Rion and Rami, having escaped Edgar’s marriage proposal, entered the school building.
“That Edgar is unbelievable. Proposing to me or Ri-chan? He won’t get anywhere with that for ages. If we were outside the academy, I would have struck him with lightning,” Rami said, her grip on Rion’s hand still tight. She was clearly in a terrible mood, evidenced by the crackling purple lightning dancing around her hair.
“Rai-chan, you didn’t have to ignore him completely, did you? It’s not good for Ed-kun if you don’t properly refuse him.”
“Ri-chan, your judgment is way too soft. Guys like him always twist things to suit their own convenience. Even if we refuse them with all our might, they’ll find some excuse not to give up. Besides, at that point, I’d be tempted to punch him.”
“Ahaha, so that’s why. That’s why you ran off.”
“I mean, I can’t cause a scene with violence inside the academy, can I? And I have to consider the reputation of the Beast King-chan who endorsed me.”
Though Rami had been sound asleep during the first exam, she seemed to be considering Leonhart’s position.
“Hey, we didn’t get to eat anything! And going back to the dining hall now feels weird, too! Ugh, I’m so annoyed!”
“Oh, that’s right, we haven’t eaten yet. Kuroto has some reserves for Mei-nee’s interception in storage. Do you want to eat that?”
“D-reserves for Mei-nee’s interception…!?”
Reserves for Mei-nee’s interception. Moving past such trivial details, the two decided to have lunch on the school rooftop. Rami’s expression was suspicious, while Rion hummed a tune as they trotted up the stairs. Their hunger and curiosity about the reserves’ contents naturally sped up their pace.
“New student Rion, new student Rami, please go up the stairs slowly and carefully. It’ll be too late to regret it if you fall.”
“Ah, Instructor Horas! My apologies, that was careless!”
“We’re reflecting on it~”
They were naturally scolded when they passed an instructor. One of them was likely not reflecting at all, but it couldn’t be helped, especially with their curiosity about the reserves.
“…Why are your expressions so different? Did something interesting happen?”
“Ah, Beru-chan! Want to join us for some of Mei-nee’s interception reserves?”
“That makes absolutely no sense whatsoever.”
They also ran into Beru on the way and invited her to lunch. Beru found the whole thing utterly baffling and naturally wore a similar expression to Rami. However, like Rion and Rami, Beru also hadn’t had lunch yet, and since there was no particular reason to refuse, she decided to join them on the rooftop.
“Yay, we’re the first ones here! Mmm, what nice weather!”
The school rooftop was open to students, allowing free access except at night. Fortunately, no one else was there today, and they had it all to themselves.
“If you’re going to eat lunch, the rooftop with the nice view is the best, obviously!”
“Really?”
“Really?”
“Really!”
Rion seemed to have a non-negotiable preference. And as if by magic, a pile of food had appeared on the rooftop.
“…What is this quantity?”
“It’s a mountain of food. This is hilarious.”
“Kuroto, I told you to bring out the reserves for Mei-nee’s interception, but you don’t have to bring all of it like usual. Just enough for the three of us and Alex is fine.”
Kuroto, having apparently understood, shivered slightly. It seemed he had misunderstood the amount to bring out from storage. Most of the food mountain disappeared into Kuroto, leaving only enough for a set meal.
“Let’s eat!”
“Let’s~”
“I will.”
“Woof!”
Then, the three people and one beast settled down in a suitable spot and finally began their lunch.
“Ah, since everyone’s gathered for once, maybe we should have invited Kuromel too.”
“No need. I saw you just now at the courtyard bench, being made to taste the homemade bento boxes of your dorm mates. I’m full.”
“Wow, she’s super popular.”
“Ah, that does sound like it would fill you up… Speaking of which, Beru-chan, did something happen? You look a little displeased.”
“And you, Rion, seem to have a grumpy Dragon King companion, don’t you?”
“Oh, you can tell!? Listen, listen, Beru-cchi~!”
“Who’s Beru-cchi…!”
Rion and the others shared the events that had just transpired. As a result, they discovered that Edgar, who had proposed to Rion and Rami, had also proposed to Beru before them.
“Whoa, that playboy proposed to Beru-cchi too? The worst~”
“Yes, as abruptly as you two. I thought he was a little smarter, but perhaps that was my mistake? It’s truly rare for my intuition to be wrong.”
“Speaking of intuition, when the topic of that proposal came up, Keru-nii and Jera-jii seemed to have gotten angry and were on the verge of attacking Lumiest. It’s a good thing Mei-nee and the others stopped them, but was everything okay with you, Beru-chan? What about Gustav-san?”
“Ah, so it was like that for you two as well?”
“Uh, what do you mean by ‘as well’?”
Rion, having a vague idea at this point, decided to ask anyway.
“He’s my and Sister Sera’s father, after all. His perceptiveness regarding his beloved daughter is so sharp, it’s almost foolish. In other words, he sensed it all the way from Grellverelka… and after that, it was the same as with you, Rion. If left unchecked, he might have tried to cross the sea, so Victor and the other Four Heavenly Kings of Demon blocked him with their bodies.”
“They… managed to stop him?”
“Well, let’s just say there were some noble sacrifices, shall we?”
“Ahah, your family’s really violent, Beru-cchi!”
“For Haru-chan and the others, it’s not funny at all…”
Incidentally, the final deciding factor in stopping Gustav was an exclusion warning letter that Beru had prepared in advance and entrusted to Victor.
“It’s tough having troublesome relatives, isn’t it? Oh, right. Have you heard about the Versus Match? Rion and Rami aren’t here, but I heard Kuromel is also a candidate.”
“What about you, Beru-cchi?”
“Why wouldn’t I be included?”
“Right. Um, there are seven candidates from the first-years, aren’t there? That’s us and Kuromel for four, so who do you think the remaining three spots will go to?”
“Logically speaking, Graham is a certainty. I can’t think of anyone else immediately. In my dorm, there’s Edgar, his cronies, and Katrina might be marginally better. But no matter who it is, they’re all mere footnotes. It’s a waste of time to think about it. I don’t think they can even match up to Kelvin.”
“That’s right.”
“It’s not just Keru-nii, but the Adventurer Guild members are taking it seriously…”
“…”
But, isn’t Rion the scariest one in a one-on-one fight? Beru thought for a moment, but she didn’t express it with her words or expression. She’s a good girl.
“Now that the candidates have been decided, the members for the Versus Match should be determined soon.”
“Ah, right. There are second and third-year students besides the first-years, so it’ll be narrowed down further.”
“How will they decide, Beru-cchi?”
“Naturally, it’ll be like this?”
While munching on the reserves, Beru clenched her fist in front of the two.
