Chapter 43
“An alchemist, huh..?”
“Yeah, Stella, thanks to you, I was able to decide. I really appreciate it.”
Suddenly, what’s with the alchemist? Could it be that I praised alchemy back then? What a simple-minded person.
“So, does that mean you’re giving up on your path as a mage?”
“Yeah… I’ve seriously thought about it this time. I’ve always learned magic to gain recognition from others…”
Serena, saying this, looked incredibly relieved.
“But I realized that I don’t need to do that anymore. Just like you said, I found what I want and what makes me happy.”
Saying that feels like cheating… Just when I thought I’d finally have a new junior… I’ve already been the youngest at the Magic Tower, and I didn’t like feeling ignored, but still… I can’t say anything against someone who found their own dream.
“U-uh! That’s great… really great.”
“Fufuh.”
When I turned to see where the sound was coming from, I found Nova covering his mouth with his hand. Is he seriously laughing? I glared at Nova and asked.
“Why are you laughing?”
“No, it’s just that with such confidence you said, ‘Serena’s going to the Gold Tower starting today?’ and then got straight-up rejected, hehehe.”
Watching Nova as he snickered made me feel annoyed yet struggle to find words to be embarrassed.
“What’s this… what are you laughing about? You come here! Do I look funny?!”
“Huh? I just helped you out, and now you’re trying to hit me? Sorry… really sorry! Please don’t hit me…”
Seeing Nova genuinely look scared as he took a step back made me feel a little bad about hitting him. Have I bullied him too much all this time?
As I retracted my fist, Nova let out a sigh of relief.
“Yeah… this is how you learn to control your anger. If you had done that earlier, she would have come to you as your junior. Hahaha.”
…Yeah, I guess he needs a bit of a hit.
“You, come here!”
As the chase began, Serena thanked Nova.
“Thank you for helping too. I’m Serena.”
Upon hearing that, Nova stopped running away and approached Serena, prodding me with his side.
“What? If you’re Stella’s friend, then you’re my friend too. Of course, I had to help! I’m Nova, nice to meet you!”
…Wow, he’s saying something nice for the first time in a while. But hey, you two…
“Stella?”
“What are you doing?”
As I interrupted between their handshake, the two shot me a confused glance. What? Why? Just shake hands. Why hold hands? It looks gross.
*
After Master of the Silver Tower left, a peaceful academy life continued for a while. There had been way too many incidents lately; it was nice to have a little break.
Peaceful days are fine, but…
“Stella, let’s have lunch together!”
“Stella agreed to eat with me!”
What’s going on here?
“Ow! It hurts! Don’t pull me like that!”
While I was peacefully lounging around and napping, I opened my eyes to the noise and saw Shia and Serena pulling on Stella’s arms.
“What’s with them again…?”
Is this some kind of skit?
*
The next morning at 7 AM in the girls’ dormitory, in the room of Stella and Shia…
Having woken up, Shia thought Stella would still be asleep and pulled the blanket off the bed next to her.
“Stella… wake up! It’s time to go to the academy… where did she go?”
Assuming she might have gone to the bathroom, she searched but couldn’t find Stella anywhere, even after checking the entire room.
At that moment, the front door creaked open.
“Oh, you’re awake?”
“Stella? Where have you been?”
“I just went for a quick morning jog. Want to eat?”
“Morning jog? I didn’t know you were surprisingly diligent, Stella…”
At that, Stella made a displeased face.
“What do you mean by that? I only drank a bit before, and this is my usual routine!”
“I was expecting some sleepyhead gap moe…”
Shia made an expression of disappointment as she licked her lips.
“What are you saying… are you hungry? I’ll make you something!”
As Stella tried to head to the kitchen, Shia grabbed her wrist with a determined expression.
“No! It’s fine, Stella. I’ll make breakfast!”
“Huh? Why? I’ll make it! You can sleep a bit longer.”
With that, Shia smiled back.
That smile carried an unexplainable pressure.
“Absolutely! I will do it. You must be tired from your morning exercise, right? I want to make breakfast for you, so just sit still.”
“…Okay.”
Under that strange pressure, Stella felt a fear she couldn’t express in words.
“Yum! Delicious!”
“Hehe, right?”
“Yep! Shia, your cooking is amazing! With this skill, you could open a restaurant!”
Stella’s compliment made Shia’s mouth curl into a smile.
“Hehe… hearing that from you makes me even happier. Here, try this too.”
“Okay!”
Watching Stella munch on the food she made, Shia murmured softly.
“Honestly… it’s too good to give to Nova…”
“Huh? What did you say?”
“Hehe, it’s nothing.”
“Why does it feel so eerie… must be my imagination.”
“Hehe, how cute.”
Saying that, Shia gleefully poked Stella’s chubby cheeks with her finger.
After finishing breakfast and getting ready to go to the academy, Stella was beside her closet when Shia suddenly popped up.
“Whoa! What are you doing!? You scared me.”
Shia looked at Stella’s closet, her expression turning into disbelief.
“No way… no matter how you put it, is it really true!?”
“What? What’s true?”
“Stella! What’s with this closet?!”
“Huh? What’s wrong with it?”
“What’s wrong? Seriously! How could there be so many clothes in your closet that are just the same as your school uniform?!”
Hearing that, Stella wore a confused expression.
“So, what’s wrong with that?”
“And what about these clothes? There’s no top or bottom distinction; they look like garbage bags!”
“G-Garbage bags?! That’s way too harsh…”
“I heard from Erica-senpai, but I didn’t expect it to be this bad…”
“These are great clothes! They ventilate well and don’t tear easily, so they last long!”
“But you don’t need this many! This won’t do… let’s go out together this weekend!”
At that, Stella looked uneasy.
“Going out…? Where to?”
“Let’s go to the department store this time and buy you some new clothes!”
“What…? No way! That’s such a hassle!”
“No way! Green clothes and red dresses! Girls should pay attention to their appearance!”
“Even if you say that… I don’t have any money.”
In response, Shia confidently pulled out a nicely filled wallet.
“It’s okay! Erica-senpai sent money for you to buy new clothes!”
“Th-that darn girl…”
At that, Shia scolded Stella as if she were a child.
“Hey! You can’t talk like that about senpai! What kind of kind senpai would give money to buy clothes for their junior! You have to go for Erica’s sake!”
*
On the way to the academy, as usual, Stella and Shia walked to school together.
“We promised to go for sure this weekend, right?”
“…”
“Stella?”
“Ah, I got it! I totally get it…”
At that moment, a figure pushed through and joined them.
“Stella! Good morning!”
“Oh, Serena, good morning!”
“I just made a new drink! Want to try it?”
“Oh, really? I’d love to!”
“….Huh?”
Suddenly pushing me aside, Shia looked at Stella beside Serena with a lifeless stare.
*
“What do you mean by that! You treated Stella rudely last time, and now you’re acting friendly?”
“It’s not acting friendly; we are friends! Are you her guardian now? Back off, you’re hurting Stella!”
“You better back off before I get mean.”
“Do you want to test that?”
As Shia warned, a chilly atmosphere enveloped Serena. Shia seemed ready for a fight too, giving a frightful glare.
“No… Nova! Help me!”
At Stella’s shout, both their gazes turned to me.
“Nova… can I borrow Stella for a moment?”
“…Stella is mine.”
Shia smiled with her mouth but her eyes were not laughing, and Serena radiated pressure as if to say she’d not go easy on him.
“…Wow, Stella sure is popular! As a friend, that’s great news. Congrats! I’ll just go to the bathroom for a bit?”
Sorry, Stella.
As I stood to leave, Stella yelled out, looking betrayed.
“Hey, Nova! How could you do this to me! Come back! Ah, it hurts!!”
