Episode 111
"Did you enjoy today's sightseeing?"
"Well enough. I managed to pick up a few additions for my underground collection."
"I see. Then have a good day."
"Sure."
Leaving the slave market with a female guide seeing me off, I let out a deep sigh and looked up at the sky.
"The sun has already set."
Before I knew it, the sun had set and the day was growing dark.
Then again, it was already quite late when I entered the slave market, so it was only natural.
"Now take it off."
"Eek!"
I had been quietly watching the sight of the sun I hated setting and the moon I liked rising, then I removed the robe that had been covering Perelote, who had been blankly staring up at the sky along with me.
"Frey!!"
"What."
"I got a cramp!"
And as I walked down the street with her, Perelote kept making squealing noises from behind.
"You're walking just fine. What cramp."
"Aaaaaah! It hurts!"
Ignoring such Perelote and continuing forward, I eventually frowned deeply at her whining and turned my head.
"So what do you want me to do about it."
"Massage me!"
"...Just that arm from earlier, right?"
To shut Perelote's mouth, it seemed I would have to massage her arm.
It's a quiet alley with few people, so it should be fine.
"Mmm... mmm..."
As I started massaging her arm with such thoughts, Perelote began to smile while wiggling her cheeks.
Thanks to that, I felt an impulse to poke her cheek with my finger, but I decided to hold back.
"Done? Then now..."
"Massage other places too!"
"What?"
After massaging Perelote's arm for a while and seeing her make a satisfied expression, I tried to pull away, but Perelote stuck out her lips and shouted.
"Because you didn't massage me in time, the cramp has spread all over my body!"
"Sigh..."
Frowning at Perelote's nonsense that followed, I snatched the arm I had been massaging and started walking forward.
"Eek, it hurts! Aaaaah!"
"Follow me. I have something to say."
"Something to say?"
Perelote tilts her head at my cold tone. Normally I would have just accepted her foolish behavior as usual, but even that seems awkward now.
"Ah, I understand so don't pull me! I'll walk on my own! Please!"
"...Hmm."
Thinking such thoughts while walking forward, I began to quietly glare at Perelote, who was being dragged along with a tearful face behind me.
[Name: Perelote Astelleid]
[Abilities: Strength 1 / Holy Power 8.3 / Intelligence 2.3 / Mental Strength 8]
[Special Note: Sun God's Blessing]
[Disposition: Saintess]
[Goodness Value: 100]
"...Strange."
"What?"
"Nothing."
I brought up the system window just in case, but nothing has changed.
[Perelote Astelleid's Current Emotion: Annoyance/Hatred]
Checking her emotions yields the same result. Perelote, at least according to the system, hasn't changed.
Then what exactly is this abnormal phenomenon with Perelote that has been getting noticeably worse lately?
"Frey! Where are we going now?"
"Dormitory."
"I was going to the dormitory too! Then let's go together!"
I racked my brain but couldn't find a sharp answer, so I eventually let out a sigh and moved my feet.
"When we get to the dormitory, please give me a massage!"
"...Sigh."
I wonder if my already limited lifespan will become even shorter at this rate.
"You'll do it, right?"
"...Fine."
But there's no choice.
To maintain the fraudulent buff that increases all stats by 0.2, I need to maintain this relationship with her for now.
Once a partner bond is broken, it cannot be reformed and the 'Partner's Blessing' buff disappears, so if Perelote gets sulky and dissolves the partnership, it would be a disaster.
'But there is a way.'
That's why, while giving her a massage, I'll have to do the act she hates most in this world.
The act that instantly disappointed her, even though she had been worrying about me throughout the past timeline.
There's nothing better than that to make a woman hate me.
.
"Hmm..."
Clana Solara Sunrise, who had been studying in her dormitory until late at night, started yawning.
"I'm sleepy..."
Though no one was listening, she spoke to herself.
Having become so accustomed to loneliness from childhood in the previous timeline until she became the top contender for the throne succession, the habit of talking to herself still remained.
"But I need to work harder. Time is passing even while I'm doing this."
Saying so, Clana began studying again.
Of course, it wasn't academy studies, but studies about what to do in the future.
Academy exams were something all the regressed heroines, except Perelote, could easily get perfect scores on.
'This person needs to be eliminated, and this person is... ambiguous. Neither good to bring in as an ally, nor good to turn into an enemy...'
Clana, who had been taking notes while looking at photos of imperial nobles for a while, froze after absentmindedly turning a page.
- Frey Raon Starlight
"...Ah."
On that page was a photo of Frey smiling.
- Must be eliminated no matter what. Whatever happens. Tear his entire body to shreds with a spear, carve out his heart with a dagger...
And a long note written furiously on the first day of regression was also written there.
"Sigh..."
Clana had tried not to open the page with him ever since recovering her memories of the oath she had made with Frey in the past.
Because every time she saw his face, subtle emotions stimulated her.
"Frey Raon Starlight... what should I do with you?"
Clana, who had been looking down at the photo for a while, asked quietly.
Of course, Frey in the photo remained silent.
"...Sigh."
Nevertheless, Clana, who continued looking at the photo as if waiting for an answer, eventually let out a sigh and leaned back in her chair.
"That's right, who else but me would take responsibility for that scoundrel."
Then Clana chuckled and muttered to herself.
Who but herself would reform Frey?
Only she, who had made an oath with Frey when they were young, would be the right person for that task.
'...Come to think of it, the 'Partner' system starts from the second semester.'
Thinking such thoughts while rolling her pen in her hand, Clana frowned and muttered inwardly.
'Surely Frey... won't have anyone to be his partner.'
The partner system isn't affected by Frey's coercion.
Because that system involves the teacher 'Islet'.
Therefore, Frey must be lonely right now with no one applying to be his partner.
"Really, it can't be helped."
Clana, whose thoughts reached that point, made an expression that truly couldn't be helped and started opening her drawer.
- Clana, it seems I'll have to become your partner due to the oath.
"...Even I have no choice but to become his partner."
Soon she stood up from her seat, reading the letter Frey had sent her a few days ago.
Of course, she didn't notice at all that she was smiling unconsciously.
"Lady Clana, where are you going?"
"I'm going for a short walk."
"...I will accompany you."
Her maid, who had been quietly watching Clana, rose from the bed with worried eyes.
Since there were rumors spreading that her mental state wasn't good lately, her confidants were always anxious not knowing when her mind might break again.
"No, it's fine. I'll be back soon, so don't follow me."
"But..."
"I said don't follow me."
"...Understood."
But when Clana raised her voice slightly while blushing, the maid had no choice but to sit back on the bed.
"Ah, right."
Clana, who had been glancing at such a maid, stopped trying to leave the room and grabbed a bookmark on the desk.
"I almost forgot."
That bookmark was something Clana never forgot to bring when going out lately, like a charm.
For some reason, a small canary flower petal was tucked inside that bookmark.
"Hmm, hmm..."
Clana, who had finished all preparations and left the room, began walking down the corridor humming a low tune.
"...Hmm?"
After walking diligently for a few minutes and arriving at the corridor where Frey's dormitory was located, Clana started tilting her head.
"Ms. Kania? Why are you making that expression?"
"...It's nothing."
Because in front of Frey's room, Kania was grinding her teeth with a dark expression.
"Did Frey harass you by any chance? If that's the case..."
"...No. Then I have some business to attend to."
Kania, who shook her head at Clana's question, slowly walked out of the corridor.
"Frey, I have something to say..."
Clana, who had been looking at such Kania with puzzled eyes, opened her mouth while walking toward the door but.
"Haaah...!"
"...so."
Hearing a moaning sound from the crack of the door, she froze mid-sentence.
"Did I study too hard lately?"
Clana, who stood frozen in place for a while doubting her ears, thinking she heard something due to overwork, reached for the doorknob.
"Ahhhh..."
".....!"
Once again, that all-too-familiar voice flowed from the door crack, and she froze again.
"...Th-that's Perelote's voice."
The moaning voice of Perelote, one of her few true friends in this timeline, was echoing from Frey's room.
'...No.'
As soon as she recognized that fact, Clana began banging on Frey's door while shouting.
"Frey! Come out! I have something to say!"
Surely the innocent and gullible Perelote must have fallen for Frey's tricks and was being subjected to something terrible.
That's why I, as her friend, have to stop it somehow.
"Frey!! Open the door!!"
Thinking such thoughts as Clana continued knocking on the door, a few minutes later the door slowly opened.
"What on earth are you..."
"Hello! Ms. Clana!"
"...Huh?"
Clana was about to quickly shout at Frey, but what appeared before her was not Frey but Perelote.
- Slam!!
"Perelote. Tell me exactly what you did in there... no, what happened today without leaving anything out."
Clana, who had been blankly looking down at Perelote, quickly closed the door and began questioning her.
"Hmm... I followed Frey around all day today!"
"You followed Frey?"
"Yes! I studied with him, went to a cafe too!"
Then Perelote began speaking with a bright expression.
"We went to the bathroom together, went into a cabinet together and played tickle games too..."
"What?"
When Clana's mouth fell open at Perelote's words, she smiled and added.
"And just now, I got a massage from Frey! It seems there's still room for his rehabilitation, when I asked him to massage my whole body, he actually obediently massaged my whole body!"
"H-how did you feel then?"
Hearing that, Clana began asking questions urgently.
"If you felt unpleasant or humiliated because of Frey's touch, I will definitely...!"
"It felt really good."
"What?"
"So good that I want to receive it again... it felt really good."
As Perelote said this while blushing, Clana started making a blank expression.
"By the way, what brings you here?"
"Ah, w-well... I have business with Frey..."
"I see, then I'll be going now!"
Eventually, Clana, who barely opened her mouth at Perelote's question, watched Perelote, who answered quickly, walking away down the corridor with a blank look, then carefully stepped inside Frey's room.
"...What's going on?"
Then, Frey, who had been making a quite flustered expression, came into Clana's view before instantly changing to a cold expression.
"Y-you, about the letter you sent before."
Clana began speaking to Frey with a trembling voice.
"That, I've been thinking about it now..."
"You mean about the partner?"
"Y-yes. I'll accept your proposal..."
"That's already too late."
Frey said 'too late', and Clana's expression turned pale.
"I've already become partners with Perelote."
"W-what!? What do you mean...!"
Clana, who heard Frey's words that followed, began speaking with a trembling voice.
"But, you sent me a letter..."
"You didn't reply. I thought you rejected me since no reply came."
"......Ah."
Hearing those words, Clana quietly lowered her head.
"C-Clana?"
"Frey."
Clana, who had been keeping her head down for a while, quietly opened her mouth.
"Do you have time tonight?"
"What?"
When Frey asked with a puzzled expression, Clana looked at him with a calm expression and spoke.
"Let's take a night walk together, the two of us."
That was the first date proposal of Clana's life.