"That was a great move, Mr. Lilt."

"Dear Merilia, ......"

"You're not allowed to do that, are you, Your Highness?"



　He presses his index finger against my lips.

　I flinched when he moved his face so close to mine that I thought his long eyelashes might pierce me.



"Hmm. I've seen your swordsmanship once, and your magic is that powerful ...... I wonder who you really are?"

"I'm just a trainee. I'm just a trainee, Melillia.

"Oh, why do you call me 'san' and honorific?"



　Merilia puffs out her cheeks in frustration. Even this expression was beautiful, thanks to her well-developed face.



"I'm an equal student here, you know."

"Well then, ...... Merilia."

"Yes. Well done."



　For some reason, he pats me on the head.

　It was a little difficult to ask why Merilia was still using honorifics.



"Well, I'm going to get right down to it. ...... I've tried to time it so that there's no sign of anyone around. ...... How do you feel about that?"



　I flinched at the sight of Merillia's face in my ear and sharpened my awareness by watching her expression.

　I probe my surroundings: .......



"No one is paying any attention to us. ...... Wait a moment."

"I've already ...... quickly returned to my honorific ......, but now I have no choice. Is this what you call work mode?"

"Don't make fun of me."



　I reply to Merillia who says that for the time being, and deploy the magic to block the eavesdropping.

　It would be easy enough just to keep her voice from reaching the surroundings, but that would be too obvious if there were professionals in the room, and then the other party would set up the other party and the game of weasels would begin. This is a magic to make the conversation look natural.



"This will work."

"Amazing ....... I bet I wouldn't have been able to spot this on the exam. But it's obvious that if you can deploy such an advanced technique, you don't need to."



　He seemed genuinely impressed.



"Ah. Now that you've done all this for me, I have to finish my business quickly. I'm sure you can't deploy this kind of magic for such a long time.



　Not really, but Merillia didn't wait for a reply and got right down to business.



"To give you this."

"This is ......."



　A letter was quickly inserted into his chest.

　But the letter, the wax seal, belonged to Lord Kilik of the kingdom of .......



"No way. ......"

"Yes. I'm sorry, sir, but I'm the one who confirmed what's inside."

"What? ......!"

"Don't get defensive. If I wanted to do something to you, I wouldn't be here in the first place.



　Even so, Merillia's magic is bottomless.

　If there is an imperial style of magic, it may not be able to cope with the situation, but there is no sign of it, neither from Merillia nor from the surroundings.



"I'm sorry to have alarmed you. I've seen what's inside, but that's just me. It came to me by a certain means, but I can confirm that it was not opened at that time. My word is the only proof, but I am the only one who saw it."

"The contents are available at ......."

"I wouldn't bring it here if there was a problem. You can decide what to do with it. Whatever you do at this point, I ...... promise you that the empire will not be involved, the Second Princess of the Galderd Empire, Merilia-La-Garderd.

"I see. ......"



　Anyway, they are not going to do anything about it here.



"From now on, I want you to be a soldier who can lead the empire. I have determined that there are no problems with you in light of your past character and the contents of your letter. So please visit ......."

"It's okay."



　I'm not going to let you ...... or the kingdom get the better of me now.



"Hmm. Well, from the looks of it, it seems that the letters will continue for a while, and then we'll have a secret meeting, won't we?"



　Merilia smiles happily.

　It is hard to tell what she is thinking, but I know that she is really trying to enjoy her students.