Presently, Sara and I were in the student council’s room. Talking with my sense of value from my past world, this was no student council’s room. This room was so spacious and luxurious that I was totally taken aback.
Sara and I were seated on a 3-seater sofa that was conspicuously placed in the centre of the room. It was so fluffy that it made me feel uncomfortable instead. I glanced to my side and it looked like Sara found it uncomfortable as well; she was sitting restlessly.
And in front of us sat the president of the student council. It might not be obvious since he was sitting down, but he was a tall guy having a sleek style with his strong yellow-blonde hair stroked to the back — an intelligent type of ikemen.
The president of the student council, Zoyl Danone. He was one of the capture targets in the BL game and the second most popular (the most popular was obviously Al). Despite being a commoner with scholarship, he was very influential to the point he could assume the post of the president.
Well, although he was a commoner, his family assumed the first or second position in the ranking of the nation’s wealthiest; they possessed more financial power and influence compared to any normal noble family.
In the case where the MC, Louie, chose Zoyl in the game, they would have no issue of status difference; the ending would be Louie lively working at the house he married into. Even after the game ended, they appeared to have a happy life, so Zoyl’s route was quite popular.
In the BL game, the president was popular, but I still found it strange. I took a glimpse at Sara beside me; she was making a very irritated face. According to Sara, the president was one of the capture targets in the otome game.
No-no-no, isn’t that weird? He was supposed to be the capture target in the BL game. I have a clear memory regarding this.
Could it be, the BL game and the otome game has a common capture target? Is that even possible? Well, if you say the president of the student council, certainly they are very likely to be the capture target in either BL game or otome game…. But isn’t there only one such person in the whole academy? Is he taking multiple roles? Manpower shortage? Is this even okay? Before talking about how the games have changed, isn’t this too slapdash for the games to have something like this?
“No problem in writing it?” The president peeked into the paper under our hands.
“Ye—s” Sara answered with no energy.
I was already tired so I could only respond by nodding my head.
The reason why we were called to the student council room: the day before, Sara and I damaged the bushes in front of the first academic building, so we were here to accept the penalty. As the perpetrators for the damages to public properties, we were dragged here by the student council.
How come we were exposed?
We were penalized by handing in written apologies to the academy and also to the environmental committee. And somehow, we were told to just write them altogether inside the student council room. That brought us here in the room to rack our brains in writing it by squeezing out any usable words for the apology, leaving us battered in the end.
“This reminds me, there was an event when the heroine Sara got shoved by the villainous noble daughter, Lucrecia, and she fell into the hedges. She was then helped out by the president.”
“At my side, the event was where the villainous son, Fania, threw MC Louie’s textbooks into the hedges, then as Louie entered the hedges to pick them up, the president reprimanded him.”
Sara and I gazed downcast and murmured among ourselves.
We happened to interact with the president, but was this considered as an event? If it was, did it belong to the BL game or the otome game? Sara and I both couldn’t take a guess.
“It seems like you both have finished. Good job. While we’re here already, you can have tea.” The president smiled brightly.
In the BL game, he was originally someone with a serious and rigid character. As he got closer with Louie, he started to take a more relaxed attitude. That was Zoyl.
He was different from a tsundere, but when he turned into the ‘dere’1 mode, he showed an intriguing gap compared to his usual countenance.
However, the president in front of us currently didn’t appear to be that serious; he had a gentle atmosphere around him instead.
Right now, there was only the president and us in the student council room. He personally prepared the tea for us. With much tact, he prepared the black tea and also placed some cute snacks inside a small plate alongside the tea.
The fragrant and sweet smile of the black tea wafted in the air. Inside a cutely patterned small plate, there were around 10 pieces of tiny little snacks mounted on it; each of them was about the size of the tip of the little finger.
“Th-this…..” I scrutinized the snack, and Sara followed suit and we both gasped.
With trembling fingers, I picked up one piece of the snack and put it inside my mouth. It was crispy, yet a little hard to chew and along with it, a nostalgic taste spread inside the mouth.
It felt so nostalgic that tears almost fell down from my eyes. I remember this. This is ‘arare’2 that I’ve eaten in my past life!
“Fania, this is arare…” “Yes, it is arare.” Both of us trembled with deep emotions.
It had been 16 years since I reincarnated here, but I still hadn’t forgotten this taste even in the slightest. A very nostalgic taste.
Overwhelmed with emotions, both of us clutched our hands together.
If there is ‘arare’, that means there is glutinous rice in this world. Following that, there should also be mochi, and red glutinous rice. Even okowa!3 Now my dream has widened even further!!4
“Wow, so you two not only know about this snack, but also its name.” The president looked at us in surprise.
Ooops, I was so carried away with the arare, that I forgot the president was still there.
“I’ve eaten it long, long ago.”
Sara, good job! That was not totally a lie.
“Really? This snack is a rare delicacy from a very faraway country, now available in our trading company.”
Zoyl had a thought: ‘This snack that originated from a country in the far east doesn’t exist in this country. It took a very long time to transport it into this country. Just the amount served on this small plate costs 10,000 Luir (¥10,0005). It’s very pricey, but I served it as I thought it would be a nice topic to start talking. It was because I thought that it’s desirable to form a connection with them. Who would’ve thought that these two actually know about this rare snack.’
“Urm, where is this sold? Where can I get them?” Before I realized, I already asked that to the president.
Depends on the answer, I probably would dash out right away and buy it. Of course, I’ll be using my whole allowance.
“You know, this actually was imported from a very faraway country, so even in our trading company, it’s a rare thing that is difficult to obtain. I don’t think it’s sold anywhere.” The president answered with quite a sorry expression on his face.
How can it be, to make me filled with so much hope only to shatter it down later. That’s terrible.
“Fania…….”
“Wh-what is it?” I slightly shuddered listening to Sara’s feverish voice.
“I’ve decided. After I graduate, I’ll become an adventurer.”
“Huh?”
”
”
“I’ll become an adventurer, then I’ll go to that faraway country. Wait for me, Fania. I’ll bring back a lot of things for you.” With shining eyes, Sara wrapped my hands.
“No way, I don’t think there’s a job called adventurers in this world.”
“Eh, really? Then, I’ll become a member of a trading caravan. Oh yes, the best option would be joining the caravan that belongs to our president’s trading company.”
Is it okay to simply decide your future like that?
But I totally understood Sara’s feelings. Just by having a bite of that arare, the nostalgia from the past life simply overflowed. Sara and I probably didn’t have a full and complete life before. Most likely, we didn’t even live to old age. Perhaps this kind of regret made the longing for that life ever so strong despite not exactly remembering the details of the past life.
A faraway country that has arare. I wonder what kind of country that is. There’s a possibility it also has a variety of those nostalgic things.
“Should I also join the caravan along with Sara….” I inadvertently blurted that out.
“Huh? What are you talking about? Fania, in the near future, you’re going to marry the Prince, and become the Princess Consort6, aren’t you? You just have to leave the caravan thing to me.”
“Eh? Princess…Consort?”
“Fania, aren’t you Alfred-sama’s fiance?”
“Y-yes.”
To avoid being overheard by the president in front of us, both of us were talking in low voices.
The blow I received just then felt like I got smacked on the head. I, a Princess Consort?
I had never actually thought of the future with Al in it. My mind was always disturbed by the story of the BL game. I solely thought of not wanting to be sent to the labour camp. It had never even occurred to me that the BL game would eventually come to an end.
From the very beginning, Sara had declared that she wouldn’t have anything to do with the otome game; the reason was that things would not go well if she, a commoner, paired up together with a noble or the royalty.
And the one she liked was Zernite, at that. Moreover, just now she was saying that she would join the caravan after graduation.
Then me? What am I going to do?
My brain started to think round and round in circles. However, I could not even properly think of anything.
“Ahahahaha, if Sara would come to our trading company’s caravan, certainly it’s a big welcome!” The president chuckled merrily.
“After I graduate from the academy, I shall be under your care.” Sara bowed at the president.
Eh, you’re serious? Sara, you really mean it?
“Come again to the student council’s room. Next time, I’ll serve you another treat from rare countries.”
“My pleasure!”
We finally managed to hand in the apology letters and then we left the student council room. In response to the president’s words, Sara answered like a staff in an izakaya7.
Just until a while before, she was the one who dreaded to make any connection with the president, did she just sell his soul over arare? She looked like she would come running to the student council’s room on the very next day.
My head went for another round of thinking again. I want to be with Al. That’s absolute. But, if Al is going to be the next King……
I continued to think of the answer that couldn’t be found.
author’s note: The arare was lightly-salted type.8