CH 60

60  True Love to Whom?

After I showcased my magic, everyone also queued up to show their magic in turn.

The one who came after me was Luke. He (Green) glanced at me briefly before then shaving the wall I created with a small tornado. As if that wasn’t enough, the tattered wall then got encased in ice by Simeon (Blue), then turned into sand by Rex’s (Black) darkness encroachment. It then was burned until it became molten rock by Lance’s (Red) flame before it finally got blown to bits by Elliot’s light bullets.

Everyone’s magic was truly amazing.

Though, for some reason, they looked refreshed after they used my wall as their target. It almost looked like they forgot about the incident a while ago.

That was good and all, but still. I wondered why they shot me a triumphant look every time they unleashed their spell? Could it be that they actually hate me?

Uhm, not that I am actually sad about it. Yeah, definitely not. I muttered in my mind when suddenly, Muriel came to my side and smiled gently at me.

“Everyone is so amazing… and it’s thanks to Theodore-sama’s earth wall that we know how amazing everyone’s magic is.”

“Mu… riel!”

What a kind girl Muriel is. She even comes to my side to cheer me up… I love you, Muriel! Let’s get married right away!

“Stop imagining something stupid and let Miss Muriel go. It’s already her turn to showcase her magic.”

Alas, Luke’s voice snapped me out of my daze. But, wait. How did he know what I was thinking about???

“Because your face has always shown your thought. That’s why I told you to learn how to hide your true feeling a little bit.” Without even a pause, he replied to the question that surfaced in my mind, all the while grinning.

Is my expression that easy to read? I tilted my head, pondering deeply, when Muriel spoke to me again.

“It’s my turn, Theodore-sama.”

“Do your best, Muriel.”

“Yes. I’ll give it my all.”

Sending off Muriel with encouragement, I watch as she took a deep breath and released her mana. Then, the ground swelled up and formed a figure of a palm-sized chick.

How adorable~.

“S-Sorry… I can only do this much.”

“Don’t worry. This is already good enough. Normally, people can’t just create a figure on the go. What I mean is, even though all of you had just undergone the ceremony yesterday, everyone has displayed an ability that rivals the average abilities of the royal court mage… and what makes it even more irritating is the fact that you have yet to go all out.”

Bates, who initially praised Muriel, somehow ended up rambling in the middle. The heck?

“Yeah, Muriel. You have made an adorable chick, after all, so be proud. Can I have this?” I asked Muriel, placing the chick on my palm as I did so.

Of course, Muriel, being her adorable self, nodded with a delighted expression on her face.

“Next is my turn.”

After Muriel was sufficiently comforted, Shelly (Black) spoke and then created a man-sized dark space. Not losing out, Oriana (Green) moved next and blew the dark space Shelly created with her squall. Then, Sonia (Blue) took her turn and created a huge puddle of water while Ramona (Red) created a firewall that surrounded the puddle and evaporate the whole thing.

Lastly, on Katrina’s turn, she made a palm sized light sphere that circled around her in moderate speed.

Looking at the other girls’ display of magic, Muriel once again became depressed, feeling inadequate. I guess I have to cheer her up again.

“Come now, Muriel, the chick you made is extremely good in its detail. Look, you even created the nostrils in its beak. You can only make something like this with extremely good concentration.”

“R-Really?”

I caress Muriel’s head even as she flushed red from embarrassment and nodded my head. There was really no need for her to worry about someone else’s magic. After all, everyone had their own specialization.

“Indeed, Theodore is right. See, Miss Ramona barely managed to maintain her firewall from going out of control, while Miss Sonia’s invocation is way too slow. In Oriana’s case, her squall has uneven power distribution. Though, as expected, Miss Katrina and Miss Shelly does a really good job with their spell. Then again, there is no need to be overly concerned nor worried about this test for now since everyone will still have to learn more on how to control your power after this.”

Bates said, comforting Muriel, but then he suddenly scratched his head and grumbled.

“―― Rather. You guys are all equally abnormal! I mean, how did you manage to use such a high-rank magic one day after your magic has just been unsealed?! This is the first time I see a batch who have equal potential to become court mages. Someone, tell me why, da*mmit.”

It seemed he judged that we were way too talented.

“Argh, now I know why Big Brother and that person pushed this job on me. That said, it’s nice to meet you all. Now, let me say one thing, teaching you guys might be beyond the capabilities of other teachers, so will you give me the honor?!”

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“Well, my father is the chief of the Court Mage Department after all.”

“While my dear father is the chief of Magic Tools Research Institute~. He has no time to teach me~.”

“I’m a busy person too, you know! Ah, but, well, I think I understand their reason for choosing me (a single dog) to do it. Fine. I’ll do it. I’ll take this job!”

Bates kept whining under his breath, but finally, he agreed after Luke and Oriana interrupted. [TL: Basically, Bates has much more spare times than Luke’s and Oriana’s father, and he is as competent as those two, so he’s chosen as the teacher.]

“Da*mmit. I would definitely refuse this job if this had nothing to do with the saint.”

Still, despite acquiescing, it seemed Bates was still grumbling about the fact that he had to become our tutor. Furthermore, what would happen to his research?

Oh wait, when I went to his store after the incident, his research seemed to have met a bottleneck. Perhaps the others saw this as a chance for a change of pace for him and made him our tutor.

He seems to hate this role though. Then, why? Hah, what an enigmatic person.

“Well, in short, you actually don’t want this job. Still, it can’t be helped. I also worry about the progress of your research, but on the other hand, I also want Bates-san to become our tutor too.” Luke said, prioritizing his own desire over Bates’ worry, causing the other to roll his eyes.

“Just to remind you, I won’t hold back when it comes to magic tools and sorcery.”

“That’s only natural. I want to become stronger. I want to become stronger so I can assist the saint.”

“Humph. For me, Muriel is far more important than the saint.”

Unable to hide my shock from hearing Luke’s remark, I accidentally let my true feeling slip out. And then I said something even more shocking.

“I mean, it’s not like we have to offer our ‘True Love’ to the saint just because we’re the descendants of the Six Gods, right? My ‘True Love’ is for Muriel after all.”

When I said this, it wasn’t just Luke who looked at me, but literally everyone’s attention shifted and focused on me.

Eh? Did I just say something that I shouldn’t have?

“Well… it’s written in the Saint’s Legend, right?”

“Yes, it’s written in there, but…”

The scene in which the Six Gods offered their true love to the Saint was the climax scene. Whether it was in the form of picture books, novels, or stage plays, that scene had never changed.

That fact had been further clarified when I translated the ancient text carved on the saint’s ornament three years ago. However, what’s with that shocked look on their face?

“Ahahaha, sure enough. I also can’t offer my ‘True Love’ to the saint. I will only love one woman, and I’m not foolish enough to offer my true love to someone who won’t reciprocate my feeling. Much less say it to someone who doesn’t even try to put some effort to love her fiance.”

For some reason, Simeon said this while looking at Katrina. Moreover, the color was also drained from Katrina’s face.

“I can’t let that to slip aside. Saint-sama loves everyone. Simeon-sama is saying something reckless again, huh. I won’t let you go this time you know.” Sonia said, inching closer to Simeon.

“My bad. I mean, I’m sure that Saint-sama can’t reciprocate everyone when she received true love from a few men, right?” Simeon pointed out then said, “―― But, what about the current saint?”

“Simeon-sama, please stop before you go too far.”

Albeit reluctant, Simeon still shut his mouth. However, he directed a triumphant look at Katrina even as he kept silent.

Geez, that Simeon really hates Katrina, eh? He really should use gentler words to a woman. I mean, he hates her so much when Katrina isn’t even a bad girl.

“… Though it’s written in the ancient language, it’s way too vague as a guide… Well, we can’t deny that possibility with current historical evidence though. Da*mmit… how can I miss such an important point!”

Once again, Bates entered his soliloquy mode again. Eh? Well, simply saying, it meant Bates was in his own world right now. That being the case, I turned toward Luke to speak to him, only to find that he was also immersed in his own world too.

Seriously?! Did that little skit have something to do with magic tools??? Oh, well, whatever. Anyhow, I guess it’s time for us to go back.

“Shall we go back, Muriel?”

When I turned to ask her, I found her focusing on the thicket outside of the training ground. What the?

There was a black cat in there.

“How unusual. To think that a cat managed to sneak in into Duke-sama’s mansion.”

They were normally driven out by the guards before they could approach. So, I wondered how this one managed to slip past?

“Yes. The cat is so adorable.”

“Indeed. No matter what breed they are, cats are adorable creatures.”

“But this is strange. The cat always looks towards us without moving. Perhaps it can’t move? There’s an ivy twining around its right forefeet.”

Ah, now that she mentioned it, I did see something like green lines twining around its right forefeet. Something that I barely noticed since the cat is a black cat.

“But it looks like its own real fur. It’s rather hard to see since it’s a black cat, but it doesn’t look like a plant, but some sort of patterns.”

“Ah, you’re right.”

At this moment, when we were having such a carefree conversation, Bates suddenly raised his face and looked towards the black cat that we were looking then frowned.

“That pattern… No way…”

“Bates-san?”

“―― The first thing I’m going to teach you about is a barrier. Everyone, make sure to learn this.” Bates suddenly declared. A rare, serious look on his face.