Chapter 193: Chapter 193: Summer Vacation (2)

“What do people live by?”

Whether Iris was pushing out her small chest or her soft belly, it was unclear, but she struck a cute pose and proudly declared.

“This is a question where each person’s answer can be different yet all correct. However, if I dare to speak an undeniable truth…”

“Go ahead.”

“People live by consuming food!”

“…That is indeed an undeniable truth, but also quite a sudden statement.”

Having asked Faye to make plenty of tanning lotion, we headed to the mansion together.

We spent the day showing off to Iris, who had gone through great effort to gather reinforcements, and bragging about my promotion to intermediate magician.

After that… I spent the day pampering Iris to my heart’s content and fell asleep as if I had passed out.

And now here we were.

The menu was rather luxurious, possibly due to Pamela’s family’s efforts. In front of that, Iris declared again.

“People can only move by eating!”

“What are you trying to say?”

“I want more eggplant.”

“…Would you like some of this?”

What’s with this childish behavior?

I transferred half of my eggplant dish to Iris.

It wasn’t just any ordinary eggplant dish. It was a high-class dish with minced meat inside and a tangy, sweet sauce on the outside.

It was quite delicious.

Even though Iris wanted it so much, when I handed it over, she looked startled.

Seeing this, Faye mumbled absentmindedly.

“Our junior’s ‘egg’.”

“Are you talking about eggplant? You mean eggplant, right?!”

Saying such things in the morning, and during a meal no less!

“Huh? Did you think I was making a dirty joke? Of course, I’m talking about eggplant.”

“Why are you trailing off your words?! And starting with ‘egg’ isn’t right!”

“Ahaha…”

Faye, with her characteristic creepy smile, began to savor the eggplant dish slowly.

While I was laughing at the absurdity of it, Carla gulped beside me.

“Well… it’s smaller than the Master’s!”

“That’s not a look you should be giving food!”

In the chaotic atmosphere, only Elisha calmly stared at the table.

Her blue hair and eyes, reminiscent of a clear sky, and her elegant curls added to her sophisticated demeanor. And she was…

“…”

Clatter, clatter.

Silently cutting the eggplant into bite-sized pieces for some time.

“Um… Elisha?”

“…Huh? Oh, what’s the matter, Dear?”

When I called her name, she finally stopped her pointless slicing of the eggplant and looked up at me.

“Well. You’ve been zoning out for a while, so I was wondering if something was wrong.”

“Oh… it’s nothing. When I heard the Master’s words about people needing to eat to live, it made me think of something… or maybe not.”

Saying that, Elisha unconsciously crushed the eggplant she had cut.

Although I knew it wasn’t because of Faye’s comment, it still bothered me immensely.

Unable to say anything, I watched the eggplant being mashed helplessly.

Suddenly, Elisha seemed to realize something and stood up abruptly.

“Ah!”

“What? What is it? What’s wrong, Elisha?”

“Hey, you!”

“Huh?”

“When was the last time Professor Iona drank your blood?”

“Well, it was the day before the exam. Even though I’m Professor Iona’s official bloodsucking partner, it wouldn’t look good if a professor and a student were seen together during the exam period.”

“So, how many days has it been?”

“Around four days? No, it’s been five days today… Wait a minute.”

Does that mean Iona hasn’t drunk any blood for five days?

Of course, a vampire like Iona could maintain her strength without blood for a month.

But drinking my blood wasn’t just about strength.

I’ve gotten somewhat used to it, and with the Blessing of the Gods increasing my resistance, it wasn’t a big inconvenience for me… but it was different for Iona.

There must be something like a drug component in my blood, and she’s become so dependent on it that she struggles if she doesn’t drink it regularly.

“…Did I mess up?”

I should have given her some blood before coming. Could it be that all the winks she was sending yesterday weren’t just jokes but desperate appeals?

“No, but she said she would come today. It’ll be fine. Yeah.”

“If she can handle the suppressed bloodlust, that is.”

“…”

While I was discreetly checking the remaining recovery potions in my inventory…

Thud!

Pamela, who had been preparing breakfast and should be taking a short break by now, urgently opened the door to the dining hall.

“Master! The Tower Master… I mean, Lady Iris! There’s an emergency! A vampire on the verge of rampaging is outside…!”

“Oh.”

I shoved the remaining food into my mouth and calmly closed my eyes.

It seems the next course is me.

“Oh my, oh my! Yandel, you’re something else! To think you’d forget about me, Professor Iona! Or what? Do you like making me so anxious?”

“I said I’m sorry. Are you satisfied now?”

“Yes, yes. This is enough… But who’s this?”

Iona, sitting on my lap, pointed to Iris, who was pouting and staring at us.

“She’s Iris. You must have seen her when she brought reinforcements last time…”

“Iris Sylvan Banatis.”

Iona interrupted me, lifting the corners of her mouth into a grin.

“Oh my, oh my. I was unsure back then, but you really are the former Tower Master of the Sylvan Magic Tower, aren’t you?”

“Ugh. Even though the Master told me in advance, seeing her in person is different. Also, that’s my spot. Get off.”

Iris tried to pull Iona off my lap by tugging at her arms, but lacking the strength, she ended up dangling from her.

Eventually giving up, Iris crawled behind me and climbed onto my back, prompting me to ask.

“What? You two know each other?”

“Yes. We go way back, a very long-standing grudge.”

Iris nodded her head, pressing her soft cheek against mine.

As always, her skin was incredibly soft. Like baby skin, really.

While I marveled at Iris’s cheeks internally, Iona spoke with her usual playful smile.

“Yes, we go way back. Around 300 years, I think?”

“It’s a lamentable thing. If not for the war…”

“Aha? So, you met during the War of the Gods?”

Come to think of it, it made sense. The War of the Gods was a total war for humanity’s fate.

Of course, Iona, who was famous at the time, and even Iris, though not as powerful as she is now, would have been on the battlefield.

At that time, everyone fought regardless of age, gender, nationality, or even species, so it was likely they fought together.

Thinking about it that way, it made sense why Iris rushed to cling to me right after we defeated Ayla and why she nonchalantly agreed to eradicate the cultists with Iona.

They were already well-acquainted, it seems.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

…Though they don’t look particularly friendly.

“Hey, hey, did you know this, Yandel? During the war, Iris used to bring along about a dozen servants and demand tea time?”

“Ugh… That was when I first went to the battlefield! Besides, at that time, I was raised as royalty, and it was my first time leaving the Great Forest!”

Nowadays, high elves are respected for their religious significance, but in the distant past, they were actual royalty.

Even if they didn’t ascend the throne, all high elves were treated as royalty.

It must have been that such customs still lingered during Iris’s childhood.

The reason high elves passed the throne to the more capable ones was to survive wars.

In other words, Iris, at the beginning of the war, was really an ignorant princess.

To Iona, who was rampaging for revenge at that time… yeah. She must have been quite unimpressive.

As I nodded in understanding, Iris hurriedly started flailing and opened her mouth.

“Isn’t it true that you were quite a troublemaker too, Iona?! Every time you saw a cultist, you lost your mind and disobeyed orders like it was nothing… I first thought you were a priest of the Church of Righteous Radiance.”

“Hah! At least I wasn’t asking for elven tea in a besieged castle!”

“I was better than someone who dashed out the gate, charging forward like a mad suicide candidate!”

“Anyway, we won, didn’t we?”

“If you put it that way, I also boosted our allies’ morale in my own way!”

“You’re really trying to justify being treated like a child by humans 200 years younger than you? Where’s your conscience?”

“I’m cute, so it’s fine!”

“Have you finally lost it?!”

“Waaah!”

Iris and Iona bickered with me in the middle.

Carla, Elisha, and Faye found the scene interesting, too, their eyes sparkling as they watched the argument unfold.

The stories from the Great War that came up occasionally were quite amusing, too.

Listening to them made me smile, and I inadvertently muttered.

“You two are so close; why haven’t you spoken until now?”

Both of them fell silent for a moment, exchanged a glance, and then spoke again.

“…Master, I’ll say it again, but we’re not particularly close.”

“Yeah, yeah. If I had to compare, it’s like the difference between Yandel and another Class A student…”

It was my turn to be silent.

I do have at least one friend in my class… I do…!

Unable to refute, I let out a frustrated shout.

“Ugh! Anyway, both of you are my girls now, so get along! That’s an order!”

“…”

“…”

Iris and Iona exchanged a peculiar look.

“Hmm… The Master is right. We should get along from now on.”

“Master… I didn’t think much about it before, but isn’t this incredible? You bought Elisha and me together. I knew you weren’t an ordinary person, but where did you get that much gold?”

“Oh, now that you mention it, we were supposed to hear the full story today. Since the others already know, let’s explain quickly.”

“See, see. There was something, right?”

Iris puffed up with pride, and Iona, excitedly anticipating the story, urged her on.

Iona should adapt quickly. That’s a relief.

But how long do I have to stay between them?

Not that I mind, but my legs are starting to cramp.