Chapter 32

Published

at 28th of March 2020 05:57:51 PM

Chapter 32

reuz von Solisthea . He’s the second son of the Duke of Solisthea, and being the Magic Academy’s top student, he’s been dubbed as a genius magician . He is calm and collected but seemed to only be interested in magic research to the point of turning a blind eye and pretending not to notice his own House’s internal squabble, and spending all of his time on his research .

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Ultimately, it was all background noise to him, who wasn’t interested in succeeding his father’s t.i.tle . His interest lied in magic, as he was a researcher in the pursuit of knowledge . And, as such, he will continue to seek wisdom even if this long-cherished ambition ends up destroying him in the end, is what he seriously thought .

Though he was currently buried under a large number of books .

“… It’s not going well . Just what the h.e.l.l am I missing?”

He was investigating magic formulas . Naturally, he also studies other disciplines such as magic potions brewing, however, this was his area of expertise .

The pursuit of knowledge was both his raison d’être and hobby . In short, he was a research otaku .  

With well-ordered facial features and silver hair resembling his mother’s, he was a  good-looking youth . He had gla.s.ses that suited the cool-headed impression he gave off, but even though he may seem apathetic on the surface, he earned the good faith and trust from the people around him, causing him to be on the end of the pa.s.sionate gazes of his many fans whenever they saw him . Putting it plainly, he was a riajuu*

(*T . N: リア充; a normie; a person who is satisfied with their real (offline) life . )

Be that as it may, this was the perspective other people had of him, and if one were to ask the person in question, he would completely deny it .  

In any case, given that he knew his elder brother would be the one inheriting the position of the next family head, today as well, he was burning up with the pa.s.sion to do what he really loved, that is to say, magic research . In addition, it was a pitiful story, that even though, at the moment, other people were having a dispute over who will succeed his father’s t.i.tle, things like political power didn’t tickle his fancy at all .

His evaluation towards his own family was also quite low and were he return home, a doting mother and a philanderer father would be expecting him in there . His elder brother had grown foolish and ill-mannered over the past few years, and his mother started to see herself only as Kreuz’s mother’s friend* .

(*T . N: that sentence was too ambiguous . I thought Kreuz and Zweit were twins tho, but to me, this sentence makes more sense this way than to say ‘Zweit’s mother only thought of herself as a friend of herself;その母親は自分の母親の友人としか認識していなかった。)  

His grandfather was a respectable personage, but his favoritism towards Kreuz’s incompetent little sister also played part in his low evaluation . As he was also born in a family that hailed from a long line of magicians, he took no interest in Celestina, who couldn’t use magic . Even though they were raised together, he continued to treat her like air . Something that hasn’t changed even to this day .  

However, he couldn’t have expected that he would need to correct some of his evaluations now . That is because he stayed locked up in his room for two months, and of the previously mentioned, three weeks in the laboratory a.s.signed by the Academy . In addition, he also had no concern for things like gossips in the first place . Though, one could say he was a severe hikikomori .

Currently, he was researching magic formula deciphering methods . Kreuz held doubts regarding the interpretation taught by the Academy of things like magic characters and magic formulas, so he decided to get into the heart of the matter using his own . That is…

“Each individual magic character doesn’t possess a meaning on its own, they only make sense when they are put together . If this hypothesis is correct, it will certainly explain why all previous studies on this subject have failed…”

He thought that magic formulas were things similar to command words . Up until now, the established theory was that each magic character had a meaning on its own and that, from the series of characters a magic formula was composed of, mana was smoothly drawn and transformed into a physical phenomenon .

However, there were, occasionally, odd magic formulas that completely failed to work despite being correctly activated .  

If said theory was correct, a magic formula should still activate and give some sort of reaction even if the magic characters used didn’t make any sense

It was common knowledge that within the magic characters, there were some that determined the spell’s attribute, but if it didn’t work, it meant that the mana itself wasn’t flowing through the formula .  

He believed in the contents of the lessons, and so he compared a magic formula that didn’t work with one that activated normally, finding out that only one small section of the formula was different .

He painstakingly selected a list of common magic characters between both formulas, as well as magic formulas with other magic attributes, leaving behind the unintelligible parts . As a result, it turned out that this magic formula had been modified many generations ago, which, made him draw the inference that modern magicians had completely destroyed the magic from the past . And, at the same time, it made him come up with the notion of using the magic characters to form ‘words’ that represented a physical phenomenon .

For instance, the wind element . This magic attribute is seen in many sections across this list and so, he thought that it was the magic formula that determined the attribute change of the spell itself, and the rest of the common magic characters between the two are things that regulate the spell’s control and power .  

(*T . N: It legit took me like 2 whole hours to get these two paragraphs . )

He worked on his own on a thorough investigation of this topic, recording everything and compiling it into an essay .  

However, it lacked persuasion as there wasn’t any supporting evidence . The magicians belonging to the Saint-Germain faction will surely acknowledge it, but the other factions will criticize that point, using it as an excuse to hide and bury his research .  

In this current situation, where the factions are constantly trying to pull each other’s legs, Kreuz couldn’t carelessly publish his essay .  

He abruptly stands up but frowns because of the pain that a.s.saulted him after being sat in a chair for too long .  

“Ugh… Speaking of which, I don’t even remember how long I’ve been sitting here for . ”

“You also said the same thing yesterday, right? Just how immersed in yourself can you be, Kreuz-kun?”

When he turns his eyes towards the voice that called him out, he sees a dog-eared woman resting up on the sofa nearby with a blanket on top .

“Yi Ling . When did you intrude? I didn’t realize at all . ”

(*T . N:イー・リン; according to weblio, it’s a chinese name written in katakana . Without the dot in the middle, it’d be Erin . )

“Ehh? How mean~  I called out to you just in case, you know? You’re the one who didn’t notice . ”

With a chestnut-colored, messy bed hair, and a friendly smile on her face, she’s a researcher, who joined Kreuz’s faction at the same time as him .

(*T . N: The term used here is 同期[douki] which is often used to refer to people who entered a company in the same year, so like, colleagues . )

She’s a mixed-race born between a human and a beastman[獣人族], and in addition, she possesses an innate high mana capacity, as well as being one of the Academy’s most outstanding students with the highest grades .  

Originally, The beastmen race is one not very adept at magic, however, the opposite was true for her, magic being one of her strong points .   

“It’s not praiseworthy for a woman of marriageable age to intrude alone into a man’s room, you know?”

“It’s alright, I trust you, Kreuz-kun . ”

“I’m honored . ”

“Um… Well, they told me that when it’s my first time I should properly use contraceptives, though . ”

“What kind of trust is that…”

Kreuz heaves a tired sigh . He might be a riajuu, but more than that, he was an unsociable person .  

The two talked about the lessons’ contents and the like for a while, however…

“Speaking of which, Kreuz-kun, you had a younger sister called Celestina, right?”

For some reason, the topic of his stepsister comes out .

(*T . N: 腹違い[harachigai] in specific a sibling born from a different mother . )

In all honesty, to him, it had been a very pleasant conversation… until that moment…

“That’s correct, but why do you ask?”

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“I heard that she couldn’t use magic, is that true?”

“Ehh, well, when I was young, I was told she didn’t have any talent for magic . What about it?”

“That girl… She’s now one of the top students in terms of average grades . She’s becoming a powerful magician, almost as if that story about her being unable to use magic were a lie . ”

The book he was casually holding between his hands falls to the ground with a loud clang .  

“… Are you sure you’re not mistaken? I doubt she’d be able to pretend like that…”

“What I heard is that she went on some sort of training trip towards Far-flung forest, together with your elder brother . ”

“No, that can’t be correct . My brother hated her guts . ”

“But like~, recently the two have been regularly in the library investigating something, you know? And it seems like it’s a really complicated topic, because, like I had no idea what they were talking about . ”

At least to Kreuz, his brother, Zweit, didn’t seem like the kind of person to get along with Celestina . Rather, he remembers that since they were young, Zweit was the one to take the initiative to bully her .

There seemed to be a discrepancy between Kreuz’s memory, and the story she told about his siblings .

“Did he have some sort of change of heart? But still, I don’t think it’s likely that their relationship improved to that degree . ”

“That’s why~, like I looked into it, and it seems it’s true . They like, stay cooped up inside the library from the afternoon until its closing time, you know? The two of them…”

(*T . N: yes, she says ‘like’ in every sentence) 

“… How weird . To be honest, the two can do whatever they want for all I care, but it doesn’t add up that they’re working together . It’s unnatural . ”

“The two of them secretly… No way! They have a forbidden relationship!?”

“How did the story even get there? No, I think something must’ve happened back home . ”

In response to Kreuz’s calm tone of voice, Yi Ling said, “Aren’t ya a gloomy guy, Kreuz-kun?” He was slightly hurt .  

“Well~, also the person in charge of the library said that you have to return the books you borrowed as soon as possible, okay?”

“ ・・・・・・・ Now that you mention it, I’ve been borrowing these books for a long time now . I’ll go return them…”

“Why do you look so tired, though?”

“The books I borrowed are… It’s because, that pile of books over there are all the books I borrowed . ”

“You… You’ll probably need a dolly cart . ”

Where Kreuz pointed at, there was a huge pile of books stacked from the floor all the way up to the ceiling, and they looked like they could collapse at any time .

“I sometimes use this room as a place to stay, but well, will you give me a hand with this?”

“Ehh~… With these many books? How many times do you think we’ll have to go back and forth?”

“Let’s see . With a dolly… at least ten times?”

“Ah… I just remembered I had a previous engagement, so…”

Kreuz grabs Yi Ling’s arm when she was about to escape .  

“You’ll help me… right?”

“If you stare at me so closely… I’ll get embarra.s.sed…”

“Your face is cramping up a little, you know? By the way, your answer?”

With a smile, Kreuz presses her for an answer while emitting a menacing aura around him . Yi Ling flinches while trying to step back, but ultimately, she couldn’t escape with him grasping her arm .  

“Noooo~!! I can’t do it ten times~! I-I’ll break!!”

“You’ll be fine . You have more stamina than me . ”

“Noo! nowaynowaynoway~~! Nooo w~~~aaa~~yyyy!!” 

She was so reluctant, that she rampages around, trying to shake free from Kreuz’s grasp . But there was no way he would let go of his previous manpower .  

As they struggle with one another, they end up falling over onto the sofa .

““・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・””

They wound up in a position as if they were about to start having a ‘love affair’, intently looking at each other’s eyes . For some reason, time flows in silence . It was unclear whether it was a minute or a second, but an awkward silence pa.s.sed between the two .  

“W-Wha… What the h.e.l.l are you guys doing?”

“Heeyyyy~ Kreuz . Can you do me a favo…r… ah…aaahhhh!?”

“Selina!? Makarov!?”

And so, their love scene was seen .  

“Kreuz-kun, I thought I knew you, but it looks like I was wrong…”

“S-So you guys were in that kind of relationship…”

““You’re wrong!!”” 

“B-By the way, y-you’re unexpectedly tough . Doing it ten times… Even if you have beastmen blood flowing through your veins, as I thought, you might break, Yi Ling…”

“What!? Kreuz, you b.a.s.t.a.r.d! How can you say you don’t have any interest in women when we just caught you getting laid!”

He was greatly misunderstood .  

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Selina blushing further incited the misunderstanding, and on the other hand, Makarov was tightly making a fist while shedding tears of blood .  

“It’s a misunderstanding . I was just asking her to help me bring back the books to the library, and then…”

“Then you pushed her down so strongly that she unconsciously blurted out ‘so hot’, right!? you f.u.c.ker!!”

“T-That’s not the case! It really was just an accident . ”

“Ehh… an ‘accident’, is it? An accident of youth…… Um, are you using contraceptives, right?”

““…You’re not listening . ””

As the misunderstanding deepened and they began to run loose, it took them around three hours to desperately calm down and correct the delusions of those two . Both Kreuz and Yi Lin ended up with extremely tired . And, although they more or less understood…

“Ehh… I get it . So, you want to keep it a secret? Don’t worry, despite how I look, I’m an adult woman, so…”

“Oi Kreuz . I’ll forgive you for today! But you’re telling me everything later, okay? In GREAT detail, you understand!?”

…They said that before leaving . The misunderstanding wasn’t cleared up at all .  

The next morning, rumors began to spread about the two becoming lovers, and even their relationship was given official recognition inside the Saint-Germain faction .  

At the Istor Magic Academy, marriage between students is allowed, and there are many married couples that attend there .  

Because of a certain person’s jealousy, the two seemed unable to resolve the misunderstanding .

No one knew how it would turn out for these two people, but at least, Yi Ling herself didn’t seem at all unhappy about the rumors .  

After Kreuz said he was staying in his room, no one saw him for four days . And, in any case, it seemed that returning back the books will be delayed for a while .  

A few days later, Kreuz went to the library*… Well, to be precise, he went to the Great Library* located within the Academy grounds, but due to its sheer size, it was simply called ‘library’ for convenience’s sake .  

(*T . N: first it’s called as 書庫[shoko] using the kanji for warehouse, and then it’s called 大図書館[daitoshokan] with the kanji for mansion . So, it’s like the difference between your local school’s library and the Congress’ . )

The reason is, of course, the borrowed books that hadn’t been returned . He could only sigh at the prospect of making round trips from his lab to the Great Library for several days to return all the books .  

He’s always been the indoor type, and so, he’s never been the sort of person to want play outside . In his leisure time, he always reads a book while enjoying a cup of black tea . Therefore, he always spews complaints like ’a troublesome season has come’ every year when it was time for the combat training event, organized by the upper-grade students, which would be held in the near future .  

He was seriously contemplating whether he should boycott the event given that he didn’t want to be bothered by things other than his research .  

Because he’s tall, he looked like he had high stamina, however, he was completely useless when it came to sports . His reluctance to even go return the books showed how hardcore his desire to stay at home was . He didn’t even want to think about a situation where he had to go monster hunting in the name of combat training, but as the Academy’s top student, he wasn’t in a position where he could plainly refuse to go .  

Some rumors also suggest that he has a sharp and brilliant mind, excellent grades, transcendent beauty, he’s good at sports, and comes from a family of good social standing . In short, an Übermensch, though none of these rumors were based in reality…

*** You are reading on https://www.novelhall.com/ ***

Of course, they didn’t know he was a mere hikikomori, which would greatly damage his reputation if it came to be known . Still, most of the male students directed gazes full of envy towards him…  

*** You are reading on https://www.novelhall.com/ ***