“…We could just eat here, though…”
Hubert’s eyes widened as he pointed with his finger at the seat next to Mallory. But Rowen shook his head as if today really wasn’t the day.
“No. It’s fine.”
“Ah…”
When Hubert nodded with a face that still didn’t understand, confused by Rowen’s reaction that was so different from usual, the perceptive Mallory beside him lightly jabbed his arm with her elbow. Then she said,
“Yeah, Rowen! Do whatever’s comfortable for you. And I overheard in the hallway today that a search party is being dispatched from the Imperial Palace to the Academy. Don’t worry too much.”
“…Thanks.”
Rowen smiled briefly. Then he took a seat at another empty table in the cafeteria. He had already ordered one lunch portion from the server who walked over at just the right time.
Like the aroma he’d caught when entering the cafeteria, roast chicken with two pieces of warm bread and a cream stew flavored with shellfish and vegetables were laid out before Rowen. Rowen gripped the student cafeteria’s spoon in his hand and looked around.
Fortunately, there was no one nearby.
Still, just to be safe, Rowen roughly folded his cloak and placed it on the table. Thanks to the large pillar, whatever was placed in front of it couldn’t be seen.
Only then could Rowen take the frog from his shirt pocket and place it on his palm inside the folds of the cloak. A wriggling movement appeared, and then a green head popped out from between the cloak’s folds.
‘What are you doing all of a sudden?’
What appeared before Nigel’s eyes, after being forcibly taken out from the pocket that had just become comfortable, was the food placed in front of Rowen. Nigel’s irritation immediately softened as soon as he saw the food.
The savory aroma of cream stew tickling his nose.
Nigel’s eyes sparkled. He only then realized he hadn’t eaten anything for two days.
As expected of Rowen. Cream stew, no less. For someone who had starved for several days, there would be no food more appetizing than cream stew.
Nigel made a very small ribbit sound and opened and closed his mouth. Though he couldn’t directly use his hands to lift a spoon, he was ready to swallow it in one bite if Rowen would tear off a small piece of bread, soak it in the stew, and offer it to him.
However, Rowen’s actions were about to flow in a completely different direction from Nigel’s expectations. Rowen was resting his chin on the cafeteria table, lost in serious contemplation.
‘Do frogs… eat chicken?’
Rowen hadn’t taken a single class about the flora and fauna that Kaiserion prided itself on. He was regretting that just a little bit only now.
Even for Rowen, who was far removed from such scholarly pursuits, frogs didn’t eat things like roast chicken according to his common sense. Frogs lived in forests, ponds, and grasslands. So their diet would probably be of that sort too.
Rowen looked at the fresh salad beside the freshly baked bread.
‘Right, they eat grass.’
It was logic that couldn’t be simpler. Rowen picked up a piece of fresh romaine lettuce with his fork and placed it right in front of Nigel’s nose.
“Here, eat. It’s fresh.”
“……”
Nigel looked down at the grass placed in front of his body with an absurd expression. You want me to eat this right now? Having starved for several days, Nigel had no intention of eating mere vegetables and turned his head away sharply. It was a clear refusal, as if he didn’t even want to look at it.
“…You’re not eating it?”
Rowen’s brow narrowed.
“You must not be hungry yet… Or maybe you don’t like this?”
This time he picked up a cherry tomato from beside the salad and rolled it in front of the frog.
“Then how about this?”
But that wasn’t what Nigel wanted either. Nigel couldn’t stand it anymore and crawled on all fours across the table. Huh? Oh. Rowen blocked the view with the cloak placed above so the frog wouldn’t be visible from the surroundings.
Tap, tap.
Nigel poked the roast chicken with his front feet. Then Rowen’s eyes widened.
“…You want to eat this?”
Nigel nodded his head. Then he opened his mouth as if asking for it. Rowen stared at the frog for a moment in a daze, then burst into a hollow laugh.
“Well, if that’s what you want.”
Rowen laughed as if dumbfounded and picked up a knife. He cut off the most tender part of the roast chicken’s meat. Then he brought it to the frog’s mouth.
Just as Nigel was about to eagerly accept it, Rowen’s hand stopped.
“Wait, is it too big?”
Rowen brought the piece of roast chicken back to the plate and cut it to about half that size.
“Here.”
Only then could Nigel have his first meal. The harmony of juices and cream spreading throughout his mouth.
Gulp.
The sight of the small green frog holding something in its mouth until its cheeks were about to burst, then swallowing it in one bite, was quite cute. Rowen rested his chin on his hand and gazed at the sight.
“Eat a lot. That way you can find your owner too.”
Rowen chuckled and tore off a bit of the bread he was going to eat and soaked it in the stew. Then, like feeding a baby bird, he held it to Nigel’s mouth.
Owner.
At that word, Nigel’s movements stopped as he was busily swallowing his food. The eyes of Rowen before him had sunk into a lonely look.
Come to think of it, Rowen had found this frog in Nigel’s dormitory room, so he was hoping it had some connection to Nigel.
‘…How foolish.’
There’s no way I’d keep such a lowly frog in my room. Nigel thought this as he gulped down the meat. Whether it was because the piece of meat was large or because he felt sorry for Rowen, he felt a lump in his throat.
It was near the end of the meal.
A noisy commotion could be heard from outside the window. The atmosphere was distinctly different from the usual lunch hour. Something heavy, the regular friction sound of metal armor, was trampling the lawn of the grounds.
“…What’s going on?”
Rowen put down his fork and approached the window. Nigel was also curious about the situation, so he leaped up onto Rowen’s shoulder.
Rowen’s eyes, looking down out the window, widened.
The wide plaza in front of the main building was filled with a group wearing blue uniforms. Silver armor glinting in the sunlight and golden lion emblems engraved on their chests.
It was the Imperial Guard.
‘Come to think of it, they said a search party would be dispatched from the Imperial Palace to find me… I wonder if they can find me even in my current state.’
Nigel rolled his eyes and thought to himself. At first, he had vaguely hoped they would somehow recognize him, but as time passed, he grew doubtful whether that was even possible.
The moment he spotted the imposing elderly man standing at the very front of the group with overwhelming presence, an exclamation burst from Rowen’s mouth.
“…Isn’t that Sir Rodrick?”
Rowen pressed his body close as he gripped the windowsill.
Pure admiration and excitement filled his eyes.
“To think I’d see him at the Academy.”
The old knight with a long white beard hanging down, Sir Rodrick. He was a living legend and idol to all swordsmanship students in the Empire. Having grown up hearing tales of his heroic deeds since childhood, Rowen’s heart seemed to swell just from the aura that old warrior emanated.
But the situation outside wasn’t as romantic as Rowen’s sentiment.
“No, Sir Rodrick! Interrogating even students who are in class is a clear violation of educational rights!”
The one blocking Sir Rodrick while breaking out in a cold sweat was the Academic Dean with his small frame.
“Where is Headmaster Silvanus right now?”
Sir Rodrick’s low but resounding voice echoed across the plaza. The Academic Dean gasped and stepped backward.
“W-well… the Headmaster is currently… in the middle of very important research…”
“It’s already been three days since His Highness the Crown Prince went missing! What could be more important than this!”
When Sir Rodrick stomped the ground with a bang, the Academic Dean turned pale and looked on the verge of tears.
“B-but… once he enters his research lab, he won’t come out even if there’s an earthquake… No matter how much I knock on the door, there’s no answer…”
Nigel, watching the scene from Rowen’s shoulder, clicked his tongue inwardly.
Silvanus, called the Empire’s greatest Archmage. The one who could supposedly detect even the presence of a single ant in the Academy—and yet he hadn’t shown his face even once despite the Crown Prince being missing for three days?
‘The Dragon really has no intention of helping me.’
Nigel was certain.
That eccentric Dragon clearly knew exactly what state Nigel had become, but was simply standing by either because it was too bothersome or because he was enjoying this situation.
“I’ve brought Her Majesty’s personal letter!”
Sir Rodrick pulled out a thick envelope with a golden seal from inside his coat. The surrounding air grew heavy at the sight of the Imperial emblem glinting in the sunlight.
