CH 51

51 Magic Unsealing Ceremony is Solemn And

“Calm down, okay? Nothing that you’re worrying about is going to happen.” Kevin said, trying to soothe me on the way back to our mansion.

“I expected a slightly unique answer from Young Master, but… ‘love from my heart’ is truly… Young Master-like answer.”

“What’s wrong with that?! Do you mean that by answering that my head is filled with stuff like romance only?” I exclaimed, somewhat feeling incensed.

I mean, even Frederick told me that I used the word ‘love’ a little bit too much, then Luke called me a man whose brain was filled with romance. Even Elliot made fun of me by saying that my head was filled with flower gardens. Therefore, it was natural that I was slightly incensed.

I mean, from where did they get that impression of me?! Did they really think that the only thing I have ever thought about was romance related?!

I just wanted to show a part of me that in my previous life I had never gotten the chance to show before alright?! You never knew what was gonna happen in your life after all, so showing your love to the people you love is important!

Moreover, I was afraid that I might become a man that wouldn’t have a girlfriend when I grow up if I let Muriel go. I mean, I might have inherited my father’s handsome face and all, but relying on that alone to secure a girlfriend for myself might be fatal.

I mean, look, the people around me were very handsome too. Especially the rangers, particularly Elliot and Frederick. Those two were on another whole level together. That was why I always felt like I was a normal boy around them.

Anyhow, I definitely didn’t want to break my past life’s record of ‘having no girlfriend for years’. Since I didn’t get the chance in my previous life, I was definitely going to enjoy my springtime of youth in this one.

I won’t even care even if you call me a lolicon, okay? I’m definitely not going to die a vir*gin this time. Not a chance!

Still, when I recalled the young girls in the second-half of their teens, I couldn’t help but wish for a lover. And it might have been the influence of my age or what not, but I wished to have an adorable girlfriend who was of similar age as me.

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As for an older girlfriend… Well, they were something that expired fast anyway, so a girlfriend of the same age was much better. And Muriel was the most adorable girl I knew around my age.

Her smile… so fluffy that it healed my tired mind every time I saw it… her teary eyes when I played a prank on her… her bright smile when she received my gift… I love all of it.

Wait a minute, is this what they meant by ‘head filled with romance’?!

“What are you talking about? You’re misunderstanding the point here.” Kevin, who might have already guessed what I was thinking about just now, denied with a dumbfounded expression on his face.

“The matter about Young Master’s care for the people around you is something that we have long since known about. Your parents and siblings aside, there’s also Miss Muriel and His Highness Frederick. That’s why Young Master’s remark has weight behind it, and I think Bishop-sama also feels the same way as me.”

“It’s only natural to take care of those around you, right? It’s not exactly something praiseworthy.” I said with a matter of fact tone.

However, instead of agreeing, Kevin and Richard exchanged a meaningful smile and said incomprehensible sentences.

“Well… Young Master is Young Master after all. That’s enough for us.”

“Yes. Theodore-sama is Theodore-sama.”

I am being myself? What are they talking about? I tilted my head in confusion, but then decided to let it go. After all, they were trying to cheer me up, so I guess I just had to stop worrying about this matter.

Besides… it wasn’t like it was something to worry about in the end.

◇

It was a clear and sunny day when the Magic Unsealing Ceremony was held this year.

At this time, I had gone with my father and mother towards the Grand Temple. Meanwhile, Wendy and Chester were both house-sitting for now.

They were not allowed to bring them along, and no matter how long they bawled and asked, the fact would not change. They were still too young. Furthermore we were not going for a picnic either. As such, they were left back at the mansion.

Right. It was the same case with me too. At that time, when Richard was going through his own Magic Unsealing Ceremony, I was also left behind and not allowed to accompany them to see it. It was still not allowed even though Richard’s ceremony was done in the temple in our – Goldberg’s – own territory.

Anyway, after our father persuaded them – by telling them that their turn would come when they reached ten years old – they finally agreed, albeit with reluctance.

Seeing this, somehow I felt that it was a custom for every parent here to coax their children in that way.

Well, that aside, we finally reached the temple. When we did and after we filled the entry list at the entrance, we were guided through the praying hall that I visited before into the inner part of the building.

It seemed, the Magic Unsealing Ceremony was going to be performed in this place.

And as I walked forward, I saw a solemn majestic gate standing at the end of the passage. Furthermore, it was guarded by priests armed with spears standing on both sides of the gate.

“Son of Marquis Goldberg, Theodore-dono.”

The person who guided us announced to the priests on guard, then the guards opened the gate for us.

Upon entering the place, we were greeted with a huge hall.

On the front, there was the statue of the Six Gods and the Saint lining up next to one another. And in the center of the hall was a stage with a huge gem placed on it with some sort of magic circle engraved there.

In addition, there were around thirty chairs prepared in the frontmost seats with only children sitting there.

They were children who came from the Viscount Family and above. Aside from those seats, there were seats arranged around the stone stage, which I assumed were prepared for the visitors who would witness the Magic Unsealing Ceremony.

Wait a minute. Is this… a concert hall or something?!

Well, though the audience’s seats were arranged like mortar with three different levels of height, the scale wasn’t that big, so it couldn’t really be called a concert hall I guessed.

“Well then, you may go straight towards the stone stage, Theodore-sama. Marquis and Marchioness Goldberg, please follow this person.” The guide urged me to go straight to the stage while simultaneously directing my parents to follow another person to their seats.

“It’s okay, Theodore. Just act like your usual self.”

“Do your best, Theodore. Mother is watching.”

My father didn’t doubt me like usual while my mother was trying to cheer me up. Seeing them acting like this, a wry smile unintentionally leaked out of me as I said, “Yes, Father, Mother. I shall go now.”

I waved my hands toward them as I followed my guide. The person guided me to the second seat from the left end of the front-most row. And right behind that seat was Muriel.

When I saw her, I lightly waved my hand towards her, smiling brightly at the sight of her. Of course, Muriel also waved back to me with her gentle healing smile.

A~ah, how adorable~. I mused to myself, smitten. However, I was quite amazed to find that the one who was sitting on her right-side were the green-haired girl (Oriana) and the green-haired boy (Luke). Still, as this was an important occasion, I suppressed my shock and simply smiled at them. After all, it wasn’t like I’m so damn jealous of them. Nope, nada, sire. Not jealous at all here~.

I sat in my assigned seat for a while, then soon after, the red-haired girl (Ramona Garnet) was guided to sit on my left side while Katrina was guided to sit on my right.

Elliot, the crown prince, was guided last and was seated on Katrina’s right at the center of the formation.

It seems we are sitting according to our house’s peerage.

At this time, no one was saying anything. Perhaps everyone was as nervous as me?

Amidst the tense atmosphere, I could hear the sound of footsteps resounding in the hall. A man, donned in splendid robe, appeared followed by several priests. And they only stopped walking once they arrived in front of the Saint’s statue that stood in the middle.

It was someone that I had met before, Blue’s (Simeon’s) father, Bishop Cobalt.

“To everyone who is turning ten this year, I give you my congratulations. I, Bishop Morris Cobalt, will be the one who leads this ceremony. I’ll be looking forward to working with you. After this, we’re going to perform a ceremony to unleash the magical power sleeping within you, but there are a few points you have to know before that.”

After that opening, Bishop Cobalt started his explanation.

First, while it might be true that our magical power would be released, we must by no means try it immediately without any supervision. Second, we needed to report immediately in case we felt uncomfortable.

“Although we’re not lacking some reckless fools, who tried to invoke a spell as soon as their magical power got unsealed, we implore you to not follow their example since those people immediately collapsed after casting a spell since they ran out of mana. I believe that you’re not one of those fools, but just in case, don’t embarrass yourself.”

Bishop Cobalt was smiling as he said so, as if he was teasing us. And for some reason, I got this feeling that he couldn’t wait to see who’s the next idiot amongst us. Wait… his eyes were… serious? Ah, so the number of idiots who did that despite being given those warnings were quite big, eh?

“In addition, some people aren’t used to magical power. Thus, for that reason, some of you might need some training first to allow your body to become more familiar with mana. That’s why, do speak to the priest closest to you as soon as you feel uncomfortable. Don’t worry, you can trust us, we’re professionals.”

I see. Is it because we will feel more sensation in our body after this ceremony?

“And lastly. This is the most important one.” He paused for a moment and looked at everyone.

“Never reveal your attribute to anyone else. Make sure that you protect that information. Understood? It’s personal information that you should never tell anyone. After all, though your attribute can be seen the moment you use your spell, there’s no need for you to speak about it. I think everyone understands this point well, right?”

Disclosure of personal information, eh? He’s right. If it’s someone of our status, there’s a possibility that we’ll use it for trivial matters, but there’s no need to disclose it.

“Well then, let’s begin. Everyone, don’t leave your seat.”

Bishop Cobalt then stood on the tip of the hexagram and spread his arms, chanting some sort of prayer. The other priests, who were all standing on the hexagram, were also chanting along with the bishop.

Suddenly, the ground beneath their feet started to shine. And then, a shining magic circle rose up in the air before passing through our bodies.

The moment it did, I felt something was ‘clicking’ in my body.

Then, the shining magic circle rose up above our heads and spun around. Moments later, it dispersed into particles of light, gone.

…………

What the… is that all?! I had expected something special, but… there was absolutely nothing. 

E~h?! I screamed in my mind. At that time…

“Well then, now it’s time to measure everyone’s attributes.” Bishop Cobalt said, directing an impish smile to all of us.

… Eh? Did I just… get deceived?