“This is definitely the first time an elderly man has invited me out to eat twice.”
Kunon felt a strong sense of déjà vu.
He was at the same café, sitting at the same table, talking to the same old man—it was enough to make him feel like he was living the same day all over again.
“I don’t know who else to turn to,” Rudin replied. “You were the only person I could think of, young sir.”
Kunon reunited with the Quartz family’s butler three days after the Harmony Faction returned from their expedition.
Just like the last time, Rudin had caught Kunon at the school gate early that morning. He’d said he wanted to talk to him and forcibly dragged him back to the café without waiting for his reply.
“I’ll have imperial black tea and a small scone. Do you have apple jam? You do? Then please add some to the side. What do you want, Mr. Rudin? Just tea?”
Kunon’s tone was as casual as ever as he placed his order, though the elderly butler had so grave an expression you’d think he’d just lost all his money gambling.
“Is this about Miss Serraphila?” Kunon asked after the waiter left them. “I’ve been worried about her since our last meeting, too. But I haven’t seen her once since the expedition.”
Of course he hasn’t, thought Rudin.
“The young miss has not gone to school once since her return… In fact, she has not left her room once in the last three days.”
“Oh? Why? Is she lovesick?”
Rudin wished that were true. In that case, he could simply eliminate the one responsible. But the truth was, he had no idea what Serraphila was upset about.
“Her current behavior is why I wanted to speak to you. But it seems you also have no idea what is troubling her.”
Last time, Kunon himself had been responsible, but now he seemed to know nothing.
“She won’t come out of her room at all?” the boy asked.
“Yes. If I call out to her, she simply yells at me to leave her alone… She’s never raised her voice at a servant before, but ever since her return, she has been shouting at me constantly.”
“Hmm… Interesting. Maybe she really is lovesick?”
“I don’t think so.”
“What do you think?” Kunon asked, turning to the waiter as she delivered his food.
She hadn’t heard any of their conversation and looked at him in confusion. “What?”
Their waiter was a woman around twenty years old with a calm demeanor, and Kunon figured this was a perfect opportunity to get a female perspective on the matter.
He gave her a simple explanation of Serraphila’s situation, without mentioning her name, of course.
“Lovesick, you say? …Well, this is just my experience, but girls in love typically look happy, like they’re walking on clouds.”
Kunon and the butler both nodded with interest. Neither of them understood a woman’s heart, so this was very informative.
“Based on what you’ve told me, I’d say it sounds less like she’s lovesick and more like she’s suffering from a broken heart. Maybe she was dumped or rejected by someone she likes.”
“What was that?!”
“Calm down, Mr. Rudin,” said Kunon. “You look positively murderous.”
Unfazed by Rudin’s open display of malice, the waiter simply said, “Enjoy” and walked away. As expected of a citizen of Dirashik—she had nerves of steel.
“How rude,” Rudin muttered angrily. “She thinks the young miss could have been ‘dumped’ or ‘rejected’? That’s an insult to the Quartz family.”
“Slow down. Let’s forget about her family. We’re in Dirashik,” Kunon said, soothing him. “I can’t say whether she’s lovestruck or heartbroken. I wasn’t on the expedition, so I can only guess at what happened. Wouldn’t it be best to speak to someone who was there?”
“Do you mean the girl called Elva?”
We’re going on a trip to gather materials. We’ll be back in about two weeks. Don’t worry about Serraphila. I’ll take good care of her.
A letter with those words had been delivered to Serraphila’s house the day she had left on the expedition. The sender hadn’t written their name, but pinpointing their identity proved to be a cinch for a butler of Rudin’s talents. He’d tried and failed to find Serraphila for two weeks, but he hadn’t let that stop him from doing everything in his power.
In the end, Serraphila had returned home safely, so Rudin had decided to overlook Elva’s actions. She hadn’t lied about anything in her letter, and if that was how the magic school operated, Rudin figured he would simply have to accept it.
But while Serraphila had returned home safely, she could hardly be said to be well. And in that case, Rudin had no choice but to track down this Elva person and interrogate her. If he could elucidate the cause of her troubles, he would eliminate it. In fact, he felt like eliminating something either way.
“What kind of person is this Elva girl?” he asked.
Before he could start his work, he needed to find out more about his target. If she was a delinquent, he might forbid her from interacting with Serraphila ever again. Essentially, he needed to know if she was worthy of associating with a girl of the Quartz family. In his own investigations, he’d merely determined she was an ordinary student in the Advanced class, and no more. So he wanted Kunon’s thoughts on the girl before making any decisions.
“Elva is a remarkable person, though she’s more of a beach girl.”
Rudin wasn’t sure what Kunon was trying to say about beaches, but it seemed Elva wasn’t some ne’er-do-well, at least.
With that cleared up, Rudin asked Kunon to summon Elva for him.
“This is Miss Elva. Miss Elva, this is Mr. Rudin. He’s Serraphila’s family’s butler.”
Kunon acted quickly. Serraphila was in need, and he wasted no time when it came to helping a member of the fairer sex.
He’d brought Elva to the café that very morning.
Kunon had left, headed to the magic school’s reception desk, and asked the receptionist Loubella to summon Elva, who had come right away.
She was beautiful and stylish that day, with no sign of fatigue.
“Nice to meet you,” she said.
“Thank you for looking after the young miss,” replied Rudin.
They greeted each other inoffensively and took their seats at the table.
“So Kunon, what’s wrong with Serra?” asked Elva.