Chapter 145 - Premonition of a Mess

At the same time, Pleta was spending her time at the Exchange Meeting, taking Yuna around.

One might think it was rather surprising since they had never even seen each other's faces before, but there was a reason for this.

First, neither Pleta nor Yuna were particularly shy. Yuna had a tendency to shrink a bit in front of people of higher status than her, but since both had easygoing personalities, they were a good match.

Also, the fact that they came from the same background in a knight society where nobles were the majority would have made them more comfortable with each other.

The fact that Yuna was right in the middle of the strike zone for Pleta, who had a soft spot for cute girls, was also a very big part of it.

“Th-this is delicious!”

For example, like now, after eating the food prepared at the Exchange Meeting, her eyes sparkled as she told Pleta so.

‘Cute…….’

Yuna's good reactions, with her rich emotional expressions, made it enjoyable to be with her.

And looking at Yuna, Pleta also came to have another thought. To be precise, it was a thought about Rain Enlight.

‘He came with such a cute girl, and he just leaves, saying he has other business?’

To just leave after coming with a girl like this. To Pleta, Rain had a sharp impression in many ways, so she thought there must be a reason, but still, what was unforgivable was unforgivable.

‘Besides, this is…….’

Moreover, as she talked with Yuna about academy life, there was something she could feel…….

-By the way, it's amazing that you adapted to the academy from your first year. The hazing based on status or family must have been severe. I also struggled to adapt in my first year.

-Ah, for that, honestly, the help I received from the people around me… especially that guy from earlier, was a big part of it. Rather than me being amazing.

-It's nice to see you eat well, junior. Want to try this too?

-Oh, this is what I had when I took the train with Rain last time! It was really delicious then too… hehe.

-Are you keeping up with the curriculum? For an external transfer student, it must feel like the difficulty suddenly ramps up.

-Ah, about that. I seriously thought I was going to die… Every time exam period came, that Rain guy would grab me and grill me. At the beginning of the semester, it was like…….

As if there was an invisible funnel in the conversation topics, nine out of ten times, the flow of the conversation concluded with Rain.

‘This, this is……!’

Pleta was quick-witted, but honestly, it didn't take much wit to realize Yuna's feelings from this conversation.

Just by looking at Yuna's expression when she talked about it, one could roughly tell.

‘But Rain-junior abandoned such a cute girl and just left…….’

Thinking about the situation, Pleta let out a small sigh. It was because the path Yuna had to walk seemed to be full of hardship.

As time passed like that, there was a moment when people's attention was drawn to one place.

“Oh, oh?”

The gazes of everyone in the hall naturally gathered on someone's appearance, as if drawn by gravity.

-It's Her Highness the Princess……!

-Well, right. It's the age she would have enrolled.

-And next to her is…….

Yes. This was none other than the 1st Princess of the empire, Regina Eliade Abellon.

And the one who was walking next to her, escorting the Princess, also became a topic of gossip…….

-The one escorting her is… isn't that the illegitimate son of the Enlight family?

-The ruined prince. I heard rumors that he was associating with Her Highness the Princess, but to think he would be with her at a place like this.

A boy with a sickly and dark atmosphere, a worn-out impression.

Pleta knew about that boy.

“……Junior?”

Rain Enlight. The boy who had entrusted Yuna to her earlier had reappeared in the hall with the Princess after some time.

Gathering people's attention in one place.

“Haha…….”

Seeing that, Pleta couldn't help but let out a dry laugh. She knew from the news she heard from time to time that he was quite close to the Princess… but to think they were close enough for him to be her escort.

“You were a bigger deal than I thought, junior.”

Muttering so, Pleta turned her gaze back to the Princess. She had the same relaxed face as she had seen at imperial events from time to time, but somehow…….

‘No way.’

Pleta shook her head and put away the impious thought that had briefly crossed her mind.

And, she suddenly became curious about what kind of expression the girl standing next to her was making, so she looked to her side.

“I wondered where you were going in such a hurry, of course it would be like this……”

The girl, Yuna's expression, was exquisitely subtle.

“Hmph……”

Half a look of ‘I thought so’, half a look of being somewhat displeased…….

‘Ugh.’

Pleta could feel a throbbing headache coming on.

The bad thing for her was that she would experience that throbbing headache several times throughout the day.

***

“Say hello, junior. This is Sir Ibore, a current Senior Knight.”

“Ah, hello!!”

“If possible, state your name……”

Fortunately, there were no more troublesome matters after that.

Pleta was faithful to the original purpose of the Exchange Meeting, taking Yuna around and introducing her to the knights she knew.

“Ooh, so you're that recently famous commoner student. You're quite similar to Lady Pleta.”

When Yuna heard that they were going to meet various knights, she was a bit worried at first.

The knights she had seen so far mostly belonged to noble families, and she had the perception that they had a strong sense of discrimination. This was true to some extent.

However, she didn't feel such an air from the people Pleta introduced her to.

Since Pleta was originally a commoner, the knights she was acquainted with had a weaker sense of such things.

In the first place, Pleta didn't keep those who were not like that by her side.

“Ooh…… then can I ask you some things I was curious about?”

“Of course, Lady Yuna.”

“Then when you go on missions……”

The atmosphere of the Exchange Meeting thus ripened. Yuna, who had shed her withdrawn attitude, began to display her unique cheerfulness and talk with many knights.

“Huhu.”

Pleta smiled warmly at Yuna. The fact that she was still somewhat immature and had come this far as a commoner overlapped with her past self.

And she was pleased that a girl who resembled her was enjoying the Exchange Meeting with an open heart.

‘Then… shall I take a breather too?’

Pleta took a sip of the wine she was holding in her hand and slowly looked around the hall with a light heart.

She didn't have any particular thoughts. It was just to refresh her mind, which had become a bit complicated from communication.

‘Oh, that’s…….’

As Pleta was looking around the hall, something caught her eye.

It was long, straight hair of a light blue color that resembled the sky. Deep blue eyes of the same color. To be precise, it was a beautiful girl, like a doll, who had those features.

‘Wow…….’

The moment Pleta saw that girl, she couldn't help but be captivated.

Because of her otherworldly beautiful appearance, which made one wonder if it was possible for a human to be born with such looks.

When she regained her senses that had been stolen for that short time and looked around, a lot of attention was focused on her.

It was probably for the same reason as Pleta, but the biggest reason was…….

‘Is she the daughter of the current Magic Tower Master?’

It would have been because of that identity, which even Pleta, who was not deeply connected to the Magic Tower, could easily deduce.

Around the Magic Tower Master's daughter, Arien Ortega, quite a lot of people had gathered—as if forming a camp.

The reason was simple. It was to hang around and try to strike up a conversation with her to form a connection.

This didn't just apply to students like Arien, so several renowned knights and nobles could also be seen around her.

“What a rare sight……”

As Pleta muttered, it was certainly a rare sight. To think that such brilliant figures were loitering around to strike up a conversation with a single student.

Originally, at an Exchange Meeting, the ones in a disadvantageous position are the students.

No matter how high-born a child of a family is, if the knights coming to the Exchange Meeting are authoritative enough, it is right for the children of noble families to take a low stance.

In the first place, the majority of the knights who come to this place are from those prestigious families.

‘But that only applies in normal cases.’

But in Arien's case, the prestige that came from her background was too high.

The only daughter of the current Magic Tower Master, Tyrion Ortega. Moreover, the one whom the notoriously stubborn Tyrion had declared as his successor.

She was truly someone who would rise to the pinnacle of the world, so it was not unreasonable for such a strange phenomenon to occur.

‘Though she herself doesn't seem to have any intention of accepting it.’

However, Arien just sat there with a transcendent expression, as if she had no interest in such complicated worldly affairs or people.

And, to the stories and greetings that occasionally flooded her…….

-Ahem, Lady Arien. It's a pleasure to meet you. I am Alfonso Marcos, and I saw you once at the Magic Tower last time. Do you perhaps remember……?

-No.

She only answered with such dry, short replies. To others, this would have been evaluated as blatant rudeness, but Pleta didn't feel that way.

It might be due to the power that came from the girl named Arien's status, but the cause would have been the truly transparent and intentionally deep indifference seen within Arien.

“Haha…….”

Sip, Pleta took a sip of wine, using that rare scene as a side dish.

She wondered if there would ever be a day when that girl, whose every action was as beautiful as a doll's, would have sparkling eyes, harboring such a small question.

After enjoying this scene once with her eyes, Pleta tried to turn her gaze in another direction again.

Yes, she tried to… but. She unintentionally witnessed a scene from her view that was directed at Arien.

“……Huh?”

It was a scene that truly no one could have expected, and one that gave a strong premonition that it would cause a huge mess in the near future.