#078 Double date?
I accidentally ran into Citrine and Emerald.
“Chairman Citrine and Emerald are here for some reason… ?”
At my question, Citrine made a slightly puzzled expression and opened her mouth.
“… “I said I wanted to go to the zoo, and Emerald actually took me there.”
Then Emerald, who was next to her, poked Citrine’s side, who was embarrassed, and said,
“Rin is shy, so she keeps showing off that she doesn’t like it, right?”
“Hey, I heard someone showed off that I didn’t like them…” !”
“You said we can’t be honest, our Rin… “
While watching the two people bickering in front of us, Citrine suddenly looked at us and asked.
To be precise, I asked while looking at our joined hands.
“… But since when did you guys start holding hands?”
“… !”
I tried to let go before any strange misunderstanding occurred, but instead, Diamond held my hand tightly as if clasping it together.
I was embarrassed by her behavior and asked in a whisper.
“What are you going to do, Dia… ?”
“Stay there. “I will solve it.”
Dia proudly held out her clasped hands and said this.
“Chairman. “Amber is currently serving her punishment.”
“Punishment?”
“We promised to hold hands today.”
At Dia’s words, Citrine glared at us suspiciously, but then she quickly withdrew her gaze.
“… If it was inside the academy, you know it’s against the school rules, right? “I’m glad I saw it from outside.”
In fact, it was against the school rules to hold hands and walk down the hallways at the Magic Academy.
According to Citrine, it is to prevent the creation of a romantic atmosphere between female students or something…
Emerald looked at the three of us talking cutely and said.
“Now that we’re together, how about the four of us go out together? “I think it would be more fun that way.”
I was a little taken aback by her suggestion. Today I came to enjoy a date with DIA, but I wonder if it will be okay… ?
While she was thinking about that, Diamond nodded and answered first.
“Okay. “I will go with my seniors.”
***
Dia and I walked after the two seniors who were ahead of us.
Still holding her hands, waving her arms.
I looked at Diamond and asked her with a worried expression.
“Are you sure it’s okay?”
“Why?”
“Today was for DIA. If you join like this, it won’t be any different from inside the academy… “
When I said that, Dia suddenly stopped and said.
“Are you underestimating me, Amber?”
“Yes… ? What is that… “
– Sure.
Dia pulled my hand that was holding hers towards her and gently bit her ear.
“…!”
And then, he whispered in my ear.
“Did you think that would be a problem for me?”
Because it happened so quickly, I felt embarrassed later.
I answered with a bright red face and my eyes wandering wildly.
“Dia, her eyes are looking at those around her… “
“Amber, your ears are bright red!”
Dia fell away from me again, giving her characteristic despondent look in her eyes.
As soon as the breathtaking situation from earlier was over, Citrine’s voice was heard from afar.
“What are you doing if you two aren’t coming? “We go first!?”
“Yes, let’s go now!”
I had no choice but to follow Diamond’s lead with a blush on my face.
***
“Wow, there are so many people, I can’t see anything.”
The place the four of us visited was a breeding farm with giraffes.
Unlike other places, the giraffe breeding farm allows you to experience feeding the giraffes yourself, so it was crowded with people.
Dia said, squeezing my hand.
“Amber, should we hold hands so we don’t lose each other?”
“Yes. Okay.”
We moved forward as if we were wading through waves of people, and before we knew it, we had reached the place where the crowd was the most dense.
My shoulders were being hit this way and that because of the people rushing in in an instant.
‘Hands… !’
Because of the people who got in the way, I lost my grip on the diamond.
“Dia… ? Diamond… !”
I desperately tried to call out to DIA, but I was already surrounded by a crowd of people and couldn’t check anything.
At that time, someone held my hand tightly from behind.
I immediately turned around and said.
“It’s Diamond… !?”
“Oh, it’s Amber… “
The person who held my hand was not Diamond, but the first princess Emerald.
“Emerald? “What about President Citrine?”
“Well, I missed it in the middle. There are too many people… “
Somehow, it seemed like we had lost track of the people we used to travel with.
“Once we get to where the giraffe is, wouldn’t we be able to find it again?”
When I said that, Emerald nodded her head in agreement.
“Yes. “Let’s do that.”
I had no choice but to go forward with Emerald to see the giraffe.
The giraffe lowered her large head and flicked her purple tongue toward her prey that I was holding.
‘Wow, gross…’ ‘
The big purple tongue skillfully snatched what was in my hand.
Emerald put her food into her giraffe’s mouth and stroked it lovingly.
“It’s a shame. It would have been better if the four of us had watched it together… “
Then she turned her gaze from the giraffe to me and said to me.
“Amber.”
“Yes?”
“Do you remember the last time I asked you if you knew anything about curses?”
It felt like her mood had changed slightly to become more serious.
“Yes. But… ?”
“Have you found out anything since then?”
In response to her question, I deliberately pretended not to know anything.
“… No. “Not yet.”
“I guess so. “It’s not information you can usually find.”
Emerald brushed her hair back once, and then she spoke to me.
“Did you know that there is a word for people who use curse words?”
“… “What do they call it?”
“The Magic Association calls such people ‘witches.'”
‘Witch… ?’
I tilted my head at that unfamiliar yet familiar word.
“Have you ever seen it in a novel or something? “Stories about witches and witch hunts.”
Now that I think about it, in the children’s book I found with Coral a while ago, there was a story about the main character being accused of being a witch and being killed.
“Most of the witches in those stories were curse users who actually existed.”
It was a story that was quite difficult to believe. That all really happened.
I looked at the emerald with unusual eyes.
“Emerald, how do you know such information?”
“Actually, I belong to the Magic Association. “I was given a mission to find the witches hiding in the academy.”
The Magic Association was an organization that officially gave names and grades to all magic in the game.
Not only that, but it was also a fairly powerful group that could directly punish wizards.
“But why are you revealing that to me…?” ?”
“It’s impossible to find the witch on your own. “We need someone within the academy to seek cooperation.”
“… “Do you want me to cooperate?”
“Yes. Would you say that you need a cute sidekick who will not raise suspicion as much as possible? “I thought Amber was perfect for the role.”
What an assistant. Even if I had to choose, it would be an ordinary person like me…
“If you have any questions, you can ask more. “I will answer everything that I can.”
“Why is the Magic Association going to such lengths to find witches? I don’t think there were any victims… “
At my words, Emerald shook her head left and right and said.
“A curse is an incredibly dangerous thing. Even if you are not using it now, once the curse has been awakened, there is a high probability that it will cause problems someday.”
From Noble mtl dot com
That’s why the Magic Association designated the curse itself as a taboo and even arrested its users, he explained.
Arresting people because they may cause danger in the future feels like a modern-day witch hunt.
“… “What happens to the people who are captured?”
“I don’t know the details either. “All I know is that they will be sent back into society after correction…”
After giving me a detailed explanation, Emerald squeezed my hand and asked.
“How about you become my assistant? Amber?”
Dozens of thoughts went through my head at her suggestion.
Curse, magic association, witch. And… Even diamonds.
‘If you want to protect the diamond, it might be safer to get closer to the emerald.’
In the end, I decided to accept Emerald’s offer.
“I understand. “I will cooperate with the princess.”
After hearing my answer, Emerald smiled brightly and put her hands together.
“Thank goodness. “There’s no need to erase Amber’s memories!”
“Yes… ?”
“You heard top secret information. “If I refused, I would have no choice but to erase my memory.”
I was slightly horrified by her words.
If you answered wrong, you wouldn’t even remember the conversation we just had.
But suddenly, a question arose about how to find out if she was a witch.
“But how can I check if she is a witch or not?”
“That’s a good question. “Miss Assistant!”
Judging by the fact that she called me Miss Jo Jo, it seemed like she had decided to trust me completely.
“Generally speaking, there is no way to tell whether a person is a witch or not. However, there are items that exist for that.”
Emerald put her hand between her own breasts, took out one of her clear beads and handed it to me.
“Take it. “This is yours now.”
“… “Where did you just get that from?”
“Can we say it’s a lady’s secret space? hehehe.”
“…”
I said, looking around at the transparent glass beads that came out of the emerald’s private part.
“This is just like an ordinary bead.”
“It’s usually like that. However, if it touches the scent of the curse, its color will change.”
“You can touch the smell?”
“If the bead touches the body of a suspicious person, it will temporarily turn black. “It’s simple, right?”
“Aha… “
I can’t believe this small bead has such an effect.
As I was once again admiring the technology of the Magic Association, I heard a familiar voice.
“Emerald, Amber!”
‘… Is this voice Citrine?
I noticed Citrine walking towards us.
Dia was also standing next to me when she joined us.
Emerald saw them approaching and whispered to me.
“Let’s continue the story in more detail later. “Miss Assistant?”
“Ah, yes…”
Citrine glared at us and spoke bluntly.
“Where have you both gone? “You’ve been looking for it for a while.”
When Diamond saw me, she looked relieved and held her hand again.
“Let’s not separate from each other now, Amber?”
“Yes, hahahaha…” “
While visiting the zoo, I kept fiddling with the glass beads I had in my pocket.
***
After finishing touring the zoo, Dia and I parted ways with our seniors and walked out of the zoo holding hands.
Dia said, shaking her hand with an excited expression.
“Ah, it was fun. “It’s a good thing you came to the zoo.”
“I see. “I would have regretted it if I hadn’t come.”
I met seniors along the way and it felt more like experiential learning than a date, but it was still fun either way.
We got on the carriage that Dia had waiting for us and set off towards the academy again.
“Haam… “I’m a little tired after walking a lot.”
Dia yawned loudly and smiled brightly at me, then closed her eyes and fell asleep.
She was a diamond who didn’t usually doze off in front of others, but it seemed like she was tired today.
Now that Diamond is asleep, she will be able to try the beads.
‘According to Emerald, the beads definitely react to the smell of the curse… ‘
From my perspective, I prayed that the beads would not react to the diamond.
If the beads reacted, I would have to try various things to hide the fact that Diamond was a witch.
While Dia was sleeping, she took out her glass bead and gently placed it in her hand.
“… “
I slowly opened her hand to check it, then put it deep into her pocket again.
‘… ‘I see.’
Her beads were stained pitch black, as if to prove that she was a curse user.