CH 148

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Sapphiras Perfectio, former 2nd son of the Earl of Aldridge

Percival Belisario, 3rd son of Margrave of Vanderwall on the Eastern Frontier

A small folded piece of paper is placed on the chair.

I picked it up and unfolded it to see what it was, and there it said: ‘Please come to the water lily pond in the school garden after school’. Who in the world? I looked around and saw the quiet guy who sits next to me, turned his head and threw a glance at me. He looked a little pale and somewhat frightened.

Looks like this note was left by him. I guess he probably tried to tell me with a note because he couldn’t talk to me directly. I conveyed my understanding with my gaze. I don’t know what he wants to talk about, but I have no particular reason to refuse. Even if he stood me up, I could just enjoy the garden.

After all, the garden is the pride of the school. They say it’s well maintained and has a variety of flowers in bloom each season, but I haven’t been there yet. I’ll go there today and if it’s good, I’ll go with Percival next time.

I would just take classes as usual and have lunch while reading……or so I thought, but then Cale-something came again. I thought he wouldn’t come today because I gave him an aura of ‘leave me alone’ yesterday, but apparently he’s a man who never learns to quit. Those who don’t know when to quit won’t be popular.

Cale-something asked things like if I had gotten used to school, if I’ve made friends, but why ask questions that you can understand without asking? It’s obvious at first glance that I don’t have any friends. If he had something more interesting to say, I would listen to it, but it was too much trouble, so I just gave him a suitable response and let it pass.

Trouble is, this man seems to be a popular son at the school. When I’m with him, I get a lot of jealous and envious stares. It seems like I’m going to get into trouble if I’m involved with this guy, so I told him that I’d quickly grab my lunch and leave my seat. I heard a voice holding me back, but lately I’m hard of hearing. Wahaha.

Come to think of it, I forgot to ask Percival who he was. I have to remember to ask him today for future countermeasures.

And after school.

There was no particular time specified, so I headed for the garden at random. I’m sure he’ll come if I wait for him anyway, and if he shirks, that’s fine too.

I’ve heard rumours about it, but it’s certainly a beautiful garden. You can also see students strolling around here and there. The designated water lily pond is said to be at the far end of the garden, so I headed towards the back while admiring the beautifully landscaped garden. There are benches and pavilions where you can take a nap. It looks cool and cosy in summer.

The further in I went, the fewer students there were, and by the time I reached the end, there was no one left. Even so, it is quite big.

“……Oh, is that the water lily pond?”

Before long, the shimmering surface of the water came into view. The pond is bigger than expected and is called the Water Lily Pond, and there are many beautiful water lilies in bloom. The water is clear and does not seem to be very deep. Are there fishes in the pond? When I looked into the pond out of curiosity, I suddenly felt a shock on my back.

“Ha?”

Just when I thought that, I was plunged face-first into the water lily pond. I submerge with a loud splash. The bottom of the water lily pond is muddy. The water isn’t that deep, but I’ll get stuck in the mud, and the solid fabric of my uniform will be incredibly heavy once it absorbs the water. It’s quite a burden on my weak body. And the coldness of the water is gradually sinking in. When I finally stood up, a lot of laughter fell.

“Well, everyone, look! He’s soaking wet!”

There are a few students standing by the edge of the pond, looking down at me in the pond and laughing loudly. Those are the guys who dropped their books on the first day. Then……behind them laughing was the boy sitting next to me, pale-faced and shaking.

I guess he got caught up with these guys. He probably had to deal with his family and couldn’t say no. If you’re born into an aristocratic family, even if you’re a student, you’re going to have all sorts of barriers. However, a normal, sensible aristocratic family wouldn’t educate to oppress others in such a silly way.

“That’s because you approached Caleb-sama without any sense of propriety. If you learn your lesson from this, don’t ever approach him or anyone else again.”

Ha? Who is that? I don’t know who that is. Who on earth is that? I’m not going near anyone.

As I was about to think that, the face of a certain person suddenly passed through my mind. ……Nn? No, wait a minute.

Ha! Is it him? As I recall, the Aiseki-kyou (provisional) called himself Caleb something!

I didn’t approach this guy, he came on his own. I was rather annoyed with him. You don’t need to tell me that, you need to tell Caleb directly.

I thought it would be troublesome if I got involved, but as I thought, it became troublesome.

Damn it……

“Well, looking dirty suits you better.”

“In the first place, our school uniform should not be worn by people who don’t even have a family name. It’s degrading.”

Hehhh. Since you take pleasure in oppressing those in a lower position than yourself, you have a very respectable dignity. It’s something I could never have. It’s very different from the dignity I know, but I dare to remain silent and listen to what they say.

After they had said all they wanted to say about being lowborn and crude, the dignified ladies of the nobility left me waist-deep in the water. The boy sitting next to me was looking back at me with concern, but they poked him and took him away. I hope those guys didn’t do anything terrible to him.

Perhaps this is not the end of the plans of those with dignity. I’m sure the set-up will end with them ridiculing me in public as I walk miserably back to my dormitory, soaking wet from the muddy water. They will be waiting for me at the entrance to the gardens or somewhere in the school buildings where I can be easily seen.

“But I can transfer.”

It’s a bit funny to think of them waiting for me to come to them. I’ll have them wait until they’re satisfied.

After transferring to the bathroom of the room, I fill the bathtub with hot water using a magical tool. I struggled to take off my uniform, which was getting wet and difficult to take off, and jumped into the hot water. Although it was late spring and quite warm, the water was still cold.

“Haaah……it’s so warm!”

It took me a while to take off my clothes, and my body got cold, so the warmth of the hot water soaked into my body. I didn’t get sick even though I was left alone for many years, so I don’t think I’ll catch a cold just because of this. I would be annoyed if my physical condition deteriorated.

But still, I’m starting to worry that the cause of my death in this life will also be a silly thing. I can’t believe I fell for such a childish deception. I’m glad it was only a pond, but if the place I was dropped into was a dragon’s nest or a cauldron of fire, it would be the end of the world. Dangerous, dangerous. I’ll be careful from now on.

I washed my muddy hair and uniform, my body was warm enough, and when I thought I was ready to go out, I realised. I had transferred directly from the pond, so I hadn’t brought a towel to wipe myself with or a change of clothes.

“Oh well.”

I left the bathroom completely naked, thinking that I could wipe the floor later, and I met Percival, who had just returned to his room.

“Oh, Percival, welcome back!

“……Sapphiras!”

Percival, whose eyes met mine, came towards me at great speed with a straight face, took off his uniform jacket and wrapped me in it. Ehhh, you’re going to get your uniform wet if you do that.

“Eh? Wh-what? If it’s the floor, I’ll wipe it properly, okay?”

“I don’t care about that. Just wait there for a minute.”

While I was puzzled, Percival returned from the chest with my underwear and a large towel and quickly and carefully wiped my dripping hair.

“……I know there’s probably some circumstances, but at least put on your underwear before you come out of the bathroom.”

“Sorry. I transitioned directly into the bathroom, so I didn’t have a change of clothes or a towel.”

I was given a towel instead of a uniform and put on my underwear.

I think it’s late to be seeing me naked. He should have seen it at the lake in Vanderwall. I don’t think it makes much difference if I’m not wearing a single pair of underwear. We have the same things. Thinking about this, I look down at my flimsy body. Although I’ve put on a lot of flesh, my ribs are still as prominent as ever.

……No, I take back my previous statement. I’m starting to feel that what I have on me might not be similar.

“It’s unusual for you to be bathing so early.”

It’s not even dinner yet. It’s natural to think so. It’s nothing to hide, so I tell him about being pushed into the pond in the gardens. By the way, I should add that the garden was pretty.

“It was even nicer than I thought it would be, so you should come with me sometime……Eh? Wait a minute, Percival? Where are you going!”

Percival, who was listening to me, suddenly tried to run out of the room, so I hurriedly grabbed him by the shirt and held him back.

‘I’ll protest to the Principal. Throwing you into the pond is outrageous. This is a situation that can no longer be tolerated.”

“Well, well, Percival. Let’s just calm down.”

I cleverly and calmly pat Percival’s chest, who was angry, and managed to calm down his anger.

“The water was a bit cold, but no big deal, and the water lilies were quite beautiful. Besides, I’m quite enjoying the situation.”

“I’m very uncomfortable with Sapphiras being put through this, though.”

“That’s……sorry. But the practical magic class will start soon. This is also a part of the preparation.”

Isn’t it more interesting to have a bigger gap? After saying that and showing a smile, Percival let out a small sigh and relaxed his shoulders.

“I’m weak when you make that face……but please don’t put up with it unnecessarily.”

Hm? Which face is that?

“Of course! I’m not that patient!”