Two days after the draft ended, Ella and I found ourselves at Tettromino Plaza.
It was because of the announcent made by the school during yesterday's induction ceremony.
The six main theaters, as a basic gesture, distributed several free tickets to their shows to the participants of the competition.
Rose Windmill Cabaret did the sa.
They provided tickets not only for halls 2 and 3, where the Circus Grand Prix battles were taking place, but also for hall 1.
However, we didn't have the opportunity to use the tickets for hall 1.
The cabaret was a place offering provocative dances and songs for adults.
Ella and Maya couldn't use them, and the naïve rural lady, Yurakne, felt ashad to go to such a place.
Anais was too busy since the opening ceremony to make ti for it.
With no one else to go with other than and Sven after the test was over, we ntioned the idea of sneaking a visit after the exams but had to give up after receiving consecutive gazes from Yurakne, Ella, and Maya.
Lekachep also offered opportunities for watching performances, like the other theaters.
However, the thod here was different.
This place was called a theater, but its essence was a school.
The performances shown here were all small-scale, held periodically by student clubs rotating.
So the school decided to provide not only free tickets but also opportunities to observe classes.
The Vice Principal, Elpara, declared during yesterday's induction ceremony that any teenager affiliated with the Circus Grand Prix teams could attend classes at Lekachep.
There was a reason why the school announced this in the middle of the competition.
The opening ceremony of the competition was held on May 31st.
After that, from June to August, for three months, there was no occasion to announce about observing classes at Lekachep because it coincided with Lekachep's sumr vacation period.
Announcing this information before the opening ceremony might have led to circus troupes exploiting the opportunity to accept money and admit many minors.
To prevent this, the school had kept it secret until now.
She also announced the rules to be followed to observe classes.
First, the circus troupe had to be staying in Yeterinpuurk.
So the circus troupe couldn't just leave for another city, leaving the kids to enjoy school life alone.
And although it might seem obvious, students had to wear uniforms inside the school.
The professors didn't want to see hundreds of students wandering around the school in casual clothes, as that would disrupt the order.
It was already famous for the number of injuries occurring here, and if the atmosphere beca chaotic as well, it could lead to uncontrollable confusion.
Because of this uniform rule, Ella and I were at the plaza today.
She wanted to experience Lekachep's classes, and to do that, she had to buy a uniform.
Of course, I could have used the "wardrobe" feature to imdiately put on the uniform.
But there was no need to waste precious debulroots when the situation could be solved with money.
She knew about this situation, so she ca out to get the uniform even though it ant reducing practice ti.
When she was at the Golden Carnival, I explained to her the reason why I couldn't keep the voice chat connected to her.
My magic has limited resources.
The alley next to the school was packed with stores for students.
Stores for magic and acrobatics equipnt.
A shoe store advertising the latest functional sneakers.
Pet shops selling animals for taming classes.
And there was also a Slagbrot snack souvenir shop seen all over the city.
We rummaged through the alley like that and finally found a uniform store.
Inside the store, it was already bustling with teenagers.
Kids from other circus troupes, freshn, and current students were mixed together without distinction.
"Male students, please go to the store across the street!"
"Female students, co this way!"
The clerks were shouting while carrying stacks of thick gym clothes.
We grabbed an old employee with a tearful tape asure.
She looked over Ella from top to bottom, lifting her thick glasses.
"Are you a freshman?"
"No, I'm here to observe classes!"
"Oh, your voice is deep. What major are you aiming for?"
"Taming!"
"I see."
As she asked and answered, the old woman asured Ella's body here and there with the tape asure.
"Hips, waist, chest, asurents…"
"I'd appreciate it if you didn't say it out loud!"
Ella looked at briefly, her face turning red, and shouted.
"Okay. How long are you going to be here?"
"Except for the exam preparation period, um, about a month?"
"Really? Then about five gym uniforms should be enough."
Ella's eyes widened at her words.
"Five sets?"
"That's a conservative estimate. You don't know how quickly students here wear out clothes as much as they get injured. So students co to get them repaired several tis a week. Gym uniforms at Lekachep are consumables."
I picked up a gym uniform hanging on a hanger and held it up.
"Is it because the clothes are made too thin?"
The old clerk made a clicking noise at my words.
"Aren't you with the circus? If we make them thick and tough, of course, the clothes will be fine. But they'll be a hindrance during acrobatic practice."
"Ah, I see."
Ella had never had her clothes torn during practice until now.
Even now, she managed difficult acrobatics in her red leotard and skirt, wearing heels.
Of course, that was only applicable to her.
Ordinary students seed to experience torn knees, ripped buttocks, or snagged clothes even while wearing such light gym uniforms during acrobatic practice.
Because of this, the uniform store stocked a considerable amount of gym clothes.
So, one could purchase the necessary clothes right away without waiting.
"What about those clothes?"
Ella tossed the purchased gym uniforms into my arms and pointed to a corner of the store.
There were white uniforms there that combined neatness and splendor.
"Those are worn for competitions. Freshn rarely wear them… Are you planning to attend the freshman welco party?"
"Oh, is there such a thing? Great! Please give one of those too!"
"Haha, wait a mont. Unlike gym clothes, these need to be fitted precisely."
The old clerk examined the clothes hanging on the rack and nodded.
"It seems there's nothing that fits the students perfectly. Unlike gym clothes, it's difficult to use these directly from the stock. They need to be tailored to fit the body. It will take so alterations."
"Will it take long?"
"We have many custors right now, so we can't do it imdiately. Co back in about three hours."
It took one and a half hours to return from here to the villa.
We had to return imdiately.
So, we decided to spend ti near the plaza.
"We should eat lunch outside, shouldn't we?"
"We'll probably have dinner once we're back."
"Oh, then shall we go to the place we went to a month ago?"
"That café? Sure."
We strolled through the square together like that.
She naturally linked her arm with mine.
It had been over a month since she lost her mory.
Now, I didn't hesitate and accepted her linked arm naturally.
On the way, there was also the factory we visited last weekend.
She, who had been silently observing , pointed to the banner in front of the factory.
"Oh, look at that! At Slagbrot, they have specially made celebration cakes for anniversaries."
"I see."
My indifferent reaction seed to slightly freeze her expression.
"Hmm…"
"Why?"
"Oh, no, I was just wondering… Are specially made cakes for anniversaries tastier?"
"Well, they might be. If you use too many ingredients to make a certain shape, it might disrupt the balance, though."
Even with my answer, she murmured with a slightly dissatisfied expression.
"…Is that so?"
She walked in silence for a while like that.
She had been excited just a mont ago when we started walking together.
But now, she was silent, seemingly discontented about sothing.
Just as I was about to inquire about the reason, she suddenly spoke up.
"Co to think of it, it'll soon be exactly one year since leaving my hotown."
"Has it been that long already?"
It had been five months since I crossed over to this world.
They said it had been about six months since Wonderstein and she t, so it seed like a year was accurate.
"Do you rember?"
She glanced at briefly as she spoke.
"My leaving day was my birthday."
"Oh, was it?"
Nodding, I suddenly realized sothing and opened my mouth.
If it was her birthday a year ago?
Finally, I realized what she wanted to say.
I nodded and laughed coolly.
"Hahaha."
"Hmph. Why are you laughing? What's so funny?"
She seed to know why I was laughing too, but she didn't stop glaring at .
[mber Quest-Birthday Cake" has been activated.]
The system also notified of the quest
I speculated why it didn't respond even though she clearly had sothing in mind.
It must have been because there were two conflicting desires in her heart.
Her desire for to have noticed on my own and her desire to have a birthday cake.
The Quest was suppressed due to the conflict between these two desires, but it was activated just now as the forr was fulfilled, triggering the latter.
I approached her gently as she pursed her lips.
"I'm sorry. I forgot Ella's birthday."
She hesitated for a mont at my words, then lowered her head.
"It's not just about the birthday."
"What?"
She let out a small sigh.
A deep disappointnt spread across her face.
"After all, that day is the anniversary of our circus troupe's founding. It's the day you and I started traveling together."
"Oh."
Only then did I understand the disappointnt that crossed her face.
That day was more than just a 'birthday' for the two of us.
She walked ahead as if she was deflated.
As I tried to follow her, another quest window popped up to block my way.
["mber Quest-Do you know what day it is today?" has been activated.]
It was also from her.
The condition was simple.
I had to resolve her anger before we arrived at the cafe.
I begged her desperately, and thanks to that, I was able to complete the quest 20 seconds before reaching the café.
As a reward, she demanded that I "feed her lunch with my own hands" for the day.
It was an embarrassing demand to make, enough to make my face turn red, but as we were only 20m away from the cafe, I had no choice but to accept it.
When we arrived at the cafe, we unexpectedly found a familiar face there.
A girl with a white face wearing a sweater and a pinafore skirt sat sowhat awkwardly at the table wearing a beret.
"Maya!"
Ella greeted her warmly.
"Director. Assistant Director"
She greeted us with a very dry voice.
"Was this the place you said you co every day? This café? Is it tasty?"
"I don't co here because it's tasty."
The expression of the owner grandmother, who was bringing the nu from behind, beca very gloomy.
"I had business at the plaza, so I ended up sitting here for a long ti."
I could tell what she was researching by looking at the pattern she had floating in the air and the diagram written in her notebook.
It was a puzzle on the Tettromino Plaza.
"Oh, that."
I tried to pretend I knew it, but she cut off.
"I'll handle it myself. Don't interfere."
I felt awkward and stepped back.
Why is she so cold?
Her liking for felt like sothing was wrong.
The food ca out shortly after we ordered.
The owner grandmother brought our als to Ella and respectively.
"Well, let's enjoy the al."
As I was about to pick up my utensils, I noticed Ella was staring at intently.
She had her arms crossed and hadn't touched her utensils.
Maya looked back and forth between us, not knowing why she was acting that way.
Ah.
The promise I made to her.
At that mont.
For the third ti today, a mber quest popped up.
["mber Quest-Ah~" has been activated.]
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