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After letting the amateur guard go, I finally returned to Cortina’s house. When I opened the door, Finia started heading over with pattering steps to greet me.

I didn’t catch her presence and walked in. That, however, made me the victim of her unrestrained hug attack.

“Welcome back, Lady Nicole!”
“Woah!? Ah, it’s you, Finia? Yeah, I’m back.”

I was too focused on the matter of Priscilla, so that hug took me by complete surprise and I leaked a weird voice. Regardless of how distracted I was, I couldn’t believe I failed to notice something like this; perhaps it was proof that my senses had dulled quite a bit.

“Ugh, this calls for some training, I suppose.”
“Lady Nicole, is there a need to train even more than you already do?”

She promptly took the bag from my hands and arranged the shoes I took off and left as is. Following that, she positioned herself behind me; she was a flawless lady attendant in just about every way… setting aside that sudden hug from before.

“Quite unlike that joke of a spy.”
“Huh? Did you say anything?”
“No, just talking to myself.”

She even prepared a towel for me on rainy days, so there was really nothing else I could wish of her.

Leaving that aside, the problem was that I have grown dull. I raised my hand and pinched my upper arm. I couldn’t feel any muscle there.

“Finia, do I lack training, after all?”
“Lady Nicole, if you train even harder than you do now, you would really become like chicken bones, you know?”
“I do have quite a bit of fat on me.”
“It’s too low. I want you to become more squishy. It’s no fun this way.”
“I’m not sure about your statement there…”

Lately, Finia had become able to clearly express her desires. She had become more touchy with me too. Before, it felt like she was putting a little distance in our relationship, so this was a desirable outcome.

She also seemed to be growing more cheerful. Perhaps knowing about Reid’s reincarnation had eased the burden on her.

“Also, I have prepared the luggage over here…”
“Luggage? For?”
“For the trip the day after tomorrow. I believe you were heading to see the Cosmos Garden in the Kevin Domain.”

The domain of Earl Kevin. It was a simple rural town further north from here. Given it was a rural area, it had a lot of rural crafts and flower beds, and as it was at just the right distance from the capital, it was often used as the location for off-campus learning.

It was chosen for our current excursion too, where we were going on a field trip to study a rare flower bed in the forest.

“Now that you mentioned it…”
“I haven’t prepared a lunch box yet, but your luggage is all here. Please confirm it later.”
“Mhm, will do.”

Usually, I’d have replied with “since you prepared it, it doesn’t need any confirmation”, but she tended to a bit over the top when it came to things concerning me. There was no knowing what she put in there if I didn’t check.

I went to change in my room and then opened the rucksack that she prepared. It was a lovely, red rucksack. A little too overbearing, in fact…

At any rate, confirming the contents took priority now. There was an excursion guidebook, tissue paper, handkerchief, potpourri that served as an insect repellent, preserved foods, Kabby… and so on.

“Does she think I’m gonna plunge into some dungeon or what!? Also, raw food is prohibited!”

I ended up shouting on reflex. While I was at it, I dragged out the Carbuncle that had snuck deep inside it.

It eluded me why we’d possibly need preserved foods and restorative potions for the off-campus learning that the academy was in charge of? Things like the lifesaving flare were only used during disasters and accidents. I couldn’t imagine why we’d need them during a flower field study.

“Well, I suppose going to a remote forest demands that much? Having them on hand is better than not, I guess? Still, there’s too much luggage here. I’ll sooner collapse from its weight at this rate!”

I took out all the unnecessary stuff while grumbling to myself. It was a day trip, so I didn’t need any preserved foods as long as I had a lunchbox. I wasn’t heading for battle so recovery potions weren’t needed either. The flare gun? Nope again.

A jacket to protect from cold might come in handy so that will stay. The potpourri… stays as well since I don’t want to have bite marks on my skin.

“Huh, my skin?”

Why did I suddenly become attentive to my skin? I was about to throw it away too… but it had an unexpectedly good smell wafting from it so I hesitated.

Perhaps it used that strong flower fragrance to ward from the insects. But leaving that part aside, the fragrance itself was quite nice in itself.

“Oh well.”

I fastened it on the side of the rucksack and put it on my back as a test. Now that it was less than half of its original weight, even I could easily carry it, and it had a nice lavender scent to top it off.

The scent drifted every time I moved, so I started twirling around and enjoying the perfume.

Then, I finally noticed it.

The door to my room was slightly open and Cortina and Finia were peeking through the gap. They had warm smiles on their faces, as if they had witnessed something pleasant.

Taking the situation into account, it looks as if I just finished my preparations and started twirling around with the rucksack on my back in anticipation of the trip. Of course they’d have such pleasant expressions. Even I’d have been the same.

“Don’t peek at meeeeee!?”
“Ahaha! You are a kid after all, Nicole!”
“Cortina, I’ll smite you.”
“Kyaa, I’m so scaaared. Time to ruuun!”

Seeing me pumping my fist and resorting to the use of force, she pushed both hands up and broke into a dash. Finia ran in the opposite direction, which was quite a sound judgment on her part. Don’t go doing tactical fleeing inside the house!

Damn it, I’ll remember this, you two!