Sunday morning. One day just before the midterms, and Sigulf and co. had another go at mock dueling.

“…”

“Please don’t worry about me and carry on.”

“…why are you here?”

However, Victoria’s unexpected presence made Vigdis, who tagged along again, clearly irritated.

“I could ask you the same question, Master. I thought you have rehab?”

“Eeeh!? How mean! And here I am worrying about how my dear pupil's doing…”

“Err…”

“That would be my answer too. Just replace pupil with student.” Victoria clarified.

“Yeah, but must you be here too?”

“Considering that two of them are the Council’s top two,” she motioned towards the slightly cautious Celina and Chelsea. “One is an exceptional ghost member, and the other is among the most promising freshmen, I wouldn’t say I have no reason.”

“Huh? Is she talking about me?” Alba pointed at herself.

“Seems so. Good for you, huh?”

“Heheh… I see…!”

“Besides…”

Victoria then punched the empty air blindingly fast.

“It’s been a while since the last time I went to train this early.”

“Uuugh…”

“Now, now, let’s not try to start a fight with her.” Melanie pats Vigdis’ shoulder to calm her.

“But…!”

“Relax. Unless it’s really necessary, I won’t take a… hands-on approach.”

‘Oh, boy…’

“…Sigulf, focus.” Celina chastised.

“Ah, sorry…”

‘She sounded kind of upset…’

“Fufufu, what’s that? Do you need some personal coaching, after all?”

“Eh!? Err…”

“E, enough! I can’t just stand by—”

“If you really want to fight her, you’d better heal your legs first.” Eliot sighed.

“U…”

“Thank you for your concern, but…!”

Celina suddenly slammed her spear to the ground, surprising Sigulf.

“I have prepared our own harsh regiment for the upcoming mid-terms, so I believe we’ll be doing fine.”

“Ah, is that so? That’s good to hear.”

‘…yeah, she’s rather—‘

“And Sigulf!” she then pointed the Badb towards him. “This is no time to dawdle; we are going all out! Are you clear!?”

“Y, yes, Ma’am!”

Alba glanced at Sigulf and gave him a smug grin.

“Good luck. Don’t get yourself killed.”

“…I won’t.”

———

Midday. By some luck, Sigulf survived his morning practice and it didn’t devolve further into another squabble with Victoria. Looking for a change of pace, he decided to have lunch outside.

“…”

“No need to be so reserved. It’s on me.”

“Uhh, no, that’s not—“

However, he met Victoria again by chance and ends up getting invited.

‘…why can’t I say no to her? Master will be pissed if she finds out…’

“Great showing, by the way. You sure have grown enough to hold out against her.”

“Ah, thank you. But I still have to work more on it.”

“That’s good to hear. So, I assume you are ready for tomorrow?”

“Hopefully. Celina did tutor me for the written part.”

“Hmm, I see…”

Victoria’s expression became unreadable, making Sigulf a bit worried.

‘Did I say something wrong?’

“If you do well on the tests, you wouldn’t mind if I give some kind of reward, would you?”

“Oh, no, not at— Wait, what?”

“Ah, now that I think about it, it won’t be much of a motivation, I guess. I should have offered much earlier…”

“No, no, no! I mean, well, umm… Thanks for being considerate, but I’m good…“

“Oh? If you say so. But…”

She smiled suggestively at the boy.

“If you ever changed your mind, you know where to find me. I would be very pleased.”

“A… Ahahahahah…”

‘…is it alright for her to be that flirty!? And why am I rather happy about this!? I shouldn’t be!’

By the end of it, Sigulf was full from both food and embarrassment.

———

Late afternoon. Sigulf was about to rest when Walter, Minato, and Yuu unexpectedly showed up and invited him for a gathering.

“Video games? Well, I don’t have anything better to do, so count me in.”

Arthfael and Siegward joined them along the way and they all went into Walter’s room.

“Taking a break before the big day might be beneficial, but gaming… Will this be really fine?” Arthfael asked.

“It’s alright, it’s alright!” Walter assured. “It’s better to be stress-free before the test, right?”

“You got a point there…”

“Hmm? Where are the others?” Yuu looked around.

“What do you mean? It’s just us here.”

“Eeeh? So you didn’t invite any girls?”

“…dude, like they would just join a sausage party like this.”

“Well, then it’s more the reason to invite them in the first place, isn’t it?”

“Ugh… Then how about you do it now?”

“But aren’t you the party’s master?”

“Guys, enough.” Minato intervened. “Seriously, both of you…”

“Don’t you feel a bit lonely?”

“Eh? But there’s so many of us here.”

“…yeah, I forgot you’re that kind of guy.” Walter sighed. “So what are we going to play now?”

“How about this?”

Sigulf picked up a case and showed it to them. Apparently it was the same title he played at the game center.

“Whoa, so fast… Wait, I think I know this one.” Yuu said.

“Oh, you too? Yeah, it looks and plays well.” Walter added. “Never thought I would be serious on a Japanese fighting game—“

“Did you say fighting game!?” Siegward’s eyes suddenly lit up.

“Holy— Don’t suddenly shout like that!”

“Hrimgard! You and I, best of 3, now!” he continued and ignored Walter.

“Uhh, what?”

“Unfortunately, I cannot allow that.” Arthfael interrupted. “You’re not the only one who have some business with Hrimgard.”

“…huh? What would a knight like you have against a warrior?”

“I don’t think it’s out of the ordinary if I too hold something personal.”

‘…what’s with these two?’ Sigulf mentally groaned.

“Oi, oi, don’t act like we aren’t here!” Walter protested.

“Even I too can’t let that slide.” Yuu followed suit.

“…guys, can’t we just decide normally? This is just a game…” Minato sighed.

———

Before the night went too far, Sigulf excused himself earlier, though not without some objection.

“Damn you, Hrimgard! Are you running away!? One more match!” Siegward growled.

“…you said it earlier. And before that.”

“Eeh? This early?” Yuu sounded a bit disappointed.

“Uh-huh. Sleepy. Sorry about that.”

Giving them a wave, Sigulf exited the room and stretched his back a bit.

‘Well, it wasn’t bad at all… Now, let’s see…’

On the way back, a certain someone’s flowing blonde hair caught his eye.

“Ah…”

“…hm? Oh, hey.”

Returning her wave, Sigulf approached Celina.

“Out playing?” she asked.

“Eh, yeah. Played a game with the boys. Quite fun.”

“Ah, I see. Sounds like you had a good time.”

“Ahahah, kinda. How about you?”

“Hmm, nothing much. I decided just to have some rest.”

“Oh, yeah. Tomorrow is midterms, after all.” Sigulf responded before inadvertently yawning. “…my bad, that wasn’t—“

“Ah, no. It’s alright. Sorry for stopping you…”

Sigulf noticed that Celina slightly hesitates, which is rather unusual for her.

“What is it?”

“I…”

She shifted her position, looking for the right words.

“I was looking for you.”

“O, oh? I was at Lordshire for lunch—“

“Lordshire?”

“…ah.”

“Fu… Fufufu… I see…”

‘Shit! Why did I bring that up!?’

Though, to Sigulf’s relief, Celina instead tried to calm herself by taking a deep breath.

“Knowing her, I think I have an idea why and how…”

“A, ahahah…”

She sighed, still looking uncertain.

“…there something I need to talk about with you. Could you, please?”

“Eh? I don’t mind, though…?”

———

Sigulf skipped a beat when Celina invited him into her room.

‘U, uwaa… I think this is the first time I’m in a girls’ room…’ Sigulf nervously thought.

He observed the whole room from his seat.

‘It’s so tidy, and smells kinda nice… Well, I guess that’s expected from her.’

“Here you are.”

“Ah, thank you.”

Celina offered him a warm cup of milk tea, which he immediately sipped.

‘Ahh, good old milk tea. So comforting…’

“So, umm…”

“Oh, right, you wanted to talk.”

“Yes…”

Again, Celina fidgets in her seat.

‘I wonder what is it about— Wait, could it be…!?’

“Sigulf, I…”

“Y, yes?”

“I’m really sorry…!”

“…eh?”

“I know we should have practiced properly, but I let my emotions got the better of me and end up overdoing things, and—“

‘…ah, so that’s how it is. Still…’

“Wait, no. I don’t see why you should apologize. If anything it was I that… Well, getting distracted…”

“…you totally did.” Celina slightly sulked.

“Err…”

“Even so, that’s no reason to get je—“

“Je…?”

“…to let it get to myself.”

“I, I see…”

‘Celina… Could she be…’

“That’s why I—“

There’s no way Sigulf wouldn’t feel happy, but for the moment, he assured himself not to get too hopeful.

“Celina, wait. Let’s just forget it.”

“Eh!? But that doesn’t sit well with me!”

“Me neither. I wanted to apologize too, for not focusing properly. But if we keep on going on about this…”

“…it will never end.”

“Yeah, that. And to be honest, I’m sure it was a good workout for us too, so…”

“Alright, I understand what you are trying to say. No more of this topic.”

“No more.”

There was a short silence before the two finally broke into chuckles.

“Sheesh, what are we doing?” Celina asked.

“I wonder about that too.”

———

As much as he wanted to stay longer, Sigulf decided it’s time to leave in order to avoid unnecessary rumors.

“Good luck with your test.” Celina said. “And don’t forget to sleep properly.”

“Yeah, you too. Wait, do you even need it?”

“Hey, it doesn’t hurt to hear some encouraging words!”

“Hahah, I suppose so. Well, good night.”

“Good night. See you tomorrow.”

When the door closed before him, Sigulf lets out a sigh.

‘At least some things got cleared up. Next time, I have to be more resolute against the Principal. …hopefully.’

———

Not long after Sigulf left, Celina went back to her own bed.

“…”

She grabbed a pillow and hugged it close to her chest.

‘I know I did apologize, but I can’t help but to keep thinking about it…’

Celina recalled their morning practice.

‘Getting upset as he flustered around the Principal… How childish of myself… But…’

She clutched her pillow tighter.

‘I… Towards him…’