Chapter 13
What I want isn't anything special; I just want to laze around in bed.
Dreams or goals, none of that is my concern.
I don't really want to think about some distant future that hasn't even arrived yet.
In my previous life, I worked all day thinking that someday I'd be happy, and ended up dying of overwork in the end.
I want to live every moment true to my instincts.
Sleep soundly when I want to sleep, and eat as much as I want when I want to eat.
As for sex drive... well, for better or worse, I don't really seem to feel it, so I'll pass.
The policy I set to protect a life full of laziness every day is simple.
Don't get involved with the original story's 'named' characters as much as possible.
Don't get dragged into troublesome messes by getting entangled with them carelessly.
Of course, the best thing would be not to get involved at all, but that's impossible.
After all, I'm one of the people already involved in the original story.
And rather than messing with the original story carelessly, it's better to follow it as closely as possible.
If the future is already set, that means I can know in advance what's going to happen. It lets me stay stress-free and focus on each moment as it comes.
That's why I even put up with the hassle of coming to the academy.
It bothers me a little that I impulsively ended up in the Magitech Department instead of the Magic Department...
Ah, come on. Surely the worldline wouldn't twist that badly over something this small.
Still, I think I've been following my policy pretty well so far.
Keeping to myself and only getting a little involved with people who barely appear in the original story, like the maids or Claire.
I shouldn't get involved with strange people either, from here on out.
...or so I thought.
And, of all people, with the story's main character.
More specifically, I ended up thoroughly entangled with Estelle, who was practically the centerpiece of the first episode.
Well, now that we'd ended up on the same team, there was nothing to be done.
Keep some distance, earn the credits I needed, and act like we had nothing to do with each other.
That's the kind of businesslike relationship I planned to have.
“Luna~ Already trying to run away?”
Estelle caught me as I was trying to slip out of the auditorium.
“The lecture isn't even over yet~”
With her bright smile and sparkling eyes.
She was already tossing out an affectionate nickname like it was nothing.
I couldn't decide whether to call her incredibly personable or just completely lacking any sense of distance...
I took a quiet step backward, but Estelle didn't care and came closer instead, even hooking her arm through mine.
“Th-that... wasn't that supposed to be over already?”
“What are you talking about? Today's lecture isn't over yet.”
“...Huh? Didn't the professor say we could leave once teams were formed...?”
“He said we could leave, not that class was over.”
“???”
“Today's class is time for upperclassmen and juniors to get closer! In other words, an impromptu artisan-apprentice bonding ceremony~”
Estelle didn't even care about my expression and suddenly tugged my arm.
“Come on, Luna! Want to go get some coffee? I'll buy. Oh! You know there aren't many people who've ever gotten a treat out of me, right?”
*
A window seat in the academy cafeteria.
No sooner had we sat down than Estelle's barrage of questions began.
-Where are you from? If you have time later, tell me about the place you lived! I'm curious~
-Do you have any hobbies? Who knows? Maybe ours will overlap?
-So, what did you think after hearing the lectures so far? Don't the professors in the common magic classes seem pretty strict?
-How's the dorm? The rooms reserved for top students are really nice, right~
Not for a single moment, not even once, did her mouth stop moving.
If I gave her a perfunctory one- or two-word answer, she'd fire back ten or twenty words, and my head was starting to spin.
...How am I supposed to shake her off?
“Rinea Hall isn't bad. Especially the bed...”
“Hold on, stop. Hey, Luna. Since we're going to keep seeing each other, there's no need to force yourself to speak so formally. Let's keep it casual, casual.”
“All right, got it.”
Since she told me to drop the honorifics, I did immediately.
I'm not the type to waste effort on unnecessary politeness in a situation like this.
Estelle nodded with a smile, seemingly satisfied with my answer.
Then she tossed back her coffee like it was cold water.
“But, Luna.”
With her chest resting on the table, she suddenly leaned forward and looked into my eyes.
“Don't you have anything you're curious about when it comes to me? It feels like I've been the only one asking questions this whole time.”
To be honest, not really.
Putting aside the fact that I wasn't especially interested in other people to begin with.
I already knew far too much about this person.
A genuine craftsman, still a student, already producing magitech tools of such high quality that they were being supplied to the imperial court.
And someone who had succeeded in restoring an ancient magitech golem, even if she had failed to control it.
If I had to be curious about anything.
'Is her chest a mana tank? Or a friendliness pouch?'
Or maybe,
'How did you get your hands on the blueprints for the ancient magitech golem?'
That much, maybe?
Of course, neither of those were questions you could ask in this situation.
If I really had to squeeze something out of myself as if wringing out a dry rag...
“Why did you come to the Magitech Department, Estelle?”
Apparently caught off guard, Estelle blinked. 'The reason I came to the Magitech Department?' she muttered to herself, then set down her coffee cup and said,
“Well, I guess with my grades, the Magic Department would've been the right choice, huh?”
Even the professors tried to talk me into reconsidering.
Remembering that old memory, Estelle let out a giggle.
“But honestly, there wasn't any great reason. It was just, you know, for the scholarship~”
That was an unexpectedly practical answer.
“If I'd gone to the Magic Department, only tuition would've been waived, but in the Magitech Department, both tuition and dorm fees were completely waived.”
Well, money matters.
They probably even assigned a different dorm building.
I didn't know what the quality of the lower-tier Sepia Hall was like, but its beds were bound to be much worse than Rinea Hall's.
This is a very, very important issue.
“It's nothing special, but if I had to name another reason...”
Estelle let her words trail off and turned her gaze toward the window.
Her profile, with some of that bright smile gone, came into view.
“After I graduate, I'm planning to go back home instead of working in the imperial capital.”
Estelle's voice softened a little.
If she always spoke at just this tone, my ears would probably hurt less.
“I think learning how to make tools that use magic would help the people in my town more than learning magic alone.”
There was a faint trace of pride on Estelle's embarrassed, sincere face.
“Even if it's a backwater, it's my precious hometown. I want to be of help to everyone there.”
I stared silently at Estelle's face.
“You're really amazing, senior.”
The words slipped out before I realized it, along with a drawn-out yawn—haaahm.
Estelle looked at me with a bewildered expression.
“Come to think of it, senior...”
I tapped the rim of my cup with my finger and continued.
“You look like you're living while carrying a lot of people's expectations.”
Whether it's the expectations of the people in the Magitech Department,
or the expectations of the people in your hometown,
Estelle's eyes widened.
I lowered my gaze and looked at my languid reflection in the transparent glass on the table.
Then I quietly added one more thing.
“Living up to other people's expectations.”
Isn't that annoying and tiring?
“...Aren't you tired?”
Only after the words spilled out did I realize I'd slipped up.
Just as I started to feel awkward for saying something unnecessary, Estelle spoke.
“Lu, Luna...”
She softly said my nickname.
When I lifted my head, I saw Estelle with her lips twitching.
“Luna's worrying about me~ This senior is totally moved! So cuteee!!”
“Eh?!”
Estelle suddenly leaned across the table and hugged me tightly.
Hey, senior? The cup's going to tip over... Ah, my milk. I hadn't even finished half of it yet... It's all spilled...
“As for whether it's hard... hmm? Not really?”
Estelle shrugged and said in her usual bright voice.
“Rather, it gives me energy. If someone expects something from you, that means they're cheering you on, right?”
The expression on her face as she said that.
It was.
A little, just a little.
Like mine.
As someone who knew this senior's future, that left a slightly bitter taste in my mouth.
*
If you ask me to pick the hardest day of the week, it's definitely Thursday.
Of course, the other weekdays also required a bit of hardship if I wanted to protect my morning sleep.
After all, war with the Rinea Hall maids repeated itself every single day.
Still, the maids were opponents I could somehow beat if I just used my head.
But the 'strong opponent' who came every Thursday was something I simply couldn't do anything about.
“Student Lunaris!”
With a loud crash, as if something had been smashed to pieces, the door flew open.
It was a rough entrance with no trace of dignity whatsoever.
I pulled the blanket up over my head and squeezed my eyes shut.
“I know you're in there. If you don't get up right now, I really will break the door down and come in!”
A sharp, high-pitched voice pierced through the blanket and jabbed at my eardrums.
No... you already came into the room, so what are you talking about...?
“If you're going to come in, at least knock first...”
“I know you wouldn't open it even if I knocked. More importantly, didn't I end up conducting orientation in this room last week too because you refused to get out of bed?!”
I poked only my head out from under the blanket and rubbed my eyes.
The very person who had stubbornly broken open my locked door with magic last week and come in anyway.
And then gone on to deliver a three-hour orientation and lecture was standing right in front of me: Dean Raymond of the Magic Department.
The dean crossed his arms, let out an "oh dear" sigh, and spoke.
“I knew it. Going to the Magitech Department has made you much lazier. If you'd come to the Magic Department, I, as the dean, would have specially taken you in as a research student and kept a tight rein on you.”
“...hic.”
Cold sweat trickled down my spine.
Wow, I really did make the right choice by going to the Magitech Department. If I'd made one wrong choice, my dorm might've ended up as a laboratory instead of Rinea Hall.
“I really don't understand it. Why on earth didn't you come to the Magic Department?”
“...”
What, is that supposed to be a question...?
“You're wasting such incredible talent, aren't you? At Student Lunaris's age, every year matters so much!”
“I thought there wouldn't be anything for me to learn in the Magic Department's classes. I figured it wouldn't be bad to learn something a little different.”
At my indifferent answer, the dean's eyebrows rose slightly.
“Didn't I tell you at the interview? That I'd teach you myself. That I'd turn you into a great mage within a year.”
That's exactly why I didn't go. It sounded like I'd be put through every kind of hardship imaginable.
...I didn't bother saying that out loud.
“I don't see what meaning there is in gaining insight by relying on someone else's help.”
“...!”
“Shouldn't the path of a great mage be carved out by oneself?”
The words I flung out on a whim hit the dean straight in the solar plexus.
“Y-that's not wrong, but... no, that's actually the orthodox view, but... *cough*!”
The dean kept coughing awkwardly before suddenly raising his voice.
“But! Don't you think taking your teacher's guidance would help Student Lunaris organize her thoughts much more? Or perhaps you mean to say you don't like my guidance?”
“That's not it. If someone like you could teach me, dean, it would be an honor... haaahm...”
A spark crackled in Dean Raymond's eyes at the yawn that escaped me without warning.
“Heh heh... still not fully awake, are you? Fine. I've prepared a lesson that's guaranteed to wake you right up.”
Oops. Looks like I provoked him.
“It's a special lesson. So...”
Before I knew it, Dean Raymond was sitting on my bed, wearing a meaningful smile as he continued.
“Let's have a simple magic duel.”
So, this guy.
He was saying he was going to show me what a teacher's dignity looked like.`,`...Looking at the dean's eyes, there doesn't seem to be any way out.