Chapter 20

Arafoo Kenja no Isekai Seikatsu Nikki Chapter 20

Chivalric Order headquarters.

There, two knights were meeting. One was the Knight Commander of the Order, Marc Vitron, and the other being Alyx Gilbert.

“I summoned you to hear more about your report, but this is absurd. Level 154 in such a short amount of time? Just how many times did you almost die…”

“It is as you read, Sir. We kept fighting monster after monster every day, and managed to survive.”

“Goblins and Orcs, as well as Ogres, Trolls, Chimeras and Man-Eaters…? You’ve done well returning home.”

“We would’ve been the ones to be eaten if we didn’t defeat them… in many ways…”

Alyx averts his eyes, looking at the distance, for some reason as he says that last part.

Though Marc didn’t notice as he is still looking at the report while pondering his words.

“On the second day the supplies were stolen and from that moment on, it was a struggle for survival… and it seems you could overcome all those hardships.”

“It’s thanks to my subordinates’ efforts. I couldn’t have make it all that alone.”

In Far-flung forest it’s not an easy task to procure food, considering most monsters’ meat is inedible; Trolls’ and Chimeras’ being particularly poisonous.

In response to Alyx, who answered plainly, Marc couldn’t hide his surprise at the sight of him, due to the change in his appearance, which has become noticeable in these last few days.

(Just what kind of experience did you go through… Doesn’t he look like a completely different person now?)

Alyx seemed to have a different aura around him.

While he was thinking about his newfound, overwhelming aura, like that of a wild beast, Marc’s body shivered in both amazement and joy. It was Marc himself who trained and raised him to be a person worthy of calling himself a knight, he felt like how a parent would do when reminiscing about their children’s growth.

After returning from being lost in thought, he looked back to the report and let out a ‘Bufu!’ sound as he choked in surprise due to what was written… A description of the Crazy Ape’s ecology.

“Alyx… I-Is this some sort of joke?”

“No, Sir. It’s the pure truth. That thing… that monster was a serious threat to us.”

“I see… if what’s written here is truth then it’s truly horrifying in a different sense, but…”

“You may not want to believe it. But it’s not something we can look away from forever.”

The Crazy Ape is a kind of primate-type monster composed of only of females. They compete amongst themselves and the weakest ones turn into males. The problem was that, these genderbent monkeys will then start targeting and attacking males from other species, specially human males.

When they fall to the bottom of the social hierarchy and get transformed into males, they often attack human males to display their own superiority, allowing them to return to their original genders.

By performing the deed with other males against their wills, they prove their strength, and thus, climb up the social ladder within their group.

(*T.N: I think in the previous chapters I translated it as “metamorphic habit” or something like that but it seems it was an euphemism for anal rape.)

As they live in troops, a social hierarchy is one of the most important things for their survival, and human males are used as a tool to, both, climb to its top, and for breeding.

The Crazy Apes don’t have that behavior purely because they’re perverted, it’s closely related to their own survival.

The issue was that, for the human males, that behavior was a serious threat in a different sense, though, the Crazy Apes don’t think of such things in the first place, given that it’s an habit cultivated from their struggle to survive after all.

“C… Crazy, that’s absurd…”

“That’s not the case, Sir. If it’s a behavior derived to instinctively leave offspring behind, it makes sense. Although, accepting it is a different matter…”

“Certainly, it can’t be helped that they seek males from other races but, I wonder if there are people who had been victims to them already…”

“Probably there are. Desperate mercenaries and bandits… I don’t even want to think about it.”

Villagers and travelers that had suddenly disappeared, there would be no end to it if one started making a list. In addition, it’s also hard to tell because they move around in the forest from place to place without settling down somewhere in particular, and possess quite the strength compared to humans.

There’s no doubt that a regular mercenary would only fall victim to them in a pitiful manner.

“I’ll send a warning to the Mercenary Guild. Hopefully, no more casualties will arise after this.”

“That’s reasonable. Even if they fall prey to them, it would be due to their own carelessness.”

“The white ape fur is a high-class prized commodity, but now we have to take into account that they behave just like Goblins and Orcs…”

There are only a limited number of monsters that use humans, and other species, as breeding tools. These monsters often leave the forest and attack human settlements.

Even if they don’t spread the information, it’s likely that mercenaries would fall victims to them, and if knowing that and they still challenge them and get defeated, it will be regarded as their own lack of caution and strength. After all, it’s a monster whose level is over 200, there’s no choice but to fight it at one’s own risk of getting the tables turned on oneself.

“… In any case, you must be tired after having such a tough time. You can go home and see your wife now.”

“It’s alright, Sir. That was part of my duty as a knight.”

“I see. Part of the proceeds from selling the monster materials will be given to you in the near future, I’m sorry about today.”

“I want to rest for a while, that forest was hell…”

“I see…”

After Alyx left his office, Marc hunched over on the desk holding his head.

“Am I really going to have to explain this…? What a headache.”

Thinking about all the work he would have to do, his heart felt heavy. The Crazy Ape’s ecology was strange to that degree.

On a later date, Marc timidly disclosed the information about the monster’s ecology to the Mercenary Guild, but they just laughed it off, resulting in many mercenaries never returning. The price of that 【 White Ape Fur 】was that attractive.

No matter how absurd the information looked, there were still some people who commendable took it to heart, although, trusting it was a different matter.

The mercenaries who didn’t believe in the information would soon regret it. However, in this world, it’s too late by the time you start regretting it.

It may sound harsh, but that’s the world mercenaries live in. Where they are always at risk of getting themselves killed with every job, specially if they neglect information gathering.

Afterward, the Mercenary Guild would bow down towards him and ask for a search party to be organized, to look for the missing mercenaries, but Marc ignored them.

After all, they, who didn’t believe the information given by the Knights, are to blame for their own misfortune…

◇　　◇　　◇　　◇　　◇　　◇　　◇

Three days later, they arrived at Santhor.

As usual, Celestina and Zweit were in the middle of their combat training against Golems. However, the Golems Zeros had created for this occasion were Stone Golems.

The two of them had just managed to defeat one, though, while struggling. But for people that had treaded around the boundary between life and death, and had returned in one piece, they seemed to be in excellent condition.

Their levels and overall skill had gone up and they are incomparable to what they were a week ago, and their movements give the impression of being more refined and precise.

“Hoh, my capabilities have gone up considerably, it’s almost as if I were a different person from before.”

“It was as I thought, after all. You’ll get stronger once you gain experience in actual combat, you can feel what’s important with your own flesh.”

“What’s the level of the Stone Golems anyways? The Mud Golems’ movements seem to be slower compared to them.”

“I tried to keep them at an average of level 100. Their movements don’t vary too much in a prolonged battle, but on the other hand, you have to memorize them to be able to beat them.”

“ Are? … kukuku. They’re going to be really reliable in the future and my faction’s influence will grow.”

Apparently, Creston wants them to join his faction. Taking into account the future of the country, the conflict between the magicians and the knights must be resolved.

Nonetheless, with two people who can decipher magic characters, even a small faction like his would rise in influence. Furthermore, given that they’re blood relatives of the royal family, they can’t be carelessly antagonized.

“That’s quite the scheme, if I do say so myself, however, there’s no fail-safe way to deal with those fools, am I correct?”

“It’ll get the underworld to make a move. There’s an organization at the direct control of the royal family. I’m sure they will be willing to help reform the country.”

(*T.N: I’m not quite sure about this part, it could be taken either as: there’s an organization with the name ‘dark side’ that the royal family will mobilize, or that the underworld is going to move and the royal family controls part of it. We’ll see how it’s played out in the following chapters.)

“Is there some sort of guild working behind the scenes? You also can’t trust the ridiculous rumors from the people working at the Royal Palace, can you?”

“Hm? The groundwork has already been laid. The textbook you wrote will help with driving them against the wall.”

“So it’s about the textbook produced by the other factions, isn’t it? It would’ve been much easier to understand if they didn’t tinker with it unnecessarily. I don’t understand why were you using such a makeshift excuse of a magic textbook.”

“They pretend to do research, but pocket in most of their research funds. They didn’t think we were in dire need of competent magicians, and so, the textbooks gradually got worse instead of improving.”

“That is an awful vicious cycle, are you sure this country is going to be alright…?”

Regardless of their ability to handle the domestic affairs of the country, they are nothing but ill-suited to act as the shield of the country in case of war. If another nation decides to invade, they will be the first to get killed on the battlefield. There’s no person who wouldn’t worry about the state of such a country.

“Well, we have to do something now so nothing bad happens. Though, I wonder how did we get to this point…”

“I’d like to know too. Just how things got to become the present situation we have to deal with.”

Naturally, a magician who lusted for power managed to bribe other powerful nobles. If one person makes a mistake, they would have two options: either to denounce their wrongdoings, or to commit other wrongdoings along with them.

(There’s going to be a war soon, isn’t it? I’m sorry, but I don’t want to get involved. It sounds extremely troublesome.)

When there are people who try to rectify the state of the country, there will be those that will surely try to avoid that to happen. They will take whatever abhorrent measures necessary to protect their own necks.

“But well, we’re already making our move. The revised spells are already being put into scrolls and have started selling in this city.”

“Would selling those cheap and useful magic scrolls break the power-balance between the rest of the factions?”

“Hmm, about that, some of the magicians who have been kicked out of their factions, have already started to gather here.”

The main source of income for magicians is the sell of magic scrolls, and potions made through alchemy. Factions take a 60% cut of that revenue, making it the foundation of their organizations.

The current feudal lord, DelSasis, has been selling the magic scrolls optimized by Zeros as a side business. It’s the worse situation for the other factions, which might end up shaking them to the very core.

After all, the house of the Duke of Solisthea is one of the country’s richest merchant families, and also a blood relative of the royal family.

They were a particularly troublesome family to turn as enemies.

“It’s all thanks to you, that magic-erasing spell proved to be quite useful.”

“Once you learn the magic, having magic scrolls is just a hindrance. If you sell them, even after taking into account the cost of the magic paper, you will surely end up profiting at the end of the day.”

“Though, some of the proceeds will go to you, isn’t that right?”

“Life gets easier if you possess some money.”

“The territory is already under development, but are you already starting to build the foundations of your house? Your magic, 【 Gaia Control 】is truly excellent.”

Having found out about the magic Zeros used in the orphanage, Creston asked if he would be willing to sell it.

Although, he didn’t have the intention of carelessly spreading dangerous magics, by limiting the way to use it, he succeeded in averting away the eyes of people interested in using it for more nefarious purposes. And now, it has become popular amongst the farmers.

Digging a hole, hardening the surrounding soil solidifying it into rock, digging up ditches, or in other words, everything under the umbrella of civil engineering, in hopes that no one would try using it as an attack magic.

In addition, even if the spell itself spreads, the magic formula itself will disappear from the scroll once it’s used, so there’s no risk of it leaking to a third party.

It may be eventually bought by a magician, but there’s no need for an earth magician to learn this spell in the first place.

Due to that, the magic【 Gaia Control 】was beginning to be widely circulated among the general public.

Because most of the people who go out of their way to learn this spell have low mana capacity, they’re not much of a threat, at least right now, for the magicians and knights who are accustomed to living in peaceful times. In addition, because it appears to only be used for farming, it’s considered, in their eyes, to be a beginner’s spell.

“Rather than that, let’s focus on their training, if you will. Your opinion, Creston-san, who has actual combat experience, should be beneficial to the two of them. After all, if they only get my feedback, the knowledge they obtain might be biased.”

“Umu. I might be a senile old man, but I can still be useful, although I’m glad to say that there’s not much to point out. At any rate, I’m overjoyed to be blessed with such talented grandchildren.”

In his mind Zeros thought ‘ It’s not your grandson you’re talking about, right? It’s obviously your cute granddaughter! ‘.

He had a lot more things he wanted to say, but he decided to turn his eyes once again to the two people that were in the midst of their training.

“Still… it always attacks in that same way, but its defense is still tough to break through.”

“It’s troublesome, isn’t it? It’s a relief that they don’t move too fast, but…”

“Instead, it does that…”

Stone Golems defend and protect the surrounding Golems while the Mud Golems attack. A classic strategy, yet it was difficult to overcome. Stone Golems, which have a better defense compared to its mud counterparts, can’t be destroyed in a single blow, and above all, it can attack at long range.

One of the Stone Golems separates countless small stones from its body and makes them float around in the air.

“Here it comes!”

“Tch! 【 Mana Shield 】”

The floating stones become bullets that are soon fired towards Zweit. He hurriedly deploys a magic barrier to protect himself against the Golem’s attack.

“Stone Shot. We would’ve been in trouble if that hit us.”

“Ahh… it’s easy to predict because the stones float for a while before being launched, though, the attack range is quite wide.”

“Even if it hits a Mud Golem, nothing would happen since it’s just rocks hitting mud.”

“There’s no choice but to destroy the core after all… so annoying.”

There are two types of Mud Golems, and the combination of the regular Mud Golem’s direct attacks, the more sly and underhanded nimbler Mud Golem’s attacks, in addition to the Stone Golems which are completely defense-focus, their formation is like an iron wall.

A Golem can’t be defeated unless their core is destroyed, but it’s an extremely troublesome task. Moreover, if the core only gets halfway destroyed, it can generate itself again.

Celestina’s and Zweit’s levels have increased considerably after returning from Far-flung forest, but at the same time, the training’s difficulty has risen as well.

“Adding the fast-moving Golems into the mix, it makes it almost impossible.”

“That’s right. But that just means that we can try over and over until we manage to get it right.”

“Indeed. Let’s get to it then!”

“Ohhh, let’s go!!!”

“”【 Silver God’s Wall 】 !! “”

They deployed 【 Silver God’s Wall 】. As long as the user continues to supply mana to it, the barrier’s shape can expand and be changed freely.

In order to eliminate the surrounding Golems, Celestina’s barrier took the shape of countless thorns that spring forward with great momentum.

Zweit transforms his into a large sword, with which, he mows down the enemies around him.

Against Stone Golems, a drawn-out battle is only exhausting, so they decided to make a bold move and destroy the Golem commanding the surrounding enemies.

“ Shield Bash!”

“Blade Slash!”

(*T.N: they were written in katakana, but they still sound kinda lame. dunno if you guys have any name suggestions.)

They have activated their martial arts skills and used them on top of the silver shield to boldly destroy their opponents.

Celestina’s relentless assault caused the Mud Golems to stop dead on their tracks, failing to reach Zweit. In addition, by combining their attacks with their martial arts skills, the power will be doubled.

The combat training would end once they manage to defeat the commander-type Golem, which was an enormous Stone Golem, bigger than the rest. It’s a difficult task to beat them in a single strike, but if they succeed in destroying the core, they would win.

They tried to find a way out with a short and reckless assault. The idea itself was good but…

――― Goooooooooooooooh!

―――― Zudon!

The leader, the Stone Golem commander, raises both of its arms and proceeds to slam them against the ground with all the strength it could muster.

As soon as its arms make contact with the ground, the pressure wave generated by the impact shakes the earth, disturbing Zweit’s and Celestina’s posture.

“Wha!?【 Earthquake 】!?”

“It’s not the moment to ask about that!!”

Natural-born Golem-type monsters don’t often attack with magic. After all, if they consume too much mana, they will return to being inanimate matter.

But, that doesn’t mean they can’t use magic. When it feels threatened enough, it will attack just like this particular Stone Golem did, shaking the ground and smashing the enemies after their stances have been broken.

Incidentally, the Golem commander had Mud Golems as its underlings, and when it slammed its arms against the ground, shaking the earth, its subordinates immediately collapsed due to the force of the impact, crawling around like slimes and encircling the two youths.

As a result, their bold attack strategy was successfully countered, and they ended up covered in mud from head to toe.

“Un, it was definitely too early to make a move like that. You don’t always have your opponents openly showing you their hand, after all, wouldn’t you agree?”

“But, it’s a great way to train. I’m looking forward to train like this more often.”

“Although, it’s frustrating… ahhh, I wanna try again.”

“But, that Earthquake back there… you really can’t underestimate Golems.”

“Well, these Golems can’t compare to the ones in Far-flung, after all. Because of the large amount of sand and sediments, the one I fought, blew away a large part of the surroundings in the forest with its Earthquake, ahhh… how nostalgic.”

“”You/Sensei, just how did you manage to get out alive!?””

In a place where most people would die soon after entering, Zeros, who survived for a week, was definitely extraordinary.

They managed to survive the threat of monsters they have never even heard of, but Zeros, who’s been in far more terrifying situations, seemed far away.

The two students know. The place they went doesn’t even reach the gates of hell.

That demonic forest was a horribly dangerous place.

The combat training, which became their daily routine, finishes while the horror they experienced not long ago lingers in the air.

◇　　◇　　◇　　◇　　◇　　◇　　◇

Recently, Zweit has been acting suspiciously. Occasionally, he would steal glances at Celestina and then heave a deep sigh.

Even now, he sighed after looking at her figure from behind.

“This day, for sure… but…”

From an outsider’s perspective, it only looked like an elder brother harboring somewhat dangerous feelings towards his younger sister.

Utterly ignorant of such things, he wanders on, trying to hide both his determination and fear, without noticing that the maids were curiously looking at him.

“Was I… such a pathetic human being before?”

“No, this is just your original personality, right?”

“I don’t understand! I’ve always embraced my pride as a man!”

“Your pride as a man? Didn’t you use your status to force Luceris-san into being your woman?”

“Ugh… that was definitely my mistake. I regret doing something so stupid.”

“It’s good that you’re reflecting on it, but you still don’t listen to other people’s advices…”

“I don’t understand her at all, it’s so frustrating… eh, shishou!?”

Zweit flinched in astonishment at the sight of Zeros, who was standing right behind him.

He didn’t feel his presence at all.

“I didn’t even notice…”

“Well, Zweit-kun… wouldn’t it be better to stop now before it’s too late?”

“Stop what?”

“Although you only share the same father, longing for your blood related sister is a bit…”

“No!! It’s not like that!!!”

Looking around, he realized that his actions were taken the wrong way by the people around.

“Weren’t you mumbling about something while staring at your step-sister?”

“I already told you that’s not it!! I just wanted to apologize!”

“Apologize? Hmm… I see.”

Zeros noticed he was misunderstanding this whole situation.

Zweit was the heir to the Archduke of Solisthea, and the person who had been bullying Celestina for a long time. He’s been looking for the opportunity to make amends by apologizing to her for what he did in the past.

“You know this already, but she has never been able to use magic. But, I didn’t know at the time, that the cause lied with the magic formulas themselves. I’ve always been proud to say that my family has been a family of talented magicians, generation after generation.

I couldn’t stand the fact that such an incompetent person was part of that lineage. Until recently, that is…”

“I see, I understand now.”

Zweit is proud of his lineage, family history, and all of that. He found it hard to deal with Celestina, who didn’t seem to have any talent.

But, what would happen if the situation changes? If a person thought to be incompetent, is in fact, only limited by the faulty magic formulas in her magic textbook, and is therefore, treated coldly because of it. It wouldn’t be odd to feel guilty about it.

Zweit couldn’t bear the guilt, specially because he was in a position where he actively harassed her.

“…If that’s what you think, then why did you treat Luceris-san like that?”

“I don’t know! I think there was something seriously wrong with me at the time.”

It was most likely due to the influence of his faction and the mild effects of his estrus period.

“But you can’t change the past, you know?”

“Ugh… that’s true, I understand it well myself. But, for some reason I felt like I was behaving recklessly as if I was having a fever dream…”

“I don’t think that excuse would work though, but in any case, I want you to look at your past self and think, do you only want to apologize to Celestina?”

“I already said that’s not it!! I don’t like my sister that way… the hell is wrong with you?”

“There are some people with that particular taste.”

“Well, but I don’t!”

Zeros is making fun of Zweit for some reason, even though he just came to see what he was trying to do. Though, he enjoyed seeing Zweit getting flustered.

“…Anyway. You should apologize now, right? You can do it, it’s easy.”

“Easy to say when you’re not the one apologizing.”

“That’s the weight of the guilt you’ve been shouldering all this time. Things will work out in the end, just go.”

“I can’t do it after all! It’s too troublesome!!”

I looked like he didn’t have much determination now, and it didn’t seem like Zeros would step in too much.

He didn’t know what exactly was going on in Zweit’s head, but he believed that in moments like these, it’s important to have courage and step forward. Although, in a way, it was a pitiful scene.

“If you really think what you did was wrong, it’s important to bow down your head right away. If you stay the way you are right now, you won’t even be able to apologize in the future.

People tend to take the easy way out. If you can’t bow down your head when you actually do something wrong, then you’ll lose that pride you hold dear so much.”

“But… it’s embarrassing, how should I put it… I don’t really know what to say.”

“So, is that all you are going to do then? You, who has been cold to her all this time? If you correct your mistakes now, you won’t have to shoulder that guilt, you know?”

“I know… but when I think about going…”

… What a wuss. Is what Zeros thought at that moment.

Where was Zweit’s usual domineering personality?

For some reason, he felt very irritated at the sight of Zweit hesitating that much. Honestly, he was disgusted by him. And so, in that moment…

He snapped.

“Don’t go now saying you don’t wanna do it, just apologize!! You brat, what’s with being such a pussy!? Are you even a man!?”

“Wooahh! Shishou!? W-What are you saying!?”

…And exploded all at once.

“What’s the matter!? Really! You’ve shamed her for that long and now you’re saying you’re feeling a bit shy, you shitty brat!?

Didn’t you have pride as a man!? If you don’t show it now, you’ll be a pussy ass bitch forever!”

“Uuuu…. that’s…”

It seemed as if steam were raising out of Zeros’ body. That’s how heated he was.

“That’s what!? You are an aristocrat for fuck’s sake. You’ll eventually have to bow down your head to people you don’t like for the sake of the people you have to protect. And you’re telling me you can’t apologize to your little sister!?

If you think you’ve done something bad, apologize immediately even if the other person doesn’t forgive you, it’s your own sin, so you must be the one to bear with it! Engrave that in your heart, be a man who can protect others in the future!”

“S-So… if I’m not forgiven…?”

“Still nothing’s gonna happen if you keep everything to yourself! Take action first and foremost!

You know what you have to do, just let it all out, and after that it’s Celestina’s reply you’ll have to worry about. But things will remain the same way if you don’t do anything right now! If you understand then go the fuck now, you brat!!”

It’s the first time this uncle has been so fired up since coming to this world. It’s been a long time since anyone has seen him like that.

He was constantly leading around his subordinates in that manner, back on Earth. A number of them were forced to work overtime, staying all night to meet a deadline.

Needless to say, after that he was dubbed ‘The S manager’ . And, the place they were working at seemed almost like a black company.

(*T.N: “S” as in sadist I think)

“T-That’s true, I haven’t done anything yet. Shishou… I have to do what’s right!!”

It seems like Zweit, who was originally a hot-headed person, felt truly moved by Zeros’ words from the bottom of his heart.

Like that, he starts to run… and saying goodbye to his past self.

・

・

・

A soft breeze was caressing Celestina’s cheeks, who was on the balcony looking at the distance. The wind of blowing through the forest carries the scent of the trees and vegetation to her nose.

That is one of her favorite ways to pass time. However, at such a delicate moment, there was an intruder… Zweit.

“Hey, Celestina.”

“What can I do for you, nii-sama?”

“Well, there’s an issue I wanted to talk about.”

“An issue… is it?”

Feeling that something was strange in the way he was acting, she cautiously waits for him to continue.

“Celestina, I’m sorry about the things I did when we were kids!”

“Nii-sama!? W-What!?”

She quickly gets flustered due to the sudden way in which Zweit lowered his head towards her.

“I am the heir to this Duke house. That’s what I’ve been told since I was a child, and I couldn’t accept that someone who couldn’t use magic shared the same blood as me. But now I know it was because a defect on the magic formulas themselves, not in yourself. So, I wanted to make amends for the many things I did to you. That’s why I’m bowing down my head, I’m very sorry! I know that I can’t just ask you to forgive me…”

“Nii-sama…”

Celestina knows how proud, Zweit is, of his own lineage.

It might’ve been just bad luck that she was the only one in her family who couldn’t use magic, and was treated coldly because of that.

But, for the first time, she’s become aware of Zweit’s honest personality, seeing him trying to correct his mistakes by bowing down his head.

The house of the Duke of Solisthea have been the guardians of the country for generations. A family with a rarely seen talent in magic, that have protected many people because of it.

He was born to such a family, and bullied her, convinced that Celestina had zero talent for magic.

However, knowing that it was a mistake, and deeply apologizing because of it, Celestina felt the pride of being born as a noble. She felt like it was her turn to answer honestly to his resolve.

“Nii-sama. What do you think of sensei’s magic?”

“Hah? So suddenly… well, it’s amazing, honestly. The power and efficiency…”

“Right. But at the same time, they’re a potential danger to the kingdom. How much blood would be shed if one of his low mana consumption spells ends up in the army?”

“It would completely obliterate the battlefield. His spells have overwhelming power that can’t compare to ours.”

“In addition, he also has wide range annihilation magics.”

“I don’t want to believe it’s true, no magician has manage to develop a spell like that, but…”

Wide range annihilation magic is a tactical-type magic that is currently being researched by each faction. It would become a massive problem if it ends up in hands of the wrong person. Such a magician would be like a walking nuclear warhead.

As an aside, the difference between regular wide range magic and wide range annihilation magic, is the power output of the spell itself. Regular wide range magic has a limited, constant power output, and can be reduced but not go over its pre-established limit, whereas, annihilation magic has an unspecified output.

Having a stable output makes the spell easier to use, and that’s the reason why they are in such high demand between magicians.

When it comes to wide range annihilation magic, the power output is, in theory, unlimited and could potentially destroy the world.

“Sensei said that, if I drown in power, there’s always the danger of creating a heinous magic… As his disciple, I want to make magic that makes people happy.”

“Is he perfectioning tactical-type magic…? Hm, if it’s shishou then it’s possible… After all, he’s wholly dedicated to magic research.”

“We shouldn’t use magic for destruction. Isn’t it our duty as disciples to create a way of using magic that can help as much people as possible?”

“I will be the next Archduke. The house that protects this kingdom. It’s our duty to protect the people, and I’ll do whatever it takes to accomplish that. I will fulfill my duty as a noble.”

“Nii-sama…”

“Sure, shishou’s magic is astounding, but it could easily lead to a tragedy if used incorrectly. When I came back here, I understood that I needed to be responsible in wielding such power. As a noble, I’ll do what I think is the best for the people.”

The two of them had decided to tread on different paths. Celestina wants to enrich the lives of the people, while Zweit is aiming to protect them even if he has to shed blood.

Both are necessary, but they are opposite paths that won’t ever meet with each other.”

“Celestina… have you seen shishou’s annihilation magic?”

“I saw the magic formula. The magic flow was impressive, but it was too advanced to understand. And also… too dangerous.”

“That’s why you want to go the opposite way.”

“Nii-sama, do you really want to tread a path of violence and fighting?”

“That is my duty. Is because of the people’s heavy taxes, that I’ve been able to live safely until now. I’ve been raised with such privileges, and I won’t run away even if I might die.”

(*T.N: kanji reads blood tax ‘血税’. I assume it means heavy taxation, but it could also mean conscription.)

Zweit was already resolved to do whatever it took.

Celestina noticed in that moment that she had misjudged his brother.

Zweit was regarded as a genius since a young age, and received a harsh education. Unlike the general education most children of his age received, he was taught to keep to heart his responsibilities as a nobleman.

Therefore, he was lead to think that Celestina’s presence, who couldn’t use magic to protect the people and fulfill her duties as a noble, was unforgivable.

Though, it was also because he was raised with the hard-earned tax payers’ money, that he grew up to be such a useless person. Be that is it may, to protect the people, he was prepared to follow the same path as his respected grandfather.

“There’s no difference in pursuing magic for the sake of improving the people’s lives, isn’t there?”

“It’s the difference between enriching their lives and protecting them. I’m sorry, but I will keep going on this path I’ve decided.”

“No, if that’s what you want to do, then that’s enough for me… I, I forgive you, onii-sama.”

(*T.N: remember that she usually just calls him nii-sama.)

“Oi….?”

Zweit’s determination as a noble. It was enough for her to see that.

From an early age, he’s been shouldering the weight of other people’s lives. Seeing that, she kept her dark thoughts buried deep inside herself, only to realize that she has only been running away from that responsibility.

“That is the only thing I can do right now. When I graduate from the Academy, I’ll be in the military.”

“I…”

“Why don’t you look for something only you can do around here? There’s no need to rush, grandfather probably won’t send you off on a political marriage.”

“Is it okay for me to not go? Kreuz-niisama will…”

“I’m sure he’s prepared. I’m still gonna beat his ass though♪…”

Zweit laughs in a carefree manner. He had a smile befitting of his age.

On that day, they let bygones be bygones. However, Celestina’s expression seemed somewhat grim and sad. It was the first time that she had come to realize the weight Zweit carried on his shoulders.