"Hnnnh…? Oh, yes. I did change the bedding. I spilled a lot… and I mean, a LOT of liquid."
In the morning of the following day, Melinda Fenrioette was sitting on the edge of her bed, drying her golden hair with a towel, when suddenly she started to talk to herself for no apparent reason.
"Don't be silly, Adi. Getting back from a day off just to witness a mess like that… You are my maid, but I think of you as my friend first~"
The girl declared, leaving the towel on her head and instead spreading her arms open towards the empty space in front of her.
Shockingly enough, the next moment the bedsheet in the corner of the bed to Melinda's right folded up on its own revealing a pristine mattress.
"I told you already. It got completely drenched. Of course, I would replace the mattress."
The gold-haired girl blushed and looked the other way while mumbling, pushing aside empty jugs of water just to get the last one that still had some water left and then casually taking a long sipp from it without bothering to put it into a glass.
"That's right. As you can see, I didn't learn my lesson and don't intend to either~"
After emptying the whole thing, Melinda smiled cheekily through her blush and declared while the bedsheet put itself back in its place.
"PGFFFFH...! Wh-why would you look at me with such suspicion, Adi…? I-I-I m-m-me-meant s-s-spilling w-water, o-of c-c-c-c-ourse…! Wh-what e-e-e-else…!?"
Within seconds, the gold-haired girl's smugness crumbled and she turned around, hiding her burning-red face in her hands and muttering while fidgeting as if she was facing a situation when someone she believed to be thick-headed shocked her to the core with their insight and perfect reading between the lines.
"A-anyway…! Thank you, as always! As I said earlier, I have something to discuss with the headmaster!"
The flustered girl stood up, hurriedly dressing herself up and walking out of the room blushing like a tomato.
The gold-haired girl calmed down before reaching the headmaster's office, greeted the secretary at the desk, and asked her about the headmaster Vendro'in.
"Of course, I'll inform him of your presence, Young Lady."
"Much appreciated~"
The woman didn't make any remarks and simply nodded, standing up and entering the office, leaving the humming Melinda behind.
"If you allow."
"Thank you~"
Not even a minute had passed when the secretary returned and held the door to the headmaster's office open for the gold-haired girl, who nodded at her as she entered.
"Young Lady Fenrioette."
"Headmaster Vendro'in."
As the black-haired man greeted her, standing up behind his desk, she responded with a curtsy despite not wearing a skirt and waited.
"What can I help you with, Young Lady?"
Quite surprisingly in the gold-haired girl's experience, the headmaster was acting perfectly calm. He even sounded as if he wished to be helpful.
It was quite interesting to see him not boastful for once and it made Melinda wonder whether that change had something to do with the conversation between her, him, and the Emperor of Emperors at the end of the previous semester.
"Headmaster, this one has a question about the on-the-job training course. Is it a once-per-semester or once-per-year kind of thing?"
Melinda asked in an official manner although she ended up slipping into a casual speech half-way through just to see Vendro'in's reaction.
"I assure you it wasn't a one-off, Young Lady. And, yes. It is now one of the obligatory courses, and yes, once per semester. Before you ask, there is no restriction for taking it in the same place each time."
The headmaster nodded his head and explained, going out of his way and answering the question that was yet to be asked.
"Pardon this one her forwardness, but you made it sound as if you were certain this one would intend to take that course in the same enterprise each time… this one thought that the orphanage she had the on-the-job training ceased to exist, though…?"
"..."
Melinda tilted her head to the side and asked, lightly furrowing her brows, which made the headmaster flinch and close his eyes as he gulped down his saliva.
"His Majesty, the Emperor of Emperors, Sigurd Em'raldio has sent in a recommendation by name for you, inviting you to take the on-the-job training course at his knight-training facility. By no means are you obligated to act on it, though."
The headmaster took a deep breath and explained, taking out a few papers and presenting them to the gold-haired girl.
"It certainly is a welcomed but unexpected turn of events… it even makes this one wonder whether it is done so that this one would not experience different sides of the Empire besides the carefully curated one…"
"HUH…!?"
Melinda frowned, suspicious at the sudden convenience, and ended up going with a rather risque option from the ones appearing in her mind resulting in headmaster Vendro'in letting out a gasp full of mixture of shock, anger, and disbelief.
"...ghh…!"
"...?"
Interestingly enough, the headmaster clenched his hand to his chest and grunted, biting his lips in pain, causing Melinda to raise her brows, intrigued.
"I assure you, Young Lady, that this is not the case at all. If anything, working around the aspiring knights from different backgrounds will let you have a better understanding of the Emeraldios Empire, if anything…"
The headmaster breathed out heavily before he could squeeze out a response from his clenched throat.
"Please, forgive this one for this mishap. This one humbly accepts the referral. If this one is allowed, could she learn what date the Emperor of Emperors put in as the start of the course?"
"That is for you to decide, Young Lady."
Melinda lightly shook her head before curtsying again and asked, receiving a rather welcomed answer.
"If that's the case, this one would like to begin from tomorrow. Could this one ask for a day off to go to the facility and work out the details?"
The girl raised her head and asked.
"Of course, Young Lady."
"In that case, thank you very much, Headmaster. This one will be on her way."
Once the headmaster gave her his permission, the gold-haired girl took the documents and curtsied for the third and last time before turning around and leaving the office.
"Ghaaaah… haaaah…"
"..."
As she was closing the door, the sound of the headmaster falling back into his chair and breathing out, sounding completely worn out, did make her stop for a second…
"..."
…but only for a second…