As a result of the preparations and discussions regarding Machia, it was decided that it would be held over three days.
Even if it was just to determine the class representatives, the scale was too large. It was impossible to finish it in a day.
Above all, there were very few classes that selected their representatives through votes or meetings, and most classes wanted the selection of representatives to be a proper training exercise. It's a good thing they’re so passionate.
And on the first day of Machia. As the one who initially proposed it, I had the most to do and was busily moving around inside Atlas.
…Actually, that was just a superficial reason, an excuse. I was looking for Carla.
‘She can't be hiding even today, can she, Carla?’
I didn't think Carla would miss this event.
Especially since famous nobles would be attending in droves. She had been going around building relationships with nobles, so it would be meaningless if she didn't show up here.
And then I found her.
Walking down the hallway, I spotted a woman in the distance, walking cautiously. Even from afar, I could tell it was Carla.
But looking closely, she was wearing sunglasses, and as if trying to avoid me, she bowed her head slightly and tried to walk past me.
Carla stopped walking at my call.
And then, as if stopping had been a mistake, she tried to walk past me again.
“What’s with the sunglasses?”
“……E-excuse me, but who are you?”
Carla put on a clumsy act when I asked.
“Do you really think those are a good disguise?”
I couldn't see well because of the sunglasses, but I felt like her face was turning red.
“If you’re going to ignore me, ignore me to the end. Why stop walking when you see me?”
Even as she said that, she tried to walk again as if she hadn't stopped. I didn't know if she was shameless or just honest.
“Just take off the sunglasses. I won't do anything.”
Carla covered her sunglasses with both hands as if protecting them and turned her head away. I hadn't even moved a finger, yet she acted as if I was trying to snatch them away, which made me feel strange.
“Is there a reason you’re wearing sunglasses? Other than a disguise?”
“……T-the sun is too bright.”
“The sunlight coming through the window is too bright.”
Did that even make sense?
But come to think of it, I had heard of people like that. People with very sensitive skin, or allergies to sunlight.
Maybe Carla is similar, and the sunglasses help alleviate it?
“Are you usually sensitive to sunlight? Do you wear sunglasses often?”
“……Ah! Y-yes, that’s right.”
Carla nodded enthusiastically as if she had found a good excuse.
It was incredibly suspicious, but I didn't particularly want to pry. It was her freedom to wear sunglasses.
I was just curious about the reason, so if she said so, then so be it.
But if this was a lie, wouldn't the other teachers see through it right away?
Well, I guess she wouldn't tell a lie that could be exposed so easily.
“Oh my, Headmistress!”
Just then, another teacher spotted us and called out.
“It’s been a while. Oh? It’s my first time seeing you in sunglasses. As expected, you look good in anything!”
“It’s a big event today. Let’s do our best. You too, Mr. Frondier!”
It was a lie that was easily exposed.
“So, it was your first time wearing sunglasses. You’re sensitive to sunlight.”
“……I’ve just been enduring it until now.”
“But you said you wear them often.”
“……I’ve never run into you while wearing sunglasses before.”
Her logic was falling apart.
I scratched my head and looked at Carla.
‘Not only is she wearing sunglasses, but she’s not even looking at me.’
Carla hadn't made eye contact with me even once until now. No, I wondered if I had even entered her field of vision today.
The sunglasses, which I initially thought were a disguise, she refused to take off even after I called her out on them.
If this wasn’t about sunlight or anything like that, then the problem wasn't about being seen by others, but about Carla seeing…
…If Carla wasn't a devil.
The sunglasses, her avoidance of my gaze, her beauty that surpassed the norm…
“Is that your real name?”
“Wh-what are you talking about?”
At that, Carla looked at me in surprise, then quickly averted her gaze again.
There was no mistaking it.
This wasn't a matter of emotion or feeling, there was a reason why she absolutely couldn’t look at me.
“W-what are you talking about?”
Carla feigned ignorance.
And as expected, her acting was even clumsier than before.
"......Do you know about Poseidon?"
"How can you not know? He's such a famous god."
Ah. Carla’s lips were sealed.
To think she would be so shaken by such a simple leading question.
“……And do you know about Athena?”
And an even clearer reaction. Her shoulders trembling slightly, one eye twitching unconsciously, the muscles below her cheekbones stiffening, tension in her jaw.
I took a step back and bowed my head.
“It’s a big event today. Let’s do our best.”
I turned my back and walked away from Carla.
I had a feeling it would be, and I lightly stretched my hand.