Chapter One Hundred and Ninety-Five: Alumni Reunion 4
“I’m sorry, Mr. Julius. That was a rude classmate. Please forgive him—he’s B-rank, after all.”
Since Julius was staring intently in the direction Ahim had gone, Karen followed up with a bitter smile.
Ahim was always like that. He would come up to her, pick fights with Karen, and always get angry. It was normal for Karen, but from Julius’s perspective, it must have been unpleasant.
However, once someone reached B-rank, whether an adventurer or alchemist, they became a figure to be respected. They would be given some leeway even for slight rudeness toward nobles. Thor was in a similar position. Surely Julius would overlook it too.
“By the way, how did you know I was coming to the alumni reunion, Mr. Julius? I didn’t particularly mention it.”
“I asked Sara. Sara keeps track of your schedule.”
Julius tightened the arm he still had around Karen’s waist.
“From now on, I’d like to hear from your own lips about plans to go to occasions that require bringing a partner—would that be possible?”
“All right. I’ll discuss it with you. But really, commoners are more relaxed about such things, so being alone is totally fine.”
Rather, the problem would be Julius’s noble social gatherings. However, Karen kept quiet about that. Remembering how Julius had stood out at this commoner social occasion—in a good way, but still—she could imagine what eyes she would be looked at with if she appeared at a noble social gathering.
Even if Karen seemed transformed compared to before from a commoner’s perspective, from a noble’s view, her etiquette would be superficial and hastily learned. Seeing Julius made her feel she had witnessed firsthand just how ridiculous she would look when she appeared at a noble party.
“Karen.”
When her name was called and Karen looked up, Julius, who had separated from her without her noticing, was now standing before her, extending his hand.
“Won’t you grant me the honor of dancing with you? My goddess?”
“…With pleasure.”
When Julius took her hand and they stepped onto the floor, for some reason, the other people cleared the space.
Even as she felt the full attention of her classmates who had gathered simply to watch, she had been far less nervous than when she had danced with Sieg.
This was Karen’s home ground, and her dance partner was Julius. All eyes were directed at Julius, yet despite receiving all this attention, Julius seemed unconcerned and gazed only at Karen.
Before long, he began to lead Karen in time with the change in the music’s tempo. Even if Karen’s feet got a bit tangled, there was a sense of security that Julius would somehow manage it, making it simply fun. Was it because he was accustomed to dancing, or was Julius just skillful? Strangely, Karen didn’t think it was because Julius had accumulated dance experience with various women. It was a time of pure enjoyment, where she almost felt the illusion that her own dancing had improved.
For a moment, she wished this time could continue forever—but eventually, the music stopped.
“Karen, it’s been a while!”
“Ahh! It really has been! Huh? You didn’t come to the reunion last year and the year before, right?”
“My family home is far from the capital.”
As Julius said he would bring something for the overheated Karen, she stood alone by the wall when another classmate approached her.
His name was Linus. Though a classmate, he was three years older—a young man who had come from a village within the sphere of influence of the royal capital dungeon and had been a boarding student at the commoners’ school. He had saved money to attend school to acquire abilities useful for his family’s farming business, and after graduation, returned to the village where his family lived, so they rarely met after graduation.
But he was one of the people she had been close to during school. Those who took pride in living in the capital wouldn’t even speak to people like Linus, who came from farming villages, and Karen also didn’t get along well with that crowd, which included Marian, so they naturally gravitated together.
“Karen, you’ve really changed.”
“Hehe. I get told that often.”
“For a moment, I couldn’t tell if it was you, but it is you. Women are amazing. …Is it the influence of that noble you were dancing with earlier?”
“I suppose you could say that.”
Karen had changed since she became involved with the Ehlertt Earldom. Even without the presence of Julius, Karen would have changed for the people of Ehlertt. But the biggest cause of change was undoubtedly Julius.
“I guess we’re living in different worlds now…”
“Eh, don’t say that. I’m—”
As Karen was about to protest against Linus, who smiled as if troubled, the returning Julius physically blocked her with his body. With Linus completely out of view, Julius smiled and handed Karen the plate he had been holding.
“Karen, it’s lemon sherbet.”
“Thank you.”
Julius smiled brightly, then turned around to face Linus.
Karen could only see Julius’s back.
“Now then, who might you be?”
“Eep, um…! I have some business with Karen…!”
Sensing Linus becoming flustered, Karen peeked her face out from behind Julius’s back, which was blocking her view, while eating the sherbet.
“Business with me?”
“Y-Yeah. Fiene is over there, but she’s not feeling well. I thought I’d ask if you could come, but you’re a C-rank alchemist, right? Unlike before, I thought it might not be good to make you come all the way here now…”
“She’s not feeling well!? You should have said so right away!”
Fiene was also one of her friends. While there were many people at the commoners’ school who were hungry for more and aiming higher, there were also easygoing people whose ambition was just to acquire some skill that would be useful for the family business they would inherit from their parents, and Fiene was the latter.
Karen thrust the sherbet plate, still half uneaten, at Julius and rushed fiercely toward where Linus had pointed. Linus followed in a flustered manner.
“No, it’s not urgent enough to rush like that.”
Wondering what he was being so carefree about, Karen shot him a sharp look, but Linus only laughed foolishly in response.
He had always been a laid-back man, lacking the reliability expected of someone older, yet he had been gentle and kind by nature. Even so, she found it odd that he was smiling when a friend was unwell, and with that thought, Karen headed toward the friend seated on a bench along the wall.
“Fiene! Are you okay!?”
“Karen, long time no see. Sorry for making you come all the way here.”
Fiene, her round cheeks flushed red, waved when she saw Karen.
Though she was leaning her weight on the bench, she was smiling, and Karen felt a bit relieved.
“No, it’s fine. You’re not feeling well, right? Just in case of emergency, I have a mid-grade healing potion hidden in my dress, but do you think a mid-grade healing potion would help?”
Fiene blinked and looked up at Linus.
“What on earth did you tell Karen?”
“Um, I said you weren’t feeling well and wondered if Karen could come over.”
“If you put it that way, it sounded like you called Karen just because you wanted a potion. You idiot.”
“Ow!”
Fiene, usually gentle, hit Linus with all her might in an angry face. Karen’s eyes widened at this interaction, showing a closeness she didn’t remember seeing during school.
At Karen’s reaction, Fiene smiled bashfully.
“This is morning sickness, so a healing potion won’t cure it.”
“Morning sickness means… you’re expecting!?”
“Yes. You see, I married Linus.”
At Fiene’s words, Linus’s grin grew even wider.
Karen made a face like a pigeon that had been hit by a peashooter.
Now that she thought about it, Karen was nineteen this year. She would turn twenty at the beginning of next year. Karen’s generation was precisely at marriageable age.
That grin on Linus, he definitely was calling Karen over to brag
ReplyDelete