CH 43.1

43.1 Japanese is Complex

Luke and I followed Oriana to the Royal Capital’s Magic Tool Research Institute, which was located on the outer wall of the royal capital. Compared to the royal castle, the building was less ornamental, but the elegant craftsmanship it had was in harmony with the building around it. From just a look, it seemed that this building had its own history.

Uwaa, I end up being overwhelmed since this is the first time I visited such facilities.

While I was dazzled by the sight, Oriana called out to me, snapping me back to here and now. After waiting for a while in the receptionist desk of the facility, finally someone came to meet us. His face was very familiar.

It was Trevor; the slender man with glasses that I met back then in Bates’ store.

“What are you doing here, Trevor-san?” Luke asked.

“Hey, Luke… Oh, whoops. I mean, greetings, Luke-sama. I have an errand in this place. To send a certain piece of data from the mage’s department. Well, I’ll go to the store now since I’ve got some luggage from the research institute―― is what I want to say, but it seems my bad habit is coming out again.”

“He~, is that related to research too? Ah, good day to you.”

“My, if it isn’t Theodore-sama. Good day to you too. And, yes, it’s―― as you say.”

“It’s fine, you know. Just talk to us normally.”

“That won’t do. Ah… nevermind, I shall accept your offer. Bates has been busy with his research, so I guess I shall bring him some refreshment.”

“Please do so, and thanks for always helping him in that regard.” Luke said even as he offered a wry smile to Trevor for the trouble he went through for his idol.

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“Really, you don’t seem like a noble, Theodore-sama. This is the first time I see such care from a noble such as you.”

Hearing his comments, I had no choice but to smile wryly. It seemed that my habit from my previous life kicked in.

“Well, since I’m in a hurry, I shall excuse myself here. I’ll be waiting for your visit in the store.”

“Ah, Trevor-san, I came upon a hint for the clarification of ancient language etched on that.”

Trevor’s gait immediately came to a stop and he turned around the moment Luke’s remark fell.

“WHAT?! TE-” Trevor cut off his words, face crumpling in disappointment when he realized something. “Ah, sorry, I really want to ask, but it’s about time for my appointment. Please wait for me! I’ll be back soon and ask you again at that time!”

Trevor then left, dismay very apparent from his gait. In the meantime, after seeing him off, we were guided into the chief’s office.

◇

We were greeted by a gentle-looking middle aged man when we entered the room. And he might be the chief, Count Sphene. But… the atmosphere he was exuding was unexpectedly different from Oriana.

“Welcome, Oriana, Luke, and Theodore-dono. Thank you very much for always getting along with Oriana. I’m the chief, Charlie Sphene. Nice to meet you.”

After exchanging greetings with him, we sat in the seat that Count Sphene had indicated for us. Once seated, Luke immediately started talking without beating around the bush.

“Count Sphene, please take a look at this. These are the pieces of characters that were etched on the tiara and the cane. These letters literally resemble each other and according to His Highness Frederick, these letters read as Selendia…”

Luke’s voice got smaller and smaller as he spoke.

Ah, he finally noticed, huh. I meant, Count Sphene had been squinting his eyes while repeatedly nodding his head ever since Luke began to speak after all. How could he not notice?

“Uhm, Count Sphene, perchance, do you already know about this?”

“The rows of similar letters and the letter ‘Selendia’ are one of the most important parts for the royal family after all.”

I see… he actually wants to test the children of how far we are progressing… I realized, sympathetically patting Luke’s shoulder since it looked like he was feeling down right now. Don’t mind it, buddy. They’ve been in this area for far longer than any of us after all.

“These ancient letters, even the vertical ones, were etched in some other antique objects too after all. Well, though it’s impossible for the research institute or mage department to research this topic since it’s not our specialty. Researching ancient letters is an extremely troublesome task after all. However, as expected of Luke, for you to be able to arrive at this conclusion by yourself is a sign that you have a bright future ahead of you. It makes me want to recruit you to this place.”

“Please spare me the flattery. The one who finds out about the similarities between the letters is Theodore after all.”

Count Sphene’s eyes widened, unable to stop himself from showing his shock when he heard Luke say that I was the one who found out about the similarities.

“The problem now is the meaning of those letters, but Theodore also said that it should be a love confession of the six gods. I mean, love confession carved on something has always been a tradition of some sort since ancient times after all.”

“… Amazing… to be able to understand that far.”

Count Sphene spoke with an admiring tone that made me embarrassed.

I absolutely won’t tell him that I ‘understand’ that it’s a love confession because I could read it since I knew the language from the memories of my previous life. Nope. Absolutely not.

“So, it really is a confession of love?!” Luke asked, seemingly bracing himself for the most unexpected truth, one that he didn’t quite want to believe in. However, Count Sphene nodded his head, as if to confirm Luke’s worries.

Then, Count Sphene fell silent for a while. He looked hesitant about something before he opened his mouth.

“I think we might be able to decipher the letters thanks to Trevor’s effort. But… No, let’s forget about it for now. Anyhow, according to Trevor’s conclusion, the saint’s ornament might have started again when the ancient letters were spoken by the descendants of the six gods.”

Then, Count Sphene began to talk. According to him, the five houses – including mine – and the royal family – as the sixth house – were granted the Saint’s Ornament by the previous king. And that also marked us as the descendants of the six gods.

It seemed, from the stories, the previous king said that the late king saw the letters and names carved on the Saint’s ornament and decided that it should be awarded to the descendants of the six gods. Which then brought us to this present era, in which the descendants of those six gods wanted to find a way to recover its power.

As for the reason, it turned out that the Saint’s ornaments were an important part to seal the demon king. Alas, though the Saint’s ornaments might have gone to the five houses, many nobles were apparently very dissatisfied with such a decision.

Everything sounds really troublesome indeed. I concluded in my mind.

“So, Trevor-san came with a result, eh? Is it for the entire passage of the ancient letters? What’s the accurate pronunciation for it I wonder?” Luke asked Count Sphene without pause, completely disregarding the difference between their status. Oriana, who had kept her mouth shut since she entered, looked visibly surprised upon seeing Luke’s action.

“It definitely sounds like a confession of love. As for the pronunciation, let’s see…”

Count Sphene took a piece of a paper and started reading it carefully with a stutter as he tried to enunciate it correctly.

“This is the sentence carved on the tiara. I don’t know what the sentence etched in the Saint’s Cane is since it is kept by the mage’s department after all. Anyway, this one read as 『Waga kataki no Serendia ni, Gorudias Yori Shinjitsu no Zouo wo Sasageru(ワガカタキノせれんでぃあニ、ごるでぃあすヨリシンジツノゾウオヲササグ)』”

[TL: I, Goldias offering my true hatred to my nemesis, Selendia]

… WHAT?! The words pronounced by Count Sphene just now are definitely Japanese. Well, though he stuttered when he spoke, there was no mistake. It’s definitely Japanese! The problem now is the wording… the content was completely different from what was carved onto the ornaments! I mean, what the hell is up with those curse-like words filled with resentment?!

“It… It sounds sini~ster for some reason. Everyone said it should be a love confession, but… it doesn’t sound like that in my heart for some reaso~n.”

Oriana muttered, voicing out her impression and I was awed. Her intuition was spot on.

This girl really has a sharp intuition, eh? Wait, fu*ck, now isn’t the time to admire her unexpected talent!