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Wondering where the loud yell came from, I turned to see the thunder sorcerer Alcrei bumping heads with Juerd. The whole venue fell into confusion, and those who were dancing stopped in their tracks.
Seizing the moment, Ciel also stopped dancing and thanked the boy before heading back to the maid upperclassman.
It’s at the far opposite of where the ruckus broke out, so it’s not a bad place to be.
It’ll be hard to know what’s happening, but it’s best to be far from trouble.

Ciel is walking around nonchalantly while the other students are focused on Alcrei and Juerd, so personally I find Ciel’s behavior extremely conspicuous.
However, objectively speaking, no one has the leeway to pay any attention to Ciel; it’s an interesting situation.

To be exact, the upperclassman maid alone is paying Ciel any attention, as she immediately offered a thirst quencher as soon as Ciel arrived.
The hint of amusement in her face is probably not just my imagination.

「What is this?」
「Fruit water. It is water mixed with the juice of fruits produced here in Ausente. It would be hard on your body to have something strong after exercise.」
「Thank you.」

Ciel accepted the glass and began drinking.
From how she phrased it, I feel like this upperclassman maid knows that we aren’t an Ausente local, but we aren’t really trying to hide that to begin with, so it’s fine.

「Your meal has been prepared over there. Will you eat it now?」
「Yes, of course.」

After finishing her fruit water, Ciel returned to the task of eating.
Naturally, Alcrei and Juerd’s voices can still be heard in the background, and all the dancing and chatting have yet to continue.
Because of this, there’s an air of strangeness around Ciel’s area.
Speaking of which, Palra is also present here close to the upperclassman maid, but she appears to be overwhelmed by the current situation and is silently watching over the commotion.

Before long, the two boys and several others were taken away by some academy staff, and the party finally resumed.
The uproar fortunately ended without any sparks flying our way. We could end this there, but I suppose I’ll inquire just to be sure.
As Ciel finished her second plate of the day, I asked if we could switch, and unlike earlier, she immediately agreed.

「Miss upperclassman, do you know anything about the uproar earlier?」
「You seemed so disinterested before; why the change of heart?」
「I’m not particularly interested, but having information or not makes a significant difference.
If I can ask someone else, it’s beneficial to do so.」

The upperclassman maid had a surprised look on her face, but since Ciel seemed genuinely disinterested and would probably never have asked, I can understand her reaction.
Honestly, I find it a bit amusing imagining what might be going through her mind right now. That said, I don’t want to come off as too suspicious to her.
After all, there’s something different about her. No, actually, she probably isn’t even human.

I don’t mean it in the sense that she could be an elf, a beastkin, or a dwarf; I mean she’s literally non-human. Hmm, that’s also a bit wrong.
Humans are humans, and she’s something in the shape of one. In other words, a puppet.
I could probably find more like her, as there seem to be several others blending into the crowd. They’re really well concealed to the point that even someone at Ciel’s level can’t differentiate them.
They’re probably as hard to perceive as my barrier.

Still, from her magic power, I don’t think she can bring any harm to Ciel. And with Ciel’s extreme interest in puppet sorcery, she’ll probably react strongly if I inform her, so I’ll keep this to myself.

We’ll probably learn more regarding this matter if we attend the Puppet Sorcery course. And if my suspicions are correct, she may be someone we can share anything and everything with.

「A commoner boy who had a lot of girls following him was being pestered by the Tweisel scion, I believe? He seemed to be offended by how the commoner stood out. By the way, would you mind if I asked a question as well?」
「As long as it’s something I can answer.」
「Could you tell me your name, my dear underclassman?」
「It’s Ailneige.」
「Uh-huh, I see. Only that?」
「Yes.」
「Then I suppose I’ll introduce myself as Iena.」

It sounds like she may have noticed our secret.
In other words, it’s possible she’s aware that two existences—Ciel and I—are sharing Ciel’s body.
It’ll be a disaster if I end up being wrong, but I shouldn’t be. At the very least, I don’t sense any intent on her part to act immediately on this information, and if she has truly realized that much, she likely won’t meddle with us so easily.

For the time being, I’ll reconsider our choice of action once we meet the Puppet Sorcery-in-charge.

「Then Ms. Iena, thank you very much for the information.」
「If such idle talk is enough, then we can chat as much as you want, my lady.」

As we finished our superficially amicable exchange, 「Ailneige」 Palra called us with a timid tone.
That reminds me—Palra was also here. Tietta, on the other hand, seems to be watching the students who have resumed dancing. Her gaze is clearly fixed more on the dancers’ clothing than on the dancers themselves.

I digress.

While wondering what might be going through Palra’s mind after overhearing our conversation, I replied:

「What is it?」
「U-um, I want to try everything, but… what was the most delicious thing to you?
I don’t think I can eat much more, but I still…」

She said, embarrassed. Is she ashamed of revealing herself as a glutton?
Is she intentionally avoiding questions about our conversation, or does she simply not understand what was going on to begin with?
I assume it must be the latter and ask Ciel, 『Which was the most delicious?』

『That meat dish tasted pretty interesting, but the most delicious one was the cake I ate last.』
「The cake I ate last was delicious.」
「I see, um…」

Hearing my response, Palra timidly tried to speak to Ms. Iena.
But before she could even finish her sentence, Ms. Iena immediately left to fetch a cake for her. I wonder how Palra would react upon learning the truth about Ms. Iena.
Then again, Ailneige’s own secret isn’t that much lighter. Not that I have any idea whether an Ausente commoner even understands what it means to be Central’s princess—well, princess-like figure.

While watching Palra thoroughly enjoy the cake she was given, I quietly switched places with Ciel.

And that ends this chapter! This time, for a change, our girls managed to avoid being in near proximity to trouble before it started! On the other hand, Juerd seems to be enjoying the OP isekai protagonist menu on the side, lol

If Ain’s suspicions are correct, then it seems like Ciel’s going to love learning about puppet sorcery. We’re introduced to a new character, Iena-senpai (yep, Ain calls her senpai in the RAW. Btw, Palra uses Ailneige-chan, completely forgot due to how hectic life was during her introduction.) Also, there’s just casually multiple puppets in the party? Excuse me? Also also, yeah, Palra should have overheard their conversation, which is absolutely bizarre without context. I wonder how Ciel is faring.

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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