CH 67

Chapter 67 - Enchantment

When Lou questioned Nadia at the Kingsley Company, he had a ‘puzzled look on his face.

“Lou!”

“N?”

“Are you…Are you seriously asking me what ‘girlfriend’ means?”

Nadia asked him one more time, but Lou really didn’t know.

“Yeah, I’m really serious. I don’t know what Nadia meant by ‘girlfriend’.”

“Yeah, what’s that?”

“Cause, you know, it’s just a third-person pronoun, right? Does it mean anything more special than a student?”

Nadia looked stunned when she heard this.

She immediately shook her head in disappointment.

“I dare say it’s really unfitting to call you, Sensei…You’re really detached from this world, you know?”

“Oh, is that so?”

“Yes, that is so! I’m pretty sure you’re not lying…I’ll tell you more about it later in a different location.”

Nadia glared lightly at Lou, but there was already a smile on her mouth.

She clenched her fists lightly and then turned to Marco.

“Uh, Marco-san…is it?”

“Ye-yes!  Nadia-sama!”

Knowing that Nadia was the daughter of an aristocrat, Marco came off a bit unfriendly, as expected.

The reason being, they had no dealings with Nadia’s family, the Viscount Charlois.

Without knowing Nadia’s personality, including her family’s culture, he could step on a minefield just by talking to her.

Seeing Marco’s nervousness, Nadia sighed.

“Enough! It’s all Lou’s fault.”

“Huh? Is it all my fault?”

“Yes! You made me miss my chance to tell everyone that I don’t like to communicate formally.”

“Sorry, sorry.”

In response to Nadia’s reprimand, Lou honestly apologized with his hands together and informed Marco of their purpose of today’s shopping.

“Marco, Nadia is looking for a magic wand for herself. Is there anything good in the store?”

Marco looked at Lou in puzzlement.

He wondered why this simple young commoner was so admired by the daughters of famous noblemen.

I can never voice this out in front of Nadia, but I really want to say it.

Whether it’s Francesca or Nadia, Lou, who the hell are you?

While Lou and Marco were talking…

Nadia interrupted when her name was mentioned.

“Um, Marco-san … you can call me Nadia. Please call me this!”

When Nadia said this seriously, Marco glanced at Lou.

An eye-contact, you could say.

For Marco, it was a signal, asking for reconfirmation if he was OK with it.

Lou nodded, smiling calmly.

That being the case, he’d better get things under control.

“I can’t call you that. How about addressing you ‘san’?”

In the end, Marco bowed his head and came to a compromise, where both agreed.

In the end…

Nadia was naturally addressed with ‘san’, and so was Lou.

“Well then, Nadia-san, please join Lou-san in the special business meeting room in the back of the room to see the items.”

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Then, half an hour later…

“With the products you currently have in our store, is there a magic wand you can recommend to Nadia-san?”

As requested, Marco took out three commodities…

There were three magic sticks and a magic wand combined on the table.

All of them were quaint wands that invoked magic to work, but none of them were overly ornate.

Nadia expressed herself in advance to avoid overly decorated wands.

The slightly shorter wand was made of rosewood. As for the two types of wands, one was made of Mithril, and the other was made of Siberian hazel.

Although Mithril was the best conductor of magic power, it was difficult to choose between all of them, so Nadia had a hard time choosing.

“Marco-san! I can’t decide! What is the price of each of the three?”

No matter how much of a nobleman’s daughter Nadia was, she wasn’t numb to money.

She also didn’t have the wasteful habit of buying everything.

“Let’s see… A rosewood magic rod costs 10 gold coins, a Mithril magic wand costs 30 gold coins, and a hazel magic wand costs 20 gold coins.”

※One gold coin in this world is about 10,000 yen.

“Hmm, that’s quite pricey. With the money I have, I think it’s a bit tight.”

Having said that, Nadia looked disappointed.

At this point, Lou inserted.

“Which one do you want the most, Nadia?”

“Um! I like that hazel magic wand, but I’m about five gold coins short. I like nuts, too.”

Nadia clucked her tongue, but she wasn’t going to buy it.

“It’s no use, my budget isn’t enough. I’m giving up.”

After some hesitation, Nadia slowly shook her head.

Marco, who was listening to the conversation between Lou and Nadia…　

He pondered for a moment and then smiled at Nadia.

“Nadia-san, is there a business association that you usually patronize?”

“Eh?! Er…well, yes.”

Nadia nodded vaguely when Marco asked her.

If she hadn’t been scheduled to meet Lou in the capital today, she would have most likely asked her good friend Giselle to arrange shopping for her wand.

She would have had a female shopkeeper from the Duke of Carpantier visit their dormitory to buy one.

There was no way Marco, a shrewd merchant, would pass up the opportunity to turn a noblewoman like Nadia into a new customer.

“I’ll give you a 5-gold-coin discount. This is our service, including the fact that Lou-san referred you to us.”

“What? R-really?”

“Yes. Does that fit into your budget?”

“Yes! It’s perfect.”

Nadia replied happily, and Lou watched her with a smile and narrowed eyes.

Nadia happily held the hazel magic wand in her hand and posed prettily.

“Does it look good on me?”

“Yeah, it looks great. Would you mind giving me your wand for a moment?”

“Sure! Here you are!”

Nadia handed the magic wand to Lou and tilted her head, wondering what exactly he was going to do with it.

“Nadia, I gave Fran a gift when we came to this store before. Unfortunately, I can’t give you the same gift, so I’d like to give you something just as good.”

“W-What? You gave Francesca-sensei a gift? Me, too?”

Lou nodded silently.

Then, after a moment of silence, he opened his mouth again.

“I’m sorry about earlier. I’ve realized that you’re a ‘girlfriend’ just like Fran, and you’re a woman I need to protect.”

“Huh?”

“Nadia, I’ll protect you, I promise.”

“So … that’s why you dared to tell me that you gave the Headmistress a gift?”

Nadia chuckled.

To treat me and Francesca-sensei as equals…A gift?

But…she’s…

I don’t think it’s just about protection…

If possible, I should be a little more specific in my love language.

But when Nadia saw the look on Lou’s face, she no longer cared about such hopes.

Lou told me that I was a ‘woman to protect’.

On top of that, Lou’s kind thought of giving her a gift was comforting to Nadia right now.

“Glad to hear it…”

Nadia turned her head slightly and muttered.

Her cheeks are flushed red.

Marco had a complicated look on his face when he saw Nadia’s reaction.

Why was Lou all she could see? It brought back some sentiment.

Lou murmured softly to a puzzled Marco.　

“I’m sorry, Marco. I need you to keep what I’m about to do to yourself.”

“A secret? Well, if Nadia is okay with it, then fine. But Lou, what are you planning to do?”

Lou only nodded and made no response to Marco’s question.

All at once, a “Phew” escaped from Lou’s mouth.

Instantly, he began a Kotodama.

“The north wind that knocks down, the south wind that gives peace, the west wind that sends solemnity, and the east wind that brings encounter ―――”

In no time at all, the air in the room became tense, and it was rapidly becoming difficult to breathe.

“O Sylph, Spirit of the Wind, who wields all the winds. Bless those whom I protect! Bless this child of the earth with all thy power!”

A gust of wind gushed out of Lou’s hand.

And with the wind came a powerful magical wave aura.

The magic wave clung to the magic wand. It shone dazzlingly for a moment, then returned to normal.

“Lou! W-What did you do to that wand?”

Nadia was stunned by the fleeting incident.

Lou smiled as he handed the wand to Nadia.

“You have the makings of a great wind wizard, but it’s essential that you connect with the Wind Spirit, Sylph, and learn about the power of the wind.”

“Commune with the Wind Spirit, Sylph:..”

“That’s right! Sylph never approached you. I think you know why.”

Yeah…

Because the devil Vine was in control of me:..

Sylph, the Wind Spirit, was avoiding me.

“But such shackles are no longer there. The wand will call upon Sylph, who will be of great assistance to you in using the power of the wind.”

Both Nadia and Marco were astonished by Lou’s declaration.

No wonder.

What Lou invoked was an incantation-enchantment.

It was also at a level that no ordinary magician could do.

Lou easily summoned the Wind Spirit, Sylph, to the scene and injected the spirit’s power into the magic wand.

Incantation or enchantments were, in a sense, similar to summoning magic.

It was as if the magician who cast the spell, and the being called upon, had their own rules and regulations based on their own reasoning.

After that, the Jutsu wouldn’t be completed until both parties come to a compromise on their respective intentions, activate it, and settle it.

It also required meticulous and careful preparation, including the date, time, location, and magical tools to be used.

However, Nadia had completely forgotten about all of this.

After the overwhemling surprise passed…

The feeling of joy that she had just experienced came back to her.

I’m so happy!

Lou will protect me! He promised!

Lou’s promise was more than enough for Nadia right now.

Nadia was overcome with emotion…

Hence, she named Lou loudly and jumped into his chest.