Published: August 10, 2026
Because of the people who were presumably from the "Butterfly Flower Society" and attacked Amelia, our supposed day trip to the Tsukimi family ended up turning into an overnight stay.
The Tsukimi family, however, couldn't very well send Amelia back to their base mansion without an escort after an attack had occurred, even if it had ended in an attempt. They also needed to spare personnel to investigate the attackers. Because of that, Hazuki Tsukimi lowered her head again and again in apology, saying there was absolutely no way they could prepare guards and send Amelia to the mansion today.
This was the second time I'd seen Hazuki Tsukimi bow her head like that.
Apparently, because of the war, Tsukimi Family head Yayoi Tsukimi, whose main house is in the center of the castle town, is currently staying at the castle, and everything that happens at the main house is being left to her younger sister Hazuki Tsukimi, who serves as acting head. So maybe it couldn't be helped, but I have no hobby of watching people my own age grovel over and over.
By the way, when the idea of staying at the Tsukimi family residence came up, one certain someone pushed it so aggressively on Amelia that the matter was decided without even needing to hear my opinion.
"Fufufufufu, staying the night with Lady Amelia, with Lady Ameliaoo~"
Needless to say, this was all because of Morganaite, who was ridiculously excited like this.
Morganaite, practically bouncing with energy, as if she were about to skip, went off to prepare a meal for Amelia, who had missed lunch.
At that rate, she probably wouldn't prepare anything for me for dinner, or rather, she'd simply forget. Well, missing one meal wouldn't make me perform worse or anything, but I had been looking forward to the street food at the market, so watching someone else eat right in front of me might be a little painful.
I let out an involuntary sigh and drooped my head.
It wasn't just hunger either. I was also stressed about the fact that we'd ended up staying overnight at the Tsukimi family residence.
Who would want to stay near people who openly regard you as an enemy?
When I was back in my original world, Sato also seemed to view me as an enemy for some reason, but classrooms are surprisingly spacious, and in the first place we weren't close enough to talk much, so I could somehow put up with it. But with Morganaite, that wasn't the case.
On top of that, the usual "if you don't like it, just don't get involved" line doesn't work this time. What Morganaite dislikes is me being near Amelia.
Since there had been an attack, I couldn't leave Amelia's side. Which meant Morganaite, who wanted to stick close to Amelia, would inevitably be nearby too.
Ah, my stomach hurts.
"Ohhh, how pitiable, master."
On Amelia's lap, Night exaggeratedly wiped at the corner of his eye with his paw.
It was an oddly human gesture, but maybe he was under stress from having to pretend to be a normal cat whenever Morganaite or others were around.
"Akira, what's wrong?"
"...No, nothing. By the way, did Amelia notice anything suspicious about the attackers?"
"Hm? Weren't they from that 'Butterfly Flower Society' thing?"
I changed the subject on purpose, but Amelia didn't catch on and tilted her head honestly.
"If they really are the Butterfly Flower Society, isn't killing people to silence them a little too extreme?"
"Really? From what I've heard from Morganaite and the Tsukimi family, it doesn't seem like they've ever disposed of people once they were no longer useful, but given everything they've done so far, doesn't it still feel consistent?"
"Consistent with their actions, yes."
Since I'd just gotten dragged into this as an attempted assassination, I'd received another explanation about the Butterfly Flower Society from Morganaite and Hazuki Tsukimi.
If their claim is true, then the Butterfly Flower Society is an organization formed by the people who had lived in this land before the fourth generation hero was granted it as a reward, and before people who agreed with the fourth generation hero began moving in one after another. In other words, they were the original inhabitants. Incidentally, the reason the Kaminari family had been under them seems to have been not only because they were anti-war, but also because the Kaminari family, like them, were native to this land.