13. Dating – 03

Claire Delphine Mascarena has been in a bad mood lately.

The reasons why she was in a bad mood were truly diverse.

For example, even if she worked hard on cooking, the only person who would eat it was lying in the hospital room, so the lunch she made had no choice but to go into the trash.

During the last midterm exam, I studied with him – even though there was one uninvited guest named Altina – and we were able to spend a cozy time together, but this time it was a student council activity, so I couldn’t find time to study together.

Erekaya del Pendragon, a woman who wasn’t a very close friend, but who could be called a childhood friend whom he had known since childhood, received a necklace as a gift from him and wore it as if to show off, and so on.

I didn’t want to think too deeply about it because it was really irritating when I looked at them one by one, and I felt like something was rising inside me, but when I looked at it objectively, these were things that I could tolerate.

First of all, I really didn’t like not having lunch with him, but for the past week he had been a serious patient, so I shouldn’t have complained.

Well, in fact, I had a small desire to be by his side who couldn’t properly take care of him like I did last time and nurse him, but no matter how much I thought about it, it wasn’t very pleasant to have a sick person by my side and try to take advantage of it. It was just a thought, though.

Also, not being able to study for the final exams with him was dissatisfying in its own way, but it was because he was currently working on the student council, so that was also acceptable.

Because, as far as Claire knew, the reason he joined the student council was nothing other than the various benefits he could enjoy as a member of the student council and the scholarships paid every quarter.

As such, even if it is someone else, shouldn’t Claire understand and empathize with his situation better than anyone else?

Like him, Claire also had a history of injuring him by using great magic in order to get good grades in practice.

Of course, the current Claire has no regrets or guilt for what she did back then.

Even if time was reversed and she was put in the same situation once again, Claire was confident that she would throw the ‘Cocytus Spear’ at the orc without any hesitation.

Because even though the first button didn’t fit in a very good way, it was as if his relationship with him had started because of that incident at that time.

So no regrets. However, if my first meeting with him had been a little better, I felt sorry that other women might not have existed by his side like now.

And that necklace in question. The necklace he had personally given to Erekaya del Pendragon, and Erekaya always wore as if to brag to others that she had received a gift from him, was very displeased with Claire-

Even that, Claire thought it was tolerable.

If the gift he had given Erekaya had been a ring, he wouldn’t have been able to stand it, but fortunately, it was at most a necklace.

It was not something that had any special meaning, nor was it exchanged with each other promising a future, just an ordinary accessory.

Then, there is only one meaning that can be concluded here.

He simply gave Erekaya the necklace in the sense of a ‘gift’, and it certainly didn’t contain any strange meanings as Claire feared.

If so, the opportunity will come to you someday.

If, as Claire had guessed, he had just gifted Erekaya with the necklace in the sense of ‘dearness’ and ‘friendship’-

Then, one day, it is clear that an opportunity will come to Claire, who can be called his best ‘friend’.

So let’s be patient for now. And let’s be patient.

Traditionally, men feel sympathy for a weak woman they can protect, but on the contrary, they can’t stand a woman who acts as they please by standing on top of their head.

Both Erekaya and Altina are now soaked in the joy of victory, and it would be better for you to enjoy them to your heart’s content.

Even if the time I stay by his side is long, I build many memories with him, and at the end I monopolize all his attention and affection-

It was clear that simply having a meeting with a mistress and choosing someone who would later become a life partner and spend the rest of their lives together were on a completely different level.

Yes, in the end, it is I who will stand shoulder to shoulder with him, stand by his side, and win the final victory.

So don’t be impatient, let’s calmly watch the situation from the back here.

After all, whether she wants it or not, everything is supposed to flow as it should.

… But, there was something about her that she couldn’t stand. There was a part that could not be overlooked.

Yes, like right now right now.

“By the way, I heard that there is a safari where you can see various animals as well as rides in the amusement park. Is that real?”

“Safari? Oh, come to think of it, I did see something like that in the catalog. I’m sure there are facilities for children that only have relatively docile animals in one place… .”

“If you don’t mind, would it be okay to stop by the place where the animals are gathered together? Ever since I was little, I’ve seen monsters and things like that, but it’s very rare to actually see things like animals… .”

“… You’ve seen a lot of monsters, but you’ve seen very few animals?”

“I saw a lot of monsters because I had experiences of exterminating them often during monster training or when touring the territory, but I couldn’t actually see animals up close. In fact, I want to be close to animals, but some of them try to avoid me… ”

“Well, since we have plenty of time anyway, let’s stop by the safari. It wouldn’t be too bad to clean your eyes by looking at cute guys like rabbits and deer rather than sleazy guys like orcs.”

It was a mere coincidence.

On the weekend, after leaving Nineveh early in the morning to make lunch for him for the first time in a long time, I witnessed Jin and Erekaya walking down the street together in Manchi.

Even if I wanted to be mistaken, I couldn’t be mistaken. Because in the first place, the two of them were wearing school uniforms as if they were showing off the fact that they were students of Nineveh, and furthermore, even if Claire was a simple back, there was no way they could mistake Jin’s appearance.

And crucially, that noble figure that can’t be hidden even at such a distance, and the unique atmosphere that catches everyone’s attention just by walking on the street, are something that Claire’s childhood friend, Erekaya del Pendragon, exudes. It must have been

Although not to the extent of a superhuman who has reached the level of a master, she was also able to artificially enhance her own hearing using magical powers without difficulty.

That’s why I stopped listening. The fact that those two people weren’t just going out today, they were thinking of going on a ‘date’ by consuming the entire day.

Of course, since the two of them were simply ‘friends’ on the surface, it is clear that the outward excuse was not a date.

Outwardly, she might be preparing plausible excuses to fool herself and other people she might encounter, but Claire’s intuition as a woman whispered in her ear.

It was clear that the eyes of Erekaya, who was walking down the street with Jin right now, were those of the woman he was currently in love with.

“… Kaya.”

What should I do myself? What kind of action should I take? And at this moment, how should he react when he sees them like that?

… I don’t know. I couldn’t think of anything because I was bleached all white, as if my head had become an idiot.

There is only one thing, if there is one thing that is clear, it is that if you do not seize them at this moment and somehow interfere with them or separate them-

There is only one fact that a woman named Claire Delphine Mascarena will curse this moment forever.

“… jin.”

The very moment when Claire, who had made up her mind to do so, took a deep breath and tried to move towards them in order to somehow get in between them—

“Stop it. Those two over there are definitely not people you can stir up to your liking.”

As if he had ‘predicted’ her actions, he was caught by a woman who appeared as if he had waited.

“Selica, senior?”

Claire knew it too. Celica von Wallenstein. The only little princess of the Duke of Ballenstein, who is the vice-president of the student council and at the same time famous as the Prophet.

Even if you compare it to that Erekaya del Pendragon, she has a position that will never yield, a woman worthy of being one of your greatest talents, and at the same time, a senior she has always respected. one of

However, to Claire now, the woman in front of her was nothing more than an obstacle standing in her way.

“I’m sorry, but please get out of the way for now. I now have to-”

“If you have to do it, do you mean to interfere with the two of them?”

“Yeah?”

In an instant, Claire’s neck stiffened and turned towards Celica.

now what? slander? I? between the two of them?

It really couldn’t have been more laughable. Disruption?

In the first place, he didn’t do anything to get someone to hear the word ‘interfere’. Rather, she thought, such a word was more suitable for that thief cat walking down the street, occupying the seat next to him alone.

It’s because, if it’s Altina, I met and interacted with Jin earlier than Erekaya, and we became ‘friends’ sooner.

i’m first That means I’m faster. Indeed, it was none other than Erekaya who took away my place by cunning and abusing her position as student council president!

“Even that doesn’t change the fact that what you’re trying to do now is sabotage. If you don’t express the childish mind that wants to destroy the relationship itself by coveting what you don’t have, being jealous of what you don’t have, what the hell is your intention?”

… That sounds funny. you’re jealous I’ve never been jealous from the start.

I have nothing but the desire to bring back what was mine from the beginning-

“But it is very strange, Claire Delphine Mascarena. Why are you looking at them and losing your mind to that extent?”

“… Yeah?”

For a moment, Claire stopped moving as it was.

“Altina, I can understand her motives and feelings. In the narrow space of the gymnasium, they trained together, faced swords together, and at the end played the role of guiding each other, so it would be even more strange that affection did not sprout between them. It is the providence of nature, and it is also the same as inevitable fate.”

“But you? What do you have? In my view, the emotions you feel are too artificial and unnatural. No, it’s not that it’s unnatural, it’s just that the result is strangely too big compared to what’s attributable.”

In Celica’s expression as she said that, there was only ‘question’. Celica von Wallenstein really couldn’t understand the feelings of a woman named Claire.

“Of course, human emotions are not something that can be judged with certainty like a ruler. However, just as you cannot blindly fall in love with someone on the road, in order for a person to fall in love with another person, there must be a minimum number of factors and motives. But to you, that is sorely lacking.”

slow down.

At those words, Claire involuntarily took a step back. I don’t want to hear those words from the front anymore, so I turn my head and try to deny Celica’s words.

But Celica’s words didn’t end there, and in the end, Claire had no choice but to listen to Celica’s words-

“At most, he took care of the sick and had a few meals together. And compared to that, why is the size of your feelings so great? And, why are you clinging to him so much and looking at him?”

“Claire, do you really have feelings for him?”

“… No, in the first place, is it true that the feelings you are feeling right now are really yours?”