Chapter 171 - Misgivings (1)

That night, I had dinner with Trisha for the first time in a while. She moved her fork non-stop, eyes half-filled with tears even at the modest spread, making me wonder what she'd been eating while I was gone.

"Were you starving?"

"No!"

"Then why are you eating so pitifully?"

"When I cook, it doesn't taste like this. And I hated eating dinner alone every day."

Trisha had to stay alone in this dormitory for nearly a month. Given her personality, she must have felt very lonely.

"There are lots of cookbooks. You could follow those... is there some problem?"

"I followed them exactly but it still tastes bad. The cooking fairy must be jealous of me."

How could it taste bad if she followed the instructions exactly? She should blame her lack of skill. I cook from books too.

Though she tried to act normal, she couldn't hide her teary eyes. Seeing her like this made me uncomfortable too.

"Want me to teach you how to cook?"

"...I can do it well by myself."

"Are you going to live like this again if I'm away for a long time?"

"...No."

"Then you should learn so you can use it."

"You could just not leave. You could stick to my side like a cicada and make stew for me every day."

"Of course, I'll cook when we're together, but I don’t have the leisure to be your cook all the time."

Trisha's cheek puffed out sulkily.

"Oh, come on! Can’t you at least say you would!"

"Nope. It's not something I mean. Also, I have to take another day off during breaks too."

"What? Why? What are you doing?"

"I have plans to return to the professor's mansion for a day to rest."

"What? Then I want to go too!"

While I didn't mind, this was strictly Luna's invitation, so it needed Luna's permission, not mine.

"I'll ask about it."

"Whose permission do you need? The professor is far away, do you really need permission?"

"Yes, I promised to treat Luna to a meal. We were supposed to do it after the circulation system class ended, but it got delayed more than expected."

"Luna? Why didn't you invite me? I want to go too!"

"Luna helped me a lot in circulation system class. Since then, I can count on one hand the times we've properly talked. Besides, I treated you to dinner today, and I'll keep doing so."

"But that... no..."

Trisha seemed to have run out of things to say. She probably realized wanting more would be greedy.

Though I understood her desire to tag along because she felt lonely, we couldn't do everything together.

Trisha listlessly picked at her food, looking dejected. Seeing her drooping eyes and weak nibbling made my heart soften again.

I thought it might be nice if Luna and Trisha became friends. After all, they were classmates who could share in our daily life.

I'll have to ask Luna about it.

After classes, I returned to the library, focusing on gathering information about the Duchess’ illness. Despite spending considerable time, I found nothing significant. As I was considering asking professors, Luna returned to our meeting place.

I paused my research briefly to talk with Luna.

Not quite trusting Trisha's account, I asked Luna what had happened while I was gone and about upcoming events.

"Everyone's busy preparing for the sparring evaluation. The seniors especially are training hard to show their full strength against first-years as an example."

"Sparring evaluation...?"

Luna carefully spoke from behind the bookshelf, "...Yes. All grades mix and spar through a random drawing. Magic Department students against Magic Department... Combat Department against Combat Department... First-years might face fourth-years... so everyone's taking it seriously."

"Hmm... I thought the campus atmosphere felt different, is that why?"

There was something in everyone's eyes as if they were anticipating something. They seemed excited like people before a big festival. 

Are they excited about teaching arrogant first-years a lesson?

Luna covered her mouth and laughed silently before saying, "That's... probably because of the Eternia ball."

"But the ball is still a month away?"

"Yes... apparently, it's normal to prepare a month in advance..."

"Have you prepared, Luna?"

Luna nodded.

"The sparring evaluation... I'm confident."

Well, Luna's skills were considerable enough to even immobilize Sion. As the top student in the Magic Department, she might be more of an object of fear for the seniors.

But that wasn't what I asked about.

"What about the ball?"

Luna slightly avoided my gaze. Her small face visible through the stretched books disappeared from my view. Then in a smaller voice, she said.

"I will... prepare."

"..."

"Damian... what about you?"

"Well, I haven't thought about it yet. Though I'd like to know how others are preparing."

Luna brightened up and showed her face through the bookshelf gap.

"When are we... having dinner?"

"I was just about to ask about that... would it be okay to bring one more guest?"

"...Who?"

"You've heard of Trisha, right? She wants to hang out with us too."

"..."

Luna just blinked silently without any reaction.

She stared at me with an expressionless face. I couldn't read what she was thinking at all. It felt like talking to a cat that couldn't understand human speech.

My instinct told me this wasn't a positive reaction.

Luna slowly opened her mouth. Her answer was different from what I expected.

"...Okay."

"Are you sure? It's fine if you refuse, and I won't tell Trisha you rejected it."

Luna spoke with a face that seemed to have made a firm decision, "It's fine. You can bring her..."

Though she showed no expression, from the atmosphere, Luna seemed a bit angry. It was just a vague guess, but it definitely wasn't joy she was feeling.

Then Luna pulled out a book from in front of her.

"Then wait at the main gate after all classes end in two days. I'll come get you."

"Okay."

Luna ended the conversation briefly and left the archive.

I also left, becoming just another stranger to her.

In the library corridor, I saw Luna. She was clutching a book and talking with the librarian.

"That book contains dangerous potion recipes, so only fourth-year Alchemy students can borrow it."

The book Luna was holding was titled Murder Potion. 

Is that what she grabbed in anger?

Looking closely, she was... unusually arguing with the librarian.

"I want to borrow it...!"

"As I said, unless you're an Alchemy student..."

Seeing this made me feel uneasy. Surely she wasn't planning to actually kill someone with it. I could vaguely sense how Luna was feeling.

I shouldn't have brought up Trisha.

After all classes ended and most students had returned to their dormitories, I boarded the carriage heading to Silveryn's mansion.

I wondered if we could get through a day with Trisha and Luna together safely. I didn't know what happened with Luna and the Murder Potion book. She wouldn't poison the food or anything. Luna probably couldn't even decode the alchemy recipes anyway.

The carriage approached our meeting place at Eternia's main gate. Not far away, I saw familiar blonde hair. Luna waved from a deserted corner, holding a wooden basket.

And about ten steps away from her, Trisha stood alone. Seeing this made me sigh deeply.

Though I knew they were both in the Drama Club, they apparently weren't close enough to stand together.

The carriage stopped and Luna got in first.

"Welcome."

"...Yes."

Luna quietly sat beside me without saying much.

Then Trisha came running to the carriage, waving her arms.

"Wait!"

Trisha stood at the carriage door, glanced at Luna sitting next to me, and made a sulky face. Then she sat down opposite me.

An awkward atmosphere flowed. 

How should I break the ice?

Fortunately, Trisha made her usual silly comment, "I saw a huge crow while waiting!"

"Wow, that's amazing."

Luna, not to be outdone, spoke to me, "I brought ingredients in this basket..."

Luna's basket looked quite large and heavy, packed with various items.

"It must have cost quite a bit, you should have asked me."

Luna shook her head.

"I want to cook something I'm good at... you'll definitely like it."

"I invited you to treat you comfortably."

"I'll help you in the kitchen..."

A satisfied smile crept onto Luna's face.

And seeing that, Trisha's expression grew even sulkier.

"I want to cook too!"

"No. Too many people in the kitchen makes it difficult. Besides, you can't cook."