Kent and the others finished their morning work and headed to school. Beside Kent walked Caro and Josette, with Rachel and Patty behind them.
“Are we going back to school today? I was so curious about the continuation, but I can’t bring the new issues I got to school.”
Rachel seemed interested in the contents of a magazine she obtained while ordering merchandise today.
“Ah, is that ‘Monthly Magazine’? I was curious about the continuation too!”
“Um, what is this ‘Monthly Magazine’?”
Caro seemed to be reading it too and was curious about the continuation. However, Josette, encountering an unfamiliar word, asked for clarification.
“It’s a book called manga. The story progresses with pictures, so it’s easier to read and more interesting than something written in text. The one I like now is called ‘Tale of school in another world spin-off’… The characters are completely different personalities, but somehow they resemble us.”
Caro began to talk about her favorite manga.
“When Caro-san talks about it so excitedly, I become curious too. Rachel-san, could you show it to me sometime?”
“Sure. But since the previously published ones are unavailable, it will be from the middle. I wish I could buy the tankobon volumes or from my Older brother’s terminal.”
Rachel readily agreed to Josette’s request. However, due to the limitations of the terminal, she couldn’t purchase past issues. Rachel’s collection was from when she discovered that some magazines could be bought from the terminal. As for the tankobon volumes, they couldn’t be purchased because Kent’s former workplace, the Home Center, and its affiliated stores did not carry them.
“Patty-san, do you want to read it too?”
“Huh? Sorry. I was spacing out and didn’t hear you.”
Rachel asked Patty, but it seemed she wasn’t listening. Patty had become less talkative and prone to deep thought since yesterday’s incident with Gordon. Knowing the reason for this, it was difficult to approach her.
“Oh, come on, you don’t need to ponder forever! For now, Patty-san, just be passive. If you don’t like their approach, just reject them. I’ve had people come on to me, and I just ignored them.”
Seeing Patty lost in thought, Rachel snapped.
“Speaking of which, Rachel-san, you kissed Lord Gordon, didn’t you? It was like this, against the wall…”
“If I were to be ‘wall-donned’ by Josette-sama like that, I wouldn’t know what to do.”
Caro said, blushing, after Josette performed an imaginary wall-don. Kent couldn’t tell if she was serious or acting.
“Ah! Don’t bring up the past! I genuinely wanted to have a good relationship back then!”
Rachel said shyly.
“As someone with experience, I think you can be more relaxed.”
“Yes, I feel a little more at ease now. Thank you, Rachel-san.”
Rachel’s words seemed to ease Patty’s mind a little.
“Right, right, a smile is important. The rest of the fan club will join us soon, so try not to let them notice.”
“Understood. Well then, I’m off!”
Rachel gave Patty a pat on the back. Motivated, Patty ran off to join the fan club members who had already gathered.
“Rachel-san, I didn’t know how to interact with her, so thank you for your help.”
“It’s our fault to begin with…”
Josette and Caro said apologetically, watching Patty’s retreating back as she ran away. Then, they arrived at the school. After parting ways with Caro and Rachel, who had different classrooms, Kent and Josette headed to their own classroom.
“Yo, Kent, Josette-san, Good morning.”
“What is it, Bobby?”
“What do you mean ‘what is it’? Aren’t we best friends?”
“Good morning, Bobby-san. You two have the same exchange every morning. It’s strange when you really look at it.”
Josette said with a laugh as she watched Kent and Bobby’s usual daily exchange.
“Speaking of which, didn’t Marie’s Bakery go on a company trip over the weekend? Did you enjoy it?”
“Well, if you say I enjoyed it, then I did.”
“Everyone at Marie’s Bakery, except for you, is a beautiful woman. Traveling with people like that must be enviable.”
Bobby said enviously. In reality, there was one other man, but there was no need to tell Bobby that, so Kent just gave a polite smile and brushed it off.
“Bobby-san, were you working over the weekend?”
“Yeah. It’s embarrassing to say myself, but it’s a big store, so there’s a mountain of things to do. Because of that, I don’t even have time to flirt with Prim these days.”
Bobby said with a tired expression in response to Josette’s question.
“That sounds tough. But you have to make time, right? If you don’t cherish Prim-san, she might leave you.”
“Thank you for your advice. I’ll try asking her out somewhere on my next day off.”
Josette offered a light piece of advice. Hearing this, Bobby seemed to start thinking about his next plan. Just then, the bell rang, and their homeroom teacher, Tia, entered the classroom.
“Alright, alright, let’s start homeroom. Everyone, take your seats.”
Tia told everyone to return to their seats. Patty, in the adjacent seat, also sat down a little late, and everyone was in their seats.
“There are no special announcements today. No absences either. Well then, since the last class ran a little late, we’ll go straight into the lesson.”
“Ehhhh!!”
The break after homeroom was eliminated, and boos erupted from the classroom.
It seemed that peaceful time would pass without incident, but the situation took a sudden turn during lunch break.
“Kyaaa!”
Screams of excitement from female students could be heard from outside the classroom.
“Kent-san, it’s noisy outside. Did something happen?”
“I wonder what it is?”
Patty, in the next seat, spoke to Kent. Kent and his classmates’ class ran a little long, so their lunch break started later than other classes. Those who had already gone out to scout came rushing back after hearing the screams.
“Hey, Lord Gordon is on this floor! And he’s heading towards this classroom!”
“Kyaaa!!”
Screams of excitement also rose from Kent’s classroom.
“He’s really popular.”
“Of course. He’s the prince of this country, after all. But if he’s heading this way, it means…”
When Kent spoke, Patty had an expression as if to say “obviously.” However, if Gordon, who normally didn’t set foot on the floor where the second-year classrooms were, were coming, the objective was roughly predictable.
“Is this his destination?”
“Right?”
When Kent spoke, Patty agreed. And as Kent and his classmates predicted, Gordon entered Kent’s classroom.
“Excuse me.”
Gordon, in his princely mode, walked gracefully and stopped in front of Kent and Patty.
“How are you two doing today? I would like to invite Patty out for lunch today, if that’s alright?”
“…”
The two, who knew his pathetic state from yesterday, were taken aback by Gordon’s princely appearance. A moment of silence followed.
“(I came with light intentions, but I’m sorry for attracting attention. To save face for me, could you accept?)”
Gordon said softly and apologetically. It was impossible to refuse when the prince of a country said something like this.
“Understood. I will accompany you.”
Patty bowed and accepted Gordon’s invitation.
“Then, this way.”
“Yes.”
Gordon took Patty’s hand and left the classroom. As expected, no one followed them; they simply watched their retreating figures.
“Kyaa! He came to ask Patty-san out. What kind of relationship do they have?”
“It’s not strange for Patty-san to accept the prince’s invitation.”
After the screams of excitement, whispers inquiring about their relationship could be heard from various places.
“Kent-san, why are you dawdling? Let’s go chase after them!”
“Eh? Ah, Josette-san, don’t pull me!”
Everyone else hesitated to follow, but there was one exception. Josette pulled Kent’s hand and followed Gordon and Patty.
