Chapter 89
When Monica returned to the attic room in the girls' dormitory via Lin's incredibly fast flight magic, Nero was wedged into the narrow gap between the wall and the closet, with his rear turned toward Monica.
"...U-um, Nero?"
In place of a reply, his black tail smacked the floor. He was sulking.
"Honestly, Nero..."
When Monica muttered helplessly, Nero continued to smack the floor with his tail as he spoke.
"You left me behind to go out on the town, then came home at dawn, huh?"
"Er, well..."
As Monica stood at a loss, Lin, who had escorted her all the way back, spoke up in her usual maid outfit.
"Yes, after 〈Silent Witch〉-dono enjoyed a decadent feast of wine and women with pretty boys serving her, she then indulged in a night of carnal pleasure at a brothel with a handsome man..."
"Miiiiiss Liiiiiin!?"
With her eyes bulging, Nero sprang out from the gap beside the closet and patted Monica's legs with his soft paw pads.
"I've lost all respect for you! You hussy, Monica!"
"A hussy!?"
"You heartless woman! Learn from Abram!"
"Who is Mr. Abram!?"
When Monica shouted, Nero snorted vigorously and pulled out a book. It was his favorite adventure novel. The author's name was Dustin Gunter.
'Dustin Gunter is the best!' was something Nero often said.
Nero skillfully flipped through the pages with his forepaws and tapped the scene introducing the characters.
"Abram's a friend of the protagonist, Bartholomew, but he's incredibly loyal and a really great guy. Even when a beautiful woman tries to seduce him, he says, 'Friendship is a treasure more precious than love to me,' and stays true to his friendship with Bartholomew instead of giving in to her charms. Cool, right?"
"...Abram... Bartholomew?"
Monica had never read the novel, but she felt as though she had heard those names somewhere before. Fairly recently, too.
──Right now, I am writing a scene in my new novel about a foolish man who has fallen in love with a stage actress. Abram, the protagonist Bartholomew's friend, is hopelessly in love with the stage actress Catherine, and he says this whenever the opportunity arises.
'Ah, to see her perform with my own eyes one more time.'
...That's you to a T right now.
"...Ah!?"
Monica opened her mouth wide and cried out.
Come to think of it, Felix had said that Porter was both the owner of a used-book store and a novelist.
Before the stunned Monica, Nero rambled on about what a loyal and honorable person Abram was.
Kindhearted Monica decided to keep quiet about the plot twist in which Mr. Abram, who lived for friendship, became completely smitten with a stage actress.
＊ ＊ ＊
After getting ready, Monica decided to leave the girls' dormitory with time to spare.
Lin had told her that the assassin who had infiltrated the chess tournament had escaped from the detention center, and Monica wanted to think about how to deal with it.
If the man who had disguised himself as Eugene Pittman, a teacher at Minerva, could impersonate other people as well, that would make things extremely troublesome.
With Nero's power, she could detect unusual magical energy.
With Lin's power, she could overhear suspicious conversations.
However, they had only been able to do that because there had not been many people on campus on the day of the chess tournament.
On the day of the school festival, people would be coming and going in large numbers, making it virtually impossible for Lin to pick out only suspicious conversations. In addition, there would be presentations by groups such as the Magical Research Society, so it was questionable whether even Nero would be able to detect suspicious magical energy.
Nero could immediately sense powerful magic tools such as 〈Spiral Flame〉 or Cyril's rampaging magical power, but even he could not detect small-scale magic.
(If I stayed beside His Highness and guarded him all day during the school festival, people would surely find that suspicious.)
The most reliable option after all was to have Felix carry a magic tool with a defensive barrier function.
Lewis Miller had once considered this same approach──although the magic tool he made was apparently destroyed three days after he finished it.
(...Come to think of it, that was why I ended up taking on the infiltration mission...)
Remembering that exchange, Monica gave a weak laugh and slipped her hand into her pocket.
Inside was the magic tool Monica had made on the spur of the moment that morning.
After receiving Lin's report about the assassin's escape, Monica had bought a cheap brooch in the pleasure district and imbued it with a defensive barrier.
It could function only once. When Felix was attacked, it would cast a defensive barrier. That was all this simple magic tool did.
She had actually wanted to make it reusable and add a function that would notify Monica even from a distance when the barrier activated.
However, adding multiple functions required a gemstone of sufficient size and purity, as well as time to make it.
This was the best she could do when enchanting a cheap brooch in such a short time.
(...But in exchange, I strengthened the barrier as much as possible, so it should serve as a charm in the worst-case scenario...)
The problem was how to give it to Felix.
Ideally, she needed to get him to carry it at all times without him realizing it.
The magic tool Monica had made was a brooch set with amber in a cheap plated setting. It was small enough to conceal in her clenched hand.
If it were in a pocket, Felix would notice it as soon as he put his hand inside. If she pinned it inside his jacket, he would surely discover it when he took the jacket off. More importantly, everyone would change from their uniforms into formalwear for the after-party.
(That means... w-would I have to put it in his underwear? N-no, that's too much... Hmm... I-I can't think of any good way...)
Monica walked along, fretting over the problem.
She had left the dormitory a little early to think of a way to get Felix to carry the brooch, but at this rate, she would arrive at the academy without having thought of anything at all.
Lost in thought, Monica paid no attention to where she was walking and failed to notice a slight rise in the ground. As expected, she caught her foot on it, lost her balance, and went sprawling with a splat.
──Gyaaah!"
At the last moment, she caught herself with her palm and avoided falling face-first, but even so, her palm throbbed painfully.
...Oww, that hurts..."
Monica sniffled, got to her feet, and trudged toward the academy.
She did not even realize that the brooch had rolled out of her pocket when she fell.
The brooch was not the only thing Monica had failed to notice.
In fact, a female student had been walking a short distance behind Monica. She had witnessed everything, from Monica's fall to the brooch tumbling away.
That student's name was Bridget Graham, the student council secretary.
The beautiful young noblewoman known as one of the academy's three great beauties picked up the amber brooch Monica had dropped and held it up to eye level to examine it.
It was an obviously shoddy, cheap brooch.
However, when she held it up to the light, she could see a faint magical formula floating inside the amber.
"..."
Bridget took out a handkerchief, wrapped the brooch in it, slipped it into her pocket, and walked on as if nothing had happened.
＊ ＊ ＊
Without having thought of a good way to get Felix to wear the brooch, Monica arrived at the student council room, only to find Felix and Cyril already there.
"Good morning, Monica."
Felix's smile was gentle and kind, the smile of a prince.
It was different from the way Aik smiled.
Monica bowed to Felix and Cyril as she said, "Good morning," then stole a glance at Felix's clothes.
She simply could not think of a way to secretly pin the brooch onto his perfectly worn white uniform.
(Maybe it would be more reliable to just hand it to him directly and ask him to wear it... But how would I ask? What kind of request would make His Highness absolutely want to wear the brooch...? Maybe I could say, 'I want someone as fashion-savvy as you to wear it'... Ugh, but this brooch definitely isn't for a fashion expert... Besides, it's designed for women...)
Monica summoned all the wisdom she had accumulated since leaving the mountain cabin as she thought of a way to ask Felix to wear the brooch.
Then she came up with an idea.
Yes, the hint had been in the pleasure district.
This was it. There was no other way. Surely this would work.
(...'This is a happiness brooch that will make you happy when you wear it'... Yes, I'll go with that!)
It was such a pathetic conclusion that one had to wonder what had become of Doris's training in how to captivate men.
The idea was on the same level as a food-stall owner's sales pitch.
Even so, Monica was brimming with confidence that this was a brilliant plan as she reached into her pocket to take out the brooch...
(...Huh?)
No matter how much she rummaged around in her pocket, the brooch would not appear. Just to be sure, she searched her other pocket as well, but the brooch was not there either.
(C-c-c-could it have been when I fell just now...!?)
Monica stamped her feet and patted down her jacket and skirt, checking whether the brooch had caught on the hem of either one. But the brooch still did not appear.
"Treasurer Norton, what are you doing?"
Cyril fixed Monica with a reproachful stare over her strange behavior.
Monica answered while cold sweat poured down her face and her eyes darted about.
"U-um, well... I-I'm practicing ballroom dancing for the ball...! I-I'm looking forward to the ball!"
Cyril's eyes widened slightly at that.
But he immediately knitted his brows tightly and groaned.
"...You're not seriously claiming those bizarre steps are dancing, are you? What were all those days of training for?"
"W-w-whoa... O-of course I remember! Um, one-two-three, one-two-three..."
Monica smiled stiffly as she demonstrated ballroom-dance steps on the spot. Cyril watched her with an oddly serious expression. It was frightening.
Just then, the door opened and Bridget entered the room. After greeting them with a "Good day" from the doorway, Bridget gave Monica, who was doing dance steps, a chilly look.
However, Bridget said nothing more. In general, Bridget did not even try to speak to Monica properly. Apparently, she did not consider Monica worth even that much.
Neil and Elliot arrived a little later, and once all the student council members had gathered, Felix spoke.
"All right, everyone's here. The school festival is finally tomorrow. Let's do our best to make sure we're fully prepared and that it becomes a wonderful day for everyone to enjoy."
(W-w-w-what am I going to do? Without the defensive-barrier magic tool, I can't do my best to protect His Highness...!)
Monica could only agonize inwardly.
Bridget watched Monica with a probing gaze, but Monica, of course, failed to notice.
And so, with a major source of anxiety left unresolved, the school festival at Serendia Academy was about to begin.