CH 149

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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

“Sapphiras, here.”

I was urged to sit down and I settled into the chair, properly dressed, and Percival, standing behind me, carefully wiped my hair with hands I have gotten used to.

Ever since we shared a room, it has become a matter of course for Percival to wipe my hair after bathing. I feel bad about it, but it feels so good that I end up getting spoiled.

I’m quite a carefree person, so after taking a bath, I wipe my hair just enough to prevent the water from dripping and that’s it. Since then, I’ve been under Percival’s care almost every day.

The exquisite touch on my hair felt so good that I inadvertently dozed off, and before I knew it, I was carried to my bed.

And that’s not all. If I want to make a cup of tea, he makes it before I get up, and even the laundry I’ve washed and hung out to dry is folded and put away in the chest before I know it.

It’s not that I don’t do anything, I’m not sloppy!

It’s probably because he’s been going on expeditions with his brothers since he was a little and doing everything by himself. Anyway, he’s very careful and deft with his work. I thought he was a caring man from the beginning, but he was actually very caring.

He has a good face and good swordsmanship. On top of that, he does everything flawlessly. I am a fortunate person because I promised a future with such a capable man. That’s why, as a fortunate person, I will never let Percival feel like he’s cramped or inconvenienced.

“Oh, yes. Does Percival know a man called Caleb Blanchette?”

‘Blanchette?……I believe he’s the second son of the Duke of DeGeneres.”

“DeGe……neres?”

“Aah. The DeGeneres ducal family is the family to whom the King’s sister of this country was married.”

As expected of Percival. You can rely on him to know about the nobles of other countries.

“I see. So he is of royal blood.”

Just as I thought. It’s reasonable to send their second son, who doesn’t have to worry about successorship, to drop me1俺を落す literally means to ‘drop me’ but in slang, it means to capture someone like a prey to become their girlfriend/boyfriend. I decided to use the literal translation cos ‘capture me’ doesn’t sound nice.. Moreover, he’s the second son of a family close to the royal family. It’s obvious that they’re after my magic.

“What’s wrong with Blanchette-dono? He’s in a different year from us, so I don’t think we have any connection.”

“Well, since yesterday’s lunch, he’s been coming to me. He seems to want to get close to me.”

Percival’s hand stops wiping my hair.

“……Percival?”

I turned and looked up to see Percival’s brow wrinkled deeply. He probably thought the same thing I did. The question is whether he knows about my relationship with Percival. If he doesn’t know, I guess it can’t be helped. He’s someone close to the Crown Prince, so I don’t think he’d contact me without any information. If that’s the case, isn’t this a clear side-step on Sternkurst’s part against Vanderwall? Or do they think it won’t be a problem because I’m a commoner?

“I think we should return to our country right away. In the first place, His Excellency was going to refuse to study abroad from the start. There is no obligation to associate with this country.”

“Mmm……originally I should have done that. However, including the issue of the beast flute, what should I say……intuition? I have a feeling that something is going on in this country. I don’t know what it is, but I really want to make sure of something.”

“Something?”

“Yeah, something.”

Yes. I feel something about this country that I don’t quite understand. Something about it bothers me and makes me feel strangely unsettled.

For example, when you enter an unexplored ruin, there is a strong feeling that there is something there, whether what is hidden is treasure or danger. And that intuition is right nine out of ten times.

In my case, even though I had this intuition, I often got myself hurt when I jumped defenceless into something I didn’t understand. When I know something is there, I have to see it with my own eyes. Disposition is terrifying.

I think my inarticulate explanation somehow got through to him, since he said that people with Belisario blood in their veins have a kind of intuition.

In any case, when I said that I wanted to stay in this country for a while longer because I had a feeling that something was going on, Percival thought about it with a difficult expression on his face.

“That’s right! Let’s have lunch tomorrow at the cafeteria in Creare. That way I won’t have to deal with that guy Caleb, and Percival can eat in peace. Even though we’re studying abroad, our school registration is in Creare, so eating lunch in the cafeteria shouldn’t be a problem, right?”

“Aah, I don’t see a problem with it.”

“Then it’s settled! We’ll meet up here tomorrow after morning classes!”

Right, right. We can eat our meals at Creare. I don’t know why I didn’t realise that before. I can have a leisurely lunch with Percival, avoiding any troublesome people, and if the timing is right, we can meet Clawis and the others.

I’m suddenly looking forward to lunch tomorrow!

“Good morning, Crawler! I’m glad yesterday was uneventful!”

After breakfast with Percival, I go back to my room and stroke Crawler, who is on watch. It’s still smooth and nice to the touch.

Even though important things are in Percival’s room, I summoned Crawler just in case a suspicious person enters. It would be troublesome if I was attacked in my sleep and found out that I wasn’t using the room, and it would be a bit of a nuisance if they threw a dead magical beast rat into the room to harass me.

Now then, I wonder what those guys who were waiting for me to come out of the garden yesterday are looking like. I head to the classroom in high spirits.

“Good morning.”

I enter the classroom as if nothing had happened, and all the guys in question are staring at me.There was also a hint of confusion mixed in, and they were whispering to each other.

They probably thought I’d come to class in a soggy, mud-stained uniform, but too bad! If anything, it looks crisper than before, thanks to having been washed and magically dried.

These guys must have been waiting forever for me, who had long since gone back to my room for a relaxing bath. I don’t know how long they’ve been waiting, but it’s hard work.

Even though I was pleasantly bathed in piercing stares, I pretended to be expressionless, laughed out loud in my heart, and took my seat. When I arrived at my seat with a big smile on my face, he was sitting next to me with his fists clenched in his lap and shaking slightly.

I don’t know whether it’s regret or guilt that’s in his heart at the moment, but I don’t feel any anger or resentment.

“If it’s about yesterday, don’t worry about it.”

I said this to him while looking forward so that they wouldn’t know that I was talking to him, the shoulders of the guy next to me shook in surprise.

He overlaps with the me before I remembered my previous life, so I want to do something about it, but unlike me, he’s a nobleman. Even if I protect him temporarily, as long as he is a nobleman, he will not be able to escape the troublesome fence. Well, I think the situation will improve a lot if he grows up, but……

“Come to think of it, the practical magic class will start today. I’m looking forward to seeing Liam-sama’s magic.”

One of the ladies who had been staring at me spoke loudly.

“It’s no doubt Liam-sama’s domain. There is no one in this school who can use magic better than Liam-sama.”

“I agree. I’m sure Blanchette-sama will also take notice of Liam-sama’s wonderful magic.”

Is the blonde who’s being lifted up and smiling proudly called Liam? On my first day of school, he was the first to drop the book. Yesterday, he didn’t say anything and acted arrogantly. He probably has the highest family rank in this class. In that case, he must have learned magic to some extent before coming to the academy, so in fact he must be reasonably skilled.

I’ve heard that the practical magic class is a class in which teams work together to subjugate pseudo-magical beasts. Originally, I should have considered each student’s magic skill and formed a well-balanced group.

Group huh……

With my cheek in my hand, I looked at the excited people in the front seat.

The magic instructor instructed us to form groups as we moved to the magic training area. The instructor is an excellent magician dispatched from the royal palace. His magic skills may be top-notch, but he doesn’t know anything about this class. I thought that I could leave it to the autonomy of the students to form a decent group, but sure enough.

Before I could call on anyone in the class, the groups were already formed, and me and the guy sitting next to me were left out of the group.

“Could any of the groups take them in?”

No one answers the instructor’s question. The guys in question are looking at me with smirks on their faces, so this situation must have been set up by them. Some students look at us with pity, but most of them keep us out of sight.

“Sensei. I’m fine with just the two of us.”

“……Is that so? Though it might be a bit difficult with just the two of you.”

“I’ve had classes with pseudo-magical beasts at Creare.”

The opponent was actually a giant magical beast serpent.

For the time being, the instructor agreed with this formation, saying that if anything happened, he would immediately assist.

For me, it’s not a problem at all, but it’s actually convenient, but the guy next to me has a completely pale face. Even if it’s fake, I guess he’s never seen a magical beast before.

“You don’t have to worry. No matter how many fake magical beasts we have for class, the two of you are more than enough.”

“Eh……?”

I winked at him.

melon: Hi guys, we are like 10 chapters away from catching up with the raws. Yay!