"In the end, I haven’t seen Solare since then. That incident might have truly made him hate people."
Shrugging his shoulders, Felter murmured this.
"...I see. So it’s not about the presence of bullies, but that he’s already developed a distrust of people. Did Dean Glenn do anything about that?"
"I don’t know. Solare never mentioned the Dean’s name either."
"I see."
I replied and fell silent, and a quiet moment passed through the room.
"Excuse me."
With a knock, more food arrived. Dishes had been coming intermittently, but this might be the last one. A delicious-looking assortment of fruit was brought out. Somehow, in a full-course meal, dessert felt like the final part.
As I gazed at the fruit placed before me, thinking this, Fiol smiled with a troubled look.
"Oh dear, still just fruit? I’m already quite full..."
“Hmph. Perfect timing—I’m nowhere near satisfied yet.”
Hearing Fiol’s words, I widened my eyes and looked up.
"There’s still more food coming?"
I asked in surprise, and Fiol nodded with a laugh.
"When it comes to Court Highland’s full-course cuisine, fifteen dishes is standard. It’s also characteristic to have fruit served in the middle of the course."
"Indeed. After this, fish dishes, then vegetables, and meat dishes usually follow. Serving a dish using fried bread at the end is another Court Highland feature."
"...That sounds quite heavy on the stomach."
Listening to Fiol and Ramsay’s explanations, I furrowed my brows.
Each dish was very delicious, but for a commoner like me, Glenora’s home cooking or the eateries I usually visited with Strass and Eliza seemed to suit my tastes better.
Well, not that I’m saying Glenora’s cooking was "commoner-like."
As I mentally explained myself to Glenora, Ramsay crossed his arms and looked up.
"Now then, my stomach is reasonably filled. Let’s get into the more intricate matters."
"Reasonably...?"
A particular phrase caught my attention, and I couldn’t help but repeat it. But Ramsay continued without concern.
"This is only hearsay on my part, but I’ve heard that among the reasons Solare was bullied, Dean Glenn’s existence played a role."
"Dean Glenn?"
I look up, surprised by Ramsay’s words. Even Felter seemed interested, directing his gaze this way. Accepting everyone’s attention, Ramsay lightly moistened his throat with wine.
"...Hah. Dean Glenn is a half-elf, born and raised in a pureblood elf kingdom. Did you hear about that from Middleton?"
"Yes, I’ve heard that."
"I see... For elves, half-elves are seen as inferior. No, perhaps it’s more accurate to say some elves hold that view. Well, they’re mostly recluses who don’t leave their birthplace, so it’s better to think elves have their own unique sense of common sense."
After this preface, Ramsay narrowed his eyes.
"But even among such elves, there are the occasional odd ones. Elves over twenty who become interested in human nations. Many elves excel at handling magic. Perhaps because of that, there were several elf students at Fiddiq Academy."
"Eh? Elf students?"
Blinking, I looked at Ramsay’s face. Ramsay snorted and raised a hand.
"Well, wait... This is a story about how there were several elf students. At that time, the confident elf students seem to have enrolled at Fiddiq Academy, the most famous magic academy in human nations. While testing their abilities, they discovered that the grandson of a half-elf they looked down upon was enrolled. That was Solare."
Nodding in understanding at this explanation, I replied,
"That connects with Felter’s earlier story. So, those individuals were bullying Solare..."
As I say this, Felter opened his mouth.
"...I never heard about elves. The ones who left the academy were the well-known high school division students at the time, but they shouldn’t have been elves."
"Is that so?"
Hearsay versus a story heard directly from the person involved. If asked which to believe, it would be the story from the person himself. But the discrepancy with the rumors Ramsay, a high-ranking noble, heard was also concerning.
There might be some reason Felter couldn’t be told.
"...Would it be alright to ask Dean Glenn about that?"
I tentatively asked, and both Ramsay and Fiol widened their eyes.
"...I think that would be quite difficult to ask."
"What do you think..."
As the two hedged their words, Felter crossed his arms and shook his head.
"Since he’s trying to act for his grandson’s sake, he’d probably cooperate."
As Felter said this, Fiol made a troubled face.
"Felter... some things can’t be considered that simply, you know?"
Though Fiol said this, Felter shrugged his shoulders.
"I think the Dean would be fine."
Hearing those words, I nodded as well.
"That’s right. I think Dean Glenn would probably be okay."
As the two of us exchanged these words, Ramsay and Fiol glanced at each other. Fiol looked back at us worriedly, while Ramsay burst out laughing.
"...Well, you should give it a try. If things become difficult at Fiddiq Academy, you can come to Bushmills. We’ll welcome you at the Court Mage Chief level, I promise. Heck, we could even pool the full strength of the Cairn Marquis household to create the Aoi Magic Academy."
"...I’d rather you refrain from that name."
To Ramsay’s proposal, I made a correction with a deeply embarrassed feeling.