A gentle aroma filled the room; its temporary occupants were seated around the table, each with a bowl before them. They ate quietly without saying much, but enjoying the food.
Hazel stirred her spoon in the soup, quite curious about what had been served.
It was a yellowish-brown color with several yellow spheres floating in it, and a piece of chicken breast in the middle. It looked good, but it lacked the elegance she was used to.
Silently, the spoon continued to dance in circles. The surface of the soup barely rippled.
Compared to the restaurant's vegetable soup, this one was definitely thicker.
"Don't play with your food." Adryan glanced sideways at his student, who tensed up.
"Forgive my manners." Cursing herself inwardly, the young noblewoman brought a spoonful of soup and the yellow ball to her mouth
'Mm. They're a little gritty.' Despite the texture, it wasn't dry.
It was actually quite tasty.
The corn balls, mixed with the cheese and soaked in the soup, went down her throat, warming her stomach and body.
For this weather, it was the perfect dish.
Wiping her mouth with a napkin, Hazel looked at the cook.
"It's delicious, Teacher. Although it's thick, it's actually quite light. Specially these... spheres? What are they?" The young woman asked, her eyes looking at the aforementioned on her plate.
"They're corn balls with cheese," Adryan smiled slightly, "I ate a lot of these growing up."
Although it lacked the pumpkin and his beloved Paraguayan cheese to make a true Vori Vori, the flavor was similar enough, though still somewhat inferior.
Of course, the infernal heat to accompany it was also missing, but that was something that didn't bother him at all.
'I never understood why Mom always cooked this when it was over 42 degrees...'
Hazel's mouth opened slightly, and her attention returned with force to her plate, her interest evolving into curiosity.
"Is it a dish from the Feysac Empire? I thought most of their food was more meat-centric."
"Hehe. It's not from Feysac. It would be more from the South Continent, from one of the colonies the Empire has." Adryan couldn't help but let out a chuckle, which he silenced with a sip from his glass of water.
That the dish was more from the South Continent was technically true, and from a certain point of view, that it came from some colonies was a half-truth. Many colonies, especially those of the Feysac Empire and the Intis Republic, were special for their export of various things, including corn—the main ingredient in this dish.
In any case, a truth with a half-truth was only a half-lie.
In reality, Vori Vori was a typical dish from Paraguay, a country that no longer existed in this world, but which had once been located on the South Continent.
Perhaps there was a similar version in one of the many tribes there, but that didn't mean Adryan would go there to ask.
It wasn't time yet.
At his words, the young lady nodded. Taking another spoonful into her mouth, her brown gaze moved to the redhead's side.
Flora Jacob was eating with her eyes closed, her movements elegant and fluid. The spoon was neither too full nor too empty, but perfectly half-full. The cornball rested in the middle as if it were a bathtub.
'She's very graceful. As expected of her,' Hazel couldn't help but compare that bearing to that of her father and mother.
In a way, it was soothing to see something familiar—a bit of the stress from what had just happened leaving her body.
Without realizing it, the young woman's lips curved into a small smile.
'I want to go back to bed...' Flora sighed inwardly, resisting the urge to rub her eyes.
She had had a good night's sleep, but she would have preferred to sleep for another two hours. Maybe three...
Anyway, if it was for the princess's cooking, sacrificing a little sleep was acceptable.
Lunch passed without much incident; the plates were emptied, stomachs were filled, the table was promptly cleared, and the used cutlery was washed.
The escort team wasted no more time there.
Once they had finished eating and cleaning up after themselves, they left the hotel via Feynapotter Children's Stories' dream jump. The two soldiers whom the redhead had used to rent the room several days earlier checked them out. No one would notice anything unusual.
After several dream jumps, they soon arrived at Warehouse 7 on Artiros Street.
Leaving the Mind World this time in the middle of the training ground, thanks to a soldier bird sleeping in a corner, Maric and Sharron left as soon as they arrived, their mission accomplished.
Cracking his neck a little and stretching with a grunt, Adryan checked the time on his pocket watch with boredom. The hands of the beautiful artifact read 2:47.
Putting it back in his shadow, the redhead lay down on one of the several sofas and closed his eyes, sighing contentedly.
It was worth paying a little extra for the pillows; they were pretty comfortable.
Using cogitation, he felt sleep already embracing him. Before falling asleep, Adryan uttered a few last words.
"We'll stay here until your classes are over for today, so make yourself comfortable..."
Hazel just nodded, not wanting to disturb the man who seemed to have already fallen asleep.
'Is it okay to take a nap now?'
Discreetly, her gaze moved to the white-haired woman to see her reaction.
Hazel blinked twice, suddenly lost.
Flora Jacob now held a purple hardcover book in her hands.
'Where did that come from?'
The young noblewoman was sure she didn't have anything like that when she arrived here, nor did she remember seeing anything like it stored here.
The Jacob paid no attention to Hazel's gaze; she just walked over and sat down on the sofa next to where the redhead was sleeping. Without looking up from her book, one of her red locks ended up in her hand as she read.
'They really are close...' Hazel pressed her lips together slightly, unsure of what the right move was now.
Should she sit down near them or give them their space?
'And now what's going through the brat's mind?' Flora growled to herself, feeling the gaze of her former student.
From the look on the girl's face and the way she was acting, it was clear that she wasn't sure where to sit.
Usually, she wouldn't care much about what decision she made, but in this case, it was different.
The Princess's blessings made his fate strange and hid it from prying eyes, and she knew this could be shared in a certain way as long as someone stayed close to him.
The fact that even a Sequence 1 Archangel used it to move stealthily proved how powerful it was.
The coin given by that same archangel had already taken Hazel's place, and helping the change take hold would prevent possible problems.
And what better way than for the person the soldier is replacing to disappear in the eyes of fate?
The closer the brat is to them, the better.
So, Flora looked up from her book for a moment, her piercing gray gaze freezing the young lady who had begun to move to the other end of the room.
"Don't just stand there, come here," Flora said calmly, pointing with her eyes to the empty sofa in front of her.
"A-ah, yes!" Straightening up suddenly, Hazel immediately followed the command and took a seat in front of her first mysticism teacher, her posture practically perfect.
'Her gaze is more terrifying than when she was still a rat... Ah, I prefer those times...' Placing her hands on her lap to hide how they were shaking, Hazel breathed somewhat timidly.
There were a few occasions when the older woman had used that look with her, only when she made a mistake in her theft practice or wanted to take unnecessary risks in attempting something bigger...
And there was no worse than the time she considered stealing something from the Hall Family's warehouse when it had been only a few weeks since she had taken the Marauder's potion. Her target was the emerald necklace of Backlund's brightest gem.
Of course, once she told her teacher about her plan, she refused and punished her worse than a military knight would a lazy, useless recruit.
Sometimes, she could still see how angry the woman was when she blinked—well, it would be better to call her a rat in those days.
'...'
She really believed a rat would bite her that day...
Remembering that night's reproach and punishment, her mouth moved, and Hazel let out a small, timid murmur.
"Forgive me, Teacher Flora."
Raising an eyebrow slightly at that reaction, Flora looked down at her book indifferently.
"It's fine. Don't think too much about it."
A sigh escaped the green-haired lady, who, placing her right hand on her chest, gave a slight but respectful bow, "Thank you, I'll keep that in mind."
Having done so, the young noble looked down, and her hand returned to join the other in her lap, discreetly tapping her fingertips to distract herself.
"The best way to ensure your safety is for the soldier to finish your more public routines."
"!" Raising her head with a sound like a whip in motion, Hazel looked at the woman in front of her, somewhat stunned.
The white-haired woman hadn't changed her posture; she remained in the same position as before, her gaze focused on the purple-covered book.
For a moment, Hazel wondered if she had really heard anything.
Plop!
"Eh!" Startled by the sudden noise, Hazel could only blush. She looked down at the floor and laughed apologetically, "I'm sorry you had to see that..."
Huffing slightly at that, Flora settled the closed book on her lap. With both hands free, she played with the red strand of hair.
"Is there something you want to ask? Now is the best time." Flora spoke without much haste, a slight smile on her face.
"… Won't it be a bother?" Hazel pointed with her gaze to the sleeping man.
"He always takes a nap at this time, just ignore him."
"Understood," Hazel breathed a sigh of relief.
If Flora said so, then there really was no problem. With that minor concern resolved, she immediately fired away.
"Why does the soldier need to do that? Isn't it enough for them to take my place like they did the first time?"
That gray gaze hardened, taking on a solemn air.
"I will answer this question about this change once. Do not bring up the subject again when I am finished." The tone of her voice was heavy; there was no room for discussion.
This was the last time they would talk about the subject.
Gulp.
Hazel could only nod tensely, swallowing hard.
"..." Flora watched her silently, her face expressionless.
After 7 seconds, the corners of her lips curved slightly.
"Once the soldier is seen as 'Hazel Match,' the only thing we'll have to worry about is keeping you two away from each other. Simple, right?"
"That—" Stopping her speech abruptly, Hazel pressed her lips tightly.
What was that supposed to mean?!
She didn't understand anything that was going on!
Although she wanted to scream for a better explanation, she just kept quiet.
The smile on Flora's face grew a little. With nothing more to say, she also closed her eyes and focused all her attention on playing with the strand of hair in her hands.
Why had she never tried this before?
Teasing the young ones was really fun.
Hazel, somewhat frustrated at being left in the dark but also understanding why this was being done, watched the white-haired woman and saw an opportunity.
"Teacher Flora, would you know what kind of shampoo and oils Teacher Adryan uses to take care of his hair?"
"..." Opening her eyes, expressionless, a white eyebrow rose slightly.
"Concern about Lenburg's Blight?" Flora asked, nonchalantly.
The high rate of baldness in this country was well known, earning it several nicknames. Lenburg's Blight was the most popular among them, with 'librarian's kiss' following in second place.
The blush on the green-haired girl's cheeks deepened.
.
.
Reopening his eyes to the now all-too-familiar endless sea of gray fog, scarlet eyes focused on the seat of honor at the other end of the table.
There, a figure posed, shrouded in the gray mist.
Following the other members, he rose from his seat and bowed.
"Good afternoon, Mr. Fool."
The Tarot Club had begun.