Book 5: Chapter 4: A Cup of Something Inappropriate

As she walked quickly through the corridor, Monica squeezed her heart, which was racing, over her uniform.

Don't tell me… don't tell me she's noticed? She's noticed that I'm the Silent Witch…

After becoming one of the Seven Sages, she had mostly kept her face hidden, so the only people who knew Monica's face were her fellow Seven Sages.

Or perhaps they were acquaintances from her days at Minerva? But Monica, who was extremely socially awkward, was mostly confined herself inside the lab, and if she had seen a beautiful woman as conspicuous as Claudia somewhere, she would remember her for sure.

I-It's just a coincidence… right…?

It just happened that she brought that topic up. It must be.

Telling herself as much, Monica opened the door to enter the preparation room. Compared to before the tea ceremony has started, there were fewer people. Almost all the maids were probably out serving the guests at the tea ceremony.

Slightly relieved by the least number of people, Monica turned to the shelf where she had placed her cans before.

"Huh…?"

Looking up at the shelf, Monica stiffened. Monica's can of tea leaves were missing.

Casey's can of tea leaves was in the same position as Monica remembered. But the space next to it, where Monica had placed her cans, was empty.

She was certain, though, that she had laid out a folded paper and put three cans on top of it.

Feeling a bad premonition, Monica's blood drained from her body.

This was not the first time Monica had been faced with this kind of situation. Just like what she had guessed.

With trembling hands, Monica lifted the lid of the trash can.

"…ah."

Mixed in with the used tea husks and empty cans, were unused tea leaves strewn all over in the trash. she also found her folded paper.

"How could my…"

Monica crouched down on the spot helplessly. Without the tea leaves, she would not be able to make tea. This means she can't continue her lesson.

What should I do…?

Tears slowly welled up in her eyes. No matter how good a magician Monica might be, she can't rewind time.

As she swallowed a sob and sniffled, she heard a familiar voice behind her.

"What's wrong, Monica? Are you not feeling well?"

Casey kneeled down beside Monica and rubbed her back.

When Monica asked her in a faint voice why she was here, Casey scratched her cheek with a complicated look.

"I was worried about you because you hadn't come back, so I came to check on you… guess not. Sorry, to be honest, it was hard for me to stay there…"

Well, she apparently couldn't stand the tense atmosphere between Lana and Claudia and slipped out of her seat under the pretense of going to check on Monica.

Casey looked at the tea leaves strewn all over in the trash can and seemed to grasp the situation. She furrowed her brow and stared at the trash can.

"Horrible… who would do such things?"

Casey then wiped Monica's tears with a handkerchief and spoke to her in a gentle tone, as if she were a young child.

"Hey, do you have any spare tea leaves in the dorm? I think you could serve some tea you usually drink…"

"I don't have any…"

Since Monica did not drink tea in general, she never stocked it up.

If she asked Miss Isabelle, she might be willing to share it again, but she's in the middle of her class now.

While Monica sniffled softly, Casey thought for a moment before taking her own tea can.

"Just use my tea leaves. I know this means we'll serve the same type of tea, but better than ending up with nothing to serve."

"But… I-I can't trouble you…"

If they serve the same tea, it will be evaluated as a lack of prior preparation.

Then, not only Monica, but Casey would receive a point deduction as well.

But Casey was just as nonchalant, waving her hands dismissively.

"Don't worry about that. I don't care what kind of tea served at a tea party, as long as it's tasty and enjoyable, then that's all that matters."

Stopping her sniffling, Monica then looked at the tea leaves in the trash can.

Casey was certainly right. Most importantly, if she returned to the tea party without being able to prepare the tea, she might fail her lesson.

But…

Monica clenched her fists and stood up on shaky legs.

She then turned around before ran out of the preparation room.

"Monica! Where are you going?!"

"I-I'm sorry, I'll be back soon!"

Afterleft saying that, Monica started running off to her room in the dormitory.

＊ ＊ ＊

Lana stared at Claudia in annoyance as she bit on the butter cake.

Claudia seemed to be staring at the departing Monica, but the atmosphere returned to gloomy as soon as she was out of sight.

Her long black eyelashes lowered as she stared at her cup of tea, making her beauty look so delicate. And yet, the gloom and unapproachability she exuded were amazing in their own way.

What is this? What is this? What is this…?

Lana bit her lip then looked down at the cup of tea she had served.

Although wealthy, Lana's father was not born noble. Even he was from a wealthy merchant family, because of his contributions to the development of the city, he was given a peerage shortly before Lana was born.

Lana had been raised with the finest luxuries and trendy dresses for as long as she could remember.

Everyone said Lana was a "blessed young lady."

But Lana was lonely.

Among the children of families without titles, the blessed Lana always felt out of place. She didn't fit in well with the other children and was accused of bragging about her riches.

That's why she thought she would be able to make friends similar to her own if she entered Serendia Academy where most of the noble children attended.

However, in a school where lineage and prestige matter, Lana was treated as the daughter of a wealthy family with no refinement. To top it all off, her father was accused of having bought his title with money.

You have no sense of decency, no sense of manners, no understanding of the unspoken rules of nobility… The more someone said those words to her, the more Lana became stubborn.

When Lana first approached Monica, it was only on a whim.

Since Monica was not as good as her and stood out in class, taking care of her satisfied Lana's pride a little.

Above all, although Monica tended to hang her head down, when Lana offered her a little help she would smile like a blooming small flower. This tickled sensation made Lana can't leave her alone. Whenever Monica looked at Lana with respect, Lana's heart was slightly filled with joy.

In fact, she was expecting Monica's adoring gaze at today's tea party. She even had chosen the tea leaves with great enthusiasm, but Claudia pointed out that they were inappropriate, and Lana's pride was in tatters.

Why does it always have ended up this way?

All I wanted was… to give my friend the best tea I could.

It brought back memories of her childhood when she served the best pastries and tea to her friends she invited to her house only to be criticized for "bragging about being rich" behind her back.

Lana simply wanted to give her friend the most wonderful thing to eat.

"Well, sorry for the long wait."

Casey, who had been absent, quickly came back. But Monica was not standing next to her.

Lana asked with her eyes, "Where's Monica?" Casey scratched her cheek with a vague expression and took a seat.

"Hmm, well… I think she'll come here soon."

"You weren't helping Monica prepare tea, were you?"

In response to Lana's question, Casey muttered crisply, "No, it's…"

What exactly is going on? Did something happen to Monica?

As Lana sat up, a soft, pleasant smell tickled her nose. But it was not the smell of tea.

"T-Thank you… for waiting…"

With her unreliable wobbling feet, in an almost dangerous, Monica approached the table. On the tray in her hands were an empty cup and an unfamiliar pot.

Monica placed the tray on the table and wiped the sweat from her forehead. It seemed that just carrying the tray up there was a big task for the non-athletic Monica.

Claudia, who had been looking unenthusiastic, slowly raising up her head then stared at the pot.

"…It doesn't smell like tea."

"This… is a coffee…"

Looking straight at Claudia, Monica said in a shaky voice.

"L-Lady Claudia. Since you said, If you start the party with something of a strong flavor, it will numb your tongue… So, since I am the last, having coffee with a strong taste should not be a problem."

"Coffee is a drink for men. I don't think it's appropriate for a women's tea party."

What Claudia said was correct. Coffee has indeed become quite popular in this country, and while coffee houses do exist, it is mostly men who drink them.

Above all, coffee has a strong bitter and sour taste, making it difficult to please everyone. Although Lana had tried it a few times, she was not very fond of it.

But then again, Monica said firmly, which was unusual for her.

"D-Don't worry. I think it will taste delicious, so…"

She then poured the coffee from the pot into the cups and added warmed milk to the three cups.

"S-Since it is meant to be drunk as a palate cleanser after a meal, I really want people to drink it as is, but I know many people don't like bitterness, so I add milk to your cup. You can add more sugar if you like."

After the cups were handed out to all of them, Claudia was the first to lift her cup. After smelling at the aroma, she sipped it.

"………"

Claudia's unresponsive attitude did scare her a little.

Both Lana and Casey added sugar to their cups before sipped timidly.

"What's this… there's no bitterness or sourness at all."

Muttering, Lana sipped the contents of the cup once more. The mellowness of the milk enveloped the refreshing bitterness.

That was a flavor that Lana had never tasted before.

Casey was also looking at the cup closely, surprised.

"Hey, I've never had this kind of coffee before… is it supposed to be this easy to drink?"

It was understandable for Casey to say that.

Speaking of coffee, until a long time ago, it used to be made by boiling down ground beans then added with sugar. But, after siphons and other tools have become popular recently, many flavorful coffees have been appearing.

Still, the coffee that Monica prepared was more than flavorful.

Claudia gazed at the silver pot then muttered.

"…coffee tastes more bitter the longer it is brewed."

"Y-Yes… That's why I use this pot to make a quick extraction. This pot uses steam power to brew coffee in a short time…"

"…I've never seen this appliance before. Not even in a book."

At Claudia's muttering, Lana and Casey widened their eyes.

Claudia was probably the most knowledgeable person here… no, perhaps at this school.

Having born in the lineage of a family that had such a vast amount of knowledge, she was nicknamed as "walking library."

And for someone like her, How could there's nothing she did not know about!

Claudia drank the contents of her cup cleanly and looked at Monica with blue eyes that were still unreadable.

"I see, not a bad way to catch me off guard. But this is a "tea ceremony class," remember? A drink that isn't even tea is completely out of that category."

"W-Well, I think so… B-But…"

Monica looked down and picked up her own cup.

Her cup was the only one that did not have milk in it. She was probably used to drinking bitter coffee.

"I… I wanted my dearest friend to drink what I love the most… So… Um…"

Waring both of her hands around her cup, Monica lowering her eyebrows then smiled.

"…I guess I'm the most inappropriate here."

As Monica smiled shyly, Lana felt as if her mind was going blank.

What is this? What is this? What is this…?

Lana thought that her tea was the most inappropriate at this table, but now Monica brought in coffee that was more inappropriate for a tea party. She would probably get a point deduction.

Lana gulped down the contents of her cup.

"It's really good… I like it a lot," said Lana as she tried to hold back her tears, looking at Monica's smile which still looks like a blooming flower.