“—An affectionate name you use for someone you love, you mean?”

“Probably?”

At Alon’s questioning tone, Evan nodded and stared into the air for a moment.

“It’s a pretty old memory, but unless it got distorted or something, that’s probably what it means.”

“......Really?”

“Really.”

Evan nodded, then continued.

“But where did you hear that? If I remember right, ‘Ronya’ is a word people from the north use.”

“......The north?”

“Ah, not the north where the barbarians live. I mean the northern part of the Allied Kingdoms—you know? The villages before you reach the snowfields.”

At Evan’s words, Alon unconsciously nodded.

Certainly, as he said, there were quite a few villages before reaching the northern lands where the barbarians lived.

“......There were villages outside Caliban’s territory too.”

“Right. It’s probably a word those people use, as far as I know.”

Alon wore a blank expression as he rubbed his chin.

Then what surfaced in his mind was a memory from a few days ago.

‘You see, Alon. The me from the previous cycle didn’t call you Patron.’

‘“Ronya,” I called you.’

Recalling Rine’s voice, Alon thought blankly.

'......I called Rine “Ronya”?'

According to Evan, Ronya was an affectionate name used for someone you love.

If Rine’s words were true—

'......Does that mean we were lovers?'

It led to the conclusion that Rine and Alon had been lovers in the first cycle.

There was no reason to use an affectionate name meant for someone you love on a person who was not that.

So he stayed blank only for a moment.

“But where did you hear the word Ronya? That’s not something people outside those northern villages use often.”

Evan’s words.

At that, Alon hesitated for a moment over how to answer, then decided to change the subject.

“More importantly, how do you know it?”

“Huh?”

“The word Ronya.”

“Ah—that—”

Perhaps the topic shift worked—Evan’s gaze moved away from Alon as he thought for a moment.

“......Well, something happened.”

“Something?”

“Not exactly a good story, though.”

At Evan’s expression stiffening slightly, Alon said,

“If you don’t want to talk about it, that’s fine.”

“No, well—it’s not a good story, but it’s not something I can’t tell you either.”

After saying that, Evan thought for a moment before answering.

“I told you before, right? Back then—hm?”

“Yes.”

Alon nodded, naturally understanding the words that would follow.

Because he knew that what came after would surely be about a fallen noble.

“Back then—when I was young, my family was doing quite well. Well enough to even consider a political marriage.”

“A political marriage.......”

“Yeah, a political marriage.”

Since it was not anything particularly unusual for a noble, Alon nodded, and Evan did the same.

“The partner was the daughter of a noble who ruled that territory at the time.”

“......A place that’s now just a village?”

“Yeah. Back then it was ruled by a noble.”

“......So that’s where you heard the word Ronya.”

“Right. That noble’s daughter used to cling to me, calling me Ronya. Well—in my case, it wasn’t something she said sincerely.”

“......Not sincerely?”

At Alon’s question, Evan unconsciously licked his lips.

His face stiffened slightly, as if recalling something unpleasant.

But his voice continued nonetheless.

“I was being used.”

“......Used?”

“Yeah. They were planning to use our family to take over the kingdom. Then they got exposed early—got wiped out entirely. Because of that—......you get it, right?”

Evan stopped there and looked at Alon.

Alon quietly nodded.

He knew very well what would follow.

If the family on the other side of a political marriage had been plotting a rebellion, what would happen to the other party’s family was obvious.

“......So that’s how you became a mercenary.”

“Pretty much. At that age, the only thing I’d learned was how to swing a sword....... Though I was too young to use it properly, and my swordsmanship screamed ‘noble,’ so I couldn’t really use it either.”

Ah, I guess I can use it now since it’s gone from the map? Evan said with a faint smirk.

At that, Alon vaguely recalled that Evan had been a noble of the Ashtalon Kingdom, but—

“Well—let’s stop with the boring story here.”

Evan said that as if to lighten the mood and began looking around again.

“Alright.”

Alon agreed and started walking as well.

####

The next day.

Just like usual, ignoring Delgart, who kept subtly looking down on him, Alon participated in the club created by Yutia.

Worried that attending every day, and too regularly, might raise suspicion, they had set the meetings to about two to three times a week.

By the time he arrived, the group was already gathered.

“You’re a bit late.”

“Was it that guy again?”

“Yes.”

“Hm—”

Hearing Yutia make a small sound as if thinking about something, Alon spoke immediately.

“Does anyone have any suspicions or clues?”

At Alon’s words—

The first to speak was Evan.

“No. I’ve looked everywhere, but I can’t find any trace of preparation for a ritual.”

“Same here.”

“Me too.”

Penia and Rine spoke in turn.

“Just in case, I checked the academy’s blueprints and confirmed there were underground spaces, so I discreetly investigated them.......”

“No luck?”

“No.”

......For some reason, his gaze lingered on Rine longer than usual as she nodded.

“There wasn’t anything particularly unusual there either.”

“I see.”

“Hmm— I also checked the areas only professors can access, but I didn’t find anything strange.”

As Alon gave a short response to Rine’s words, Yutia continued.

“......It hasn’t been long yet, but it’s harder to find than expected.”

At that, Alon muttered quietly.

Then Deus, who had been silent until now, glanced around once before speaking.

“I haven’t found any clues about the ritual location yet either....... However, I did come across something suspicious.”

“......Suspicious?”

“Yes.”

Deus nodded and took something out from his coat.

“......This is......?”

“It’s a club called the ‘Guardian Social Circle.’”

“......A club?”

“Yes.”

“Ah, I’ve heard of it too.”

At Deus’s words, Penia spoke up.

“......This is that one, right? The largest social club in the Imperial Academy.”

“That’s correct. In fact, even nobles who already belong to other clubs usually join this one for ‘socializing.’”

At Deus’s explanation, Alon silently looked at the flyer.

Rather than refined, it looked like something a student had made by hand.

“......You’re saying this place is suspicious?”

“To be more precise, it feels like the conditions are too perfect.”

“......Too perfect?”

“Yes. I’ve heard that on the second day of the festival, the Guardian Social Circle will be holding a grand ball.”

“......Which means.”

“That nobles will gather.”

Rine murmured, and Deus nodded.

“Correct.”

“......How did you obtain this information? I haven’t heard anything like that yet.”

At Rine’s question, Deus answered,

“The schedule hasn’t been made public yet. Only the committee members who run the Guardian Social Circle know about it.”

“......And how did you—?”

“One of the female students told me.”

At that, Rine’s eyes blanked for a moment as if she didn’t understand—

Then Penia, beside her, let out a small exclamation.

“Ah—she told you in advance and asked you to go with her as a partner, didn’t she?”

Deus silently nodded, then looked at Alon.

“......In any case, I haven’t found concrete evidence, but if they really intend to perform the ritual, I don’t think they’d miss the second day.”

“That does sound reasonable. But wouldn’t it just be students gathering at the social club?”

At Rine’s words, Deus continued.

“......It’s a student social event, but I heard that Grand Duke Rollas will be attending.”

“Grand Duke Rollas—that’s a major noble of the Southern Empire. Practically second in command—”

At her murmur, Evan let out a low exclamation as if he understood.

“I see—so they’re throwing out bait?”

“That makes sense. If it’s someone of that level, nobles will come to show their faces and pay their respects.”

“......Then they could gather a large number of nobles in one place.”

“Then does that mean Grand Duke Rollas—or whoever invited him—is an Apostle of the Church of War?”

At Evan’s question, Alon shook his head.

“It’s possible, but we can’t be certain. They could simply be using him. Still, it’s worth investigating.”

“I think so too.”

“Then we know what to do next week. I’ll look into students connected to the Grand Duke.”

At Penia’s words, the group finalized their plan for next week and dispersed.

####

After Alon’s group left, only two people remained in the club room.

One was Yutia, smiling.

And the other—

“.......”

“.......”

Rine, also smiling.

For a moment, they simply looked at each other in silence.

Then—

“Hmm, what is it, Yutia? You even whispered that you had something to say.”

Rine, who had been silent, spoke first.

And—

“Rine, lying isn’t allowed.”

Yutia spoke, her tone slightly heavy.

“Hmm? What exactly do you mean by lying, Yutia?”

“You’re not saying you don’t know, are you?”

“I really don’t.”

Their conversation was calm.

Utterly calm.

And yet, for some reason, there was no rise or fall in their tone.

“Rine? No matter how much you want the teacher, you shouldn’t lie like that.”

“Hmm—what are you talking about? Ah, could it be that you mean the part where Patron called me ‘Ronya’?”

“You know exactly what I mean.”

Yutia tilted her head slightly with a smile.

Rine, in contrast, tilted her head the other way and replied.

“That wasn’t a lie.”

“Not a lie?”

“Yes. Patron definitely called me ‘Ronya.’”

“My, Rine? You shouldn’t take a single word he said out of pity in his final moments and act as if he used it all the time.”

“But he did say it in the end, didn’t he? And there’s no rule that says it won’t happen again.”

“Oh.......”

Smiles spread across both their lips.

“Rine, you call him Patron. That kind of relationship would be inappropriate.”

“You’re the one who told me to call him that, Yutia. To keep me in check, weren’t you?”

Rine continued speaking with a smile.

“Oh my, keep you in check? Of course not. There’s no reason for that to begin with.”

Yutia responded in kind.

“Is that so? I suppose we’ll find out from now on, Yutia.”

“Confident, aren’t you?”

“Well, there’s still no one by his side yet.”

At her words—

The club room fell into silence.

And—

'Eh......?'

Penia, who had come back because she had forgotten something, stood frozen behind the door, listening to everything.