Chapter 10: The Eldritch Godness Wants to Know

The day after that frenzied night in the heretical chapel, it was time to return to school as usual.

Dressed in my adorable uniform, gloves, and tights, I boarded the carriage with my maid and headed for Arkham Academy.

"Good morning, Frieda!"

"Morning, Iris!"

I greeted Frieda as I entered the classroom.

"Good morning, Lady Iris!"

"O-oh, good morning, Lord Klaus..."

And then Klaus showed up—with Felix in tow, of course.

"...Morning."

"Good morning..."

Between me and Felix, the atmosphere was so heavy it felt like a funeral vigil.

"There’s work to do starting today, so come to the student council room after school."

"Understood."

Sigh. Being in the student council meant I might accidentally run into the protagonist, Emilia. But at this point, there was no helping it. I’d just have to steel myself.

"Good morning, everyone."

Soon after, the elderly Professor Emile arrived for homeroom and announced that the art, music, and philosophy teachers had taken leave, with substitutes arriving soon. No reason was given for their absence.

And so, classes began.

Time to put all the textbook knowledge I’d crammed to good use!

…Or so I thought.

"Studying isn’t just about memorization—you have to apply what you’ve learned, huh..."

"Yep."

Frieda patted my slumped shoulders consolingly.

As I said, my downfall was my inability to apply knowledge.

Memorizing things was ridiculously easy compared to my past life. A single read, glance, or listen, and it stuck forever—imprinted in my mind like a brand.

But whether it was literary analysis or geometry problems, I’d completely forgotten how to use what I’d memorized.

"Still, once you’re taught how to apply it, you remember that too. That’s impressive. I’m pretty bad at memorizing things myself."

"Yes, I suppose that’s one thing I can manage."

If I could memorize anything, then I’d just memorize the methods too. My supernatural recall worked just as well for application techniques.

This absurd memory—was it part of Iris’s nature as an evil god? A sign of her transcendent existence?

I had no way of knowing.

"Lady Iris."

While I was chatting with Frieda, Felix approached. Ugh.

"What is it, Lord Felix?"

"The exam questions and answers from while you were on leave. Here."

"Oh! Thank you very much."

Past exams were a godsend for someone like me.

Since my feeble intellect couldn’t improvise applications, the best strategy was to memorize entire problems—solutions and all.

I gratefully accepted the papers.

"Klaus is enough of a deadweight in the student council. We don’t need another academic liability."

"Lord Klaus struggles too?"

"Yeah. He survives purely on last-minute cramming. His test scores are decent, but his daily grades are a disaster. Look."

When I turned to stare, Klaus was already snoring loudly.

"He’s like this during class."

"Ahaha..."

Felix wore a pained expression as he watched Klaus snooze, and I could only offer a strained smile in return.

"Take your studies seriously. A year’s absence isn’t an excuse to slack off."

With that, Felix left.

"He’s harsh, isn’t he?"

"It can’t be helped. It’s my fault for being incompetent."

"Is that really all there is to it?"

"Hm?"

I tilted my head as Frieda smirked.

"I think Lord Felix is interested in you."

"???"

"Your face is literally a giant question mark right now."

I must have looked like I’d just been handed the answer to life, the universe, and everything—because Frieda was grinning like a cat.

"By ‘interested,’ you mean… wary of me?"

"No, no. I mean he likes you."

"Huh?!"

There was no way Felix liked me. If anything, he clearly despised me. Sure, I was grateful for the past exams, but I still resented him for strong-arming me into the student council. Grr.

"Think about it. Would he go out of his way to recruit you or bring you study materials if he didn’t care? Sure, he’s not much of a talker, but I bet he’s got his eye on you."

Frieda winked, clearly enjoying herself.

"I dunno… maybe?"

I mulled it over but came up empty.

Another "application" problem. I’d seen plenty of romance in my past life, but applying that knowledge to myself? Impossible.

Still… Felix was definitely just scary.

"Actually, there’s something I wanted to ask."

"Hm? What is it?"

I needed to address a critical concern.

"Who is Emilia in love with?"

Yes—the Emilia Route problem.

If she joins the Literature Club, Frieda’s love life is in jeopardy. If she joins the Student Council, my fate is at stake.

Which is why I needed to gauge Emilia’s romantic inclinations as soon as possible. She practically held our destinies in her hands.

"W-wow, that’s a sudden question, Iris. I don’t know the answer either."

"I see…"

"Can I ask why you’re curious?"

"I’d like to be friends with Emilia, so I thought it’d be good to learn more about her."

I spun the lie effortlessly, meeting Frieda’s gaze.

"Got it. Then let’s just ask her directly. Maybe during lunch today?"

Frieda, bless her, took my words at face value and even offered to help.

Guilt gnawed at me for deceiving a friend, but this was necessary. Without this intel, both my future and Frieda’s love life could spiral into chaos. Please forgive me.

Classes passed, and lunch arrived.

"Emilia!"

Frieda and I intercepted her the moment the bell rang.

"Yes? Frieda, Iris—is something wrong?"

"We wanted to ask you something. Mind eating lunch together?"

"Of course! I’d love to chat with both of you!"

Emilia agreed cheerfully to our abrupt invitation.

Now, Arkham Academy had two main dining halls. One catered to nobles and the wealthy, serving gourmet meals under the watchful eyes of etiquette-enforcing teachers—stiff and formal.

The other offered cheap, casual fare in a relaxed environment, perfect for unfiltered chatter and making friends.

Naturally, we chose the latter.

After grabbing self-service sandwiches, cheese, and soup, we settled at a table.

"So, what did you two want to talk about?"

Emilia nibbled her sandwich as she posed the question.

"You don’t have to answer if it’s uncomfortable, but… do you have someone you like?"

Godspeed, Frieda. Straight to the point like a knockout punch.

"Eh? That’s what you wanted to know?"

"Yep."

Frieda nodded firmly, and I mirrored her like a bobblehead.

"Well, I do have someone, but… promise you won’t laugh?"

"Promise."

Another synchronized nod from us.

"It’s… His Highness, the Second Prince, Leonhardt…"

Ah! That route!

……………………