[âŠ.Iâm shocked, but Iâm okay. Camille probably has it harder compared to me.]
I received news about Samuelâs death last night.
The moment I heard that Samuel will be buried near Yanquille*, I asked whether I could attend the funeral service if it wonât be a bother, and Iâm now currently being swayed inside the carriage together with Nicole as we head towards the cemetery. (TN: * â city where the school is at. Previously âYankuiyuâ.)
Big Brother seems to be in a training camp so I wasnât able to notify him, but itâs probably alright.
At the funeral, the mourners will bid their final goodbye to the deceased and watch over the burial.
Itâs the carriage Camille went out of his way to send to us from Marquis Blowâs residence.
[Rafael told me not to get ahead of myself. He said the number of lives an individual can save is limited.]
If I say that Iâm not regretting it even now will be a lie.
The thought âwhat ifââŠ. isnât gone.
But I felt as if Iâve woken up after hearing Rafaelâs words.
[I may keep blaming myself in the future for the things I couldâve done but didnât. But I canât just stop moving forward because Iâm overwhelmed. I absolutely donât want to waste Samuelâs death.]
Along with the other attendees, we will be shown the room where Samuel used to live in.
Although itâs a Dreaming Illness, he shouldâve had released Mana even if itâs a miniscule amount.
I wanted to confirm that. I might not be able to understand anything, but I can at least see the traces that he was alive.
[Heâs outstanding. However, I donât want Sheryl-sama to do something reckless. Besides, the ones who restricted Sheryl-samaâs actions were us. Even if Sheryl-sama wanted to go to Samuel-sama, I wouldâve stopped you. You can hit me, you know? Sheryl-sama has always been obedient ever since you were a child.]
[Itâs because Iâm aware that I have Nicole who worries for me.]
I know that heâs concerned about me more than anyone else.
I also know that Bellom-sensei has been protecting me from the public outside.
If I didnât know of their feelings, I might have hated when I was made to promise to restrict myself.
But I understand that everyone is thinking about whatâs good for me. And I donât have plans on ever going against them.
[We will arrive soon.]
The voice called out coming from the one in charge of reigns outside.
The horse-drawn carriage stopped shortly.
There are already a lot of different carriages in front of the cemetery, and the people getting off seem to be guided into a separate location.
[Sheryl-sama, please watch your steps.]
I left without the wheelchair today since I donât want to stand out, so Iâm walking with Nicole holding my hand.
Should I also use the Mana detection? I havenât done it in a wide range lately.
Showing my student card instead of the identification card to the reception, we joined the funeral line.
***********
[Sheryl-kun, really thank you for today! Samuel will also be happy for sure.]
When the funeral was over, Camille was the first to approach me.
It seems that Camille will guide me to Samuelâs room on behalf of the house residents.
[Sorry for suddenly asking something unreasonable.]
[What are you saying? Even Samuelâs parents were regretful theyâre unable to accompany us. Everyone is grateful to Sheryl.]
[I am not a person to such an extent.]
If Camille and the parents and knew that I could have done the treatment, they will surely change their minds. Thinking about it, my chest hurts.
As if to encourage me after noticing my plight, Nicole squeezed my hand.
[I will call the carriage. Samuelâs house isnât far from here so you will be able to go back to the dorm tonight. I will be staying for one more night so you can also stay with me if you want.]
I declined politely by saying I canât impose on them too much, so we rode on the carriage we used to come here.
Just as Camille has said, the distance seems to be closer to the dorm than the cemetery, and as we were talking about unimportant things, we arrived at Samuelâs house.
I was guided to the room and I quickly searched for Samuelâs leftover mana.
As long as it is not outside, Mana discharged from a person will stay in place for a certain period of time.
As soon as I looked around the bed I found out how much of Samuelâs mana was left. As a result I twisted my head.
[It canât beâŠ.]
The Mana residue is a lot.
If itâs this much, his emission was more than what I used to emit before.
What does this mean?
Although I didnât mind about Noe because he got it later on, even though he was emitting this much Mana as a congenital-type patient, Samuel lost his life young.
Although itâs not enough to invoke a spell, the quantity is close to that.
With that amount, he shouldâve been able to live up to the age I first succeeded in using magic. Was the accumulation speed of Mana exceeded than what his body could discharge?
Did I perhaps overlook something?
[Sheryl-kun?]
[Huh? Aah, thank you, Iâm already fine.]
[Really?]
I said âItâs nothingâ to Camille whoâs looking at me worriedly, then I left the room.
[Did you perhaps find something thatâs bothering you?]
[YeahâŠ]
Nicole who has been aware of my change of mood since Samuelâs room, asked me on the carriage on our way back.
I exactly described the discomfort I felt to Nicole.
[It wonât be a matter of concern if it was emitted by someone who has a lot of Mana capacity like Rafael, though.]
[If it isnât?]
[During the funeral attendance, I checked the mana holdings of Samuelâs parents and relatives. At that amount, the Mana Samuel possessed compared to mine isâŠ]
[Sheryl-sama?]
As weâre talking, my Mana detection caught on to something.
I focus my attention on the caught presence and check its identity.
[A carriage appears to be approaching our way.]
Is it just trying to take over?
Still, there seems to be somethingâŠ
Just when I thought so, the coachman screamed.
[WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?]
According to the tension of his voice, the opponent seems to be unusual.
Soon Nicole embraces me.
[Sheryl-sama, please hold on tight.]
[Nicole?]
[Please close your mouth, you might bite your tongue!]
The moment I closed my mouth as Nicole told me, the carriage rocked sideways.
It seems like the other side has caught up and is running parallel to us and the two  carriages collided.
[Sh*T! What the hell!? Did you attack despite knowing itâs the carriage owned by Marquis Blow!?]
The carriage Camille prepared for us has Marquis Blowâs crest on it. Thanks to it, weâre able to move smoothly on the road without anyone stopping us.
Are they perhaps an enemy of the Blow household and mistook the passengers to be from the Marquisâ?
[Sheryl-sama, please keep your mouth closed. Weâre going to fly.]
Before I managed to ask âEh?â, the carriage cabin got blown away and I felt my body being strongly pulled.
What? What is it?
I couldnât comprehend whatâs happening so I just clung to Nicole.
A floating feeling that I had never felt wrapped around me and I opened my eyes where the shock has  ceased ⊠I was floating in the air.
To be exact, Nicole is using some kind of technique and kept us in the air.
On the ground, the two carriages are still running parallel to each other. The cabin of the other carriage has been beautifully dislocated, though.
But there are small things from the carriage that can be confirmed.
[Are you alright? Sheryl-sama.]
[Nicole⊠whatâs going on? This.]
[The Cadir family has had strong affinity to the wind element for generations, we have this secret art to protect our masters.]
[Secret artâŠ]
For the time being, I have confirmed that the Cadir Family isnât just an ordinary family of butlers.
[Letâs move before the enemy finds us here. Letâs return to the dorm as we are.]
[You mean, flying in the sky?]
[Yes. if itâs this distance, it will be easy so please donât worry.]
I do not know, I donât know the ability value of the Cadir family.
I have never heard of any magician who can fly for a long time even if they have a strong affinity with wind.
And n order to do that, the deployment spell must be invoked repeatedly. If itâs an ordinary magician, theyâll quickly run out of Mana.
[I also canât feel much of the air resistanceâŠ]
[As expected of Sheryl-sama, you have noticed it well. In order to reduce the resistance, we developed another kind of magic to make a wall of wind. Even if itâs attacked by an enemy, it can receive some of it.]
[âŠâŠâŠâŠ]
I can no longer find any words to retort.
Moreover, according to the scene passing in front of my eyes, weâre moving at quite a fast speed. We might be able to go return earlier compared to the carriage.
[Why do the Cadir family serve the Bashrals?]
[I wasnât told the whole details, but we seem to have received your kindness.]
[For only that reason!?]
[Itâs because they let us decide for ourselves afterwards. My little brother will be working for Jule-sama, but my eldest brother is on the front line as a magician.]
[You have brothers!?]
Although I was occupied with my own affairs while I was at the mansion, I couldnât hide the surprise at the fact I had just been made aware of. Although there are things Nicole couldnât talk about himselfâŠâŠ it shouldnât have been on the level where he gets disqualified by the masterâŠâŠ
[Huh? But your little brother will be Big Brotherâs butler?]
[He will start as a chamberlain, but he will become one eventually.]
[So itâs not a matter of seniority?]
Nicole will work or my brother, and the little brother will be stuck with me, was how I thought it will be.
[There are also rules in our house, you see. The people who arenât able to become a steward wonât be taught the secret arts, if theyâll be taught then they will be last, the only path is to become a butler. They seem to have judged that Jule-sama will be fine even if he doesnât have a butler for a while.]
I seeâŠ.and I nod my head.
Remembering the butler grandpaâs countenance, he looked pretty strict.
In spite the continuous activation of two magic, Nicole didnât seem tired and was even answering my question neatly.
With my knowledge about magic deepened, I was even more surprised of that fact.
On our way to the dorms, Nicole taught me a lot of things.
**********
Just to be sure, I searched the dorm entrance for any presence that may conduct an ambush on us with Mana detection.
Since there doesnât seem to be a problem, we get down in front of the dormitory and decided to enter the dorm through the front gate.