## Chapter 59 – The ‘Spider’ Effect
“So, you like the cakes here? I come here often too.”
“U-Uh… Y-Yes…!! I… I buy them often…!! It’s not like… I eat them too much… I mean…!!”
Karla’s face flushed red at Lucas’s question. She stammered, struggling to choose the right words.
But for a confused youth unsure whether they’re right or wrong, finding the correct answer might have been too difficult.
Despite her reaction being so obvious, Lucas didn’t seem to notice anything, maintaining his smile without a change in expression.
“They say if you enjoy it, it has zero calories.
As long as it tastes good, that’s all that matters.
Is this Karla’s friend?”
“I’m Karla’s roommate.
Please, call me Yui.”
“Ah, Lady Kazunomiya from the Medical Department?
I’m Lucas, the second son of Count Proden from the Kingdom of Groden.
Karla and I are freshmen in the Alchemy Department.”
“So, you’re Karla’s friend from her department?
There’s no need to be so formal.
Please, just call me Yui.
Karla’s always getting help from you.”
Lucas greeted Yui politely, and Yui responded with a gentle smile and a slight bow.
Accepting Yui’s request, Lucas answered her questions with the same friendliness he showed Karla.
“Ahaha… Is that okay…?
Karla’s already famous as the top student in the Alchemy Department.
I’ve been keeping an eye on her, and I think she’s amazing.
Don’t you think so too, Yui?”
“Karla is an excellent student in many ways.
Except for her tendency to cram at the last minute.”
‘He’s been keeping an eye on me…? Hwaaaah…!!’
Karla’s face turned red again.
Whether he noticed or not, Yui’s gaze grew increasingly subtle as she looked at Lucas, who seemed to know even her family without her ever mentioning it.
Then, looking at her best friend, who was grinning like an idiot while trying to act nonchalant, Yui closed her eyes slowly, as if feeling dizzy.
‘Haa… She’s completely smitten…’
Of course, she didn’t want to pour cold water on her friend’s romantic endeavors, but Yui couldn’t help but worry about the innocent Karla.
He was quite handsome, unlike other gigolos, and didn’t seem to have any major flaws.
More than anything, he didn’t act like a self-important noble, which was commendable.
‘But Karla is off-limits…!!
Not until I’m dead!!’
But for a girl in the midst of her rosy dreams, her first love was something she wouldn’t trade for anything.
With the thought that she couldn’t hand over her best friend to a good-for-nothing who might have hidden flaws, Yui, Karla’s best friend, began to emanate a chilling aura beneath her smile.
“Oh, right. Congratulations on getting first place in the special evaluation.
I gave up halfway, but you were amazing, right?”
“Ah… It wasn’t really that amazing…”
During the special evaluation, Lucas’s team had been lucky.
Thanks to Lucas throwing around extremely harmful toxic substances that would cause severe damage upon contact, the Arachne that approached them couldn’t harm them and had to retreat.
But in a way, because he had been passive, his team eventually decided to give up halfway through, with the agreement of all the other members.
They had passed the first and second gates with decent results, but like other students, they were held back by the Arachne.
Lucas couldn’t do much on his own, so despite the unavoidable choice, he looked gloomy and regretful.
Seeing Lucas’s expression, Karla’s brain, clouded by her infatuation, became serious, even though it wasn’t her problem.
‘Oh no… D-Don’t be sad…!!’
‘Karla must be thinking the same thing… Haa…’
Not wanting to seem like he was sulking in front of a girl, perhaps out of male pride, Lucas smiled brightly and nodded.
In a way, team luck was also a skill, and if he had done better, he could have solved the problem.
Still, he could take comfort in the fact that his final evaluation ranking was quite high, so returning unharmed was a gain in itself.
“I should have done better.
But it’s in the past, so there’s nothing I can do.
So, what are you planning to do during the vacation?”
At Lucas’s question, which changed the subject, Karla momentarily became speechless.
“During the vacation… Hmm…”
Karla began to think about what she should do during the months-long vacation, and several things came to mind.
Barmhausen and the Kingdom of Groden were right next to each other, but the physical distance was not close.
The distance between St. Franscina Academy, located in the royal capital, which could be considered the center of the Kingdom of Groden, and southern Barmhausen, where Karla’s hometown was located, required an average of almost half a year of travel, even with various modes of transportation.
The teleportation portal, an innovative means of transportation that reduced that time by more than 90%, existed in major cities, but it was only an experimental application of magic.
Especially since the incantation itself was unstable unless one was a skilled mage who could handle mana as easily as breathing.
When living beings used such portals, they suffered from severe motion sickness, sometimes changes in body composition, and unexplained disappearances. Karla couldn’t help but be reluctant.
Her brother, Antonio, hadn’t been able to see her even once in the three years between his enrollment and Karla’s entry into St. Franscina Academy as a freshman.
It turned out that Antonio, who was a great siscon, wanted to come and see Karla’s face, but their mother, who loved Antonio as much as Karla did, had a sad story to tell.
She had begged him not to ride such a monstrosity, even if it meant he didn’t come home at all.
Antonio was also graduating this time, but in the end, it seemed that the only option left for her was to stay in the dormitory and continue going to school as usual to prepare for the next semester.
“I’ll probably… stay in the dormitory…”
“If it’s okay, would you like to come to my house sometime?
My house is in the royal capital.”
Lucas, who was from the Kingdom of Groden and majoring in alchemy, was quite an exceptional case.
Karla’s eyes sparkled when she heard that his house was nearby.
Lucas smiled at Karla, raised his hand, and began to slowly count the names of people, spreading his fingers.
“I’ve invited all my other friends, and they’ve all agreed to come.
You know Claude, Linda, Claudia, and Elsie, right?”
“Ah… They’re all in the Alchemy Department…?”
“That’s right. They said they’re not going home this time either.
Since that’s the case, I thought I’d hold a social gathering at my house and invite them as guests.
I’ve invited several other people from the Kingdom of Groden, so it’ll definitely be fun.”
“Ah… Th-Then…”
“It can’t be helped if you have something to do.
If you’re interested, let me know later.
I think it’ll probably be sometime in the middle of next month.
It’s the end of the month now…
Ah, for the time being, my contact information is…”
Lucas took out a small piece of parchment from his pocket, scribbled something on it, folded it gently, and handed it to Karla.
Karla swallowed hard as she received the parchment with Lucas’s address for sending letters.
The word ‘social gathering’ was something that any noble would have heard of.
An event like a group party where people could get to know each other and build friendships.
Karla had only seen her parents occasionally go to social gatherings of other nobles in Barmhausen, but she had never been the one hosting a social gathering herself, so the girl’s heart was fluttering slightly.
The social gathering in her mind had a strong image of being an ‘adult party’.
Karla’s heart, which had been expecting to climb the stairs to adulthood since entering the academy, began to beat softly.
‘If I can get a little closer there…’
Could she move on to a deeper relationship with this pretty boy who had suddenly caught her eye?
Lucas, whose gray hair, which usually looked faded and old, suited him as if he had bleached it, nodded. Karla dazedly nodded back, staring blankly at him.
“Yui can come with Karla too.
It’s always more fun with more people, right?
It’s your first vacation since entering the academy, so I think it would be good to enjoy it like this.
Ah, I’ve been talking for too long. I have something to do, so I’ll be going now.
Contact me if you’re coming!”
“U-Uh… S-See you later…”
Lucas, holding the packaged bread, opened the door of the bakery and hurried outside. Karla followed his retreating figure with her eyes until he disappeared.
And in Yui’s eyes, which were looking at Karla with a sulky expression, a hint of mischief began to appear.
‘This… seems more serious than I thought…’
As the girls’ year was coming to an end, their first vacation since coming to this academy was about to begin.
