First Year Second Semester – Q of Hearts (Part 5) Note: Please don’t read it in the little pop-up for the reader. For some reason it doesn’t reflect my later edits (which I often make a lot of after publishing), so please click ‘view original’.
I’m slowly translating maou again, so yeah.
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Achille and I who had woken up in Royce-sama’s room were ordered by our overprotective lord to spend a week recuperating. Geez Royce-sama, even though it wasn’t that great an injury. His worrying side is just Achille. Despite speaking of recuperation, it seems that Royce-sama and Achille were having heated and difficult discussions about the commoner extremists. It was difficult so I could hardly understand any of it but… it seems that they’re setting out to arrest the extremists on a large scale. Unable to join in on their conversation, I was being good and docile in my room… As if. Thinking that it was a critical situation, I had Royce-sama grab me a large number of magic books from the castle, and began throwing myself into research to develop newmagic.
Anyway, since it’s a reality that the Heroine attacked us, we have to think of measurse to protect ourselves as well. Having said that Achille was taken by surprise, it was a magic attack powerful enough that he couldn’t fully defend. Normal defensive magic would probably be no good. There’s nothing to lose in preparing for the worst.
“I mean… that Heroine is OP in a sense.”
The heroine in the game had exceptional magic power since she was born. And because of that magic power, she could transfer into the magic academy, and was wanted by various powers. Depending on how things worked out, there were even cases when people of the same nation fought each other over her. To give an example, in the case that the Heroine chooses Tria, the plot develops so that the Garnet Nation picks a fight with them to obtain the Heroine. In the end, Topageria wins, and the Heroine lives happily ever after though.
“Can you deal with a person with such magic power normally? …Or rather, what does the Heroine want to even do?”
I get the feeling that she said something about changing the country or something. And though I don’t know why, she wanted to get Achille involved in that.
“The Revolution Route…”
So does it really have something to do with the Heroine?
“Could it be that she’s going out with the K of Clovers I wonder? Would doing that cause the revolution?”
I’ve never really come into contact with the Clovers faction from enrolment until now, so I left them alone, but they might have made a move or something. The J of Clovers isn’t in the school, but I saw the K of Clovers at the entrance ceremony.
“Should I try meeting with the K of Clovers…? But, before that I need to get the magic tattoos finished.”
For now, I want to give it a strong enough effect that it can guard from forbidden art ambushes. Laying down on my bed with a magic book in my arms, I closed my eyes. I can smell a scent unique to my room; the smell of ingredients used for my magic experiments. Also, there’s the scent of ink and paper unique to books. The books in this world aren’t made from parchment, but paper instead, aren’t they? While staring at a bunch of pseudo-cinnamon sticks hanging from my ceiling, I considered the design of the magic tattoo.
“Aaahhhhh, I can’t come up with anything~!”
I kicked away the bundles of dry herbs at my feet. The more impatient I am, the fewer good ideas will come to me. And then I become unnecessarily anxious.
The thing that was most terrifying to me was the fact that Achille had mind manipulation magic cast on him. It’s a forbidden art that can even change a person’s personality if used wrong. Though it was great that Royce-sama dispelled it before anything bad happened, the horror of my precious childhood friend having such a thing cast on him won’t disappear.
“Achille…”
He wouldn’t stop being half in doubt at the fact that I came from another world, but even so, he said that he liked the me right now. Royce-sama also accepted me, a person who had continually kept a secret for more than ten years. I want to be able to completely protect these two from the Heroine’s hands.
“Let’s think about things starting with the dyes and ingredients for the magic tattoo.”
Whether or not a good magic tattoo can be drawn depends on three things; the dye used for applying the pattern, the pattern drawn on the body, and the magic attached to it. Depending on whether this combination is done well, whether or not the magic tattoo works well is basically determined.
“If I remember correctly… there were a lot of different magic plants growing in the academy greenhouse, weren’t there?”
As you’d expect from a ‘magic academy’, this school’s greenhouse has plants from other countries the likes of which I’ve never seen before, and lots of improved plant strains as well. Up until now I’ve been using ingredients that I had on hand, but there might be plants good for a magic tattoo in the greenhouse. I jumped up from my bed, put on my robe, and headed for the academy’s greenhouse.
The academy’s greenhouse was a treasure trove of magic plants. Regardless of seasons, a lot of different magic plants were in bloom. It seems that because of these flowers, this place is really popular as a secret date spot. But right now it’s cla.s.stime. Besides me, who’s still recuperating, there shouldn’t be anyone else here. I can slowly go through the different magic plants. I brought a flower box so if I spot anything good I can bring it back. As long as you’re a student, anyone is free to harvest things in the greenhouse. It seems that the earth and plants all mostly have regeneration magic cast on them, so even if I pluck stuff, it’ll immediately regow. Speaking of which, the castle’s “Blue” magicians are researching the use of this magic to cure baldness. If it succeeds, they should be able to expect quite a bit of income.
I went through one by one the plants that seemed usable for magic tattoos. Suddenly, one flower caught my eye. With individual, think stalks, it was a tall and large, bright blue flower.
“It smells ridiculously good…”
Sweet, but somehow still refreshing… a mysterious fragrance, coming from a mysterious plant.
“Is this a flower from another country?”
I reached out my arm to touch the flower.
“Camille, that’s poisonous you know?”
“Fue-?”
Suddenly, a voice called out from behind me, and I froze at the words. P-, Poisonous…?
“It’s a vivid and beautiful flower, but you can’t touch it with your bare hands. The poison enters through the skin you know?”
A tall figure was standing right next to me. He was holding my arm, and moving it away from the flower. The hand holding my arm had a number of jingly, jangly, flashy accessories worn on it.
“T-. Thanks… Tria-sama.”
There’s only one person who decorates their hand like this. Tria Topageria, the second prince of the neighbouring country, and the K of Diamonds.
“You’re welcome~”
He smiled at me with a friendly smile. I wonder why he’s here.
“Um, Tria-sama… your cla.s.ses?”
“Ditched em~ Keep the fact that I was here a secret from Bea-chin okay?”
He and Beatrix are both in the Diamonds cla.s.s, so even if I don’t tell her that he was here, I think that she already completely knows that he skipped cla.s.s but…
“By the way, why are you here Camille? I heard that you were sick and in the middle of recovery but…”
“Ah-…”
That’s right, if I was still recuperating, it would be weird that I was here. I came here because I thought that there would be no students here, but to think that I’d be found by Tria.
“I-, It’s the truth that I’m recovering. Today I was feeling a lot better, so I thought I’d sneak out for a stroll.”
“Hm~mm?”
I wonder what Tria is thinking about. His eyes narrowed. His current personality is comparatively easy to get along with, but even so, there are times like this when I can’t tell what he’s thinking.
“So, were you looking for a flower?”
…Could it be that he was watching from quite a while ago? I was completely focused on looking for a flower to use in a magic tattoo, so I didn’t notice at all.
“I was looking for a flower that seemed I could use for magic tattoo dye. I want to use a powerful one, so…”
“Oh!? That sounds interesting!”
It was the same last time too, but it looks like Tria-sama is really interested in magic tattoos.
“Heyy, Camille. Would it be okay if I helped out with that?”
“Tria-sama?”
“I’m super knowledgable about plants, so I’m sure I’ll definitely be helpful, you know~? It’s a bargain, you know~?”
Magic plants are absolutely essential for his specialty of magic potions.
“…Is it really okay if you don’t go back to cla.s.s?”
“Mn. This is more fun after all, and you’re here too, Camille.”
Tria was in a great mood.
“Then, maybe I should ask you for help.”
It’s the truth that he’s knowledgable about plants after all, and there’s also the danger of touching something poisonous like earlier, so I’d be grateful for his help. But still, this magic academy… Is it really fine for you guys to leave poisonous flowers blooming out where anybody could touch them? I hear that this place is a date spot after all, so I think it’d be dangerous in a lot of ways, but…