Veronica had imposed a hellish training plan on Mirandalette and Hilmes the day after their poor results on the quiz they’d done on the first day of their study group. As a result, she’d been working them to the bone every day for the past few days.
“I think this is the most studying I’ve ever done in my entire life.” Hilmes groaned.
Mirandalette and Hilmes were so pitiful that Leticiel picked up the glasses on the table next to her and quickly hooked them over Veronica’s ears.
Veronica froze the moment the glasses were on her face. Her shoulders shook as if she’d come back to her senses and she looked around nervously.
“Wh-What was I…? Wah! H-Hilmes? Miss Mirandalette? A-A-Are you all right?!”
Once her glasses were back on, she returned to her usual demeanor. Leticiel and Zeke couldn’t hide their wry smiles. None of them could have imagined that Veronica would turn into an ogre-like Spartan. It was unbelievable how different she was from her usual feeble personality once her glasses were off.
Since she had poor eyesight, she personally thought it was because taking her glasses off made everyone look like pumpkins, but who knew the real reason.
“Miss Veronica, please just let me take a little nap,” Hilmes whined.
“N-No! It hasn’t even been that long since we started!”
“We endured enough of your Spartan teaching while we were waiting for Zeke. I can’t take anymore…”
“Wh-What…?” Veronica panicked, unsure what to do when Hilmes collapsed face down on the desk and went completely still.
Watching them, Leticiel spoke up. “Hey, I have an idea.” Other than Hilmes, who was still lying on the desk, all of the others’ gazes turned to her. “Immersing ourselves in our studies for so long is tiring, so why don’t we all go into the city for a change of pace?”
Since Leticiel had been studying only subjects she wasn’t interested in lately, her head was starting to hurt. She was curious about the city and planned to go there as a way to reset her mind.
“That’s…a great idea! Sometimes you need to take a breather!” Hilmes agreed.
“I want to go to the city too! O-Of course, I’ll go back to studying afterward…”
Reacting to the words “change of pace,” Hilmes and Mirandalette sprang onto the idea of a walk through the city. Leticiel had known that the tired couple would agree with her.
“It’s true that moderate breaks are necessary,” Zeke agreed.
“R-Right. I’d also like to go!”
It was decided that Zeke would show them around the day of, since he was the only commoner and was the most well-versed in the city. And so, Leticiel and her friends made a promise to go to the city on the last weekend before final exams.
✦ ✦ ✦
On the day of their excursion, Leticiel was forcibly dressed up by Nicole, who saw her off with Ruvik.
She was wearing a neat, light blue dress with a short, cream-colored jacket and tall, brown laced boots. Nicole seemed unsatisfied with the outfit, but since Leticiel was trying to hide her status, she didn’t want to assert herself any more than that.
It was lunchtime, so the sun was high in the cloudless sky. It was the perfect weather for going out. Leticiel started walking, brushing her hair, which fluttered in the wind, out of her eyes. She would be meeting the others at Nirvaan’s south gate. She could have teleported there, but she didn’t want passersby to make a fuss, so she decided to walk instead.
“Good morning, Miss Drossell.”
Zeke and Veronica were already at the south gate when she arrived. “Good morning, you two. I’m sorry to have kept you waiting.”
“N-No, we just happened to arrive too early,” Veronica responded, waving both hands as if to shake off her apology. Beside her, Zeke nodded in agreement.
Walking around as “Drossell” with her silver hair and odd eyes would draw too much attention, so Leticiel was wearing a simple white hat with a wide brim. Looking around, she realized that Mirandalette and Hilmes still hadn’t arrived.
She waited with the others for a while until Veronica pointed toward the main street and said, “U-Um, it seems like they’re here.” Mirandalette and Hilmes could be seen dashing through the crowd of people in the street.
“Ah! Miss Drossell and the others are already here! Lulu, this way!”
“H-Hold on, Leif!”
Hilmes practiced swordsmanship so he was unfazed even while running at full speed, but Mirandalette was wheezing as she chased after him.
“A-Are you all right, Miss Mira? You didn’t have to hurry that much. We wouldn’t have left without you,” Leticiel said.
“I-I’m…fine…”
“I’m so excited to go on a walk through the town that I got too fired up!” Hilmes, who had a light sheen of sweat on his brow and a wide grin, was the perfect picture of a refreshing young lad. His eyes were shining so bright, they looked like they might emit beams of their own. Leticiel could see that he really had been looking forward to today.
“Now that we’re all here, let’s get a move on.”
“Yes. Please lead the way, Zeke.”
“Sure. Leave it to me.” Zeke smiled happily as he answered Leticiel. She was excited to walk around, as well. After waiting for Mirandalette to catch her breath, their incognito sightseeing of the town began.
“Hey, why are all those people crowded over there?!” They had only been walking for a few minutes, but Hilmes’s energy levels were already at the max.
“Ah, that’s a paper theater. This one seems to be aimed at kids, but there are stories for adults too. I often watched them.”
“What’s a paper theater? Do you watch them make paper?”
“No, it’s not like that…”
Zeke had a small smile on his face as he answered the slew of questions that Hilmes threw at him in rapid succession. The young man was acting as if he was seeing everything for the first time.
“He’s so hyper,” Leticiel commented, watching him with an indescribable expression.
She and Mirandalette were looking at a shop’s show window. The store seemed to sell household goods.
“Leif has only ever focused on his swordsmanship. He’d never really visited the city before, so it can’t be helped. Honestly, he’s so childish…” Beside Leticiel, Mirandalette gave a strained smile. At the same time, the gaze she gave the items lined up in the show window was fervent.
“Oh? Miss Mira, you seem to be enjoying yourself just as much, though.”
“O-Of course I am. I haven’t visited the city much, either. Ah, I wonder what that stall is…” Mirandalette had shyly turned away only to lock eyes on a food stall at the end of the street. Instantly intrigued, she’d blurted out her rhetorical question and hurriedly excused herself.
“That’s a clover sandwich stall.”
“Clover sandwich?”
“Yes. It’s a sandwich made in the shape of a clover. You can choose your own ingredients for the filling, and the price changes depending on how many toppings you choose.”
“Hmm, what an interesting food…”
“It’s popular amongst people in the city too. But if you’re not careful—”
“It looks good. I think I’ll get one!” Mirandalette ran off toward the stall without listening to the end of Zeke’s explanation, Hilmes flying off after her. Veronica looked between Leticiel and Mirandalette before seemingly giving in to her curiosity and timidly heading for the stall as well.
“…Shall we go after them?”
“Yes…”
Zeke and Leticiel followed the three, arriving after they’d already chosen a variety of toppings. There was a wide selection of toppings, ranging from common ingredients like meat and vegetables to sweets like fruits and ice cream.
Mirandalette had eyes only for the sweets while Hilmes chose everything that looked interesting to him. On the other hand, Veronica seemed overwhelmed by the options, as she hadn’t chosen anything yet. Their personalities are showing through their toppings, Leticiel thought, strangely impressed.
She told herself that she might as well buy one too, but there were so many different ingredients that she didn’t know what to choose. Instead of being adventurous, she meekly got the same toppings as Zeke: a standard combination of lettuce, bacon, cheese, and an egg.
“Oh? Miss Veronica, that’s…”
“E-Erm, I couldn’t decide, so…”
Veronica held a sandwich with nothing in it. Leticiel smiled vaguely, not sure what to say.
Sitting on a nearby bench, Mirandalette was quick to dig in. But after a few chews, she suddenly stopped and stared at her sandwich.
“What is it, Miss Mira?”
“…This tastes like chaos.”
Mirandalette’s sandwich was fairly hefty. Had she picked all of the sweet toppings at the stand? Leticiel could imagine that causing a chaotic flavor palette.
Zeke frowned and finished his line from earlier, saying, “…But if you’re not careful, it won’t taste good.”
“I wish you’d said that sooner, Zeke…,” Mirandalette mumbled, attempting to excuse herself.
“Miss Mira, you’re the one who zipped off to the stall before he’d finished talking,” Leticiel pointed out. Embarrassed, Mirandalette hung her head. “Would you like half of my sandwich?”
“No, I’m fine. It’s a little messy, but it doesn’t necessarily taste bad. Just…somewhat strange.” Shaking her head, Mirandalette started to take tiny bites of her sandwich. Leticiel couldn’t imagine how it tasted just from how it looked, but at least the person eating it seemed satisfied. Watching her, Leticiel suddenly remembered that Mirandalette had a sweet tooth.