“Theo-kun, you haven’t told Mirna-yang the most important thing. That you and I are in love.”

Stella spoke in an unbelievably cheerful tone.

My hair stood on end.

It felt like the entire flow of the conversation I had been carefully planning just scattered like torn pieces of paper in the wind!

Mirna seemed just as taken aback.

“Wh-what? What are you saying?”

Her reddening expression seemed to say, “Explain this immediately!” This was why I had been meticulously laying the foundation for the story.

I underestimated Stella.

The principle of action.

People don’t just live recklessly. It’s natural for them to do things that are rational and predictable based on their own principles of action.

For instance, I believe Mirna’s action was based on a sense of responsibility, faith, and adherence to rules or law. She maintains strict self-discipline. It’s fair to say she’s hard on herself.

Because of this, I could somewhat predict how Mirna might react in certain situations. Not perfectly, of course, but still.

With that in mind, Stella was somewhat of an enigma. She dislikes being constrained, and was direct to the point of seeming headstrong. And as an elf, she had a strong desire to show off…

No, it’s too late to figure that out now.

“Lady Mirna, what happened is….”

“I slept with Theo-kun.”

Both Mirna and I were speechless. But Stella, for some reason, seemed to be enjoying herself, as if bragging about some grand experience from her childhood.

“Of course, when I say ‘we slept together,’ I’m referring to the physical relationship between a man and a woman. Sex. Otherwise known as intercourse, mating, things like that.”

Now that I think about it.

I recall that even when Stella was still a virgin with no experience, she enjoyed talking about these kinds of things.

When she’d never even kissed anyone, she talked as if she was sexually liberated and experienced.

For elves, that was a way of saying, “See how attractive I am!”

Now that she actually had something to boast about, she was itching to talk.

“Aah—”

Stagger.

Mirna swayed, as if the world was spinning before her eyes. If Yingying by her side hadn’t supported her, she probably would have collapsed onto the mat.

“I… I had a vague suspicion, but really, I want to say something… yet I don’t know where to begin or how to approach this… honestly…”

“Was it too much for you, Mirna-yang? I thought it was better to tell the truth. I hate putting on an act, lying, and all that.”

A brief silence followed, and in that pause, the noise from the imps nearby rushed in like a wave.

━It’s so relaxing…!

━Comrade Marmar, lying on the grass will dirty your clothes…!

━Professor Balan, this time, please massage Purpur’s back…!

The imps playing over there seemed less chaotic than the scene here under the parasol. Realizing I couldn’t just get swept up in the atmosphere, I used Calm Thinking.

I’ve always turned crises into opportunities.

This time, too, there should be a way to climb out of this hole. Maybe it was even a good thing. It’s better to get it over with sooner rather than later, just like the saying goes.

Dragging it out any longer would only make things worse.

Thinking that way was the only way to keep things moving!

“Ahem.”

I cleared my throat.

Mirna, who’d been staring blankly, turned her gaze toward me. Stella, who looked like she was going to say something, also looked my way.

Taking advantage of the moment when both of their attentions were on me, I spoke up.

“Let’s eat first.”

People tend to get more sensitive when they’re hungry. Once we’ve eaten, with full bellies, we’ll have a bit more tolerance. I thought it was a convincing strategy.

「You have calmly judged the situation!

You have gained experience points through the talent 《Calm Thinking》.

All job experience +5」

* * *

Lunch consisted of simple sandwiches, fruit juices made by squeezing fruit into milk, and a few sliced vegetables.

Although it seemed modest, it’s something Marmar made herself for today’s park picnic.

Marmar was a good cook, so even the simple sandwiches tasted delicious. It was a feast compared to when we filled our stomachs with dried meat and boiled water over the wall.

“There’s loads of pork cutlet packed between the bread! I made a lot, so everyone eat as much as you like! Here’s a salad made with pork cutlet, and this is a rice bowl topped with pork cutlet….”

So it goes. A delightfully uniform menu.

Thanks to this, we finished a satisfying meal.

“I feel sleepy after eating….”

“Let’s all huddle together and sleep like we used to when we were homeless….”

“Gar….”

The imps who had been playing all morning started curling up one by one under the shade of a tree, using each other as pillows as they drifted into an afternoon nap.

Professor Balan, who’d broken a sweat playing with them, also let out a yawn before lying down beside the imps and falling asleep.

“An imp pillow… T-This is rare. The dark and ominous energy is recharging….”

“If you keep mumbling, no one can sleep…!”

Play when they want, sleep when they want, eat when they want. How carefree their lives must be. Just as I was thinking that, Mirna spoke up.

“So, Professor Stella, what do you plan to do from now on? This doesn’t seem like the kind of relationship that’ll end as a one-night fling.”

Wiping her lips with a handkerchief, Stella replied.

“It wasn’t just one night. From the first night, every night we….”

“Ahem! I’m not interested in hearing about that!”

Mirna shouted.

Because of that, the imps curled up in the shade nearby twitched. Noticing this, Mirna lowered her voice and asked quietly this time.

“What I’m asking is about the future. Professor Stella, do you plan to marry Sir Theo? Don’t you think about that? Surely you’re not planning to live without a plan, are you?”

I see.