“Granoli! I’m up next! It’s me you’re fighting!!”
The moment Raze appeared in the spectator seats, Ian—who’d already finished his match—rushed over.
Her next opponent was Ian Masse Droua.
Of the original otome game cast, only Ruben, Ian, Addis, and Claude remained.
Unfortunately, Folia had lost in the second round, and Carne fell to a strong third-year candidate in the third round.
“I won’t let you win so easily this time!”
“I’m looking forward to it.”
Raze grinned at Ian. As she advanced, opponents had started drawing weapons early to keep her at bay—but since her high-speed movement wasn’t on a fixed path and could adjust mid-stride, she could easily dodge weapons. Honestly, she was getting bored of winning the exact same way every time.
“…I can’t imagine anyone beating Granoli’s insane casting speed…”
Luca looked skeptical, but Ian declared confidently, “Don’t worry! I’ve got a plan!”
[We will now begin the lunch break. Competing students, please gather in the waiting room ten minutes before your match. Repeat—]
At the lunch announcement, they exchanged glances.
“Raze-chan, want to eat together?”
Before an awkward silence could settle, Folia spoke up.
Knowing Raze had no family visiting (based on Carne’s memories and her own childhood recollections of school sports day family lunches), Folia was being considerate.
(Julia said she’d just drop off a bento today… She’s so busy—I feel bad…)
Ever since last year’s tournament, whenever Julia was assigned guard duty, she always brought Raze a homemade bento.
When Julia was too busy, Raze usually ate with Folia—the easiest companion to join—but she’d felt hesitant about intruding on the newly-minted couple.
“Oh, a friend’s bringing me lunch.”
Raze gently declined with a soft smile.
“I see! Then later, okay?”
“Yeah.”
Folia looked relieved and soon left to meet her family. One by one, the others followed.
Only Raze—and Addis—remained.
(His Lordship’s group is still in the VIP seats… So why’s he still here?)
Raze watched Addis curiously.
“What?”
“Huh? Oh, nothing… I just wondered—your father’s in the VIP section, right? Aren’t you going over?”
When she voiced her thoughts aloud, Addis let out a long, exasperated sigh. Raze, who genuinely couldn’t fathom why he’d be so exasperated, tilted her head in confusion.
“You’re weirdly careless about yourself, you know that? I was just about to leave… but I figured I’d wait until you managed to meet up with your acquaintance first…”
“Huh?”
Raze blinked, utterly bewildered.
“If a commoner student stands out that much, you’ll get snatched up by some important adults if you’re left alone, you know?”
“Oh…”
Raze’s shoulders slumped as she realized—only after Addis pointed it out—that she hadn’t even noticed this herself.
Now that he mentioned it, indeed, here and there among the crowd, she spotted adults watching her with keen interest, clearly scouting for talent.
Addis had stayed behind just until Julia arrived.
(Why on earth didn’t I realize sooner that I was making His Lordship’s son go out of his way for me!?)
Wellrain himself was right here in the same space—and yet she’d inconvenienced his son and even cut into his lunch break! Raze turned pale.
“I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to trouble you. I’ll be fine now, so please go rejoin your family—”
“…It’s not like I did this just so you’d apologize, and… please don’t go saying ‘I’m fine’ so casually like that…”
Normally, their conversations ended with her just getting annoyed at him—but this time, if she got caught by those adults, there’d be no escaping. She couldn’t afford to brush him off.
Realizing she was in the wrong, Raze almost said “I’m sorry” again—but swallowed the words.
“…Thank you. I really appreciate you staying…”
She properly expressed her gratitude to Addis, then stole a quick glance at the gaze fixed on her.
(He’s right… if I’d been alone, things would’ve gotten seriously troublesome. Guess I really did get saved…)
No—actually, if Lord Grim Reaper found out about this, would I be getting saved… or strangled? Raze felt conflicted.
“Is that usual person coming again today?”
By “usual person,” he meant Julia. Raze nodded. “Yes.”
“Julia-san comes all the way here even though Julia’s busy. Julia’s great at cooking too… I really wish Julia’d marry into our family someday~”
The words slipped out before she could stop them—and Addis’s eyes flew wide open in shock.
“So it really was you who proposed the engagement!?”
“Oh. You noticed? That’s right. Julia’s the one I wanted to get engaged to, but couldn’t. Please keep it a secret from Lady Carne and Folia—it’s embarrassing!”
READ THE ORIGINAL TRANSLATION AT gadgetizedpanda.net
Addis recalled Julia’s face, which he had only recently grown familiar with. No joke—more feminine than Raze, and yet still in a man’s body. If an engagement were actually formed, who knew what kind of complications might arise.
He already knew Julia was the one who had received the bracelet—the one he got as a token of thanks from Quartz, the charm designer, during their training camp trip to the water city. But to think the engagement itself had been offered to Julia…
“Don’t tell me—you’re not seriously thinking about proposing again, are you?”
He asked half-jokingly.
“Hmm… I guess I’ll wait and see how things go.”
“…………”
Addis was speechless at her serious reply.
Apparently, Raze was still genuinely considering her “broken engagement” plan.
“—Raze-san! We already agreed to drop that topic, remember!?”
“—Huh!?”
At that moment, a familiar voice suddenly called out from the side. Raze turned sharply—and there stood Cross in casual clothes, both hands laden with a large paper bag, with Harul right behind him.
“Looks like there’s another victim…”
“Don’t say such ominous things, Harul.”
Cross shot Harul a glare, as if to say “Don’t joke about that”—but Harul just shrugged it off like the wind.
“We were entrusted by your dear friend—the one you admire so much that person’s practically wife material~”
Noticing Addis’s wary expression, Harul leaned in and whispered to Cross, “Hey, I think we’re being watched. What should we do?”
Indeed, Addis—who didn’t recognize them—was clearly on guard. Ever-alert with his wind magic constantly active, he’d immediately sensed the distinct aura unique to military personnel emanating from them.
Though he kept up a polite social facade, his expression was stiff.
“Do you know them?”
Asked by Addis, whose eyes held no warmth, Raze hurriedly nodded.
“Yes! You don’t need to be wary—they’re comrades I’ve worked with on assignments. They’ve been really kind to me… But—why are you two here?”
She stood up from her chair and walked toward them.
“We thought we’d join you for lunch.”
“…Huh!? Really? Are you sure you’re not forcing yourselves?”
Worried they might be too tired from guard duty to want to eat with a superior, Raze asked hesitantly—but they just smiled.
“Julia-san prepared portions for us too.”
Understanding dawned on Raze—and for the first time ever, a radiant, beaming smile spread across her face.
“Julia went out of her way for that? What should I even say to thank that person…? Thank you both so much for coming. I’m really happy!”
Seeing Raze nearly tear up with joy, Addis found his gaze locked onto her.
Cross and Harul, who knew well just how deeply Raze cherished her comrades—no, her family—smiled warmly at her delight.
Harul gave a little wave, gesturing for Raze to lean in closer.
“Earlier, Cross dashed straight back into town to buy that limited-edition tart the Representative’s been craving.”
“Really!?”
During the Battle Festa, moving freely between the academy grounds and the outside world was nearly impossible.
Using his guard privileges, Cross had slipped back into the capital just before lunch break to buy the tart.
As a result, Addis and Raze had been left alone longer than intended—but Cross had sprinted across rooftops at full speed to minimize his shopping time and return as quickly as possible.
“Got it right here. Now you can power through the afternoon!”
Not only did they not mind eating with their superior—they’d even brought a care package. Touched by Cross’s refreshing smile, Raze was deeply moved.
“Of course I’ll give it my all now!”
Watching Raze laugh so innocently and openly in front of her comrades, Addis felt an indescribable, nameless emotion stir quietly within him.
“…Well then, I’ll take my leave.”
“Oh! Thank you so much. Let me properly thank you later.”
“Don’t worry about it. …Just don’t lose next time.”
“…Yes!”
He stood up from his chair.
For some reason, he suddenly wanted to leave as quickly as possible.
After giving the newly arrived men a brief nod, Addis strode off with unusually long steps.
Later, he rejoined his family—but even as he ate lunch, his chest remained unsettled, restless.
He’d recognized the voices of those men who’d come to see Raze… yet he pretended not to.
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