Chapter 72

On the desk lay a dried lizard, in the bag was a milk mop, and on the seat of the chair was adhesive.

It had been a week since the harassment began, with no clear purpose or reason. Cecilia had reached a peculiar state of mind.

(Okay! It feels like I'm completely hated again today!)

She quickly crumpled the letter that said "Disappear" and threw it in the trash. Then, she checked the chair and the inside of the desk before sitting down. Next, she opened her notebook to check if anything strange was inserted. Since she had brought it from the dormitory, nothing was inserted yet.

(Back then, there was glass in it, and I cut my finger...)

Notebooks are easily tampered with if left unattended, so they need to be checked regularly. Therefore, she had to check them periodically.

Finally, she looked around her surroundings and sighed.

(Alright! Today's checks are done!)

In short, Cecilia had become accustomed to it.

To this daily routine of pranks, which felt like bullying...

Since then, Cecilia had stopped walking along the wall of the school building where the windows were lined up and avoided paths with few people. She made sure to always be with someone, and prepared spare clothes and items in case of emergencies. Of course, she didn't neglect the search for the culprit.

She stored everything that was inserted into her notebook as evidence (though she did throw away the dead insects...), and looked for witnesses every time something happened. She also kept an eye on people who seemed to bear a grudge against her and had even left her bag unattended to observe for a while.

However, the culprit was still not found. Not even a single witness.

(If someone was trying to put something in someone's bag, they should be more noticeable...)

Every morning, such doubts crossed her mind, but nothing was found.

There were no clues.

Incidentally, Gilbert had scolded her severely after that. His fierce manner, reminiscent of their biggest sibling quarrel in history, made Cecilia almost cry.

Well, it had been such a week, but there were also good things during that time.

"Please have a good day today!"

"Yeah, I'll do my best."

"Sure, sure."

After school. The twins of the Makias family nodded in response to Lean's cheerful voice.

The location was the vacant lot in front of the Sigony Orphanage, the venue for the play. Behind them, carpenters who had received the commission were working to build a better stage. There were also members of the Craig Theater Company practicing their lines.

In fact, the twins had been helping with the preparations for the play that Lean had planned for a few days.

When they heard the story, it turned out that the Makias family was one of the sponsors of the Sigony Orphanage, and their father, upon hearing that a play would be held at the orphanage, had written a letter telling the twins to "help out."

At first, the twins had ignored their father's letter, but when Lean heard about it, she asked for their cooperation again, and they agreed.

While mingling with the members of the Craig Theater Company, Cecilia recalled Lean's words.

"Why did you ask for their help? Well, I wanted to help with your 'become friends with the twins' strategy! Of course, I didn't want to let go of free labor. And I thought that if the twins were helping with the play, the head of the Makias family would advertise it himself. And, if I thought about it, I might be able to get a donation from the Makias family!"

A three-for-one deal. Well, it was a two-for-one for her.

Anyway, she was insatiable. There was something about Lean that Cecilia really wanted to emulate in many ways.

After the line practice, Cecilia took a breath beside the stage that was still under construction. Although she wasn't in costume, the line practice while moving had consumed a fair amount of energy. The sweat trickling down her cheek tasted a bit salty when it reached the corner of her mouth.

(I'm so tired...)

As she sighed, the view in front of her suddenly darkened. When she looked up, Ein was there, holding two wooden cups.

"Hmm."

"Ah, yeah. Thanks."

She took the cup that was offered. It seemed they were currently distributing drinks. The other cup in his hand was given to a resting actor nearby.

(Ein is actually helping out properly...)

Cecilia thought as she watched him walk away. She had expected him to be reluctant, so this was a surprising discovery. He was less expressive than Zwey, but he didn't seem to be helping reluctantly.

Since then, she had made up with Ein. They weren't completely at ease with each other, but he had apologized for kicking her shoulder, and they could now have normal conversations.

All thanks to Zwey, who had mediated for them.

"Cecil, good work."

"Ah, Zwey, good work too!"

When they talked, things went smoothly. Cecilia responded cheerfully to Zwey, who peeked from behind her. She felt that she had become quite friendly with Zwey, though not so much with Ein.

Zwey sat down next to Cecilia without hesitation and broke into a cute smile.

"I saw the line practice just now! It was amazing. You really looked like a professional actor!"

"Really?"

"Yeah! Even though you were playing a woman, you fit the role so well that for a moment, you really looked like a girl!"

"Hahaha..."

Of course, she was bound to fit the role.

Zwey, interpreting Cecilia's wry smile, leaned in closer.

"I'm serious! I thought you were really talented at acting!"

"Thank you."

"I wonder if I can do it like that. I'm really nervous..."

"Don't worry. You'll do fine, Zwey."

"Really?"

In addition to the labor, Zwey had been given a minor role. It was probably out of consideration for the head of the Makias family, who would likely come to see the play.

Still, with his good looks, he had a significant amount of stage time and a fair number of lines, though not as many as Cecilia. It was understandable that he was nervous.

Incidentally, Ein had refused the role, saying he would "rather die than do it."

"By the way, have you found the culprit of the harassment?"

"Not yet..."

Shaking her head, Cecilia frowned, and Zwey tilted his head in thought.

"Harassing Cecil is pretty daring. Who could it be?"

"Daring...?"

"Well, you know, Cecil could just knock them down with one punch! Bam!"

Zwey thrust his fist forward to demonstrate the "bam." It was cute, but he seemed to think Cecilia was a gorilla or something.

"Anyway, it's probably some love triangle or something, right?"

At this voice, both of them looked forward. There stood Ein, with a look of exasperation.

"It's because you chase after women's butts all the time!"

"Women's butts...?"

"It's the truth, right?"

This one seemed to have a different misunderstanding.

(Do I really look that much like a playboy...?)

Cecilia, who tried to act like a "prince," found this somewhat shocking.

Ein shifted his gaze from the exasperated Cecilia to Zwey, and kicked the box at his feet.

"By the way, where are we supposed to put this box?"

"Oh, that's not for the warehouse, it's for Bobby!"

"Who's Bobby...?"

"Look, the one with the headband..."

Zwey stood up and moved next to Ein, pointing to the group of carpenters and explaining who Bobby was.

(They really are such good friends...)

They were like a single entity. Despite their different personalities, they complemented each other well and cared deeply for each other. They were twins who "complemented each other's shortcomings" rather than being "the same."

"Ah, I don't get it. Just 'share' it with me."

It seemed the explanation wasn't going well, so Ein, looking frustrated, raised his voice. In response, Zwey said, "Okay, I got it," and extended his right hand. The Noble Phantasm was wrapped around his wrist.

When Ein took his right hand, the two Noble Phantasms glowed faintly for a moment and then converged.

Immediately after, Ein had a look of understanding.

"Ah, that old man..."

"Yeah, that's him. He's quite difficult, so be careful."

"I know."

Ein tapped his head with his index finger.

This meant that their perceptions had been "shared" in that moment.

Cecilia let out an impressed voice.

"That power is so convenient. You can even share memories, right?"

"Yeah, anything except emotions. It's easier to share when we hold hands, but it works even if we're apart! Look, I can do this too!"

Saying this, Zwey took the cup Cecilia was holding and held hands with Ein.

The Noble Phantasms glowed again.

And within a few seconds—

"Amazing!"

Ein's hand held the same cup as Zwey's, with the same wood grain.

He placed the cup on the ground and said in a somewhat exasperated voice.

"Don't show that to too many people."

"Hehe. I just couldn't help showing off."

With a bashful smile, Zwey looked at Ein, who rolled his eyes, shrugged, and picked up the box.

"I'll go return this."

"Ah, yeah. See you—..."

The words "see you" were drowned out by a scream and the sound of something heavy collapsing.

The three of them looked in the direction of the noise and started running at the same time.

Thank you for reading the book and the manga adaptation.

Thank you for the points and support as always.

Please continue to enjoy it when you find it interesting.