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The weather’s nice today. There aren’t any clouds.

The snowy gray clouds that have been showering the village with continuous snowfall appear to have passed while I was asleep. All that remains of the previous constant snowfall are the white specks on the ground.

Just like usual, I visit the church. At the moment, I’m standing right in front of the church’s large front doors.

I casually straighten my coat’s collar, the fabric on my torso, and down to my sleeves. Then I fix my muffler, feeling like it moved slightly out of place on my shoulders. Afterward, noticing some curls of hair weirdly sticking out a bit, I use my fingers to gently pull them down.

Finally, I take a deep breath. And exhale.

Alright. No problems with how I look anymore. I think.

I firmly squeeze the handle of my favorite leather bag, which I’m carrying in my left hand, before placing my right hand on the handle of the door.

…But before I open the door, I take another deep breath and slowly exhale.

Hey, why are you chickening out after coming this far, me? Just do it! Good grief!

I’ve already made my mental preparations, right?! I’ve done a lot of simulations in my head on the possible flow of questions and reactions I’ll receive. I’ve practiced my answers to all those questions too.

It should be fine. My preparations are flawless. I’m not going to be fooled. No matter what questions they ask me, I’m sure I can reply to all of them without getting upset. I’ll be okay.

If they ask about what happened yesterday, I just have to answer them in a smooth manner. Act like it’s no big deal.

That’s right. Be smooth. If Efa and the knight ask me, “Are you and Alfred lovers?” later on, I will just proudly answer without any hesitation, “Yes, that’s right.” Then I’ll let the conversation continue and move on…

I rest my forehead against the door and look at the ground. I want to crouch down too, but I manage to stop myself.

Ugghhhhh…

What is this… This is so embarrassing that I just want to escape before that dreaded scenario even happens!! For real!!!

Someone, please help me!!

No, no. Don’t say something so shameful, me. I can’t run away.

Face it head on! I’m a man, aren’t I?! Hang in there!

I can endure it. I can. I just have to pretend it’s not a big deal. Just have to respond in a suave manner in one go! I’ve already decided to do my best so that I won’t lose to the heroine Efa! The first blow is crucial! Must go for it!

Okay, I’m good now.

As long as I stay calm, I can do anything. Once I lose my cool, I’ll have already lost. I need to act normally. Let everything pass by normally.

Up until now, that’s what I’ve always done in order to overcome dangerous events. That’s why, I have to be confident in myself. Be confident that everything will be fine. All my hard work and suffering definitely won’t go to waste.

Also, I… I want to ask that knight about his reasons for coming here this early. I need to ask.

For that reason, I must enter this door.

This situation is strange no matter how I look at it. The knight shouldn’t be here right now. Probably… No, the goddess is definitely involved in this.

Also…

Last time, the Goddess flew away after saying a very strange line in the midst of tears… Just what did she say to the knight to make him come to this place?

I’m really curious.

If she asked him to help me, then that will be huge. I’ll be grateful for it. Having more friends makes me more reassured too. That’s why I have to talk to him as soon as I can. I have to discuss the current situation and my future plans with him.

However…

Is that really the case? Is that all? I don’t know.

For some reason, I feel gloomy. There are so many things that I don’t know, and yet things feel too calm.

I think it’ll be faster to ask the person directly rather than pondering about it and driving myself mad with worry like this. Once I do that, this irritating feeling plaguing my stomach and my head will finally disappear.

This morning, after Alfred sent me back to the mansion, I sat down at my desk to get to work. But as I face the pile of paperwork that I need to go through for today, my curiosity continues to bug me. Unable to finish any of my paperwork because of it, I decide that I have to come to the church and get my answers no matter what.

Even though yesterday’s matter is still fresh in their memory!

I once again breathe in and out to calm myself down.

Then I gather my courage. Put my strength into the hand that is on the door handle. And quietly pull the door open, making sure that I don’t make a sound.

I lean forward and peek inside through the small gap between the door, my eyes making a quick scan of the church’s interior.

“…Huh?”

There’s no one there.

Relieved, I pat my chest. This time, I open the door wide and step into the church. But it was then that…

“Ah! A visitor… Is it Lian-sama?” says a girl in a spirited tone from behind me.

I jump up in surprise. “H-huhhh?!” Then timidly, I look back.

There, I see a slender and petite blonde with a broom and a dustpan in her hands. She has a grin on her face, and her beautiful blue-sky eyes are squinted.

Her cheeks and nose are somewhat rosy, probably because of the cold. They’re still not as rosy as Marie’s cheeks too.

“Ah, it’s really Lian-sama! Good afternoon! The weather is very nice today. It’s like yesterday’s weather is just a lie!”

“R-right… Good morning, Efa-sama.”

“My, just call me Efa, Lian-sama! I don’t mind at all!”

“No, that’s…”

“It’s fine! After all, I’m just an apprentice. I still have a lot of things I don’t know yet! I don’t have any title or position that warrants calling me with that honorific!”

Then she runs forward until she’s right in front of me and angles her face up at me with a big smile. I smile back, even though I’m sweating inside.

“So please call me Efa, Lian-sama!” she continues.

Even if she says that… Is it really okay? She’s the future Holy Maiden. Not using honorifics when addressing such a person… Well, technically she’s not the Holy Maiden yet. But regardless, I’ll feel awkward if I’m the only one addressing her without honorifics.

“If you insist. Why don’t you call me Lian too?”

“H-huhh?!”

“We’re in the same positions after all.”

“Huh? T-the same…?”

“Yeah.”

Efa tilts her head, confusion evident on her face.

“As the lord’s assistant, I’m also an apprentice.’”

When I say that, Efa widens her eyes before bursting into laughter. “Lian-sama is also an apprentice?”

“Yes, I’m an apprentice.”

My reply seems to gladden Efa. Her cheeks flush an even deeper red.

“So that’s it!” she exclaims.

“That’s right. So you can just call me Lian too.”

But she waves her hands in panic. “No, I can’t do that! Because… Lian-sama is Lian-sama!”

“Wha…?”

Why? I don’t understand her reason.

“And Lian-sama is one year older than me, right? So you’re an older brother! Marie told me that. That’s why I’m going to add sama!”

“It’s only a one-year age gap. Besides, we’re both apprentices. Our positions aren’t that different.”

“No, it’s different! Very different!” As if feeling troubled, Efa flails her arms in all directions , causing a third of the fallen leaves in the dustpan to scatter all over the ground.

She tries to stop me when I try to pick the leaves up, but I pay her no mind and continue to help her tidy the mess up. Doing it together is faster after all. Besides, moving around distracts me from my worries.

“I-I’m sorry… Thank you very much…”

“No, don’t mind it. It must be hard to sweep in this cold weather, right?”

“It’s not a big deal! Although I look like this, I’m strong with cold weather!”

“Is that so?”

“That’s right!”

She flashes me an honest smile, transmitting her happiness and enjoyment. Lovely tinkling laughter also leaves her lips.

Affected by her joy, I smile and laugh with her.

As we laugh together, the tension that has been plaguing me for quite some time gradually disappears.

Ah, this conversation is completely different from any of the simulations I’ve done. In contrast, this conversation is very natural. Normal.

It seems I prepared myself too much. Too caught up on what to do if she asked me about yesterday, I grew nervous and worried. And yet, it doesn’t seem like she’s going to ask me about that at all.

Well, it’s a very private topic, and we just met yesterday. She’s probably avoiding that topic out of consideration for my feelings.

This thought causes me to recall something else.

This Efa, as well as the Efa I know from the game, is very sensitive to other people’s emotions. Because she often goes out of her way to take other people’s feelings into consideration, she’s able to snuggle into people’s hearts, making it hard to keep distance from her.

Such a girl won’t snoop on others’ privacy. Yeah, that’s right.

After reaching that conclusion and gaining a new perspective on this situation, I feel myself grow more and more relaxed, causing my shoulders to also droop. Afterward, I heave a sigh.

In case it’s not clear, the “second blonde” is the Holy Maiden and the “person with the dawn-colored hair” is the knight Schwede.