Chapter 237: No Matter How You Look At It, That's a Guy!
Time quickly passed to the weekend.
Luke, Stella, and Ikki, who had planned to go out for a stroll on the streets, were currently waiting at the school gate.
"So slow... What are they doing."
Stella complained with some dissatisfaction.
The agreed-upon time had long passed, but Shizuku had yet to appear.
"She should be here if we wait a little longer. After all, girls always take time to get ready before going out."
"Besides, Ikki's sister lives in the Second Student Dormitory, right? That side is quite a bit further from the school gates than the First Student Dormitory where we live."
It wasn't that Luke had investigated Shizuku to know where she lived; he had investigated Shizuku's roommate.
Compared to Ikki's sister, Luke was more interested in her roommate, Arisuin Nagi.
"But speaking of which, Stella, you don't seem to wear makeup much?"
Since they happened to be on the topic of girls getting ready, Luke casually asked.
It wasn't just Luke; Ikki was actually a bit curious about this matter too.
No matter what, Stella was the princess of a country. Logically speaking, the time she spent on dressing up and applying makeup should be more than ordinary girls.
"Makeup, huh..."
Stella had an expression that was hard to put into words.
"I suppose I do know how to do makeup. Although whenever I really need to wear makeup, professional makeup artists do it for me, I have indeed systematically studied it as a course."
"...But I just generally don't wear it."
"After all, my ability is fire."
Saying this, Stella couldn't help but sigh.
As a young maiden in the prime of her youth, she also wanted to dress herself up to be even prettier.
However...
"Once I put on makeup, I can't use my abilities freely."
Stella's flames were not ordinary flames. The blazing flames she casually summoned could reach over three thousand degrees, which was even higher than the temperature in a steel-making furnace.
Stella herself naturally wouldn't be affected by the high temperatures, and most of the clothes she wore were specially made to be heat-resistant.
Even ordinary clothes generally wouldn't suffer severe damage as long as they didn't directly come into contact with the raging flames; under the girl's impressive Rank B magic control, it was basically not an issue.
But makeup was different.
Even without coming into direct contact with the flames, just the terrifyingly high temperature alone would bake the makeup on her face dry.
"...You have it pretty rough too."
Just as Ikki was lamenting that everyone had their own different troubles, a petite young girl ran over from a distance.
"I kept you waiting, Brother."
"The preparations before going out took more time than I expected, I am very sorry."
The person who arrived was precisely Kurogane Ikki's biological sister, Kurogane Shizuku.
"Ah, Shizuku, you're he...re..."
The moment Ikki turned his head to look at Shizuku and tried to greet her, he was stunned.
The difference in the young girl from how she usually looked at school was not ordinarily large.
Her silver hair and petite body were paired with a Gothic Lolita outfit.
The phrase 'an exquisite doll' could be said to perfectly interpret Shizuku's current state.
Adding on the meticulously designed makeup on the young girl's face, Ikki's gaze was completely unable to shift away from his sister.
Almost instantly, he recalled the kiss at the start of the school year.
It couldn't be helped, who asked it to be Ikki's first kiss.
"Wow, this makeup is undeniably professional. Did you specifically hire someone to design this look for you?"
Having just been talking about how she wasn't suited for makeup, and then before the topic even concluded, a professionally dressed-up girl popped up.
Stella's mood at this moment was also quite complicated.
"Your Highness, hello."
Shizuku first politely greeted Stella.
Afterward, she explained, "This is makeup my roommate did for me, it wasn't done by a professional."
Because the current Stella did not harbor any romantic feelings toward Ikki, the relationship between her and Shizuku was not as incompatible as fire and water like in the original work.
One being a princess of a country, and one being a descendant of a prestigious family.
The interaction between the two young girls right now was instead quite harmonious.
"Roommate? Ah, do you mean Arisuin-san, who is also coming together with us today?"
"Yes, she's behind me. She should be catching up very soon..."
"Honestly, Shizuku, you ran too fast."
Shizuku's words were interrupted by a voice before she could finish.
"Dressing up so beautifully, wouldn't it be a shame if you tripped and fell."
Unlike Luke, who had long been mentally prepared, Stella and Ikki froze the moment they saw Arisuin Nagi.
Because the message Shizuku sent was hinting at 'bringing an older-sister-like roommate.'
Therefore, the two of them thought the person coming would definitely be a gentle and elegant woman.
However...
"Hehe, nice to meet you~"
"I am Shizuku's roommate, Arisuin Nagi. I really hate it when people call me by my full name, so if possible, please call me 'Alice'~"
A slender and tall figure, elegant attire mainly in plain colors, combined with the very gentlemanly gesture of him taking off his bowler hat to bow.
If one ignored that feminine tone and only looked at the other party's refreshing smile...
'No matter how you look at it, that's a guy ahhhhhhh!!!' x2
Stella and Ikki both simultaneously exclaimed in their hearts.
"Please take care of me~"
"Ah... uh... oh... pl-please take care of me too..." x2
Facing Alice's greeting, Stella and Ikki responded hesitantly.
Beside them, Luke could clearly see shaken expressions on both of their faces.
'Wh-wh-wh-what is going on?!'
'Even if you ask me...'
'B-b-but his tone of speaking and movements are all very much like a girl's, right? Is this a unique style of humor from this land?! Should I be laughing out loud right now to be more polite?!'
'No, no, no, I am absolutely sure we do not have this kind of unique culture!'
After whispering back and forth for a bit to confirm they hadn't misunderstood, Stella and Ikki quickly saw Luke hiding on the side, snickering while taking photos.
The two immediately pulled him to the side with lightning speed, then asked in extremely faint voices:
"L-L-L-L-Luke! You know something, don't you! What on earth is going on?!?!"
"Do you know him? Could he re-really be... be... that kind of existence?!"
Looking at Stella and Ikki's flustered expressions, Luke helplessly put his phone away and said:
"Did you two really not notice at all?"
"Arisuin is our classmate from the same class, you know..."
"It's already been a week since school started, do you guys not even know your own classmates?"
Luke's words were actually purely meant to tease the two of them.
After all, Arisuin had been constantly lowering his presence in class through various methods. It was unavoidable that Stella and Ikki, who lacked experience in this area, hadn't noticed him.
"Eh?!?!" x2
Sure enough, the moment they heard that this 'Alice' was their classmate, the two of them couldn't help but exclaim out loud.