#068 Clara’s Invitation
After Clara returned, the club noticeably regained its former vitality.
Her followers welcomed Clara’s return with open arms, and before she knew it, the club had grown to 11 members.
For your information, Clara was no exception to Emerald’s affectionate embrace.
“It’s cute… !”
“What on earth is so cute about me?… !?”
Clara, who had been sneaking backwards to avoid her emerald, was caught by her own followers.
“It’s okay, Clara. “I’m sure it will feel good.”
From Noble mtl dot com
“That’s right! “We’ve all been hugged at least once.”
“It’s not a matter of whether you feel good or not…” !”
She, who had never been hugged in her life, finally received her first hug in her emerald arms.
“How can we not be so honest…?” ♪”
“I really want you to let me go, but… Wow… !”
She was very fortunate that she seemed to have integrated well into her club.
That afternoon, as she was leaving the club room, Clara hesitantly approached me.
“Umm… “
When she could hardly open her mouth, her mother, who was standing behind her, urged Clara to speak.
“Clara, speak quickly!”
“… After. All right.”
Clara called me with an awkward expression.
“… Hey, Amber?”
“Yes?”
“As an apology for my behavior so far, I thought I’d treat you to dinner tonight. How do you feel?”
She kept turning her gaze here and there, as if she wasn’t used to saying things like this.
“If you don’t like it, you can just ignore it. I just… “
“Good.”
“… You say it’s good? “Really?”
Clara looked slightly surprised, perhaps thinking it was an unexpected answer.
“I have no reason to refuse if you offer to treat me to dinner.”
“… “Then, we will meet at the fence outside the academy this evening.”
It was probably her first offer and favor from her.
***
She hurried to get ready to go out before the appointed time arrived.
‘It’s something I will live to see for a long time. That Clara is offering me a dinner date… ‘
At first she was going to just put on her school uniform and go out, but the story Clara told her earlier kept ringing in her head.
[ I made a reservation at a very expensive store, so please come dressed in reasonably decent clothes. ]
It wouldn’t be a good idea to go to a place like that wearing a school uniform.
I opened the closet and took out a gorgeous blue dress.
This was a dress that Amethyst had previously tailored for me at a clothing store. The length was not that long, so it was close to a dress.
‘I never thought the day would come when I would wear this again.’
When I think back, the connection between me and Clara began to develop in earnest after she joined her club.
Until then, I only thought of her as a negative influence on Ruby and tried to stay away from her at all costs.
But her Ruby told her to join her club, which ultimately made Clara give up her evil deeds.
In that sense, I would say that Ruby really has no prejudices, and I felt once again that her perspective on the world was very different from mine.
Of course, I knew what role Clara played in the original game, so I had no choice but to remain on guard.
Before I went out, I approached Ruby and said,
“Miss, make sure to eat dinner. “Don’t stuff yourself with pudding again just because it’s annoying.”
“Okay.”
Ruby answered half-heartedly, without taking her face off her book.
“Do you really have to eat it? Yes?
These days, she has become more and more prone to being annoyed by everything.
She didn’t even play the piano, which she loved so much, and was only concentrating on reading novels and snacks while lying on her bed.
‘Miss, I wonder if puberty is happening… ?’
I didn’t feel it until now because she was so mentally mature, but Ruby was a girl who had just turned 17.
So, it’s not that strange for puberty to come, but doesn’t it usually come sooner?
“Then I will come back. Miss.”
“… “
In the end, I came out, leaving Ruby lying on the blanket.
When I came out of the fence, Clara, dressed in fancy going out clothes, was standing there waiting for me.
You could tell just by looking at it that a lot of effort had been put into decorating it.
She looked around at my outfit and said with her arms crossed.
“… It took a lot of effort for you, right? “It looks like a pretty expensive outfit.”
“This is the only proper clothing for going out. “Amethyst bought it for me a while ago.”
“Well, it suits me well.”
“Clara is pretty too. “I think this is my first time seeing her in white clothes.”
What she wore was a gray-white dress that exuded the appearance of a noblewoman.
Her chest was boldly cut out, so I was staring at it without realizing it, but Clara slightly covered it with her hand.
“… Huh, if you look at this part too much, it’s a bit embarrassing.”
“Oh, sorry.”
“Then let’s hurry. “You cannot be later than the reserved time.”
As she walked, Clara’s brown hair bun swayed with her steps.
Now that I see her, it feels like she is trying her best to make her feel like a noblewoman with every step she takes.
Wearing her high-heeled shoes, she walked with a stride that was neither too slow nor too fast.
“How do you walk so well in those shoes? “I think I would have fallen a long time ago.”
“This is the minimum level of culture for a nobleman. “If you don’t want to disgrace Ruby somewhere, you should practice walking gracefully from now on.”
“… “
Perhaps it was the advice that hit her to the bone, but she continued to walk with awareness of her gait.
She arrived at a large square with a fountain. There were various street vendors selling various foods, but my eyes were fixed on a certain place.
‘Ice cream… !’
The alluring sweet food kept tempting me.
In the era of the game I possessed, [Magic Lily Electric], Street lights had just been installed and the number of places using electricity was gradually increasing.
So, cooling technology was not widely available yet, so opportunities to taste things like ice cream were rare.
While I was preoccupied there, Clara looked at me and said.
“… Is it ice cream? “The number of places selling it has increased these days.”
Then, he took out his wallet and approached the street vendor.
“Uh… ? “Will you buy it for me?”
“Yes. “Because you seem very remorseful.”
“Ahahahaha… “
I tried my best not to show it, but it seemed like I was stuck.
“It’s not that expensive, so let’s have a quick bite before going to the restaurant.”
Clara bought two ice cream cones and handed one to me.
“Take it, Amber.”
“Thank you!”
As she took a small bite of the ice cream she took from her, a sweet taste spread in her mouth.
‘It’s been so long… ‘
“Eat slowly. “There is still plenty of time.”
She was sitting leisurely with Clara at the fountain square.
A girl in plain clothes and a group of people who appeared to be her mother passed by and looked at us and said,
“Mom, buy me the food that the noble ladies over there eat!”
“Shhh… ! “You can’t use it if you say things like that!”
The girl was crying and staring at the ice cream we had brought.
‘Should I at least give it to you?’ ?’
When I tried to stand up with the ice cream, Clara stopped me.
“… Amber, no.”
“Yes?”
“If you give it away, it will have a bad influence on that child.”
Her eyes looked quite serious. I had no choice but to give up on giving to her child and sit back at the fountain.
The girl was led by her mother’s hand and disappeared into the distance.
I felt uneasy for some reason and asked Clara with a slightly pitiful expression.
“Clara, why did you stop me earlier?”
She looked at the floor in response to my question and said.
“… The moment that child gets the ice cream must be very sweet. But once what’s in her hand is gone, she’ll want it again. Do you think that family can afford this luxury?”
“… “I never thought about it that far.”
“It is easy to show mercy to those who have it, but influencing them is a different matter. “If I had just let him taste the ice cream, he would have had a much harder time later.”
After listening to Clara, I thought again about what I was just about to do.
As I was staring at her, Clara asked me.
“… Why do you look at me like that?”
“No. Just… It’s amazing that we’re talking together like this. “With Clara.”
After listening to me, she slightly moved the corners of her mouth and said.
“… “Me too, Amber.”
Until now, Clara had always thought of herself as the axis of evil.
She is a cunning evil woman who only acts for her own benefit.
When I cast aside my preconceptions and looked at her, I realized that she was just a 17-year-old girl, similar to her peers.
“Clara, you are surprisingly thoughtful.”
“Unexpected… ?”
She was glaring at me, so she quickly changed her words.
“Uh… Now let’s go to the restaurant… ?”
“… Hmm. “Let’s do that.”
From Noble mtl dot com
We followed her towards the restaurant she had made a reservation for.
