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"I\'m very sorry. I\'ll answer your questions another day. Today, I need to talk to Cote-kun," I apologized to the trio of girls.

Ayle visibly sulked. Liz and Bell quickly pulled the pouting Ayle away.

It seemed I would need to talk to them again later. Keeping that in mind, I followed Cote out of the classroom. "Excuse me."

Cote turned around with his usual gentle smile. "Yes, how may I help you?"

His dazzling smile made me hesitate for a moment, but I had already declined Ayle\'s question, so I couldn\'t back down now.

"I need to talk to you," I said with determination.

Court tilted his head. "Talk? If you\'re inviting me to a meal, I\'d be happy to oblige."

"No, that\'s not it," I denied. Then I looked straight at Cote, who was furrowing his brows, and asked to confirm, "… Cote-kun, are you hiding something from me?"

Hearing my ambiguous question, Cote burst out laughing. "Hahaha! Aoi-sensei, that line is famous in my country as a way to get the attention of someone you\'re interested in…"

"Someone you’re interested in? Why would you use such a phrase for that?"

Cote prefaced his answer with, "I apologize for my cliched response."

Then he placed a hand in front of his chest. "I have nothing to hide. Are you misunderstanding something?"

I didn\'t know how to respond to his question. "I…"

Just as I was about to reply, someone suddenly barged in like the wind and body-slammed Cote in the stomach.

"Ugh." Cote let out a muffled voice and staggered.

The intruder turned to face me and shouted, "Sorry, I have something to do with him! I\'ll take Cote-onii-sama with me!"

It was Ayle.

Ayle, with a flushed face, dragged the coughing Cote away.

Her two friends apologized and ran after them.

"… Wh-what…?"

Caught in this whirlwind of events, I could only watch the four of them leave in stunned silence.

―――

"I feel something is suspicious."

When I reported this during lunch with Eliza and Strass, they exchanged glances.

Thinking back now, Cote\'s actions and speech were unusual compared to his usual behavior. Was he trying to avoid my questioning?

While I was pondering, Strass scratched his head with one hand and said, "No, it\'s probably just your imagination."

I looked up at Strass.

Eliza gave a troubled smile and explained, "Ayle-san really admires her brother, Cote-kun."

"That\'s a good thing."

Eliza shook her head and sighed. "No, she goes a bit overboard…"

"Huh?"

"Cote-kun is a rare noble who treats everyone equally despite his high status. He\'s gentle and looks like a prince from a fairy tale, so he\'s very popular."

"I see. Now that you mention it, I can understand why the female students would flock to him."

I thought he was just a good young man, but it turned out he was a very good young man with high specs. Given that he was in the senior division, he must have considerable magical skill as well.

To Ayle, he must be a source of pride.

"… But what does that have to do with my issue?"

Eliza and Strass quickly averted their gazes.

"What is it?" I tried asking again, but they didn\'t answer. Of course, given their personalities, they weren’t intentionally being mean or anything like that.

Was there some secret they couldn\'t share?

"Well, it\'s a sibling matter, so I won\'t delve too deeply."

It wasn’t good to be overly curious about others\' affairs. With that thought, I reigned back.

Strass stood up and pointed outside the dining hall. "Aoi, you\'ve only been at the academy for a short time. It shouldn’t be an issue if you just happened to pass by."

"…? What are you talking about?" I asked.

Eliza laughed and stood up. "He\'s saying we should follow him."

―――

As we moved towards the courtyard, the number of people gradually thinned out.

The south side of the academy had many laboratories and specialized facilities, but there was also a small park-like area.

In particular, the farther back you went, the more greenery there was, and there were even garden-like areas.

"Though it\'s an unspoken rule, the far end is used by senior section students. And this corner on the west side is mostly used by people from the Cote Highland Federation." Eliza pointed to a small space visible in the back.

With a wry smile, she added, "I guess many people like to gather with others from their own country."

She peeked through the gaps in the trees. "Oh, there they are. It\'s Ayle-san and the others."

"That\'s rare. Cote is with them too."

"Maybe Ayle-san dragged him there."

As I listened to their conversation, I also peeked through the trees. Indeed, Cote and the trio of girls were there, facing each other and talking about something.

I strained my ears. It sounded like Ayle was questioning Cote.

"Onii-sama, you seem quite close to Aoi-sensei, aren’t you?"

"Am I? Well, I\'d like to be on good terms with her, but we haven\'t talked much yet."

"… Do you intend to bring Aoi-sensei to the Cote Highlands?"

"No, that\'s likely too difficult. I\'d like her to come if possible. Honestly, I think she\'s a better magician than any magician in the Cote Highlands."

"Onii-sama, you shouldn\'t get close to her with such vague intentions. What if she thinks she can get engaged to you? I\'ve seen many daughters of noble families in tears because of you. Please refrain from thoughtless actions."

Ayle, speaking more formally than usual, pointed at Cote\'s faults. Behind her, Liz and Bell were smiling wryly.

Cote, on the other hand, seemed unaware and tilted his head with a troubled smile.

I see. With such high specs and status equal to royalty, it was no wonder girls would go crazy for him.

Among them, there must be many unrequited loves that ended with broken hearts.

He was quite a sinful man.

"… Huh?"

It was then I realized an important issue.

Ayle thought I had a crush on Cote.

"Aoi-san…"

Ignoring Eliza trying to stop me, I quickly approached the four.

"Aoi-sensei?!"

"This is bad! Let\'s run, Ayle!"

Liz and Bell panicked and moved about restlessly.

Ayle stood in front of me with a determined look.

"Aoi-sensei, I\'m truly sorry! Cote-onii-sama doesn\'t see you as a romantic interest! You might think he was flirting with you, but please don\'t hate him! It\'s all because he’s too nice!" Ayle said earnestly, her expression sincere.

Holding my head, which was starting to ache, I looked at Ayle. "… I don\'t see Cote-kun as a romantic interest."

"Huh?" Ayle showed a shocked expression.