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「Tiye?」

Palra reacted to the taller, slightly tanned, tawny-haired girl who suddenly spoke up.
She had been hiding behind this girl earlier, so it’s not particularly surprising that they’re acquainted.
The girl Palra called Tiye glanced at her for a moment before turning to Ciel.

「I’m Palra’s roommate, Tietta. Nice to meet you.」
「I’m Ailneige.」
「So, mind if I join the conversation?」
「I don’t think we had much of a conversation, though.」

In response to Ciel’s reply, Tietta turned her gaze to Palra.
Palra showed a troubled look and tried to brush it off with a dry smile.
Their earlier exchange was more of a greeting than an actual conversation, so her awkward reaction was understandable.
Tietta mentioned that they’re roommates, but she’s likely from a different class as I didn’t see her during homeroom.

「I see. Then, would you mind if I start a conversation with you?」
「I don’t really mind.」
「Yay! About your dress, where’s it from?」

The difference in enthusiasm between Ciel and Tietta is striking.
While Ciel gave a passive welcome, Tietta jumped with a spark in her eyes.
I can’t quite pinpoint whether she’s interested in the actual dress or just curious about fashion trends.

「I bought it at Central.」
「So it’s order-made, then? At the very least, I’ve never seen any other with that sort of design, and it doesn’t seem to be made of ordinary materials either. Probably around B-rank in rarity?」
「Right, it should be around that.」
「It even has the kind of impressiveness you’d see in the best works of master designers. How do you even make a dress like this…」
「Tiye.」

It was a collaborative effort between Shusii and the design-oriented maids of the manor, so Tietta’s comment about it being a high-level design piece might not be exactly wrong… But she was being far too forward.
Meanwhile, Ciel looks absolutely bothered by it. From how she didn’t immediately run off, Ciel’s growth is quite notable.
That said, Palra’s intervention probably helped make it bearable.

After dragging Tietta some distance away, Palra seemed to have said something in a scolding tone.
As the two returned, Tietta had a somewhat deflated expression.

「Sorry, I got overexcited…」
「Right you did.」
「Um… can I stare at your dress?」
「As long as you’re not obstructive.」

To an outsider, Ciel’s response might have seemed a bit rude, but I’d say it’s reasonable considering how forward Tietta had been for their first meeting.
Ciel isn’t particularly angry either; she’s just disinterested.
We’ve seen worse people at the Hunter Guild anyway, and this is probably less stressful than dealing with random strangers.

As Tietta stepped back and started ogling Ciel’s dress, Palra approached Ciel.

「Sorry about that. Tiye isn’t really a bad person, you know?」
「This isn’t something you need to apologize for, is it?」
「Really? Maybe you’re right. I’m sorry.」

Ignoring Palra’s second apology, Ciel turned her gaze upward toward the spirits drifting through the air. Perhaps due to there being elf students around, there’s a good variety of spirits present.
Most of them appear to be lesser spirits with some intermediate spirits mixed in. They’re generally small in size, and honestly therapeutic to watch.

「That reminds me, Ailneige, you’re taking hunter courses, right? Are you aspiring to be a hunter?」
「I’m already one, so I’m not particularly aspiring to be one.」
「I see! So you’re already a hunter; that’s amazing. I’ve registered since we had several free days, but there was only downtown errand work available.」
「Is that so.」
「Yup. I was lucky enough to find a dismantling commission, but if not for that, I wouldn’t have had anything to do.
I don’t mind manual labor, but I’m not great at talking to strangers, you see. Have you done that kind of work before, Ailneige?」
「I haven’t.」
「I see. So you were able to do outside requests from the start. That’s amazing.」

Palra talks a lot, but her questions tend to be superficial, easy enough for Ciel to answer.
Is she social enough to know how to interact with Ciel? Does she just not ask deeper questions? Or does she simply like talking?

After a while, murmurings suddenly filled the venue.
All eyes turned in one direction, and, driven by curiosity, I checked what was going on and saw Princess Leshimiiya entering.
She wore a dark red dress with a large ribbon around her chest and a sleek, body-accentuating design. Ciel’s dress, while unconventional, featured many ornaments—as preferred by nobles—making it quite the opposite of the princess’ simpler style.

However, it still looks elegant and not cheap at all. Is it because it’s made of luxurious fabric, or is it because Princess Leshimiiya is wearing it?
Well, it’s probably both.

The princess seems to have noticed us, as she smiled our way but Ciel simply responded by closing her eyes.
Because of that, the people in our general area began whispering among themselves.
Eavesdropping on a few of the conversations, it seemed like people convinced that the princess had smiled at them.
With the princess yet to be engaged, I suppose quite a few dream of being her betrothed.

She’s beautiful after all, and she does have a pleasant personality.
But while she might seem to be a great partner, considering her position, it’s probably best to think twice; though it doesn’t seem like many are thinking that far ahead.
If anything, there are likely people eager to approach her just for the sake of her status.

At any rate, she’s in a pretty troublesome position if you ask me.

「I wanna see the princess’ dress up close too…」
「Tiye…」

I thought Tietta’s enamored gaze was directed at the princess herself, but it turned out to be aimed at her dress.
She was focused on Ailneige’s dress earlier as well, so it appears that she’s more interested in clothes than the people wearing them. In that sense, you could say she’s trustworthy—not swayed by power or status.
The exasperated Parla, meanwhile, seems to be the type who would rather stay away from those.

As I was musing over this, a robed woman of indeterminate age appeared at the front. She exuded an aura similar to that of Rhavelt, and her body was wrapped in a protective barrier.
This barrier was far slimmer than those regular sorcerers would make and appears to have high durability as well.
Not many freshmen seem to have perceived it, but those that did had their breath taken away.

「I am Katrina Lorbeim, the headmistress of this academy.
Freshmen, congratulations on your passing. I warmly welcome your enrollment. May you all find your stay in this academy worthwhile.
Now then, today’s party is meant to celebrate your arrival. While it may feel unfamiliar to some, feel free to relax and enjoy yourselves.」

With those words, she retreated to the back area. But before that, the headmistress turned to glance at Ciel.
Ciel was unresponsive as usual, but the headmistress had a satisfied look on her face for some reason.
Hmm, did she see through my barrier, or did the Princess inform her about me? While she can’t outright say that Ailneige is Cielmer, the contract should at least allow her to say we’re not to be meddled with, so it’s possible.

Either way, someone wise would probably avoid needlessly interacting with us.
And if she did, it would be after setting a venue and taking our circumstances into consideration. If not, we can simply drop out of the academy. An academy managed by someone so unwise would just be harmful to stay at.

As the headmistress disappeared, the noble children began to move about. Actually, it seems that the commoners just don’t know what to do next.
Ciel left the still frozen Palra and Tietta, and headed straight to the dining table.

And that ends this chapter! We’re welcoming two new characters this time. Tiye/Tiette, Palra’s roommate, and the headmistress Katrina Lorbeim! Though we probably won’t be seeing the principal as much, lol.

For our new girl, it looks like we have a clothes lover in our midst! The academy really is a gathering of different talents. We naturally have the princess’ entry as well, and it’s cool that she’s the one differentiated by her outfit (usually in villainess stories, it’s the mc, lol). Good job on the manor maids for making sure our girls’ dress fit the norm while also being unique, lol. Well, the party has started and out girls are locked on to the food, it seems.

Now then, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Please feel free to comment. Stay healthy, stay safe, and have a nice day~!

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