Volume 3 Chapter 32 I Really Like Temporary School Closures
"Catherine? Oh, that confusing person?"
Randy was holding a camera prototype in his hands, which was glowing softly as he worked on it. This version had a mechanism inside to amplify light, based on advice from Cory and the others.
Even though it was Monday morning, Randy was busy working on the camera with Liz. The reason they were working on it instead of being in class was that school was unexpectedly closed for the day.
Randy thought it was a lucky break, but Liz mentioned that it was because of "Catherine," which made him blurt out that she was "confusing."
"She's not that confusing, though..."
Liz gave a wry smile, and Randy raised an eyebrow, wondering if that was true.
It's understandable for Randy to feel that way. To him, Catherine was a total mystery, and he couldn't figure out her motives.
Apparently, once school was over, she would have to travel around as a Saint. She was supposed to pray in places filled with dark energy to stop evil beings from coming back.
It seemed like a really vague job that tied a person down, but maybe that was just how things worked in this world. Nobles and royals lived their lives bound by their backgrounds. If you think of it as "noblesse oblige," it makes sense that being a Saint comes with certain expectations.
...But whether or not he could follow those expectations was a different story.
(Probably, Ellie is that evil person... and exiling Liz away was probably related to the game somehow.)
Randy suspected that Catherine was a reincarnated person. Her actions were just too puzzling for him to understand.
She exile Liz away and got close to Edgar.
That was pretty ridiculous. He thought the main character in an otome game would have a happy ending. But with the situation involving Cecilia's fiancé, Dario, he realized, "Oh, this person is definitely not normal."
After all, she was trying to win over one guy while getting close to another. Anyone could see that was strange, and it gave Randy a strong feeling.
This girl knows about otome games.
If she was a reincarnated person, it would explain her weird actions. Trying to charm guys, exploring dungeons... she was probably chasing after game events or something like that.
So, exiling Liz away was likely part of the game's storyline.
Randy didn't know anything about the game's main plot, but if he thought of Catherine as a reincarnated person, things started to connect.
Still, for Randy, she was a "confusing existence" because even if they were both reincarnated, their ways of thinking were totally different. Even if Randy knew the main story, he wouldn't make those choices.
If he knew where someone was, he would just go and confront them.
That's how Randy thought. Of course, he didn't plan to force a girl like Catherine to act that way. But one thing he could say for sure was that there was no need to awkwardly recreate the game.
Once he was born into this world as an outsider, it was no longer a game.
There was no need to follow the rules. That's what Randy believed.
Because of that, he could never understand Catherine's way of thinking, and the same went for her understanding of him.
"So? You think the mysterious Saint is related to the school closure?"
"It was on the notice board. The reason for the closure is the Element──."
As Liz spoke, Randy suddenly remembered what he had just seen.
* * *
On Friday, after Randy received ghost materials, Catherine and the others finished their midnight adventure. Then, they each enjoyed their weekend and faced Monday...
"Huh? School's closed?"
Randy and Liz, like the other students, were looking at the notice posted in front of the school gate.
'Due to Element issues inside the school, classes are canceled today.'
Reading the notice, Randy frowned and shifted his gaze to the closed school gate.
(So, are we talking about that Element? The one at school?)
Randy tilted his head while Liz spotted Cecilia, who was just getting off a carriage and chatting with her.
"What's up? School's canceled?"
"Looks like it. I was tired, so it's perfect."
Randy shrugged in response to Luke's words.
"I agree... but it's mostly your fault."
Randy snorted back at Luke, who was giving him a glare. In front of them were Liz, Cecilia, and Annabelle, who had joined them without them noticing. Unfortunately, Cory was not in sight, but everyone here, including him, had gone to the harvest festival in Victor Territory over the weekend.
*It will be inserted in the interlude as it will slow down the tempo.
Everyone had grown closer, and the festival was fun, but it also caused some delays in their project... so for Randy, a day off was just what he needed.
"Luke. I'm heading home now."
It seemed the girls' gathering was over. Cecilia called for a knight, and Luke waved goodbye to Randy as he went back to her.
"Randy, should we head home too?"
"Yeah. We have our project to work on."
After saying goodbye to Annabelle, Randy and Liz started walking back the way they came. The unexpected school closure was a mystery, but taking advantage of it, Randy hurried back to his place to start working on their project, which was the beginning of their conversation.
* * *
"So, that Saintly Lady Catherine is connected to the Element, huh?"
"I heard from Lady Annabelle that Lady Catherine and her group are also trying to solve the Seven Mysteries."
"Why now?"
Randy tilted his head and almost dropped his prototype. Liz just shrugged with a wry smile.
"They left it alone until now?"
"Yep."
"Isn't that the student council?"
"...Yeah."
Randy thought maybe they were finally going to do whatever they wanted, but he sighed quietly, thinking that probably wasn't the case.
(No, maybe this is what that Saint really wants to do...)
Randy found himself oddly agreeing with that thought when Liz spoke up.
"Anyway, it seems the school was closed temporarily because of the 6th mystery they figured out."
Liz sighed and handed Randy the photosensitive paper she made.
"Well, it's not a bad thing, right? Exploring is on us, and besides, it was about the Element, right?"
Randy set the photosensitive paper in the square box and pressed the shutter.
"Well, it was written at the school gate, so I think it's about the Element..."
Liz looked skeptical as she took the film, and there was her own puzzled face reflected in it. Unlike the previous prototypes, it looked the same, and Liz stared at the photo, saying, "Oh, it hasn't changed."
"This is──."
"It's just diluted Valion fluid. I haven't mixed in the ghost part yet."
"Okay."
The two of them stared at the photo for a while... it looked fine for now, but over time, it could fade like cheap ink.
"For now, should we keep an eye on it? Should we also make the liquid with the materials Lady Annabelle gave us?"
"Yeah... we need to rethink the mixing ratios from scratch, though..."
Randy scratched his head, and Liz suddenly remembered something.
"Is it okay because it's about the Element? Is that because holy magic works on it?"
Randy tilted his head back at her, "Huh? Is that so?"
"I mean, I thought it meant that the Elementals are weak and not a problem."
"Have you defeated them before?"
"Of course. In my case, the rule is 'hit them as soon as you find them'."
Randy sighed and frowned as he continued.
"Plus, they act like they're on our side, but they're worse than beasts."
Liz couldn't hide her surprise, her eyes wide open.
"Aren't Elementals known for being untouchable?"
"Yeah. You hear that a lot, but it doesn't make sense... just like with Saints."
The two were having a completely mismatched conversation, yet when it came to exchanges about the experimental mixture, such as.
"Anyway, can you note down the liquid composition ratio?"
"Yes."
"When you attack those guys, they counterattack like crazy, right? That's totally not something a beast would do, no matter how you look at it."
As Randy pouted and paired the new type of photosensitive liquid with the paper, Liz covered her face with one hand.
In her mind, Ellie's exasperated voice echoed: "Then just don't attack them."
"Didn't you get scolded for that?"
"Huh?"
Randy furrowed his brow as he attached the newly prepared photosensitive paper to the prototype.
"At first, yeah, but──"
Randy takes the picture again, aiming it at Liz, and takes out the photosensitive paper...
"Tch, it doesn't show up."
"Let's change the ratio of each."
"Let's try swinging it completely the other way."
The two nod at each other, He starts adjusting the composition of the photosensitive liquid again.
"You were scolded at first, but what happened after that?"
"Huh? After that? Well, he said, do whatever you want."
Smiling, Randy set the finished photosensitive paper again and took a picture of Liz.
"...How is it?"
"It's no good."
Randy sighed deeply and muttered to himself, wondering what was wrong, while comparing the original composition ratio with the two compositions he had just finished.
"The denominator is too small, so it's impossible to compare."
"I was thinking, is it possible that it's fixed while remaining transparent?"
"...You have a point."
Randy thought of this and started messing around with the prototype.
"What are you doing?"
"Well... I was thinking, what if we could spray the fixing solution at the same time as the light hits?"
"I see. In that case, why not try applying it to the liquid alone first and see how it fixes?"
"Let's go with that."
Randy and Liz began working together on the process to liquefy the ghost material.
"So the result of doing whatever you wanted is: *‘Smash the elements as soon as you spot them,'* huh?"
"Pretty much. Those jerks are low-lives who go around abducting people. For the sake of the townsfolk—"
"That's a lie."
Randy was interrupted by Harrison, who peeked his face in through the door.
"A lie?"
"Harrison, you—"
"It's true that you've been hunting elements like crazy. But—"
Harrison smirked and added, "The part about doing it for the townsfolk? That's a lie."
"Whoa, whoa, whoa. I'm protecting the people as part of my *noblesse oblige*, you see—"
"Lies! You told us too: *‘Hey, go try killing some elements. Their counterattacks make for great training for new recruits,'* didn't you?"
Randy faltered, a sharp "ugh" escaping his lips under Harrison's deadpan stare. What Harrison was saying wasn't entirely wrong. Even so, Randy couldn't admit to all of it.
Admitting it would mean facing Liz's own sharp gaze and saying, "Yeah, it's true."
"Y-you idiot! That's because if you all get stronger, you can protect the townsfolk better—"
"Even so, it didn't *have* to be elements."
"Listen. Those guys are practically kidnappers! They aren't servants of the goddess; they're tools of evil."
As Randy pouted, Liz handed him a bucket, saying, "The fixing solution is ready." Randy accepted it, then, without hesitation, snapped another photo of Liz.
Randy quickly immersed the developed photo in the ghost-derived fixing solution.
"How is it?"
"Yeah, it came out cute."
Randy grinned as he showed the photo to Liz, who blushed and stammered, "C-cute, you say..."
"Alright, alright. Enough of this, you two."
Harrison muttered, grimacing. Then, as if remembering his original purpose, he continued, "Young Master──"
"Ms. Miranda's messenger?"
"That's right."
Harrison nodded, unsurprised. He knew Randy would have already sensed the presence of the visitor.
"What's the message?"
As Randy tinkered with the sprayer attachment for the prototype, Harrison answered with a bitter expression, "A visit."
"A visit? What kind of visit?"
"Tonight, Sir Cedric and Lady Miranda will be visiting..."
Hearing that, Randy glanced at the photos of Liz spread out on the floor and flashed a triumphant grin, as if to say, "Well, I managed to finish in time, didn't I?"
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