Chapter 54 – Extra: The Melancholy of a Young Lady (2)

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Several days had passed since Iris had a consultation with the principal. True to the principal's confident assurances, her newfound abilities were stabilizing rapidly. She naturally grasped how to wield this power, discovering that with the ability of the "the tamer," she could share the senses of the animals under her control.

At first, she was clumsy and felt dizzy and weak all over her body after using it for a short time, but after continuing to work hard, she finally made some progress.

Although she could share her vision for only a very short time, she could now sustain the sharing of her hearing for a fairly long time.

"Ugh… it's tough."

Iris, who had been sitting in a chair, staggered as she got up. Approaching the bed, she threw herself onto the soft blanket. She longed to conclude this matter swiftly and return to her daily life, but it wasn't as easy as her heart desired.

She understood that it was morally wrong, but Iris could not stop watching them.

Edwin had to take supplementary classes for a while to catch up on his progress, so he always left the academy late, and every time, the commoner girl waited for Edwin and left with him.

Iris had asked a bird to keep an eye on them from a close distance while Edwin was on campus, and she could hear the conversations between Edwin and the girl through the bird's ears.

Even though they tried to avoid talking during crowded times, during such moments, Iris could catch snippets of their conversation.

Even then, Edwin seemed to be trying his best to restrain himself, but he was always the one to back down to the girl's stubbornness and listen to her nagging.

According to rumors, Edwin's reputation was still at its lowest. And he still treated other commoner students with the same arrogant and overbearing attitude as before he was suspended.

However, after observing them through the bird's ears for the past few days, Iris was able to draw some general conclusions. Firstly, as suspected, it seemed that the girl, Ellie, wasn't forcibly bound to Edwin. From the circumstances, it seemed that Edwin had made some request to her, and Ellie had willingly accepted, resulting in their current relationship.

And the two of them seemed to be much closer than she had vaguely thought.

Iris had once hoped that Edwin would make friends with people regardless of their social status, but seeing it now somehow left her with a bittersweet feeling.

Why was Edwin giving this Ellie girl such special treatment?

To be more precise, Edwin seemed to be trying to be careful with her, but Ellie seemed to be approaching Edwin very warmly.

Even if they were friends, they shouldn't be so casual…

…It wasn't a matter of social status, but the casual approach of commoner students was too burdensome from her perspective.

Iris had been raised as a precious child in her family, so she had only properly faced people of other social classes after coming to this academy, and she was now beginning to experience their ways.

If she continued to approach them in such a manner, Edwin would undoubtedly feel burdened…

"Enough… let's stop this… how disgraceful, Iris," Wrapped in her blanket, Iris mumbled softly to herself. 

Lately, her routine involved returning to the mansion after classes, using her ability to control birds to keep an eye (?) on Edwin and the girl. Due to this, she hadn't attended social gatherings for quite some time, and her time assisting Eugene with studies had been reduced.

She had started this spying because she thought there might be a back story that she didn't know about, but now she had a pretty good idea of what was going on, and most importantly, this was not something a noblewoman could do.

That girl named Ellie wasn't being dragged around by force, and in any case, she and Edwin were now strangers.

Let's forget it.

Really forget it, and don't worry about it anymore…

No matter what he does, or who he brings with him, don't worry about it anymore, Iris…

Iris tossed and turned for a while, only managing to fall asleep in the early hours of the morning.

* * * * *

"Huh?" 

"Ari, what's wrong? Did you see anything strange?"

"…No, I guess I saw it wrong. Let's go inside quickly."

One holiday morning, Iris was on the street near the academy with her friend Pamela.

Since she had resolved to forget about Edwin, Iris had regained some of her daily life.

She faithfully balanced her work on the student council and her studies at the academy, and she started going to tea parties again.

Also, during the holidays, she spent her time with her best friend, Pamela, experiencing enjoyable things.

As she had things to focus on, she felt like her emotional wounds were slowly healing, albeit little by little.

And today, she was just about to have a fun time with her best friend, Pamela, when something strange appeared before her eyes.

"…So I told him, 'you think women just meet any man they want, don't you? In today's world, even commoners don't find it easy to find someone like you.' And what do you think Philip said? I'm so, I'm so…Ari, are you listening to me? Ari?"

"Huh? Yeah. I'm listening, so what did Philip say then?"

"Listen. So that pig said, you know…"

Pamela was giving a long speech in front of her, but Iris's ears were not taking in even a third of what she was saying.

What was filling Iris's head right now was the thought of the group she had just passed by.

A little earlier, before Iris and Pamela entered the salon, they had passed by the girl, Ellie, who was always following Edwin.

Although she didn't know her personally, she had seen her face dozens of times through the eyes of other things.

Since she had confirmed her face from a very close distance, there was no way she could have seen her wrong.

It would be natural to meet an academy student on a holiday like this, but what made her feel strange was the group she was with.

Iris had faced them head-on just like Ellie, yet their appearance was completely forgettable. She couldn't recall whether they were a man or a woman, tall or short. Did they use some kind of artifact to conceal their identity? Wait. Traveling with Ellie, hiding their identity… Could it be?

"I'm sorry, Pamela. Wait for me for a moment. I have to go somewhere for a while. I'll be back soon, wait!"

"…You should have seen Philip's face at that time… What…? Ari! Where are you going! What's going on all of a sudden!"

Iris ignored Pamela's voice calling her anxiously and hurriedly left the salon.

She looked around, but of course she couldn't find Ellie and her companion, who had passed by long ago.

Iris smiled dejectedly and shook her head, "This is ridiculous. What am I doing?" She muttered softly and turned back towards the way she had come.

She seemed to be going back to the salon, but she suddenly bit her lip and stopped, "Just once…this is the last time…" 

She walked over to a bench on a nearby walking path and sat down; then she closed her eyes and called the name of the thing she could trust the most. 

"…Sugar."

About three minutes after Iris called her name, she heard the sound of flapping wings above her head.

—CHIRPPP!!! 

She opened her eyes and looked at the small bird sitting on her finger; the bird had a dark overall color, but fluffy white feathers grew on its cheeks and belly, giving a very cute impression to those who saw it.

And this bird was also the first bird Iris successfully tamed.

Iris showered this child with special affection, and even gave him the name 'Sugar'. 

The bird that she had asked to follow Edwin around the academy was also this one.

"I'm sorry, Sugar. You should be resting on a day like this, but…do you remember Edwin from last time? He's supposed to be around here now. Can you find him…?"

Sugar rubbed its cheek against Iris's finger, then flapped its wings and disappeared into the sky.

Iris synchronized Sugar's vision with her own a few moments later, and she was able to find Ellie sitting in a dessert cafe through her eyes.

Fortunately or unfortunately, the dessert cafe had an open terrace structure, so Sugar was able to get closer to them, and Iris was able to vividly feel all the stimulation through Sugar's eyes and ears.

And, as if it was only natural, Edwin was sitting next to the plush sofa where Ellie was sitting.

'Oh my God…what the hell is that…?'

Iris was stunned by the scene unfolding before her, or rather, before Sugar's eyes.

If you want to read the first 25 chapters for free and read up to the final chapter for a cheap price patreon.com/Makima02