Once my meeting with Nora-san concluded, the maid I’d met earlier guided me once again. We had already exchanged greetings, and I addressed her as Mia-san. She had told me that honorifics weren't necessary, but after a bit of back-and-forth, we’d settled on that.
She was apparently a high-ranking maid within House Rose, primarily responsible for Amelia’s care.
Our destination was Amelia’s private room.
Mia-san stopped before the door and knocked.
"Milady. I have brought your guest."
"Have him come in," Amelia’s voice called out from within.
"Well then, Ray-sama. Please, enter."
"Yes. Thank you for the escort."
"Not at all. I shall take my leave now."
After our brief exchange, I stepped into Amelia’s room.
"Ah... um, welcome."
"Yeah. Excuse me."
The room was, as expected, massive. It was likely twice the size of the rooms back in our dormitory. The decor wasn't overly gaudy, but the room was so meticulously maintained it sparkled.
There was a table and chairs, a large canopy bed, a closet, and various other furnishings. In one corner stood a row of large bookshelves; seeing that Amelia shared my interest in reading gave me a warm sense of kinship.
"Er, well... y-you can sit down, if you want."
"Then, I’ll sit here."
"Okay."
I took a seat in the chair pulled up to the table. Just then, Mia-san returned to the room with tea and sweets.
"Please, enjoy your time together."
She withdrew as she spoke, but her face looked strangely smug... or rather, it felt like she caught Amelia’s eye and gave her a pointed look before she left. Perhaps I was just overthinking it.
Amelia and I sat facing each other.
"Come to think of it, what happened to Ariane?"
"She only came to return a book she’d borrowed, so she headed home right away."
"I see. That’s a shame."
"..."
"Hm? What is it?"
Amelia was staring at me with half-lidded eyes.
Had I said something to offend her?
"...You would have preferred it if Ariane were here."
"It’s just that it’s been a while since I saw her. But if she had other plans, it can't be helped. I’m happy just being here with you, Amelia."
"I-I see..."
"Though, truthfully, it would have been nice if everyone else could have come too."
"That couldn't be helped. It’s hard to get everyone's schedules to line up."
In truth, I had told the usual group that I was visiting Amelia’s family home today. However, we couldn't get everyone’s timing to match. As it happened, I was the only one free, which was why I was the only guest at House Rose.
"So, um... how was your talk with Mother?"
"That..." I paused to consider.
She hadn't specifically forbidden me from telling Amelia about our conversation.
However, if I told her everything, it might put undue pressure on her. I decided to give her the summarized version.
"She told me to take care of you."
"Huh!?"
"What’s wrong?"
"W-What exactly did she mean by that?"
Amelia’s snow-white skin flushed a deep cherry-pink as she looked up at me bashfully.
I see. As I thought, it must be embarrassing to have your parent and your friend discussing you. I recall reading in a book that this is a common sentiment among youths.
"As a friend, of course."
"...Yeah, I knew that. Right..."
She muttered vacantly, her eyes losing their light as she stared into the void.
I’ve been thinking this often lately, but there are times when I can’t quite figure Amelia out. Then again, Master taught me that a maiden's heart is a complex and mysterious thing. As a man, I shouldn't be so insensitive as to pry.
"Oh, come to think of it..."
"What is it?"
"It’s just a rumor, but I heard they might hold a team competition at the end of the year."
"A team competition? Something like the Magics Chevalier?"
"Um... I don't know the details yet, but I heard it might be introduced starting this year."
A team competition, huh?
If the goal was to train sorcerers, I thought it was an excellent idea.
"I see. For the sake of training sorcerers, experiencing team combat is certainly a valuable experience."
"Is it?"
"The Magics Chevalier is strictly an individual tournament, right? But when you engage in group sorcery combat, the dynamics change completely. This might be an initiative to address that."
"Heh. I see."
As we continued our idle chatter, I heard a heavy thud from somewhere behind us.
"Hm? Did something fall?"
"Ah, sorry. Just an album."
"An album?"
"Er, well... do you want to see it?"
Amelia picked it up and hugged it to her chest as she asked. She seemed anxious, yet expectant—at least, that was the impression I got.
"Does it have photos of you from when you were little?"
"Ah, yeah. Well... it’s embarrassing, but if it’s you, Ray, I don’t mind showing you..."
"Oh! I’m very interested! By all means, please show me!"
"Then... let’s look at it together?"
"Yeah!"
We leaned in close to look at the album. As we did, a faint floral scent tickled my nose.
"Amelia, are you wearing perfume?"
"Ah? Sorry. Was it too strong...?"
"No, it’s fine. I think you look very charming today, Amelia."
"U-Uh... yeah. Thanks. Maybe my hard work paid off. Ehehe..."
She wore an innocent smile.
She really had changed. I wondered how much inner conflict she had to overcome to be able to smile like that. When I thought about how we had reached this point because we both resolved to keep moving forward at the Magics Chevalier, I felt as happy as if the success were my own.
"Oh, look how small you were, Amelia! How old were you here?"
"Maybe around three? I don’t remember it very well myself."
"I see. But you can already see the resemblance to how you look now."
"Really? It doesn't quite click for me."
The photo showed a young Amelia in the garden of this estate, smiling and making a peace sign. However, she couldn't quite form the gesture correctly yet, so her fingers were a bit crooked.
"You weren't very good at the peace sign."
"T-That was only back then! Look, I did it properly in the next one!"
On the next page, there was a photo of Amelia, Ariane, and Rebecca-senpai. All three of them were smiling. Amelia and Ariane were leaning against each other while making peace signs.
In this photo, just as Amelia said, her fingers were perfectly formed.
"Oh. It’s Amelia, Ariane, and Rebecca-senpai."
"Yeah. Back then, we were still on good terms..."
Her voice turned somber. When I stole a glance at her, Amelia’s expression had grown sad.
As we silently turned the pages, the smiles gradually vanished from Amelia’s face. To be precise, there were still photos where she was smiling, but they were clearly fakes—hollow expressions plastered onto her face.
A brief silence followed.
As if to cut through the heavy air, Amelia spoke.
"You see... I suffered for a long time. But... but ever since I met you, Ray, I’ve broken away from that version of myself. So, I wanted to take today as a chance to say... th-thank you!"
"Amelia..."
I silently squeezed her hand. She seemed so fragile in that moment that I felt a spontaneous urge to reassure her.
"Hyah!"
"Amelia. I should be the one thanking you. I also grew as a person during that Magics Chevalier. If everyone—if you hadn't been there... I would probably still be afraid of touching people’s hearts. So, thank you."
"Yeah. Thank you, too."
At that moment, there was a knock on the door.
"Milady, the preparations are complete."
I wondered what those words meant.
Amelia explained while looking down slightly.
"You see... up until now, I’ve always had such a dark expression in photos. But from today on, I want to be someone who smiles more. So... won't you be in a photo with me? I want to put a photo of us together on a page of this album. And from now on, I want to fill it with lots of photos of everyone..."
Hearing those words, there was no way I could refuse. I stood up briskly, took Amelia’s hand, and led her toward the corner of the room.
"Of course. It’ll be a memorable first photo for the two of us."
"U-Uh, yeah...!"
Mia-san gave a polite bow and brought in a large camera mounted on a tripod. After setting it up in front of us, she gave a small smile.
"Both of you, please stand closer together."
"Eh...!? Even closer!?"
"Yes. Milady, please stand as if you are being held in his arms. Ray-sama, please hold her close."
"Understood."
"...Understood!? Is that okay, Ray!?"
"Of course it is. Do you want a different pose, Amelia? I’ll go along with whatever you like."
"No, this is fine... but..."
Though she was a bit hesitant, Amelia softly leaned her body against mine. I accepted her weight and gently placed my arm around her waist.
"I’m taking it now. Ready... cheese."
In an instant, a brilliant light enveloped us.
I wondered if we were smiling properly in that photo.
No, I was certain we were captured with the best possible smiles.
Because we were already the best of friends, capable of laughing together from the bottom of our hearts.