Episode 38: “My Place Is a Bit of a Mess, But…”
“Sorry, dragging you along so suddenly…”
“It’s fine. More importantly, that turned into quite the situation, didn’t it.”
“Yeah… but well, if one duel settles everything, that’s not so bad, I guess…”
Since enrolling, she’d had her textbooks and desk hidden, been talked about behind her back, and faced harassment more times than she could count.
If this whole incident put an end to all of that, school life might finally get a little easier.
(I wonder how I’m going to explain this to Burkhardt-san…)
Telling him she’d ended up in a duel this early into enrollment was bound to surprise him.
“More importantly, it’s gotten late, hasn’t it. Want me to walk you home?”
“Hmm…”
Yuria seemed to hesitate for a moment, then suddenly threw her arms around Fiine.
“I don’t want to go home tonight. Can I stay over at your place?”
“…Eh?”
“My place isn’t exactly the most comfortable to begin with.”
Is that no good? Yuria asked, tilting her head. Her pink hair swayed, and a sweet scent drifted with it.
Bathed in moonlight, she was beautiful enough to steal the breath away.
(Come to think of it, this might be the first time I’ve ever thought something was beautiful…)
Even on all the trips Burkhardt had taken her on, seeing all sorts of scenery, she’d rarely felt anything like that. She’d simply registered what she saw as fact, without her heart ever really moving.
“…My place is a bit of a mess, but if that’s still okay with you…”
“Not a problem at all!!”
Yuria threw herself into Fiine’s arms, delighted.
Gently wrapping an arm around her waist, Fiine looked absently up at the moon.
(Tonight’s a full moon.)
If asked what that meant, she wouldn’t have been able to say.
But for some reason, it made her happy, and before she knew it, she found herself smiling.
◆
“This is my place.”
“A little old, but the location’s great.”
The staircase was narrow, so they climbed single file. The apartment building had five floors, and Fiine’s room was on the third.
“Here.”
She unlocked the door and stepped inside. Immediately, a rank, fishy smell drifted out.
“Wh— what is that smell?!”
“Sorry. I’ll cast a deodorizing spell right away.”
“What’s a deodorizing spell?!”
She drew her wand and hurriedly traced a magic circle. A moment later, Yuria stared at her, eyes — already large — gone perfectly round.
“The smell disappeared instantly, but what kind of magic is that?!”
“It’s a wind-attribute spell. The mechanics are a bit complicated to explain, but… it uses air currents to block bad odors. I basically keep it running the whole time I’m home.”
“…You keep a deodorizing spell running the entire time you’re home?”
“Yeah. I came up with it after I started living alone.”
Everything Burkhardt had ever taught her was combat magic — nothing meant for everyday life.
So she’d taken to researching spells for whatever she found she actually needed to get by.
Among them, this deodorizing spell was one of the more useful ones.
“…It’s impressive, but why would there even be a smell like that in the first place— ah!!”
The moment she stepped into the room, what caught Yuria’s eye was the filthy kitchen.
Unwashed dishes, empty cans, and scraps of food were piled up in layers in the sink.
“The kitchen’s what smells. That’s why I use the deodorizing spell.”
“Hey, Fiine. Do you actually not know how to wash dishes?”
“When I have time, I use water magic to wash them. But mornings especially get pretty hectic. Lately it’s such a hassle that I’ve been trying to figure out some way to eat without using plates at all — floating the food, maybe.”
In theory it shouldn’t be that difficult, but anything with liquid in it was proving tricky to manage.
“…And, out of curiosity, what about cleaning the room?”
“It’s a little scattered, but I roughly know where everything I need is. Oh, but you won’t be able to sit down anywhere, will you. Hold on, let me clear a spot for you—”
The instant Fiine drew her wand, her wrist was seized before she could even trace the circle.
“Yuria?”
“What were you just about to do?”
“I was going to use wind magic to move things out of the way…”
“Do you seriously not know what tidying up is?”
“…Not really…”
She had no memory of anything from before her early childhood, and once Burkhardt took her in, the maid had handled everything.
She’d offered to help a few times, but had always been told that if she had time for that, she’d be better off studying or training in magic instead.
Living alone had left her occasionally at a loss, but between one spell and another, she’d more or less managed.
“Hey, Fiine. There are flies breeding in that kitchen too, you know.”
“Ah, then should I just burn it?”
“…Listen here.”
Yuria let out an enormous sigh, then reached over and pulled hard on Fiine’s ear.
“What you need right now isn’t magic — it’s common sense!!”
Shouting in a way that hardly suited a noble’s daughter, Yuria undid her hair and tied it back up again in a single ponytail.
“Do you have cleaning supplies? If not, we’re going shopping.”
“R-right now?”
“There’s no way I’m sleeping in a place like this! Tonight, we pull an all-nighter! And I’m telling you now — no magic allowed!”
“Ehh…”
Granted, doing housework with magic might have been a little sloppy.
Still, in terms of efficiency, it should have been the best possible approach.
“No complaints! Do you have cleaning supplies or not?!”
“I-I don’t have any.”
Overwhelmed by the sheer force of her tone, Fiine slipped right back into formal speech.
“Then let’s go! There should still be a few shops open at this hour!”
There was absolutely no atmosphere in which to raise an objection. Fiine nodded silently and followed after Yuria.