The day after the entrance ceremony, and the day after that, Tirel Keira made her way to the greenhouse. She liked the quietness of that place. Rosette, the caretaker, didn't strike up conversations. The medicinal herb scent was a bit peculiar, but once you grew accustomed to it, it had a strangely calming effect. White tiny flowers glimmered in the sunlight, and the light filtering through the glass ceiling cast patterns across the leaves. A few days into her enrollment, on an afternoon, Keira settled onto her usual bench and opened a history book she'd been reading. It was one she'd borrowed from Etreille Academy's grand library—a three-story building with one hundred twenty reading seats, a dreamlike place for book lovers—a record about the Carelia Pass conflict from one hundred twenty years ago, detailing how fiercely both nations had fought over the border's mineral deposits. Fertina and Valdikion combined: over eight thousand casualties. Even now, the pass region remained a demilitarized buffer zone, with both sides continuing to claim sovereignty. *(Why am I reading something like this?)* She sighed. If she was going to live quietly, this knowledge wasn't necessary. But Father had told her it would definitely be useful in the diplomacy lectures, so she'd decided to at least commit it to memory. From outside the greenhouse, the sound of clashing swords drifted faintly from the practice grounds. At this distance, even that sound was quite muted. She could sense Rosette busily tending to the medicinal herbs somewhere deeper inside. For a while, that was all there was. So when the greenhouse door opened, Keira noticed immediately. She looked up. A person entered from the corridor. Long, jet-black hair. Even visible above the uniform, a spine stretched straight and tall. He was tall. The moment she saw his face, Keira froze for just an instant. —It was the black-haired young man who had been standing at the edge of the corridor on entrance day. She recognized him. She hadn't confirmed it, but he was the person who had caught her eye then. There was a thin scar above his left eyebrow. Gray, sharp eyes looked directly at Keira in a straight line. He approached. His footsteps were silent, his gait natural. Yet there was tension somewhere. His bearing was refined, with an air of propriety, yet simultaneously an atmosphere that kept people at a distance. The young man stopped in front of Keira's bench. "[serious]For the past few days, I have been using this place" His voice was low and calm. He was using formal language. But there was no warmth in it. It was merely a tone stating facts, without any hint of blame. Keira closed her book. *(This is bad. There was someone here first.)* Internally, she was at a loss. But she didn't let it show on her face. This was a technique she'd acquired in her previous life. Her body, which had continued smiling before tens of thousands of eyes, remembered it. Maintaining a calm expression, naturally. "I didn't know. I apologize" As she tried to stand, the young man shook his head. "No, I came today for a different reason" A different reason? Keira sat back down. The young man was watching her intently. His gaze was slightly strange. It was the kind of look that measured something, that tried to confirm something. "[serious]On entrance day—you cut in between the upper-year students" Keira's hand stopped slightly on the book's cover. "[gentle]...You were watching?" "It was by chance. I was at the edge of the corridor" *(I was seen.)* Internally, she felt exasperated. That was an incident she'd wanted to forget as much as possible. She'd reacted reflexively, and stood out again. "[gentle]It was just a reflex. It's nothing significant" "People who say such things often do it consciously" The words came back immediately, and Keira found herself looking at his face. The young man was expressionless. Not sarcastic, not teasing—just stating the results of his observation. *(This person is quite sharp.)* It was a face she'd seen far too often in her previous life. The kind that observed people, analyzed them, tried to read something from them. "[gentle]Valdikion Rion...is it? I heard you're an exchange student from Valdikion Kingdom" The young man's expression moved slightly. Not from surprise. Just the faintest reaction to being told something unexpected. "That's correct. And you are?" "Tirel Keira. From the Tirel earldom—" "I know" He cut her off curtly. So he'd done his research, Keira thought. This exchange student had looked up the names of Fertina's students beforehand. Well, that was natural enough, perhaps. Rion was silent for a moment, watching Keira. "It's rare to find someone who helps others on reflex" With just that, he turned on his heel. His gait was quiet. The door opened and closed, and he disappeared into the corridor before his footsteps could even be heard. Keira remained sitting on the bench for a while, staring at the closed book. *(…This has become troublesome.)* He was sharper than she'd expected. Those eyes didn't just look at the surface. And the meaning of a person from Valdikion Kingdom studying at Fertina's academy—if you knew the history of the Carelia Pass conflict, you couldn't simply accept it as just a "sign of friendship." The problem was that she was thinking about such things. *(It's better not to get involved. Absolutely not.)* She heard Rosette humming from deeper inside. A carefree tune, apparently a song about medicinal herbs. Keira sighed and opened her book once more. --- The afternoon diplomacy lecture was held in a large classroom in the main building. The instructor, Adrian—in his fifties with mostly white hair, but with oddly lively eyes—wrote "Neighboring Country Negotiation Simulation" in large letters on the blackboard. "[serious]Today we'll be doing this in practical format. Form groups and conduct a discussion simulating trade negotiations with a neighboring country. The scenario is the grain price issue from thirty years ago. Each group should decide your position and draft a diplomatic document" The grouping was done by lottery. The paper Keira drew said "Group Three." As students shuffled to move seats, Keira sat down at the Group Three table. Three students joined her. A four-person group. A fifth person arrived. Keira saw this person's face and, internally only, looked up to the heavens. Jet-black hair. A scar above the left eyebrow. Gray eyes. *(Why?)* Rion's eyes met Keira's. He showed no particular surprise and quietly sat in the seat next to her. The other three group members kept glancing at Rion. The fact that an exchange student from Valdikion Kingdom had joined their group made them somewhat restless. It was understandable. Given the relationship between the two nations, it was normal to feel tense. The discussion began. First, one of the group members, a red-haired male student named Louis, suggested "We should negotiate from Fertina's position." Another student said "But if the scenario is thirty years ago, we need to research the prices from that time," and the conversation started to drift. That's when Rion quietly spoke up. "[serious]It would be faster to frame this not as a grain price problem, but as a transportation route problem. The cause of the price difference thirty years ago was that the Mileune River's flooding cut off the land route. If we start the negotiation from securing the transportation route rather than the price, the other country will be more willing to move" Everyone stopped for a moment. Louis muttered, "...Right, I hadn't thought of that." Indeed, that perspective made much more sense. Keira observed Rion while the discussion progressed. *(That person goes quiet right after pointing something out.)* Once the direction was set, he let the other group members carry the discussion forward. He didn't push himself to the front. But whenever the group's discussion seemed to veer off course at some point, he'd insert another short, precise comment. He wasn't standing out. Yet in reality, Rion was determining the entire direction of this group. *(He's doing this intentionally.)* Keira was certain of it. This was similar to a technique she'd learned in her previous life. Establish a leader in the group while controlling everything from behind. That way there was less friction, and if anything went wrong, it wouldn't come to light. There was calculation in it. Midway through the discussion, Louis turned to Rion and said, "Let's ask how Valdikion would think about this." Rion paused for a moment, then began explaining the style of Valdikion's diplomatic documents. Keira took notes while opening her mouth from a slightly different angle. "[gentle]Valdikion's documents have short conditions, don't they? Just the essentials, with almost no background explanation. For someone reading it for the first time, the intent is hard to discern" For a moment, the group fell silent. She thought she might have overstepped, but Rion responded quietly. "Fertina's documents are the opposite. Too much preamble, making the main point hard to see" They ended up critiquing each other. The group members, who had expected some kind of awkward atmosphere, seemed relieved. Keira smiled inwardly. *(We can talk more normally than I thought.)* But that was all. That's all it should be with this person. As the lecture ended, Adrian collected each group's draft. Group Three's proposal apparently received a decent evaluation, and Louis seemed satisfied, saying "This looks pretty good." Before Rion stood up, he turned to Keira. "[serious]Tomorrow, let's bring the final summary of the assignment. The location doesn't matter" "[gentle]...Understood" After answering, Keira grumbled internally. *(Please don't come to that greenhouse, absolutely not.)* --- The next afternoon, the two met at Café Soleil. A small café five minutes' walk from Etreille Academy's main gate, popular with academy students. When Keira opened the wooden door, the sweet scent of honey and baked goods wafted out. The window-side seats were bright, with afternoon light falling diagonally across the tables. A few uniformed students sat at other tables, some with books spread open, others talking in hushed voices. The female proprietor behind the counter spotted the two of them entering together with a keen eye. She had a rounded figure and many laugh lines, and her voice seemed to carry from everywhere. Her name was Nadine, and nearly all academy students knew her face. She had an eye for gossip and was famous as an information broker. Nadine came over and, while taking their order, said with a smile: "[laughing]Oh my, what a lovely pair you two make" Keira, who had been about to lift her teacup, froze. *(Now? Really?)* She held the cup and thought for a second about how to respond. Denying it would be normal, but reacting too flustered would give her away. Should she laugh it off or pretend not to hear? In that moment, Rion answered first. "[cold]She has no interest in me. She's a rare type of person" He said it expressionlessly, quite naturally. Keira reflexively wanted to retort. *(Wait, what does that even mean?)* Nadine laughed and said "Oh, so you're aware of it," before heading back to the kitchen. Keira took a sip of her tea. It was hot. It tasted of honey. The atmosphere had become slightly softer than before. Nadine's teasing had somehow eased the tension that had been building. The two spread out their materials. It was a continuation of yesterday's discussion. The assignment was to compare the differences in style between Fertina and Valdikion diplomatic documents and determine which was more effective in actual negotiations. "[serious]Valdikion's format derives from military reports, with the basic form being a simple enumeration of conditions. The principle is to include no emotional language" "[gentle]Fer