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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 59
Chapter Title: Gold Name Tag
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“…Alright. I’ll go get it.”
But contrary to his defiant stance, his answer was surprisingly compliant.
‘This is a problem.’
Chessier glanced at the trembling Rom.
He didn’t really have a choice.
If he kept resisting, they would just take their anger out on Rom.
“Pfft!”
Bruce, who had been tense, burst out laughing.
“You little punk, should’ve just done that from the start! Don’t mix it up with Gerard’s and bring it back right!”
Chessier left the room.
Kids wearing white name tags bustled back and forth, clutching bread to their chests.
‘This place is really something.’
It was the same thought Lilis had.
“Ch-Chessier!”
Someone called out to him then.
It was Rom, who had followed him out.
“L-let’s go together. Y-you don’t know where the c-cafeteria is.”
“Okay.”
Rom took the lead and said.
“I-I’m telling you this for your own good, but t-try not to talk back to B-Bruce. Wh-when he gets angry, he often gets h-handsy…”
“Why do you stutter so much?”
“Gasp! S-sorry. I-is it hard to listen to? I-I wasn’t always like this… I-it just suddenly started a-after I c-came here…”
Had he been tormented so much he’d developed a speech impediment?
Chessier let out a long sigh.
“Th-this is the cafeteria. Y-you can get in that line over there to g-get it.”
There were three serving counters.
And there were three kinds of snacks.
Dry rye bread, cream bread, and macarons were individually wrapped and piled up like mountains.
Chessier, about to get in line, paused.
‘Lilis?’
For some reason, Lilis was fidgeting by herself in the distance.
“Ugh, Chessier!”
Spotting him, Lilis waved and ran over. All the other kids’ eyes turned to them at once.
“I knew you’d be here!”
Lilis huffed without any preamble.
“You’re on a bread run… no, you’re here to get snacks for your roommates, right?”
“No. I was just hungry, so I came to get my own portion.”
“Liar!”
Lilis shouted.
Just then, Rom suddenly interjected.
“Th-that’s right.”
“Huh?”
“H-hi. I-I’m R-Rom. I’m in the same room as Chessier. A-and it’s true, we came to g-get snacks for our roommates. Th-they made Chessier do it…”
Watching Rom speak as if he’d been waiting for the chance, Chessier let out a dry laugh.
He’d thought Rom was just a timid commoner, but he was surprisingly quick-witted.
He must have sensed that Lilis would be his lifeline.
“Thanks for telling me, Rom.”
Lilis replied, then started trailing closely behind Chessier.
“You’re not going to be a snack delivery boy this whole time, are you? Don’t do what they say. Absolutely don’t.”
“I told you, I came to get my own portion.”
“Ugh, you’re so frustrating!”
“Lilis.”
Glancing around, Chessier whispered in Lilis’s ear.
“Don’t act like you know me.”
“What?”
“It won’t be good for you.”
“What do you think I’m going to say?”
“You’ll say no.”
“Yup, that’s right.”
“It’s only for a month. Just bear with it. I don’t want to make a scene. If I cause any trouble here, it’ll be a nuisance to your dad.”
“Wow!”
Lilis beamed and clapped her hands.
“My dad would be so, so happy if he heard this! ‘Oh, I’m so glad Chessier is even doing snack runs so he won’t be a nuisance to me!’ That’s what he’d say, right? Right?”
“Don’t be sarcastic.”
She didn’t get angry. She didn’t show any sign of being upset.
Frustrated by Chessier’s consistent reaction, Lilis ground her teeth.
“You, come here.”
Lilis suddenly grabbed Chessier’s hand and led him somewhere.
It was the macaron serving counter.
It seemed like it would be the most popular snack, but for some reason, there were no kids lined up in front of the macaron counter.
‘Ah, don’t tell me?’
Puzzled, Chessier recalled Bruce’s words.
“…Don’t mix it up with Gerard’s and bring it back right!”
Gerard. A gold name tag.
It seemed they even differentiated the types of snacks one could receive.
‘Truly amazing.’
Chessier clicked his tongue inwardly.
“Rom, how many people are in your room?”
“Wh-what? F-five…”
Once Rom answered, Lilis handed him five macarons.
“W-we’re n-not allowed to e-eat these…”
“It’s fine. They said I could take as many of these as I want.”
“Oh, th-th-thank you…”
“Rom, go give these to your roommates and tell them something.”
“Wh-what should I say?”
“That Lilis Rubinstein gave them to you. Make sure you say my name.”
Lilis pointed at Chessier.
“Tell them if I see them making him do bread runs again, I’ll personally visit their room. And then…”
Putting on what she thought was a terrifying expression, Lilis made a fist-cracking gesture and added.
“…tell them something very, very bad will happen.”
“Lilis.”
“I-I’ll do it!”
Chessier started to intervene but frowned when he saw Rom agree without a moment’s hesitation.
Lilis grabbed Rom’s hands, shaking them up and down as she smiled brightly.
“Thank you, Rom! I’m so glad our Chessier has a friend who isn’t frustrating!”
Rom shyly lowered his gaze.
***
Dinnertime.
I arrived at the cafeteria with my roommates.
The rule was for kids sharing a room to eat together.
‘Wow.’
The bustling cafeteria was quite a sight.
‘This place is really something.’
I wondered how many times I’d had that thought.
The kids with colored name tags—the nobles—were sitting at their tables without lifting a single finger.
Only those with white name tags were lined up at the serving counters, carrying four or five trays at a time.
“Hmph, this is so annoying.”
Alisha, who was in line next to me, pretended to cry.
“The commoners in all the other rooms are bringing them their food, so what’s with us!”
The white name tag in our room, Gem, was a commoner with a temper.
She’d apparently never once complied with the other kids’ demands.
And the kids in our room, who were tamer than those in other rooms, didn’t press the issue with the quick-to-anger Gem.
‘If only our Chessier had half of Gem’s backbone.’
I could see Gem, who had already gotten her food, eating with a lofty air all by herself.
“Hey, hey! You, go get that room’s food too!”
Just then, a noble boy sitting at a nearby table ordered his room’s commoner around.
The commoner kid then scurried over to me.
“Just sit down! I’ll get your food too!”
I glanced in his direction.
The noble kid who had ordered him to get my tray made eye contact with me and gave me a little wink.
Was this like a ‘compliments of the gentleman at that table’ kind of thing?
‘How absurd.’
I shook my head with a smile.
“No, it’s okay. I’ll get it myself.”
“Huh?”
The commoner kid was flustered.
“Lilis, let’s just go sit down. What is this?”
“Alisha’s right. Hmph, it’s one thing for us, but for you to get your own tray is just ridiculous.”
Alisha and Michelle said one after another.
“No.”
I replied firmly.
“My hands and feet are perfectly fine, so why should I have someone else get my meal for me? I’ll do it myself.”
“Huh?”
“Are you guys just going to sit there?”
“N-no!”
“Oh, me neither!”
“I-I’ll get my own, too…”
Though their expressions clearly showed they didn’t want to, my roommates had no choice but to follow.
‘This place is seriously suffocating.’
Even my roommates, who were now getting their own food, were only following me because my name tag was gold.
They weren’t doing it because they thought the system was wrong.
“……?”
The moment I finished getting my food.
I saw Chessier at the serving counter right next to me, having just finished as well.
Three trays were precariously balanced in his hands.
Rom, standing behind him, held two trays.
“Ah, my blood pressure…”
I slammed my tray down on the counter with a thud.
“Don’t.”
Chessier quietly tried to stop me.
“Why? What do you think I’m going to do?”
“Don’t cause a scene. The noble kids are all watching right now.”
“Oh, really? Okay. But hey, your trays look really heavy. Let me help you!”
“I’m fine.”
“I can carry at least one for you.”
“Lilis!”
I took one of the trays stacked in Chessier’s left hand and turned around.
“Haaah.”
I heard Chessier sigh from behind me.
I asked Rom.
“Where are you guys sitting?”
“O-o-over there at the end.”
“Let’s go.”
“O-okay!”
Rom took a slight lead and said.
“Y-you know, I-I was going to tell B-Bruce what you t-told me to, b-but Ch-Chessier stopped me, so I-I couldn’t.”
“I figured as much.”
“S-sorry.”
“Hey, it’s okay. It’s not your fault, right?”
“Th-th-thank you. Y-you’re really n-nice…”
“Is this it?”
“Y-y-yeah.”
I stood before the table where Chessier’s roommates were gathered.
‘Bruce Chamber.’
I read the red name tag.
“Hi, Bruce.”
“Wh-what?”
Bruce fumbled for a moment before shooting up from his seat.
He then blushed and grinned, extending his hand as if to shake mine.
“Nice to meet you, Lilis. I’m Bruce Chamber.”
“Yeah. I brought your tray.”
I ignored his outstretched hand and placed the tray in front of Bruce with a thud.
“Huh? Why did you…”
I grabbed Bruce’s wrist and turned it this way and that.
“Does your wrist hurt? Is it broken?”
“No?”
“Then why aren’t you getting your own meals?”
“Huh?”
“If your wrist doesn’t hurt, get them yourself from now on. Same goes for snacks. Don’t make these guys do it.”
I pointed to Chessier and Rom behind me.
Bruce, who had been staring at me blankly, tilted his head.
“Uh, Lilis? You must not know since it’s your first day… but the white name tags are supposed to do all this stuff.”
“Is that a rule?”
“No, not a rule. Um, everyone just does it that way.”
“Aha! So you have to obey whatever the kids with better-colored name tags say?”
“That’s right!”
“I see. In that case.”
My smile vanished, and my expression hardened.
I lifted the collar of my shirt, revealing my gold name tag.
“You’ll have to listen to me then, won’t you?”
