bookworm

Unconcerned by her own fluttering skirt, Mile muttered,“There it is, his ‘Kamikaze Technique’…”Mile had been pondering this since she had first seen Lobreth use his “Stomach Flute Technique.” If he could use the “Stomach Flute Technique,” then surely he could use the “Kamikaze Technique” as well.“Don’t just stand there talking nonsense and nodding to yourself! Hurry up and attack hiiim!!!”Brought back to the present by Reina’s scream of rage, Mile quickly drew her sword.However, Lobreth had been trying his best to never kill anyone so far, and he never attacked anyone except those who hurt him first.That extended even into this moment. He was still holding back.Mile was hesitant to launch a fatal attack on an opponent like that.Yet just as she had that thought, a biting attack came her way. It did not seem like Lobreth intended to kill, but merely to clamp down and toss her away.As she tried to field the rapidly descending bite attack with her sword, suddenly, Lobreth’s tail came whipping around from the side.A side attack was bad. The only force she had to steady her was the friction of her own weight pressing her feet into the ground, so it would be easy to send her flying.To cut it off with her sword would be too cruel, and as for magic, water or fire combined with the physical energy of the tail would…Snap!“Oh…”Time was up.Too deep in thought to react in time, Mile took a direct hit from Lobreth’s tail and went flying.“Mile!!!” the other three screamed.The distance she flew this time was much shorter than when she had been struck by the rock lizard, and this time there was no cliffside for her to crash into.However, a wyvern’s tail was much thinner than a rock lizard’s and supple like a whip. Therefore, the damage done by the rock lizard’s tail could not compare to the damage done this time.Still, now was not the time to go rushing over to Mile. As long as she wasn’t dead, Pauline should be able to do something with her healing magic. Knowing this, the other three turned to face Lobreth.Even if his opponents were female, landing some damage on them was unavoidable if it meant that he and his master could escape safely. Having come to this conclusion, Lobreth decided to finally unleash his claw strike along with his tail and his teeth, and charged at the girls brandishing all three.Mavis bided her time in an attempt to somehow block this, while Reina and Pauline started their spells. But then…“Water Impact!”The silently cast spell that flew out then was not Reina’s, Pauline’s, nor (obviously) Mile’s.The spell that was cast while the Crimson Vow were preoccupied with Lobreth had come from the suspicious old man.It’s over! the old man thought, grinning at his spell, which had gone perfectly according to plan. Just then…Ka-shing!It bounced back at him.The water spell was meant to strike the girl closest to him, the one with the big chest, and envelop both her and the others, then blow them away, knocking the fight out of them without hurting them too much. Yet just before it struck the first girl, the spell came flying back as though it had been repelled by something.“Wh…”“Ah, I forgot to remove that barrier…” said Mile, who, after she had been sent flying and crashed into the ground, hopped to her feet completely unharmed and ready to return to the fray.Of course, this was Mile’s doing. Even if it was unintentional.“Tch! Water—”Slash!There was no more time for that.Reina fired off a spell to keep Lobreth in check, Mavis thwarted the tail attack with her sword, and Pauline redirected her offensive from Lobreth to the man.And then, as the man was blown away, crashing into the ground, they saw Lobreth stiffen up with a crackling sound, and collapse.“Bwuh… Just one hit…?”Mile, judging that a close-range battle would be dangerous, and figuring that allowing her fellow party members to capture the wyvern on their own once was enough, had stricken Lobreth with a magical electric shock.“Now then, what to do with them…?”Once again they bound Lobreth, along with the mysterious man. As Reina glared at him, the man pleaded.“I-I’m begging you! Please don’t kill him!”Tossing another glare at him, Reina said, “If you try anything funny this time, it’s off with your heads. Both yours and his!”The man nodded, his face pale.None of the Crimson Vow had ever had any intention of killing the captured wyvern in the first place. Naturally, there was no sense in needless killing, and it meant more money for them if they brought it in alive.In truth, until this man had cloistered himself away in the mountains to begin a life of magical research, he had been a fairly well-known mage. Even now, his past renown carried some influence, and the people he had aided over the course of his career still held fairly important positions in the royal palace. If he played his cards right and cooperated in his role as the mage who successfully tamed a wyvern, he could probably avoid punishment for any of his crimes. In fact, the probability of it was quite high.But in order for that to happen, Lobreth had to be in good health. For his own sake—and because the wyvern was his good friend—Lobreth’s survival was paramount.Transporting Lobreth by manpower alone would have been impossible, but they figured that if the man told him what to do, the wyvern would obediently follow instructions. While the man considered Lobreth to be his friend, as far as Lobreth was concerned, this man was probably more like his owner or master. So Mile undid only the wires that were wrapped around Lobreth’s legs so that he could walk on his own.Just in case, Mile bound a thin wire around both Lobreth’s neck and the man’s, then brought Lobreth back to consciousness with awakening magic. The man whispered something or other into Lobreth’s ear, and Lobreth began walking dutifully ahead. Perhaps they had some sort of magic with which to understand each other, or perhaps, Lobreth merely had a high enough intelligence to understand human speech…The strength of the wires was clear to the man. He recognized that, should Lobreth try to run, or make any other sudden moves, the wire would squeeze their necks, or even—because it was so thin—cut straight through them. The man had no intention of risking his life on stupid gambits with a low chance of success. The man was no fighter, after all, just a scholar and researcher.Plus, having learned from her previous mistake, this time Mile had bound them not with the carbon nanotube fiber, but with steel wires. It was a superfine material made of piano wire, more durable than even a standard steel line. Even if fire were put to this wire, it would not be destroyed.Of course, she still had no intentions of letting them out of her sight.The young villager who was a little too fond of children watched as the five humans walked alongside Lobreth, who wobbled, unable to balance with his upper half bound. The young man was trembling.Th-they’re scary! City girls are absolutely terrifying!!!Perhaps, he would have one of the familiar village girls as a lover, after all. Women from the city were scary. However, the rough, crude ladies of his generation were also…“Yep, I’ll just have to make friends with a little girl and raise her how I like!” he concluded.If Mile had heard him say this, she probably would have said something like, “Are you Hikaru Genjiiiiii?!”When the group returned to the village, they were surrounded by villagers, who, though initially petrified at the sight of the wyvern, were soon rejoicing, praising the Crimson Vow. The girls called the village elder and requested that a messenger be dispatched to the regional capital in order to bring them a transport team.Though the royal capital was far away, the regional capital was much less so, and in order to increase his popularity by “doing things for the citizens,” the lord, who was also their client, would absolutely comply with the request. It was possible that a transport unit led by the lord himself might even meet up with them before they entered the city, so that he could lead the triumphant return through the gates. They could safely expect a bonus for capturing the wyvern alive, too.The Crimson Vow, having achieved even more than they had set out to, enjoyed the feast provided by the grateful villagers and swiftly forgot about two things:The suspicions they held about the existence of the demon.And the worry in their hearts over what that demon might be trying to do…It was still morning when the messenger set out from the village, so by the evening of the following day, a transport team arranged by the guild had arrived at the lord’s request. They would depart again for the capital early the next morning.All of the members of the transport team were hunters, so a high-ranking guild employee had accompanied them as their lead. He seemed to be a former B-rank hunter, someone whose orders the other hunters would not go against.The Crimson Vow were relieved to see that no commander from the regional army or the like had shown up to try and steal their thunder.On the contrary, the hunters all bowed their heads in deference to the Crimson Vow, captors of the wicked wyvern who had struck a huge blow to so many of their fellow hunters in the form of medical costs for the injured and job failure penalties. The previously defeated hunters had been forced to replace broken equipment and seen their finances go up in smoke, some of them even having to disclose their newfound bankruptcy to their families.The hunters had wished to take a stab at eliminating the wyvern themselves, for the sake of their pride as local hunters, and regretted that they could not. However, they couldn’t be expected to take on a reckless job that might land their party members or their families in the depths of misfortune.“Countless promising but stupid young parties ended up way in the red thanks to this thing, between having to replace their gear, get their injuries healed, and other things like that—not to mention the significant delay to their next promotions. Plus, morale was at an all-time low among us hunters and guild employees. The local villages were being attacked, and there was nothing that we could do about it. So sincerely, from the bottom of our hearts, we thank you for capturing this fiend,” the commanding guild employee said, bowing his head, and signing the girls’ job completion slip.They had handed the wyvern over to the guild on the condition that it could be killed at any time, and now their job was over.In truth, as far as the killing went, the Crimson Vow had asked the staff leader, “If we wanted him alive, what would you think about turning him over just like this?” to which he replied, “Gladly!”Because they’d gone through all the trouble of bringing Lobreth in alive, they decided to relinquish the wyvern there, and leave the rest in the guild’s hands.The benefits of this outweighed the risk of the wyvern escaping, or stirring up a fuss and killing someone, so naturally, everyone agreed.Thus, the Crimson Vow had completed their job with an A-grade and the promise of a bonus for their successful capture—and without of the burden of transporting their quarry. However…“Oh, who is that?”Seeing the man bound beside the wyvern, the commander of the transport squad asked the obvious question.Indeed, they had yet to tell him the tale of the mysterious man.“I am Byrnclift. I was once in service of the palace, as a court magician.”“Huh? A-are you that Byrnclift? The head of the royal court magicians?” the transport commander asked in surprise.“Indeed. To think that anyone still remembers my name…”They were humble words, but the old man’s expression betrayed him completely. He was clearly very pleased with himself.“In truth, I was living deep in the mountains, researching ways of training wyverns not to attack people, and to understand human speech. As a result, I successfully prevented this wyvern from attacking any of the villagers that live within its hunting grounds. Unfortunately, he was still forced to employ a bare minimum of countermeasures against the people who came to attack and kill him… I thought that the results of this research might be able to be put to good use for the sake of this country, but…”Truthfully, this man had made a request to the Crimson Vow.“I’m going to tell the transport team the truth, so please don’t interrupt me.“I won’t tell any lies. Once I’m finished talking, if you think any part of it is false, feel free to point it out then. Don’t make any conjectures of your own—merely present them with the objective facts, as you witnessed them yourself.”In fact, most of the information was the same as what the man had told them himself, so they would not truly be able to dispute it.At this juncture, there were no clear falsehoods for them to contest.“Even though the results of my research were fairly effective, those girls there came to capture and kill this wyvern. I tried to pay them to take the wyvern off their hands, but the job they accepted took priority, they said, so we could not negotiate an exchange…“Then, I tried with all my might to rescue him. And so, I intend to go with this wyvern and plead for his life. Please reconsider this! I thought it would be good for me to care for this wyvern, and put him to use in your lord’s service, should he be so inclined…”Indeed, there were no lies. And now…“That is all.”“Huh?” The Crimson Vow were stunned at this incredibly simple explanation.Indeed, it was all as he had said.He had not lied.However… somehow, the four of them felt dissatisfied with this tale.“………”The guild employee and the hunters looked rather concerned as well.This was understandable. The man was talking like a would-be villain out for revenge, speaking out against the hunters who had tried to attack and kill a supposedly innocent wyvern in the course of duty during a legitimate job they had taken, risking dire physical and financial damage along the way.“Is that all true?” the guild employee asked the girls, who could only reply, “Y-yes… There is at least nothing false in what he just told you… Even though I feel like there’s something more to it…” Reina replied, reluctantly.The comments about Mile’s body and so forth were stories that Byrnclift had told only them, so for now, they had to uphold his request.Plus, if he said that he wasn’t being serious, only buying time to save Lobreth, there was nothing more they could do. That they had attacked him was clear, so they would have to apologize…Of course, interfering with a hunter’s work was still illegal, so at least they were in the right as far as that went. Normally such disputes would be handled by the parties involved, or the hunters’ guild would intervene and decide if any reparation or disciplinary action was needed.However, in this case, the assailant was not a hunter, so the guild had no authority, and there was no choice but to leave it all in the hands of the officials. He had not done any real damage to them, so there would be minimal repercussions.The incident, so far, was nothing more than a reason to keep Byrnclift’s movements restricted. His crimes in relation to the wyvern would have to be investigated later.The exchange went on for a bit longer, but in the end, it was judged that Byrnclift, the former court magician, would travel along with the transport team not as a captured criminal, but as a benevolent third party.Attacking the girls had only been for the sake of saving Lobreth, he claimed, and he had no intention of threatening, killing, or even injuring them; in fact, Lobreth had clearly been holding back, and the spell that Byrnclift had fired off was one that would have only blown them back with water, causing little injury.Perhaps, he truly wasn’t such a bad person after all.Besides, Reina, Mavis, and Pauline were all familiar with people like him. So, none of the three were in a position to make a strong objection to his release.“It was only because he didn’t want to harm my body,” Mile thought to herself, but she did not voice her theory aloud.In any case, these people were only a transport team. They did not have much authority of their own. No matter how much they said to these hunters, it would be of little use. At best, it changed nothing more than how they might treat the man while escorting him, so they decided to give up on explaining the situation to the team any further.In the first place, most of what they knew was what Byrnclift had told them, so if he himself objected to any of it, then that was that. The fact that he had done everything in his power to rescue the wyvern was simply the honest truth. They had nothing else that they could convey to the transport team that was “an objective fact they had witnessed themselves.”Plus, any detailed testimony that the Crimson Vow gave would be delivered to their client via the guild. In other words, they would have to write down everything, including what Byrnclift said. If they did that, this information would certainly make it to the ears of the lord, their client, who was responsible for everything that went on in this region.The Crimson Vow wanted nothing more to do with Byrnclift after this point, and they couldn’t bear the thought of having to share their journey with him, or take some share of the responsibility if something happened. So, they decided to separate themselves from the situation as quickly as possible in order to focus on something else. Other than the commander, who was an essential part of the operation, all the members of the transport team were active hunters, and even the commander himself was a former hunter, so there was absolutely no need for the Crimson Vow to accompany them as an additional escort.Plus, while they had traveled here fairly swiftly, having to return while transporting a cart with a wyvern on it would take considerably more time. None of them were raring to stick along and keep Lobreth company.The next morning, the Crimson Vow left the village a little before the transport team, headed for the regional capital.They would feel awkward about leaving at the same time as the transport team, and then leaving them in the dust, and leaving later and then passing them would be just as bad. Therefore, they had no choice but to leave ahead of the other group.It was then, along the road to the capital, that the four of them finally remembered that concerning piece of information from earlier.“That demon… I wonder what he was trying to do. Really, what was he even doing in a place like that in the first place…?”“Good point… I wonder if he was plotting something…?”“I have a weird feeling about this…”This time, not only Mavis, who knew a bit about demons, but also Reina and Pauline, began to feel a creeping sense of doubt.“Well, we don’t even know if that man was telling us the truth, and anyway, it has nothing to do with our jobs. There’s no point in investigating it—or even thinking about it anymore.”The other three were shocked that Mile could be so nonchalant, but as they thought about it, they realized that she was correct.“I guess it’s true.” Reina agreed with Mile’s assessment. “We completed our job with an A-grade, and we’re getting a bonus. I’d call this a huge success—let’s just enjoy it!”There was still something unsettling about that man, Byrnclift, but there was nothing to be done about that. No matter what had happened, in the end, the matter was out of the Crimson Vow’s hands. They would report everything they knew, including the matter of the demon, to the guild, and the rest would be for the lord to handle. There really was no more point in them worrying over it.The man would be dealt with according to the laws of this territory. That was all there was to it.They were laws that could far too easily be bent by someone in a position of power, but that was none of their affair.Later that day, just before noon, the Crimson Vow arrived at the capital. They proceeded to the guildhall to process their job completion forms and report the details of their job to the guild master. They then received their payment, along with the bonus that the guild master had negotiated with the lord on their behalf. Apparently, even the lord, who always pinched pennies, was in good spirits and had been more than happy to open his purse.After that, they excused themselves from the guild, receiving the blessings of the staff and all the hunters present, and ate their fill of luncheon at an inn, before the four of them, exhausted, went straight to bed.The next day, they headed out toward the capital to begin the journey home.***“All right, it’s been a while! It’s time for another ‘Japanese Folktale’!” Mile announced, thinking that everyone could use a change of pace.This time, however, she was strapped for material.Hmm, hmm… What would be a good allusion to make here…?Lobreth, Urashima Taro, bottom… stripes… huh? No no…Lobreth, Urashima Taro, Uramima Taro… No no no no no! That’s too far away from Lobreth!Sales Princess… Is this Comiket?!Unbuying Lady… Is this the Handmade Bride?!The Hard Old Man… Is there such as thing as a “Soft Old Man”? And there’s the Sleepy Old Man…“Are you ready yet?”“Hurry up and start, please!”As the requests flooded in, Mile became more and more aggravated.She was in a slump. Mile was ailing.Dr. Slump? Ailing-chan? No no no no no no no no no!It was five more days until they reached the capital.Was little Lenny safely making use of the baths?Had she turned them into some kind of black-market orphan sweatshop?Hoping that a least a momentary peace awaited them in the capital, the four marched on, leaving the great, wide mountains to unfurl at their backs …“Are you ready yet?”“P-please just give me a moment!!!”ADELE’S MAGNIFICENT ACADEMY LIFEStory 4:

Adele’s First Date
“Next rest day will be a day off.”“Hm? Oh, yes, of course. Rest days are a day of rest!”“No! I’m saying that this shop is taking a day off!” said Aaron, the owner of the bakery, weary and disappointed with Adele, who, despite her usual impression of clarity, could be a bit dense now and then.“Every once in a while, we need to take a full day to do maintenance on the ovens. It’s much less of a pain for our regulars if we do this on a rest day, rather than a weekday, when everyone is working, yeah? You need to take it easy sometimes too, Adele. Why don’t you go on a date with a boy or something? I’m sure you’d have your pick of the litter when it comes to boys, right, Adele?” he suggested at the end of Adele’s shift, as she collected her wage of two silver.“A d-d-d-d-date, you say…?”Adele suddenly froze up.Including her previous life, Adele had a track record of 19 boyfriend-less years. If you included her time spent in this world before her reawakening, that was 29 years.In her time as a singleton, AKA her entire life, she had never even held hands with a boy, let alone gone on a date.***“Miss Adele, you’re behaving rather strangely today. Did something happen?”“Ah, yes, it seems that on our next rest day, I’m supposed to go on a date…” Mile answered glumly.“Whaaaaaaaaaat?!?!”A shout filled the classroom.“Wha-wh-wh-wh-wh-wh-wh…”The most shaken among all of them was Marcela.“Uh, ahh, Miss Adele, wh-what did you just…?”“I’m asking, what should I do about my date next rest day?”“W-with who?! Who are you going on a date with?!”“I’m telling you, that’s the part I need to figure out first…”“Whaaaaaaaat?!”In order to survive in Class A, you needed to have a voice of steel.After Marcela’s interrogation of Mile, the class finally came to understand the situation.“In other words, the bakery is closing for the day, and the owner ordered you to go on a date or something?”“Yes, that’s exactly it! But, I’ve never been out with a boy even once before now, so what in the world do I even do…?”Why do you have to do anything at all?!Her classmates interjected silently. Naturally, Marcela was thinking the same thing.“So what you’re saying is, you’re going on a date, but you’ve yet to actually decide who you’re going with?”“Y-yes. That’s the sum of it.” Adele replied.Marcela rubbed her temples with her middle fingers.“Understood. Don’t you worry about a thing, Miss Adele. Please just be your normal self. We will handle the rest of this.”***It happened after class had ended and Adele had exited the classroom.At the instructions of the girl with the chairwoman-like air, the students swiftly closed and locked the door. The windows, of course, were shut as well.Adele alone had left the room to return to the dormitory. Everyone else remained there.“Now then, let the Class A emergency meeting begin!”With the chairwoman presiding, an emergency conference was taking place.“The crisis we are currently facing should go without explanation: the incredibly dire prospect of what to do about Adele’s first date. First, we have to begin with the fundamental issue of whether we will allow this date or quash it…”“Chairwoman, a question!” one girl interrupted, raising her hand.“Yes, what is it?”“Will girls be included in the pool of date candidates?”“Whooooooooooooooooooooaaaaa!!!”The more than half of the class that was female raised their voices in admiration, perhaps not having even conceived of such a spectacular possibility themselves. Even the chairwoman was moved by this idea, her eyes sparkling.However, as the chairwoman, she could not allow the conference to be swayed by her own opinion. This matter had to be decided on everyone’s…“Girls are forbidden to participate!”The chairwoman pointed at the boy who had interjected. His hand was raised, and she nodded, allowing him to state his opinion.Even if it was in opposition to her own, she had to allow all assenting and dissenting voices to be heard equally. The chairwoman had to uphold the rules of her position.“It’s not that I don’t understand how the girls feel. But, as we all know, Adele hasn’t yet awakened to the world of romance. Do you really think it’s all right for her first date to be with a girl? What happens if she starts thinking that dates with girls are especially enjoyable, and that she hates boys because they’re crude and tactless? If she starts down that path, are you all willing to take on the responsibility of explaining it to Adele’s family?”“Er…”“I’ll take it!! If I can be with Adele forever, then…”Everyone pretended they hadn’t heard the chairwoman’s shout.“Now, let us summarize today’s meeting. Point one: It is necessary for Adele to go on a date for the sake of her own personal growth, so we shall permit it. Point two: Only boys will be eligible partners for this date…”The chairwoman ground her teeth, her eyes bloodshot.“Point three: All eligible partners shall be examined and the final candidate appointed by a council of all the girls in Class A. Point four: If the date in question should attempt to do anything untoward to Adele then… then… I’ll kill them!”All the girls glared directly at their male classmates.After that, all the male students were sent back to their lodgings, and the conference continued with only the girls of Class A.“I think we should exclude any nobles. Adele is more than likely the daughter of a noble family with some extenuating circumstances, so it would be best for her to avoid any special relations with other nobles. Plus, as cute and intelligent as she is, there are probably some idiots who would try to bring her into their own family… Adele is living her life entirely as a commoner for now, so I think it would be better not to put her in a position where she would be in danger of being spotted by the agent of some noble family, or compelled into anything strange.”The third daughter of a baron stated this extremely sensible opinion.Everyone thought about this earnestly.The chairwoman was quite pleased about it.“Which means, it has to be a commoner,” said the daughter of a merchant. “However, putting her with someone who’s too poor is also… I’m sure that Adele herself wouldn’t mind, but even so, if she got close to someone who is too poorly off in terms of money, he might use her, and that’s just as bad. Between her cute face, the social position that she probably has, and that intelligence of hers… Even though she’s strapped for money now, it’s likely that she never lived like that before she came here, so she probably knows nothing of living among the common folk. It would be so upsetting for her first date to be with some penniless beggar…”This was a reasonable opinion as well.“In that case, it must be a merchant’s son. Preferably the eldest. He must not yet have someone he’s betrothed to or courting, and he must be kind and chivalrous. And he must be able to protect her from enemies, even if it means putting his life on the line. That is the sort of man he must be. As for his abilities, if he is in Class A, then we can at least be certain of a minimum there.”“Agreed!”“Agreed!”“Agreed!”“If there’s a man like that, then I want him!” one girl cried out desperately, only to be shushed.And so, the difficult selection process began.“Huh? You want me?”It was the day after the Class A emergency meeting.Ignace, the eldest son of a mid-sized mercantile family, suddenly found himself surrounded by his female classmates, who informed him that he had been selected to go on the date with Adele.“Be aware that the only reason we are allowing you to go on this date with Adele is so that she can develop some experience with courtship! It does not mean that Adele is interested in you or that she will continue to date you in the future. Don’t misconstrue this!”“Well, I was at yesterday’s meeting too, so I am already aware of that…”Ignace was at the school to receive an education as the heir of a merchant. He gave a rather mature reply, but was unable to conceal his surprise at being selected.“Anyway, yes, we did select you. Handle this well!”As he watched the girls walk away, their declaration made, Ignace muttered to himself, “Why is this happening?”Of course, it was not that Ignace was totally unhappy about this occurrence.On the contrary, he was thrilled.Adele was incredibly cute. She wasn’t a dazzling, elegant maiden like the daughters of high-ranking nobles were, but she had the sort of cuteness that endeared one to her, and made one wish to protect her. Plus, just looking at her gave one a sense of peace and calm.Also, she was extremely talented.She was top of the class in intelligence, and could use combat magic, and was so strong in sports that even Kelvin had never once beaten her.However, even with all of that, it was clear that she was holding back.For some reason, no matter how much time passed, Adele’s tea never seemed to grow cold.She always used incantations for her magic, but when she was spacing out or flustered, she tended to use powerful, silently cast spells.Most unmistakably, she lost on purpose to everyone but Kelvin during sparring bouts.And then there was the bread and other items that suddenly appeared in her hands when she hadn’t been holding anything moments prior.Even if she could fool their teachers, who only saw her during class time, her classmates were always with her and saw everything. However, they were also kind, so they never revealed this to anyone.Should I do it?Indeed, Ignace was rather lazy, but this did not mean he lacked an interest in girls.He was going to inherit his family’s shop.In order to do this, he could not allow any stupid girl or gold-digger to sink their claws into him. To avoid such a fate, the optimal course of action was to be a feminist, being kind to all girls and playing the role of a laid-back fellow who would never lay a hand on a woman.By birth, Ignace was a commoner, so there was quite a low bar, should he wish to offer his hand to any girls in need. Therefore, he affected a progressive demeanor. If he were slavering over girls all the time, they were certain to doubt him when he did offer his assistance, and that would make things much more difficult.Such was Ignace’s way. But when it came to Adele…She was cute. Being with her put him at ease. She was good-natured and clear-headed. Her magical skills and physical ability were far beyond the average. She had storage magic, which, for a merchant, was the dream of a lifetime. With that, you could smuggle as much as you wanted… Ahem!If they worked together, they could safely transport high-priced goods and wouldn’t need a guard. Plus, there was a chance that any children or grandchildren might inherit those exceptional abilities of hers.Though they were still four or five years away from even considering marriage, the day was going to come sooner than they knew it.He wouldn’t be at all surprised if a prize catch like Adele had been betrothed since her infancy. That she might have been up for grabs this entire time would be the more surprising thing.Even if this were the case, it had nothing to do with him. It wasn’t as though he were looking to gain any connections to Adele’s family, after all. What he wanted was Adele, and Adele alone.Well, even if they had to disclose the circumstances of her birth when it came time to marry, it wouldn’t be a problem if he ended up being part of a noble family’s line. Absolutely, thoroughly, not a problem. Such an un-problem that his parents and grandparents would be dancing with joy.All right, I’ll do it! And I’ll give it my all!!The girls who had so carefully selected him had completely missed the mark.At least Ignace wasn’t entirely a bad guy…?***“I-I hope we have a nice time today!”It was the next rest day, just around the second morning bell at 9 AM Ignace bowed his head to Adele, who was jittery with nerves.“Same here! So, anyway, I was thinking that first we would do some shopping, and then some sightseeing at Riverside Park, where we could have our lunch. What do you think?”“Y-yes! That sounds good!”Even counting her previous life, this was Adele’s first date ever.Her first time holding hands with a boy or even going out alone with one, to say nothing of having a boyfriend.Though at least here she was already doing better than in her previous life, in which she’d hardly ever had anything more than a two-line exchange with any man besides her father…The reason that Adele’s teeth were chattering was not that she was embarrassed or excited, but merely because she was “not used to boys”—and because this was her first date!Really, she was twenty-nine years old, if you included her previous life. Even if you excluded the ten years before her reawakening, she was still nineteen. She was absolutely uninterested in some ten or eleven-year-old child. No matter how much one might say that “The body influences the mind,” or “It’s all a matter of circumstances!” these things had their limits.Still, in Ignace’s eyes, this was how things appeared:She’s a novice, nervous about her first date. So cute!Ignace and Adele toured the capital’s shopping district, wandering around in the various shops.Adele always worked on rest days, and without money, she had zero interest in buying anything, so she was hesitant to enter these establishments, and had never really seen the inside of them. So, her very first time window-shopping was quite a bit of fun. At least as far as it allowed her to confirm the production levels and variations in goods that were present in this world.Seeing Adele earnestly checking the selection and quality of the merchandise, and investigating the prices of goods that she never even intended to buy, Ignace was stunned. No, he thought, I don’t think you’re supposed to do this sort of thing on a date. She should be all, “Ooh,” and “Teeheehee”…Or not.Rather, he observed the way Adele was acting, and thought:This girl already has the makings of a merchant!Then came lunchtime.Riverside Park was at the riverside. It wasn’t a particularly clever name—just one that was straightforward and easy to understand.The river had a wide floodplain, on the banks of which plum trees stood in full bloom.In this country, when one went out to admire flowers, it was the plum blossoms that were most beloved.Adele, a girl beneath the plum trees, was fluent in the languages of both Japan and this continent.One might say she took to new languages with a-plum.“Now then, why don’t we have lunch somewhere around here?” Adele suggested to Ignace as they stood in an open spot among a relatively crowded cluster of trees.“Ah, good idea. I’ll go and buy us some food and drinks from the kiosk. You just go ahead and pick a…”“Oh, that won’t be necessary,” said Adele, stopping Ignace in his tracks. “I, um, asked the lady at the cafeteria, and she let me use the kitchen to make us some boxed lunches. I’m not sure if you’ll like them though…”Indeed, Adele had no disposable funds with which to be eating out.When Adele, who was working her hardest to make ends meet, asked to use the leftover foodstuffs—food that she probably would have eaten anyway if she had stayed in her room that day—to make a boxed lunch, the lady from the cafeteria happily consented. She liked to accommodate the girl now and then, and when she heard that the lunches were for Adele’s first date, she was even more thrilled, heaping piles of luxury ingredients on her.Incidentally, when Adele offered the older lady some of the extras she made to sample, her eyes opened wide, and she asked Adele to teach her how to make the dishes later.“Huh? But, Adele, you don’t have anything… Oh, right!”Indeed, this was another thing that all of her classmates had realized. For while Adele did not go out of her way to advertise it, she didn’t exactly hide it, either.“Now then…”Pop!“Wh…?”He had assumed that Adele would pull a lunch box from her storage space. Based on everything that he had learned about Adele so far, Ignace could expect at least that much.However, what she actually produced was a table and two chairs, a number of apparently freshly cooked dishes with steam rising off of them, and some teacups. These items, which appeared in an instant, were at least 45 times more substantial than his initial prediction.“Are you a wizard?!”“Well, yes, I am a mage…”Naturally, that was not what Ignace had been implying. He did not mean that she was a regular mage, but rather, the type of wizard who uses impossible magic and only appears in fairy tales.“Eheheh, the truth is, I can use storage magic. I’ve been keeping it a secret from everyone, but it’s troublesome to carry things around, so I ended up using it today!” she added, smiling.Ignace wondered, deep down in his heart, Does she really think that no one’s noticed?Besides, that’s not how “storage magic” works! At least regarding the food not getting cold, and her being able to move it in and out still arranged on top of the table. That is absolutely not how it works!!!“That was delicious.”Adele’s homemade meal received full marks.Though it was not a large operation, Ignace’s family’s business was still fairly successful. They maintained a decent larder in their home, and in order to teach Ignace, the heir, how to recognize good and bad material, they had cooked with reasonably pricey ingredients as well.It would have been one thing if Ignace was attending the superior Ardleigh Academy, but he hadn’t thought he could be so stunned at the quality of the food produced by an amateur using the ingredients available in the kitchens of Eckland Academy.She made this food with those ingredients?! If a new cooking trend like this were to spread, then a new market would… No, actually, there would be some way to process and sell this food…“Now then, I’ll clean things up!” Adele announced, as she and Ignace stood from their seats.With that, she stored away the table and chairs, along with the now-empty plates and serving dishes.And then, the two stood there, on the empty grassy knoll.I’m sure Adele, who has no experience with men, is expecting me to kiss her here! I have to make my move, so that things don’t end between us today—so that she and I have a future!Ignace made his move. As Adele stared out at the water, he quickly brought his lips closer to kiss her, when…LADY ADELE, DUCK!Huh? Oh, okay!At the voice in her ear, Adele ducked instinctively, while Ignace stumbled forward, his puckered lips thrust out and his arms grabbing at the air.