Arafoo Kenja No Isekai Seikatsu Nikki Chapter 32

reuz von Solisthea . He’s the second son of the Duke of Solisthea, and being the Magic Academy’s top student, he’s been dubbed as a genius magician . He is calm and collected but seemed to only be interested in magic research to the point of turning a blind eye and pretending not to notice his own House’s internal squabble, and spending all of his time on his research .

Ultimately, it was all background noise to him, who wasn’t interested in succeeding his father’s t.i.tle . His interest lied in magic, as he was a researcher in the pursuit of knowledge . And, as such, he will continue to seek wisdom even if this long-cherished ambition ends up destroying him in the end, is what he seriously thought .

Though he was currently buried under a large number of books .

“… It’s not going well . Just what the h.e.l.l am I missing?”

He was investigating magic formulas . Naturally, he also studies other disciplines such as magic potions brewing, however, this was his area of expertise .

The pursuit of knowledge was both his raison d’être and hobby . In short, he was a research otaku .  

With well-ordered facial features and silver hair resembling his mother’s, he was a  good-looking youth . He had gla.s.ses that suited the cool-headed impression he gave off, but even though he may seem apathetic on the surface, he earned the good faith and trust from the people around him, causing him to be on the end of the pa.s.sionate gazes of his many fans whenever they saw him . Putting it plainly, he was a riajuu*

(*T . N: リア充; a normie; a person who is satisfied with their real (offline) life . )

Be that as it may, this was the perspective other people had of him, and if one were to ask the person in question, he would completely deny it .  

In any case, given that he knew his elder brother would be the one inheriting the position of the next family head, today as well, he was burning up with the pa.s.sion to do what he really loved, that is to say, magic research . In addition, it was a pitiful story, that even though, at the moment, other people were having a dispute over who will succeed his father’s t.i.tle, things like political power didn’t tickle his fancy at all .

His evaluation towards his own family was also quite low and were he return home, a doting mother and a philanderer father would be expecting him in there . His elder brother had grown foolish and ill-mannered over the past few years, and his mother started to see herself only as Kreuz’s mother’s friend* .

(*T . N: that sentence was too ambiguous . I thought Kreuz and Zweit were twins tho, but to me, this sentence makes more sense this way than to say ‘Zweit’s mother only thought of herself as a friend of herself;その母親は自分の母親の友人としか認識していなかった。)  

His grandfather was a respectable personage, but his favoritism towards Kreuz’s incompetent little sister also played part in his low evaluation . As he was also born in a family that hailed from a long line of magicians, he took no interest in Celestina, who couldn’t use magic . Even though they were raised together, he continued to treat her like air . Something that hasn’t changed even to this day .  

However, he couldn’t have expected that he would need to correct some of his evaluations now . That is because he stayed locked up in his room for two months, and of the previously mentioned, three weeks in the laboratory a.s.signed by the Academy . In addition, he also had no concern for things like gossips in the first place . Though, one could say he was a severe hikikomori .

Currently, he was researching magic formula deciphering methods . Kreuz held doubts regarding the interpretation taught by the Academy of things like magic characters and magic formulas, so he decided to get into the heart of the matter using his own . That is…

“Each individual magic character doesn’t possess a meaning on its own, they only make sense when they are put together . If this hypothesis is correct, it will certainly explain why all previous studies on this subject have failed…”

He thought that magic formulas were things similar to command words . Up until now, the established theory was that each magic character had a meaning on its own and that, from the series of characters a magic formula was composed of, mana was smoothly drawn and transformed into a physical phenomenon .

However, there were, occasionally, odd magic formulas that completely failed to work despite being correctly activated .  

If said theory was correct, a magic formula should still activate and give some sort of reaction even if the magic characters used didn’t make any sense

It was common knowledge that within the magic characters, there were some that determined the spell’s attribute, but if it didn’t work, it meant that the mana itself wasn’t flowing through the formula .  

He believed in the contents of the lessons, and so he compared a magic formula that didn’t work with one that activated normally, finding out that only one small section of the formula was different .

He painstakingly selected a list of common magic characters between both formulas, as well as magic formulas with other magic attributes, leaving behind the unintelligible parts . As a result, it turned out that this magic formula had been modified many generations ago, which, made him draw the inference that modern magicians had completely destroyed the magic from the past . And, at the same time, it made him come up with the notion of using the magic characters to form ‘words’ that represented a physical phenomenon .

For instance, the wind element . This magic attribute is seen in many sections across this list and so, he thought that it was the magic formula that determined the attribute change of the spell itself, and the rest of the common magic characters between the two are things that regulate the spell’s control and power .  

(*T . N: It legit took me like 2 whole hours to get these two paragraphs . )

He worked on his own on a thorough investigation of this topic, recording everything and compiling it into an essay .  

However, it lacked persuasion as there wasn’t any supporting evidence . The magicians belonging to the Saint-Germain faction will surely acknowledge it, but the other factions will criticize that point, using it as an excuse to hide and bury his research .  

In this current situation, where the factions are constantly trying to pull each other’s legs, Kreuz couldn’t carelessly publish his essay .  

He abruptly stands up but frowns because of the pain that a.s.saulted him after being sat in a chair for too long .  

“Ugh… Speaking of which, I don’t even remember how long I’ve been sitting here for . ”

“You also said the same thing yesterday, right? Just how immersed in yourself can you be, Kreuz-kun?”

When he turns his eyes towards the voice that called him out, he sees a dog-eared woman resting up on the sofa nearby with a blanket on top .

“Yi Ling . When did you intrude? I didn’t realize at all . ”

(*T . N:イー・リン; according to weblio, it’s a chinese name written in katakana . Without the dot in the middle, it’d be Erin . )

“Ehh? How mean~  I called out to you just in case, you know? You’re the one who didn’t notice . ”

With a chestnut-colored, messy bed hair, and a friendly smile on her face, she’s a researcher, who joined Kreuz’s faction at the same time as him .

(*T . N: The term used here is 同期[douki] which is often used to refer to people who entered a company in the same year, so like, colleagues . )

She’s a mixed-race born between a human and a beastman[獣人族], and in addition, she possesses an innate high mana capacity, as well as being one of the Academy’s most outstanding students with the highest grades .  

Originally, The beastmen race is one not very adept at magic, however, the opposite was true for her, magic being one of her strong points .   

“It’s not praiseworthy for a woman of marriageable age to intrude alone into a man’s room, you know?”

“It’s alright, I trust you, Kreuz-kun . ”

“I’m honored . ”

“Um… Well, they told me that when it’s my first time I should properly use contraceptives, though . ”

“What kind of trust is that…”

Kreuz heaves a tired sigh . He might be a riajuu, but more than that, he was an unsociable person .  

The two talked about the lessons’ contents and the like for a while, however…

“Speaking of which, Kreuz-kun, you had a younger sister called Celestina, right?”

For some reason, the topic of his stepsister comes out .

(*T . N: 腹違い[harachigai] in specific a sibling born from a different mother . )

In all honesty, to him, it had been a very pleasant conversation… until that moment…

“That’s correct, but why do you ask?”

“I heard that she couldn’t use magic, is that true?”

“Ehh, well, when I was young, I was told she didn’t have any talent for magic . What about it?”

“That girl… She’s now one of the top students in terms of average grades . She’s becoming a powerful magician, almost as if that story about her being unable to use magic were a lie . ”

The book he was casually holding between his hands falls to the ground with a loud clang .  

“… Are you sure you’re not mistaken? I doubt she’d be able to pretend like that…”

“What I heard is that she went on some sort of training trip towards Far-flung forest, together with your elder brother . ”

“No, that can’t be correct . My brother hated her guts . ”

“But like~, recently the two have been regularly in the library investigating something, you know? And it seems like it’s a really complicated topic, because, like I had no idea what they were talking about . ”

At least to Kreuz, his brother, Zweit, didn’t seem like the kind of person to get along with Celestina . Rather, he remembers that since they were young, Zweit was the one to take the initiative to bully her .

There seemed to be a discrepancy between Kreuz’s memory, and the story she told about his siblings .

“Did he have some sort of change of heart? But still, I don’t think it’s likely that their relations.h.i.+p improved to that degree . ”

“That’s why~, like I looked into it, and it seems it’s true . They like, stay cooped up inside the library from the afternoon until its closing time, you know? The two of them…”

(*T . N: yes, she says ‘like’ in every sentence) 

“… How weird . To be honest, the two can do whatever they want for all I care, but it doesn’t add up that they’re working together . It’s unnatural . ”

“The two of them secretly… No way! They have a forbidden relations.h.i.+p!?”

“How did the story even get there? No, I think something must’ve happened back home . ”

In response to Kreuz’s calm tone of voice, Yi Ling said, “Aren’t ya a gloomy guy, Kreuz-kun?” He was slightly hurt .  

“Well~, also the person in charge of the library said that you have to return the books you borrowed as soon as possible, okay?”

“ ・・・・・・・ Now that you mention it, I’ve been borrowing these books for a long time now . I’ll go return them…”

“Why do you look so tired, though?”

“The books I borrowed are… It’s because, that pile of books over there are all the books I borrowed . ”

“You… You’ll probably need a dolly cart . ”

Where Kreuz pointed at, there was a huge pile of books stacked from the floor all the way up to the ceiling, and they looked like they could collapse at any time .

“I sometimes use this room as a place to stay, but well, will you give me a hand with this?”

“Ehh~… With these many books? How many times do you think we’ll have to go back and forth?”

“Let’s see . With a dolly… at least ten times?”

“Ah… I just remembered I had a previous engagement, so…”

Kreuz grabs Yi Ling’s arm when she was about to escape .  

“You’ll help me… right?”

“If you stare at me so closely… I’ll get embarra.s.sed…”

“Your face is cramping up a little, you know? By the way, your answer?”

With a smile, Kreuz presses her for an answer while emitting a menacing aura around him . Yi Ling flinches while trying to step back, but ultimately, she couldn’t escape with him grasping her arm .  

“Noooo~!! I can’t do it ten times~! I-I’ll break!!”

“You’ll be fine . You have more stamina than me . ”

“Noo! nowaynowaynoway~~! Nooo w~~~aaa~~yyyy!!” 

She was so reluctant, that she rampages around, trying to shake free from Kreuz’s grasp . But there was no way he would let go of his previous manpower .  

As they struggle with one another, they end up falling over onto the sofa .

““・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・””

They wound up in a position as if they were about to start having a ‘love affair’, intently looking at each other’s eyes . For some reason, time flows in silence . It was unclear whether it was a minute or a second, but an awkward silence pa.s.sed between the two .  

“W-Wha… What the h.e.l.l are you guys doing?”

“Heeyyyy~ Kreuz . Can you do me a favo…r… ah…aaahhhh!?”

“Selina!? Makarov!?”

And so, their love scene was seen .  

“Kreuz-kun, I thought I knew you, but it looks like I was wrong…”

“S-So you guys were in that kind of relations.h.i.+p…”

““You’re wrong!!”” 

“B-By the way, y-you’re unexpectedly tough . Doing it ten times… Even if you have beastmen blood flowing through your veins, as I thought, you might break, Yi Ling…”

“What!? Kreuz, you b.a.s.t.a.r.d! How can you say you don’t have any interest in women when we just caught you getting laid!”

He was greatly misunderstood .  

Selina blus.h.i.+ng further incited the misunderstanding, and on the other hand, Makarov was tightly making a fist while shedding tears of blood .  

“It’s a misunderstanding . I was just asking her to help me bring back the books to the library, and then…”

“Then you pushed her down so strongly that she unconsciously blurted out ‘so hot’, right!? you f.u.c.ker!!”

“T-That’s not the case! It really was just an accident . ”

“Ehh… an ‘accident’, is it? An accident of youth…… Um, are you using contraceptives, right?”

““…You’re not listening . ””

As the misunderstanding deepened and they began to run loose, it took them around three hours to desperately calm down and correct the delusions of those two . Both Kreuz and Yi Lin ended up with extremely tired . And, although they more or less understood…

“Ehh… I get it . So, you want to keep it a secret? Don’t worry, despite how I look, I’m an adult woman, so…”

“Oi Kreuz . I’ll forgive you for today! But you’re telling me everything later, okay? In GREAT detail, you understand!?”

…They said that before leaving . The misunderstanding wasn’t cleared up at all .  

The next morning, rumors began to spread about the two becoming lovers, and even their relations.h.i.+p was given official recognition inside the Saint-Germain faction .  

At the Istor Magic Academy, marriage between students is allowed, and there are many married couples that attend there .  

Because of a certain person’s jealousy, the two seemed unable to resolve the misunderstanding .

No one knew how it would turn out for these two people, but at least, Yi Ling herself didn’t seem at all unhappy about the rumors .  

After Kreuz said he was staying in his room, no one saw him for four days . And, in any case, it seemed that returning back the books will be delayed for a while .  

A few days later, Kreuz went to the library*… Well, to be precise, he went to the Great Library* located within the Academy grounds, but due to its sheer size, it was simply called ‘library’ for convenience’s sake .  

(*T . N: first it’s called as 書庫[shoko] using the kanji for warehouse, and then it’s called 大図書館[daitoshokan] with the kanji for mansion . So, it’s like the difference between your local school’s library and the Congress’ . )

The reason is, of course, the borrowed books that hadn’t been returned . He could only sigh at the prospect of making round trips from his lab to the Great Library for several days to return all the books .  

He’s always been the indoor type, and so, he’s never been the sort of person to want play outside . In his leisure time, he always reads a book while enjoying a cup of black tea . Therefore, he always spews complaints like ’a troublesome season has come’ every year when it was time for the combat training event, organized by the upper-grade students, which would be held in the near future .  

He was seriously contemplating whether he should boycott the event given that he didn’t want to be bothered by things other than his research .  

Because he’s tall, he looked like he had high stamina, however, he was completely useless when it came to sports . His reluctance to even go return the books showed how hardcore his desire to stay at home was . He didn’t even want to think about a situation where he had to go monster hunting in the name of combat training, but as the Academy’s top student, he wasn’t in a position where he could plainly refuse to go .  

Some rumors also suggest that he has a sharp and brilliant mind, excellent grades, transcendent beauty, he’s good at sports, and comes from a family of good social standing . In short, an Übermensch, though none of these rumors were based in reality…

Of course, they didn’t know he was a mere hikikomori, which would greatly damage his reputation if it came to be known . Still, most of the male students directed gazes full of envy towards him…  

In any case, as he was in this aforementioned position as a top student, he had no way to avoid the event, and so he was growing discouraged just by thinking about it .  

His steps while pus.h.i.+ng the dolly cart were heavy… Though, needless to say, the dolly was actually heavy due to the sheer amount of books .

As he pa.s.sed through the entrance of the Great Library, in front of his eyes, sitting in one of the reading places, was the figure of the one student he didn’t want to see . Well, in actuality, there were more students that fit into that category, but to him, this person was someone he absolutely didn’t want to encounter, his older brother, Zweit .

He seemed to be looking for something within the piles of books around him, occasionally running his pen through a piece of paper as he wrote, and then turning to the books again .  

According to Kreuz’s memory, he was the type of person to say ‘Magic is power! Wahahaha!’, and didn’t have a particularly hardworking personality for him to sit and read books for the sake of acquiring knowledge .  

However, that was his mistake in the first place . Zweit was actually quite serious about his studies but had the type of personality of not wanting his efforts to be seen by others . Of course, Kreuz didn’t know that before because he simply tended to stay cooped up in his own room, and thus, he didn’t have any opportunity to see him working hard on his own .

It could be said that Kreuz was indifferent to his surroundings to that extent . And yet, when he thought that he had to give his greetings now that he had already seen him, he couldn’t help but sigh with a gloomy face .

“How unusual . I didn’t think I would find my dear brother in a place like this . I thought you were on your faction’s ‘absurd theories a.s.sembly . ’”

“Ah? And what about it, Kreuz? I haven’t been going for a while now, they made quite the ruckus after rebuking all their little war plans . I’m banned from entering now . ”

‘Oh?’ For a moment that thought flashed across his mind . From what he remembered, his elder brother has never had such a friendly and open personality .  

“Were you the one that borrowed ‘Ancient Magic Formulas Complete Works’ and ‘Roseanne Celest’s Theory of Magic’ a long time ago, by the way? The formulas written here in this book had been completely changed, so they’re useless…”

“…Ahhh, yeah I borrowed it . It should be buried somewhere in the pile of books in my room . ”

“Tch . You did, huh?… I see . It’s not something that can be found on the street . ”

Zweit talks about it without averting his eyes from the book he’s reading . On the other hand, Kreuz felt confused . As far as he knew, his brother wasn’t one to be interested in magic research .

“What happened so suddenly? Are you planning to become a researcher now?”

“I’m just doing a short a.s.signment . I have to optimize our family’s heirloom magic so it’s easier to use, but…”

“a.s.signment? Was it perhaps from Father or Grandfather?”

“Nah, from my s.h.i.+shou[master/師匠] . Celestina was also taught by him…… but now, well… now she’s the ‘genius girl’, you know?”

“!?”

The Academy’s students have ‘Mentors[師] . ’ It’s something every magician longs for, as many of them have made incredible progress under the guidance of such excellent individuals . For instance, studying under a magician renowned all across the country such as Creston, and being deemed as a capable magician, might increase the chances of being appointed to important posts in the country .

However, it’s exactly because of it, that one’s talent and grades within the Academy are the most important things, and so, only the ones who have excelled in both areas can be recognized as disciples of such personages .

It was hard to believe that Zweit and Celestina had already a ‘Mentor . ’

(*T . N: Well, this resolves the doubt I had back on chapter 25, when blonde-drills-girl asked Celestina if she had a mentor 《師》[s.h.i.+])

“Who on earth is teaching you? Viscount Negus, or Marquess Altmeyer?”

(*T . N: ネーガス子爵 and アトマイヤー侯爵)

“…… Kreuz, that is confidential information from our House . You can’t by any means reveal it to others… You get it, right?”

“Is that person important to that extent? Well, he did found a way to make that ‘incompetent’ able to use magic…”

“That is also a matter of absolute secrecy . Even to His Majesty, you can’t talk about it . It will definitely become a problem if it’s known . ”

Zweit was completely serious . He had the expression of someone who shouldered a big responsibility, unlike how he appeared to be in the past .  

Kreuz also braces himself and makes up his mind .  

“Let’s hear it then . I’m also part of the Duke of Solishtea’s house . I have the duty to listen to my family’s matters . ”

“… Alright . ”

Zweit looks around to make sure there aren’t other people around . He discreetly cast a spell, taking into account the possibility of someone eavesdropping .  

“In short, we studied under an unknown magician . ”

(*T . N: as in not famous . )

“Ha!?”

A hard-to-believe answer comes out of his elder brother’s mouth .  

“While they were returning home for the summer vacations, Grandfather and Celestina were attacked by bandits and were saved by a ridiculously strong magician who happened to be around . ”

“… Hold on . It’s really strange to go to the extent of having a duty of secrecy for an unknown magician, you know? Who the h.e.l.l is this person!?”

“The real problem is his occupation of ‘Great Sage’ you see . ”

“Wha!?”

In this world, occupation is the representation of each person’s most suitable set of skills written on their Status . It’s a t.i.tle recognized by the World itself and could be said to be a person’s life calling, which more often than not, they fulfill .

Amongst them, occupations such as ‘Great Sage’ and ‘Sage’, ‘Saint’, ‘Saintess’, and ‘Hero’ are ones that belong to the category of legends and folklore . Whenever someone is born with one of these occupations, countries will do everything to add them to their national strength .

“It’s my benefactor’s wish to live in peace . This country will perish if he ever gets bothered . ”

“Is that really true? I still can’t believe it…”

“It is . He rewrote all of the Academy’s textbook’s spells, you know? Could you do something like that? It’s impossible for me . ”

“I see… Is that why Celestina can use magic now?”

Magic altered by a Great Sage . In that case, it’s no impossible for even her incompetent sister to be able to use magic… Is what he concluded .

“Hm… Well, that’s not really what I mean . It’s something like we’ve been using magic that has been altered in a completely wrong way . The reason Celestina couldn’t use magic lied within the magic formulas themselves, or perhaps I should say that they seemed to be defective .

Even though there are differences from person to person, everyone can use magic, or at least that’s what that guy said . ”

“… As I thought . The modern magic formulas are inferior to the ones from the past . They’ve all been completely destroyed . The dissertation written by the heretical magician Sahakul, ‘The Lost of Magic and the Destroyers’ proved that everything was true, right? 

And then, my dear brother, about the awful things you’ve been doing? I just didn’t have any interest in them . ”

(*T . N: yeah, not sure what he means in that last sentence;それと、酷い事をしていたのは兄さんだけですよ？　私は興味が無かっただけです」)

“… Isn’t it just as bad to pretend not to notice?”

Both Kreuz and Celestina are excellent in terms of knowledge, as they seemed to have arrived at the same conclusion on their own .  

“Well, did Celestina also look at Sahakul’s dissertation, perhaps? I guess if she couldn’t use magic, it would’ve been possible to rewrite the magic formulas . ”

“Fumu . Was my sister always excellent? Perhaps I should change my evaluation of her . ”

“Ahh… Speaking of which, she might be stronger than you, you know? She’s been acc.u.mulating actual combat experience, after all . ”

“Great Sage-dono is quite excellent, then . He made her, who couldn’t use magic, to grow so much… It’s kinda…”

“No, that’s just what happens when you undergo actual battles . I think you are kinda similar to him in some aspects, but you both have completely opposite dispositions . He’s a monster that has forged and tested his theories through battles . ” 

“… That’s scary . ”

They stand at opposite sides of the spectrum, him completely being on the muscles-for-brain faction . Kreuz sensed that it would hard for him to deal with that kind of people who would drag an indoors-type of person, outdoors . When he thinks about that Great Sage, a scene of someone repeatedly carrying out magic experiments on the battlefield comes to mind .  

“By the way, what kind of a.s.signment did you receive from that magician? I’m honestly curious . ”

“As I said before, it’s to make our heirloom magic more efficient . I have closely examined this spell’s mechanisms, and I found that it places a huge burden on the user, aside from consuming an absurd amount of mana, too . Also, the power hasn’t been completely stable, and what’s more, the magic formula is so exquisitely constructed that it feels like it’s hara.s.sing me . ”

“Did you say ‘language deciphering’ just now? Then, as I thought, the characters on the magic formulas were strings of words, right!?”

“That’s right . Magic characters are the written representation of the laws of physics, and they’re activated by forming a circuit known as magic circle… Wait, ‘as I thought’? Did you arrive at that conclusion on your own!?”

“It’s true that I felt a sense of discomfort from theories the Academy was teaching . It was only around two months ago that I started looking into it in earnest . But, I see… so my hypothesis was correct… And now that I’ve finally gotten a hint, I can finally move forward with my research . ”

Kreuz couldn’t hide his joy at the prospect of finally making progress with his research . Above all, he suddenly became motivated as the hypothesis he compiled in his essay was proven to be right .  

On the other hand, however, Zweit was feeling complex emotions .

“Honestly… Kreuz, I seemed to have underestimated you . ”

“Huh? What’s with that creepy line all of a sudden?”

“Celestina and I can read magic formulas because of s.h.i.+shou’s teachings, but you’ve arrived at that conclusion on your own . It’s a big difference, you know?”

In these past two months, Zweit has grown considerably . He now had the leeway to admit his mistakes .  

“It’s just a hobby . I’m doing it because it’s fun . ”

“That’s why, be careful . You’re the same as s.h.i.+shou . If you keep going the way you’re right now, you’re gonna end up making dangerous stuff . ”

“Dangerous stuff? … Such a thing, are you serious?”

“Wide-range annihilation magic… s.h.i.+shou can use it . ”

A cold breeze seems to flow through the quiet library .  

“Wide-range annihilation magic . That’s not something a single person can use, am I wrong? Where would you even obtain the enormous amount of mana necessary to cast it from? Impossible!”

“… The answer is in Lugius’ ‘The World’s Providence and the Occult . ’”

“!? No way, using external mana… I thought it was a silly book, but who would’ve thought the solution would lie within it . I still have a long way to go…”

“No, you’re good enough . You’re probably more of a true magician than anyone else here… Do you want to know how to decipher it?”

“No . I’ve come this far on my own and I’ll see it through the end . After all, the answer has already been given to me . ”

Kreuz already had some hints regarding magic formulas’ deciphering methods . It was just a matter of going back to his lab, research, experiment, and then put it into practice by building a formula on his own . He wasn’t called a genius for nothing .

“Oops, I almost forgot . Here, this is from s.h.i.+shou . ”

Zweit throws something at him . As he catches it, he notices that it was a silver ring .  

Looking closely at it, the ring had a complex magic formula engraved onto it .  

Kreuz gasped in surprise at the sheer amount of details in it .  

“T-This ring is…”

“It’s a magic medium… like a wand . You should try it out to see if it’s comfortable to use . He also said it’d be helpful if you could put together your impressions of the ring on a report . ”

“A metallic magic medium . And it’s made of mithril… truly interesting . ”

“Send it to Grandfather and it’ll reach him . ”

“I understand . I’ll write one soon . ”

“Ah, and also… return the book quickly! Other people want to read it too!”

“・・・・・・・・・・・”

It wasn’t easy to carry back that mountain of books, and above all, he didn’t know how long it would take him to return all of them . He would eventually manage to do it with the dolly cart, but it was depressing to him just thinking about making round trips over and over .

“Dear brother . Would you be so kind as to a.s.sist me with that task?”

“I refuse . It’s all because you have no self-restraint . Do it yourself . ”

He did not expect to be refused . And, for a while, Kreuz would have to repeatedly carry out such a laborious task despite his reluctance .  

“Speaking of which… Do you live with a woman now?”

“I don’t . She just naps in my lab from time to time . ”

“And what about the rumors? About you two hugging each other naked… and other enviable s.h.i.+t, d.a.m.n it… you b.a.s.t.a.r.d . ”

“Are you envious to the extent of shedding tears of blood? Calm down, it’s just a misunderstanding . ”

There was no way Kreuz would’ve known of his brother’s broken heart, as he sees Zweit shedding tears of blood .

“Y-You’re right . Spring is in full bloom! It’s the perfect time to a.s.sa.s.sinate all those b.a.s.t.a.r.ds that go on dates outside!”

His older brother going crazy from envy was truly a wretched sight to behold .

“Who’s spreading those rumors, by the way? I’d like you to tell me if you could . ” 

“Hmm? It was one of those guys that entered with you in middle school… Ah, I think he’s also in your faction… Ma, Macaroni?

“It’s Makarov . I see now… kukuku . What shall I do I wonder . ”

“You… You really are like s.h.i.+shou, I knew it . ”

Kreuz then disappears into the rows of bookshelves, pus.h.i.+ng the dolly cart with a dark smile on his face .  

Zweit turns his eyes back to the book on his desk…

“…That guy also changed . ”

He mutters .

In the past, Kreuz never showed any interest in anyone . He always responded with a superficial smile, but no one really was reflected in his eyes . He was indifferent to the point of seeing his blood-related brother, Zweit, as merely another figurine in his eyes . He was that kind of person .  

But Kreuz wasn’t that cold now . He looked at Zweit in the eye while they were talking . But, unfortunately, the person himself wasn’t aware of those changes, and it will take him a long time to realize .  

“I knew, so it was a woman after all? So, a woman can change a man like that? d.a.m.n it… When is Spring going to come for me!”

Zweit . Looking for a lover in the middle of winter .  

Furthermore, because Luceris was his favorite type of woman, his wounds were deeper than what one would’ve thought .  

“Buhlmite… Remember this day . I swear I will take revenge . ”

The brunt of the anger coming from his broken heart was directed at the person who used brainwas.h.i.+ng magic on him .

Well, without brainwas.h.i.+ng magic, there’s a high chance that he would’ve succeeded in courting her .  

It was mostly him venting his anger, but in a way, it might be the right thing to do .  

And so, his thirst for blood was turned towards Samtroll’s subordinate, Buhlmite .

Incidentally, it was uncertain whether Spring would come for Zweit .   

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