A familiar ceiling entered Miaâs sight as she opened her eyes.
Moving her head, she checked the handmade table clock sheâd made in class.
Itâs only 6 oâclock. Even though it is my last breakâŠ
Habits are really scary. She still woke up at her regular time despite the holiday.
She tried to put the blanket over her head and closed her eyes tightly, but it wasnât effective at all.
âAh, geez!â
If she couldnât sleep, then so be it. Mia jumped out of her bed, changed her clothes, and headed towards the first floor.
âGoood morning~â
Teresa, who was leaning on the table, waved her hands in the air, raising her laid-back voice.
An appetizing smell of roasting meat wafted from the kitchen. Cliff and Eight were in charge of todayâs breakfast. This fragrance was most likely of ginger and soya.
Todayâs breakfast was Cliffâs specialty: grilled wild boar meat with ginger.
Incidentally, Sagami Co.âs spices and ingredients were delivered to Class Gâs dormitory every morning before 6 am. The person on duty that day would pick up and use them on that dayâs menu.
The ginger and soya were the spices originally developed by Sagami Co., and the roasted wild boar with ginger was one of the dishes that the head chef of Silver Knife had taught Mia to cook in a quest.
Specifically, the grilled wild boar meat with ginger made by Cliff was the best among the students of Class G, and it was too delicious.
âGood morning,â Mia greeted Pluto and Teresa, who were already seated there, and she also sat down on a chair.
âIn the end, we still end up gathering at this time like every morning even though we are on a breakâŠâ
âYeah,â she nodded at Pluto, who muttered while resting his chin on his hands and absentmindedly thinking about todayâs vacation.
Mia was eating with everyone as the dessert was carried to the dining table.
âSo? This is our final break. What is everyoneâs plan?â Pluto asked casually, and everyone pondered about it for a while.
âNow that you mention it, thereâs nothing particular I want to do,â Cliff replied as he skillfully carried the food with his chopstick to his mouth.
âYeah, I donât have anything to do either.â
âMe neither.â
âMia, will you visit your mother?â
âNo, mother is already fine now.â
Miaâs mother had completely recovered from her illness, and there was nothing to worry about her life, as she was told so by the doctor in charge.
Furthermore, she seemed to have found a good person and was living together with him in the central district of the empire. She had finally forgotten that scumbag man. It was a really nice development, and Mia didnât want to be in the way of her motherâs happiness any more than this. That was why it turned into not seeing her for a while.
âThe heck, that means none of you have any plan in the end.â
Pluto shrugged in amazement.
âI bet it must be the same for you,â Cliff retorted.
âNo doubt.â
Pluto nodded in self-mockery.
âThen, why donât we work on the thing we are talking about today? There is only around one month left for the exam, and I donât think we can manage it at our current pace.â
âYeah, indeed. Isnât it fine since we donât have anything to do either way? What do you guys think?â
Pluto looked at everyone to see what they thought about Teresaâs words.
âMia also supports it,â Mia agreed immediately.
Yes, the deadline for Miaâs and the othersâ projects was until the end of the exam. They only had a short amount of time left.
âI basically agree, but how are we going to Straheim? Sensei isnât here today.â
It was just as Eight said. It was impossible to travel to Straheim without the help of Shirabe-sensei or his discipleâs profound strength.
And the crux of the matter was that Sensei wasnât here in the capital today. There were several of Senseiâs disciples, but they were definitely not using it without his approval.
âYou donât need to worry about it. Straheim has something I want, so Iâve already made plans to visit the city.â
âRight, though the problem is how to get there.â
âI have an idea.â
Responding to Cliffâs extremely honest opinion, Pluto flashed a smile as if a mischievous person had pulled off his best trap.
âYou, Iâm sure you are up to no good.â
Cliff stopped his hand holding the spoon to scoop up the soup and raised his voice in exasperation with his half-closed eyes.
âNonsense. That person only does legitimate deals.â
Well, Mia had already guessed it, more or less. Only one person among Sagami Co. staff members in the 4th district of Leithe would most likely accept the deal.
âLetâs eat quickly and head for the labyrinth! I have some magic I want to try out!â
âYou, was this your objective all alongâŠâ
A chuckle spilled out from Miaâs mouth naturally when she looked at Pluto let out a sigh as if he was genuinely fed up.
âWhatâs so funny, Mia?â
âHmm⊠You seem really happy.â
âWhat a strange person, as usual.â
Cliff began to move his spoon while spouting his usual cutting remarks.
Everyone harmoniously ate at the dining table. They could feel the gentle morning sunlight shining through the windowpane of the building everyone had worked hard to remodel.
It was as if Mia had finally gotten the thing she had lost for a long time, and at this moment, she felt certain happiness.