117. Claire’s Melancholy (4)
“You wouldn’t say they wouldn’t give you a reward~? I saved Ariel’s life! I took care of Ariel’s after-work!”
“Okay, so don’t shout… What will others think when they hear it?”
It must be a ploy to get me into trouble.
But I was in trouble in a different way.
…… So what can I give him?
It is true that I owed a lot to Claire in the case of Joshua last time. If you owe a debt, paying it off is the right thing to do.
The problem is that Claire is the youngest daughter of the Marquis of Entirus.
Aren’t they nobles with high authority who can get their hands on pretty much anything?
“…How much is it?”
“Money~? Money~~? Ariel, aren’t you sincere~?”
“Ha…”
I knew it would be like this.
Claire can’t be satisfied with material things. This guy is just as rich as me.
But is it still mental….
‘… That’s difficult.’
I glanced at Marie.
Marie calmly looks at me and Claire. When Claire first joined the party, she seemed a little wary, but now she seems to have gotten used to Claire’s presence.
… It’s complicated.
Claire…… Perhaps they see me as an object of s*xual desire.
…… No, probably not. Claire must have felt me as an object of lust.
Thanks to that, it seems that Claire and I have no need to be hostile to each other anymore… , But it was hard to say that it developed into a normal relationship.
To say that they are friends or colleagues…… A situation that has become quite vulgar.
I don’t know if it would have been nice to have a relationship like that in the Findel Nerca Mansion…… , She now has a girlfriend.
Since I haven’t crossed the line with Claire yet, I can say that now is the last line.
Anything that suits Claire’s play more than this… , It is also betraying Marie.
“What do you want?”
First of all, I ask Claire that.
Then Claire smiled as if she had waited.
“I wish I could give you one present.”
“It’s a gift? Is it an expensive item?”
“No? I’m not buying it, I want Ariel to buy it for me.”
“…It’s not a strange thing.”
“How about that~? It’s also sold in the Living Room, so it’s not that hard to find~.”
“…….”
I inadvertently narrowed my eyes.
What should I say…. A request came back that was a little different from what I had thought.
I thought it would definitely be suitable for perverted play, but I never thought it would ask for something material.
But I don’t know the meaning.
Claire would be able to buy anything that was sold in the living room. But what does it mean to want me to buy it?
I wondered if he was trying to get his hands on something dangerous, but he probably wasn’t. Everything sold in the living room is geared towards students, and there will be no adult products, let alone illegal items.
What should I say…. At first glance, the story seems safe.
That’s why it looks like there might be some ulterior motive.
“…It’s not difficult if it’s sold in the living quarters. However, is it okay if I accompany Marie?”
“Of course it’s okay~. Miss Marie is my dearest friend as well as Ariel!”
“…….”
I thought he was saying such pretentious things.
“Ariel is preparing a birthday present for Ms. Tia? Is that true?”
“Ugh, yes…”
Rose has a high tone of voice today. Marie nodded her head a little frightened at the slightly different appearance.
Ariel seems to have decided to give Tia a Catalyst as a gift, but the most important thing for her is the heart of the person receiving the gift.
Ms. Tia may not like Catalyst. If you think about it like that, shouldn’t you get a little more information about Miss Tia?
She thought so, so as soon as she returned to the dormitory, she consulted her older sister.
“…Handmade Catalyst? Isn’t that strange?”
She looked this way with her face as if her sister was talking about that.
“That, eh, Ariel has excellent alchemy skills… Uh, I’ve never seen her, but she’s good with her hands… And she has a lot of money, so she can make them herself…!”
“Strange doesn’t mean that… You and Ariel are dating.”
“Uh, yes…”
They are dating.
It was the obvious truth, but her chest itches every time she hears it.
Shame on you…. So I hope she doesn’t remind me if possible….
“As a sign of reconciliation with someone who is not even a lover, handcrafted weapons are a bit excessive.”
And Rose said so.
At that, Marie said.
“That, is it…?”
Close your eyes for a moment and think. She’s about sending handmade gifts to unrelated people.
For example, handmade chocolates.
Homemade chocolate, if…… What if you send it to a principal you’ve never spoken to before?
-“Miss Ruhelif has feelings for the principal…?”
-“You must have had a taste…”
-“Even Loyalty Chocolate, handmade is a bit heavy…”
“Marie… isn’t it just handmade chocolate? I don’t know much about alchemy, but isn’t making a Catalyst cost a lot of money and a lot of work?”
“Well, then… The chocolate wedding hall cake…?”
-“Wow, that’s crazy… You’re sending something like that…?”
-“It’s madness… They sent a 25-story spire out of cakes…? How much do you love the principal…”
-“Are you thinking of marrying the principal…”
“I don’t know why they keep comparing it to food, but that’s how it feels…”
It was a puzzled face, but Rose nodded her head anyway.
I see…. If I’m not careful, people around me might suspect that Ariel likes Miss Tia….
“Yeah, but… Ariel has a reason, so she’s sending Miss Tia a present. Tia doesn’t have any strange feelings…”
“Even so, handmade is overkill… I don’t know why Ariel chose that as a gift.”
“That’s…”
From noble mtl dot com
Since it’s Ariel, there must be a reason. For a reason Marie couldn’t even guess.
I don’t have any particular objection to Ariel’s decision. She would rather say that if there is a reason she has to go that far, she wants to respect it.
“Then let Marie ask for a gift too.”
“Uh, huh…?”
Why does that happen…… ?
“Mari is also Ariel’s party mate. Then she should be the first to get her level up.”
“Ha, but…, Eh, Ariel’s burden will increase…”
“But wouldn’t Ariel be misunderstood if she went on like this? If it became known that she gave Miss Tia a present, she might have someone trying to tie them up.”
-“The cursed clan and the idiot, don’t you get along perfectly?”
-“They play well with each other, very~.”
-“Isn’t it a match made in heaven?”
“…….”
It was also the future Marie could most easily imagine.
Because a similar thing happened immediately after the phoenix dwelled in Mari’s body. It’s about time bombs and bomb squads.
“So, make sure you get the handmade weapon as a gift before Miss Tia does. Then rumors won’t spread.”
Rose requested that.
And a day has passed, but Marie…… She couldn’t come to a conclusion.
Speaking of selfishness, if Ariel made it herself…… Want. She is before anyone else.
No, she wants only herself to be the object of that devotion.
But she has plans for Ariel to give Miss Tia a present, and she doesn’t want to interfere with that.
Also…… She doesn’t even want to be the woman who becomes Ariel’s burden for nothing.
However…… I don’t like rumors about Ariel.
‘It’s complicated…….’
Marie let out a sigh and opened the door to her classroom.
As soon as I opened the door, I heard noisy voices in my ears.
For an instant, Marie flinched. Without thinking, she opened the door, and she regrets it slightly.
‘Ah, were you still in class…… ?’
She hurriedly looked around her. Fortunately, there was no one who looked like a professor.
And as she quietly observed, this noise lingering in the classroom was more like a break than during class.
Let’s take a peek at the source of the sound,
“Miss Rachel is good with her hands! How did she make that?”
“This one. You can put it on her thumb like this.”
I could see the students gathered around Ms. Rachel.
By the looks of it, it seems to be thread-knitting.
Was thread knitting a fad? ? I don’t think…….
Come to think of it, there seems to have been a bit of talk that thread knitting was popular at Beltark Academy before morning assembly time began.
Miss Rachel spreads it to the people around her…… I guess that’s what it feels like.
‘The affinity is amazing…….’
To Mari, who has no affinity for it, the insider feels nothing but a different creature.
Is it really the right feeling to think that it is somehow scary….
She didn’t know, and hesitantly Marie moved to her window seat.
There is Miss Claire.
“Is Mary here?”
“Uh…, Eh, Ariel…?”
“Toilet.”
Ms. Claire tapped on me as if to ask me to sit down.
Marie nodded her head vaguely as she sat down in the seat indicated by Miss Claire.
“Hey… Ms. Claire… The class here… Is over, right?”
She wondered just in case, so Marie asked.
No matter how hard she looked, she couldn’t see the professor’s face, but Marie was worried for nothing.
Marie wanted to take the same classes as possible with Ariel this semester, but it was impossible for her to take all the classes together.
Ariel hasn’t taken the classes she already took in the first semester,
Conversely, Ariel hasn’t taken the classes that Mari has already taken in the first semester…. In that respect, there were times when I had no choice but to take different classes.
Also, Ariel majors in alchemy, and Marie majors in elemental arts.
In the first year, majors were not strictly separated, but there were still subtle differences in the classes I took.
In the second year, the majors will be clearly divided, so maybe next year we won’t be taking classes together.
That’s a bit unfortunate…… Marie thinks.
“I’m not sure if I came from another class. I think the class is already over.”
“So, then… Les, Ms. Rachel…?”
“Well? Maybe it’s because there’s nothing to do after class. I don’t know too.”
Miss Claire shrugged her shoulders and replied.
But Marie noticed. That Miss Claire’s tone was subtly more thorny than usual.
That was a pretty surprising fact even for Marie.
Aristocrats don’t reveal their inner thoughts very well. Because each of your private feelings can have a weakness.
Especially if it was Miss Claire, a high-ranking aristocrat, she would have learned the art of hiding her emotions.
‘… Is it because I hung out with Miss Claire during her vacation?’
Maybe that’s why she realized Miss Claire was a little different than usual…… Thought for a moment, but then she realizes that maybe she isn’t like that.
“Miss Claire… Doesn’t like Miss Rachel…?”
Since she’s in front of him, it could be that she doesn’t hide her feelings on purpose, She
She – or maybe she hates Miss Rachel so much that she can’t even afford to hide her feelings.
Miss Claire nodded at her question after thinking about it.
“Yeah, I don’t like it. Didn’t he just show up out of nowhere and take my seat?”
“A seat…? Ah…”
Hearing that, Marie involuntarily nodded her head.
If you follow Miss Claire’s gaze, you can see Miss Rachel surrounded by people.
Originally, Miss Claire should have been in the center.
However, Ms. Claire harbored depression at some point in the middle of her first semester, and there was a time when she did not get along well with others.
It seems clear that something happened with Ariel, but what is it…… She hasn’t asked yet.
She reconciled anyway while partying together during vacation, so that was good too.
What… , It seems that Ms. Claire’s position has narrowed due to her party activities with us.
Originally, Miss Claire would have had to hang out with her followers even during vacation, but she felt a sense of distance from the other classmates while she was with Ariel.
Miss Rachel came in like that at such a timing…… It must be a bit difficult for Miss Claire.
“Wouldn’t it be okay to talk to him… Since both of Claire’s ranks are higher…”
Miss Claire is the benefactor who saved Ariel’s life anyway.
To be honest, he has a hard-to-like personality, but…… , Though, as they were together during her vacation, Marie felt a slight sense of fellowship with her.
Friends… To say the least, she still feels a sense of distance.
That’s why she thinks she wants to help Miss Claire when she has troubles.
“What’s more important than class is position. Isn’t that what you’ve built up getting in the way in many ways?”
“……Is that so?”
“Yeah, that’s right~.”
Says Miss Claire with a laugh.
… I honestly didn’t quite understand what you meant.
However, she knew Miss Claire had some thoughts and calculations.
In the first place, Mari is no less an asshole, and her rank is quite low….
She wants to give Miss Claire some advice, but she can’t think of anything helpful…… !
“More than that. I think she can get everything Ariel wants to buy.”
At such a timing, Ms. Claire subtly changed the subject.
“Is that so…?”
“I heard from Ariel. You’re in a situation where you have to send a gift to that cursed clan…?”
“Ugh, yes…”
“I don’t understand. Why are you trying to make a handmade Catalyst?”
Miss Claire leaned back against the back of the chair and said.
It wasn’t a line asking for an answer, but Mari knew. It means that he is secretly looking at Marie.
If you translate it, it will be like this. ‘Does Miss Marie know why Ariel makes Catalyst?’ Called.
I knew the intention, but… , Marie had no choice but to keep her mouth shut.
Because she hadn’t heard of Marie either.
Miss Grico Claire noticed just by looking at her own reaction.
“Hmm, Miss Marie doesn’t know~. Why don’t you ask Ariel to make it for Miss Marie?”
“Ugh, huh?”
That’s what I heard from my sister yesterday….
As I was thinking, Ms. Claire sneakily brought a chair and put her arm around his neck.
“Wow…”
“Come to think of it, Miss Marie is Ariel’s girlfriend, right? Then shouldn’t she be the first to get a handmade weapon?”
“I-I’m fine…”
“Don’t be like that, Marie-chan, be a little greedy. You’re a girlfriend, right? To be honest, isn’t Tia-chan a bit like receiving presents~?”
Strangely, the feeling of pressure from her neck and shoulders intensified.
On the other hand, I think Miss Claire is a bit scary… , Marie feels down.
As Miss Claire said, of course Tia hates receiving a present first, but….
“I don’t want to be Ariel’s burden…”
Marie spat that out.
She’d like to tell Miss Tia not to give such a gift.
She would like to ask herself what she would give to someone else.
If each one of them gets hold of Ariel’s ankle…… It seems that she will never be able to forgive herself.
Leaving Marie like that, Miss Claire.
“You are a wise mother. Then if you do something wrong, you will be taken away?”
“It was stolen…?”
What?
Who?
I wanted to ask that, but
“Has Marie been there?”
A boy’s voice came from behind.
Then the pressure on her neck and shoulders disappeared,
“Ariel is here. Get up, Miss Marie.”
Miss Claire said with a nonchalant expression.
Fox-like expression.
‘… I can’t like it either.’
Marie thought so.
Headed to her life wing.
The purpose is to express gratitude to Claire for the Joshua incident last time.
So, the place we arrived at was,
“A pet store?”
Through the glass walls of the store, you can see animals such as dogs and cats in cages.
Claire opened the door with a happy expression on her face.
“Let’s go in, Ariel.”