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The streets of Ruden, more splendid and bustling than any other territory in the Empire, are always crowded with people.

With the academy’s admission season approaching, it seemed that more than half of the crowd in the bustling area consisted of children my age, despite it not being the academic district where the academy is located.

The arrival of new students indicates the end of a long vacation for returning students; so, it was likely a blend of returning students eager to savor the remaining days of break and the new students excitedly exploring Ruden.

Estellia Academy, bearing the imperial name, was located within the Imperial Palace. This wasn’t surprising, as the term ‘Imperial Palace’ here referred to a kind of district.

While there are no actual castle walls, it’s an area where only individuals associated with the Imperial Family may enter. In the heart of Ruden stands the massive castle where the Emperor resides, but this is merely part of the Imperial Palace; the entire area within a radius of several dozen kilometers surrounding that castle is referred to as the Imperial Palace.

It’s large enough to be described as a small city within a city, and after excluding the areas where royalty actually resides, the most substantial portion is the academic district centered around the academy.

As expected for an area that occupies a significant part of the Imperial Palace, there are many facilities, and most of the students’ lives take place within this academic district.

Originally, during the early days of the Empire’s founding, the Imperial Family gathered the children of local lords in one location to keep an eye on them when they made them enroll in the academy. As a remnant of that, there is a rule that all academy students must reside within the academic district.

This was the reason why nobles like Elena and I had to live in dorms despite our families owning buildings.

As time passed, the kind of suspicion that once led to questions like, “Why aren’t you keeping your child within the academic district?” and “Is there some other intention behind this?” has mostly disappeared, but the principle behind it remains unchanged, albeit the Imperial Family has become somewhat more lenient.

While the academic district isn’t like a detention center, considering the quality of facilities, it competes for the top ranks even within the Empire. Thus, it has come to be regarded as one of the long-standing customs.

Unlike in the past, a significantly large number of commoner students ascend through other educational institutions based on recognized talents, so now it has more significance as a space where families seek to scout talents.

Above all, in a situation where heretics have risen to the surface, parents desire for their children to be under the protection of the Imperial Family.

While the security in Ruden isn’t unreasonable, it still falls short compared to areas directly managed by the Imperial Family.

Still, being a safer hostage is better than being dead, right?

“It’s chilly, but there are a lot of people out here. I suppose it’s expected since the vacation is coming to an end.”

I entered one of the tea houses by the main road and ordered a cup of coffee while watching the passersby outside the window.

Even though this place was quite far from the academic district, many of the people appeared to be students, likely because most of the shops centered around the alchemy association were engaged in entertainment-related businesses.

The academic district has everything you could imagine, but since it’s a place that values studying, there are restrictions on distractions to some extent. In other words, there are relatively fewer entertainment options compared to other places.

Thus, it’s no wonder that many students come out to play during the vacation period when the restrictions are lifted.

It’s not that they can’t leave the academic district, but spending time here to play would be quite time-consuming, so the vacation is indeed the perfect opportunity to do so.

And now, it’s the tail end of that vacation.

The desire to enjoy the last moments of the break was reaching its peak.

Even for those not specifically out to have fun, this area has the alchemy association, meaning alchemy students would naturally be bustling around as they either purchase supplies for their classes or just hang out.

I took a sip of my warm coffee and savored the aroma in my mouth.

If Elena were here, I would probably have nibbled on one of the caramel biscuits she suggested. Unfortunately, I was the only one sitting here at the moment.

She was likely wandering around somewhere in the shopping district with Hailey.

I glanced up at the clock tower visible from the window. On the first day we arrived in Ruden, I had overheard the promise the two made in the carriage.

As it turned out, I had not accompanied them on their outing.

I had been invited by them to join, but I rejected the offer. This outing was meant for Elena and Hailey to enjoy their time solely as friends, and I felt it would be best for them to have that time uninterrupted.

I didn’t want to become like Damian from the original story, obsessively following her every move.

If I had gone this time, I worried that it might lead me to meddle in her affairs, and wanting to avoid making my own heart too complacent, I intentionally declined the invitation. Compared to our first meeting, my obsession towards Elena has certainly diminished, yet there is still a certain madness towards her.

Currently, something within me seems to have reached an agreement to remain calm, but when I stand before her, I occasionally find myself overwhelmed, so I still couldn’t let my guard down.

In this moment, I decided it was time for me to also spend time with friends.

Last time Orcus came to Ruden, I had promised to meet him, so I sent someone to the Imperial Palace to summon him. That’s the reason I’m presently sitting in this tea house near the alchemy association.

Coincidentally, Orcus chose this place as our meeting spot. He casually mentioned he hoped for a nice cafe with good coffee, but I had no idea it would be near where Elena and Hailey had gone.

What a coincidence. Truly.

*

As I began to see the bottom of my coffee cup, I heard the familiar jingle of the door. Two warm figures stepped inside, bringing with them a sense of familiarity.

Huh? Two?

“Ah! Damian, are you really drinking coffee again?!”

“Noel?”

Her hair color had changed slightly, but it was unmistakably Noel.

There was no need to think long about why she was here.

Next to Noel was Orcus, who had dyed his hair to match hers, wearing a hat. There was likely no other reason; he would have come along simply because I called him. Since my being in Ruden also meant Elena was here, it was probably to see her face.

Proving this was true, Noel looked around, shaking her head as she searched for Elena, noticing the empty seat beside me.

Um, Elena’s not here…

“Haha. You still love your coffee, huh? Is it good? I picked this place because it’s among the few with decent reviews near Edelweiss Villa.”

“It’s bitter with a slight sweetness at the end. It’s nice. You should have a cup too.”

“I don’t quite understand your idea of sweetness, so I’ll skip it today. I just recently escaped from the hell of coffee due to my heavy workload these past few days. What about you, Noel?”

“I’ll have milk tea!”

Noel cheerily smiled and quickly rejected the coffee, prompting Orcus to flag down a passing waiter to order a cup of milk tea and a lemon tea.

When I mentioned the sweetness, both appeared to disbelieve me, a fact I accepted with a mix of sadness and indifference.

The two must have been burned by me during their stay at the Lord’s Castle not just once or twice. Especially with Noel, the extent seems to have intensified significantly since the hunting tournament. Just seeing me with a cup of coffee seemed to drain all color from her face.

Still, it really does seem sweet this time. Why not try a sip instead of outright rejecting it so sharply?

Sitting across from me, Orcus glanced at Noel, who kept looking around, and spoke up.

“Oddly enough, it appears Elena isn’t here today. Is there something going on?”

“Elena has prior plans, so that’s why. And she’s not always glued to her fiancé.”

“That makes sense. Anyway, I see.”

“No? Ah! Damian! It’s not that… I’m not disappointed just because I don’t see Damian! It’s been a while since I met you, and I’m really glad to see you!! I’m just… not seeing Elena…”

After Orcus spoke, Noel briefly wore a downcast expression but then saw me sipping my coffee in silence and began to wave her hands around, making excuses. It seemed she realized she had been too overt in her search for Elena.

Having grown up at the Imperial Palace without friends, I understood how special Elena must be to Noel, so I could empathize with her feelings.

It wasn’t weird for her to think that meeting me meant she would also see Elena. After all, they must have spent so much time together for Noel to take that for granted. I recognized this, which is why I had chosen not to join Elena and Hailey on their outing today.

Originally, I had just wanted to fill the time talking about the work-related stories we had shared in previous letters, but with Noel present, it felt awkward to bring it up. It wasn’t something I needed to keep secret from her, but Orcus disliked her getting involved in such matters.

That said, we weren’t short on topics of conversation, so we began to chatter about various trivial matters we hadn’t covered in our letters. After all, if we only discussed work when we met, that would be a business relationship, not a friendship.

The initial conversation continued from the topics we had shared in our letters, but it soon shifted to discussing the small daily occurrences we had faced. We were just letting the stream of consciousness flow, yet everyone seemed to enjoy it, laughing together.

In this moment, I also realized how long I had been without friends in this world. Simply chatting in this carefree manner brought me joy.

In my previous life, such exchanges were commonplace; why had it come to this?

When I thought about it, there had been several opportunities to make friends. The reason for my being in such a state might have been my belief that, after becoming Damian, I had to break free from fate, preventing me from allowing myself any leeway.

“I think we’ve occupied our seats long enough; we should get going.”

“So soon? Ah! Remember that board game you saved last time? Let’s play that!”

“You hurried me so much that I left without packing it. If I had it with me, I would’ve set it up by now.”

“Oh, right! You mentioned you acquired a new board game. Well, we can play it when we meet again. After all, today won’t be the only chance we’ll have.”

“Sounds good. Let’s step outside for now. I think people are starting to recognize our voices after lingering here.”

As Orcus said, many eyes were on us.

Considering the concentration of faith and power in the Imperial Family, the two of them are quite well-known figures. In Ruden, where Imperial events occur regularly, there was a good chance that even ordinary people would recognize them upon hearing their voices.

Having naturally exited the tea house, we briefly contemplated what to do before deciding to walk a short distance before parting ways.

Like the Dawn’s Tower we visited last time in Merohim, the stalls around landmarks like that of the wizards had plenty of fascinating items, making mere window-shopping quite entertaining.

“That’s the alchemy association’s prized possession: ‘The Cauldron that Turns Anything into Gold.’ They say that whatever you put in turns to gold, but the efficiency of its magic is terrible, so it costs more to operate than the gold it produces. They hardly use it except during events. And beside it…”

Noel and I, with no background in magic, found Orcus volunteering to be our guide whenever we spotted something mysterious.

Speaking of which, is it because an alchemy association is set up here that things are like this? Or is it because the guide leads one towards such places?

While the stalls in Merohim felt like they belonged in a Harry Potter-like fantasy, the stalls here gave off a vibe reminiscent of a science fair.

There were various magical devices utilizing magical engineering on display, and seeing them demonstrate their usage felt strangely familiar.

Well, seeing technologies like autonomous golems utilizing artificial elementals or the completion of AI concepts humans didn’t reach until the late 21st century did make me feel the fantastical nature of this world.

‘Did Elena and Hailey have a blast?’

Despite the interesting sights around me, they seemed far removed from the interests of those two who came to play.

I hadn’t yet explored the entire street, so it would be premature to make a conclusion, but this place probably shouldn’t be included in our next exploration of Ruden with Elena.

“Huh?”

“Oh!”

Could it be a coincidence?

As soon as I thought about Elena, I sensed her presence. Noel seemed to feel it too, reacting almost simultaneously.

Once she realized Elena was nearby, a smile blossomed on Noel’s face.

Without hesitation, she bolted in the direction of Elena. I briefly thought about stopping her, but given that the day was waning and it was about time to return to the mansion, I decided to follow behind Noel.

“That’s… the new wave in modern magical engineering… huh? Where is everyone going?”

Ah, I almost forgot.

At some point, I had been only half-listening to his explanations and had completely lost sight of Orcus. I paused, signaling him to follow while ensuring to move at a slower pace so he could catch up.

Is this what you would call superhuman? In the blink of an eye, I found myself far behind Noel, barely able to see her.

Oh well, it doesn’t matter; we have the same destination anyway.

With a puzzled expression, I took a moment to gather Orcus and slowly headed toward where the girls were.

 

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