The Former Assassin Becomes a Noble Lady

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“Meow, meow!”

As I returned to the classroom, I was suddenly surrounded by my female classmates. Each of them was talking at once, and honestly, it was so chaotic that I couldn’t make out what anyone was saying.

I had gotten somewhat used to talking with the girls, but being bombarded by them all at once was overwhelming.

Yuli, who had come in holding my hand, seemed flustered too; she slowly let go and began to inch away from me.

“Don’t run away by yourself!”

However, my silent cry echoed only in my heart, lost behind the wall of girls closing in on me.

“Tsk, is this a barrier?”

Amidst the chaos, one girl right in front grabbed my hand and spoke up.

“Elisia! Say what you told that girl in Class 2 again, just one more time!”

“Uh… huh?”

“You know, that line!”

Then, the girl lowered her voice dramatically and said,

“‘If you have a problem, come at me, you trashy brat.'”

Gyaaaah!

Did I really say that?

No, I might have… but did it really sound that cringeworthy? Seriously?

Someone please tell me it’s a lie…

But no one came to my defense. In fact, they were all staring at me, making it feel more frightening than burdensome.

“…If you have a problem, come at me, you trashy brat.”

I squeezed out my voice, barely audible. But then—

“That’s not it! You were way cooler earlier!”

Please save me. If I die here, the reason will definitely involve embarrassment.

“If you have a problem, come at me, you trashy brat.”

“Kyaaaah!”

I was so embarrassed that I felt like escaping from this crowd, but then another hand grabbed me.

“I want that! The hair flip you did!”

Why are you all doing this to me?

But I couldn’t find an exit. In the end, I managed to break free from the girls only after doing three hair flips and saying “trashy brat” two more times.

*

“…Yuli, you too, how could you abandon me?”

“Haha… I’m sorry. But you don’t have to feel embarrassed, right? El was actually really cool while smiling at me! Just like a prince!”

Yuli started to cover her face with both hands, bowing her head. Maybe she remembered how cringy my behavior was, as her ears were bright red. I’d bet she was smirking under there.

I really shouldn’t have said things I didn’t mean…

But then again, I think I actually helped Yuli by adding one more black history to my collection.

Surely, even the warm sunlight streaming down at that moment was patting me on the back.

If I don’t find some comfort in that, I might just hurl myself into the river right now.

Hmm?

In the spot where the sun was shining the warmest, there was a black cat curled up, sound asleep.

Pets at the academy were definitely prohibited, so this must be a stray cat wandering around. Although it does look like a pricey cat for a stray.

I left Yuli, who looked like she had sunk into the depths of despair, and quietly approached the cat.

I slowly stretched out my hand to pet it. The cat woke up slowly, lifting just its head to look at me. But it didn’t shy away from my touch.

As I kept petting it, memories of raising a cat back in the Assassin Guild flooded back. It wasn’t as fancy as this one; it was just an ordinary stray cat that could be found anywhere.

The Assassin Guild was always poor, but during a particularly rough time, our guild hideout was uninhabitable. There were more rats than people, and so the Master finally brought in a stray cat to take care of the rodent problem. That did solve the rat issue, but it didn’t help with the cockroaches. Thinking about that time suddenly made me feel itchy.

Now that I think about it, the cat back then would react similarly when I petted it while it was asleep, waking up just enough to give a little “meow” before falling back asleep.

But this little guy is really well-behaved. It doesn’t reject my touch, and judging by its shiny coat and health, someone must be taking care of it. Maybe there are some students enchanted by this cat who are secretly feeding it.

Speaking of which, did cats like having their butts patted?

Pat, pat!

I moved my hand to give its butt a few pats, expecting it to enjoy it—

“Meow!”

Instead, it jumped up startled and took a few steps back, hissing at me.

Why! I thought cats liked that sort of thing!? Why!?

As I stood there with a look of disbelief, the cat stopped hissing and cautiously came back to me, rubbing its head against my hand.

So, you want me to calmly pet your head instead, huh?

As if right on cue, I began to pet it, and it immediately closed its eyes and purred again.

“El~ I’m back!”

Just then, Anne and Selian, who had gone to the bathroom, spotted us and rushed over.

I’ve gotten used to going to the bathroom alone, but going to the bathroom with someone still feels a bit embarrassing, so I just let the two of them go.

“Why is Yuli like that?”

Selian noticed Yuli, who was still staring at the ground, and looked over at me.

Yuli still seemed to be drowning in embarrassment. Was what I did really that cringy? Other girls seemed to have taken it in stride…

“…Oh, it’s nothing.”

Of course, I wouldn’t directly disclose my black history.

“Yeah. Nothing at all.”

Just then, Yuli lifted her head. Her previously flushed face had returned to its usual pale complexion.

“Huh~?”

Anne’s voice sounded suspicious as she reacted to what Yuli and I said. Selian was staring at us too. But I wasn’t about to say anything.

“Well! If the two of you are saying so, then it must be that! Let’s hurry to the cafeteria before we miss out on seats.”

Luckily, Anne led the way to the cafeteria, clearing the air of suspicion.

Oh, but about that cat…

I turned my head to look for the cat I had lost hold of with my hand, but no matter how much I searched, it had vanished without a trace. Oh well, maybe I’ll see it again someday.

*

Fortunately, the cafeteria wasn’t crowded yet, and there was hardly any line.

Anne was at the front, with Selian behind her, ready to put her meal ticket into the slot.

Following closely behind Yuli, I took out five meal tickets from my wallet and dropped them in as well.

With our trays of food, the four of us settled at a vacant table in the corner.

Selian sat next to Anne, I sat across from Selian, and Yuli took the seat next to me.

“Let’s eat well~”

Today’s menu was fish steak. I carefully cut the fish to avoid breaking the flesh.

Lifting a piece onto my fork, I dipped it in the sauce and brought it to my mouth.

The softness and umami spread across my palate.

Ah, the sauce tastes a bit sweeter than last time. Did they change the cook?

Still, it was delicious as ever. Truly a meal worthy of five meal tickets.

?

What’s this? I feel like I’m forgetting something…

…?

!

*

Emergency, emergency, super emergency~!!!

One month into my academy life.

Remaining period of enrollment: undecided.

Time until vacation: still another 3 months.

Current remaining meal tickets:

Exactly ten.

The price of a single meal ticket is exactly ten silver coins. But how much money do I have left?

Only three gold coins. My money was already running low, and I spent it on gloves while trying to act all cool for a duel, so my finances are in tatters.

This is bad. Even if I scraped together all my money, it’s only worth thirty meal tickets. I skip breakfast every day, but with just lunch and dinner, that’s only enough for two meals a day.

Even if I eat the cheapest menu, I can only stretch that for twenty days.

And if I count on the five-coin menu I’ve been eating until now, it’ll only last for four days.

What on earth was I doing to get to this point, past me?!

Anne, Selian, and Yuli are all noble kids, so naturally, they head for the five-coin menu, and it made sense for me to follow their lead.

At first, I thought I should save money, but I didn’t consider the snacks I buy every outing, the consumables I need to buy regularly, or the additional expenses like the gloves I just bought, and somehow I got used to enjoying the cafeteria menu.

In fact, just moments ago, I had completely forgotten about money.

Phew, calm down. What’s done is done. All I can do is plan well ahead.

I need to find a way to earn money separately, while also cutting down on my remaining meal tickets.

First, I must avoid eating the five-coin menu. But there’s no way Anne, Yuli, and Selian would eat the one-coin menu. And I certainly can’t just buy a one-coin menu and crash their company.

It’d be better to briefly separate during meal times to join a group that’s eating the one-coin menu.

So, I mentioned to the three of them that I would be eating with other friends—

“Hehe, Elisia?”

“Uh, y-yeah?”

“Shall we eat together again tomorrow?”

Selian smiled sweetly at me. She was smiling, but why is there cold sweat running down my back? And more importantly, she just reverted to calling me by my full name!?

“Elisia? What’s your answer?”

“Y-yeah! Got it!”

I am sinking— I can’t break free from Selian!

I have to do something. If this goes on, I’ll be facing bankruptcy. I need to find a way to earn money by tomorrow at the latest.

Ah, this dessert is delicious.