“Yeah! That vivid purple color is the perfume that Montmorency only mixes for herself!”
“So to have something like that fall out of your pocket, Guiche, means that you're going out with Montmorency now, right?”
“No wait, listen to me. I'm saying this for the sake of her reputation, but…”
As Guiche was about to say more, a girl, who wore a brown cloak and had been sitting at the table behind them, stood up and walked over to Guiche's seat.
She was a cute girl sporting chestnut-colored hair. According to the color of the cloak she wore, she was a first year student.
“Guiche-sama…”
And with that, she started crying uncontrollably.
“I knew it, you and Miss Montmorency are…”
“They’re misunderstanding. Katie, listen. The only person I hold in my heart is you…”
But the girl called Katie slapped Guiche's face as hard as she could.
“That perfume you dropped from your pocket is more than enough proof! Goodbye!”
Guiche rubbed his cheek.
At this point, a girl with tightly rolled hair stood up from a seat further down the table. Saito recognized her as the girl who'd had the argument with Louise when he was first summoned to this world.
Wearing a severe expression, she approached Guiche with quick clipped steps.
“Montmorency. This is a misunderstanding. All I did was accompany her on a long trip to the forests of La Rochelle…” Guiche said, shaking his head. While he was pretending to remain composed, a drop of cold sweat ran down his forehead.
“Just as I thought! You've been making moves on that first year, haven't you?!”
“Please, Montmorency the Fragrance. Don't twist your rose-like face in anger like that. It saddens me to see it!”
Montmorency grabbed a bottle of wine that was on the table and poured its contents out audibly on Guiche's head.
And then…
“You liar!”
She yelled and stormed off.
Silence fell upon the hall.
Guiche pulled out a handkerchief and slowly wiped his face. Shaking his head, he spoke dramatically.
“It would seem those ladies do not understand the meaning of a rose's existence.”
Yeah, and you just keep trying that, Saito thought, as he took the tray back from Siesta and began walking off.
Guiche called him to a stop.
“Stop right there.”
“What now?”
Guiche spun his body about on the chair and crossed his legs with a flourish. It gave Saito a headache to see such arrogance exude from every action.
“Thanks to you thoughtlessly picking up some bottle of perfume, the reputation of two ladies has been damaged. How will you take responsibility?”
Saito replied in an exasperated tone.
“Hey, it's your fault for two-timing.”
Guiche's friends burst out laughing.
“Exactly, Guiche! It's your fault!”
Guiche's face flushed crimson.
“Listen, server. When you put the bottle of perfume on the table, I pretended not to know anything, didn't I? Would it have hurt to be a little bit tactful and just go along with it?”
“Whatever. Either way, your two-timing would've been blown anyway. And also, I'm not a server.”
“Hmph… Ah, you are…”
Guiche snorted, as if looking down on Saito.
“You must be the commoner summoned by that „Louise the Zero.“ To have expected a noble's wits from a commoner was completely my mistake. You may leave.”
Saito snapped then. Pretty boy or not, there was no way Saito was just going to stand there quietly taking all this from such a conceited narcissist. He couldn't help but make one inflammatory comment.
“Shut up you over-pretentious bastard. Why don't you go suck on roses for the rest of your life?”
Guiche's eyes narrowed.
“It would seem that you don't know the proper etiquette for addressing a noble.”
“Unfortunately, I come from a world where there are no such people as nobles.”
Saito raised his right hand and spoke imperiously, mimicking Guiche's actions.
“Very well. Then I shall teach you a lesson about respect. A perfect way to relieve some stress.”
Guiche stood up.
“How amusing.”
Saito bared his teeth and growled. First, I didn't like this guy right from the start. Second, he's going out with two fairly cute girls – though neither are as cute as Louise. And last, he made a fool of me.
That's more than enough reason for me to fight. And while I'm at it, I'll hit him a couple more times on Louise's behalf. After all, she's still a girl!
“You wanna do it here?”
Saito said. Despite being taller than Saito, Guiche was the lanky type and looked rather weak. Playboys are said to be lacking both money and power. Saito wasn't particularly strong himself, but he didn't think he'd lose.
Guiche turned in the other direction.
“Are you running away?”
“Don't be stupid. I can't taint the dining table of nobles with the blood of a commoner, can I? I'll be waiting at Vestri[5] Court. Come once you're finished delivering those cakes.”
Looking excited, Guiche's friends stood up and followed him off.
One person remained though, as if to make sure Saito didn't run away himself.
Siesta gazed at Saito, her entire body quivering. Saito spoke with a grin.
“It's all right. There's no way I'll lose to that weakling. Some noble, huh?”
“You… You're going to get killed.”
“What?”
“If you truly anger a noble…”
Siesta dashed off in a hurry.
What was that about? Saito muttered. Is that guy really that strong?
Louise ran up to him from behind.
“Hey! What do you think you're doing?! I saw all that!”
“Yo, Louise.”
“This is no time to be „yo“-ing me! How can you just go promising duels like it's no big deal?!”
“But that guy was really irritating me…”
Saito said indignantly.
Louise sighed and shrugged disappointedly.
“Apologize to him.”
“Why?”
“If you don't want to be hurt, go and apologize. If you do it now, he might forgive you.”
“Are you kidding! Why do I have to apologize?! he insulted me first! And besides, I was only being helpful…”
“Just do it.”
Louise fixed Saito with a firm look.
“No way.”
“So stubborn… But you know what? You can't win. You'll be badly injured. Actually, you'll be lucky to come back alive with just injuries.”
“I won't know that unless I try, right?”
“Listen, a commoner can never beat a mage!”
“So where's this Vestri Court?”
Saito walked off. The friend of Guiche's that had been watching Louise and Saito's exchange pointed with his chin.
“This way, commoner.”
“Aaah, jeez! Really! Why does this familiar keep going off and doing stuff on its own?!”
With that, Louise chased after Saito.
Vestri Court was the central garden situated between the Wind and Fire elemental towers. Being located to the west, the Court didn't receive much sunshine, even in the middle of the day, but it was the perfect place for a duel.
Right now… the place was packed with people who had heard the rumors.
“Gentlemen! It's a duel!”
Guiche lifted his artificial rose high, eliciting a loud cheer from the crowd.
“Guiche is going to duel! His opponent is Louise's commoner!”
I have a name too y'know… Saito thought bitterly.