Chapter 16

However, Haidemarie lowered her eyes and remained silent, saying nothing.

Instead, she said with a cool expression,

"Everyone, I'm sorry. Unfortunately, I don't seem to be able to spare the time for class today due to some business. I know you all gathered here, thinking it was the update meeting, but could you please relax and have some tea?"

"Uh..."

Elvira clenched her hands tightly and looked at Charlotte with determination.

"I understand, Miss."

"Haidemarie-sensei...!!"

When Charlotte called out, Haidemarie glanced at her once.

"It's a practice run, Charlotte. First, try to put into practice what you think is 'etiquette.'"

(Oh, right. Haidemarie-sensei mentioned 'choosing a weapon' earlier!)

She then turned her back and left the greenhouse.

Left behind were Charlotte, Elvira, and the three other girls whose names she hadn't yet learned. After they sat at the table, the greenhouse fell into a dead silence.

The gazes directed at Charlotte were far from friendly.

A condescending look. A face that seemed annoyed by the disruption of the atmosphere. Curious eyes that seemed to want to stir up trouble.

And Elvira's strong competitive spirit and hostile expression, as if she wanted to exclude her.

(...Well, what should I do...?)

***

An hour later.

After finishing several tasks, Haidemarie walked down the corridor toward the greenhouse, accompanied by her precious wolf.

(Well, I should have checked on them earlier...)

She sighed, regretting the miscalculation.

(I didn't expect the previous matter to take so long. Charlotte probably gave up quite early.)

As if reading Haidemarie's thoughts, the wolf turned to look at her.

"It's fine. First, she needs to taste defeat."

The wolf's tail stood up straight.

(Those four, led by Elvira, are girls accustomed to the social circles of this country. Charlotte is no match for them.)

Still, she sighed.

(The holy maiden Charlotte, who was said to be cruel. ...Her behavior is quite different from what I heard.)

Rumors in the social circles are often unreliable.

(She didn't flinch at my harsh words, and she didn't make excuses like 'but' or 'because.' Nor did she nod mindlessly or pretend to understand just to get through the situation.)

Such people are quite rare.

(Still, I can't say she has potential yet. It depends on her actions after she experiences defeat in social settings—...)

She stopped in front of the door, stroking the wolf's head.

(For now, it's good if they haven't had a big fight. If Elvira hasn't thrown a tantrum, it's a pass. If her words aren't ignored and the conversation continues for at least two exchanges, it's a perfect score. Well, let's see...)

She grasped the golden doorknob and pushed open the door to the greenhouse.

What she saw was an unexpected scene.

"---Oh, what a wonderful story...!!"

"!?"

The voice that rang out was Charlotte's, filled with joy.

"Thank you, Irena! By the way, Monica! The 'childhood friend' you mentioned earlier, is that your first love!?"

"Stop it, I'm not joking! I don't like that person... I just thanked him once because he saved my dog!"

"Did you hear that, Frieda? Your 'older brother' was a wonderful encounter, but Monica's story is also very interesting!"

Haidemarie, taken aback, saw Charlotte speaking animatedly and the four girls with their faces flushed red.

(What is this...?)

The girls, Monica, Frieda, and Irena, were drinking tea, looking embarrassed and troubled.

It seemed that the cause was Charlotte.

"Everyone's love stories are so wonderful and helpful! Frieda's reliable older brother, Monica's childhood friend who always fights, Irena's classmate from the magic academy!"

"Stop talking about my older brother...! Ah, why did I end up talking about it!?"

"And the best of all is Elvira's story!"

At these words, the other three girls involuntarily looked at Elvira.

Elvira, gripping the handle of her teacup, was trembling and looking down, devoid of her usual assertiveness. Rather, it seemed that Elvira, who was usually the center of the four, was the one who was suffering the most.

"Elvira, your guard from childhood!"

"Shut... up..."

"Elvira, you've been in love with that person all along!?"

"Shut up! Ah, I can't take it anymore, stupid, stupid, stupid...!!"

She shouted unbecomingly and suddenly buried her face in the table.

"Why? I want to hear more about everyone's love stories...!"

"Elvira, pull yourself together!!"

"I understand, I really do...!! I've never told anyone, but I wanted to tell someone. When asked so straightforwardly, I couldn't help but want to talk a little...!!"

The three girls surrounded Elvira, trying to comfort her. In the midst of this, Charlotte, who had been tilting her head, noticed Haidemarie and waved.

"Haidemarie-sensei! We were just having a really fun conversation with everyone!"

"......"

***

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