"..."
After the lectures for the day were over, Melinda stayed behind in the classroom, looking out of the window with a longing expression.
The sight she was admiring was simply the courtyard and the entrance gate to the Jade Academy. The one thing - or rather person - who she was focusing on, though, was a tall, white-haired young man leaving the school grounds together with a group of church officials.
"..."
As if noticing the golden eyes on him, Zane turned around and looked directly at the window from which Melinda was gazing at him.
"...~"
The gold-haired girl smiled and lightly waved her hand before getting up from her seat and moving away from the window without waiting for his response.
"Hmm? Hey, Rich. Something's bothering you?"
"...!"
Melinda was walking to the door when her head snapped to the side at the sight of one more student beside her who stayed behind - and who flinched at her call and blushed as he hurriedly closed a notebook he seemed to be scribbling something until that point.
"Y-young lady Fenrioette, why are you still…?! Umm, that is… h-hello?"
The red-haired boy became flustered and doubled his attempts to hide the already closed notebook.
"Something's bothering you, Rich?"
"N-no…!"
Melinda repeated her question, and Richard instantly shook his head and declared.
"...?"
"...w-well… maybe there is something…"
The gold-haired girl raised her brow at the much too hasty-sounding response, and the red-haired boy folded in without even trying to put up any airs.
"Young lady…. you are friends with Miss Leona, aren't you…? Do… you know a good way to approach her… organically…? I mean… without appearing… creepy…?"
Richard took a deep breath and spoke up slowly, taking breaks to let out some nervous breaths.
"..."
"I… I have no experience with women, you see… and I don't want to put Miss Leona off before we even begin to get to know each other and…"
Melinda didn't even have to say anything. She merely raised her brows, and the red-haired boy poured out a river of exposition.
"Sure. The first lesson on healing magic theory was rather disappointing. Leo looked like she was falling asleep, so she might be interested in some tutoring so as not to fall behind. And to make things less awkward, how about we will make it a study group? I'll gather some more people, but not too many, of course. I'll give you a heads up about the time and place."
"Wha…? Y-you will do that?!"
The gold-haired girl froze for a second but then immediately picked the best choice from the options that appeared in her mind, causing the initially shocked Rich's face to light up with happiness.
"Of course, I will participate too. And while we're at it, is it possible to teach a monster how to use healing magic?"
Melinda assured him with a confident nod and then asked, tilting her head with an intrigued expression.
"A monster? That honestly depends on the type of monster and the skills of the tamer… there are monsters that appear to be learning spells naturally, but there are quite a lot of opposing theories about the exact mechanics of that…"
"Then meeting a monster that can heal itself is a rarity in the wild?"
Richard furrowed his brows and leaned back into his chair before he began to speak, making Melinda nod to herself.
"O-ohhhh! That's what you're worried about! It's okay, young lady! Monsters like Pigkin Orcs will not spontaneously spawn a healer - monster clerics appear extremely rarely amongst the Borakin Orcs and are still rare even amongst large Hobgoblin colonies. A monster that can heal itself or its allies is a scary thing, but thankfully, it's also not something anyone venturing outside the city at a reasonable distance needs to be worried about!"
It appeared that the red-haired boy misunderstood where Melinda was coming from with her question because he sounded very reassuring and supportive…
…which would definitely not be the case if he knew what the gold-haired girl actually had in mind…
"That's good to know, thank you~"
Melinda still thanked him, once again using the shut up and play along option as it became a valid choice.
"That said… about going out of the city… Recently, there is one more reason to not go too far…"
"...?"
All of a sudden, Richard leaned in and spoke in a hushed voice that always indicated some juicy gossip, so Melinda leaned in, too.
"I've heard that a mountain lake in the north has been struck by some incredibly powerful fire-type magic. There are rumors that it might be connected with the sightings of the Deep-Dusk Dullahan… if that's ended up being true, it might be that the Dullahan might have evolved in an unexpected manner and gained access to fire magic, which - of course - makes it even more dangerous."
"The mountain lake… the one up north?"
Richard whispered, but instead of being spooked away, Melinda merely furrowed her brows and wanted to clarify.
"That's right! That's some really scary stuff, if you ask me. The Deep-Dusk Dullahan hasn't been spotted this close to Jade City in ages! And now it might have been even stronger than ever before? I've heard that the Emperess, together with the church, are secretly gathering a group of strongest adventurers that would hunt the Deep-Dusk Dullahan down! And! Apparently, lord Zane is a part of it!"
"That explains a lot. Thank you once again, Rich~ I'll make sure to organize the study session as soon as possible and have it meet regularly~"
The red-haired boy added, and the gold-haired girl nodded with an excited expression before leaving the classroom and waving her classmate goodbye.
"Going after a roaming boss like the Deep-Dusk Dullahan with a party that didn't cooperate in the field is a bit much… I could do it for him, but this whole thing is so he could grow as a person… On the other hand, if some monsters began moving around and presenting themselves as good team-building activity… Yeah, it could be a nice side project… I could look into it while helping out Zane's friend…"
The gold-haired girl hummed to herself while smiling rather sinisterly as she went.
"...hmmm... I wonder if this makes me more of a villainess than the original Melinda…?"
The gold-haired girl furrowed her brows and stopped mid-step, struck by a sudden thought.
"Well… it's not like the restoration events could happen without some damage, anyway. Does it really matter who encourages them~?"
She shrugged her shoulders without changing her expression.