The sky is vibrant blue, and the wind is blowing just right.
Even the temperature’s in that perfect sweet spot between hot and cold.
As such, the weather proved it’s the ideal time to meet Cecilia at her mansion for our planned rendezvous.
"Man, the weather is so nice today~ I even get to meet with Cecilia, today"s gonna be a great day off!"
I‘m in such high spirits, that I’m skipping all the way there.
Everything is fine up until that moment.
The problem stood in front of Cecilia"s mansion.
"...Wha? I can"t go in?! Why not? I know I made an appointment."
Arriving at the mansion, I was stopped by the same two guards as last time. What"s more, they’re staring daggers at me again.
"Right now M"Lady is having a meeting with the Hero. What"s more, we simply don"t trust you. Now take your leave!"
What are they talking about?
So the Hero came or whatever, I"m the one who made an appointment!
"If that"s the case, at least let me wait until they"re done."
To get here I had to walk what would have taken a carriage 10 minutes.
No way I"m leaving until I see Cecilia.
"...Enough! If you don"t leave now, I"ll..."
Saying that, the guard came at me with his spear.
Hey now, is this guy right in the head?
Frankly, I could take these guys out in 3 seconds flat, but I"m convinced that would only make things worse.
It would also cause problems for Cecilia.
"Tch, fine, I got it! I"ll leave!"
I clicked my tongue at them, and went back the way I came.
From behind I hear them saying something about never letting me see Cecilia again. It made me angry, but I endured it as I left the mansion.
"Aah, d.a.m.n it, that makes me mad."
I"m in the worst possible mood.
The previously happy mood is nowhere to be found.
“a.s.sholes, I"ll remember this next time!”
I kicked the ground as I cursed them.
Today is supposed to be my day off so I didn"t feel like going to the guild either.
It couldn"t be helped so I wandered around the town all by my lonesome.
Wandering about, I saw a crowd gathering.
As I compared it to the paparazzi from my previous life. I took a look at the center of the spectacle.
As I did...
(What"s this? I feel like I"ve seen him somewhere before. That face...)
It was a pretty boy at the center. He had a sword at his hip, a sharp gaze, and gave off a "cool" impression.
(Ah. I remember. He was the Hero Party’s Swordsman-kun.)
Hero-kun is a refres.h.i.+ng kind of pretty boy, but Swordsman-kun is a pretty boy with an imposing air about him. But now he looked both troubled and confused.
(In a way, I’m starting to feel bad for him)
Perhaps it’s because I was also feeling unfortunate today that I went to help him.
(Can"t be helped, I guess I"ll give him a hand.)
I pointed my finger away from the swordsman and yelled,
"Oh look, there"s the Hero!"
Or so I said.
Then, there were shrieks of ‘Kyaa’ and ‘Hero-sama’ as they took off to the direction I pointed to.
Just as I thought, Hero-kun is more popular.
“Ha, piece of cake.”
It went so perfectly according to plan, I had to laugh.
Looking back, with everyone gone you wouldn"t have believed there"d been such a huge crowd earlier. Unable to grasp the situation, the swordsman of the Hero Party looked flabbergasted.
"Y"know, you should use this chance to escape."
I pulled him along by the arm and took him to a less prominent area.
"Phew...We should be ok around here."
We went to an alleyway a bit away from the previous spot.
It was a dim and ominous place, but I doubt anyone else would come here.
“...”
Hey hey, even now you"re gonna act like the cool guy?
Well, it"s not like I’m expecting to get thanked for saving him or anything.
"Bye then. Next time wear a disguise when you walk around town."
And so I left.
Perhaps I was a bit too c.o.c.ky?
Well, I saved him, and gave him some advice, so we"ll call it even.
Thinking about that I set out to wander again by my lonesome, however...
“Wa...wait a minute!”
“...Huh?”
Suddenly, I heard a strange voice.
It was nothing more than a voice calling out.
The problem lied in that it sounded like a voice that belonged to a professionally acted anime character from my previous life.
But here, in this deserted alleyway, there was only me and Swordsman-kun.
...So that means.
"So the person that spoke just now was..."
He is timidly poking his fingers together and after a moment he nods.
... No wait, something"s wrong here!!
This cool and handsome guy actually spoke with an anime-like voice?
"...let me get this straight, that voice is the reason you hardly ever say a word?"
“...yeah.”
That"s an affirmative.
I see, no doubt he"s developed a complex about it.
He tried to hide it so no one would find out.
"Well, everyone has something about themselves they don"t want broadcasted to the world. Even I have something like that."
“...You’re not gonna make fun of my voice?”
"It"s not like it"s your fault. Plus, I have plenty of things about myself that I don"t like. There"s not a person out there that has no faults."
And of course in my case it"s that I"m from the demon race.
It"s a complex that won"t go away and can"t be cured.
"...You"re a weird guy. Usually when people first hear my voice, they would make fun of me or laugh at me."
Seems like he had a rough time because of that voice.
So that"s why he became the cool, silent type.
"I won"t laugh. I"ve even seen other guys with a voice like that. "
Only on TV though.
“...I see.”
A little smile appeared on his face.
I guess he was just glad I didn"t make fun of him.
I thought it over, and I was speaking to him casually like I would with a good friend.
...Was I being too disrespectful?
Oh c.r.a.p, no matter which way I think about it, I must be!
“Well then, I’ll just be going over here…”
I decided to escape before he could say anything.
“Wait a minute!”
I was stopped.
This is bad, is he gonna take me to the guards?
"Wha, what is it?"
I started sweating like crazy.
However, the words he spoke were not what I expected.
"I was wondering...if we could be friends?"
“Eh?”
I can"t believe he asked if we could be friends.
Honestly, it relieved me.
"Well, I mean...only if you want to. It"s just, my mom and cousin are the only ones who never laughed at my voice before, so without thinking I kind of..."
What on earth did he do while he was in the Hero Party?
Well, it"s not like I mind having a new friend.
On the contrary, it should have been me asking him.
"I was also thinking it"d be nice to be friends. I"m Youki. Nice to meet you."
"...Really? Thank you! You probably already know, but I"m Raven. Nice to meet you too."
We shook hands with a firm grip.
It was the first time in the 20 years since I was reincarnated that I made a friend.
I couldn"t meet with Cecilia, but since I made a friend, today"s day off turned out to be worthwhile.
"You know Youki, I feel like we"ve met somewhere before..."
"...Y-you sure you’re not imagining things?"
I broke into a cold sweat.
It"s only been a few days since I became friends with Raven.
And right now...
I’m stuffing my face eating breakfast in the guild.
It"s vegetable and bean soup with rye bread—I have some funds saved, but I"m still going to eat frugally.
If my parents had made anything like that I would"ve complained the moment I laid eyes on it.
However, in this world it"s fairly standard fare.
The crazy part is, now I don"t even feel like doing any quests unless I eat it.
"Oho, what an extraordinary way to eat."
A voice called out suddenly.
I was in the middle of eating, but at some point, a lady sat down at my table. I was so surprised I stopped mid-bite.
"Oh my, what"s wrong? If you"re still eating why don"t you go ahead and finish?"
Well then, I won"t hold back and resume eating.
Like that, she continued to watch me, moreover with a giggling smile.
...Come to think of it, who exactly is she?
I don"t remember being this close to such a beautiful lady during any of my quests.
While eating, I ransacked my brain but came up with nothing.
"It"s just like my daughter said. You truly are entertaining."
Like her daughter said?
I thought ‘It couldn’t be’, and dropped the rye bread in my hand.
"Oh my, it seems I haven"t yet introduced myself. I am Celia Aquarain, Cecilia"s mother. Pleased to meet you, Youki-kun?”
Whaaaaaaaat!?
Why did Cecilia"s mom come to the guild so early in the morning????
"Oh my, aren"t you still eating? Then I shall wait until you"re finished."
I practically inhaled it.
I don"t think I ever ate a meal so fast in either of my lives.
It was more like gulping down a drink than eating.
It made for quite a breakfast.
"Oho...You really don"t have to rush yourself on my account. You truly are most interesting."
I finish off my last bite with a swig of milk.
After a short pause, I’m ready to listen to Celia-san"s story.
"...So, what did you need to talk to me about?"
"In truth, the other day it was reported that our family"s guards were quite rude to you. For that, I came to apologize."
Waitwaitwaitwait.
I can"t think of any reason why Celia-san had to be the one to come.
Heck, you should’ve sent the guards instead.
Why would the lady of the house come herself?
"Ah, they did have a bad att.i.tude...I guess. I was really mad, but thanks to that I met someone new...I guess."
It pained me to receive such an apology, so I tried to get across that I really didn"t mind.
"...Oh dear. According to my info, I heard you were quite taken with Cecilia...?"
Oh no!
I think she misunderstood something.
The gentle smile Celia-san wore changed, and now she was looking at me with a rather cold gaze.
"You-You"re mistaken, a mistake! I just meant that I made a new friend yesterday."
"I see...I wonder exactly what kind of friends.h.i.+p you have with this girl?"
"I made a guy friend. A guy."
She still seemed unconvinced, so I made sure to state the gender.
"Oh my, is that so? Dear me, I just jumped to conclusions. If my daughter got mixed up with a scoundrel wouldn"t that be just awful? Pardon me, did I scare you perhaps?"
Before my eyes, the frozen smile returned to the earlier gentle smile. I"ll keep it secret that I almost shat myself.
"NO, I-AM-JUST-FINE."
No freaking way am I okay. I started driveling.
"Oh? I"m so relieved. Well, it seems like you"re all finished eating, so shall we be on our way?"
“WHERE-MIGHT-WE-BE-GO-ING?”
I haven’t even completely recovered yet.
The psychological damage was considerable. The amount of time I would need to recover is likely...
"Is it not obvious? To my mansion! You want to see Cecilia-chan, don"t you?"
Instant recovery.
Something inside me flared.
"Yes, I"ll go! Let"s be on our way immediately!"
Luckily I hadn"t taken on any new quests, so I was in the clear. But I should at least go and tell Clayman he doesn"t have to work today for once.
“Clayman! Today. Me no work. Day off. Important stuff. Must do!”
I tell him in frantic speech that was practically gibberish.
"Th-that so? Seems like you"re in a hurry there. Well, it"ll shorten my stack so what do I care?"
Hearing the answer I about-face and quickly return to Celia-san.
"Oh, are you already prepared to go? Then let us be off. We shall make haste to return."
For some reason Celia-san is also in a hurry, and just like last time I boarded the carriage and headed for the Aquarain family mansion.
Brought along by Celia-san, I had once again gotten an invitation to go to the Aquarain family mansion. Right now, I’m standing outside the mansion with Celia-san, however...
"Celia-san? The two guards here..."
The guards that once held me at spear point were no longer here.
Two different guards are stationed here instead.
"Oh, the people who were rude to our honored guest...I wonder what became of them?"
It"s probably a good thing she didn"t know I wasn"t human.
I determined it was best left unsaid that I was a demon.
I feel like something terrible would happen if she caught wind...
"As for those two...our head maid gave them a thorough scolding."
...what?
Geez, it"s not nearly as bad as I thought.
"You know, our head maid used to be an A rank adventurer. For certain reasons she retired from being an adventurer and became a maid instead."
Oh? She sounds rather capable.
I wonder if she works as the captain of the guard too?
So maybe that"s why the head maid would be the one to lecture them...?
"She"s terribly scary when she"s angry. She"s very sweet on her husband though."
What are we talking about, a couple of newlyweds here?
"But it seems they once got into a quarrel. Her husband was so seriously injured it took half a year to make a full recovery."
“...”
"But, her husband was also an A rank adventurer. Injuries like that were normal from what I hear."
Scaaaaaary.
What on earth is she?
It took him half a year to fully recover even though they were the same rank? What"s going on here?
“But, at the same time, she was also the one who lovingly nursed him back to health. She seemed quite happy to be able to spoil him so."
So in the end they still acted like newlyweds?
I wonder if her husband is really all right?
"...Oh my, speak of the devil!"
I look toward the mansion and see a lady wearing a maid uniform coming our way.
"I"m pleased to see you"ve returned, Madam."
Greeting Celia-san, she angles herself into a lovely bow.
Such a beautiful person couldn"t possibly be very old.
Is she really the one from that story Celia-san just told me?
"Is this our honored guest? I am the head maid in the employ of the Aquarain family. I am called Sophia."
“Ah...h.e.l.lo. I’m Youki.”
Because she lowered her head to me, I also casually bow.
What"s this, she"s just a normal person, isn"t she?...or so I stupidly thought.
"Sophia, have you finished with that business?"
"Regrettably, I have not. I am only halfway done."
I wonder what she’s talking about.
“Not yet? Only halfway?”
"Yes, it is taking quite some time, and though they are repeatedly blacking out I can think of no other method."
“...”
For some reason I feel I shouldn"t interrupt them.
"Madam, how many bones shall I break until they are pardoned?"
“Hmm, I’ll leave it up to you, Sophia-san. Do as much as you like.”
Seriously, what the h.e.l.l are they discussing?
"Understood. I shall refrain from doing more than five. Would it be safe to use intermediate level magic I wonder?"
"Indeed...there"s only half left, so why not do so?"
"Understood. I shall do so. ...Youki-sama, are you feeling unwell? Your complexion appears rather ill."
"Ah no, I"m doing fine. It"s just your imagination."
Even if it kills me I don"t want to attract their attention.
Just what was the subject of their discussion?
The answer will remain buried in the darkness.
"Very well, then let me guide you to the mansion."
Following Sophia-san, we entered the Aquarain residence.
Upon entering the mansion, Celia-san pulls me along until we"re in front of the familiar door leading to Cecilia"s room.
After entering the mansion, with a "please take your time", Sophia-san left us.
"Now Youki-kun, please enter when I give the signal."
Carefully, Celia-san entered the room.
Soon after, because I was given the cue, I enter as well.
"Wha? What is Youki-san doing here?"
It looks like she had just woken up.
Cecilia is in her nightgown with a bad case of bedhead.
"Oh this daughter of mine, sleeping in so late on a day off~"
Celia-san is in a corner of the room just giggling and laughing .
I thought it strange that she was off in the corner, but I understood as soon as I saw Cecilia"s reaction.
She took the staff leaning on the nearby dresser, focused her attention over here and...WOAH!
“《s.h.i.+ny Bolt》!”
The elementary level light magic spell, s.h.i.+ny Bolt.
A direct hit from the lightning-esque holy light sent me flying out of the room.
It’s so sudden that I can"t react in time, and getting hit by magic without any defense up left me laid flat outside the room.
"Get out of my room!"
The door closed with a BAM.
I wish she had said that before she laid me out with magic.
Just before the door closed, I saw Celia-san chuckling to herself inside the room.
That woman set me up big time.
For some reason I"m now sitting in the formal j.a.panese-style Seiza.
Really, what can I say for myself?
"Um...Cecilia? My feet are starting to go numb...Would it be alright if I sit on your bed like last time?"
I timidly ask Cecilia.
Cecilia is like a G.o.ddess to me.
I am sure she will grant me mercy...
"Absolutely not. You must reflect upon your actions."
Mercy was not granted to me this day.
Her mouth is pleasant and smiling, but I could see the smile did not reach her eyes.
The feeling she’s giving off is...c.r.a.p, this might be the end.
I could hear giggling off to the side.
In the midst of this mayhem the only person who seems to be enjoying herself is Celia-san.
She kept laughing at the current situation.
...Celia-san was the culprit behind this, you"d think she could give me a hand here.
About the time I was thinking that, my legs had just about reached their limit.
"Cecilia, isn’t it about time you forgave him? It"s not like he saw you naked. It"s just a nightgown."
Ooh! Help has arrived at last!
Even Cecilia"s normal demeanor is returning.
"After all, you"ll soon be in a relations.h.i.+p where you"ll see each other naked, so there"s no need to get all fl.u.s.tered over this, is there?"
She dropped a f.u.c.king bomb on this conversation?!
This person ain"t my ally!
Cecilia"s face turned red.
I couldn"t move because my legs were numb.
After sitting in Seiza for so long, even my Cheat powers couldn"t help me now.
"Oh my dear Cecilia, your face is bright red, you know? Could it be you already...?"
I move in to change the topic to stop her from dropping even more bombs.
"By the way, why did you have me come here today? It couldn"t be just for this, right?"
Even if it"s true, isn"t this taking it a bit too far?
"Eh? Of course not. But we couldn"t talk before with all of that going on."
I listen to Celia-san as she sits on the bed.
Cecilia seems to have recovered and sits beside me.
"The other day, Youki-kun, you came by the mansion, right? In truth, it"s rare for Cecilia to invite a man to the residence."
The only reason Cecilia "invited" me that time was because she wanted to continue our conversation.
"Cecilia doesn"t have many male acquaintances. Only the Hero and his swordsman friend come to mind...and here comes this fellow n.o.body knows anything about! That"s why I hid with everyone to see what was going on."
Now that she mentions it, I didn"t see anyone else at the mansion aside from the two guards. Considering it"s such a huge mansion, I did find it strange that there were no servants about...
"And then, I find you and Cecilia talking and laughing."
I see, she"s probably talking about when I entered my Chuuni-mode*. ...Which means that...
"Did you perhaps overhear everything I said...?"
"Of course I did. You were so cool, Youki-kun! Like "The only one for me is you". I want my own husband to say that to me~e."
Gaaaaah!?
This is terrible! I had already wanted to rid myself of that black stain from my history.
The color drained from my face as my soul left my body, then Celia-san delivered the final blow.
"You even struck a nice pose, didn"t you? Everyone in the mansion was mimicking it after that~"
Ahaha...this is even worse.
I hid my face with one hand and with the other I raised my finger in something like a "wait-a-minute pose". How could something like a spur of the moment Chuuni-mode accident achieve such sudden popularity among the mansion staff? With all her employees imitating me, it’s no wonder she always seemed to be giggling in my direction.
"Please just kill me already..."
"Ohoho, come now...Let"s get down to business then, shall we?"
Celia-san"s face suddenly became very serious.
Apparently, this was to be a very important discussion.
Cecilia and I also adopted a serious look and listened intently.
"We have had many suitors for Cecilia"s hand in marriage."
She has my full attention.
This must be related to my conversation with Cecilia about the nations recruiting talented individuals.
This particular recruitment through an arranged marriage.
I wonder what happened after Cecilia refused all the proposals?
"Among them, there was also a proposal from the Hero."
...What?
"It appears that Hero fellow has feelings for Cecilia."
Something inside me broke.
On one hand, there was a handsome hero who vanquished the Demon Lord and saved the world.
On the other, a boring-faced rank D adventurer hiding the fact that he was a demon.
...I really have no chance, do I?
"Celia-san, is the engagement already...?"
"Ohoho, no worries there. Cecilia already turned him down...but the Hero won"t give up so easily, you see?"
After a moment"s reprieve I was soon dropped back into h.e.l.l. Cecilia let out a sigh.
"No way, what"s Hero-kun thinking? Wasn"t there a mage in the party he could have fallen in love with? Did he have to go by the book and get smitten with the n.o.ble lady? He doesn"t need to go out of his way to ruin my lovelife!!!"
In my agitation I went and b.i.t.c.hed about Hero-kun.
This is bad, I badmouthed him.
Cecilia also saw me get out of line, my face the very picture of irritation.
"Oh my, to say that much about the Hero, you must love Cecilia very much."
Somehow, I was misunderstood in good way.
Even Cecilia looked relieved.
"So I"d like to ask you, Youki-kun...would you like to marry Cecilia? Answer immediately, yes or no."
Cecilia as my wife?! I was so surprised I just about fell into a panic, but managed to stop myself. Hmm...
I let the last lucky chance slip away, and I may not get another chance like this. With Celia-san"s blessing, even if we encounter trouble in the future, she would help take care of it.
My answer is...
“I’m sorry, but no.”
I lowered my head. The answer was no.
"...May I ask for your reason?"
"Well, I know it"s a very attractive offer. But Cecilia already turned me down when I confessed. That"s why I decided to make an honest living and then confess once again."
Celia-san looked directly at me as she listened.
I also want to know what Cecilia thought of my answer, but wait patiently.
"And honestly, talking about marriage this early, ...it"s just...that is..."
Shoot! I messed up at the most important part!
Without a chance to give another excuse, Celia-san"s serious mask crumbled as she looked at me.
"Ohoho, Youki-kun, you pa.s.s! It appears as though my daughter has a good eye, wouldn"t you agree?"
Not completely understanding, Cecilia and I both head tilt.
"After all, how could I possibly give my precious daughter away to someone I only just met today?"
"Eeehh?! You set me up again?"
"Not at all! It would have been dreadful if a suspicious little bug had attached itself to my daughter. That"s why I decided to test you."
Cecilia hadn"t been given any warning, so she was a little angry.
In any case, being tested means that...
"Suppose I had agreed to the marriage...?"
"I would have called Sophia to escort you out of the mansion."
Apparently I had been faced with a fairly dangerous choice.
A barrier I couldn"t overcome even with my Cheat.
I also came to understand that Sophia-san is one of those barriers.
"I told you that you pa.s.sed, didn"t I? You don"t have to tremble so much...Please be a good friend to Cecilia. You’re welcome here anytime, Youki-kun."
Seems like Celia-san has approved of me.
...But wait?
Today it seems like I haven"t progressed with Cecilia at all. After that, Celia-san kept talking about Cecilia"s childhood, embarra.s.sing her daughter. I heard the legend of Sophia and nearly fainted. And so the fun day came to a close.
*Translator’s note. While after we do our own translation of Chapter 1 we’ll include a proper explanation of Chuunibyou, but for those still lost to the reference of Chuunibyou, Chuuni, and Chuu2 here is a short rundown:
Chuunibyou: lit. Eighth grader syndrome. This is that period of life when children around the age of 13 start to undergo p.u.b.erty and may realize how insignificant they are in the grand scheme of things. So they’ll turn anti-social, or become a hipster, or in the case of Youki here, in a single word, become ‘delusional’. But it’s a bit more than that. Think of it like playing ‘Make Believe’ after elementary school. You act out a character you’ve created in your head (which is usually a ‘self-insert’/’wish-fulfillment’ type of character), with a whole back history, and supernatural stuff happening like having crazy powers, or a cursed arm, etc. There is also some social disdain for people as old as Youki who still act out their Chuunibyou (basically when you get into high school you should be done with that sort of thing). When Youki goes into his “Chuuni-mode” he is essentially ‘acting out a character’, someone confident who will talk in a boastful manner, or act the part of a cartoon villain.
For a more in-depth explanation of Chuunibyou,