Summer break.
One of the staff working in the boys’ dorm kept a diary.
○ Month × Day.
The academy went into summer vacation, and a lot of students went home.
I’m happy the usual workload lightened, but not everyone goes home.
Every year there are students who can’t return to their families.
But this year there are especially many.
More than that, some scoundrel—no, something else.
Bartholomew Barthfort—well, the Earl—seems to have done something.
I heard he was running amok in the country where he’s studying abroad, but what on earth is he up to?
Rumor has it he picked a fight with the Republic of Alzer, so someone please tell me that’s a lie.
I also heard that nobles who are close to the Earl headed for the Republic of Alzer.
He just can’t stay still; wherever he goes he causes trouble.
I’d rather not have him come back, but lately the atmosphere in the boys’ dorm has been weird.
Maybe it’s the influx of scholarship students?
Every now and then we get reports of a round sphere floating around.
The other staff were also freaking out about seeing a blue single eye in the middle of the night.
Please stop it.
I’m scared, you know.
I wish someone would take over my night‑shift patrol.
○ Month △ Day.
—Worst case.
During a night patrol I saw that blue single eye.
When I peeked out the window, it seemed to be drifting along the hallway of the building opposite.
More and more colleagues are reporting seeing it too.
Should we seriously ask the temple to do an exorcism?
Everyone’s talking about pooling money, but maybe we should report this to the academy as well.
Anyway, the remaining students are being noisy.
I was relieved we didn’t end up at war with the Republic of Alzer, but now there’s a ghost‑haunting in the boys’ dorm.
If only the students would keep it down.
○ Month ▲ Day.
—Worst case.
During a night patrol I saw a girl who shouldn’t have been in the boys’ dorm.
There’s no way she could have snuck in.
The girls’ dorm said no one had slipped out that day.
And the girl I saw wasn’t even on the academy’s roster.
There are similar‑looking girls, but they’re all home for the holidays.
So who the hell was that girl I saw?
Give me a break.
She was a slightly taller, long‑haired, slender girl.
Could it be that a boy left behind in the dorm called a girl over from outside?
But then why was she in a uniform?
Damn—this boys’ dorm is cursed or something?
○ Month □ Day.
—Maybe I’m losing it.
It was early morning.
I was cleaning when a student called out to me.
But the person was… a girl.
She greeted me while I was scrubbing the boys’ restroom!
—She must’ve been exhausted.
Lately there’s talk that we’ve received a huge compensation from the Republic of Alzer.
They say the Earl went on a rampage there.
What the hell is he doing abroad?
One misstep and we’d be in a full‑scale war with the Republic.
Honestly, I was glad he studied abroad, but now I’m thinking maybe staying at the academy is better.
Still, whenever that guy shows up, problems seem to follow.
More than that, that girl…
I thought I saw her walking with a boy who hates girls—maybe it’s just my imagination?
○ Month ◇ Day.
—I’m fed up.
Today I warned everyone that there was a girl in the boys’ dorm.
A group that normally never even looks at girls surrounded her and got all weirdly hyped.
It was strange, but it’s the rules, so I stepped in.
Then—.
“I’m Aaron,” he said.
—Seriously?
Don’t mess with me.
I thought she was kinda cute, honestly!
What the hell is a man!
And Aaron—he’s the scholarship student who enrolled this year, right?
He used to be a total delinquent, kind of scary.
Now the other boys are crowding around Aaron, getting all excited, and I hear he’s taken up cross‑dressing at night for fun—what the heck, that’s you!
The “ghost” girl haunting the dorm turns out to be a cross‑dressing boy.
It’s infuriating because she was actually cute.
Don’t invite the staff to join in, okay?
I’m normal, unlike you guys!
○ Month ■ Day.
—What does “normal” even mean?
These past few days I might be going crazy.
I keep writing “maybe I’m losing it each time,” but today’s incident really shocked me.
That Aaron.
That smug‑looking Aaron—he actually looked cute.
More refined than any clumsy girl student.
Where the heck are you heading, man?
He’s also apparently studying makeup and beauty stuff.
Because he’s a boy, we can’t just kick him out of the boys’ dorm, which is a problem.
Most of the remaining boys are totally obsessed with Aaron.
I get it.
I feel it painfully.
Compared to the terrible girls we’ve dealt with, Aaron now feels like the ideal girl.
—Except he’s a guy.
Other than gender, he’s perfect, and the “normal” boys are all like, “Aaron’s fine, right?”
Wake up. Please, don’t go over there!
—I feel like I might start wavering too.
○ Month ◆ Day.
Today we all came up with a nickname for Aaron!
It’s ridiculous how we were stuck on “boy” vs “girl” before.
Alright, the nickname for Aaron.
He can’t stay forever in that cute form.
We all decided on “Aure” (アーレ).
Aaron—Aure‑chan even seemed grateful.
“Thanks, everyone.”
—That smile was blinding.
I’ve been a staff member at the academy for ten years, and I’ve never seen a girl‑looking guy be this cute.
No, it’s probably because he’s not actually a girl that makes him that adorable.
People say a lot happened in the Republic of Alzer, but all that matters to us is Aure‑chan’s nickname.
Ignore all that background noise!
The Earl apparently did something again, but that’s irrelevant.
What matters is right now, this moment!
○ Month ○ Day.
—I got transferred.
Apparently getting too friendly with the boys was the issue.
The thought of never seeing Aure‑chan again makes me want to do nothing.
When I reported that to my superior, he said,
“—That’s why they moved you.”
And stared at me with a cold look.
—I have no idea what that means.