I’m...super cringe? I reflexively snuck a glance at Lieselotte and Fiene to see they were both horribly perplexed. Oh, right. They know I’m talking to the gods, but they can only hear my side. Nothing I’m saying makes any sense to them.
I had become a total lunatic in their eyes, and it wouldn’t be limited to the two of them. Only those who shared my blood could hear the Voices of the Gods, meaning that a two-way conversation was far from ideal. The thought of “brushing aside” real deities troubled me, but I was grateful for their suggestion all the same.
“Thank you kindly for your concern,” I said with a deep bow. “Um, but, well, I still have several things I’d like to ask you.”
“Hmm, then...just one for the road, okay?” Lord Endoh said.
The heavens permitted me but one question to quell the endless sources of my confusion. Yet I had countless questions about the incident, the gods themselves, and above all, Lieselotte.
A moment’s hesitation swirled together with the fear that there had been things purposefully left unsaid due to my incompetence, spurring me on to make a decision...
“Um, what exactly is a tsun de rais?”
...And I chose the wrong question. I ended up totally blundering my one chance at more information.
That is what I chose to ask?! Literally anything else would have been better! I mean, it’s been on my mind since they keep using this mystery word, but still!
“Oh, a tsundere is...huh. What is a tsundere?” Lord Endoh said. “It’s kinda like they’re all tsun-tsun and thorny on the outside, but they really wanna cuddle up to you on the inside. Or maybe that they look mean at first glance but are actually a misunderstood sweetheart?”
“It’s basically just Liese-tan,” Lady Kobayashee said. “Liese-tan is all tsun because she can’t express her love very clearly, but she’s secretly head over heels for you. You should be able to figure it out if you keep watching her closely. Okay, now get to it!”
“...Thank you very much,” I said, thanking the gods for their benevolent answer to my ridiculous question with another bow.
I turned back toward Lieselotte and Fiene. After all, there was no use crying over spilt milk. Besides, I’d been in the middle of my conversation with these two ladies, and it’d been quite tense from what I remembered. Just as Lady Kobayashee said, I needed to confront them as sincerely as I could.
“Good luck, Sieg! Give it your all!” Lord Endoh said, and then shifted tones as he continued, “Will he be able to reclaim the lost tension and see this scene through to its proper end?!”
“Liese-tan’s already mushier than a soft-boiled egg, so I think that may be asking for too much. I suggest the three of them give up and have a nice, friendly study session together.”
I figured as much.
The instant I turned around, Lieselotte began anxiously twirling the drill in her hair, still beet red from the earlier kiss. The tense atmosphere from when she had first entered the courtyard had vanished. I wasn’t sure what Lord Endoh meant by “scene,” but I could say for certain that the situation had been radically altered by the gods’ meddling.
“My discussion with the gods has ended,” I said. “Let us study together—all three of us. Here, Lieselotte, this way.”
With a smile that prevented either of them from raising an objection, I took Lieselotte by the hand and led her over to the bench Fiene and I had been resting on. In order from left to right, Fiene, Lieselotte, and I each took our seats.
Lieselotte didn’t have the energy to pick a fight, and as Fiene watched my fiancée awkwardly lower herself on the bench in contrast to her usual absolute grace, her gaze was nothing but tender. I figured it was safe to let them sit by one another; in fact, I felt like any other seating arrangement would only fuel another unscrupulous gossiper.
“So, Fiene, what is it that you don’t understand?” I asked.
My divine conversation had left me in high spirits, and my grin was even wider than usual. Perhaps because she felt pressured by my smile, Fiene pulled out her notebook despite her reluctance.
Lieselotte peeked in to see that Fiene was struggling with the basics of the basics—things that were considered common sense. Any other student would have learned these topics years before their admittance, but Fiene had lived her life among commoners with no education in magic.
“M-My,” Lieselotte said, “you don’t even understand something of this caliber?” She snatched away Fiene’s pen with a mocking tone and began scribbling explanations onto the page. Despite her tough front, she seemed eager to teach.
“Fiene’s never had a chance to learn any of this. Don’t be so hard on her.” I told myself there was only one way to help tutor Fiene from where I was sitting. It was really just a thinly veiled attempt to justify what I was about to do. I turned to my left and leaned over until I was a hair’s breadth away from completely sticking to Lieselotte, and opened my mouth to start teaching. “See...”
As I did, Lieselotte instantly and obviously turned to stone, her mouth zipped shut and her hands frozen midair. Her ears and neck glowed red, and I was sure I’d see the same color all over her face if only her face were visible. She really is adorable.
Judging from her response, the prophecy that she was in love with me may not have been a lie—and nothing could have filled me with more delight.
I merrily continued on, leaving Lieselotte bewildered at my sudden shift in behavior and Fiene grinning at her precious reactions. Meanwhile, Lady Kobayashee sporadically abandoned her analysis in favor of girlish shrieking while Lord Endoh shouted, “Ow, ow! Wai— Would you quit that?!”
...What in the world is going on in their realm?