Chapter 2
Recently, Monica had been visiting the House of Marquis Highone, where Cyril lived, more often.
For their joint research with Raul Roseberg, the 〈Thorn Witch〉, Monica and Raul had been permitted to use land belonging to the House of Highone. Since the research was highly confidential, the marquis's estate was the most convenient place to hold their meetings.
That said, the Marquis of Highone was a busy man.
Because Cyril, his son, compiled the reports and presented them to the marquis, the usual arrangement lately had been for Cyril, Raul, and Monica to meet in one of the estate's rooms.
That day was no different; the three of them were reviewing the results of their research so far in one of the estate's guest rooms.
Monica had meticulously analyzed and compiled the data on its progress, but there was so much of it that reading through everything took time.
After reading through the documents, Cyril let out a long sigh and lightly rubbed the corners of his eyes.
Seeing that, Monica lowered her brows apologetically.
"U-um... I'm sorry. The data was too detailed, wasn't it...?"
Monica liked looking at minute figures, so the greater the volume of data, the more her spirits soared. But if she was preparing documents for someone else, she should have organized them in a more readable format.
As Monica reflected on this in secret, Cyril shook his head. "No."
"There is no problem with the data being detailed. You have compiled it well. I will decide which parts to include in the report to Father, so leave it as it is."
As Monica breathed a sigh of relief at Cyril's words, Raul, who had been skimming the documents and stretching, interjected with an admiring murmur,
"Cyril and Monica, you two are amazing. I'm no good at this kind of thing... I'd rather see plants growing with my own eyes than understand their growth through numbers, you know...?"
"Lord Roseberg. It would be a problem if you were like that when you are the one mixing the fertilizer."
"Don't be such a stranger. We're fellow farmers, aren't we? Just call me Raul."
Cyril casually ignored Raul's words and pointed out areas for improvement.
Monica recorded Cyril's observations and presented proposals for improvement. Based on those, Cyril drew up a schedule, and Monica fine-tuned it.
Cyril and Monica had worked together as student council officers during their time at Serendia Academy, so they were accustomed to this sort of task and could understand each other's intentions even in the smallest details.
Come to think of it, even when they had been student council officers, Monica had prepared records like these while Cyril compiled them and reported them to the student council president and the teachers.
(This feels kind of nostalgic...)
She had never imagined that, even after leaving Serendia Academy, she would still be able to work together with Cyril like this.
Savoring that small happiness, Monica continued writing on the documents.
Eventually, when their work reached a stopping point, Raul cut in with a hearty laugh.
"Man, I'm completely hopeless with details, so I'm glad you two are here. Cyril and Monica, you're really dependable."
Monica secretly smiled at Raul's words. Being told she was dependable made her genuinely happy.
With a bashful smile, Monica handed Raul a sheet detailing the fertilizer.
"This is yours, 〈Thorn Witch〉-sama. Here you go."
"Thanks! But if possible, call me by my name instead of my title."
"Um, I'm sorry... I'm not really used to doing that..."
As Monica fidgeted with her fingers, Raul blinked his spring-green eyes and tilted his head.
"But you call Louis-san by his name, rather than 〈Barrier Magician〉-sama, don't you, Monica?"
At Raul's observation, Monica stared blankly for a moment. She had never really thought about it before, but now that he mentioned it, he was right.
Cyril seemed to take some interest in the exchange between Raul and Monica as well. He joined in with a surprised look on his face.
"Isn't it customary to address the Seven Sages by their titles?"
"Nah, there's no particular rule. It's just that Monica always calls the rest of us by our titles, so I was wondering why Louis-san is the only one she calls by name."
Monica turned her round eyes this way and that as she thought hard. The truth was, she herself had been doing it unconsciously.
(Um... why is that? Hmm...)
Being in the same year didn't feel quite like the right explanation.
As Monica continued to tilt her head and ponder, she retraced her memories, eventually realized the reason, and clapped her hands.
"Um, you see, I... had known of Louis-san by name since my days at Minerva."
After learning wordless magic and skipping grades, Monica had joined the research lab of Professor Gideon Rutherford, one of Minerva's foremost experts.
That said, to be honest, Monica had not learned all that much from Rutherford.
She had simply holed up in the laboratory as Professor Rutherford's research student and conducted whatever research she pleased.
That was why Monica considered Rutherford her mentor, but not her master.
Whenever Rutherford reminisced about the past, one name he often mentioned was "Louis, that idiot disciple."
While she had been a student, Monica had heard Professor Rutherford tell her many times about the disturbances Louis had caused during his own student days.
As a result, from that time on, Monica had thought of Louis as "the Louis-san who Professor Rutherford often talked about, his disciple."
"So I guess I must have unconsciously ended up calling him 'Louis-san.'"
"Huh, I see. Then why do you call Cyril 'Cyril-sama'?"
"Um, that's..."
As Monica struggled to think of how to explain it, Cyril narrowed his blue eyes and gave Raul and Monica a piercing look.
"Let's end the pointless chatter there. Monica, hand me those documents."
"..."
"Monica?"
"──! Oh, yes! That's me!"
In a fluster, Monica waved her hands around pointlessly, then held out a completely unrelated document, prompting Cyril to give her a puzzled look.
Whenever Cyril called her by name, a strange, restless feeling stirred deep in Monica's chest. It was her secret alone.