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Translator: Nonon
Proofreader: Silavin
POV: Ash
I’ve been having more causes of headaches lately.
Vermillion has been becoming more free-spirited despite being royalty.
Since Kings in this kingdom are nominated, Vermillion can also become the King despite being the third prince, so I would like him to act more like a future king candidate.
I feel complicated because it feels like the real expressions I used to see when we were young have started to come out on the surface more often, but when I think that this is also the influence of that girl, some people are saying that he’s become easier to get along with. I guess it might still be considered growth in a way.
‘–! Is –ry not here?!’
‘What’s wrong, Your Highness? You’re being improper.’
‘Oh, it’s you, Ash. Sorry, I was so excited that I ended up speaking roughly.’
“I don’t mind, but what happened? You don’t lose your calm like this often, Your Highness– Your Highness, does that stain and the thing in your hand mean that you…’
‘Yeah, this is the core I obtained by infiltrating a group of adventurers in a disguise, defeating Trent (giant tree monster) and dissecting it! I thought she’d be happy!!’
‘Wash off that dirt in the bath right this moment! What are you doing?!’
… He goes crazy in a weird direction sometimes, but he does everything with her in mind, so it’s fine… is it really fine?
Vermillion is still fine. A simple admonition to restrain himself is enough.
Char’s actions have become more stupid.
When he was a child, he was so mischievous that he’d take me and Vermillion around and get scolded by his father, the Knight Commander. However, before entering the academy, he spent all his time training and had somehow become unfriendly, but after meeting her, I feel like he’s gone back to the way he was before… or more like, he’s become more stubborn.
Saying that he would take responsibility as a man (he didn’t mention what he was taking responsibility for), he returned to Shiki. In order to protect her, he tries to become stronger and fight stronger monsters. And in the process of that, he doesn’t even notice that he’s being scammed.
‘What, is that true?!’
‘Yes, yes. Of course it is, Lord Calvin. There’s a practitioner of the legendary Jeet Kune Do three towns south from here! I’ve also heard that they’re accepting challengers until tomorrow!’
‘What?! Damn, but there’s no space distortion stone in that town, so I can’t make it in time…!’
‘Yes, yes! So, how about this horse? It’s a good horse that I wouldn’t want to give up normally, but I can surrender it to you at a special price, Lord Calvin! That way you might make it in time!’
‘Oh, that would be generous. Thank you, merchant! As a reward, I’ll purchase it at an extra—‘
‘Wait!!’
Is Char really okay?
He said that he wanted to become a Knight Commander so she could be proud of him, but if he becomes the knight commander in his current state, the knight order would most likely end up disbanding… no, he might turn knight order into a paragon of justice.
Also, I feel like people who went to Shiki for an investigation have become more true to their own desires.
‘Austin, I have realized that I want to become a teacher in the future.’
‘Oh, that’s a good decision. But why all of a sudden?’
‘After talking with Bligh in Shiki, my desire to watch over the growth of boys has become even stronger. In other words! I have realized that in order to enjoy and protect their pure innocence, I must become a teacher myself!’
‘I understand. In order to protect the healthy growth of boys, I should do everything in my power to prevent you from doing so.’
I feel like the way a certain noble lady from the viscount family looks at small children has changed.
She used to say that she liked children before, but after going to Shiki, I realized that my understanding of her love was different from what I wish was the case. In order to protect the future of the children, and especially the boys, I must stop this girl’s rampage.
‘Oh, are you praying? I haven’t seen you here before, have you started coming recently?’
‘Lord Austin. Yes, I just started coming recently. If I come here, I can see nun clothes– *cough* if I pray, that pure girl—I mean, mystery lurking inside— No…! This isn’t what I had in mind… I came here to discard my earthly desires and had no other purpose…!’
‘Why are you clutching your head?!’
The son of a certain Baron began to have a mysterious guilt towards nuns.
When he’d look at nuns, he would start praying as if he was trying to escape from something, mumbling ‘I can’t see any lines from above the clothes… slit… from below…’ As somebody who never misses worship, I can’t help but be concerned about him… Mainly I’m concerned whether he’ll try to commit an impulsive crime.
There are others who’ve also been affected strangely too.
‘Kukuku, mix this medicine here… kukuku…’
‘Is it you?! The student who’s been conducting suspicious experiments!’
‘Eh? I’m just cultivating mushrooms with black magic.’
A certain student started growing mushrooms with (wholesome) black magic.
‘… Are you being bullied?’
‘No, I was taught that in order to grow good vegetables, I must understand how the soil feels.’
‘And that’s why you buried yourself in the ground with only your face showing?’
‘Yes. Oh, please don’t worry. I’m doing this in a perfect condition so there is no danger.’
‘…Is that so?’
A certain student who loves a vegetable garden buried himself in the area where the plants grow.
‘Kukuku, demon of darkness, I shall let you run wild to your heart’s content. With my Lord Re: Flower—wha- Lord Ash?!’
‘… I did not see anything. That should be fine, right?’
‘I don’t believe in selfless kindness! Please let me do something! Should I lick your shoes?!’
‘It’s fine! How can you become subservient so suddenly?!’
A certain classmate started bandaging his hand and saying strange things in the early morning classroom.
…My head hurts, really. For the first time in my life as one of the people in charge of the class, I felt like giving up on everything.
No, I think I still have it better compared to Baron Heartfield.
The ones in the academy are still calm, since they still have self-control and are trying to resist. Baron Heartfield is in charge (?) of a group of people without limiters, who still try to push their agenda even when they’re being told to stop. If you think about it that way, I still have it better than him. Plus, there’s still not a lot of them.
Next time, I need to ask him to teach me how he keeps them in check or maybe how to calm them down. It might also be a good idea to have him teach me how to avoid stress.
… Speaking of Baron Heartfield, I remember that he said something bizarre.
If I remember right… It was about whether Char, Vermillion and I were on good terms with Nephrite. In this context, I think he meant being close not as classmates, but as people of the different sex.
Nephrite is indeed a charming woman.
Her academic ability was about average when she first entered the school, but recently she’s been working hard enough that her name is being mentioned among the top for some subjects and she’s also been putting an effort to use magic other than alchemy magic too. She has great athletic abilities and she’s aggressive enough that it makes you wonder where she stores her strength in that small body of hers.
But if I had to describe her with one word, it would be…
“Alien… I guess?”
Suddenly, those words escaped from my mouth.
After checking my surroundings and making sure that nobody was around, I once again thought about the meaning of the words that I had blurted out spontaneously.
Kriemhild Nephrite.
She’s a petite human girl who doesn’t even reach 150 cm in height and uses the same alchemy magic as her.
Her skill in alchemy magic is also similar to that girl and she’s an instinctive type genius who can create various things.
She has many friends and her affable smile soothes everybody who sees her—but, there is something fundamentally wrong with Nephrite.
She gets happy at the smallest of things. She can get mad in other people’s stead. She can express sadness even when it’s being suppressed. She can see things in an enjoyable light.
But, look at it from the side, Nephrite is clearly full of emotions, because she can feel all those things.
She’s full of emotions, but something feels strange. I don’t know why, but I feel like she’s missing something. As if something that should be there is missing.
‘Phew, that should do it.’
I’ve seen it before.
When she needed monster parts as materials for alchemy magic, I’ve seen her choose to hunt down monsters instead and dissect them without a hesitation.
Alchemy magic is magic that uses all materials as raw ingredients and reassembles them into something different. Therefore she might just be used to it, but that’s not the problem. Her eyes looked as she didn’t care from the very beginning–
“—Oh, Ash. What happened?”
Just as I was about to ponder deeper, I suddenly heard a voice from behind me.
That voice made me realize that I had lost sight of my surroundings, so I stopped my thoughts for a bit and turned to the direction of the voice.
It was from the voice of a girl I love.
Beautiful long golden hair. Red eyes that seem to swallow everything.
Her smile is more beautiful than any paintings, any statues of goddesses I’ve seen.
A woman who has mastered all aspects of academics, attribute magic, and alchemy magic. A woman of integrity who never neglects her efforts and has everything.
And above all, my beloved, who saw through my heart which I had never opened up to anybody and saved me.
“——“
Her name is—
Author’s note:
The one who taught that you must first understand how the soil feels was a certain man in his late prime who grows vegetables.
What he said was basically: “I myself become the soil that grows vegetables”.
By the way, his vegetables have been recognized to be of the highest quality.
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