Vol. 4 Ch. 3: Grilling Meat Behind the School Building Is a Man's Dream

During the lunch break the following day, Monica hurried out of the school building and headed for the backyard.

She avoided the old garden, where she had once snuck in, since she might run into Felix there, and moved to a secluded corner of the backyard.

After making sure there was no one around, she took a sheet of paper from her pocket and unfolded it.

On the paper, she had written down the basic steps of ballroom dancing and the tempo of the music. She had reviewed what Neil taught her the day before and summarized it on paper in her own way.

After reading it over carefully, Monica immediately began practicing the basic steps.

"...One, two, three... one, two, three..."

She was merely repeating the same steps, but whenever the athletically inept Monica did so, her upper body inevitably wobbled unsteadily. Even simply walking was difficult for her.

"Um... right foot forward, left foot to the side, bring it back... Turn clockwise, pivoting on the left foot."

She lost her balance during the turn and staggered, stumbling to regain her footing, when she heard a cackling laugh.

Her shoulders jerked, and when she looked up, she saw a tall young man smirking at her. She had no idea how long he had been standing there.

With tawny hair and slightly drooping eyes, the young man looked approachable when he was silent. He was Elliott Howard, the student council secretary.

"I see. This is awful. You look just like a drunk."

Elliott's manner was friendly and casual, but his eyes clearly looked down on Monica.

Although they served on the same student council, Monica had not spoken with Elliott very often.

Still, she had vaguely sensed that Elliott did not have a favorable opinion of her.

If Bridget's sharp words were a sword, this man's words were poison. Monica could feel the malice in them, as though he meant to torment and hurt her little by little.

"Have you had any experience in high society?"

"...No."

"Ha. Figures. At this rate, it would be far too embarrassing to let you out in public."

With a gentle tone and a gentle smile, as if they were merely making small talk, Elliott poured poison into his words.

As Monica shrank back and stood frozen, Elliott slowly closed the distance between them and peered up at her face from below.

"You're not a noble, are you?"

"..."

"I suppose you're the child a nobleman had with his mistress, then? ...Am I not far from the truth?"

What had Louis's cover story for her been again? To tell the truth, it was so complicated that Monica barely remembered it.

(I-I think... I was supposed to be an orphan taken in by the former Countess Kerbeck... maybe...)

In any case, it was best not to say anything careless. When Monica lowered her head in silence, Elliott seemed to take that as confirmation.

"Serendia Academy is an extension of high society. The student council is the flower of that society."

With the members chosen by Felix, the second prince, it would not be an exaggeration to call the student council members future retainers—or potential wives.

Into such a glittering place, Monica had slipped in as a conspicuous outsider.

"Nobles have roles and duties befitting nobles. Honestly, I don't like seeing a commoner with no ambition barge in and settle here."

Elliott reached out and tore the student council badge from Monica's collar.

Then he tossed it high into the air.

The small badge landed with a clink on a decorative section of the school building's roof. It was far beyond Monica's reach.

"...Ah."

As Monica stood there frozen, Elliott snickered at her.

"A council member who lost their badge? Unheard of. I'm afraid stripping you of your position is unavoidable."

Elliott gave a theatrical shrug and looked down coldly at Monica.

"Good that you've learned your place, commoner girl."

＊　＊　＊

After Elliott left, Monica looked up at the school building with a troubled expression.

She could retrieve the badge from the roof using flight magic... but for Monica, who could barely manage to jump high, it would be difficult.

More importantly, she would be in serious trouble if someone discovered her.

"W-what should I do...?"

Would a strong gust created with wind magic blow it down from the roof? But if she misjudged the force and sent it flying far away, all would be lost.

She was considering calling Nero and having him retrieve it when someone suddenly tapped her on the shoulder.

"What's up?"

"...Eek!?"

Monica flinched and turned around to find Glenn Dudley standing there. For some reason, Glenn was clutching a wooden skewer in one hand.

Could he be planning to assassinate her by stabbing her in the neck with that skewer!? As Monica stared at it, Glenn waved the wooden skewer like a conductor's baton and spoke.

"What're you doing in a place like this?"

"Um, er..."

As Monica struggled for words, Glenn keenly scrutinized her collar.

"Hey, your collar's a little frayed. Oh! Wait, your council badge is gone! Did you lose it!?"

As Glenn began making a great fuss, Monica answered haltingly.

"The badge... um... I got it caught on that roof over there..."

It was a desperate excuse, even by her standards. But Glenn did not pry any further. Instead, he shaded his eyes with one hand and looked up at the roof.

"The roof? Around those ornaments?"

"P-probably somewhere around there..."

"Then that's easy!"

As Monica stared at him, wondering what he meant by easy, Glenn thrust the wooden skewer he had been clutching into her hands and said, "Here, hold this!"

Then he cracked his neck a few times and chanted a short spell.

Monica's eyes widened. The spell Glenn was chanting was one for flight magic.

Glenn gave a light "Hup!" and kicked off the ground. His body leaped all the way up to the level of the roof. Maintaining that height, he moved parallel to the ground and approached the roof.

"Oh! There it is!"

Glenn plucked the council badge from the roof, then slowly descended from a height of more than four stories and landed in front of Monica.

Flight magic was a high-level spell that could only be used by someone on the level of an advanced mage. More than anything, it required both magical knowledge and physical ability.

As Monica stared in amazement at how easily Glenn had used it, he placed the badge in her hand, then put his index finger to his lips and said, "Shh."

"Don't tell anyone else about that, okay? We're actually not supposed to use magic without a supervisor around."

"A-are you... a mage, Glenn-san?"

"I'm still an apprentice!"

Even if he was only an apprentice, being able to use flight magic meant that his skill was on par with an advanced mage's.

Why would someone like that be attending Serendia Academy?

If he could use flight magic at such a young age, it would not have been strange for Minerva, the specialized institution for training mages, to recruit him.

Unable to voice those questions, Monica watched Glenn pull the wooden skewer from her hands.

"Oh, right. I was just eating lunch. Want to join me?"

Now that he mentioned it, Monica could smell something delicious cooking—meat, by the scent of it.

Glenn cheerfully waved the skewer as he headed deeper into the backyard. Monica followed timidly and found the remains of a campfire in a somewhat open area. Skewered meat had been laid out on leaves serving as plates. Apparently, the wooden skewer had been used to hold the meat.

"The cafeteria here is kind of stuffy, and the portions are small for how expensive they are. It never fills me up."

"S-so you eat meat here?"

"Freshly slaughtered and freshly grilled meat is the best, right? Besides, I don't have any energy unless I eat my fill of meat!"

With that, Glenn offered one of the skewers to Monica.

She felt awkward refusing, so Monica thanked him and timidly took a bite. The grilled chicken was cooked just right, with crisp skin and moist, tender meat. The seasoning was nice and strong, too.

But where had this meat come from?

Glenn had said something about it being freshly slaughtered. Could he really have gone hunting during his break?

Glenn answered Monica's question while stuffing his cheeks with meat.

"My family owns a butcher shop in the downtown area. I used flight magic to zip home and get some meat from my family! Oh, and don't tell anyone I secretly went home to get it, okay!? Seriously, don't tell anyone, okay!?"

Monica had suspected it for some time, but Glenn really did not seem to be a noble.

But why was the son of a commoner butcher, an apprentice mage at that, attending this academy?

"...Um, why are you... attending this school, Glenn-san?"

"Well, I've got a master, but... my master says I'm too restless, so they told me to come to this school and learn how to settle down."

Serendia Academy was attended by the children of nobles, but it was not unusual for children of lesser nobility or wealthy families to attend in order to learn proper manners.

That said, with talent like Glenn's, attending Minerva, the foremost institution for training mages, would have been the natural choice.

(...What kind of master does he have, I wonder?)

Monica swallowed the last piece of meat, returned the skewer to the plate, and bowed her head to Glenn.

"...Um, thank you... Not just for the meat, but for retrieving my council badge, too..."

"It's only natural to help each other when we're in trouble!"

Glenn flashed his white teeth and laughed cheerfully.

As Monica looked at his guileless smile, she felt her wariness toward him ease just a little.

＊　＊　＊

(...Hmm?)

Felix looked down from a window at Monica and Glenn in the backyard, narrowing his eyes slightly.

He had watched everything, from Monica secretly practicing her dancing, to Elliott taking her council badge, to Glenn retrieving it with flight magic──every exchange.

"...Your Highness."

The white lizard Will poked his head out of Felix's breast pocket and whispered.

"I overheard part of their conversation, but it seems that Monica Norton and Glenn Dudley really have no connection."

"Yes, it seems so. She was surprised when Glenn Dudley used flight magic."

Having said that, Felix let out a pensive sigh.

"Still, this is no fun. Must everyone gang up on my little squirrel and meddle with her?"

"...I think it's because Your Highness keeps meddling with them."

"Should I put a collar on her so everyone knows she's mine? One with a cute embroidered ribbon."

"...That would be in rather poor taste."

"I agree."

Chuckling quietly, Felix covered his breast pocket with one hand. At the signal to hide, Will retreated into the depths of the pocket.

After confirming that Will had hidden himself, Felix looked behind him. Walking toward him was Elliott Howard, the student council secretary—the very person who had just taken Monica's council badge.

Felix had deliberately lain in wait here, predicting that Elliott would use this hallway to return to his classroom.

When Elliott noticed Felix, he casually raised one hand.

"Hey, Your Highness."

"Hello, Elliott. Was playing with my little squirrel fun?"

Elliott showed no sign of agitation. He merely looked at Felix with his usual frivolous smile plastered across his face. That was precisely what made him so aristocratic.

"You should know, Your Highness, that I hate commoners who don't know their place more than anything."

Elliott Howard pretended to be a frivolous man, but his true nature was more aristocratic than anyone else's.

Elliott did not actually look down on commoners. He simply could not tolerate anyone who failed to fulfill their proper role... whether they were noble or commoner.

Felix knew that Elliott had been angrier than anyone when the previous treasurer committed embezzlement.

"You once said this, Elliott: 'Nobles have the roles they are born to fulfill, and commoners have the roles they are born to fulfill. Each person should carry out the role suited to their station'... didn't you?"

"Yes. That's precisely why I want to ask you something."

Elliott let his frivolous smile fade and fixed Felix with a sharp gaze beneath his drooping eyes.

"Why did you make Monica Norton the treasurer?"

"Because I don't know Miss Norton's proper place."

Elliott insisted that commoners should perform roles suited to their station. But Felix could not determine Monica's proper place. That was why he had assigned her the role of treasurer. He thought that doing so might reveal her true nature.

Elliott did not seem satisfied with Felix's answer. Even so, he did not press the matter further, merely directing a chilly gaze at Felix.

"Do you know what I hate more than 'commoners who don't know their place'? Nobles who fail to fulfill their roles... and royalty is no exception."

His attitude might have been considered disrespectful toward royalty, but Felix was not offended. He simply replied with a gentle smile.

"Of course, as long as I call myself Felix Ark Ridill, I will fulfill this role."

──Yes, for as long as I bear this name.

With a distant look in his eyes, Felix silently murmured.