blushed but smiled peacefully as Matthias patted her head, Fiona felt relieved. The distance that had widened because of her seemed to be back to normal.

Still, she felt a bit envious and watched the hand next to her, which was cutting meat.

"What's wrong? Do you want some meat?"

Matthias didn't miss even the slightest gesture from Fiona.

"No, I'm not after the meat."

She said this and started eating her meal silently.

Muriel, sensing something from her behavior, spoke to Matthias.

"Maybe Fiona also wants to be patted by you, Brother Matthias."

"Is that so? Should I do it now?"

"Um..."

Fiona hesitated at the unexpected offer. Was it okay for her to be treated the same way when Muriel was just happy? But she really wanted to be patted.

Matthias looked at Fiona, who was hesitating.

"You don't have to be shy. It's no trouble at all."

"...Okay. I want to be patted too."

She said this honestly, looking down, and immediately felt a large hand gently pat her head. She smiled happily.

"Thank you. It feels good to be patted."

"...I see."

She finished her last bite, stood up, and went to get dessert.

"...Brother Matthias, you have your hands full."

Muriel watched Fiona's back and sympathetically said to Matthias. Matthias smiled wryly.

"Do you understand?"

"Yeah, I think only he doesn't understand."

"...I see. You're right."

He sighed, nodding.

＊ ＊ ＊

A few days had passed since Fiona's magic power had started to return. Today, she headed to the cafeteria with Matthias, who had come to pick her up in the morning.

They sat across from each other, and just as Fiona picked up the syrup container, Luke arrived and sat next to Matthias.

"Hey, Fiona, you're starting the day with something sweet again?"

"Good morning. I need to eat something sweet because I'm using magic now."

She poured syrup over her pancakes and fruits, cut a small piece with a knife, and dipped it in the syrup before putting it in her mouth. It was so sweet that her cheeks relaxed.

"Wow..."

"Ugh..."

She heard some murmurs from behind her and turned around.

"Muriel, Graham, good morning."

"Good morning. What are you eating this early in the morning?"

"Good morning. Just looking at it makes me feel heartburn."

"It's delicious."

Muriel sat next to Matthias, and Graham sat next to Fiona.

Surrounded by people, Fiona felt very happy and happily ate her syrup-drenched pancake.

"Matthias, I understand your feelings, but that's too much syrup. You should tell her."

Fiona couldn't hear, but Matthias whispered in his ear.

"She eats a balanced meal for lunch and dinner, so it's okay to let her have what she wants in the morning."

"Muriel, you shouldn't take away Matthias's morning pleasure. You'll end up like Graham."

Luke joined the conversation, warning them in a low voice. Graham, who heard his name, glared at them.

"What are you talking about? Stop whispering."

"Nothing."

"Exactly. We're talking about not getting half-killed."

"Hey, you threw mud water too, didn't you?"

"Th-That's..."

"Wait, mud water? Tell me more."

Fiona had kept the mud water incident a secret, so this was the first time Matthias heard about it.

Muriel's body jumped at the low voice from next to her, and Luke's face turned to "Oh no."

They're all such good friends.

Fiona smiled peacefully and enjoyed her breakfast, watching them.

"Matthias, don't be too harsh on Muriel. If you do, she might start hating you."

"Ugh..."

She didn't forget to warn Matthias, who was confronting Muriel.

＊ ＊ ＊

In the afternoon, Fiona carried a bucket and a mop down the hallway. She was wearing black capri pants and a black shirt, and her hair was tied up in a high bun, ready to get dirty.

She was about to start cleaning the corridors and stairs of this building, which served as the base and dormitory for the magicians.

Fiona, who couldn't take missions, had nothing to do except training and cleaning her room.

She had been under surveillance before, but now she could move freely within the grounds.

She begged Rayla for a job and got the cleaning job. It seemed that one of the cleaners had just quit.

First, she used a long-handled duster to clean the ceiling, which tended to get spider webs if not cleaned regularly.

Then, she wiped the windows and mopped the corridors. She mopped the stairs as she went down, and then moved on to the next floor, and so on.

"Phew."

She wiped the sweat from her forehead with her sleeve. It was quite a task to do without using any magic. After finishing the first floor, her work for the day was done.

Thirsty, she went to the cafeteria for water. She planned to sit on a bench in the courtyard and relax afterward.

"Hey, Fiona, come here."

She went to the counter where a woman was waving her over and received a small paper package.

"Here, this is sweet, so eat it."

"Thank you, ma'am."

She didn't know what was inside but thanked her and took it.

She sat on a bench in the courtyard and opened the paper package she had received.

Inside were candies shaped like gems, in pink, light blue, yellow, and purple, so colorful and beautiful that she almost didn't want to eat them. But of course, she would.

She popped one into her mouth. The sweetness seeped into her tired body from the cleaning, and she looked up at the sky, thinking, "What a good day."