I Became a Gallery Manager in Another World

“Late! Tardy! Fine!”

“…What fine?”

As Evelyn pointed out, we were indeed late.

After meandering here and there, it was nearly the end of lunchtime.

“No, geez…! Lady Laplace is summoning us even on the Day of Ellis… And to think, last time I saw you patrolling with her, it was almost like…!!”

Mid-sentence, Evelyn’s eyes widened as if she had come to a realization.

“Hey, Ian…”

“Huh? Evelyn.”

“…Did you get it?”

“What do you mean ‘what’, you jerk. Did you receive a gift from the discipline committee?”

“Ah… Yeah, I did.”

“…Really? Show me.”

“Huh? It’s nothing special.”

“….Just show it to me.”

“Alright. Here.”

Swish-

I was quick to catch on.

‘Evelyn! I knew you would act like this!’

Truthfully, the chocolate from Laplace, rumored to contain ‘something special’, was so earnestly packaged that it was obvious, so I had hidden it elsewhere before coming here.

“Hmm… Is this everything?”

“Yeah, that’s everything.”

The gifts I ended up showing Evelyn were only ‘cheap coin chocolate’, ‘homemade cookies’, and ‘eyeball-shaped jelly’.

‘It must be from Gaur, Kuoli, in that order.’

The reason it remained a guess and not confirmed was because after finishing my conversation with Laplace and leaving, Anya seemed to have woken up, and all three were gone.

In their place, the gifts were left on the desk with a note instructing me to take them.

It wasn’t particularly significant, but if I had to choose which one made me happiest…

Surprisingly, it was Anya’s.

Since I hadn’t even expected to receive anything, the mere coin chocolate was quite touching.

“…The homemade cookies… Well, there are no heart…shapes….Alright…then it’s fine.”

“So, Evelyn, what did you prepare?”

“Me? Hehe. Are you excited?”

“…A little?”

“Hehehe…!! You’re cute, you little thing…”

Swish─

What Evelyn produced was a squeeze chocolate, not even wrapped, about the size of a finger.

“……This?”

“Yeah!! Hehe!”

“……Alright, thank you, Evelyn.”

“What? Disappointed?”

“No… Not at all. Disappointed, what…”

Although I had mentioned it was natural for Evelyn to give a gift, it really wasn’t natural at all.

Any gift was about the thought behind it, and one should be grateful just for receiving it.

‘…I know that, but.’

Somehow…

This was the least heartfelt gift I’ve received from Evelyn on ‘Ellis Day.’

…Almost as much as Anya’s coin chocolate.

“Hehe, you little thing, getting sulky… Why? Are you upset because I gave you this?”

“…I’m not sulky.”

“Ha! You really think you’re not upset. It’s written all over your face that you’re feeling hurt.”

“No, that’s not it… I’m not upset…”

“Hehehe… Hey, be careful not to touch, okay?”

“…What?”

“Your lips. If they touch, it’s a kiss.”

“…?”

Evelyn laughed playfully and stuck out her tongue…

“My, it’s so sweet♥”

Swoosh-

Evelyn, squeezing chocolate onto her tongue, tilted her head back with her eyes closed.

“….”

Kiss.

What was a kiss?

A peck, a lip bump, a smooch.

There were various expressions, but in the end, it’s about the lips touching.

‘…So!’

As long as the lips themselves didn’t touch, no matter how much you licked each other’s tongues, it’s not a kiss!

Thump- Thump-

“….Mm.”

Holding Evelyn’s shoulders, I made sure our lips wouldn’t accidentally touch…

I opened my mouth and carefully moved towards Evelyn’s tongue.

Thump-! Thump-! Thump-!

Someday, I will definitely kiss Evelyn.

But when that time came, I wanted it to be not by mistake or chance, but to genuinely convey my love.

Squish-!

“Huh…♥”

Evelyn’s tongue was sweet.

It was so sweet that I couldn’t tell if it was the chocolate or Evelyn’s own sweetness.

‘…I was really a fool.’

In my childhood, I kissed Evelyn naturally without realizing how happy it made me, wasting those moments.

If I could go back to those times, I was sure I wouldn’t forget a single moment.

Sip- Smack- Sip-

“Haah…haah…!♥Ah…huh!…huh…haah…Ian…huh..!♥”

“…Evelyn.”

“Ah…there’s still…chocolate left, right?”

“…Yeah, there’s a lot left.”

The chocolate had long since disappeared…

Sip- Sip-

“Uh!…..Hah.♥..Ah…Ian….♥”

“Evelyn…”

We continued to indulge each other’s lies.

“….”

“….”

It was awkward.

Even the first time I had sex with Evelyn wasn’t this awkward…

Now, just making eye contact seemed enough to make our faces turn red.

Thud-

“Hihihik!!”

As we walked down the corridor, our fingertips brushed slightly, and Evelyn made a strange noise and stepped aside.

“Sorry…”

“No, it’s not!…Wha…What’s with that!…Sorry, I said!”

Truthfully, I wasn’t really sorry either.

What’s there to be sorry about just because hands touched between Evelyn and me?

It was just an apology out of embarrassment.

‘…Ah! I want to have sex!!’

From Yuris’ cucumber fellatio, Laplace’s stomach punching, to Evelyn’s tongue sucking!

All three were terribly wicked women who would only get you aroused but not let you have sex.

But still…

‘…A total of 7!!’

I was expecting to receive at most 6, but unexpectedly, I even received one from Anya.

‘Insane. Really.’

Was this the life of a really handsome man?

Of course, more than half of the 7 were out of loyalty, but such minor details were not worth fretting over.

It was truly a beautiful day. Birds were chirping, flowers were blooming…

‘On a day like this…’

Boom-!!

“Kyaaaaahh!!”

There was an explosion sound and a scream from inside the classroom.

Creak- Creak-

“….”

After ending the feast, Estelle smiled softly as she made her way back to the classroom through the corridor.

She hadn’t felt this happy since her parents passed away.

Ian, Evelyn.

Her overly generous, precious people.

‘…Thank you.’

For letting someone like her be by their side.

Although it was the path to ending what might be her first and last love, Estelle’s heart was at peace.

This was the happiest ending one could wish for.

The two people who were the best match for each other in the world…

Ian would be connected with Evelyn and become happier than anyone else.

And if she was lucky, she might be able to fit in as their friend, at least until the academy ended.

‘But… would he be happy about some macarons?’

No, Ian would surely be happy about it.

From what he had observed so far, Ian was that kind of man.

“…Hehe.”

Just imagining Ian eating macarons in the library filled her with happiness.

Slide-

As she opened the door to the classroom, all eyes briefly turned to her.

However, upon realizing the person opening the door was ‘Estelle,’ they dispersed as if uninterested.

“….”

It was to be expected.

Until she met Ian and Evelyn, she was an insignificant existence in the class.

Well, it was still the same now.

Creak- Creak-

When she arrived at my seat, she felt something was off.

“…Huh?”

Her bag, which she was sure she had closed tightly, was slightly open.

Slide-

Trembling, she opened my bag to check inside, but the gift box was nowhere to be found.

“…It’s gone.”

With a rustle, she turned the bag upside down on the desk, spilling its contents. Still, the gift box was missing. There was no way she could have forgotten to bring it.

[Written by: Everyone Ends Up Dying Alone]

[Today][0]

.

She had checked multiple times with Frederica, and once more this morning as she promised herself while posting on the gallery.

“It’s not here!…It’s gone..!”

While looking around in case it had fallen nearby…

“…”

The moment she saw the trash can, she had a bad feeling.

Click-click-thud!

Hoping against hope that her premonition was wrong this time, she opened the trash can.

‘…Ah.’

But her bad feeling had never been wrong before. Inside the trash can were the trampled and shattered pieces of her heart.

Swoosh-

The moment she retrieved the damaged gift box from the trash can, she felt something inside her snap.

“…Who did this?”

She turned around and asked, but her voice went unheard.

「Explode – Water – Droplet」

Crash!!

“What, what’s happening?”

“Ah, you scared me! What’s that?”

“…What, what’s with her?”

It was only then that people began to notice her, their faces a mix of confusion, annoyance, and fear.

Expressions one might expect if someone suddenly used magic inside a classroom.

…But there was one person.

“Ha… Seriously, what kind of idiot does that?”

Delphicia was smirking.

“…”

“What, why is that idiot looking at me and freaking out?”

No further conversation was necessary.

Whoosh!!

She extended her hand towards Delphicia, summoning her magical power from within.

“Ha! You think I’ll just stand here and take it like last time, you cripple!”

“…Delphicia!!”

「Shoot – Wind – Arrow」

「Slice – Water – Blade」

The two spells collided in mid-air…

Swoosh!!

Her blade of water sliced through the wind arrow, grazing Delphicia’s cheek.

“…Eh?”

Delphicia’s eyes widened in disbelief as she touched the blood trickling from her cheek.

“…”

Why don’t they understand?

The fact that Estelle, despite her crippled leg, held the second place in the second year means…

In terms of magic alone, she possessed skills beyond even the top student.

“…No.”

They must obviously know this.

Despite knowing, Delphicia simply refused to acknowledge it out of a sense of inferiority.

It didn’t matter.

Delphicia was about to pay the price for her folly.

「Shoot – Water – Droplet」

Crash!!

“AAAAAAHH!!”

While she was quick to run away like a rat, after dodging once, Delphicia seemed to lose strength in her legs and sat down, begging.

“Hu..huh!…Es…Estelle…!..Ju…Just…Just a moment…!! Wait…!”

“….”

She cannot forgive her.

She could not forgive her.

This was still far from enough retribution.

Delphicia needed to be hurt more.

Otherwise…

“Hi…Hiiik!!…Do…Don’t…ple…please!!”

Slide-!

“…Es…Estelle?”

At that moment, the door opened, and the last person she wanted to see appeared.

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