Hunter and Trap (3)
It was dawn, several hours after Rudell had lost consciousness, when he finally woke up.
"Ugh…"
Rudell let out a low groan, feeling a splitting headache.
At the same time, he slowly opened his eyes.
"Where…"
A bewildered voice escaped his lips.
An unfamiliar ceiling.
Gazing at the scenery he could only describe as such, Rudell slowly sat up.
At that moment.
"Huh…?"
Seeing himself lying on the bed and Silfier sleeping soundly on the floor with a blanket spread out, a dumbfounded voice leaked from his mouth.
'Why is she here?'
It was a natural question, but Rudell was in a state where he couldn't even comprehend that.
"…????"
Rudell's mind became increasingly confused by the inexplicable situation, and he frowned, clutching his forehead.
"Ugh…"
What in the world happened?
With that thought, he began to retrace his memories.
He remembered encountering the Chimera in the back alley, defeating it, being hit by the Chimera's still-living tail, and using the Return Scroll…
"Ah…"
Only then did Rudell realize why he was here.
Silfier's majors were Magic Engineering and Alchemy.
In other words, he must have chosen this place as the destination for his Return magic because he was certain that she, with her talent in Alchemy, could treat him discreetly.
"Ugh…"
Just as Rudell, having finished piecing together the situation in his mind, carefully got out of bed, it happened.
"Mmm…"
"…!?"
Silfier, who had been sleeping with a low groan, opened her eyes.
And, rubbing her eyes, she turned her head towards Rudell.
"…"
"…"
An awkward silence hung between them for a moment…
"Uh, hi…?"
Rudell waved at her with a stiff motion.
Silfier looked flustered at his actions.
At that moment.
"…"
"…?"
She wordlessly got up and climbed onto her armor in the corner of the room.
As the machine whirred to life, power surged into the armor, slowly lifting it from its stand. A blue light flashed from the armor's eye sockets.
[Y-You're awake…!!]
"Oh? Uh… Did you treat me?"
Responding to her question, Rudell touched his shoulder.
He felt no pain in the bandaged shoulder.
[Y-Yes! You suddenly appeared, I was so startled…]
"S-Sorry…"
Rudell bowed his head slightly as he looked at Silfier, who was speaking while emitting steam.
[I-It's okay! You've shown me kindness, Young Master Weinstein, so of course I had to repay you!]
Silfier waved her hand at his words.
"By the way… I don't remember much about coming here. Could you tell me what happened?"
[Oh, yes! Of course!]
Silfier nodded at his request and slowly began to speak.
They exchanged various details, but the gist was that Silfier had brought the unconscious Rudell to her workshop, given him an antidote, and treated his wounds with a potion she had developed herself.
That was the key point.
"I see…"
[S-Should I call Princess Lagrind?]
"Um… Could you keep this a secret?"
Rudell had no choice but to stop Silfier, who had asked him that while nodding.
[What? W-Why?]
She responded to Rudell's answer with a bewildered voice, unable to understand.
From her perspective, it was a natural reaction, as he was always with Leje.
"Well… I want to keep this a secret from Leje…"
Rudell wanted to postpone Leje finding out about the Cult for as long as possible.
At least until she had developed enough power to not be broken by the fight against them.
[Ah… I see…]
Silfier let out a low groan at his answer, and Rudell scratched his cheek with an embarrassed expression.
Once again, an awkward silence fell between them…
Rudell, watching her, carefully got up from his seat.
[A-Are you leaving?]
"Yeah. I have classes tomorrow."
Rudell gave a faint smile to Silfier, who asked in a voice full of regret.
Even if it's later, I'll have to repay her properly.
Thinking that, Rudell carefully got up.
"Thank you for treating me. I'll definitely repay this kindness later."
[Oh, no! Kindness? Don't mention it!]
Silfier waved her hand again at his words.
Rudell smiled as he saw her react exactly as she did in the original novel.
"Then I'll see you later, Lady Pelleneas."
And with those words, he turned and walked towards the hallway.
* * *
The next day, after school.
"Are you alright?"
"Huh? What do you mean all of a sudden?"
Rudell, walking down the hallway, responded to Leje's sudden question with a puzzled voice.
"Your shoulder. It looks uncomfortable."
"R-Really? Is it just your imagination?"
At her words, Rudell felt his heart skip a beat.
How did she find out? Was it that obvious?
As all sorts of thoughts raced through his mind, Rudell tried to act as nonchalant as possible as he answered her.
"Hmm… Maybe?"
Perhaps unsure, Leje turned her head at Rudell's answer.
Rudell felt cold sweat trickling down his back at her reaction.
What kind of sharp eyes did she have…
"It must be my imagination."
"I guess so."
Leje shrugged at Rudell's answer and looked away.
Rudell couldn't help but let out a silent sigh of relief.
And so, the two walked down the sparsely populated hallway.
"President. It's Leje El Lagrind."
"Come in."
A moment later, when Leje knocked on the door of the student council president's office, a familiar voice came from beyond the door.
Soon, the door opened with a heavy thud.
Beyond it, a spacious room, almost large enough to fit an entire classroom, greeted them.
And…
"Welcome, both of you."
Sitting at a desk at the far end of the room, the youngest student council president of Pilsberg Academy and the princess of the Karens Dukedom, Cayley Jane Karens, greeted them with a welcoming smile.
"It must have been a long journey. Have a seat."
Bowing their heads to Cayley, who offered them seats, Leje and Rudell took their places at the table in the middle of the room.
Cayley then rose from her desk and joined them at the table…
"What would you like to drink? Tea? Or coffee?"
"I'll have tea."
"I'll have coffee, please."
As the two responded to Cayley's question, she gestured to her attendant who was standing nearby.
The attendant bowed and left the room, and Cayley turned her gaze back with a faint smile.
After a short wait, the attendant returned with a tray of drinks and placed them in front of the two.
"So? What brings you here today?"
"That's harsh. Is it so strange that I wanted to see you after a long time?"
Cayley feigned hurt at Leje's blunt response.
"You wouldn't ask to see me for no reason."
Of course, it was an act that wouldn't work on Leje.
"You know, when you were little, you used to follow me around calling me 'big sister, big sister.' I wonder why you've become so cold lately."
"If you're going to talk nonsense, I'm leaving."
Cayley clicked her tongue at Leje, who spoke sharply, and then let out a short sigh.
"As you know, the midterm exams are ending soon, and the Sabbath Festival is coming up."
"Right, so what about it?"
Nodding at her words, Leje picked up the teacup in front of her.
The Sabbath Festival.
Simply put, it was a large-scale festival held by the academy after the midterm exams, which marked the end of the first semester, to relieve the stress students had accumulated from their studies.
Of course, considering the size of the academy, it was practically a festival that encompassed the entire Royal Capital.
"On the first day of the Sabbath Festival, Her Highness the Princess will be visiting the academy."
"Huh…?"
Leje's hand, which was bringing the teacup to her mouth, stopped at her words.
"T-The Princess?"
Rudell, who was listening to the conversation, also looked at Cayley with an incredulous expression.
It was because it was quite early for the Princess to appear.
Jade Elizabeth Perun Prussel.
In the original story, she was supposed to appear when Leje and the protagonist were in their second year.
It should have been more than half a year away.
"Wait a minute…"
"Yes, yes. I know it's surprising, but don't ask me why. I don't know either."
Cayley picked up her teacup as she looked at Leje, who was making a bewildered expression.
At the same time, an awkward silence fell between Leje and Cayley.
A few seconds of silence passed…
"O-Okay, fine. The Princess is coming? That's possible. But why are you…"
"Why am I telling you this?"
A meaningful smile appeared on Cayley's lips as she interrupted Leje.
And as if she had guessed what would follow, Leje's expression crumpled.
"Don't tell me…"
Rudell also let out a low groan as if he had sensed something from the atmosphere.
"I'm thinking of asking the two of you to be the Princess's escorts during the festival."
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