As soon as the third-year senior learned about the scrunchie, according to Kaylee, she thought a swarm of locusts had descended upon the store.

Like locusts ready to devour all the crops, academy students flooded into the store, clearing out all the displayed scrunchies, and even buying up all the handbags displayed next to them.

As a bonus, they even placed orders for the pouches that Aer had been carrying around.

When moving around the academy, female students needed bags.

Not large bags for carrying books, but handbags suitable for various small items.

However, there was no place that made bags suitable for carrying around school.

Occasionally, some students would carry custom-ordered bags, but there were no ready-made products that friends could match colors with.

Aer checked the handbags that students were carrying while walking around the academy.

Students carrying Kaylee’s handbags were all wearing scrunchies in the same way.

Getting an idea from this, Aer decided to create a set combining handbags and scrunchies to attract students’ interest.

If Kaylee hired more hands, there were many items to add in the future. From cloth-covered hand mirrors to pencil cases for fountain pens, and even headbands.

The plan was to make all of these from the same fabric and create a set product.

Aer, wearing a bandana headband she had asked Kaylee to make in advance, deliberately passed by the academy lobby where many female students gathered.

It was a new product prepared for this autumn.

The bandana headband she wore was made by crossing two fabrics and adding an elastic band to the part that came down below the head.

So it stayed firmly in place.

In summer, tying up hair is convenient and looks cool and pretty. But in autumn, people might want to let their hair down for a more sophisticated look, and this product targets that desire.

As Aer passed by, the lobby became noisy for two reasons.

Those who still looked down on her were busy snickering and gossiping, while those more curious about the headband than her quietly left their seats.

They were probably heading to Madam Kaylee’s store.

Aer, observing the disappearing crowd, hummed a tune as she headed towards Louis.

The two still met at their hideout after school. As autumn arrived, the scenery there became even more beautifully colored.

While it was a shame that people didn’t know about this beautiful place, part of her selfishly wanted it to remain known only to Louis and herself.

As she was entering a secluded path, Aer encountered an uncomfortable figure.

She didn’t know why Ian was there, but Aer tried to pass by pretending not to notice.

“…Wait a moment.”

“?”

Knowing that Ian usually disliked her, Aer turned her head with a puzzled expression, not expecting him to call out to her.

When their eyes met, Ian became flustered. He didn’t know why he had called out to her.

“…What is it?”

Aer’s voice became curt as he just stared blankly after calling her.

Ian hesitantly voiced the uneasy feeling he had been having since the end of the first semester.

“Your leg.”

“Pardon?”

“Has your ankle fully healed?”

“…Pardon?”

This time, Aer was taken aback. It had been so long since it healed, why was he asking such a question now?

While considering whether to just ignore him and pass by, she remembered the mark and gave a vague answer.

“Well, it’s fine now.”

As she spoke, she carefully rolled her eyes. His mark, which had briefly appeared in the novel, was on the nape of his neck. Aer took a step forward as she spoke.

Ian felt strangely tense at her behavior.

…Probably because she was displeased, he thought.

Aer, who had come closer, rolled her eyes slightly and continued speaking.

“I’ve answered, so can I pass now?”

“…Yes.”

As Aer passed by, she quickly checked Ian’s nape. Just below his right ear, there was a mark indicating the nature of fire.

The mark, shaped like curling flames, was exactly as described in the original work.

Having confirmed that it was very different from her own mark, Aer quickly turned her head and walked forward.

Unaware that Ian had turned his head and was watching her.

***

As full autumn arrived, the sky became a deep blue, and the academy was in a bustle due to Thanksgiving. It was because students could return home for a week.

Aer was planning to stay in the dormitory again this time.

“What? The entire academy is closing?”

“Isn’t that obvious? They say we should spend Thanksgiving with our families. Us too.”

“Ah…”

Even for those without families, Thanksgiving was a day to meet with close acquaintances. It was a day to pray for a good harvest and thank the deity for providing daily bread, and yet…

Aer grumbled as soon as she left the living quarters.

“There are people who don’t like their families. What are those people supposed to do!”

It’s unclear why they created such holidays when there are always exceptions in any place or situation.

“Ah, I should go to Kaylee. Being a workaholic, she’s sure to be working.”

Aer quickly packed a week’s worth of belongings into her spatial bag and hurried to the carriage rental place.

Once in the carriage, she took out her communication orb and connected with Louis.

Tok, totok!

-Aer?

“You’re going as well, right?”

-Yeah…

Louis was also one of those who didn’t want to return, but he was heading to the palace to avoid giving the Empress any reason to find fault with him.

“I’m on my way to the city now, what was the name of that perfume shop we visited last time?”

She had used up all the perfume he bought her. She thought of buying another bottle while she was out, but couldn’t remember the shop’s name at all.

-…

“Louis?”

-Aer.

“Yes?”

-Why are you going to the city?

“Ah…”

She had told Louis that she would be staying in the dormitory this time as well.

It made sense for him to be curious when she suddenly asked about the perfume shop’s name without explaining that the situation had changed.

“Unlike during the vacation, they say we can’t use the dormitory this time. The people working in the living quarters need to go meet their families too.”

Aer spoke comfortably to Louis. If it were before, she would have tried to hide it, but after he had nursed her, she just spoke honestly.

How should I put it?

Showing a vulnerable side is like revealing one’s weakness, so she no longer felt the need to hide her weaknesses from him.

Ah, one more thing.

She trusted him that much. It wasn’t just because of the nursing incident.

He had never lied to Aer in general. And he always listened to her stories kindly.

As these moments accumulated one by one, she naturally came to trust him and felt they had become closer.

So, isn’t it okay to share this level of secret with a close friend?

“As you know, my family situation isn’t exactly great. Even if I go back for Thanksgiving, I might just return with a sour mood. So I’m planning to go to Kaylee’s. Before that, I need to buy some perfume. The one you bought me smelled really good. I’m thinking of buying another one like that.”

As she chattered away, they were almost at the city.

“Oh, what should I do? I think I need to hang up.”

-Aer, wait.

“Yes?”

-Wait for me in front of ‘Perfume’.

As he ended the communication, the carriage came to a screeching halt. Aer put the communication orb back in her bag with a bewildered expression.

After sitting dazed for a moment, she hurriedly got off the carriage at the coachman’s call to disembark.

Slowly moving her feet, she repeated what he had said.

“Wait, he says…”

That sounded like he was coming to where she was, and it made her feel strange.

She’s close to Louis.

More precisely, they are close friends.

They met by chance, but he was always there in urgent moments, listened to her when she was having a hard time, and quietly stayed by her side when she was sick, only to disappear.

Yes, that’s all it should be…

Of course, that doesn’t mean he’s not important, but it also doesn’t mean it’s romantic.

But…

“Why is my heart beating so fast?”

She felt strangely nervous. With this unfamiliar nervousness, her heart continued to beat rapidly.

Her slow steps gradually quickened. Passing by the Gracia Cafe that emitted a sweet smell, she discovered an alley filled with various fragrances and hastened her steps.

“Huff, huff.”

Aer, who had been almost running rather than just walking fast, stopped for a moment to catch her breath.

Taking out a hand mirror from her bag, she checked her condition.

As she wiped away the beads of sweat with a handkerchief, someone other than herself was reflected in the mirror.

“Eek!”

“It’s me, Aer!”

Kai had seen Aer running somewhere while he was in front of the Gracia Cafe. She didn’t hear him calling, so he just followed.

Just as he was wondering where she was rushing off to in such a hurry, Aer stopped.

Then she took something out of her bag and looked into it, so he peered from behind, curious about what she was doing.

He didn’t expect her to be so startled.

Kai, who was also surprised, grabbed Aer’s wrist as she almost fell.

At that moment, he had a strange experience. His vision blurred, and it felt as if all the blood in his body was flowing backwards, giving him a thrilling and energizing sensation.

Unable to utter a word, he just blinked his eyes, when someone grabbed his wrist and roughly pulled it away.

He couldn’t help but feel regretful as the thin wrist in his hand moved away.

Kai, who always had a smiling face, looked at the other person with a serious expression.