CH 47

A Brief Farewell

“By the way, did you guys hear? There’s a new girl at Amy’s Pharmacy on the outskirts of the royal capital.”

The topic that Zechs threw in at the breakfast table made Sheila almost spurt out her soup.

Zechs continued the conversation with a dubious look on his face at Sheila’s unusual behavior, who was usually quick to reply.

“That girl, I heard she’s already been hit on by a few people, and that she’s pretty cute.”

“Eh…. b-being hit on by a few people?”

She was twisting her head, wondering if he was talking about someone else, since she had no recollection of any of these incidents, when she heard a line that was hard to ignore.

“Hey, let’s all go there together sometime.”

“You want to go there…..?”

Sheila’s head was getting dizzy.

“Err, you know, I don’t think we should. I don’t think she’s that cute anyway. Yeah.”

“How could you possibly know that?”

Zechs wouldn’t have liked a plain woman whose only merit was her honorific speech.

The other day, she finally went to the diner and met the rumored Arin-chan. She was a very pretty girl who could cheer you up with just one smile. She didn’t think she could be compared to such an attractive girl.

She guessed it was wrong of her to assure him, as he had a confused look on his face.

“Come to think of it, you haven’t been hanging out with me much lately.”

“Urgh…”

He was right. They spent less time playing together because she’d been working more lately.

“――You, huh?”

His sharp hazel eyes made her shoulders stiffen. Was it all over now?

“Well, you’ve already gone to see her alone, haven’t you!?”

“…… What?”

“I thought it was strange that you suddenly stopped going to the royal capital. Is the pharmacy girl cuter than Arin-chan?! Huh?!”

“No, that’s….”

Sheila was clearly deflated.

Without thinking deeply about it, he would never come to the conclusion that his friend, whom he recognized as a man, and the girl he had heard rumors about were the same person.

Moreover, she was so far from the word “femininity” that he would wither in five minutes.

As Sheila flinched at Zech’s confrontation, Cody, who had been listening, offered a helping hand.

“Zechs, if you don’t stop now, you won’t have time to eat before we leave. If I happen to meet this girl during the field training, I’ll let you know what she’s like.”

Realizing that he had completely stopped, Zechs hurriedly began to shovel down his salad. Sheila also hurriedly swallowed her bread.

Yes, it was the first month of summer and the training would finally begin today.

Zechs looked down at the clear consommé soup with a mysterious expression on his face.

“…. Good look with your training. I won’t be able to see you guys for a while.”

They would be away from the institute for a month since they would sleep and wake up at their respective training sites. Zechs, who was in the general course, had no training, so he would stay at the academy.

Cody, who had finished his meal first, smiled as he wiped his mouth.

“I’ll do my best. Without Zechs, I’m a little worried that I won’t be able to follow up with Sheila.”

As soon as they finished the meal, they had to get on the wagon and leave.

They had to go to their rooms to pick up their luggage, including a change of clothes, and then meet at the carriage stop, so they were busy in their own way. However, Sheila continued to eat her bread as if she would not stop eating until the last moment, and she made a serious face and nodded.

“Don’t worry, Cody is the best!”

The puffed-up cheeks full of bread made the muffled remarks hard to understand.

Cody, who understood her better because of their past association, sagged.

“Sheila, I wish you could have lied there and said you’d be careful not to cause trouble.”

“I mean, this bread is just too good.”

This morning’s bread was specially made with strawberry jam. Sheila felt like she was getting encouragement from the aunties in the cafeteria, so she reached out for another loaf of bread. Seeing this, Cody laughed weakly as if he had given up.

After drinking the last of the milk, Sheila looked at Zechs.

“Zechs is going to get so much stronger while we’re gone, isn’t he?”

Sheila hadn’t forgotten his determined eyes when he declared that he would enter the special course. While the students of the special course trained for the on-field assignment, he would continue to study and improve his swordsmanship significantly.

Zechs responded with a wry grin.

“Of course. I’m going to close the gap all at once.”

Just one month. Moreover, they would be so busy that they won’t have time to miss each other.

Sheila and Cody also returned a smile to their friend, taking it as a brief goodbye.

◇　◆　◇

When she went to her room to pick up her luggage, there was a figure in front of the door.

“――Claushezade-sensei.”

Upon noticing her, Claushezade moved his back away from the door he was leaning against.

“Have you finished packing?”

Sheila’s eyes widened dramatically at the question.

“I finished yesterday, you know. Do you not trust me that much?”

“Your credibility has been shattered by the fact that you started working a part-time job without telling me.”

“Ah…”

She was frightened by the prickly and sarcastic remarks.

When Clauschezade found out that she had started working, it was a real disaster. It took two long hours of nagging to get the pent-up energy out of him.

His nonchalant anger reminded her of Felix, and she wondered if the master and servant were supposed to resemble each other. Toward the end of the nagging, Sheila dozed off and was pinched on the cheek to wake her up.

After that, her cheeks were pinched every time she made a complaint, and the way Clauschezade smiled sadistically was extremely terrifying that even Sheila would have nightmares.

“I’ll be careful to report it properly from now on, so please don’t nag me anymore…..”

“I’m not asking you to report it, I’m asking you to consult with me in advance, you idiot. In the first place, aren’t you aware that it will be difficult after the training starts?”

Unable to understand the meaning of those words, Sheila tilted her head. Claushezade changed the subject with a fed-up look.

“Well, it’s fine. I understand well that you won’t give up even if I objected. But I also have to deal with Felix-sama. I will respect your wishes, so you must trust me a little.”

Claushezade sighed bitterly.

“I think I do trust you, though….”

Surprisingly, even after learning of Sheila’s work at the pharmacy, Claushezade didn’t force her to quit.

Of course, she was persuaded to quit, but when Sheila made a passionate speech about why she wanted to earn her own money, he backed down. She kept quiet because she thought he would be opposed to it, but he didn’t even report it to Felix, his master.

Instead, she was made to wear a magic tool that alerted Clauschezade in case of danger.

Even though he puts his master’s orders first, he was also considerate of Sheila’s feelings.

Now that she knew that, her trust in him had increased.

“I trust Claushezade-sensei a lot, you know? I rely on you more than anyone else. If anything, I consider you my guardian at the academy.”

“….. It would make me sick to my stomach if I was your guardian, so I refuse.”

She told him how much she trusted him, but even when the misunderstanding was cleared up, the crease between Claushezade’s brows couldn’t be removed. She wondered why.

After taking a deep breath, Claushezade became serious. The change in his demeanor naturally made Sheila’s back straighten.

“My job is to teach special courses. Once the training begins, I will go to each of the workplaces to see how the students are doing.”

“Yes, sir.”

“I’m sure I’ll probably visit your training site sooner or later. However, I have to take care of other training sites as well, so I can’t be around all the time. Please don’t do anything rash just because I can’t keep an eye on you.”

“Yes, sir.”

The words “I have never done anything reckless” came to mind, but she didn’t let it slip from her mouth. She would like to at least do the parting greetings with sincerity.

Claushezade smiled so faintly, it was hard to tell if she wasn’t familiar with him. His peacock eyes were gentle and soothing.

“You have a lot to learn. Go do your best.”

“――Yes!”

Sheila answered sincerely from the bottom of her heart and smiled brightly like the sun.

Notes:

Sorry for the late update and short chapter everyone! I was sick last week and then, the week before, I had volunteer work. I’ll try to update more chapters for you guys, but I’ll upload these 2 chapters first. Thanks for reading and have a great day!