Atelier Tanaka

Book 2: Chapter 18 (3)

Alchemist Edita 2

We had now finished our meal and it was the middle of the afternoon.

Now that Ive lost my dream home, all I can do is wait for Edita Sensei to give me the recipe for the elixir of youth. Theres nothing I can do on my end.

I thought about going to find a new home to buy, but if I were to do that, Sophia-chan would no longer be my personal maid. I want to enjoy this life some more.

By the way, she left the room earlier to wash the dishes.

And so.

Should I go to school?

I am a student after all. I should occasionally go to class.

Spending time with some young people doesnt sound so bad.

Ill also need to know if there are any exams I need to worry about.

Alright, lets go.

I grabbed everything I thought Id need and quickly left the dorm while carrying my bag.

I locked the door as I left. Sophia-chan has her own key so she should be fine even if I lock it.

As I turned away from the door, I heard a strange voice from somewhere nearby me.

AhAaahhhhh!?

Huh!?

That was quite a loud scream.

I turned to look in the direction I heard the voice and I saw someone I knew.

W-W-W-Why!? Why are you here!?

Hmm, Ester.

Just like me, she was leaving a dorm room. She also had a maid following right behind her. Ester-chan is wearing the uniform of this school and the maid was wearing the same uniform as Sophia-chan.

This is the first time Ive seen this maid.

Standing next to the lolita Ester, this girl looked rather tall. Shes probably over 170 centimetres tall. She looks like shes in her mid-twenties, she has a pretty face, and golden hair similar to Ester.

Ester-sama?

The maid seemed confused after hearing her master let out a strange yell.

However, Ester paid no attention to her and continued yelling.

Of course, her yells were directed at me.

Nobody was using this room the other day!

Im thankful that I was allowed to stay here. Ive been here since yesterday.

Wha

So, youre my neighbour now.

I was just as surprised as her.

Is this also due to the noble mages interference?

Of course not. This room was vacant until yesterday, it must be a coincidence.

D-Does this mean you decided to accept my marriage proposal.

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No, definitely not.

Guh.

For a moment, this blonde lolita smiled and looked lost in her own fantasies.

This woman still hasnt given up on the idea of marriage.

I have no need for secondhand goods.

If I had to choose between a used twenty-year-old and a pure thirty-year-old, I would always choose the latter.

Though, if possible Id like her to be young. Id be okay if her age was even in the single digits.

D-Does this mean youll be going to class now?

Yeah, thats the plan.

Hmm? Then, I-I-I suppose I could join you.

Eh? Ill only be taking classes about alchemy.

My major is different than you.

Sometimes I want to learn alchemy too!

Really?

Just like normal, this girl is difficult to understand.

Rather, I wish shed make up with Allen already.

Ester-sama, what are you saying.

You look after the dorm! Ill be leaving now!

Yes.

The maid showed a troubled expression. The blonde lolita continued glaring at her until she eventually got tired of waiting and forcibly pushed the maid back into her dorm room, slamming the door shut behind her. I dont think I could stand to have this kind of overbearing girl in my life.

The fact that this girl would propose to a middle-aged man like me is also a little disconcerting.

This girl is the daughter of a great noble family. If I want to have any kind of social life, I need to be careful about how I interact with her. Besides, this crazy bitch is only interested in ikemen. Honestly, she reminds me of a hostess at a club. Her interest in a guy probably changes every few weeks. She probably doesnt even care what it does to the guy when she leaves him.

I learned about this while studying at a cram school near Kabukich. Except, I had to pay about 300,000 more than the people going to those clubs. (TN: Kabukich is a red-light district in Tokyo. It has many hostess bars, love hotels, and nightclubs.)

It cost a lot to study there.

I dont think my virgin mind could withstand that kind of blow. Today its Allen. Tomorrow it will be me. Therefore, before I can even suffer such shame, I decided to not get too close to her.

Rather, I think I can use her so that I can get closer to other girls. It might be tough for a middle-aged man like me to talk to schoolgirls otherwise.

Come on, lets go already! Were going to be late!

Ah, right.

Im going to school for the first time in a while.

I left the dormitory while the blonde lolita pushed me from behind.

Its pretty convenient that the dorm and school are located on the same grounds. It would only take us a few minutes to get to class from the dorms. Despite this, in the past, some students used to use carriages to travel to and from the dorm. Now, this has been banned by the school, excluding some minor exceptions.

And so, we arrived at the school rather quickly.

Actually, this is the first time Ive walked from the dorm to the school.

After passing through the school gates, and walking for some time, we pass through a garden with an outdoor corridor that connects to the main building where the classroom is located. Even though the outdoor corridor is exposed to the elements, its kept extremely clean.

Honestly, this building reminds me more of a castle than a school. The building itself really reminds me of the Palace of Versailles. All of the floors in the building also have a checkerboard pattern.

Of course, the number of students increased the closer I got to the classroom. We entered the main building through the outside corridor. The halls were packed with students. As the number of students increased, so did the size of Esters entourage.

The number of students that gathered around her was ridiculous.

This was because she was so popular at school.

When I saw her in school before, she did seem popular, but nothing to this level. This may be due to the fact that she was a part of the dragon extermination party.

The people that notice her all react in two ways.

The first group of students will stare at her from a distance, as though theyre looking at something they wouldnt dare touch.

The second group of students looks for any reason to start up a conversation with her.

Id say the former is 80% and the latter is 20%. Because there were so few students in the dorms It was easy to walk around, but in the university, there are students everywhere. Because of that, Im feeling a little overwhelmed. As we walked through the corridor, the students would converge on either side of us and the students in front would all move aside.

FitzClarence-sama! I heard about what you did with the dragon extermination party! I also heard you visited the Royal Princess and helped cure her sickness! As expected of FitzClarence-sama! I was moved when I first heard the story! So was I!

Most of the students are female.

A large number of students that look like theyre from noble families have gathered around. It looks like there are some boys that are looking for a chance to talk with her, but none of them seem to be willing to get in the middle of such a large group of girls. It seems that no man is capable of handling a large group of women no matter what world hes in.

Well, thanks to this, Ive now got a pseudo-harem going on. An old man like me can really appreciate this situation.

I just want to breathe in the air filled with their sweet smells.

Ah, by the way, FitzClarence-sama, who is this.

One of the students pointed to me.

Eh? Ah.

Ester-chan changed her attention to me.

In response, all of the surrounding people did so as well.

Is he a new teacher? Ive never seen him before. Is it someone that FitzClarence-sama recommended? What will you be teaching? If you dont mind, Id like to be in the same class as FitzClarence-sama.

Looking at my unattractive face, they instantly assumed I was a teacher.

Id also think someone walking in a school thats clearly in his thirties is a member of the faculty.

This is Tanaka-san. Hes my fianc.

Eh.

This girl just pulled me deep into her social life.

Isnt this different from what she did to Allen?

Why is this bitch saying stuff like that in public?

After all, this girl really is a bitch. An evil bitch.

Fi-FitzClarence-samas fianc.? Eh? Umm, well, what? I must have misheard her. How can something like this be possible? Is he from another country? FitzClarence-sama, this cant be true.

All of the students seemed to be in denial.

And this evil bitch kept going.

Hes a very wonderful person. Its my dream to have a child with him someday.

None of the students could even speak.

Shes looking right at me after saying that.

Please, stop looking at me like that.

FitzClarence-sama, please dont make jokes like that. Cant you tell the rest of the students are really confused? I have some other things to take care of, so please excuse me.

I can still come back from this.

I need to get out of this situation right away.

Ah, wa-wait! Id never joke about something like that.

Then, Ill be leaving.

I shoved my way through the crowd surrounding her and left the disaster site.

Shes still yelling something but I cant make out what it is. If that rumour were to reach her fathers ears, Im certain Id be exiled to a neighbouring country. I wouldnt be able to live under the same roof as Sophia-chan.

I must protect my current way of living.

I made up my mind and quickly walked away from the crowd.

And so, I never went to the class I planned on going to.

It would be troublesome to encounter the blonde lolita there. For now, its probably best if I keep my distance from her. Shes a tsundere and she also has a reputation for changing who shes in love with every so often. Im sure shell be over her interest in me in a couple of days.

I really dont have a couple of days, so Im going to try to make it much sooner.

.I-I see. So, Ester isnt

No, thats why I want you two to make up as soon as possible.

Thats why Im talking with that ikemen.

I had to ask several girls about his location. I probably looked like some kind of pervert. Following their instructions, I found my way to the knight squadrons training area. I used FitzClarences name to find Allens location. He was swinging his sword on the training grounds.

This ikemen even smells good when hes sweating.

I think his perfection might make me puke.

I hate asking something like this, but did you cheat.

Y-Youre wrong! It was different this time!

Is that so? Then, why would Ester be doing this?

Thats, umm, this time something was different about her.

Do these two really fight, cheat, and then reconcile so often? He must really like Ester-chan to endure all of that. I actually feel a little sorry for him.

You dont have any idea why shes doing this?

No.

Allen is visibly depressed.

If I compare it to how he acted on the airship, he is considerably more depressed now.

DId you do something she didnt like?

We havent really had a chance to talk since the time we were on the airship.

Well, that does make sense.

Everyone was just trying desperately to survive ever since the airship crashed. It makes sense that it would be difficult for him to talk with her since that time.

For someone like Sophie-chan, I dont imagine it would be that hard to make up. A black-hearted bitch like her would be back to sleeping with this ikemen in no time.

Is there anything you can think of that caused her to act like this?

Th-There isnt! Shes never done anything like this before.

I see.

Well, that should be enough.

I dont think my virgin mind can truly understand the relationship of these two.

If thats the case, Ill try to find out why on my end. If I find out anything, Ill let you know. Does that sound okay?

Im sorry. Thank you for doing this.

You dont need to thank me. This is also my problem Im trying to solve. After all, shes a member of a great noble family. I dont want the other students to misunderstand our relationship.

Im sorry for acting so selfish, but thank you very much for helping me. You can come see me anytime you want.

This should be enough for today. If youll excuse me.

You can find me in room 302 if you need anything.

Okay. Then

I quickly left the training grounds.