"It seems they've skipped class again today?"
Sylphie looked at Hilda, who was elegantly holding a teacup at the small round table in front of her. Her expression was slightly embarrassed, but her posture was very graceful.
"…It seems so, my lady."
Beside her, Rudeus, who was visiting Hilda's tea room for the first time, was staring out the window in shock, his expression a sight to behold.
In the rain outside the window, on the roof directly opposite them, were two familiar figures, one big and one small.
It was the class-skipping duo, Alan and Eris.
Rudeus and Sylphie had been stopped by the cat-eared maid, Lilia, on their way upstairs and invited to a tea room-like room on the top floor for tea.
At first, Rudeus was very embarrassed and wanted to find an excuse to refuse. After all, being caught by the lady of the Boreas house for being an incompetent teacher was very disheartening. But Sylphie had obediently turned and followed Lilia.
This left Rudeus with no choice but to follow them with a heart full of trepidation.
And so he had arrived here, and seen this hard-to-watch scene.
Even though the rain obscured most of his view, he could still tell that Eris was leaning back, her hands in her hair, performing the 'Boreas-style special request' on Alan.
Because he had seen it before.
So he remembered it…
The first time he had seen Eris do this to Alan during swordsmanship class a few months ago, he had been completely dumbfounded.
No! How can that tyrannical young lady make such a cute pose?
It's like Star Platinum trying to meow, isn't it?!
This is impossible!
He remembered that he had shot up from his seat, about to put a stop to her absurd posture, but had been silenced by two sentences from Alan.
What he had said at the time was…
The first sentence was a strange combination of two words.
"I, grass?"
The former was a personal pronoun in the Human-tongue, the latter was the grass outside.
It was nonsensical.
Before he could ask why, Alan had quickly followed up with a second sentence. This time, it was clear and coherent.
"Do it again!"
It had left Rudeus speechless for the entire lesson.
Just like right now.
In his line of sight, Alan was standing with his arms crossed, seemingly lecturing Eris righteously. But before he could finish, after Eris had changed her 'cute' pose several times, the two of them just stared at each other in silence for a long time.
Then, Alan silently drew his sword and began to demonstrate how to swing it for her.
Very honest.
You two are really something else!!
What do you mean, Alan will bring Eris back!?
He looked at Sylphie in disbelief.
She, in order to avoid Rudeus's 'interrogating' gaze, was calmly holding her teacup and sipping the hot tea along the rim, looking as if this were a common occurrence.
Rudeus instantly understood why she had gone from being flustered at the beginning to being so calm this morning.
She must have been invited by Hilda for 'morning tea' like this so many times over the past few months that she had seen this countless times!!
So I'm the only one, the actual reading and writing and arithmetic teacher, who was kept in the dark!!
Hilda was also watching this scene. Seeing Alan once again succumb to Eris's attack, she couldn't help but smile faintly.
She turned to Rudeus, her tone apologetic.
"I'm sorry to have troubled you, Rudeus."
Rudeus was slightly startled and subconsciously sat up straight and bowed in apology.
"I'm sorry! My lady, it's all my fault…"
"No, this is also the result of my deliberate indulgence. Sylphie also mentioned at the beginning that we should try to persuade them, but… for some reason, I find this scene very interesting, and it makes me very happy. So I told her not to disturb them."
"That child, Eris, has never been interested in reading and writing or arithmetic since she was little. Anyway, there's still a long time, so let her relax a little. It's rare for her to be so attached to a non-beast race human besides Ghislaine."
Rudeus opened his mouth helplessly.
"My lady… this… but on the roof, it must be very dangerous…"
"I also asked Ghislaine. She said that with Alan, Eris would be even safer on the roof than on the flat ground… I think she said Alan has a North God Style sword technique called the Four-Legged Form, which allows him to walk on the roof as if it were flat ground."
Rudeus looked at the window in a daze, then at Hilda's face.
"Alright then."
As he spoke, he sat back down and began to drink tea like Sylphie.
He had given up.
If the master of the house didn't say anything, what could he, a teacher, say?
But…
He looked at the rippling surface of the tea in his hand.
Is a seven-day-a-week curriculum too much for Eris? Perhaps adding one more day of rest would make her settle down a bit?
The three of them fell silent.
Hilda just quietly looked out the window.
The tea in her hand was replaced again and again by Lilia beside her.
Morning tea was not filling.
Although there were some exquisite and delicious pastries, when Rudeus left Hilda's 'tea room' an hour later, he still felt hungry.
The two of them went to tutor Ghislaine in reading, writing, and arithmetic for a while, then headed to the dining hall to eat.
After choosing a quiet spot by the window, they sat down.
Halfway through the meal, Rudeus finally felt full. He glanced at Sylphie, who had been lost in thought since the morning, slowed down his eating speed, and said indistinctly while chewing on bread.
"It seems you were right, Sylphie."
Sylphie paused and looked up at Rudeus.
He didn't meet her gaze, but just looked down at the bread in his hand, tearing at the crispy crust as he said slowly, "I mean half a year ago, my suggestion that we help Alan together. For now, it seems he's already adjusted on his own."
"So your judgment was right."
Sylphie paused and looked down.
After a moment, she finally spoke.
"You're wrong."
"Oh? Where am I wrong? Isn't everything fine now? I heard from Ghislaine that Alan's Silent Sword has already returned to its peak."
"…Are you doing this on purpose, Rudeus?"
"What are you talking about?"
"Ghislaine also said that although Alan's Silent Sword has returned to its former state, it's only because he has compensated for his regressed talent with accumulated skill and practice. It has nothing to do with his stagnant 'desire'."
Rudeus swallowed the bread in his mouth and placed the rest of it on his plate.
He looked up.
At Sylphie, his expression becoming grave.
"Then why aren't you worried?"
Sylphie silently stirred the soup in front of her and said, "I am trying."
"Are you?"
Sylphie blinked. The words of Roxy's letter flashed before her eyes.
She looked up at Rudeus, her eyes unblinking.
"But for now, I think it would be better for me to take action and help him myself."
Rudeus looked at Sylphie's 'resolute' expression and was taken aback.
Then his expression suddenly became excited, and he slammed his hand on the table.
"You realize it!?"
Sylphie flinched and looked at Rudeus with her mouth slightly open. Before she could ask why, he had already stood up from his chair, his hands spread wide, his eyes squinted, and began to speak eloquently. He looked very confident.
And his words were firm.
He said,
"Tonight, you will go to his room."
"Wearing your favorite… no, Alan's favorite moon-white long dress."
"Don't forget the garter socks Lilia gave you, and the small black leather shoes Lady Hilda gave you."
He nodded and stroked his chin, thinking for a moment.
Then he smacked his fist into his palm.
"Oh! And the cat-eared pajamas! The one Lady Hilda gave you that she's never seen you wear. It has cat ears, right! I remember seeing it."
"A two-pronged attack of expectations!"
"After one night, no! Not even one night, the moment he sees you, his spirits will be restored!"
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