I was on my way back to the dormitory from Master’s house.
Since the curfew had already passed, I was braced for some form of punishment. I wasn't in any particular hurry, so I walked slowly toward the dorms, organizing the information I had gathered so far.
Having passed through the West District, I was now in the Central District. A little further and the slope leading to the North District would come into view. Once I crested that, I would reach Arnold Magic Academy.
It was past nine o’clock, an hour dominated by darkness. Although a few streetlights were lit, the dim atmosphere still felt somewhat eerie.
In the midst of that, I spotted a lone girl walking ahead of me.
Her beautiful, medium-length silver hair fluttered slightly as she stepped forward with a skip in her stride, seemingly in high spirits.
She looked familiar... or rather, I could only think of one person it could be.
However, she was wearing the Arnold Magic Academy uniform, so surely that couldn't be right.
I assumed it was just someone who looked like her. I was convincing myself it was just my imagination when the student in front of me seemed to notice my footsteps and glanced back.
Our eyes met.
And to my surprise, it was exactly who I had expected.
"Eh! Ray! What are you doing here?! Could it be that you were chasing after me?! Is this... destiny?"
"Eh... wha...?"
It was, without a doubt, Princess Olivia herself.
Approaching me with a beaming smile, she threw her arms around me as she always did. After burying her face in my chest for a moment, she suddenly looked up at me.
"W-why are you in a place like this at this hour?" I asked.
"Because tomorrow’s a holiday!"
"I suppose that's true, but..."
"So, instead of writing a letter, I thought it would be better if I just came to visit!"
"..."
Was she serious? Was she actually serious?
Moreover, this person was a princess. She wasn't the kind of person who should be out in public so recklessly. Wondering if she had any guards, I took a quick look around and spotted several.
"Did you come alone?"
"That’s right! Heh heh heh. I managed to shake those guards off! Pretty good, right?"
"..."
Well, she hadn't completely shaken them off. In fact, they were following right behind her.
I could have pointed that out, but one of the female guards caught my eye and bowed her head slightly.
It seemed they were letting the princess have her way this time... or so it appeared.
For now, after roughly reading the situation, I considered our next move.
"By the way, what are your plans, Princess Olivia?"
"I thought I’d stay in Ray’s room."
"...I share a room with someone else, though."
"Then we’ll just have to get him to let me have it for today!"
Princess Olivia puffed out her chest with a huff. Should I explain this to Evi? No, but... it was then that I remembered something.
Come to think of it, Amelia should have a single room in the dormitory. And it was supposed to be reasonably spacious.
Perhaps I should ask her...
"Shouldn't you stay in Amelia’s room? It would probably be safer."
"Eh? Why? I want to stay in the same room as Ray!"
"But..."
"Please... I’m begging you... I know I’m being unreasonable, okay? But Ray, you’ve been ignoring my letters... You’ve started replying since the summer, but it’s still lonely not being able to see you..."
"Ugh..."
Princess Olivia leaned against me, looking up with pleading eyes. When asked like that, she reminded me so much of my sister Stella that I felt the urge to grant whatever she requested.
Damn it... I'm weak to requests from younger girls. Did she act like this knowing that? I couldn't tell. Unlike Stella, this person possessed a certain kind of cleverness that made her truly difficult to read.
Well, for now, we should head to the room.
"For the time being, shall we go?"
"Yeah!"
I had originally intended to return through the front entrance and report my tardiness, but that was no longer an option.
I decided to return to my room in the dormitory through the window. That said, our room was on the third floor. Normally, returning that way would be impossible for a student.
"Ray, what are you going to do?"
"Just watch."
I lightly tossed small stones against the window repeatedly until, after a while, Evi opened it and peered out.
I gestured for him to move back, and once he seemed to understand my intent, I told Princess Olivia, "Forgive me," before lifting her up in my arms. I instantly activated my Inside Code and leaped.
"Whoa...!"
"There. Good, it worked."
With a single bound toward the window, we successfully made our way inside. At the same time, I felt something being thrown from behind. Without looking back, I caught it between my index and middle fingers.
"...? This is..."
It was a single piece of folded paper. Opening it, I saw a message regarding Princess Olivia.
'We will come to fetch her tomorrow around noon, so please look after Princess Olivia. We will send a reward at a later date.'
That was what it said.
It seemed the guards had their own way of handling her whims.
As I was processing that, Evi asked hesitantly, looking surprised.
"Ray. I thought you were taking a long time getting back, but what’s going on? And coming through the window... while carrying a girl, too?"
"Actually, I ran into her on the way..."
"Hello, I’m Olivia!"
"This is... Second Princess Olivia."
"Hah?! The Second Princess?!"
"Be quiet... It’ll be bad if she's discovered."
"Well, yeah, I guess that’s true..."
While Evi and I were talking, Princess Olivia began looking around the room on her own.
"Ohh... So this is where Ray lives."
She looked around the room with a deeply moved expression, appearing quite happy.
"I see. Ray, I'm guessing this is some kind of trouble. But... no, don't say another word. I won't tell anyone about this. And I'll go stay in Albert's room for tonight. Of course, I won't tell Amelia or the others either. You’ve got a lot going on too, Ray. Yeah, yeah."
Evi began rambling rapidly. What on earth was he talking about...?
"Evi—"
"Well, I’m off! Ray, good luck with... everything!"
Having misunderstood the situation entirely, he made a swift exit.
"Oh? Where’s Ray’s friend going?"
"He said he’d stay in another friend's room, perhaps as a favor to us."
"Oh! That’s convenient in a way... fufu. We’re all alone, aren’t we?"
"Well, I suppose so."
"Geez, really... Don’t you have any sense of bashfulness? Like your heart thumping at my charms or something?"
"No, not particularly."
"Hah... Well, fine..."
Princess Olivia sighed and dived onto the nearby sofa.
"So, what is your true purpose for coming here?" I asked in a serious tone.
Surely she hadn't come here with the sole motive of just wanting to play. I was certain there was some important matter... but it seemed I had overthought it.
"Eh? Nothing special. I really just wanted to see Ray’s face. Plus, I was curious about Ray as a student. Ehehe..."
She scratched her cheek, her face flushing slightly with a hint of red as if she were embarrassed.
I see... So her coming today really was just a coincidence.
Well, fine. I would just have to keep her company until noon tomorrow. Besides, she had been saying she wanted to see me in her letters for a long time. I couldn't very well turn her away.
"Come to think of it, Princess Olivia, do you know about the matter of Rebecca-senpai’s engagement?"
"Muu... talking about another woman?"
"There’s something I’m curious about. Please bear with me. Do you know the fiancé, Evan Bernstein?"
"I know both Rebecca and Evan. Well... I guess they’re a good match? But let’s see... It’s a bit early, isn’t it? These days, people don’t usually get engaged while they're students. I was actually a bit curious about that myself."
"As I thought..."
"Could it be that you don’t like Rebecca’s engagement? Is it envy? Is it jealousy?"
"No. I would normally offer my blessings, but..."
"Is something wrong?"
"Actually—"
And so, I decided to ask Princess Olivia, who seemed well-informed about high society, for her thoughts. Of course, I didn't mention things like how Rebecca-senpai had asked for help on the last day of summer vacation.
I simply told her that I was interested in the man named Evan Bernstein.
"Ah, come to think of it..."
"Is there something?"
"About Evan, there’s a bit of a rumor."
"A rumor?"
"Yeah. Apparently, he’s obsessed with Magic Eyes. I heard his specialization at university was something related to them."
"I see..."
After that, I continued my conversation with Princess Olivia.
She asked, "Why are you asking about that?" but I brushed it off with a vague excuse.
In this way, I began to draw closer to the truth, step by step.