Part 2
It’s lunch break, and me, Skel, and Po are lined up in the cafeteria.
“Hmm, what to have for lunch…?” I ponder aloud.
“Must be nice, Cid, getting to live it up with the money you stole from us.”
“Yeah, must be nice. Skel and I can barely afford the nine hundred and eighty–zeni meal for broke aristocrats now.”
“Stole is such an ugly word. That money was my rightful winnings.”
That said, I’m saving the cash I scammed off these guys for my shadowbroker activities. If I go wasting it now, I might not have enough when it really counts, and I’m the kind of guy who always keeps his priorities straight.
I decide to go with my usual nine hundred and eighty–zeni broke aristocrat meal. A zeni saved is a zeni earned.
“Haven’t seen you in a while, Young’un.”
All of a sudden, I hear a voice from behind me. There’s only one person in the whole world who calls me “Young’un.”
“Hey there, Nina.”
Her wine-red hair is just as silky as always. The way she’s wearing her uniform leaves scandalous amounts of her chest bare, and her legs extend thin and slender from her short skirt. Nothing about her fashion sense is subtle in the slightest.
This is Nina, my third-year upperclassman.
“Where’d you get off to during winter break, huh?” she asks me. “Claire was looking for you. And she dragged me along, too, so that was a drag.”
“Oh, you know. Here and there.”
“Here and there, huh?”
Nina wedges herself in front of me. She’s tiny, so her head barely comes up to my collar.
“Hey, no cutting.”
I try to elbow her, but she nimbly sidesteps it.
“Going for the nine hundred and eighty–zeni poverty meal, are we, Young’un? Sounds like someone’s a little hard up for cash.”
“I’ve got big plans for the future, so I’m being economical. It’s not like I’m actually broke or anything.”
“Oh, yeah, sure you aren’t. Go ahead, order whatever you want. It’ll be my treat.”
“I’ll take the most expensive thing they’ve got, then.”
“Sounds good.” She turns and orders the priciest meal the school cafeteria has to offer. “Two of the ten thousand–zeni super-duper filthy rich lunch sets, please ’n’ thank you.”
Nina is a friend of my sister’s, so maybe that’s why she’s always so nice to me. Whenever I ask her for something, she never lets me down. One time, I even joked that I wanted to read one of the forbidden books from the library, and she actually went and got it for me. I have no idea how she pulled that one off, but the bottom line is, she’s constantly helping me out. Meeting Nina was the first time I was ever glad to be my sister’s brother.
“Y-you should treat me, too!”
“M-me too, me too!”
Despite being daunted by Nina’s very presence, Skel and Po never miss a chance to look for handouts.
“I gave you two that deck of cards, didn’t I?”
“Th-th-that’s right!”
“Th-th-thanks for the cards!”
“No problem. I felt bad after the way Claire hassled you.”
Ah, so that’s how it went down.
Thanks to Nina’s influence, we’re able to secure one of the nice tables by the window.
“Go on, take a seat.”
“Aye-aye, ma’am.”
I sit down next to Nina and begin digging into my super-duper filthy rich lunch set. Across from us, Skel and Po nervously do the same with their broke aristocrat lunch sets.
The super-duper filthy rich lunch set starts with an appetizer. A maid skillfully sets it up.
“So, Claire’s gone missing?” Nina asks as she eats her carpaccio.
“Sure looks that way,” I reply as I do the same. Dunno what fish this is, but it’s tasty as hell.
“Princess Alexia just asked me if I knew anything, but everything that day was pretty normal for me, so I didn’t have anything to tell her. What about you, Young’un?”
“I’m in the same boat. Alexia’s really going hard on the search, huh?”
“Something’s got her worried, I think. There’s been a couple of other students going missing, so I’m kinda worried, too.”
“I guess there was that whole commotion last night.”
“The thing behind the boys’ dorm, you mean? Yeah, scary stuff.”
“For sure.”
“That reminds me, I spotted the Crimson Order scoping out the scene. I hear they’ve been on a recruitment drive, but their newbies are about as rubbish as you’d expect.”
“Dang, you know all sorts of stuff.”
She gives me a proud wink. “You could say that.”
“Are you planning on joining the Knight Order when you graduate?”
“Ooh, I dunno. My grades aren’t nearly as good as Claire’s.”
“Really? They aren’t?”
“Why do you look so surprised? Everyone knows my grades are terrible.”
“Oh, huh. I always just assumed you were at the top of your class.”
“Ha-ha-ha. That’d be Claire, probably. She’s been getting wicked good marks lately. I’m just your run-of-the-mill underachiever.”
“I’ll take your word for it, I guess.”
Nina unconcernedly raises a spoonful of soup to her petite mouth.
Just by looking at her, I’m pretty sure Nina’s stronger than my sister, but hey, everyone’s got their reasons for wanting to keep their true strength a secret. Nina’s a woman of many mysteries.
“I’ll tell you if I hear anything about Claire,” she says. “You must be worried about her.”
“I must? Not really… Err, I mean, yeah, I’m worried sick.”
“You never change, do you? It is Claire we’re talking about, though, so she’s probably fine. If you ever need a hand, you know where to find me.”
Nina flashes me an adorable smile.
Meanwhile, Skel and Po eat their broke aristocrat lunch sets in silence.
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