CHAPTER 3     Outdoor Education

The grounds were awash with green, new leaves freshly adorning the trees. Gentle sunlight shone down on the students as they chatted and conversed in crystal clear air. A soft breeze caressed their cheeks, the floral scent it brought tickling their noses.

Today’s weather was absolutely perfect for picnics—as clear and temperate as could be.

 

So then why have I ended up in this situation?

“Cecil, where are we with that thing I asked you to do?”

“……”

Caught between a firm, manly chest, and a wall as white as chalk, Cecilia broke out in a cold sweat.

Threatening her was Crown Prince Oscar, his handsome face screwed into a scowl. His right hand was planted firmly on the wall behind her, pinning her against it—a classic move from all her favorite dating sims.

“That thing I asked you to do” referred, of course, to Oscar’s order—excuse me, request—that Cecil arrange for him to meet with Cecilia.

A forced smile on her face, Cecilia scratched at her cheek. “Ah, well…”

“Not yet?”

“I mean, you can’t really say ‘yet’ since you only just asked me the day before yesterday…,” she hedged.

This prince was too impatient. He’d also summoned Cecil yesterday and had given him the exact same treatment. At this point, it was all but certain he’d keep calling Cecil out and trapping him against a wall until he’d managed to set a date for Oscar’s meeting with Cecilia.

C’mon, give me a break here… Cecilia sighed inwardly. While her original goal of having absolutely nothing to do with Oscar was already out the window, she still didn’t want to get too close to him if at all possible.

“Also, I want to clarify this one more time… Are you really Cecilia’s friend?” Oscar pressed.

“I told you before…”

“So let me get this straight: It’s possible for you, a guy who only cares about being popular with the ladies and just thinks with his dick, to behold the purest of angels and not make a pass at her?”

Why’s this dude romanticizing me like that? And wow, his opinion of Cecil is at rock bottom…

Her regard for Oscar was dropping fast. Well, not that it was ever that high to begin with…

“She’s really just a friend, Your Highness,” Cecilia insisted, arranging her features into a pleasant smile.

Oscar’s eyebrows only knit even closer together. “Don’t call me that. Just Oscar is fine. And don’t be so polite with me.”

“Uh…”

“When I meet with Cecilia, I don’t want her to think of me as someone who makes his own friends call him ‘Your Highness.’ ”

Picky, picky…

Her esteem of him had now dipped into the negatives.

Oscar, a head taller than Cecil, looked down on him imperiously. “Just hurry it up and set up a spot where we can m—”

All of a sudden, Oscar abruptly faltered, and Gilbert appeared behind him.

She realized that Oscar had fallen to his knees; apparently, Gilbert had struck the back of Oscar’s knees with his own, forcing them to bend.

“What are you doing to Cecil, Your Highness?” he asked.

“Gilbert!” Cecilia cried.

“I told you that it’s pointless to threaten Cecil, and I’ve also said many times that you should go through me if you want to see Cecilia…”

“If I did that, you’d never let me see her!” roared Oscar.

“Why are you talking about this like it’s going to happen? Of course you’re not going to get to see her.”

“Listen here, you little—”

Oscar lunged at Gilbert, attempting to grab him by his lapels. Gilbert brushed him off as if he were a particularly annoying fly. He was clearly used to this.

This is pretty different from how they were in the game…

There, they don’t interact much at all. Gilbert’s reclusive nature aside, Oscar should have no reason to get involved with him. Personality-wise, the Oscar of the game is more the cool and collected type; he’s much more mature than his age would suggest. And as a perfectly composed prince, he also takes an extraordinary amount of pride in his royal status. He doesn’t act like a typical teenager at all. Or he doesn’t in the game, at least…

What had changed him?

I guess this does make interacting with him easier, though.

Oscar and Gilbert were still staring daggers at each other.

“Do I need to remind you that you’re going to be my subject once I’m king?”

“But we’re still in school right now. Don’t you think it’s possible my sister is uninterested in seeing you because you’re always saying petty things like that?”

“Guh…”

“Moreover, I believe it should be impossible for you to run the country without the support of the Sylvies. And yet, you regard me as a lowly subject?”

“I never said I see you as lowly!”

“I’ll give you credit for that, Your Highness. That’s one thing about you I don’t hate.”

“Then—”

“But that has nothing to do with whether or not I give you access to my sister,” Gilbert asserted. He seemed to have gotten the upper hand.

Realizing that he couldn’t win this war of words, Oscar ground his teeth in frustration. “That’s why I didn’t ask you! I asked Cecil!”

Oscar’s gaze landed on Cecilia. “You’ll do it, won’t you?”

“I-I’m handling it—”

“Your Highness, that’s a threat—”

“Shut up! Cecil said it’s fine, so it has nothing to do with you!”

Gilbert let out a deep sigh. With all this childish bickering, you’d think Oscar was the younger one.

“Fine. But could you sort that out later? I came here because I have business with Cecil,” Gilbert stated, pulling Cecil out of Oscar’s grasp.

“What business? Lunch?” asked Cecilia.

He whispered, “That, too—but apparently, there’s been a bit of a development with Lean, so I came to tell you about it.”

She jolted at that news.

“I caught it by chance in the courtyard, so I wanted to tell you if you didn’t know about it,” he explained, his face softening into a little grin.

 

Gilbert led her to the courtyard, which Lean was indeed occupying. She was standing across from a boy.

Cecilia stared at them from the shadows. “Is that Jade?”

“Jade Benjamin. He was chosen as a knight, wasn’t he?”

Unusually for a student at the elite Vleugel Academy, Jade Benjamin was a young entrepreneur born to a commoner family. Since the Benjamin family had their hands in an extensive range of industries throughout Prosper, it wouldn’t be exaggerating to say that they controlled the country’s economy. In honor of their accomplishments, the king had awarded them the title of baronet last year.

Belying his status as a young businessman, Jade had an easygoing nature and a cute, puppylike charm, which made him a fairly popular character.

“See? They look pretty cozy, don’t they?” Gilbert whispered into her ear.

“They really do,” she agreed, nodding.

Jade and Lean were talking to each other, matching blushes on their faces. It was even more touching that they’d chosen a place without many other people around.

“You’ve been run ragged by so many different things lately, so I thought you might perk up if I told you about this.”

“Gil! Such a good boy, thinking of your sister!”

“Yeah, yeah.”

What a blessing it was to have a little brother who was so conscientious of his sister.

So as not to waste her brother’s good judgment, Cecilia focused all her attention on Lean and Jade.

Self-consciously, Lean drew out a notebook she’d hidden in her school uniform and handed it to Jade. Her shy, crimson complexion was the picture of a young girl in love.

“So is this one of those ‘events’?” asked Gilbert.

“Yup. This is the fourth event, which only occurs if his affection points have reached a certain level! The Heart-Throbbing Secret Diary Exchange event!” Cecilia whispered back excitedly. While a character’s first three events happen regardless of affection points, it’s a different story starting from the fourth event. From then on, they won’t trigger unless there’s a certain level of mutual trust and companionship between the characters.

“Since the Heart-Throbbing Secret Diary Exchange is happening so soon, that must mean Jade is Lean’s favorite! That’s good news!”

“Not that I care, but you thought up that event name, didn’t you?”

“Oh, you can tell?”

“Because it’s so lame,” Gilbert teased, smirking as he fired off a sassy remark. What happened to the respectful tone he’d taken with Oscar?

“Okay, so what kind of event is this?” he asked, starting over. Cecilia scanned through her mental records of how Lean and Jade fall in love.

In the game, Lean and Jade have a pretty good relationship from the start. Not only were they classmates, but they had also both been commoners originally, so they shared many values and philosophies. It really was inevitable that they would grow closer.

But this very intimacy invites teasing from their classmates. Unable to handle the embarrassment, Lean distances herself from Jade. That’s when he invites her to meet with him privately before giving her that notebook.

“Do you want to make a secret all our own?”

Jade whispers that to her, lips parted in a smile. For the first time, Lean sees him as more than a friend. After that, they start writing secret letters to each other in the notebook.

“Jade’s route is heavy on mystery elements, so that notebook comes in handy there!”

“Hmm.”

“Gil, you don’t seem very interested.”

“I mean, I don’t care all that much about other people’s love lives to begin with,” he admitted.

Gilbert Sylvie was the enemy of all fans of the dating sim genre.

But despite that, he still cared enough to listen to her talk about it, meaning he was doing this entirely for her sake. She couldn’t thank him enough.

After chatting happily for a little while longer, Lean and Jade went their separate ways.

Cecilia emerged from the shadows, a spellbound look on her flushed face. “Ah, I got to see something wonderful. Let’s start by throwing everything into helping them get together!”

It didn’t matter who gave Lean their Sacred Artifact as long as she had one, which would make Cecilia safe for the time being. That was her most pressing goal right now.

“We’re about to go on the school camping trip! I’ve gotta do something to make sure that event succeeds!” she enthused, all worked up. Then she noticed a piece of paper where Lean and Jade had just been. She walked over and picked it up. It was a scrap that had been torn from their notebook.

“What’s THIS?!” she cried, squeaking out the last word.

“What did you find?”

“Gil! Don’t come over here!”

“What?”

“Just don’t!”

Holding out a hand to stop him from walking over, Cecilia scanned the contents.

 

I wrap my arms around his back, savoring the feel of him.

His heart is beating so fast. That alone makes me so happy I could cry.

“Why are you crying?” he asks. Only then do I realize that I have started to weep.

He’s so adorable, he makes me feel crazy—like my heart is filled with so many emotions it’s about to burst open.

For the very first time, I recognize that this is love.

I’m in love with another boy.

An exquisite feeling of guilt surges up inside me. But I can no longer stop myself from feeling the way I do about him.

I press him down, tracing his jawline with my thumb.

Then his lips—

 

“Cecilia?”

“Waaaauuugghhhh! Don’t come up behind me!”

She’d found a fanfic. Not only that but one that belonged to a certain genre starting with a B and ending with an L.

Not only that, but it was so dirty that it almost qualified as explicit content!

Shaking her head furiously, Cecilia hid the scrap of notebook paper behind her. “You’re not ready for this!”

“I don’t understand…”

“You don’t need to! Don’t enter this hell! Once you’re in it, you’re in it for life!”

If you asked Cecilia in her past life, as Hiyono, if she were a BL fangirl, her answer would be a resounding no. She simply enjoyed all romance stories, BL included. She had neither prejudice nor preference.

Although she’d just mentioned BL hell, that was just a term she’d picked up from a friend of hers who could find romance between men in any anime series, manga, or book she consumed. Her friend had been a BL fangirl through and through—so utterly corrupted that she had been able to concoct M/M pairings even in dating sims where the point was to play a girl dating men. She could even find gay pairings in inanimate objects.

Bright and full of energy, she’d been true to her own desires and a ton of fun to be around.

“But why would this be here…?”

The wind must have blown out a scrap from the notebook. How very negligent. This was a toxic substance that required careful handling.

So there are girls who like BL in this world, too…

What an unlucky girl to be born into the world of a girl’s dating sim of all things.

As Cecilia ruminated on the girl’s misfortune, she heard her friend’s voice in her head:

“All the guys in dating sims for girls are beautiful, so it’s easy to pair them off with one another. Oh! I want to get reborn into a dating sim world!! That way I can spend my entire life gazing at hotties!!”

“Perhaps she’s not so unlucky after all.” Cecilia snorted before she realized it, caught up in the memory of her friend’s voice.

“Hiyono! Read my latest fic!”

She loved creating. On top of drawing and writing fan fiction, she even went so far as to make her own original games.

“Come on. Your fics are good, Ichika, but why do you make them all BL? At least write a guy-girl pairing for once if it’s for a dating sim!”

She was cheerful and lived life to the fullest. I loved her.

I couldn’t quite get on board with the full depth and breadth of her interests, but as a reader, I still enjoyed her creations.

“Don’t be ridiculous. BL pairings shine even more brightly in the world of dating sims!”

“That’s a little too advanced for me. I’m not sure I get it.”

“Forbidden love scorned by the rest of the world! Your crush is head over heels for the heroine! But the heroine is head over heels for you! The jealousy that arises from that, and the obsession that follows! And then—love!”

“Why does it turn into love there?”

“If they hate each other, that’s already love! Enemies to lovers means that once they’re enemies, they’re practically dating!”

“Uh—Wha…? Can you speak in a language normies can understand?”

While the way her mind worked sometimes overwhelmed me, we got along oddly well and were always hanging out together.

Even though we were headed for different colleges after graduation.

Even though she was going to move away.

Despite all that, we were inseparable. We promised each other that we would be friends forever, even after graduating high school and starting a new chapter of our lives.

Yes, we were together even then.

“Hiyono, you’re going to see this movie, right?”

“Holy Maiden 3?”

“Yup! It’s so exciting to see a dating sim for girls get a movie adaptation!” she shouted, jumping up and down.

“That doesn’t happen all that often, huh? Even though a lot of them get made into anime series.”

“Exactly! And I really love the director, so I have high hopes for this one!”

“You’re really into them, right, Ichika?”

“Someday, I want us to work together!” she cried, eyes sparkling as she talked about her dreams for the future.

She was so bright it was blinding; I had to squint a little against the glare. “Wow. So you’ve already got your sights set on something.”

“Hee-hee. Oh, so anyway, do you want to see it with me?”

“Sure. When?”

“After school today!”

And then the movie theater caught on fire.

Ichika was desperately trying to carry out the person next to her, who had fallen unconscious.

“Ichika! We can’t stay here!”

“No! I can’t just leave her here! You go out first, and I’ll follow!”

“But—”

“If you don’t hurry, you’ll pass out, too!”

“I can’t leave you, Ichika!”

I wasn’t as nice as her. If I were to weigh my own life against a complete stranger’s, I couldn’t place them above myself.

But I couldn’t leave Ichika. She and I had promised to be friends forever.

I grabbed hold of the unconscious woman’s other side.

Petrifying heat swept my cheeks, and burning flames licked at us mercilessly.

“Hurry, we have to get out!”

But the exit she pointed to was already engulfed in a blaze.

My skirt caught fire, so I slapped at the flames desperately. Then the sleeve on that arm also caught fire.

“Ichika!” I cried beseechingly, but when I turned to look, she was lying unconscious on the floor.

“Ichika! Ichika! ICHIKA!”

I shouted her name frantically, but she wouldn’t answer me.

Her lungs were full of smoke.

Finally, my consciousness went black, too, and I plunged into the abyss.

 

“AHHHHHH!”

Cecilia shot up in bed with a scream. Beads of sweat rolled from her forehead down her cheeks, landing on her hands.

She’d had a dream. A truly horrendous dream.

A burning, tragic, and heartrending nightmare.

“But what was I dreaming about…?”

Only the bitterness remained as the rest of the vision faded away. She’d forgotten it.

“It was probably the same thing as always…”

A recurring nightmare had plagued her ever since recovering memories of her past life. Though she could never quite remember its contents, it was easy to deduce it wasn’t pleasant, because she always woke up from it drenched in sweat, pain lancing through her heart.

She theorized that this repeating nighttime vision must have been Hiyono’s last moments.

That, in turn, meant that the pain in her heart had to be regret. In those dreams, perhaps she remembered Hiyono’s frustration at being robbed of a full, long life.

“But I’ve gotten a second chance at life and everything. This time, I’ve gotta make it a happy one! Like hell am I gonna die in the middle of it like Cecilia does in the game!”

She pressed a fist to her breast with renewed determination.

Then her eyes landed on the clock. It was eight fifteen.

“Oh crap, I’m gonna be late! And for the trip orientation meeting!”

From the next day on, Cecilia and the other second-years at the academy would be heading into the woods for an extended outdoor education trip. Today was the orientation.

Quick as a flash, she transformed into he, grabbed her schoolbag, and flew out of the dorms.

The school field trip.

This was one of the academy’s major events. During the trip, the students would stay at lodges in the mountains and highlands for a few days. There, they would learn the joys and struggles of communal living, developing outdoor skills like tent pitching, campfire starting, and orienteering.

 

Why…?

Amid the clean, fresh air and the verdant trees and nature, Cecilia was trembling with anxiety.

Why is this happening to me…?

In her right hand, she clutched a note that read “3,” while her left hand was clenched in a fist. Most of the boys in front of her were whooping with joy. A few looked dejected as well, though Cecilia’s predicament was on a whole different level compared to theirs.

And next to her…

“So you’re my roommate, huh? Well, I suppose that’s better than living with a complete stranger,” remarked Oscar, who was also holding a paper marked “3.”

Let’s rewind to a few hours earlier.

Cecilia and the other Vleugel Academy second-years had ridden for three hours in horse-drawn carriages until they’d arrived at a high, open plain. Their destination, of course, was the academy’s outdoor campus. They would be staying in one big lodge, just like in the dorms. But it came with a catch.

Normally, each student would receive a single room in the lodge, but there were a few more male students than there were rooms. This wasn’t a mistake on the academy’s part; it was deliberately designed so that some of the male students would end up rooming together.

As a girl dressed as a boy, Cecilia would obviously be exposing herself to certain dangers if she were to share a room with another person. But she’d underestimated the chance of that happening, reckoning that only a very small number of the boys would have to share. She wouldn’t get picked.

But when they’d drawn lots to determine dorm assignments, she’d pulled none other than the exact same number as Oscar.

And why is it him, of all people?!

Face tight with tension, she unconsciously crushed the note in her fist.

Someone tapped on her shoulder, and she turned around to find her classmate Jade, looking on with concern. “Cecil, are you okay? You don’t look so good…”

“Jade…”

“Are you nervous because you’re going to room with the prince?”

“Uh, sure,” she replied, nodding vaguely, her face pale.

Ever kind and considerate, Jade patted her back as he whispered, “Do you want to trade with me, then?”

“Really?!” she cried, her head popping up. Jade should have a single. It would be a lifesaver if he was willing to trade.

Jade smiled, his eyes crinkling up. “Yeah. I have some things I’d like to talk to him about anyway.”

His angelic, puppy-dog smile was almost blinding. She thanked all the gods, including her newest one, Jade.

“Then pl— Oh, wait!”

She interrupted herself, realizing she couldn’t trade at this stage.

Lean and Jade were going to have a romantic event here that absolutely could not be skipped. And for that to happen, it was vital that Jade have a single.

The boys draw lots to decide room assignments in the game, too, and Lean and Jade’s trust points determine whether he draws a double or a single. Without enough affection points, Jade would get a double, eliminating any chances of a romantic event.

Remembering that, Cecilia shook her head. She had decided to attend this school trip so she could watch over Lean and Jade’s budding relationship from close behind. She couldn’t afford to get in their way. “Never mind, I’m okay!”

“But…”

“I like Oscar, so I’m really fine with it!”

After an awkward pause, Jade replied, “I see.” Then he nodded. “Let me know if you change your mind.”

She hadn’t interacted much with this classmate of hers up until now, but true to the game, Jade was a really good guy. She couldn’t help but pray with all her might that he and Lean would fall in love soon.

“Guess I can’t worm my way out of this one. I’ll just have to figure something out myself,” she sighed, giving up on the idea. In life, where there’s a will, there’s a way.

While the lodge featured large public baths where most students would bathe, she’d also read that each room came equipped with its own shower. Plus, it wasn’t like she and Oscar would be sleeping in the same bed. She should be able to keep His Obtuseness fooled for a night or two.

Heart full of optimism, she entered their shared dorm.

And found herself aghast.

Uh, this is a lot more cramped than I expected.

The lodgings back at the elite Vleugel Academy were fairly large. In addition to a bedroom, they came with two more rooms. One was a simple kitchen stocked with cookware, though most students wouldn’t have any use for it. The other held a desk, a closet, and even a hand-crank telephone for emergencies.

But the dorms in this lodge looked more like the tiny Japanese hotel rooms from her past life. Save for a bunk bed replacing the standard hotel single bed, they were virtually identical.

Not only was it small, but it was also limited to a single living space, and the furniture consisted solely of a desk and two chairs. The closet they would presumably share was barely big enough to fit Cecilia herself. Incidentally, closets in the Vleugel Academy apartments were roomy enough for three or four bionic robot cats to inhabit.

“Y-yikes,” she said.

Relaxing here would be even harder than she’d anticipated. They would be out of the room all day doing outdoor activities and would only come back to sleep, so it wasn’t exactly unreasonable, but the diminutiveness of the space still concerned her.

Being trapped with him all the time in this shoebox meant she could never take off her wig. Or her binder. “And it gets so sweaty and tight…”

“Did you say something?” Oscar asked, turning back to her with the key in his hand.

“Nothing at all!” she chirped, shooting up with her spine ramrod straight.

Fortunately, each bunk had curtains along the perimeter that could be drawn for privacy once in bed. That at least meant she’d only be bothered by the wig until bedtime, which was one saving grace. Perhaps the only one.

Well, I’ll figure out all the little details later. The more important thing is getting Jade and Lean together! she thought with determination, steeling her resolve.

Dearest sister,

How’s camping? Are you having fun?

You’re so wild and scatterbrained that I do find myself worried about the idea of you set free in nature.

You’re not causing anyone any trouble, are you?

Or doing anything dumb?

If you end up roommates with anyone (worst-case scenario being the prince) and your cover is in danger of getting blown, contact me at once.

I won’t let anyone stop me from coming to your aid.

Gilbert

 

“Is my little brother psychic?”

“Cecil, did you say something?” asked Oscar from behind her.

“N-nope, nothing!” she replied, hiding the letter. Cecilia had discovered it tucked away in her bag when she’d unpacked her things. She had no idea when he’d slipped it in there, and as she unfolded it, a little half smile came to her lips.

Gilbert had been vehemently opposed to Cecilia attending the school camping trip from the very beginning. Vleugel Academy’s outdoor education program was entirely optional, so not every student attended. The communal living aspect made it especially dangerous for Cecilia, so she initially hadn’t planned on going. But since Lean and Jade had gotten so close all of a sudden, she’d decided to tag along to observe their progress.

Gilbert tried to dissuade her up until the moment she boarded the carriage, reminding her that the potential pitfalls far outweighed any benefits. Slipping that letter into her bag was his final way of protesting her decision.

Gil really has such a soft spot for his big sister.

Although he’d voiced his objections loud and clear, and in a way that was not exactly endearing at that, his love and concern for her still showed through in his overall message. From a perverse angle, it was almost impressive that the Cecilia of the game could bring herself to mistreat such an adorable creature.

But if I write him now, he’ll worry again. I have to make it through this fix I’m in on my own!

 

“Cecilia, you’re amazing for managing to conceal your secret and not letting the prince suspect a thing. And all while sharing a room with him! My opinion of you has totally changed!”

 

Cecilia grinned to herself as she fantasized about how Gilbert would react once she returned triumphant from the trip after navigating this sticky situation.

That’s because you only ever see me at my most helpless and unreliable! Now’s my chance to restore my image!

Cecilia nodded, caught up in a train of thought that would have undoubtedly made Gilbert blow a gasket were he there in the flesh.

There was no longer anyone who could stop her.

“Hey. Are you done unpacking?” Oscar asked.

“Oh—yeah,” Cecilia replied, pasting on a friendly smile. Oscar got angry if she spoke to him too politely, so she was trying to use more casual language like she would with a friend, but it still felt a little stiff.

Apparently, he’d also demanded that Gilbert—who spoke to him in unfailingly formal and polite tones—be more casual with him as well. But Gilbert had stubbornly refused: “I certainly will not.”

“We have to go get lunch ready now. Let’s go.”

“Okay,” Cecilia said, following Oscar out of the room.

 

Lean and Jade’s event at the school camping trip hinges entirely on their exchange diary.

Though it has been a while since they’d started the diary, Lean still feels as much hesitation as ever about acting congenially with Jade face-to-face.

She longs to grow close to him. But the fear of incurring further bullying from her classmates, coupled with the fear that Jade would dislike her if he got to know her, keeps her at bay. All that is on her mind when Jade writes, “Let’s sneak out of the lodge tonight,” in their exchange diary.

Together, they slip away and spend a romantic evening chatting and stargazing. Jade is unexpectedly informed about astronomy and entertains her with stories of other countries’ myths about the constellations.

These two friends are close enough to be almost no different than lovers. As they while away the hours, occasionally one or both of them blushes.

That’s when a scream erupts from the lodge, spoiling the intimate mood. They dash over to the lodge, only to find it under assault from Obstructions—a possessed classmate and aggressive feral dogs.

Hastily, they pitch in to help, but Jade gets injured in the fight while protecting Lean.

Incredibly anxious about him, Lean volunteers to nurse him back to health for the duration of their stay at the lodge. It’s here where her true feelings for the boy begin to dawn on her, and vice versa.

In other words, this event has gotta happen!

Lost in memories from her past life, Cecilia brought down a cutting knife on a potato with vigor. The cutting board shook with a loud bang. But all she’d managed to cut off was a bit of the peel.

“Tch. Got away from me, huh?” she muttered ominously, lifting her knife up again. When she swung it down as hard as she could, it cracked the cutting board and sent pieces of potato flying. She promptly dodged the wayward vegetable chunks, but one slightly grazed her cheek, and she felt a stinging pain.

“Why, you little—”

She rubbed at her cheek with her sleeve, which left it with a red smudge. Blood.

“You’ve got some nerve cutting me, you lowly root vegetable…”

She was making curry.

“I’ll make you rue the day you dared to wound me!”

Just making curry.

The next time she lifted the knife, someone grabbed her wrist, immobilizing it. She turned back to see Oscar, visibly disconcerted. “Sorry to break up your fun, but what do you think you’re doing?”

“Chopping potatoes, obviously,” she answered after a pause.

“So not playing around?”

“Yes, not playing around.”

The next thing she knew, Oscar had confiscated her knife and cutting board.

“Hey, those are mine!” she protested.

“Maybe try looking around you!” he snapped. When she did, she saw the other students gawking at her in fear. Even the usual giggly, squealing bunch of girls were all pale-faced.

“Huh? But why?”

“Why? You were standing there with a truly terrifying scowl plastered across your face while muttering to a potato! That’s enough to scare anyone!”

“I guess they heard me talking to myself…”

“You talk to yourself that way?” Oscar sighed. “You’re bad at cooking, aren’t you? Despite your reputation for good grades and athletic abilities.”

“Ah-ha-ha… Yeah, cooking’s the only thing I just can’t manage…,” she admitted.

Hiyono also hadn’t been much of a chef. While she wasn’t proud of it, she’d once tried to prepare a meal for her mother—and had gotten banned from the kitchen for the rest of her days. It wasn’t that she didn’t care about cooking or couldn’t judge taste. She was simply uncoordinated—all thumbs, pretty much.

Even as Cecilia, she’d once asked the chef to let her make a meal for Gilbert and her parents. But her mother had fainted straight away once she’d tried the food, her father had bolted for the toilet, and though Gilbert had cleaned his plate, he’d been laid up in bed all the next day.

She’d felt awful about it, recognizing that she’d really done something terrible. And she hadn’t done any cooking at all ever since.

“But I mean, I can probably handle chopping potatoes…”

“You’ll ruin the knife or the cutting board before you finish,” insisted Oscar, not looking like he planned to give her back either item. “And how did you get hurt here anyway?”

When Oscar brushed a finger along her cheek, a tingling pain shot through it, causing her to wince. “Ouch!”

“That hurt?”

“Kinda…”

She’d felt considerable discomfort when he’d brushed her cheek. A splinter must have gotten lodged in there.

A vein throbbing in his temple, Oscar grabbed Cecilia’s wrist in a viselike grip. “Come on, let’s go.”

As Oscar dragged her along, she protested, “Huh? Go where?”

“The first aid tent,” he spat back, a sour look on his face.

 

“Here, look up. I’ll disinfect the wound. Also, I think you have a splinter, so I’m going to take it out,” announced Oscar, facing Cecilia in the empty first aid tent. With practiced motions, he took out tweezers, antiseptic, and gauze from the first aid kit and prepared to administer treatment.

Cecilia was frightened. “Y-you can do first aid?”

“I’ve got more knowledge and experience with it than you, I bet. Here, let me see,” he ordered, grabbing her chin, tweezers in hand. As he tipped her head up to get a better look at the wound, Cecilia was completely flustered internally. It was the first time a boy had taken her chin and tilted her head up. At first glimpse, it looked like they were about to kiss.

“Hey—”

“Don’t move,” he implored as the tip of the tweezers touched her cheek. She wanted to pull back from the cold sensation, but Oscar wrapped a hand around the back of her neck this time, holding her in place. “I told you not to move.”

“Sorry, it’s just cold.”

A serious expression on his face, Oscar fiddled with the tweezers over and over. The splinter seemed to be playing hard to get. After a dozen tries, she felt some discomfort and a dull pain in her cheek. “Ngh!”

“Stay still. I’m getting it out now.”

A stinging pain followed the sensation of something being pulled from her cheek.

“There, I got it,” Oscar announced, holding up a tiny splinter proudly.

“Thanks. You’ve got a steady hand, huh?” Cecilia replied.

“Steadier than yours,” he retorted.

He was going to disinfect it next. Releasing her neck, he started readying a round cotton ball and antiseptic. “Okay. Look at me.”

“Go ahead,” she replied, facing him as directed. While she hated the sting of antiseptic, she knew she had to just accept her fate.

But even though she’d steeled herself for it, Oscar froze with a disinfectant-soaked cotton ball in hand. For several moments, he simply stared at her face.

“Uhhh…,” she mumbled, making an impatient noise. She had no idea why he was staring. What happened to cleaning the wound? “Are you not gonna…?”

“You’re a guy, right?” Oscar blurted out, and Cecilia’s heart leaped into her throat.

“H-heck yeah! I’m all man!” she cried, so shaken that her phrasing sounded unnatural, especially for her.

“Sure, yeah… Has anyone ever told you that you’ve got a girlie face?”

“I—I guess…,” she replied. Of course, she couldn’t claim that it wasn’t a girlie face—it was a girl’s face.

“It’s because your eyelashes are long, and you don’t have a strong jawline. Doesn’t look like it’s only because you don’t work out enough. Sad, really,” Oscar noted. It didn’t sound like he suspected anything—he just pitied Cecil for his girlie mug.

He applied more antiseptic to the cotton ball and swabbed it along her cheek. A distinctive alcoholic scent wafted into the air, burning her nostrils. The liquid smarted on her skin, and pain lanced through that side of her face. “Ouch…”

“Little injuries like this do tend to hurt.”

“Yeah, like when you get a paper cut.”

“I hate that, too…,” he admitted with a chuckle. Cecilia felt a little touched that she and Oscar were having a normal conversation.

Just like we’re friends!

He could be a bit domineering and ridiculous, but this humanizing moment made her think he might actually be a regular person.

“I didn’t expect you to be so well versed in first aid. I thought princes wouldn’t know how,” she admitted.

“It’s because I’ve been instructed in swordplay since I was young. That’s when I learned how to do simple first aid and resuscitation. I’ve actually ended up using those skills a lot,” he explained.

“Huh. Do you find your training pretty difficult?”

“Mmm…it’s normal.”

“Normal?”

“It’s like second nature to me,” he said curtly, tossing the cotton ball in the trash.

“Like second nature,” huh? Right, Oscar’s Sacred Artifact is a sword. I guess that’s why.

The Sacred Artifacts given to the knights were imbued with all sorts of powers. The full array of specialty offensive powers that could manifest included increased strength, basic clairvoyance, and healing of any wound, as well as Oscar’s ability to slice through anything.

These powers stayed with the knights even if they gave their Sacred Artifact to a Holy Maiden candidate, so Gilbert—who’d given his to Cecilia—now had a power he could use if he wanted.

“Hmm?” she murmured, sensing someone close by. It was only for a moment, but she felt someone’s piercing gaze on her from behind. But when she looked all around, no one was there. It was nothing.

“What’s wrong?” Oscar asked.

“Nothing; just now I kinda…” She trailed off vaguely. There wasn’t anyone or anything there, so there was no point calling attention to it.

I guess it was just my imagination?

The treatment apparently still underway, Oscar produced some medical tape from inside the first aid kit. As he cut it into strips the size of the wound, he asked falteringly, “How is…Cecilia?”

“Huh? O-oh, yeah. She’s fine.”

“Okay. That’s good, then,” Oscar replied, using the tape to cover the wound with gauze, presumably so dirt couldn’t get in.

“Umm, why do you want to see Cecilia?” she asked, lulled by the easy atmosphere between them into asking the one thing she’d wanted to know for a while now.

“Why?”

In the game, Oscar wasn’t this attached to Cecilia. Quite the opposite—forget being near her; he didn’t want to even look at her. So why, then, did this Oscar want to see her and seem worried about how she was doing?

Maybe he’s worried because without her around, he doesn’t know what she’s going to get up to?

People did fear invisible enemies—that much was true. Perhaps he felt uneasy, wondering if Cecilia was going to drive a wedge between him and Lean.

“I don’t think Cecilia’s going to get in your way. You’ll never have to see her again if you don’t want to!” she said.

“Never see her again? Did she say that?” he asked miserably, his voice so low it could sink into the ground. She’d said that as Cecilia with the best of intentions, but it evidently displeased him considerably.

“Umm…”

“Have I done something to her?”

“Huh?”

“I met her twelve years ago. Have I done something to hurt her feelings in that time? Is that why she’s avoiding me?” Oscar asked, his gaze downcast and somewhat lonesome.

His expression surprised her so much that she flinched.

“I didn’t mean to make her dislike me. I don’t remember doing anything to upset her. So if you must know, one reason I’d like to meet her face-to-face is to ask her about that. And the other…”

“The other?”

“Is that I’d like to rebuild our relationship, if we can.”

“What?!” she yelped, completely caught off guard. She could never have imagined he’d say that.

Rebuild our relationship? Does he mean that he wants us to be on good terms so he can marry Lean? He wants us to end our engagement amicably?

True; from Oscar’s perspective, Cecilia’s status as a daughter of House Sylvie posed a problem. He wanted to dissolve his engagement with her, but from a political standpoint, he couldn’t sow discord with the Sylvies. Her parents were pleased with the match and might be distraught once they learned he’d called off the engagement only to choose a girl from a baron’s house.

Maybe he wants to get me on his side to keep my parents in check!

From that angle, his obsession with Cecilia made more sense.

“S-so you don’t hate her?” she asked nervously.

“How would I hate someone I haven’t seen in twelve years? It’s more like—”

“I see!” she interjected brightly, cutting Oscar off mid-sentence. “Got it! I understand now!”

Grinning widely, she clapped Oscar’s shoulder firmly.

He didn’t hate Cecilia. That was incomparably good news.

Now I might be able to escape my ruinous fate!

At the very least, he was no longer the man who wanted her dead.

She went on cheerfully, “Don’t worry at all! Cecilia doesn’t hate you! There’s just a reason why she can’t see anyone at the moment!”

“What do you mean? What reason?”

“It’s…a secret?”

“Hey,” Oscar growled, his voice lowering by another octave. However, his prickly aura had disappeared now that he’d revealed he didn’t hate her.

“It’s fine! You’ll be able to meet with her when the time is right!” she crowed, pressing a fist to her chest.

When he broke off the engagement, she’d pop in to wish him well. She was, after all, brimming with happiness for him. He was a man in love.

Now I kinda want to cheer Oscar on!

Lean was on Jade’s route right now, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t switch to Oscar. Depending on her efforts, his route was still very much in the cards for her.

“Oscar! You can do it! I’ll support you any way I can!” she cried, clasping his hand in hers.

“Wha—?”

“Thanks! I’m so glad we talked!” she enthused, giving his hand a squeeze.

Just then, some female students’ voices floated over. “Prince Cecil! Where are you?”

“Oh, do you need me? All right! I’m coming!” she shouted back, dropping his hand and leaping to her feet. She beamed her most radiant smile yet at him. “Let’s both do our best, Oscar!”

She trotted out of the tent.

 

Oscar was left all alone in the first aid tent, wearing a dazed look with his cheeks flushed red.

“What’s with that guy…?”

Even though there was no one around to see, he brought a hand up over his mouth, hiding his face.

“Why do my cheeks feel hot…?”

“I feel like someone’s watching me…,” Cecilia said, lying on her back and staring up at the ceiling from the top bunk she’d been assigned. Her thoughts were racing.

Ever since she and Oscar had gone to the first aid tent, she’d kept sensing someone’s eyes on her. Initially, she’d dismissed it as her imagination, but feeling the penetrating gaze again at dinnertime was enough to convince her that someone was observing her.

“Who is it…?”

There had been too many people at dinner, so it had been impossible to pinpoint who it was. She sat up and looked down at her roommate, who was getting ready to head for the communal baths. “Hey, Oscar?”

“What?” he replied, turning back with a dark look. Maybe he didn’t want anyone talking to him right now.

Paying him no mind, she continued. “I kinda feel like someone’s watching me…”

“Well, it isn’t me!” he shouted immediately. Cecilia was stunned. Why did it look like he was blushing?

“I know,” she replied.

“O-okay…,” he snapped, averting his gaze and stuffing his towel violently into his bag.

“Did you notice anyone staring at me? Especially at dinner. You were sitting next to me, right?”

“No, I didn’t…”

“Huh, okay.”

Maybe it’s the Killer targeting me?

No one could establish the Killer’s motive, but it was clear that they were trying to kill the potential Holy Maidens.

While the Killer hadn’t yet claimed their first victim in this world, she couldn’t rule out the possibility that after missing their chance to murder the azalea Holy Maiden, they’d seen through her cross-dressing disguise immediately and had come to snuff out her life.

There’s no event like that in the game, but everything up until now has gone off the rails, so I can’t be certain…

Maybe the third potential Holy Maiden had already been slain, and the papers just hadn’t reported on it.

Now a little freaked out, Cecilia climbed down the stairs and went over to Oscar. He didn’t turn around but said, “Anyway, aren’t you gonna take a bath? If you don’t get in there now, the communal baths will fill up.”

“Oscar, you’re actually pretty in touch with commoners,” she commented.

“Huh?” he blurted out, looking back with a confused expression.

“I thought princes wouldn’t go to communal baths,” she explained.

And in the game, Oscar doesn’t even go on the school camping trip in the first place.

“When would I ever have the chance except for right now?” he countered.

“Well, I guess that’s true, since we’re all nobility.”

Few in aristocratic society learned about outdoor skills. Cooking, cleanup, communal bathing—all that was for the peasantry.

Although I personally love bathing with everyone in big, spacious baths.

But considering her current situation, that would be impossible. “I have to pass! I’m gonna use the shower in the room!”

“All right.”

“Oh, wait, did you want us to go use the baths together?” she asked. Maybe Oscar was the type to enjoy naked bonding. She meant nothing else by it, but he went into a coughing fit as soon as he heard her.

“N-n-no! Of course not!”

“You don’t have to reject it so strongly…”

“First of all, I have Cecilia! I’m not gonna… Not for you…,” he babbled.

Why is this becoming about me personally?

He was now as red as a lobster and practically trembling. She didn’t really understand what he was even getting at.

“I’m gonna go now…,” he muttered, looking worn down. Cecilia nodded.

Just then, an unnatural bang sounded outside the window.

“What was that?!” she yelped, whirling around only to lock eyes with a black figure staring at her. They glared at Cecilia with bloodshot eyes.

“AAAAHHHHHH!” she shrieked, the blood draining from her face as she launched herself at Oscar, grabbing him around the waist in a tackle.

“Wha—?”

The force of her strike knocked his head back against the door. A sickening crack rang out in the room.

“Hey! What the hell, Cecil?!”

“O-Oscar! Th-there was someone peeping into the room just now!” she stammered, pointing at the window, still clutching his waist.

“What? Where? No one’s there.”

“Huh?”

Fearfully, she turned to glance back. Just as Oscar said, no one was there. “But… Wait, what? They’re gone?”

“And this is the third floor anyway. How would anyone even climb up?” he pointed out.

Cecilia threw open the window and looked out. It was difficult to make out anything in the darkness, but from what she could see, no one was there.

“But I saw it…,” she insisted in a forlorn voice. Oscar must have taken pity on her because he came out to inspect the area outside the window, too. Then he started.

“Hey, Cecil.”

“What?”

“No matter how ridiculous you are, you haven’t been leaving and entering through the window, right?”

“Of course not.”

“Check this out,” Oscar noted, pointing to the ledge below the window.

“What in the…?”

There was an unbelievably clear set of footprints.

Oh no… I can’t sleep…

Eyes shut tight, Cecilia tossed and turned atop the bunk bed in her darkened room. She couldn’t stop thinking about those footprints. Whenever she remembered the intense gaze of the person outside the window, she shivered.

I have to get some rest, though…

She squeezed her eyes shut even tighter. But sleep wouldn’t come.

“You okay?”

A voice suddenly floated up from below, and Cecilia jumped. It was Oscar, who should have been fast asleep. “Can’t sleep?”

“Kinda…,” she answered, downplaying the truth.

“I didn’t expect you to be such a scaredy-cat.”

“Scaredy-cat…?”

“Considering how you’re always rattling off those embarrassing lines so smoothly, I’d have thought you’d have more guts than this,” Oscar teased, referring to when Cecil spoke to female students.

Cecilia pulled the covers up to her nose. “That’s me working to sound manly, and it’s not easy for me, either…”

“That’s supposed to be manly?”

“Isn’t it?”

“……”

Oscar’s silence was pointed, his reaction similar to Gil’s earlier. Evidently, there was a big gap between what she thought was manly and what they considered manly.

“So you’re telling me you force yourself to act that way toward the girls?”

“I’m not forcing myself. I like girls! But I guess it’s true that it gets exhausting.”

“I guess you’ve suffered in your own way with that feminine face of yours…,” Oscar acknowledged.

At some point, her dread had dissipated. Their conversation must have diverted it. But she hadn’t noticed and so chatted happily with him about silly things for a while longer. As the conversation went on, Oscar’s voice began to grow tired.

“Oscar, are you sleepy?”

“Mmm,” he mumbled. She could tell he was rubbing his eyes from the rustling of the covers.

Cecilia didn’t want him to sleep, personally, but he needed to. “Sorry for keeping you up. Let’s go to sleep.”

“…’m still okay,” he protested.

“Then why do you sound like you could fall asleep at any minute?” she teased wryly, then added, “Good night.”

Oscar bade good night to her, too.

The room fell into silence, only for the same terror to come creeping back up from her toes.

Who was the Killer? Why hadn’t they murdered the azalea Holy Maiden this time around? Who was peering in at her from the window?

What if they really are targeting me?

Once it grew quiet, doubt filled her mind once again. Up until now, she’d thought things would somehow work out in the end. In fact, since no one had gotten killed, she’d happily assumed that she and Lean would also remain unharmed. But now that it had come to this, she realized how naive that train of thought had been. No wonder Gil had gotten mad at her.

The chills of fright running down her spine were keeping her wide awake. At this rate, she was going to pull an unintentional, unwanted all-nighter.

“Cecil,” came a voice from below.

Cecilia’s eyes shot open. “Oscar, you’re still up?”

“If you’re still scared, do you want to sleep down here with me?” he asked innocently.

“Huh?” she squeaked, out of shock. Naturally, she hadn’t anticipated that option.

“You don’t have to if you don’t want to…”

“Umm…,” she answered, considering his offer. The mattresses in the bunk beds weren’t too narrow for two people to sleep on. She would actually have to stretch out both arms all the way to just barely touch both sides of the bed. It wouldn’t exactly be roomy, but they wouldn’t be jammed together, either.

The issue was that she had to drift off with her wig on, but since not being able to sleep was a more pressing concern, she didn’t linger on that detail.

It would be improper for an unmarried boy and girl to share a bed, but right now she was Cecil, a man. Two boys could share a bed without a problem. Probably…

I do think I might be able to sleep if I’m with someone…

Plucking up her courage, she said, “Okay then, can I?”

“Sure.”

“It’s really okay?”

“Stop questioning it,” he insisted dryly.

After fixing her wig, she grabbed her blanket and pillow and went down the ladder. When she pulled back the curtain and looked inside the bottom bunk, she saw that Oscar had already moved over closer to the wall for her. This guy actually said yes was written all over his face. Still, he wasn’t acting displeased, which was very considerate of him.

“Excuse me,” she said, crawling in. The bed was still a little warm from Oscar’s body heat, so once she added the blanket she’d brought down, it was nice and toasty.

So warm…

She felt a little touched. “Thanks, Oscar.”

“Sure. I don’t blame you after what happened,” he responded. He was sticking as close to the wall as possible.

“You can wake me up if I snore too loud.”

“You snore?”

She giggled. “Whenever I sneak into Gil’s bed, he always kicks me out because of it.”

“You two sure are close,” Oscar replied, sounding a bit put off.

“That’s because we’ve known each other since we were young.”

“So you’re like brothers?”

“Yup. Like brothers…siblings…”

As they kept on rambling about everything and nothing, she suddenly started to feel hazy. She was getting sleepy. “Oscar…I’m…”

“Go to sleep.”

“Okay,” she answered, lying with her back to him and shutting her eyes. She was asleep in seconds.

 

“What the…? He doesn’t snore at all,” Oscar whispered after making sure Cecil was unconscious. The other boy had gone out like a light so quickly it made Oscar suspect he’d been lying about being unable to drift off.

He snoozed soundly, a look of peace on his face.

Sneaking close, Oscar brushed aside a lock of hair to look at Cecil’s face. That was a girl’s face through and through. Him being a boy was the real shock.

“His face really is so feminine. And he’s so thin…”

When the Obstruction had first appeared in the auditorium, Cecil had moved in such a way that one could clearly see his muscles. And yet, his body was still so slender despite that, with a waist so slim one could mistake it for a woman’s.

“What if he’s actually a girl…? No, that can’t be true, can it?”

If that were the case, he wouldn’t have crawled into another boy’s bed so nonchalantly.

“Although, I do feel like I’ve seen his face somewhere…”

Oscar scrutinized every inch of Cecil’s face but couldn’t think of anyone who fit that description.

“Nngh!” the other boy groaned in a low voice, turning over in his sleep. Perhaps he’d felt Oscar’s gaze on him. When he did, his nose brushed against Oscar’s, who had come close to examine him.

Whoa!

Oscar frantically scooted back; they’d been close enough to kiss. He plastered himself against the wall to put distance between them, his heart pounding out of his chest. When he clapped a hand over his face, it felt so flushed that he knew without looking in a mirror how red his cheeks must be.

“No, no, no! I was just surprised! He’s a guy, and I’m a guy!” he reminded himself.

He knew the name of this feeling. But if he deigned to name it, there would be no going back.

“I have Cecilia.”

His first love floated to mind. The girl in his memories had made his stomach swoop and his heart flutter, exactly as the boy before him did now.

“Dammit. I shouldn’t have let myself go there…,” he muttered, displeased with his abundantly clear train of thought.