"Should we wrap it up for today?"
I set down the mana stone I was handling and spoke to Yuni.
Hearing my words, Yuni, who was deeply focused on drawing a magic circle, raised her shoulders and responded.
"Huh? Already?"
Her lips twitched in mild disappointment.
Lately, Yuni has been deeply invested in staff-making.
Maybe out of genuine interest, she often came in early to prepare for our experiments, even without me asking.
Thanks to her enthusiasm, our research was progressing smoothly.
Yuni stopped drawing her magic circle, rose from her seat, and asked,
"You're finishing up a bit early today?"
"Ah, I have some tasks at the student council."
I recalled placing an order at the bakery, which had informed me that they'd be sending dessert samples to the student council.
Rie and I had planned to go through them, maybe even conduct a tasting session.
I'd already sampled some desserts from that bakery, but Rie had pointed out a few adjustments, and I needed to check on those.
"In that case, I'll stay and study a bit more before heading out,"
Yuni said.
"Alright. I'll be on my way."
"Oh! Rudy."
As I was about to exit the lab, Yuni's voice stopped me.
"Ena mentioned she might drop by later?"
"Ah, Ena?"
I had made a request to Ena.
It was about crafting the frame for the staff.
Typically, wizards create the mana stones for staffs, but alchemists often craft the rod part of the staff.
Alchemists generally split into two fields: potion-making and metallurgy.
They don't solely focus on one domain like wizards do; they just have areas they're better at.
Many tend to be proficient in both fields.
Lately, Ena had shown an increasing interest in metallurgy.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64ce79d606107d003c23ea27", id: "pf-5140-1"})Since she was the most approachable among the alchemy department students and her current interest seemed to align with my request, I had approached her.
"Got it. Keep up the hard work."
"Yes~ Do your best with your tasks, senior."
With a wave to Yuni, I headed towards the student council room.
"Ah, you're here?"
Entering the council room, Rie greeted me, and a spread of over ten different desserts lay before me.
"Wow... That's a lot."
"Yeah, they prepared every variety I had asked for."
Displayed on the table were cakes, tarts, and cookies, making my mouth water.
They'd undoubtedly be delicious, but tasting each one might just be a bit overwhelming.
"Should we have some tea while we taste?"
Normally, cold milk would be perfect with these desserts.
However, the idea of having milk here felt somewhat odd.
While lukewarm or warm milk was fine, cold milk – the ideal companion to such snacks – was hard to come by.
Firstly, the ice magic required to cool it down was an advanced spell.
Moreover, the weather was getting hotter, so naturally producing such chilled milk was nearly impossible.
"I knew you'd want some, so I boiled it in advance."
Rie said with a smile, bringing over a tea kettle.
“Oh~.”
It seemed Rie had the same idea as me.
Truthfully, Rie wasn't the type to indulge much in desserts.
She wasn’t particularly fond of sweet things, so when she visited a bakery, she’d usually sip on tea and perhaps sample a dessert or two.
She only truly went for desserts when meeting someone.
This was in stark contrast to Luna, who frequently enjoyed desserts on her own.
Accepting a cup of tea from Rie, I approached the spread of desserts.
“Shall we try them one by one?”
I noticed that there was a fork placed next to each plate where the desserts were laid out.
Without much thought, I picked up a fork.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64cc9e79c7059f003e4ad4b0", id: "pf-5109-1"})And then, I moved my hand towards the strawberry cake in front of Rie.
I chose it because I thought if I started with something too sweet, I might not be able to eat the other desserts.
“Wait a moment.”
Rie stopped me.
“I placed a fork for each plate to prevent the flavors from mixing. Use the fork next to each dessert only for that particular one.”
“Oh, really?”
Without thinking much of it, I set down the fork I was holding.
But as I reached for the fork next to the strawberry cake, Rie swiftly snatched it up.
I shot her a glare.
"Give it to me. I want to eat that."
Rie laughed teasingly.
"But I want some too."
Without hesitation, Rie used the fork to cut a small piece of the strawberry cake and popped it into her mouth.
“Mmm! It’s delicious!”
She exaggerated her delight, clearly teasing me.
“Alright... Hand it over. My turn.”
I reached out for the fork.
“Hm?”
Rie tilted her head, playing coy.
“There’s only one fork beside the dessert, isn’t there?”
Holding the fork in her mouth, she scanned the dessert selection.
“...Seems so.”
She looked down as if she had just realized it.
“Give it, I want to eat too.”
And as I reached out, she glanced between the fork she held and me.
“...You want to use this?”
“You started this.”
I frowned.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "663633fa8ebf7442f0652b33", id: "pf-8817-1"})As I said that, Rie hesitated to hand the fork over.
"You're not suggesting things like an indirect kiss or saying it's dirty, are you?"
"What, what?"
I smirked at Rie's reaction.
“Surely our esteemed Princess Rie isn’t acting like a little child over something like this? Besides, it’s just between us.”
I emphasized the words 'little child' and 'between us.'
Of course, sharing a fork like this wasn't proper etiquette, especially for nobles.
But when have Rie and I ever been particular about such things?
I intentionally mentioned that aspect to prevent Rie from making any excuses.
Regardless of how carefree Rie might be, she is still a princess.
It was clear that sharing a fork would definitely make things awkward.
Since Rie teased me with the cake first, I decided to playfully tease her back in the same manner.
Rie shot me a piercing glare.
“You want to try it?”
“Try what? I just want to eat my cake.”
I replied cheekily, and Rie chuckled.
“Okay~ then eat~.”
Rie then took her fork and approached the strawberry cake with it.
“Give me the fork.”
When I asked, Rie took a piece of the strawberry cake and held it out to me.
“Eat.”
“...What?”
Rie shook the fork as if encouraging me to take a bite.
“Why bother exchanging forks? It’s just between us.”
Rie looked at me with a victorious smile, as if she'd won the round.
I usually don't care about such things, but there's a difference between sharing a fork and feeding each other.
They are entirely different realms.
Feeding each other is something couples do, right?
But I had my pride.
I won't be defeated so easily.
“Ah.”
I opened my mouth, hinting for Rie to feed me.
Seeing this, Rie's eyes widened and her cheeks turned red.
“Ugh…….”
Rie pursed her lips and hesitantly brought the fork towards my mouth.
“Hmm.”
I bit down on the fork and tasted the cake.
The sweet taste of the fresh cream in the strawberry cake should have been memorable... but I couldn’t savor it properly.
The awkwardness of our actions overshadowed the taste.
Feeling the atmosphere getting tense, I loosened my tie slightly.
Yet, the game wasn't over.
Let's see who wins this round.
I glanced at the tart in front of me.
I took another fork and cut a piece.
“Now, you eat.”
I said with a mischievous grin, offering the tart to Rie.
“Uh-uh-uh…”
Rie’s face reddened further, and she took a small step back.
“What? Not eating?”
I smirked.
“I-I will eat!”
Rie shouted back defiantly, her eyes wide.
She pushed her hair behind her ear and brought her mouth closer to the fork.
“Uh... Ugh.”
I stared intently at Rie, feeling both a rush of warmth to my cheeks and a pang of guilt.
I thought only the person being fed would feel embarrassed, but I realized feeding someone could be just as awkward.
As Rie was about to bite the fork, my face flaming red...
Suddenly, the door to the student council room opened.
“Oh, Rudy. You asked for…”
It was Ena.
She entered and dropped the sticks she was holding with a clatter.
Rie and I were caught in the act – me feeding Rie a piece of tart and both of us blushing.
“S-sorry!!! I should've... I should've knocked! Ah! I didn’t knock! Oh, the professor sent me on an errand! Right, right. I'll come back later? Sorry? I’ll go now.”
Ena spoke in a rapid-fire manner and ran out of the room.
She didn't even think of picking up the items she dropped.
She just dashed off.
“Ena? Hey, it’s not what you think! Hey!”
I called after her, but she was long gone.
“Ah... oh no...”
Rie looked in the direction Ena had vanished, a despairing look on her face.
Then, she turned to me with teary eyes.
“You idiot! This is all your fault!”
“You started it!”
I retorted, feeling unfairly blamed.
Persia family mansion.
"Another dimension, huh..."
Seated in her study, Astina crossed her arms and gazed up at the ceiling.
Before her lay a fairytale-like book.
Though termed a fairy tale, it was more a tome on myths — myths about the creation of this world.
[God commanded space to exist, and then time.]
[That space and time birthed multiple worlds, termed dimensions.]
Astina mulled over this passage multiple times.
"A different... dimension..."
Undoubtedly, the place Rudy came from was distinctly different from here.
Another dimension.
While one might argue it's a tad unusual, it wasn't utterly bizarre.
After all, there were tales of others who hailed from different dimensions.
Astina's eyes shifted to the empire's historical record placed beside the fairy tale.
Written within were accounts of:
[The First Saint, an individual from another dimension, foresaw the future and brought prosperity to the people.]
This referred to the very first saint, revered since antiquity.
However, Rudy's case seemed slightly different.
She distinctly proclaimed she came from the future.
Given that this claim was also documented in the Royal records, it likely held truth.
Astina clicked her tongue, murmuring to herself.
"I assumed it was a mere scam..."
The tale of the First Saint was renowned throughout the empire.
A mere illusion spun by the church.
A deceiver who fabricated miracles.
Given that the church wasn't a particularly powerful faction, seen more as just a band of swindlers extracting wealth from the masses in the name of God's will — such rumors flourished.
In an empire that was not particularly religious, the church held such a reputation.
However, Rudy's testimony and evidence began to lend some credence to the tale.
"Hmm..."
Lastly, Astina glanced over Rie's letter.
[Investigate the Saint.]
It was a brief message.
At some point, Rie had taken to speaking to her in a less formal manner.
Still, it didn't particularly irk Astina.
"Maybe it's time to shake the church up a bit?"
With Rie's request in mind and her own suspicions about the church, there was no reason to delay.
After all, even if Astina were to create a ruckus at the church, they wouldn't dare utter a word.
The church's influence had waned long ago.
Had it not been for the Saint who claimed to foresee the future, the church, already teetering, would have collapsed by now.
They clung to life by the barest thread.
"Well then, shall we?"
With a sly smile, Astina rose from her seat.
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