Volume 1 Chapter 2 (2/2)
”… Aaah I get it I get why Captain Mismis loves this so much”
Mixed in with the other spectators enthralled by the performance, Iska quietly muttered
Enchanted by the fenity and way of life, they all felt the ehted love Currently, affected by Beatrix’s sorrowful circumstances, Iska could sense other spectators erethat, for some reason, he could feel some sort of cold sensation just around himself
”Aah Beatrix! To fall in love with a knight from an enemy nation… No matter how much you love hiht to have such a sorrowful love!? It is far too much! Why does God bestow… Bestow such a cruel fate… Uuu!”
Of all things, it see next to him was easily e of the story, she was crying aloud and seemed unable to wipe away her tears no matter how much she wiped her face with a handkerchief ─ and Iska was no longer able to focus on the stage
”That stupid Ahzel, ith a man like you!?”
”Shh, your voice is too loud Alice-sa quietly”
”B-but…”
”Good grief What happened to the handkerchief? Even though yours had gotten drenched in tears and I handed you mine as well”
”… That one, is also coh”
”You’re crying that much!?”
The young wo her eyes with the back of her hands Iska couldn’t see her clearly because of the darkness, but judging from her voice he could tell that she was probably in her teens Her companion in the the seat next to her also seeard
”Um, you can take this if you’d like”
”Eh?”
In a quiet voice, Iska pulled out his own handkerchief
… Handing a handkerchief to a lady that one didn’t even know the nao
… It wasn’t supposed to be all that peculiar
It was also the case that Iska was unable to stand by while somatic motive that he could not concentrate on the perfor like that
”I haven’t used it at all and it is perfectly clean So, uht you would be quite troubled if left alone like that”
”…”
She must have had some reluctance to accept a handkerchief from someone she did not know, but even so, she see tears, and timidly stretched out her hand
”Thank you very much”
(Hmm? Just where did I hear that voice before)
Iska felt like he found that voice to be fa, he couldn’t accurately pin it down It ht quickly, Iska decided to focus his attention on the closing moments of the performance
And so the curtains fell─
The applause frohts had started to come back on
”Uuu… sniffle, how pitiful, Beatrix!”
”Alice-sahts finish turning on, please at the very least finish wiping away your tears”
”B-but…”
The young wo her face with the handkerchief She then bowed doards Iska who has still sitting in the seat next to her
”U-u your handkerchief I shall reieift made of the finest velvet”
”Eh!? N-no, that’s quite alright! That handkerchief is just a cheap one, so it’s okay”
”No, that will not do It is soranted toside of myself It is not a problem of whether it was cheap or expensive”
While gripping the handkerchief in both hands, she earnestly shook her head to the side
”Um, please allow me to once more express my thanks”
Along with a sincerewoman took one step forward─
And just at that tihts turned on completely
”Thank you for the…”
Below the shi+ning and brilliant chandelier, the young woht
The Ice Witch of Calamity Aliceliese
The one gripping the handkerchief in front of him, was the perpetrator of the fierce battle that Iska went through three days ago in the Nelka forest
”… Heh?”
”Wh… Wh-h-why are you here!?”
The skirt of the princess of the Nebulis Iency fluttered with a thud She was not wearing the high class royal gar a one piece dress that one could find sold in any clothing store in any city She gave off the conito
”You were shadowing uu!?”
”Alice-sama, you must not! This is the Neutral City!”
The one binding Alice’s arms behind her, was her attendant Rin
”In this city, all forms of conflict are strictly forbidden That is the law of the Neutral City Even if it is your ancestors’ eneeneral, if you lay your hands on them…”
─One, any conflict in the Neutral City is strictly forbidden
─Two, as a preamble to the previous statement, the one who laid their hands on the other party first is the violating party
─Three, all cultures are accepted, and one is to enjoy oneself with the arts
These were the rules which applied to the Neutral City
”… I know that If I did so here, all neutral territories would treat it as a violation of the rules and turn against us If that happened it would be pretty serious”
Rin let go of Alice’s hand as she then bit down on her lips
”However, to think that you were appreciating the opera right next to me No wonder I couldn’t calm down”
”No, you see”
”~~~~~~~!? Th-this is just sweat fro you saw today, you hear me!?”
Alice took a step back while sto her feet
”Alice-sama, if you raise your voice like that you’ll draw too much attention”
”Aah geez!”
Finally realizing that the surrounding audience was staring at her, the young blond haired wo became even more flushed than before
”I’ll withdraw here I bid you farewell, Iska!”
”… U-un Take care”
Alice gracefully bowed as she lifted her skirt with both hands in a graceful manner
”Alice-sa?”
”Eh!? Ah… Y-you’re wrong, Rin! It was a force of habit!”
After the young woiven her farewell as she would at the royal palace on the spur of the moment, she blushed all the way to her ears as she ran out of the hall Iska was then left alone where he was
”I’m the one as shocked here…”
Putting his hand to his chest which was beating like a hammer, Iska let out his breath all at once
3
”… I thought my heart would stop”
”That’s what I want to say Just ould we have done if Alice-sae?”
Leaving the hall behind, the two of the out onto the main street, Alice finally felt a sense of relief
”We’re not being followed right?”
”We are not Until we exited the hall, that swordsle step However, we should probably make the assumption that he will”
The Neutral City did not discriency Because citizens from either country could co into someone familiar existed
”… But even so, to think he was in the seat right beside me”
”In the first place, that man has seen your face before Any other soldier would not be able to recognize you Encountering allies or ene that cannot really be avoided due to its nature”
”Th-that’s right…! Let’s go grab soether”
After closing her eyes and shaking off her idle thoughts, Alice began walking down the main street at a quick pace
”If I reht there’s a renowned pasta shop around here My preparations are perfect after all!”
”Alice-sama really loves pasta huh”
”I could have nothing but pasta for a whole month”
”Whether or not you can, you mustn’t”
”Don’t be so obstinate Come on, this way”
Grabbing Rin’s hand, she headed north down the street Co to the end of the street which looked out on the plaza, a signboard for a pasta shop caht
”My apologies The lunchtime crowd has just arrived”
Looking at the two girls who arrived, a waitress wearing an apron bowed down her head and apologized
”If you have a reservation or are willing to share a table, then I could guide you inside right away though…”
”We don’t o in”
The two of them lined up on one side of a table that could seat four
”Here, Alice-sama, some water”
”Thank you, Rin I just happened to be thirsty”
Perhaps because she was crying so much at the opera house, even her throat was quite parched She ilass of water that Rin passed her to her lips And as she did, the waitress guided over another customer to an open seat at their table
”Iska-sama, we have confirmed your reservation Please come this way”
”Buuu!?”
And it ca out For the first time in her life, Alice let loose the water that was in her un
”Uwah!?”
In a panic, the young man backed up from the table
”What are you doing?”
”That’s what I want to─cough… W-water, inhere!?”
With a hand at herswordsman from the Empire
”You bastard, not just once, but twice! Like I thought, you’ve been tailing Alice-sama!”
As one would expect, this time she was unable to keep quiet As Rin stood up froer concealed beneath her skirt
… At that rate, she was going to violate the taboo of drawing a sithin the Neutral City
… No The clause forbidding conflict stated that ‘the one to lay their hand on the other first is at fault’
If the Imperial swordsman attacked first, Alice and Rin could counterattack squarely clai it was self defence
”U here?”
”How can you be so shaer room for any doubt”
Iska raised both his hands to show he had no intention to resist And in response, Rin thrust out her finger at him
”After splitting up at the opera house, weren’t you going to go do your own thing? Then why did you come to this shop? If you have an excuse then let’s hear it!”
”But you know, this is the closest restaurant to the opera house It’s also quite famous Besides, the one who made a reservation for this table was me, didn’t you two come without one?”
”…”
Rin was the one to freeze up at Iska’s indifferent reply
”… What do you think, Alice-sama?”
”He has a point But you cannot let your guard down, Rin Stay vigilant”
”No, you know I can hear you consulting each other right? Besides, as you can see, I’ate after all”
While still raising his hands, Iska span on the spot Nothing that rese to show that he had no intention to fight
”… I get it For now, I’ll believe you”
Alice and Rin sat side by side, and the young man sat down across from them
”Alice-saht? Even if this is the Neutral City, sitting together for a meal with an Imperial soldier is a little…”
”If we step aside here, won’t it look like ere intimidated?”
The Ice Witch of Calathen theit difficult for her to show her face to her subordinates within the Nebulis Iency
”I-in any case, let’s eat…”
Alice went to pick up the ers touched the tips of Iska’s fingers as he also went to pick up the menu
”Kyaa!? S-sorry!”
”… Ah, n-no, I should also… Sorry”
Iska drew back his hand immediately
”… P-please go ahead first”
”… You should go ahead and decide first I shall yield to you here You reached out to it, did you not?”
”… I, reached out to it thinking I would hand it over to you”
”… I-I also intended to do so!”
As a result of their negotiations, the menu was left open in the middle of the table, and it was settled that Alice and Iska would read it froht from opposite sides of the table
… There was a flaw in that their faces were quite close though
(… Wait, just what a at a menu)
Alice instinctively averted her gaze as she thought that It wasn’t like she didn’t have ency, but back at the royal palace she didn’t know one that was this close to her in age She wasn’t used to it
”Ummm…”
As he suddenly began talking to her, Alice instinctively put herself on guard
”D-do you need so?”
”Have you decided on so?”
I’ve decided to tear you apart liht here you bastard ─ he was an Ie for him to make such a declaration, but instead he questioned her with upturned eyes
”… I have I’d like to make an order”
”Okay I’ll be right there!”
A cheerful waitress ca over from further inside the shop
”What would you like?”
””I will have the salmon and zucchini fresh cream pasta I’d like it boiled ‘ben cotta‘ and I’d like the portion size to be sar please””
Alice and Iska
The two of the at the same time Their words piled atop each other so smoothly it could be described as lovely
”… Eh?”
”… Huh?”
(Did I really say that?)
Because they spoke together so fluently, even Alice herself doubted as the one to talk Sure enough, across the table, Iska also had a bewildered expression
”Dear custo well huh Are you companions~?”
””You’re wrong!””
Once more, their responses were beautifully in sync
”Alice-sama, do calm yourself”
”Don’t say it, Rin I know, this is just for today It’s really just a coincidence of a coincidence of a coincidence!”
Alice took a deep breath in a way that the youngso
(… It’s alright I am calm… It seems his tastes when it comes to theatre and food is lined up with mine, but that is irrelevant)
Until the food arrived, they endured the aard atmosphere in complete silence
”Anyways, the food is here Let’s eat while it’s still hot”
Alice stuck her fork into the plate of pasta before her and began winding it up ─ she then stopped, and suddenly raised her head A slight curiosity suddenly passed through heron soshe wanted to confirm with the Imperial soldier before her
”Do you like pasta?”
”… Me?”
Perhaps because he never thought that she would talk to hihtly delayed
”There’s nobody but you here is there?”
”I like it Rather it may be my favourite I like it like this with cream, but it’s also delicious when it is only seasoned with salt and pepper”
”Oh my You do understand It’s quite simplistic but also quite tasty isn’t it?”
Whenever she talked to Rin about it, the only reply she ever got was ‘Please eat everything without being picky about what is good or bad’ When she talked to the retainers back at the royal castle, they would only curtly reply ‘Good for you,’ and cut her off
And so the reply fro man from the Empire was a new sensation to Alice
It was fun
And so she naturally ended up getting excited while speaking to Iska
”But for me, when it is this hot outside, I also can’t pass up a nice cold vegetable pasta”
”Aah, cold vegetable pasta is quite nice isn’t it? Whenever they sell some sweet tomatoes in the market I would definitely make some”
”Yes! Cold vegetable pasta with tomatoes is delicious isn’t it? Me too! Me too! When it’s so hot outside, even if it was every day I could─”
”Alice-sa”
”… Ah”
Ad her throat, Alice leaked out a quiet voice The young man before her eyes was a soldier of the Empire He had seen her face He was also a combatant worth a thousand at the level of the Holy Apostles She had cootten that
”S-sorry I interrupted your meal…”
”I-I also ize…”
The two of theetically
And the scene of a quiet ht, as the attendant who had already finished eating began to mumble to herself in a quiet voice
”It’s common sense that pasta should be boiled ‘al dente’ This is why amateurs are so…”
””It absolutely must be ‘ben cotta!’””
As Rin let out a sigh, Alice and Iska yelled out together perfectly in sync
4
Within the black celestial sphere of the heavens, the stars in the skies shi+ned like a box of jewels
With an uncountable nu star shot across the sky It was a night sky from the royal palace that Alice would not doubt as theat it
”Alice-sa the day strictly to yourself”
”…”
Alice listened to Rin while lying face down on her bed
”By allthis to her Majesty the Queen Even if it was not a battlefield, you happened to meet with an Imperial soldier after all”
”You cannot fight in the Neutral City Wasn’t Rin the one to say that?”
”I never thought that after the opera house, ould end up sitting together with him for a meal”
Within Alice’s private room in the Nebulis royal palace, the ‘Jewel Case Bell,’ Rin stood close to the wall as she spoke in an unusually emotionally stifled tone
”Fortunately, from today’s conversation it seems he will not speak of the secret of the Iency If I was not confident in this fact, it is so that must be reported to her Majesty the Queen no matter what”
”… I know”
The other party was a pet dog of the vile Empire They were the ones who persecuted her ancestors as witches and warlocks Iska was one of the up within her?
”This”
Next to her pilloas a co that could be purchased anywhere you look
”I missed my chance to return it…”
It was the handkerchief she borrowed at the opera house Because it was so she used to wipe her tears away, she couldn’t return it as it was On the other hand, she didn’t knohat to do about it and ended up taking it back with her
”It’s a personal effect of an I it away”
”… But”
”Like I’ve been saying, please forget everything that happened today The swordsman known as Iska is an enemy He is not just Alice-sale person who is Alice-sama’s brethren”
Rin flipped up her skirt And the ers she had for self defence in both hands
It only took an instant
Also concealed within were thin metal needles, steel thread and even sreat nuarments that Alice did not even know the names for
She was a genius who mastered allwoman known as Rin
”The oldtoas quite disappointed Since a pupil that he had trained toelse he kneould be a irl had the talent to becoency”
”It is the old master’s habit to become talkative while drunk But even so, I cannot envision the scene of ainst the swordsman known as Iska Be it with a sword or inmy star spirit to its maximum effect”
”Even you?”
”Yes Depending on the battle, I feel that even the old er”
With a clink, Rin returned the daggers to their sheathes
”Alice-sama should understand this best You revealed the ‘Flower of Ice’ that you were keeping hidden from even the Holy Apostles to a mere soldier… That swordse the Eest obstacle, may very well be that swordsman”
Rin’s expression as she said this wasAlice’s escort, she no that there was an opponent within the Eainst She likely resented her oorthlessness
”And so, even if you have soet it all That swordsreatest coency”
Rin’s advice was reasonable Iska’s strength was so Alice herself witnessed as inhuman Based on the fact that he was still in his teens, she couldn’t even i an opponent he would beco
… However, fro day
… She could not sense a single hint of that bloodcurdling dread
Rin said it was only natural that he would suppress his fighting spirit within the Neutral City, but Alice had another point of view At that time, he had absolutely no blood thirst at all It wasn’t that he was suppressing or erasing his fighting spirit, he really had no intention of fighting in the least
… Moreover, her star spirit did not react even once
… Even though it would tell her when her subordinates showed just the slightest amount of discontent towards her
Her star spirit did not consider him an enemy at that time
And above all else, they watched an opera together, had a uard down The fact that she was conscious of this was likely the biggest problem
She couldn’t become completely heartless
And so she re away the handkerchief that was given to her
”… But I do believe that Rin is also responsible”
”Meaning?”
”Because Rin said so like, ‘It’s common sense that pasta should be boiled ‘al dente,” that I ended up strangely hitting it off with Iska”
”All I said was the truth Pasta is at it’s best ‘al dente’ I will not recognize any objections”
”You dummy!”
Throwing her pillow at the attendant as standing far away, Alice wrapped herself under her blanket
Within Sector 3 of the Imperial Capital, on the first floor of Imperial Barrack 03
In his roo up at the ceiling light
”I can’t sleep”
Even though his eyelids were heavy, even when he closed his eyes for several hours, his consciousness would not fade away
Was it nervousness? Or perhaps exaltation?
… Both rong
… It was surely because he saw it
The figure of Alice as feared by the entire e the exact same opera as someone fro she saw in the Neutral City
”Nothing but lies”
What caentle breeze
”The E but ru a cold-blooded es just normal people?”
That face that she showed him
Just how es would be able to conclude that Alice was the Ice Witch of Cala her sob like that? That delicate and slender girl
He froency, not a single thing was different between them They were just people…
”… Aaaah geez, why can’t I fall asleep!?”
”… Aaaah geez, why can’t I fall asleep!?”
And at the sae distance within the Ealoud