"Nagisa-san won. It's not interesting, desu~no."
Although Urza is dissatisfied with the result of the mock battle, her expression is somewhat relieved. It is not an honest reaction, but she seems to be pleased with the victory of Nagisa, whom she recognizes as her rival.
"Aeris!"
"Yes, I'm off!"
Aeris starts to move as soon as I call out to her.
First of all, she runs to Nagisa who is coming back to us and casts a healing spell on the wound on her cheek.
"I'll heal you right away, Heal."
"Yeah, I'm sorry. It helps."
"It's a girl's face, after all. I'll have to make sure it heals properly."
Although they often fight in the bath or in bed, they are not really at odds with each other.
So, Aeris is treating Nagisa's wounds with a smile, congratulating her on her victory. Nagisa also accepted it as a matter of course.
After finishing Nagisa's treatment, Aeris runs to Ruffie who is sitting in the middle of the ground.
Leon and Ciel were already running to Ruffie's side, cheering up their defeated friend.
"Ruffie-san, are you hurt?"
"...Aeris-san."
When Aeris called out to her, Ruffie's shoulders shook slightly.
Aeris looked at her with a puzzled look on her face, and Ruffie's sleepy face showed an unusually anxious emotion.
For the note, both Aeris and Ruffie were born in a clergy family, so they are what one might call childhood friends.
But, although they were as close as sisters in their childhood, they are now estranged from each other because of a certain incident.
The incident was the murder of Aeris's mother by bandits.
That was when Aeris and her mother were traveling in a horse-drawn carriage when they were suddenly attacked by bandits. At that time, the monk guarding them was killed or ran away, endangering the lives of the mother and the child.
Aeris was saved by her mother, who used all her strength to cast a barrier, but at the cost of her mother's life, who had used up all her strength.
Ruffie's involvement in this incident is that the escaping monk was Ruffie's father.
Ruffie's father had run away from the escort to save his own life, and then disappeared.
Ruffie felt responsible for Aeris losing her mother because of her father, and she began to distance herself from Aeris.
"Your knee seems to be scrapped. Let me help you."
"..."
Aeris casts a healing spell on Ruffie, who is awkwardly silent.
Ruffie, who could use healing magic herself, accepts Aeris' treatment without rejecting it.
She kept her mouth tight shut for a while... then she opens her mouth.
"...Thank you. You're very kind."
"Yes, you're welcome. I remember when I was treating Ruffie-san. In the past, I used to cast healing magic on you when you were injured in training."
"Yes, that may have happened... once..."
"Now that we are in the same class, we may have more opportunities like this. It may be inappropriate for the injured Ruffie-san... but... just a little, I'm glad."
"..."
Ruffie bites her lip and fell silent.
Leon and Ciel, who are unaware of the situation between them, look at each other curiously at this delicate atmosphere.
"I hope we can be friends again like we used to be. Let's have a cup of tea together sometime."
"...I understand. Aeris-sama."
Ruffie answered in a firm tone of voice, not in her usual stilted voice.
The awkward atmosphere has not gone away yet, but it seems that both parties have made a step forward.
"That's great, isn't it? Female friendship is wonderful."
I mutter to myself as I watch them from afar.
In the game, if Aeris and Ruffie are reconciled, they will serve together in a service scene... but Ruffie is now Leon's friend, so such a rewarding event will not happen.
Alas... it's nice to see estranged friends make up. Aeris seems to be happy, and I'm glad I pushed her.
As the two laughs awkwardly at each other, I shrug my shoulders with a wry smile.
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