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Chapter 34 – Entrance Examination – part 7

The time is early morning.
Outside is still filled with darkness, and the torrential rain that has been falling for five days shows no signs of stopping.

ーIt’s been a week since then, and I haven’t had anything but water.

I… Cordelia Allston, has been living my daily life with a sense of lethargy.

Hunger is not particularly painful.
It’s just that my body feels heavy, and everything seems like a chore.

Or rather, I don’t even feel like eating anything in the first place, and I only feel nauseous at the sight of food.
My dorm room is a bleak space with nothing but a bed, magic books, and exercise equipment.

I bury my face in the pillow while lying in bed.

ーEven though we finally had the chance to meet.

It’s not really… strange for Lute to become a sex slave owner.
Lute is already 16 years old… It wouldn’t be strange for him to do such a thing, or to be with other women, and I don’t have the right to bind him about it.

I know, I know that.

Lute and I are just childhood friends, not engaged nor lovers.
We’ve never even promised each other anything when we are innocent children.

So, I know that this is just my own resentment, and I don’t even have the right to complain about it.

「But…」I let out a sigh.

ーWhy does my heart ache so much? Just thinking about him makes the depths of my uterus feel painfully constricted.

「Haa…」

Another sigh of the day.

That woman… The profile of Lilith flashes in my mind, and every time it does, a heavy for descends on my heart.

「It’s not like he has been taken away… It’s not decided or anything…」

It’s normal for nobles to have concubines, and it’s the same as having a different lover than your wife.

I don’t know what kind of relationship exists between a sex slave and their masterm but it’s definitely not the same as being lovers.
But they seem to get along well, and… maybe there’s a possibility that they are not just master and slave, but also lovers.

「…Ow.」

When I think that far, a pain like being squeezed tight grips my chest again.

Then, the morning sunlight streams into the room.

「…」

I stand in front of the mirror and slap both of my cheeks with both hands/

「… I am the Hero, Cordelia Allston. The Hero shouldn’t have a gloomy face forever.」

Today is the entrance ceremony, and I have to give a speech as the representative to the new students.

Important people from various countries will be gathered… I have to play the role of a dependable Hero who will face the upcoming great calamity properly.

ー

The lecture hall is covered in a long, red carpet.

This year’s magic school has 500 new students, and 50 of them are scholarship students.
The lecture hall however, can only hold up to 300 people.
100 people, including the dignitaries and members of the faculty, will be accommodated, leaving 200 spaces for the students.

Naturally, only the scholarship students and the childrens of nobles who have entered normally are allowed to attend the entrance ceremony.
The remaining students are to study on their own in the dormitory.
The class system is deeply ingrained in society here, but it is still strange that they wouldn’t even let the normal students participate in the entrance ceremony.

Unsurprisingly, Lute didn’t get to attend the entrance ceremony.
While he was accepted as a student, being a Villager was a demeaning point, so he was placed in the general admission.

「… That concludes my speech as the representative of the new students.」

Thunderous applause fills the stage.
With a bow, I left the stage and returned to my seat.
And now after the principal’s remarks, we all sang the school song and the ceremony came to a close.

In the drizzling rain, Moses and I walked along the roofed walkway from the school building to the dormitory.

The afternoon schedule was empty, so I decided to quickly return to my room to do muscle training and practice spell formulas for physical ability enhancement.

「Your complexion doesn’t look good lately, Cordelia. Are you okay?」

「… You can tell?」

「Well, we see each other every day. And you have dark circles under your eyes.」

Well no wonder, I haven’t been able to eat much for a week.

「By the way, with all the fluster with the entrance ceremony, did you realize that today is April 1st?」

「…Yes, it is. So what?」

「Don’t it feel a little lonely?」

「Lonely? Why?」

「The Spring Flower Festival.」

「…?」

「Hey, back in our village, didn’t we celebrate the arrival of spring by giving flowers to our family and loved ones? We also decorated the square with flowers…」

Moses frowned at that.

「Oh yeah. That rural custom.」

「A rural custom, yes. But I like it.」

「You like it? Why?」

「I like flowers. And I like decorating the square with everyone on April 1st.」

Then, Moses raised the corner of his mouth with a laugh that sounded sarcastic.

「You’re going to walk the path of the Hero from now on. You will get all the glory, honor, and money you want.」

「What are you trying to say?」

「…I’m saying that you’ll soon forget your homesickness.」

We arrived at the fork in the road that led to the boys’ and girls’ dorms.

「See you later.」

「Yes, see you tomorrow.」

I parted ways with Moses and continued straight ahead.

The figure of a boy sitting on a bench in the hallway, completely soaked, caught my eye.

「Lute?」

Lute smiled and raised his right hand.

「Yo.」

「Do you need something?」

「What have you been up to since last time? You’ve been acting so cold and distant…」

Well, that’s obvious.
I was intentionally being cold and distant, after all.

Lute reached into his pocket and handed me a wet bouquet of flowers.

「What’s this?」

「Suzuran flowers.」

「I know that… So, what’s the occasion?」

「Today’s April 1st, right? So, I went and picked them just now.」

「…You still follow those rural customs? Even to the point of getting completely soaked?」

「Yeah, even to the point of getting completely soaked.」

「You’ll catch a cold, you know?」

Lute flashed a smile that is as bright as the sun.

「Do you know? Idiots don’t catch colds.」

「…」

I was amazed.
Well, he certainly doesn’t seem like he’ll catch a cold.

「You know the meaning behind giving flowers on April 1st… right?」

「To family, or to a significant other. It’s to make an important person smile with flowers… that kind of meaning, right?」

「…」
「…」

We went silent for a while,
It was me who finally broke the silence.

「Lilith… Are you going to give that girl something?」

「Um…」

「…」

「It’s not like I have to. She’s not even from our village.」

「I see.」

「…」

「…」

We fell into silence once again.
And, It was me who broke the silence again.

「Um… hey.」

「Hm?」

「Lilith… isn’t that girl your sex slave?」

「Well… that’s what it’s turned into, yeah.」

「Uh… Um… Err…」

I could feel my cheeks getting hot.
But I couldn’t just not ask.

「Um… have you ever done anything… intimate?」

「No, never. Lilith is like a childhood friend, just that and nothing more.」

He said that so casually.
I must have looked mad with my expression gone wild.

「…」

「…」

「…」

「…」

And silence reigned over the two of us again.

Cordelia has a hysterical expression on her face.
I, Lute Mclane, was troubled.

She had been in a bad mood for a week, and she is exceptionally quiet today.
Back in the day, she used to smile all day if I gave her flowers, but I guess young women are troublesome creatures.

I was at a loss as to what to do, before Cordelia looked down and said,

「Thank you.」

「Hm?」

「…for the flowers.」

「Ahh, no problem.」

She peered into my face with a faint smile.

「Thanks.」

「Sure thing.」

There, Cordelia rubbed her belly that started rumbling, before giggling.

「Did you eat your lunch?」

「No, not yet.」

She then pointed in the direction of the school building.

「Let’s go the the cafeteria and eat together.」

「Sure, let’s go.」

I nodded in agreement, but Cordelia never start walking.

「You’re not coming.」

「You should walk first.」

「Why?」

「We’ve always done it like that, haven’t we?」

It’s true that wherever I go, this girl is always walking around behind me.

「That’s true.」

I said that and began walking in front of Cordelia.

「Wait!」

When I turned around, there was Cordelia with her cheeks blushing.
She is extending her right hand to me.

Just like the old days, she wanted me to hold her hand.
No matter how much time passes… she was still a child at heart.

ーThus, our life in the academy began.