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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Lord Fourth
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Melina’s events were relatively straightforward.
Except for the final evil spirit subjugation, there weren’t any particularly difficult battles, and most of them could be easily handled by Varis alone.
“Ugh… Where did it go?”
Melina was currently rummaging through the bushes in the garden outside the academy. Her face was filled with anxiety as she desperately searched for something.
“Hey, what’s wrong?”
Just then, Varis approached her and spoke. Melina looked up at him with surprised eyes.
“Oh? You’re… the friend who was with Arnold?”
This was supposed to be the moment of their first meeting. However, they weren’t complete strangers this time.
“Call me Varis.”
“So, what’s wrong? You’ve been searching through the bushes for a while now.”
Still, the overall flow was similar, so there didn’t seem to be any problems.
“Well…, I dropped an important ring around here… and I can’t find it no matter how hard I look.”
The first event started with Melina losing a precious item. It was a royal ring she had received from her father, the king, on her fifteenth birthday.
“Really? I’ll help you!”
Varis, appearing at the moment she lost such an important item, would help her find it and gain her favor.
“Really…? Thank you! You’re so kind.”
Varis smiled brightly, trying to reassure her. Melina’s expression also brightened slightly at his offer to help.
“I dropped it somewhere around here.”
“Okay, let’s see~”
There was nothing dangerous about this event, and there was no need for him to intervene. So, he hid behind a wall and observed them, quietly waiting for Varis to find the royal ring.
However.
“Hmm~ I can’t seem to find it.”
Something was wrong.
“Hmm…?”
They searched the garden thoroughly, but the ring didn’t appear, even after a considerable amount of time. Melina’s face gradually darkened, Varis also seemed puzzled, staring beyond the bushes.
This wasn’t supposed to take this long.
Normally, the observant protagonist would have found it quickly. By now, Varis should have found the ring, and Melina should have been expressing her gratitude and affection.
“It might have rolled somewhere…”
But even after searching for so long, they still couldn’t find it.
“…Target.”
Sensing something was amiss, he tried using a search spell.
“Huh…?!”
He couldn’t detect anything. In other words, the ring wasn’t just lost; it had actually disappeared.
“Why…?”
He was also bewildered. The item that should have been there was gone.
Why? Had it really disappeared? It was as if it had vanished from existence.
“Meow~”
Just then, he heard a meow.
“Lates?”
He looked down and saw the white cat, Lates, rubbing against his leg. Lates dropped something from its mouth and looked up at him.
Clink –
“What’s this?”
It looked at him with earnest, bright eyes, as if wanting to give him something. He picked up the item Lates had dropped and—
“…?!”
—his eyes widened in silent surprise.
It was the ring Melina had been looking for.
“Don’t tell me, you had it all along?”
He was speechless. But the surprise didn’t end there.
“Meow~ Meow~”
Lates looked back and forth between him and Melina with an innocent gaze, as if trying to tell him something. He interpreted it as a request to give the ring to Melina.
“……”
He couldn’t believe his eyes. Did this cat want him to gain Melina’s favor?
“This is crazy…”
He held the ring and thought for a moment. The two of them were still searching the garden, unaware that he had the ring.
He considered slipping it to Varis discreetly.
“Meow~!”
But just then, Lates suddenly meowed loudly, attracting their attention.
“Huh? Arnold!”
“Oh, when did you get here?”
Melina and Varis’s gazes turned towards him. He had been discovered.
“Oh? That ring… is mine!”
Melina’s eyes widened in surprise as she spotted the ring in his hand. Her previously gloomy expression brightened instantly.
“Meow~”
Lates, as if its task was complete, quickly left and disappeared.
“Did you… find it for me? Thank you!!”
Overjoyed, she grabbed his hand.
“No, this is-”
He tried to deny it, but Lates, the only witness, was nowhere to be seen.
“It’s a very important ring, and I was so worried I wouldn’t find it.”
Melina seemed to believe he had found it for her, her hand shaking his vigorously.
“No…”
At that moment, he realized that he, not Varis, had gained Melina’s favor.
This was a problem. If he, not Varis, received the affection from finding the ring, things could become slightly more complicated.
“Thank you so much! It might seem like a small thing, but you’re my savior, Arnold!”
But it seemed too late to turn back. She said the lines that were meant for Varis to him, and he had inadvertently stolen the first event…
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Thanks to Melina’s white cat, he had stolen the first event. But he wasn’t too worried. There were still other events that would bring Varis and Melina closer.
If he could just hand them all over to Varis from now on, and if Varis defeated the evil spirit, Melina would still fall in love with him.
“Huu…”
The next event was the “Flowerpot Incident.” Melina would be in danger of being hit by a falling flowerpot, but Varis would save her with his quick reflexes.
This event also yielded a considerable amount of affection from the heroine, so there couldn’t be any mishaps this time.
“Hmm~♪ Hmm, hmm♪”
During break time after class, Melina hummed a cheerful tune outdoors. She was walking through the crowd, and unlike before, Lates was walking beside her without a care in the world.
“Haa, the classes are getting harder…”
Varis also happened to be passing by, signaling the start of the event.
“Oh, watch out!”
Just as Varis was about to pass her, someone shouted in alarm.
“Ugh?!”
As predicted, a flowerpot, about the size of a human head, was falling towards Melina. Startled, she closed her eyes and covered her head with her hands instead of trying to dodge.
“Oh, no-”
Varis, seeing Melina in danger, instinctively reached out to her, but—
“Meow-!!”
—just then, another variable occurred.
“Ugh?! I can’t see!”
Her cat, Lates, jumped at Varis’s face, disrupting the original sequence of events.
“What’s on my face…!”
Varis, naturally, was more concerned with removing whatever was on his face than saving Melina.
“Ugh!!”
If this continued, Melina would be hit by the flowerpot and seriously injured.
“…Huh…?”
“Are you okay?”
He had no choice but to intervene again. He ran at full speed and managed to catch the flowerpot just before it hit her.
“Arnold?! Oh, thank you!”
He had stolen the event again.
“Meow~”
As soon as he saved Melina, Lates jumped down from Varis’s face and rubbed against him, as if seeking praise.
“Even Lates seems to be thanking you.”
“Meow~”
What was going on? That white cat was interfering with all his plans.
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“What should I do?”
Meanwhile, in the classroom,
“I need to tell him soon…”
Elisha was agonizing over something with a serious expression, her chin resting on her hand.
“But what if he rejects me if I rush things…?”
The reason for her worry was the obstacle between her and Arnold.
“Still, I have to take a chance before it’s too late.”
The contract of termination of engagement. Legally, they were still engaged.
However, if the contract’s effective period expired, their official relationship would be dissolved permanently.
After the termination process, both parties received a copy of the contract, and they were given two months.
If they didn’t change their minds and kept the contract for two months, their engagement would be officially terminated.
“Will he accept it? No, I have to tell him with the determination that he will.”
Elisha wanted to retrieve the contract from him, burn it as if it never existed, and maintain their current relationship.
However, even though she had been forgiven, her past actions of despising him made her grimace.
What if… he only wanted to be friends?
“You have quite the interesting expression.”
Just then, someone spoke to Elisha in a mocking tone.
“…Eilly.”
Elisha glared at her and muttered her name, her displeasure evident. She truly disliked Eilly.
“Mind your own business.”
“I just have a feeling you’re up to something.”
Eilly’s dark side surfaced whenever she saw Elisha. No… it was more accurate to say that it only appeared when Elisha was around. Eilly couldn’t tolerate other women near her master.
When her master wasn’t present, her innocent demeanor would disappear, leaving only a cold, ruthless Eilly with lifeless eyes.
“I said, mind your own business.”
“You… You’re after the contract of termination, aren’t you?”
Elisha clicked her tongue at Eilly’s words, glaring at her with disapproval. She had good instincts.
“Tsk.”
“As expected… you’re utterly shameless.”
“What?!”
Elisha was enraged by the maid’s provocation. A chilling atmosphere filled the air, as if a fight was about to break out.
“What? I’m not wrong, am I?”
“You’re not only asking for forgiveness after what you did, but you’re also trying to cancel the termination? Just how hypocritical can you be?”
Elisha silently gritted her teeth. Although she was angered by Eilly’s words, she knew they were true.
“He forgave…”
“How long are you going to use that as an excuse? Does a crime disappear just because you’ve been punished? You’re even refusing to accept the punishment!”
Her excuse of being forgiven no longer worked.
“Anyway… instead of scheming, atone for your actions towards Master and accept your fate. Even if I’m just a servant, I won’t tolerate this.”
With those words, Eilly left the classroom, her demeanor cold and hostile towards Elisha until the very end.
“Ugh…!”
Elisha glared at Eilly’s retreating figure, silently fuming. But Eilly simply walked away, seemingly oblivious or perhaps simply ignoring her.
“Sigh~”
However… as soon as she was out of Elisha’s sight, Eilly’s composure crumbled.
“Master… please.”
Because she knew that her kind master would readily hand over the contract of termination of engagement.
And she also thought of the elf who might become her rival.
“One is already enough…”
She was deeply afraid that the elf might also be after the man she loved.
“Please… don’t make me sad.”
If the engagement with Elisha was restored and another woman appeared, her position would become even more precarious.
“I beg you…”
Once again, this was all happening while Arnold was inadvertently stealing Varis’s flags and gaining Melina’s favor.
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Hi Lord Fourth here!
I’m new to translating so if you find some mistakes or inconsistencies let me know about it on the dedicated channel on discord.
Poor Eilly ;-;
Poor Eilly.
Also, lmao the cat playing wingman for an unwilling participant.