Episode 57: Victor of the Showdown

“A-awawa. To say, come with you…!”

“…Arcs, you’re incredibly bold!?”

“Could it be, in front of everyone…!? There’s a limit to being aggressive!!”

“Hmm… it seems I misjudged Arcs kun’s ability to take action.”

The moment I voiced my request to Eleanore, the seniors began making a fuss, getting flustered.

…W-wait a minute.

Aren’t you all misunderstanding something!?

Well, I guess it’s true that suddenly saying “come with me” did feel a bit carried away by momentum… but I didn’t ask for the reason you all are thinking!!

“P-please calm down a bit! I was too brief with my words. …Um, regarding the circumstances────?”

I hastily tried to admonish the seniors.

At that moment, the expression of Eleanore, the person I had said such a thing to, came into my field of vision.

…She looked dumbfounded.

Her jet-black eyes were wide and round, her mouth slightly open as she stared at me.

Being stared at with those eyes made me involuntarily catch my breath.

The words that were about to come out got stuck in my throat, creating an awkward pause, and at that moment I heard Eleanore’s modest giggling laughter.

“Fufu… I’m sorry. I never thought… Arcs would make such a request of me.”

“Um… I’m sorry, it’s so sudden. Actually, I’ve been thinking about this for a while but didn’t know when to bring it up…”

“No, there’s no need to apologize.”

Eleanore displayed a softer smile on her face than usual.

It wasn’t really my intention, but I naturally felt somewhat embarrassed and couldn’t meet her eyes.

Either way, this was something I should have asked about before summer vacation… Did I get my rhythm thrown off a bit because of the seniors?

I felt like my face was going to turn red, which wasn’t like me at all.

“Then, um… accompanying the training camp, right. Understood!”

Eleanore answered with a smile.

I was a bit surprised by how readily she agreed, or rather, by the lack of resistance.

“You’ll accept?”

“Of course. The terms of the bet were to respond as much as possible, right?”

Accompanying the training camp… that shouldn’t really be within the scope of “as much as possible.”

The nobility course shouldn’t be that easy either, they should have assignments during the long vacation as well. Combined with various other things, it seems time wouldn’t be that abundant.

That’s why her response without any hesitation left me feeling a bit deflated.

“Besides… since Arcs is asking this of me, you must be hiding some important reason. I won’t pry too much though.”

“…I’m grateful for how quick you are to understand.”

…When I witness this kind of perceptiveness, I think Eleanore really is someone I can’t match.

Well, my relationship with her is long, so maybe she’s seeing through various things.

On my side, despite having the advantage of my previous life, I still can’t understand her deeply…

“You two, it’s fine to get excited but make sure to finish the work during summer vacation properly, okay…?”

“Yes. Of course.”

“Understood.”

Eleanore and I responded simultaneously to Emily’s warning.

This work was also a concern when asking her to accompany me.

Now I’ll have to work hard before summer vacation, or after returning from the training camp.

“So, so, what kind of wish will Eleanore-san make?”

Sharon approached Eleanore with interest.

This showdown was a draw, so naturally she also had the right to make a request of me.

Therefore, it was Eleanore’s turn next.

“From me…”

She started to speak, then hesitated.

What kind of request would come out… I hoped it wouldn’t be too troubling in various senses…

As I listened intently while bracing myself a bit, Eleanore said resolutely:

“…I won’t say it yet after all!”

My body swayed with a thud.

“I-is that even allowed!?”

“…But it’s not forbidden either.”

If that’s allowed, then I didn’t really want to say it in front of the seniors! I got unnecessarily embarrassed for nothing!

I wanted to say that, but it was already too late.

To me who was stunned and speechless, Eleanore smiled mischievously.

“Fufu… I’ll think of something special, so please look forward to it.”

“…Please keep it within what I can ‘do as much as possible.'”

I said that while thinking “oh dear”…

Well, whatever the case, my request was accepted.

There would be various preparations needed before departure, but for now I’d cleared the first step.

While smiling wryly, I raised a modest victory pose in my heart.

***

Royal Lytisia Academy.

In a room of the nobility course, female dormitory.

“…Fufu.”

Eleanore was smiling while lying sprawled on her bed.

It was a small voice filled with joy that seemed to leak out after trying to suppress it.

“To think… Arcs would say such a thing to me.”

She rolled her body over and stared at the ceiling.

A white glove was held to her chest, and being quite old, it was wrinkled and worn.

Ruminating on Arcs’s words from the daytime, Eleanore raised the corners of her mouth another level.

“With this, I’ve obtained the justification I was lacking.”

The justification she was lacking.

The knight course’s summer training camp, an event that would bind the students… and Arcs for a long time.

Eleanore’s feelings were not small enough to silently see him off.

Whether accompanying without permission truly expressed the magnitude of her feelings was highly questionable, but now that she had been asked directly by the person himself, there was no way for Eleanore to stop.

“Arcs. It might be a bit unfair, but it seems I’ve won this match.”

Because Arcs’s wish was essentially Eleanore’s wish.

Her right to demand something of him still remained.

In this situation she couldn’t have wished for, what would Eleanore wish for?

“Fufu…”

The white glove was squeezed tightly and sank into her chest.

As if cherishing it, as if treasuring it, and as if confining it.

“That’s right.”

She murmured as if suddenly remembering.

“I need to have Colette-san tell me about the best lodging over there.”

While breathing out feverishly, she smiled again.