Just like that~

"Rich, considering your goals and aspirations, you surely know a bunch of healing spells already, don't you?"

"Good mor… huh…? Y-yes…? I-I mean! Yes, I do, young lady Fenrioette!"

As the boy came over, Melinda instantly asked him, clearly taking him by surprise.

"What are the chances for a person learning the basic healing spell to have some abysmal compatibility with it? Is there something like the limit of how little health can be restored, or can someone spend most of their mana and only get 1 HP back? I did some research on it myself but didn't get a clear answer."

"...!"

The gold-haired girl brute-forced right through the awkward atmosphere and asked her question point blank - surprisingly ending up so overbearing that she actually seemed to help the red-haired boy calm down.

"You see, that's kind of an obvious thing, so it's not surprising that there are no books mentioning that. About the inefficiency of the basic healing spells, it depends on how you look at it… You see, young lady Fenrioette, the lowest a basic healing spell can ever restore is 15 HP, so less than a basic health potion. As for its cost, the most I ever heard it cost was around the same as a fireball, which made it a burden on the caster."

The boy gulped down his saliva, fixing his glasses as he gave a proper answer.

It appeared that the cost of a fireball spell was also one of those things so obvious it wasn't worth mentioning...

"Things only get better with better spells. The strongest one I know is Blessed Recovery, which takes power from holy attribute and not nature like Heal - it has a predetermined flat recovery effect worth 200 HP. It also doubles as a great spell against undead enemies in case of emergency. Then, there are spells targeting specific ailments and effects. Spells that can mend broken bones and reconnect torn muscles and tendons but do not affect the already lost HP and only return the mobility to the one affected… Of course, all of those spells work like that in combat only. Outside of encounters, we are bound to the slow-working recovery-type spells."

"...tsk, that little. eh…"

Although the boy answered her questions, Melinda couldn't stop herself from clicking her tongue and scoffing under her breath.

"Thank you, Rich~!"

Nonetheless, she recovered instantly and compensated the boy with a grateful smile.

"Oh, one more thing. Feel free to ignore it if it's too nosy of me."

"What seemed to be the case, young lady Fenrioette?"

Melinda nodded, backing off and discreetly beginning to push Catherine with her while the red-haired boy fixed his glasses again, intrigued.

"I'm quite curious whether inheriting the title work in the Empire… Your older brother will inherit the title of the baron from your father, right? In that case, since you intend to stay in the territory and even open a clinic… in such case, in Diamondium Kingdom at least, it would mean that if you ever wanted a wife, it should be a girl without a title to prevent any potential fights over your family title… is it the same here?"

"...ummm…"

The gold-haired girl asked, and her question seemed to be so out of the left field that the red-haired boy opened his mouth, breathed out, and then bit his lower lip with a frown.

"That's… I mean... Yes, I believe it's exactly the same in our Empire."

He wasn't troubled for long, though, and a few seconds later, he breathed out and nodded with affirmation.

"I see, I see. Now, Leo… you're a second daughter of a baronet… are there some sort of obligations involved with that?"

"Umm… Not really? On top of my father's title not being hereditary, I'm a middle child, so I can safely say that there are no obligations or expectations regarding me."

All of a sudden, Melinda turned to the side and asked the tall girl, who lightly shook her head before answering with a slight chuckle.

"Our countries have so much in common~! Now then, Cath, let's get to the lecture."

And then, just as if nothing had happened, the gold-haired girl declared with a magnanimous smile and began climbing the staircase leading to the main building, taking Catherine with her while the other two stayed behind flabbergasted.

"..."

"..."

The pair that was left there looked at Melinda's back until she entered the building, and then turned towards each other.

"Hello. We're classmates, but we haven't had the pleasure before. My name is Richard Enla'si."

"I'm Leona, lord Enla'si. It's an honor."

The boy cleared out his throat and put his hand to his chest while bowing to the girl, who curtsied as she responded.

"Young lady Fenrioette is … a woman of character. As expected of a fiance of a crown prince of Diamondium kingdom!"

Not really knowing whether to continue or end the conversation that he initiated, Richard pointed out while rubbing the back of his neck with a timid smile.

"Indeed… and while we're at it… are you engaged, lord Enla'si?"

Leona smiled and nodded politely before asking hesitantly, sneaking a glance at the bespectacled boy's fluffy curled hair.

"Me…?! N-no! No, no. Forget about engagement! I haven't even been in a proper relationship as of yet. I did receive a few offers, but since they were all from the neighboring barons… well, in my situation, that would be like openly picking a fight with my older brother so…"

"Of course. Understandable~"

Richard gasped, straightening his back before shaking his head and smiling with embarrassment, which made Leona's expression grow a lot warmer.

"In that case… would you mind if the two of us would walk to the class together? I would enjoy it if our conversation could last a bit longer, my lord."

"I… oh…! With pleasure."

The tall girl's posture became a bit more playful, and she changed the way she addressed the boy, whose initial hesitation disappeared when he recalled how Leona answered Melinda's question.