---

As soon as the duel concluded and we spent some more time with the squad discussing various topics, we dashed into the mansion to escape the blazing sun. The cool shade and the refreshing sensation of sweat cooling off created the perfect atmosphere for a nap, but at that moment, I couldn’t afford to indulge in such leisurely thoughts.

There’s an old saying that no paradise exists where you run to hide.

“Didn’t you bet on Diolia instead of me and lost money? Why didn’t you bet on me?”

Indeed, my current situation could hardly be called a paradise. I couldn’t utter a word to Shione, who was slyly pinching my arm.

Unlike Shione, who trusted me enough to bet on me, I was now a treacherous scoundrel who chose Diolia over her.

If I was going to be a scoundrel, I might as well wriggle out of this situation like an eel.

“Shall I pet your head?”

“…That’s the least you can do.”

“I’ll have a servant bring us some food.”

“Honestly, I’m not in the mood for anything sweet today.”

What? Shione refusing sweet food?

Her haughty tone hinted at how upset she was, causing me to give an awkward smile.

Afterward, I stayed close to soothe the sulking Shione, petting her head occasionally or playfully teasing her to ease her anger a bit.

Still, something about her expression seemed somewhat lacking, as if her sulkiness hadn’t completely melted away. So, I naturally switched to praising her.

“I saw you doing great in today’s duel. You really melted down the magic you learned at the academy.”

The arrows that accelerated at their own whim.

Especially the way you used the percussion to stun your opponent’s hearing and catch them off-guard was quite a novel attempt.

Surely Shione took pride in that aspect all by herself. The moment I mentioned it, she started to puffs herself up just a bit.

“Although I’m still clumsy with handling fire and wind, I’ve been focusing more on ancient magic. I think I can manage acceleration and amplification perfectly well.”

“What was it like to infuse arrows not just with mana, but magic as well?”

“Surprisingly, it doesn’t consume that much mana, so I think I can definitely handle some simple ancient magic. Still, mixing magic in is like taking my first baby steps.”

Shione subtly poked me in the side with her elbow.

“Ray will teach you the know-how of mixing magic, right?”

“If not me, who else could teach you how to infuse magic into arrows?”

“I figured as much.”

With that, her upset seemed to have completely faded, restoring her spotless smile.

After chatting about magic for a bit, I suddenly remembered something important.

‘The quest mentioned Shione’s enlightenment.’

Enlightenment tends to come when you’re somewhat stagnated in growth or when facing clear limitations of talent. It’s that something that helps you push through and move forward.

Usually, enlightenment arrives when you have a new perspective on the knowledge you hold or a form of mental transcendence with a well-prepared body.

As I felt a surge of confidence in being able to gift that hard-to-experience enlightenment to Shione through our struggles, it struck me that I should teach her how to play tricks with arrows using magic, just like I do.

‘If her enlightenment touches not just archery but also magic, the two disciplines could leap significantly.’

Unlike archery, Shione was still pretty unfamiliar with magic.

Just as with the bow, if she practices a lot with magic, she’ll start getting a grasp on it and develop her own insights and judgments. Even if her academic understanding is lacking, having enough sensory comprehension should mean there’s no reason for enlightenment to be out of reach.

“I should practice with you this time.”

“Are you including Ray as well?”

“Shione and I always stick together, so it wouldn’t hurt to learn some complementary techniques together.”

“Ray and I using the same technique… Hmm, good idea.”

As soon as the topic of collaborative practice came up, Shione clenched her tiny fist, her enthusiasm igniting.

Filled with passionate zeal like a little squirrel gearing up for a fight, her excitement inspired me, and for the first time in a while, I felt my own desire to not just practice archery but also spirit magic rekindle.

“Still… we should probably push that back a bit.”

Why was that? Not long after, a deflated Shione sighed.

“I can’t get things in order to welcome Your Highness the Princess halfway. Especially since you, Ray, will become super busy.”

“…Me?”

“First, there’s that business with the head maid, and then I have to practice the reverent speech for the royals…”

Just hearing that was already exhausting.

That damned noble society has all these honorifics to use with royalty. Plus, even in casual conversation, it seems you’re supposed to sprinkle in all these flowery phrases, causing conversations to drag on with excessive honorifics.

When I had past interactions at Adelhaite’s coming-of-age ceremony, I was fine because I was caught up in my servant’s duties. But now, with the invitation out in the open to meet Shione and me, it seemed wiser to prepare meticulously rather than lean on her leniency and create any faults that could be pointed out later.

And to top it all off,

“And don’t forget to learn the appropriate makeup style for Ray. Also, rather than wearing that Knights’ Order uniform all the time, you should get fitted for a proper suit.”

“……”

“Ahem, I’ll take care of checking on the makeup. And perhaps it would be good to practice having different conversations while I pretend to be the Princess.”

Honestly, this seemed to be her true intention. She looked much more sincere now than when we were discussing collaborative practice earlier.

“Ray doesn’t know much about makeup, so… it would be best to learn from Sister Siabel’s personal maid, right?”

In the end, she pulled the Bronte card.

“Do we really need to learn? If there’s a makeup occasion, I can just get it done each time—”

“Ray, this is about appearances. Talking with that Bronte maid might help you gather some intel.”

“……”

“We can’t always rely on him for makeup… Isn’t it better to stretch conversations out while learning this? For instance, we could gather stories about the former maid Herrel or the new maid arriving soon.”

Of course, I found myself without a veto right from the start.

*

After losing a bet on Diolia and facing another injustice, I couldn’t shake off the feeling that I was being thrust into the world of heavy makeup, which seemed to have no connection to my essence, and now learning it from none other than Bronte.

With Shione’s appeal for help, Siabel, overwhelmed with work, released her secretary out of deep familial love. Thanks to that, he was rescued from the mountain of documents he was buried with at the moment.

Considering how busy Siabel was, it seemed that he had been equally occupied while assisting her. Bronte, with his usual neatly groomed hair now sticking out in places, greeted me.

“He said he wanted to learn makeup from me… I told him, right? Ray, you really should wear makeup since your face is too precious not to.”

Even so, he couldn’t resist his nasal voice while grinning at me.

“Thanks to you, I managed to escape that pile of paperwork for a bit. I do worry about Siabel, but if not now, I won’t have time to rest, so I’ll show you everything in detail.”

“…Please do.”

“You won’t regret calling me. At least within the Count’s House, you’d be hard-pressed to find someone who knows makeup better than me.”

As he spoke with a boisterous look, Bronte’s grin sparkled bright.

His gestures were more exuberant compared to other men, and his overflowing confidence was commendable. If only he could suppress that irritating nasal tone…

“Bronte, doesn’t that voice strain your throat?”

“Well… it’s a bit difficult since I’m forcing myself into this voice. But isn’t this better than a rough voice? It even gives a slightly pure feeling.”

“I thought you could talk comfortably when we’re alone. Considering we’re comrades who’ve dealt with Succubi together!”

“Comrades…”

“And let’s drop the ‘Sir’ and ‘Mister’ from our conversations.”

By the sound of ‘comrades,’ he must have found some sudden inspiration.

“Comrades… Clearly seeing it that way, I suppose it’s alright to refer to each other as comrades, right?”

After those words, he started to reflect on the term ‘comrades’ with a strange expression and eventually returned to his usual boisterous demeanor.

Even though he didn’t seem entirely comfortable with using informal speech, having at least one person to relax with wouldn’t be so bad, and I could tell he was enjoying the current situation.

“Well then, when it’s just us comrades, I’ll speak freely. Is that okay?”

“Not just okay, this is way more pleasant.”

“Hey, but really, the nasal tone is still better, you know? Look at this—”

“This is still more pleasing.”

“Haha, I appreciate the remarks, at least.”

Fortunately, Bronte returned to his original voice before a fist collided with his face.

‘Why on earth has he kept this voice so far…’

He definitely had the kind of deep voice that most women would love in this world.

Why on earth does he need to force that annoying sound out when he has such a rugged body and a charming voice? I simply couldn’t understand.

Yet, I was glad that I wouldn’t have to hear that wretched tone any longer.

With that, the atmosphere became quite relaxed, and Bronte and I were able to continue the conversation.

“Now, let’s take it slow and I’ll teach you properly. You’ll get the hang of it as we go, so don’t think of it too hard.”

For me, arrows and weaponry are to Bronte what various makeup tools are.

As he confidently unveiled his tools, he somehow exuded an aura of expertise.

He introduced the tools while telling me to just trust him, then picked up a brush and said,

“It’s a bit dull just concentrating on makeup, so let’s mix in some of the stories we talked about earlier.”

“Are you talking about Shione’s former maid?”

“Exactly. Honestly, I may have a lot more stories to share than even Kennen does.”

It turned out to be a more interesting topic than I anticipated.

“As you’re now, Ray might actually… need the details about Herrel, right?”

As expected, Bronte didn’t disappoint being Siabel’s personal maid.

He appeared to be genuinely concerned for Shione and me with his words, but I could see a calculating glint in his eyes.

“I’ll share both the makeup techniques and the stories… But first, can you grab that brush over there?”

Bronte, Siabel’s loyal attendant.

Could this inclination towards calm and composed demeanor stem from assisting her for such a long time?

For some reason, there was an unmistakable likeness between him and Siabel in terms of temperament.

 

---