The group finished their meal and dispersed.
Normally, they would have lingered to chat over dessert, but this time, every member reached a silent agreement.
The reason, of course, was the atmosphere between Bambietta and Nachahmer.
To be precise, no one had a high enough cringe tolerance to endure the truly bizarre vibe Bambietta was radiating all by herself.
"Ehh... Why is everyone leaving so early?!"
"Shut your trap."
"Waaaaaah!"
There was a minor social blunder that Giselle failed to notice on her own, but rest assured, Candice handled it.
Giselle seemed quite disappointed as she was grabbed by the scruff of her neck and dragged out.
In any case, she was exactly who I thought she was.
Giselle Gewelle.
"Anyway, thanks for the food."
"You two have a good time."
Liltotto and Meninas offered their farewells next and left the room. Now, only the two of them remained.
Bambietta sat in silence, staring at the floor, while Nachahmer quietly organized the leftover dishes.
It was awkward.
Silent situations can be divided into two main categories.
First, a natural and comfortable silence born from being with someone you are truly at ease with.
Second, the hellish breakdown of communication that everyone knows all too well.
This was clearly the latter.
"Um, Bambietta-sama, about earlier..."
"Ah! No! It's fine! Really!"
"No... it's not that, I just wanted to apol—"
"No, don't say another word! I told you it doesn't matter!"
"Uh, yes..."
If there had been a mouse hole nearby, she would have shoved her face right into it.
Since the two of them met, they had never experienced an atmosphere like this.
No, to begin with, neither of them had ever encountered such a situation in their lives.
For Nachahmer, it was because his life had been too short.
For Bambietta, on the contrary, she had never felt such a novel emotion before.
Perhaps it was a situation that could only be described as clumsy for both of them.
In the end, the decibel level plummeted to the floor once again.
Perhaps because the room was well-insulated, the small noises began to sound exceptionally clear.
The sound of her own breathing as she sat still, and the sounds coming from him.
The clinking of the tableware.
The sound of his footsteps moving slightly.
The subconscious "Hmm" he let out under his breath.
The sound of his shirt sleeves folding as he rolled them up to prepare for the dishes.
Things she usually never noticed now beat against her hyper-sensitive ears.
Ultimately, they couldn't open their mouths until all those many dishes were washed.
It was as if the audio had been deleted, like a silent film.
'...Wait, why am I walking on eggshells around him?'
This was the conclusion she reached after spending twenty minutes in a daze.
Of course, she only thought of it five seconds ago.
'Sure, he's a good cook, he's considerate, and he's pretty devoted to me.'
But wasn't that only natural?
He belonged to her.
The more she thought about it, the more she concluded that she shouldn't be the one backing down.
'Right, being confident suits me best! To think I'd be this restless over something so minor. I must have eaten something bad.'
Far from eating something bad, she had eaten very well thanks to Nachahmer, but she just went with it.
Objective facts aren't usually that important anyway.
Steadying her wavering heart, she turned her gaze back to her Soldat.
"Whew. I'm all finished."
"R-Right!"
Ah.
Her voice cracked.
'No. Act normal, like usual—'
Just as she thought that, he suddenly took off his mask.
As he removed the hard mask that covered his entire head, including the back, his face was revealed.
Bright blonde hair, almost yellow, and golden eyes.
A sharp but strangely soft impression.
The corners of his eyes were very slightly curved. However, they didn't look droopy; rather, they gave him a somewhat gentle look.
So, basically...
He was handsome.
No, of course he felt handsome, but more than that...
He felt like he perfectly matched her personal taste.
He shook his head as if he'd been feeling stifled and tidied his hair with his hand.
Her eyes caught his forearms, which were still bared from washing the dishes.
'I didn't realize until now...'
She hadn't noticed because many of the other Ritters were quite large, but he was surprisingly tall.
Was he similar to Haschwalth or Nakk Le Vaar?
His build was solid, but he didn't look sluggish at all.
Seeing how he swung his limbs while hunting Hollows, he probably had that physique from using his body so much.
Other male Ritters were either lanky or completely bulky, but he seemed to have found a very appropriate middle ground.
His shoulders were broad, and his proportions were good.
As she watched him quietly...
'He's cool...'
The thought occurred to her.
'Co— What? No, what? Cool? What do you mean, cool?'
While she was desperately trying to push back the natural thought, he sat down nearby with the remaining ingredients on a plate.
By now, she had completely forgotten the reason why she should point out that a mere low-ranking Soldat was sitting so casually in her room.
"What... is... that?"
She spoke by separating each syllable as much as possible, trying her best not to let her words get tangled.
She worried that she might look a bit pathetic.
"I didn't eat earlier. I'm just going to have a quick bite. Would you like some?"
"Oh. Come to think of it, you didn't eat."
She hadn't realized.
He had assisted with their meal like a waiter.
Of course, since he was wearing a mask, he couldn't have eaten in between.
"Seriously. You could have just said you'd eat with us."
"It would have been awkward for me to join while everyone else was eating. Besides, someone has to be the one to prepare things."
Her lips naturally pouted.
More than that attitude that reeked of a slave mentality, she didn't like the fact that he was being left out or enduring discomfort.
Why was that?
"Then you could have just snuck some ingredients in the back. Why do you go out of your way to suffer?"
"But then I'd have to show my face."
"Huh?"
What was this now?
Pure curiosity peeked its head out.
"You take your mask off just fine."
"That's because I'm in front of you, Bambietta-sama. I don't take it off in front of other people."
"Oh..."
Again.
That unfitting atmosphere.
"Why... though...?"
"Why? Well..."
There were several reasons.
Like in Äs Nödt's case, the emotions revealed by his expressions could be used as a weakness.
And he tended to make slips of the tongue when the conversation involved Bambietta.
Or it could be the reason for finding his identity in being a Soldat, which was his first and ultimate goal.
However, to find a more fundamental and concise reason...
"I just don't want to show it to anyone but you, Bambietta-sama."
Snap!
Bambietta hurriedly lowered her head to hide her expression.
Her hair, unable to keep up with the speed, scattered in the air.
"Uh... Bambietta-sama?"
"Mmm-hmm..."
In the end, she couldn't lift her head until Nachahmer finished his shift.
*****
Quite naturally, Sternritter can be distinguished by gender.
If you combine all those who call themselves Sternritter, excluding His Majesty, there are 28 in total.
Among them, 20 are definitely male, and 5 are definitely female.
There's one in the middle, one unknown, and roughly one male-type.
Writing it down like this, it's a total mess.
Anyway, except for the fact that the categories are divided into five instead of two, it's a normal classification method.
On top of that, the men can be further divided into three types.
Zealots, sane people, and idiots.
But unlike gender, the sub-classifications for men allow for multiple selections.
It means there's a middle ground, like a Venn diagram.
And unfortunately, more than half of them are morons standing on the border between sane people and idiots.
In other words, it means they have the average intelligence of a male.
They have a characteristic of becoming simpler and more childish the more they gather.
You don't have to look far; just look at the incident with Basterbine's Soldat last time.
In what world do those look like grown adults who've aged properly?
They're just kids whose bodies have grown. Including me.
Of course, strictly as a Sternritter and to survive here, I'm gathering information and sharpening my blade while maintaining a gentle attitude.
It means I'm not naive enough to believe that a relaxed atmosphere truly implies peace underneath.
I guarantee that those who truly think that way will all die the moment the war breaks out.
I'm certain of it.
Anyway, the reason I'm saying this is that the inherent nature of men has finally manifested.
In my case, it's 'curiosity.'
It would require a lot of background explanation, but to keep it short...
"So, for Haschwalth's birthday, we're going to cover his room in pink?"
"Yes."
"And then we put mustache glasses on him and smash a cream cake into his face?"
"Exactly."
Hahahaha!
Everyone present burst into laughter.
Only Cang Du had a stiff face.
Bazz-B and the others, who looked like they were going to die from laughing, struggled to speak.
"That is such a fucking retarded idea! Kahaha!"
"I agree. You, for a mere Soldat to dare..."
"Let's do it immediately."
"You bastards."
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