Since When Did You Have The Illusion That You Don't Have Magical Powers?! Chapter 76

Published at 23rd of May 2023 05:35:15 PM

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Sapphiras Perfectio, 2nd son of the Earl of Aldridge

Percival Belisario, 3rd son of Margrave of Vanderwall on the Eastern Frontier

Aurora Steinfeld, daughter of the Duke of Bloomfield

Adeline, Margravine of Vanderwall, Percival's mother

Dylan, 4th year student, Percival's childhood friend

“Sapphiras-san, a package has arrived for you.”

While I was lazing around in my room, the academy clerk came to deliver a package.

“Excuse me, thank you.”

The box I received was not very big and not very heavy. I have no idea who would send me a package. Could it be a box of misfortune that has to be sent to several people within a week with the same contents? I looked at the package tag and saw that the sender was Madam Adeline.

“What is it?”

When I opened the box, there were about four bottled sweets inside. In the enclosed letter, it was written in beautiful letters that she had made a new sweet that would last for a long time, so she sent it to me.

“It's lemon sweets.”

I immediately opened one of the jars and picked up the sweets inside. It is a pale yellow confection that fits in the palm. The airy, light and fresh aroma of the sweet is so good that when you put it in your mouth, it melts on your tongue and disappears.

“What is this? Yum!”

The faint sourness and slight sweetness lingers in the mouth, and I find myself eating it like crazy, and before I knew it, the sweets are about halfway down the jar.

This is a dangerous snack. I endlessly gobble them up. If I don't eat it carefully, it will be gone in no time. But it would be a shame to eat all these delicious sweets by myself.

“My dear friend, Cait Sith.”

I call out to Cait Sith for the first time in a while.

“Nyaaan! Did you call me nya, master?”

Will you deliver this to Miss Aurora of the Duke of Bloomfield, and tell her that it is Vanderwall's new sweets?

“Accepted!”

Cait Sith took the jar in his arms and dashed out of the room window with a pyon. He likes running errands for the Duke, so once he's there he won't be back for a few days.

I've already given up on rebuking Cait Sith's behaviour. As long as he is not too rude, His Excellency the Duke will welcome him with a generous heart.

“Who else to share with……”

……It says it lasts for a long time, so it's ok if I keep two jars right? I put the half-eaten jar and one unopened jar on the shelf.

I'll share the rest with the ladies of the tea party. With the remaining jar, I immediately head to the second dormitory building, where the tea party ladies' rooms are located. Of course I can't enter the girls' dormitory, but I can leave it with the representative of the tea party at the reception desk and it won't be a problem. As I was thinking this, I bumped into Odile, one of the ladies of the tea party.

“Well, Sapphiras-sama. Good day to you.”

“Miss Odile, just the person I wanted to see. This is Vanderwall's new sweets, but please eat it with everyone at the tea party.”

“Well, Vanderwall?”

“Yes. The Margravine gave me a lot of them. I had a bit of it and it was really delicious.”

“From the Margravine……! As expected, so it's like that……”

I don't know what it was, but seeing Odile's eyes sparkle and her cheeks slightly tinted, she must be looking forward to Vanderwall's new sweets. Most girls like new things. It's good if they're happy.

“……You're going to run away from me like that!”

“Eh? Eh? What?”

I look around, and it seems that the loud voice is coming from a red-haired male student. Percival is in front of him. What the hell is going on?

“It's him again…….”

“Again?”

“Yes. The man with the red hair is called Gideon Harvard, and he's always bothering Percival-sama like this.”

“……Always, what is the cause?”

While I was talking to Miss Odile, the red-haired man was shouting at Percival. Percival, on the other hand, is completely expressionless.

“He wants him to enter a swordsmanship tournament and compete against him. Percival-sama has clearly stated that he will not participate in the swordsmanship tournament, but he is still insisting on it like that.”

Ah, so that's how it is. I guess he wants to make a name for himself by beating a good opponent in a big tournament. But Percival has no intention of competing in the tournament.

I don't admire persistence when your opponent has clearly refused. I turned to face Percival.

“Do you really hate losing to me in the public eye that much?”

Redhead said with a smirk, perhaps intending to provoke him, but Percival remained expressionless as ever. Percival is already a lot better than me because he doesn't take cheap provocations like this. If you don't notice that kind of thing, you will be disqualified as a worthy opponent.

“Ya, Percival. What's wrong with you getting tangled up in such a conspicuous place? Everyone is paying attention to you.”

Standing next to Percival, I explain specifically how people see him. I hope that makes the redhead notice.

“Sapphiras,”

“……What's with you1お前 omae, rude form of 'you'? I'm having an important conversation with this guy right now. Don't interrupt.”

The redhead glares at me. Percival is also tall, but this guy is also quite tall. On top of that, he's thick, so he feels much bigger. The person himself knows it, and he's probably taking a high-handed attitude.

“……But it seems that Percival is done talking, isn't he? He's not going to attend the swordsmanship tournament, that's all! That's what he said, right? I don't think it's a good idea to force him.”

“This is between me and Belisario. It has nothing to do with you.”

Ah……I understood after just a little talk. This is a man who cannot be understood even if you talk to him properly. Regardless of the other person's intention, he tries to make his point anyway. I'm sure he repeats this kind of exchange every time. It can't be helped if Percival becomes expressionless.

“There is a relationship. If a friend is in trouble, you help them, don't you? To me, Percival looks like he's in a lot of trouble. In the first place, I heard that Percival has turned down your offers many times. I don't think it's right for you to stall him like this and persist in your insistence, without regard for the other party's convenience?”

“What?”

The redhead threatened me and approached me, but from my point of view, such things are cuter than the intimidation of a kitten.

“Sapphiras,”

I pat Percival's arm when he tries to pull me down, and say there's no problem.

When you can't solve a problem between yourselves, you have to bring in a third party, don't you?

“Well, well, Percival. Can you entrust this place to me?”

Saying that, I winked, and Percival widened his eyes for a moment, and smiled wryly with a small sigh. I guess this means that he agreed.

“If you want Percival to enter the tournament so badly, try and beat me. If you can beat me, I'll help you convince Percival. But if you can't beat me, don't forcibly invite him again……What will you do?”

“Ha! You want to fight me? Are you serious?”

The redhead laughs through his nose.

Yeah, yeah. I'm just a spindly little guy. Of course you'd think that.

“I'm serious, I'm serious. So what are you going to do?”

“All right. I'll accept it. But I won't be held responsible if you get hurt.”

“……I think you should worry about yourself.”

Percival muttered next to me, but it didn't sound like the redhead. Because Mr. Dylan came and joined the commotion.

“Gideon, haven't you given up yet?

“Ah, Dylan-san.”

“Oh. What, Sapphiras is here too?”

If you act violently near the school building or dormitory, you will cause trouble to unrelated students, so we move to the training grounds. Some students who were watching the commotion also arrived and turned into spectators. Well, it's better to have a lot of people to see it, so it's fine.

“I'll take over as referee, if I may be so presumptuous. So how do you decide who wins?”

Speaking of the circumstances, Dylan-san gladly took on the role of referee. Far from stopping us, he's quite enthusiastic about it, so I guess he's the kind of person who can't help but stick his nose into interesting things, similar to me.　

“I'll leave it to Dylan-san to decide who wins or loses.”

“That's what he said. What do you say, Gideon?”

“I'm fine with it too.”

“……Then, both of you. Let's fight fair and square. Ready!”

I quickly pull out my wand. It's the Tricorn wand, of course. I can't keep such an expensive thing in the room, where it's no exaggeration to say that anyone can come and go as they please, and as a result, I have to wear it all the time. With all due respect to the laurel and Palo Santo wands, they have not been in action much recently.

The spectators were buzzing as the unrelenting sparkles of light pouring out from the tip of the wand. I know that feeling. Even though I'm my wand, isn't it too bright? That's what I'm thinking.

“What's with the light? Are you kidding me?”

“No, I'm not kidding. This light comes out on its own, so it can't be helped.”

“Eyyy! I'll crush you as soon as I can!”

The quick-tempered redhead raised his sword and slashed before Dylan-san's starting signal.

Chapter end