[x] It was right beside Flandre, on the left.

"Nice of you to join us," said Remilia. "I was wondering if you would grace us with your presence tonight."

Her voice was filled with bitter sarcasm as she spoke. She seemed to be in a bad mood. Flandre glanced at me from the side of her eye, laughing quietly. Patchouli just flipped a page, ignoring us. Sakuya, Koakuma, and the fairy maids stepped back and stood silently. I forced a weak smile as I took my seat. Then, one of the higher ranked fairy maids walked beside me. I recognized her short blonde hair and distinct lack of a head ornament. She was the one Remilia assigned to me shortly after I first arrived.

"Would you like to have some wine?" she asked.

"Not tonight," I said. "But thanks, Elena."

She nodded politely before stepping back. I had better keep my mind clear tonight. There was something dangerous in the atmosphere, though I couldn't put my finger on it. The fact that everyone came to the dinner table already raised a flag. But for now, I decided to stay quiet and listen.

"Now that everyone is here, shall we begin?"

The elder sister took her knife and fork and started on the meal. Flandre already had a spoon in her hand as she started on her 'first dessert'. From the side of my eye, I could see Patchouli bringing small bits of food to her mouth every so often. I turned to my own plate and began eating. Yet, for some reason, I could hardly taste the food. We ate in relative silence for a few minutes. I was surprised at who finally broke the silence.

"So then," said Patchouli, looking up from her book. "How was the meeting at the Hakurei Shrine?"

Remilia paused for a moment to think.

"The attendance was better than usual," she said. "Though most of them were obviously just there as an excuse to laze around. It was Ran who gave us the latest report on the Hakurei border. Seems like there is an increase in unexpected activity at several of its weak points. But she couldn't tell us anything else, and that damn gap demon was absent."

"Unexpected activity," repeated the magician. "Is it related to the Outside?"

Remilia nodded before turning back to her meal. I felt a small surge of guilt. Was that why she wanted me to accompany her this morning? I had thought that she just wanted to spend time with the others to drink tea and tell stories. Before this meal was over, I had better apologize and -

"Mmm!" cried Flandre. "This is really good!"

I turned to see that she had just finished her 'third dessert'. Remilia turned to her sister and frowned.

"You should finish the rest of your food," she said.

"Eh? But this sweet stuff is really good! Just like the chestnut youkan this morning!"

"Chestnut youkan?"

I shot a glance at Flandre. She just gave me the tiniest of winks before smiling back at her sister. What was she thinking? Somehow, this gave me a really bad feeling. And my suspicions were confirmed as soon as the little sister had started on her 'fourth dessert'.

"Yep," she said between mouthfuls. "The folk at the Moriya Shrine are really friendly. I hope we can visit them again some time, ehehe~"

The elder Scarlet turned to me for an explanation. 'You went to the Moriya Shrine?' her eyes asked. I quickly looked down at my food as I spoke.

"Sort of.." I said.

"That's right!" said Flandre. "Since he seemed to be killing time at the library, I decided that he come with me for a short trip outside the mansion. Fresh air is real nice once in a while, don't you think?"

She giggled at Remilia's reaction. Unfortunately, I wasn't in the position to do the same. Right then, Remilia glared at me with such raw fury. I just kept quiet as I finished my meal. Should I apologize? What kind of excuse did I have? How was I supposed to get out of this? Such thoughts started running through my head. Then suddenly, it didn't matter anymore.

"BANG!"

Remilia slammed her fist on the table. I couldn't see her face. She had lowered her head as she shuddered. Then, she stood up and stomped out of the room.

"L-Lady Remilia?" called out Sakuya.

"I'm done for tonight," she replied.

Without another word, she slammed the door behind her. I turned to Flandre and just as I was about to start scolding her, I stopped. Upon the little sister's face was shock and surprise. Wait a second.. did it mean that this wasn't part of her plan? Before I could ask, she stood up and went after her sister.

"I'm done too," she called out.

The door closed behind Flandre. And with that, only Patchouli was with me at the table. She took a moment to put her book down before giving me a cold look.

"Fool," she said.

I lowered my head shamefully as I finished my meal. Then, I quickly excused myself and headed back to my room. Somehow, I had just caused another big misunderstanding in the house. 'This must be another one of those bad days', I said silently.

Before I knew it, I had collapsed on my bed. I didn't bother locking the door.

It was the most important, wasn't it?
[ ] Trust
[ ] Romance
[ ] Friendship