Chapter 23.1

“Ahem.” Looking a little more at peace, Flora cleared her throat before she spoke with her clear voice. “All right now, everyone here has read the book, right?”

We were finally getting started. But why did I feel tired out already?

“Yeah, it was difficult. Why’s the old language mixed in here?”

When Gloria grumbled while flipping through the pages of the book, Flora smiled and explained in a friendly tone, “That’s because the author was so well-versed in the old tongue, he even had a degree in it.”

Why was it that all the fields of study, from magic to literature, just couldn’t bear to lose the old tongue?

With a gloomy face, I looked down at the squiggles. “Ugh, I can’t even read this title out loud.”

I happened to relate very hard to Gloria’s complaint. I wondered what kind of lives the people of old had lived.

“Haha.”

With a small smile, Flora read the title with flowing, fluent pronunciation, and Gloria’s eyebrows twitched as if in surprise. “Wow, do you alone have a different tongue structure?”

I covered my mouth, holding back the sudden burst of laughter that rose up in my throat.

I, too, had thought that once.

“No, Noah can do it too, right?” said Flora, waving her hand in embarrassment. She pointed at Noah. “Try reading it, Noah.”

Noah glanced at me once, then fixed his eyes on the cover of the book before he read it out loud.

“… Wow.” Unable to hide my surprise, my mouth opened wide.

His pronunciation was very sexy. By which I meant, the way he moved his tongue… Wait, that sounded a little weird.

His use of tongue… was good, according to what I’d read in the book.

“Kate? What are you doing?”

“N-Nothing!”

I only barely snapped out of my daze after Flora had called me three or so times.

I massaged my hot cheeks with a cough.

***

“Bye, everyone. Don’t forget to read the book!”

“Okay, Flora. See you.”

As I was about to leave the clubroom casually, I looked outside the window to the hallway and stopped, startled.

The hallway, which had always been empty before, was crowded with people. And most of them were girls.

What was this now?

Bewildered by the scenery which completely deviated from the norm, I was still able to squeeze my way out.

“Gwah!”

Pushed by the crowd, I was staggering to keep my balance, when someone held me up.

When I got a grip on my surroundings once more, Noah was holding up my left arm and Gloria my right. My both arms being held up like this, I felt like I was being escorted away by authorities.

“T-Thank you.”

Gloria smiled at me as she let go, then approached a girl.

“I told you guys not to follow me.”

“C’mon now, Gloria.”

So it was. Gloria was only a villain within the book that I had read; in the eyes of others, she was just a popular person who was pretty and cool, from a good family, and with amazing swordsmanship. So good, that she had garnered the gossip that her personality, at least, was bad.

Had I not known about that book, I would probably be thinking the same.

“Let’s go to the store together, no? You don’t know how shocked I was to hear that you didn’t join the social club. I’d reserved a seat for you on purpose, you know.” The girl pouted her lips, obviously upset.

“Hm. What should I do?”

Gloria turned to me then with a wry smile, then grabbed my hand in one quick motion. “I already have an appointment with this girl.”

“Huh?”

Ma’am, this is the first I’m hearing of this.

When I replied in question form, struck silly, her blue eyes stared at me intently. “Why? Do you not have the time?”

“No!” turning deadly pale, I answered immediately.

“So you have time, right?”

“Certainly!”

Noah looked in our direction with a skeptical face. “I-I’ll be going now.”

I apologized to Noah. Nothing bad will happen if I don’t go with you. But something will definitely happen if I don’t go with her.

“You two are already friends!” In the midst of it all, Flora was delighted to see me and Gloria together. It seemed she was very happy at the increase of her club members.

“Bye, Flora. Bye, Noah.”

With an airy wave goodbye to the two, Gloria wheeled around on her heel.

“Let’s go. I’ll accompany you to the second years’ classroom.”

Why was it that my seniors were always so eager to take me to class, I wondered to myself.

“Oh, thank you.”

Though I had no idea why she was doing this so suddenly, maybe it meant she wasn’t as scary as I thought?

While contemplating on this, Gloria searched her uniform pocket before she brought something out.

“Want to eat this, my friend?”

In her hand was a piece of candy.

It wouldn’t be poisoned, right? No, people who gave you food were good people.

With stuttering motions, I took the candy. “Thank you very much.”

Gloria looked down at me as if asking me with her blue eyes if I wasn’t going to eat it.

“…”

“…”

I ended up unwrapping the candy under the intensity of her look and popped it into my mouth.