Herta felt terribly wronged and a little sad, but there was nothing she could do.
Although she had once been the eighty-third member of the Genius Society and an Emanator of the Aeon of Erudition, possessing extraordinary power that transcended the mundane.
Now, however, he was just an ordinary Beautiful Girl, too weak to truss a chicken.
Even Teacher Aisti could easily take her life if she made a serious move.
As she thought about it, the corners of Herta's mouth lifted slightly, and a faint mist gathered in her beautiful pale-purple eyes.
"It's all right, Herta. Teacher Aisti might be a little strict, but she has your best interests at heart."
"If there's anything you don't understand in the future, I can help you with it."
A slender, jade-like hand settled into Herta's palm, soft and warm.
Though it lasted only a moment, it brought no small measure of comfort to the somewhat dejected Herta.
"Mm... thank you, Bronya!"
Herta nodded silently, then bit her cherry-red lips and gently wiped the moisture from the corners of her eyes.
On the school rooftop that afternoon, soft, fluffy clouds drifted leisurely beneath the clear blue sky.
Dazzling sunlight fell on the shoulders of the two Beautiful Girls.
"Herta, I made this lunch myself. Try some."
"But you only have one serving..."
"It's fine. I'm not hungry right now. Let's share!"
"All right..."
Scooping some food from the lunchbox with a silver spoon and putting it into her mouth, Herta broke into a brilliant smile.
"How is it? Tastes pretty good, right?"
"Bronya, you're quite a good cook..."
"I couldn't help it. When you're always marching through freezing snowstorms, you have to prepare extra food, so I learned a few cooking skills..."
Halfway through her sentence, a trace of pain appeared on