Coolest Girl in Town

Elise shook her head and didn’t think much about his words. Then, she took out her phone to hail a ride home.

When she arrived at the Griffith Residence, Jonah was engaged in a game of chess with Alexander. They were both surprised when they saw her. “Ellie, you’re back so suddenly! You should’ve told us beforehand and I’ll get Alex to fetch you.”

Elise explained, “It‘s fine; there‘s not much difference if I return on my own.”

Jonah beckoned to her. “Come, let me have a good look at you. I haven’t seen you in half a month! Ellie, you seem to be thinner! You must be tired from all of your studying. Stella, prepare some chicken soup for Ellie, won‘t you?”

Stella hastily replied, “Understood, sir.”

“Ellie, come have a game with me,” he invited. At that, Alexander, who was seated opposite Jonah, rose to his full height and allowed Elise to take over his place.

As Elise had previously learned the ropes with Robin, she was aware of the general rules since she was half a beginner herself.

“Alex, please watch the game for us. Don’t let her lose terribly.”

Alexander nodded. “All right, Grandpa.”

Thus, with Alexander as her support, Elise felt a little more confident. However, it was only reasonable to lose when the opponent was a master like Jonah. They played three rounds, all of which she had lost.

She was upset as she asked Alexander, “Didn’t Grandpa ask you to watch the game? Can’t you help me win for once?”

He simply replied, “It’s bad manners to comment on the game from the sidelines.”

Inasmuch as Elise wanted to say something, she found that Alexander had a point.

“All right, Ellie. You fought well. You were always exceptionally close to winning and I even thought you might be doing it on purpose.”

She stuck her tongue out mischievously. “I‘m not as good as you say, Grandpa.”

Jonah smiled, but he didn’t say more. Instead, he asked Elise about her studies. “Now that the boot camp is over, you’re setting out to Northcliff to join the national Math Olympiad, aren‘t you?”

 starts the day after and it‘ll

understanding before he looked at Alexander. “Doesn‘t

reported honestly, “Some, I

to Northcliff with Elise tomorrow. Make sure she’s safe and you can handle company matters

 Elise quickly rejected the idea. “It‘s fine, Grandpa,

back down. “Girl, don‘t be stubborn. Northcliff is a big city and it’s not safe for a girl like you to be on her own. I was thinking of your safety

trailed off as she stole a glance at Alexander, who didn’t seem like he was against the idea. “But it‘s just us two. It won’t look too good either, will it?” she asked as

looked like he didn’t catch her gist. “Don‘t worry! Ellie, Alex is quite a steady guy compared to the rest of them. I won’t have to

 agree, though.” Elise passed the responsibility to Alexander. She thought that he

to get

satisfied Jonah nodded. Upon seeing that, Elise could

 with their first class tickets. It was after boarding the plane

 her question with another one. “Well, isn‘t that what Grandpa

heard merely made her

to keep her mouth shut. Since it was Jonah‘s intention, there was nothing more to question. The plane landed

 that someone was already waiting for them at the arrivals

 greeted with all due respect before he took

“Get in.”

then did as she was

the car drove away from the airport, she

his business matters on his iPad as he replied, “I‘ll take you to the exam venue first, so you can familiarize yourself there. Then, we’ll

a house in

looked it up and found that the house is closest to the exam venue. It only takes 5 minutes to get there, so it‘s not

 “All right,

printed out her admission ticket. After finding her seat, she familiarized herself with the surroundings before returning to

wasn’t as grand as the Griffith

 in itself would‘ve set the Griffith Family back by