"..."
In the luxurious palace, Hermione was having dinner, somewhat absentmindedly, with their troublesome little teacher (professor), Misaka Mikoto, Shirai Kuroko, Index, and the four members of the Magical Girl group: Rin Tohsaka, Sakura Tohsaka, Illya, and Luvia.
As they ate, Hermione turned to look at the still-empty seat beside her and couldn't help frowning slightly.
That empty seat, of course, belonged to Elaina!
In fact, they all had dinner together like this almost every evening, enjoying each other's company and looking just like one big family. So Elaina's place was still neatly set with all the tableware, plates, napkins, and so on.
Unfortunately, Elaina still hadn't shown up.
Hermione didn't think much of it. Elaina occasionally arrived a little late, sometimes by a few minutes and sometimes by ten or more, and they'd all gotten used to it.
But for some reason, today was different. Nearly half an hour had passed, and they were already halfway through dinner, but Elaina still hadn't returned. Hermione had no idea what she was busy with.
Still, Hermione knew she wasn't in the palace. She'd come to dinner after changing and taking a bath in their room, and she hadn't seen any sign that Elaina had come back. So the other girl was probably still wandering around somewhere in the city, right?
Hermione shook her head. She was a little annoyed that Elaina hadn't come back in time for dinner or even left word, but after dwelling on it for a little while, she decided not to think about it anymore and continued to leisurely enjoy the delicious food on her plate.
After all, if she didn't hurry up and eat, Misaka Mikoto and Rin Tohsaka's two groups might start bickering again at any moment and, egged on by that irresponsible teacher, start