“What… are you all doing?” At my call, Emily and Mary flinched, while Raphne slightly lifted her head.

Then, one by one, the other two also put down their menus and revealed their faces.

“What brings you here?

And you’re all wearing sunglasses…” Of course, I'm wearing them too, but in my case, it's to hide my identity.

Moreover, wearing sunglasses indoors?

No matter how you look at it, it's strange.

“Ken… ac-actually….” Mary was the first to try and answer my question.

Bang!

But before she could respond, Emily shot up from her seat, taking over the conversation.

“W-well!

This, uh…!

This is a celebration!”

“Celebration… meeting?”

“Aah…

Yes, that's right!

It’s a celebration for Raphne’s return.” Emily's words were further elaborated by Mary, who then avoided my gaze.

More importantly.

A celebration for Raphne?

Raphne stood there bewildered, looking back and forth between the two of them.

And on the table, there were pieces of cake and drinks.

“Then… it's to help Raphne adjust after returning to the Academy after a year?”

“Y-yes!

Exactly!

We've grown really close starting today!”

"R-right, Raphne?"

"Huh?

...Both of them are kind.

Ken." Emily hurriedly grabbed Raphne's hand with an anxious expression, and Raphne awkwardly nodded in agreement with her statement.

I see.

It's all for Raphne, who hasn’t had any interaction with us for a year…

“Sniff”

"Ken?"

"Uh, why are you crying?!"

"No… It's just that… I'm so grateful for all of you.” In a way, both of them initially had strained relationships with Raphne.

But now they've come to understand her situation and are helping her adjust well to the Academy.

Holding hands in such a friendly manner.

Honestly, I was a bit worried there might be a fight, but seeing this moment was incredibly touching.

I clumsily wiped away my tears and smiled at the three of them.

“Well, since it's a special day with a rare flower blooming today… shall we all go flower viewing?” Originally, I was going to suggest this to Raphne.

But today marks an important day for her, it’s the day she returns to the Academy after a year and makes her first friends.

I have to make an effort, too.

And the first to react to my suggestion was Mary.

“I, I want to go!

I'll go!” She raised her hand with twinkling eyes.

It seems Mary likes flowers.

Mary quickly organized her scraps and returned them to the cafe.

Then she hurried over to me, hooking her arm through mine and tugging me along.

"Come on, let's go.

How about we have tea and desserts like a picnic?"

"Huh?

Ah, but the others..."

"Aah!

W-wait!"

"Hold on, Mary, why are you going ahead on your own?" As Mary led the way to see the flowers, Raphne and Emily quickly reacted and cleaned up the table in a rush.

Afterwards, we spread out a mat at a designated picnic spot in the city and enjoyed tea and cookies while admiring the flowers.

Unlike the flower-filled walking path, this place was a field with pretty flowers scattered here and there.

Other city residents were also spread out, enjoying the flowers.

“Wow!

This one looks unique.

Ken, smell this!

The fragrance is interesting!”

"But Emily, you seem to have a wide variety of food in your pockets.

Do you always carry that much?"

"It's just a hobby!

You never know when someone might need something to eat." We each enjoyed cookies and tea while admiring the flowers.

From a distance, we could see Elise and Siegfried sharing a moment, laughing together happily.

"Sieg, you really like flowers, don't you?" As they wandered through a field of white flowers, Elise asked Siegfried.

Since childhood, while Siegfried had trained in swordsmanship to grow stronger, he also loved tending to flowers.

Of course, it was understandable, given that his only ability was related to that.

Siegfried's face displayed a different kind of smile whenever he looked at flowers.

Elise liked that smile.

She admired his dedication and effort in sword training despite his lack of talent.

But when the usually stoic and emotionally reserved Siegfried smiled gently while looking at flowers, her heart would flutter without her realizing it.

In response to Elise's question, Siegfried plucked a white flower and took a sniff.

"Flowers struggle to sprout from tiny seeds and eventually produce beautiful results.

I've admired that effort since I was a child." He then brought the plucked flower to Elise and tucked it behind her ear.

The beautiful white flower blended perfectly with her pink hair.

Thump.

Thump thump.

With his sudden touch, Elise's heart began to race, and her face flushed.

"And more importantly, you always loved pretty flowers the most.

Taking care of flowers brings back memories of you, which makes me happy."

It had been like this since childhood.

Whenever he did such casual things, only she would feel shy and thrilled like a fool.

And whenever she saw him act this way, she couldn't help but wonder.

Would he do this with other girls, too?

She worried unnecessarily and even felt a little selfish, wishing he would act this way with only her.

…

"Idiot.

Fool."

"...I guess I am foolish." Of course, she didn’t really think he was foolish.

When her emotions got all mixed up and she felt embarrassed, harsh words would escape her without her realizing it.

She hated herself like this.

So, Elise turned and started walking ahead.

She was too flustered at the thought that he might notice her reddened face.

'...Has the effect worn off?' As she cupped her cheeks with both hands, Elise wondered.

Just a moment ago, thanks to the medicine Ken had given her, she could talk to Sieg freely.

'I should have asked for another one.' But with just one touch, her heart started racing and her cheeks turned red again.

The fool wasn’t him; it was her.

"...Wait, Elise."

"Huh, huh?" At that moment, Sieg, who was walking ahead, stopped her.

"What, are you afraid I'll get lost or something?"

"No, it's not that..." Sieg then took something out of his pocket.

"...What's this?" It was a small pouch wrapped with a ribbon.

"It's a gift."

"...A g-gift?

All of a sudden?

Why?"

“...Why, it’s your birthday today.” Siegfried tilted his head as he answered her surprised question.

“Oh!” Then, today's date came to Elise’s mind.

Come to think of it, these flowers were always in bloom around her birthday.

Elise, who didn't pay much attention to her birthday, had forgotten all about it.

As she began to unpack the gift Siegfried had given her, Elise pulled out a necklace with a small clover charm.

Trying to hide the tears of emotion welling up, Elise forced her usual teasing smile and teased Siegfried.

“What are you doing?

If you give a girl something like this carelessly, she'll misunderstand, you idiot!”

“...Misunderstand?”

“Yeah, she'll think Sieg is interested in her or something.

Ahaha.”

“If that’s the case, it’s fine.” To her playful comment, Siegfried replied as he took the necklace from her hand and put it around her neck himself.

“You’re the only one I give such gifts to.”

“...”

Looking at the necklace around her neck, he smiled gently.

“It suits you well.

I’m relieved.” Elise stood there in a daze, staring at him, not even thinking to hide her blushing cheeks.

“Shall we head back?”

“Huh, what?”

“We’ve seen enough, and I’ve given you the gift I wanted to give.” With that, Siegfried started to turn away and head back.

“Wait, wait!” Coming to her senses, Elise grabbed his hand urgently.

Siegfried turned back around, puzzled.

"J-Just a little longer...

Let's look around a little more."

"But we've seen enough flowers, haven't we?"

"T-Then let's go to the food stalls!

There are plenty of those around!

I'm hungry!" Elise wanted to spend a little more time on today's date.

Until just a moment ago, she would have followed Siegfried back without a second thought.

But now, after receiving the gift.

She wanted to cherish this fluttering, precious feeling just a bit longer.

"...You're really irresistible."

"Ugh."

Seeing the desperate look on her face, Siegfried smiled and gently patted Elise's head.

And so, the two spent a little more time together, cherishing the warm moments.

"Humming~."

Elise, returning to her dormitory after the date with Siegfried, was in a particularly good mood, thanks to the gift hanging around her neck.

‘You’re the only one I give such gifts to.’ Remembering his words while giving her the necklace made her even happier.

"Hehehe..." Although she had been worried about making mistakes or ruining the date, it had ended successfully.

Above all, they had shared some genuinely sweet moments towards the end, leaving her very satisfied.

‘Sieg doesn't seem to understand romantic atmospheres like that, though.’ But as long as she found it exciting and enjoyable, that was all that mattered.

Basking in her happiness, Elise walked lightly down the darkening street.

Then, something suddenly caught her eye ahead on the road.

"...A ring?" She discovered a ring on the ground that was mysteriously sparkling.

"Wow...

It's beautiful." Elise picked it up.

Had someone lost it?

But looking around, she realized she was the only one on the street.

‘I’ll return it if someone comes looking for it.’ Mesmerized by the beautiful ring, Elise absentmindedly slipped it onto the ring finger of her left hand.

"Wow!

It fits perfectly!" Elise smiled brightly at the sight of the ring on her finger.

Having received a necklace from Siegfried and now finding a pretty ring, she felt unexpectedly happy on her birthday.

With light steps, Elise headed back to the dormitory.

About a week passed since Elise's date episode and Raphne's return to the Academy.

"How is it?

Isn't that novel interesting?"

"Oh!

Yes, I read it and it was incredibly moving!

Especially the scene where the protagonist sacrifices himself for the lady…"

"Ah, yes!

That part is so good!

And afterwards, when the protagonist loses his arm and…"

"Wait, wait!”

"I haven't read that far yet!" Raphne and Emily had become close enough to exchange the novels they were reading.

When Raphne was first brought to the Academy after breaking her curse, I worried she might not get along with the students, or that the Demon King's Army might attack.

But contrary to my concerns, Raphne adapted well to the Academy.

Not only with Emily, but she seemed to get along with Mary too.

Most importantly, there were no signs of the Demon King's Army so far.

'It's peaceful...' Previously, there were numerous incidents while trying to free Raphne from her curse in the Tower.

But these days, training with Siegfried was going smoothly, and Raphne's condition had improved greatly.

I was enjoying a peaceful youth at the Academy.

"What do you think?

Ken, do you want to read this too?

It's really fun!"

"Yes, yes.

You should give it a try.

I also recommend this novel." Raphne and Emily, who were joyfully discussing novels, suggested the book they were holding to me.

"A novel...

Is it that interesting?" As I accepted the novel Raphne handed over and joined their conversation...

[System: You have been cursed.]

"…What?"

[System: Due to the curse, you will die in three days.]

I received a death sentence.

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