The Heroine's Best Friend

Chapter 3 Part 3: Of Magic and Men

Maria and I had made plans to meet up for lunch. The dining hall was more considerably packed than when I had gone yesterday. Now that the students were locked into a schedule, that meant everyone was trying to eat around the same time. We had to sit at the end of a long community table shared by several students. So I knew our conversation regarding capture targets once again will have to wait until we were alone in our room together. 

"How was magical theory?" Maria asks me after we place our orders. 

"It was actually really interesting! And as much as I don't want to admit it, Professor McGreggor did a decent job keeping it entertaining." 

"See. It was unfair of you to judge him so quickly." 

"I still think he's a creepo pedophile! But as long as he doesn't make a move on you or any other student, then I will graciously acknowledge he might be a good teacher," I say as I wave my hand dismissively. Out of the corner of my eye, someone slides quietly into the seat next to me. I notice Maria get wide-eyed so I turn to see who it was. 

"I'm supposed to eat with people," Lord Simon says quietly. Maria and I exchange smiles. Lord Simon might be a year older, but somehow I can't help to think of him as a kid brother. 

"You are most welcome to join us any time, Lord Simon," I say to him. He nods slightly to me. Since I ready know getting him to join the conversation will be too much work, I continue with Maria. 

"What class did you go to?"

"Combat basics."

"Oh! I have that last. Did you get sweaty?" 

Maria chuckles. "A bit. I'm jealous you have yours late in the day. I'm worried when the class becomes more intense that I will be gross for the entire rest of the day!"

"They don't make girls work that hard," Lord Simon interjects. Sweet baby Jesus, did he just engage in conversation!

"Well, that's sexist!" I say to him. And he looks at me like I just kicked a puppy. "Not you! I didn't mean your sexist! Just the idea that the girls get to do less or work less. Don't some girls end up choosing combat magic?"

"Sometimes," he answers. "But it's pretty rare." 

"That's because they aren't given the same chance as the boys to become proficient at it! If more girls were pushed to mastering the basics, then maybe more would find that they like it and chose combat magic!" I don't know why I'm defending this point so fiercely. 

"I don't think I would want to specialize in combat magic," Maria says completely undermining my stance. I scowl at her. The annoying part is that Maria is destined to excel in anything she chooses. She has heroine plot armor. 

"Well, maybe I will!"

"I can guess why," Maria says with a teasing tone and a look. 

"That is not why!" I say much too loudly. 

Actually it might be the truth, but my pride can't take hearing it out loud. I have a feeling that if I showed interest in any of the capture targets Maria would step aside to give me a chance. Which I absolutely don't want her to do. I'm the support character. I support her, not the other way around. 

Luckily our food shows to stop the path of this particular conversation. Even though Lord Simon didn't order with us, he managed to have a meal delivered at the same time. 

"You must have liked that chicken dish last time," I point out. He had ordered the same thing we ate yesterday. 

"I already knew it was good. But you didn't get it again. Why?"

"I wanted to try this today," I shrug. 

"Do you not like to eat the same things?" 

"It's not like that. I do like to revisit meals. But I also like to explore new foods to see else I might like. Since we have only just started, I have a lot of menu items to try! Oy, Maria you got the salmon! Can I try it?"

"Mmm hmm," she says with her mouth full and spins the plate around to bring the salmon closer to me. 

"Thanks!" I use my fork to grab a bite. "Mmmmmm! This is really good too. Do you want to try the roast I got."

Simon was staring intently at our interaction. "Do you want to try it too?" I ask him. 

I can tell the question was making him think very hard. "You're ok if someone else eats your food?" 

"Yeah. But only friends! I wouldn't like a stranger eating my food."

"Friends.....?" 

"Yep! Go ahead!" I encourage him. He takes a tentative fork full of my roast and eats it gingerly. "Do you like it?" 

"Yes," he answers softly. 

"That's good! Now you know of two dishes you like on the menu!" He nods and shifts his focus back to his own plate. 

Maria and I continue to catch each other up on what happened during our class separate from each other. I find out that Maria had combat basics with Prince Levi and by default, Sir Grey was also there. I tell her what I can about Duke Playboy being in my magical theory class, but it was hard to dive into specifics. I had to twist the story into being sad about losing my window seat in order to work him in. 

"You have spell casting basics with me, right?" I ask Maria. 

She nods. "We do! I made sure by checking our schedules but we were fated to have this class together." Fated? There must be an in-game reason. I make a mental note to ask why later. 

"Good! I'd rather not have to give up my seat ---" I'm cut off by someone ramming into my elbow so hard I let out a yelp. As I look up, I see Lady Angelica making a big show of losing balance, complete with teacup. Ah shit, that's going to spill on Maria!  I move to try to block it from spilling on her when the teacup suddenly stops mid-air. Maria and I are staring at it wide-eyed. 

"Ah! L-lord Simon!" Maria exclaims. Lord Simon was using magic to prevent the teacup from spilling on Maria. Good job, Simon! Bonus points towards your capture route! And thank you stupid villainess for creating an opportunity for the capture target to save the heroine. 

"Oh Lady Maria, Lady Christine. Forgive me, I didn't see you sitting there," she says condescendingly. "And Lord Simon," she quickly slides over to him. "Thank you so much for saving me from my blunder." She lightly pets his arm in an obvious attempt at flirting. I roll my eyes. Sadly, since Maria isn't on any specific route, we get to watch Angelica attempt to steal every capture target in the meantime. 

Lord Simon started to look very uncomfortable from Angelica leaning so close to him. Poor thing. He doesn't seem like the sort who is experienced with women flirting with him. I grab the floating teacup so that he can release his spell. As I happen to look down into the cup I notice something strange. I don't think this is tea. It was jet black and had a thicker viscosity to it. Ink? This was very deliberate. Not wishing to stay any longer, I grab Maria by the arm and pull her up. 

"Thank you, Lord Simon," I say with a slight bow, "for both your company today and you graciously saving Maria's uniform from ruin. Unfortunately, it seems the lunch hour is nearly at an end and since Maria and I are new, we should use this extra time to navigate to our next class. Peaceful blessings to you." I start to pull Maria away. 

"Uh...." she stammers. "Peaceful blessings to both of you."  I quickly walk her out of the dining hall. Thanks to Lord Simon, Maria got out of this round of bullying unscathed. But that means Angelica will double down her efforts next time. Best to leave when ahead!