Waving to Lili, I stepped out into the dormitory hallway and headed for the dining hall.

Near the entrance of the dining hall, Riona and Oujin were chatting. Riona, sharp-eyed as always, spotted me immediately and waved her arms above her head.

“Heeey, El-tan!”

I approached them, glancing around.

He’s not here at times like these.

Riona asked, “El-tan, are you here for lunch too?”

“No, not really. …Oujin, have you seen Void?”

Oujin shook his head.

“Not yet today. He’s probably either in his dorm room, on the main school building’s rooftop, or maybe at Miriola’s place in the black market.”

“I see.”

As I slumped my shoulders, both Riona and Oujin furrowed their brows.

“What’s up, El-tan? You don’t look too good today. Should I cheer you up? We just need to find a place where we can be alone!”

“Something troubling you? I don’t mind listening if you need to talk.”

I lifted my face and jerked my chin.

“No, it’s fine. You two wouldn’t be of any help.”

This time, it was a matter of relationships.

Riona would likely use her full intelligence-gathering abilities and poke around just for fun. If that happened, I’d be the one exposing Lili’s private matters.

And Oujin… when it came to relationships, he was literally useless. Completely worthless.

“……”

“……”

Leaving the two of them standing there, wide-eyed, I waved a hand dismissively and turned my back.

“See you at dinner, you useless lot.”

Void usually spent his time on the rooftop, but that was only to skip classes. If he stayed in the dorm, the dorm mother would find him, so he used the rooftop as a hiding spot. That meant on a day off, he had no reason to go to the main school building.

“If he’s in the black market, that’ll be a hassle.”

For now, I started walking toward the boys’ dormitory.

Just as I reached the entrance, Void came out, yawning.

“Void!”

“Huh?”

Void turned his sluggish face toward me. I hurried over to him.

“What is it? Can we talk while we eat?”

“Sorry, this isn’t something I want others to hear.”

“Oh? Not even the cat or the kappa bastard?”

“Kappa?”

Void tapped the top of his head with a finger and grinned.

“They’re monsters from the eastern lands that live in ponds and rivers. I hear they have bald spots on the tops of their heads.”

“That’s… unfortunate.”

For the record, Oujin wasn’t bald.

“Anyway, about that. Yeah, I don’t want those two hearing this either.”

Void raised one eyebrow higher than the other.

Grabbing his uniform, I dragged him to a quiet corner of the courtyard, then told him what Lili had shared earlier—without mentioning Lili or Blythe by name.

“You think you can figure out what she really meant?”

“Ah… yeah, the way you asked was all wrong.”

Void let out a long, exaggerated sigh.

“Me?”

“You asked if she was in love with some dead guy, right? I don’t know who this woman is, but that kind of immature love must have ended a long time ago. Probably.”

I tilted my head.

“Immature? Explain it better!”

“Ah, how do I put it… He was just part of her life, naturally.”

“I still don’t get it!”

“It wasn’t some fleeting school crush where she wanted to see him all the time or felt her heart race. It was probably closer to the kind of bond you see in a married couple who’s been together for years. Not that I really know—hey, where are you going? Not eating?”

Before I realized it, I was already running.

Rushing across the courtyard, I called out a greeting to Holly, the dorm mother, who was sweeping in front of the girls’ dormitory, then sprinted back inside.

Taking the stairs two at a time, I threw open the usual door.

Lili was sitting at the table in the same position as before, but this time, I caught her hastily wiping at her eyes.

“…W-what’s wrong?”

Closing the door behind me, I took a deep breath and asked again.

“Lili, I’ll ask one more time. Did you love Blythe?”

“…Yes. I loved him.”

She murmured it, barely audible.

The next moment, she stood up and hurried into the changing space in the corner of the room, hidden behind a folding screen.

I leaned my back against the door and slid down to my knees, feeling utterly powerless.