“…(Sulk)”
“Geez, how long are you planning to keep pouting, big brother?”
It was Shizuku who spoke as if rebuking him.
Shiryu, on the other hand, was curled up on his desk with simply a disgruntled expression on his features.
“Your aversion to defeat has persisted since long ago, yet you still haven’t gotten over it. I didn’t notice it because you never lose recently.”
“…Well, anyone would be frustrated if they lost.”
In a soft voice, Shizuku warned her sullen brother.
“But this time it is inevitable. The other party is Her Royal Highness Princess Ortesia, a semi-first-class magician, you know? You’ve only been able to exercise magic for about a year now, remember?”
“The other day, the fourth-year senior, who also happens to be a second-class magician, won, right? Then, even I can…”
“But, big brother, Mr. Elias has asserted that of all the second-class magicians he has ever encountered, you have the weakest control over magical power.”
“Ah enough, I understand! So please no more cornering me!”
Shizuku beamed like a white lily as Shiryu sprang to his feet. This was apparently what his sister was aiming for. With a bitter look on his face, Shiryu picked up his bag that was hanging on the desk. Homeroom had concluded long ago, and it was past school hours.
“Oh, big brother, there’s a place I would like to swing by on the way back home.”
“Hmm, okay. Are you going shopping?”
“No, Mr. Elias is heading back to the royal capital tomorrow, and there’s a person I would like to meet with him before he goes back.”
“Heh, who is it?”
Shiryu left the classroom and shut the door. The classroom was already deserted.
After confirming that nobody was in the hallway, Shizuku spoke in a slightly subdued voice.
“It’s Ms. Sharon. Sharon Rose. You see, you met her once, too, big brother.”
“Sharon…? Ah, I just remembered that. That bluenette older lady.”
She is insanely attractive and has big tits, too.
As expected, he swallowed that remark. Saying such a thing would obviously provoke his sister’s displeasure.
“As I recall, she was the first person I met when I first came to this world―Ouch!”
“Your voice is too loud! What if other people hear us!”
“Even you are loud…”
But why are you going to meet that person now?
“That’s… a little tough to say here.”
“Is it about that teacher?”
“!”
“It’s fine. There’s no sign of anyone nearby.”
It has been over a year since they left Japan.
For Shiryu, the handling of magic was still a challenge, but in return, fortunately or unfortunately, he was able to rise to a level as a swordsman that was beyond his imagination back in Japan.
Notably, his physical abilities, which were already high, had finally reached the realm of inhumanity since his arrival here.
It was likely that no living human being could match the physical abilities of Shiryu, and he prided himself on this.
With this kind of assurance, Shiryu declared that there was no one in the vicinity.
Relief flooded Shizuku’s heart, but she still whispered to Shiryu in a low voice.
“Anyway, I can’t talk here. We’ll discuss it again when we get to Mr. Elias’ place.”
“…I get it.”
His sister, in contrast to him, was a worrywart. But that was significant because it indicated that she possessed a quality that he lacked.
Like how Shizuku has developed a talent for magic as opposed to Shiryu, who was physically more gifted, they can make up for each other’s deficiencies.
After that, the two of them left the school, exchanging age-appropriate trivialities, such as about today’s school.
ㅤ
ㅤ
■■■■■
ㅤ
ㅤ
“―Sigh, my bad premonition had come true already…”
With darkness descending outside and no one but the teacher on duty inside the school, I was in the school infirmary, my oasis of tranquility, complaining as usual.
“Is the entire population of the royal capital afflicted with a disease that causes them to be overconfident? Why do they usually lunge more aggressively at Instructor Rivalz? They should learn from the humility of the Japanese, really.”
Thanks to this, after the mock battle concluded, I had to apologize profusely to Rivalz. Had Shiryu ended up victorious in the mock battle, I would have been so stressed out that a pit would have formed in my stomach. In that sense, I can only express my gratitude to Karen in that regard.
All hail the Princess.
“Hey, are you listening to me?
“～～～～～～!!”
I then directed my focus to her, who had remained silent all that time. She was a woman in her mid-twenties whom I had picked up from around the area last week.
Her model-like body and long legs were an attraction to men. With slightly slanted eyes that glowed with loathing as though they desired to incinerate me to death, she looked at me.
“Oh, that reminds me, you are in restraints, aren’t you? No wonder you can’t verbally talk then.”
The place where she was with me was my usual bed at the far end of the insurance room. The bed that had previously been there had been removed, and in its place, I had her seat on a simple restraint chair made from a school chair.
When I roughly removed the towel I had been stuffing in her mouth, a couple of times she choked on it.
Afterward, she launched into a biting tirade at me, exclaiming, “―You think you can pull this kind of crazy act and get away with it? If you treat me, an aristocrat, like this, you will be condemned to death! Untie me quickly if you don’t want me to! Untie meeeeeeee!!”
Even before kidnapping her, I had already figured out that she was rather vibrant, but apparently she was outdoing my expectations. My lips instinctively contorted at the pleasant miscalculation.
“W-What are you smiling about? You know it’s over, don’t you? It has already been more than three days since you abducted me. The Garrison Corps should have discovered you by now, right?”
“No, they have not.”
I assured her.
“Anne Leigh Barletta. Twenty-six years old. Female. An upper-class aristocrat. Resident of the City of Commerce, Valiahar. The purpose of your visit to this city was to stay overnight on your way to the royal capital for sightseeing. Accompanied by one lady attendant, one carriage driver, and three guards. That was hardly an impeccable protection. In your next life, I suggest that you add at least five guards.”
“…W-What are you saying?”
Barletta regarded me with a pale face. Did she assume that I had kidnapped her without any preparation?
“By now, your carriage is probably on the highway at least thirty kilometers from Seal. Oh, I didn’t disclose it, but I have a messenger called Humanoid Slime. As the name implies, this thing can transform itself into other people. Actually, it preys on the target before transforming, but in this case, because of the circumstances, it didn’t prey on the target, so the accuracy of the transformation is somewhat compromised, but I suppose that’s not important.”
I had Envy transformed into Barletta and returned her to her attendant. Due to the lack of research on her regular attitude and manner of speaking, I said the minimum necessary words and already had her depart Seal. At one point, I ordered the coachman to take a shortcut through a forest inhabited by cannibalistic orcs, but I was not sure if he obeyed my instructions. Shortly thereafter, I turned off Envy’s remote control.
“…Well, anyway, I don’t want anyone to ruin our time together. Even though I still have a busy day ahead of me later today, I will be able to spend a little time with you.”
“W-What are you… going to do to me…”
With these words, Barletta wriggled around, but her hands and feet were bound to the chair, rendering her helpless to move. A deep flush washed over her face. I wondered if she thought I was going to dishonor her in some way.
I would never do such a thing. In a manner, this served as a lesson preparation. What would be the action that would most likely cause Fina and Karen to lose hope in the near future after they were under my control? This was an experiment. Well, I would be making up a lie if I claimed that I had no desire at all.
“Lately I have been working diligently too, that’s why… I might be breaking you down faster than usual.”
“Hie…!”
Barletta shuddered, either in terror or in despair. She was no longer the assertive lady she had been earlier.
First of all, I should drive nails into her toes to secure them, as I always did. That was my initial thinking, but I quickly changed my mind.
Every once in a while, I should perform harsh torture out of the blue. Normally, I would never do it as it would be a disservice, but today, the stress was getting to me. Above all, I had the impression that Barletta wasn’t a person I particularly liked from the moment I first met her. It may have something to do with the fact that she was the one who had requested Matthias to kill the Princess.
Now, as I was mulling this over, I pulled out a sturdy rope used as a lifeline, using a magical tool that can accommodate objects.
“Ahhhh! Noooooooo!!”
At the mere sight of the rope, a piercing cry escaped Barletta’s lips.
Since she was too fussy, I put her to bed with Sleep sorcery.
Having removed her from the restraints of the chair and securely bound her hands and legs with rope, I then tied her to the curtain rail on the ceiling and hung her upside down.
“Envy, keep your mouth open under her. The food will fall out eventually.”
Envy was compelled to wait right beneath Barletta after being summoned. I had already had Envy return from Barletta’s carriage.
I laid a lot of newspapers around Envy just in case and sprayed a pail of water over Barletta to rouse her up.
“Buha!”
“Hey, you’re awake.”
“Eh… arghhhh!!”
Upon waking up, Barletta started screaming again. It has been a long time since I have seen a woman so clamorous. I temporarily cast sorcery, Silence, to shut her up.
“～～～～～!”
“Don’t be so frightened. Rest assured, from now on I will not do anything to you. I will only hang you upside down like this for one night. It will be painstaking indeed, but once you get through this, I will let you go tomorrow. I guarantee it. So I hope you will do your best to endure it.”
Reflected upside down, the color of hope ignited in her eyes.
Barletta was the first to restore her authority once I freed her from the sorcery.
“…Hmph, is that true?”
“Oh, I promise. That is if you can bear it.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. It is certainly tough, but I can take it for a night if that’s what it takes.”
How could she say anything so boldly while being hanged upside down? Even I admire her audacity.
“Haha, I’ll be away for a short bit, but when I get back, I’m looking forward to seeing you. It doesn’t matter if you flee in the meantime; just put in the effort.”
“Don’t you regret it.”
Ignorance can be a terror. No, perhaps it was a blessing in disguise in this particular circumstance.
With a smile plastered on my face, I left the infirmary.
ㅤ
ㅤ
■■■■■
ㅤ
ㅤ
The destination was “Kafka”, after leaving Barletta behind.
I was scheduled to pick up a gun from Hansa, which had been adjusted for me.
While eavesdropping using Envy, who had been attached to the classroom today, I overheard an unexpected conversation between the Ido siblings. It seemed that they were planning to visit the Garrisoned Corps today.
The remainder of the conversation was not audible since they had already left the classroom, but I did not have a positive opinion of the Garrisoned Corps. As usual, my intuition was giving me a warning, and it would be better to receive the gun while I could be sure to retrieve it.
But when I reached the door of “Kafka,” I noticed that the store lights were off.
For Hansa to close the store at this hour on a weekday was a rare occurrence. At the same time, I had a sickening premonition. It was the familiar sound of my intuition ringing an alarm bell.
“…’Mist Veil’.”
Having given it some thought, I decided to take a peek inside. Just in case, I employed magic to obscure my appearance.
Had this not been Hansa’s store, I would have left without hesitation, but unfortunately, I have known Hansa for a long time. Worst case scenario: If he had been arrested by the Garrisoned Corps, he may have divulged my identity, forcing me to switch up my approach. Ortherwise, I was simply anxious about Hansa.
I silently made my way up to the door and slowly opened it.
——————
T/N:
No idea why the name is “Kafka” instead of “Cuffs”. Will change it if there is further information
“…(Sulk)”
“Geez, how long are you planning to keep pouting, big brother?”
It was Shizuku who spoke as if rebuking him.
Shiryu, on the other hand, was curled up on his desk with simply a disgruntled expression on his features.
“Your aversion to defeat has persisted since long ago, yet you still haven’t gotten over it. I didn’t notice it because you never lose recently.”
“…Well, anyone would be frustrated if they lost.”
In a soft voice, Shizuku warned her sullen brother.
“But this time it is inevitable. The other party is Her Royal Highness Princess Ortesia, a semi-first-class magician, you know? You’ve only been able to exercise magic for about a year now, remember?”
“The other day, the fourth-year senior, who also happens to be a second-class magician, won, right? Then, even I can…”
“But, big brother, Mr. Elias has asserted that of all the second-class magicians he has ever encountered, you have the weakest control over magical power.”
“Ah enough, I understand! So please no more cornering me!”
Shizuku beamed like a white lily as Shiryu sprang to his feet. This was apparently what his sister was aiming for. With a bitter look on his face, Shiryu picked up his bag that was hanging on the desk. Homeroom had concluded long ago, and it was past school hours.
“Oh, big brother, there’s a place I would like to swing by on the way back home.”
“Hmm, okay. Are you going shopping?”
“No, Mr. Elias is heading back to the royal capital tomorrow, and there’s a person I would like to meet with him before he goes back.”
“Heh, who is it?”
Shiryu left the classroom and shut the door. The classroom was already deserted.
After confirming that nobody was in the hallway, Shizuku spoke in a slightly subdued voice.
“It’s Ms. Sharon. Sharon Rose. You see, you met her once, too, big brother.”
“Sharon…? Ah, I just remembered that. That bluenette older lady.”
She is insanely attractive and has big tits, too.
As expected, he swallowed that remark. Saying such a thing would obviously provoke his sister’s displeasure.
“As I recall, she was the first person I met when I first came to this world―Ouch!”
“Your voice is too loud! What if other people hear us!”
“Even you are loud…”
But why are you going to meet that person now?
“That’s… a little tough to say here.”
“Is it about that teacher?”
“!”
“It’s fine. There’s no sign of anyone nearby.”
It has been over a year since they left Japan.
For Shiryu, the handling of magic was still a challenge, but in return, fortunately or unfortunately, he was able to rise to a level as a swordsman that was beyond his imagination back in Japan.
Notably, his physical abilities, which were already high, had finally reached the realm of inhumanity since his arrival here.
It was likely that no living human being could match the physical abilities of Shiryu, and he prided himself on this.
With this kind of assurance, Shiryu declared that there was no one in the vicinity.
Relief flooded Shizuku’s heart, but she still whispered to Shiryu in a low voice.
“Anyway, I can’t talk here. We’ll discuss it again when we get to Mr. Elias’ place.”
“…I get it.”
His sister, in contrast to him, was a worrywart. But that was significant because it indicated that she possessed a quality that he lacked.
Like how Shizuku has developed a talent for magic as opposed to Shiryu, who was physically more gifted, they can make up for each other’s deficiencies.
After that, the two of them left the school, exchanging age-appropriate trivialities, such as about today’s school.
ㅤ
ㅤ
■■■■■
ㅤ
ㅤ
“―Sigh, my bad premonition had come true already…”
With darkness descending outside and no one but the teacher on duty inside the school, I was in the school infirmary, my oasis of tranquility, complaining as usual.
“Is the entire population of the royal capital afflicted with a disease that causes them to be overconfident? Why do they usually lunge more aggressively at Instructor Rivalz? They should learn from the humility of the Japanese, really.”
Thanks to this, after the mock battle concluded, I had to apologize profusely to Rivalz. Had Shiryu ended up victorious in the mock battle, I would have been so stressed out that a pit would have formed in my stomach. In that sense, I can only express my gratitude to Karen in that regard.
All hail the Princess.
“Hey, are you listening to me?
“～～～～～～!!”
I then directed my focus to her, who had remained silent all that time. She was a woman in her mid-twenties whom I had picked up from around the area last week.
Her model-like body and long legs were an attraction to men. With slightly slanted eyes that glowed with loathing as though they desired to incinerate me to death, she looked at me.
“Oh, that reminds me, you are in restraints, aren’t you? No wonder you can’t verbally talk then.”
The place where she was with me was my usual bed at the far end of the insurance room. The bed that had previously been there had been removed, and in its place, I had her seat on a simple restraint chair made from a school chair.
When I roughly removed the towel I had been stuffing in her mouth, a couple of times she choked on it.
Afterward, she launched into a biting tirade at me, exclaiming, “―You think you can pull this kind of crazy act and get away with it? If you treat me, an aristocrat, like this, you will be condemned to death! Untie me quickly if you don’t want me to! Untie meeeeeeee!!”
Even before kidnapping her, I had already figured out that she was rather vibrant, but apparently she was outdoing my expectations. My lips instinctively contorted at the pleasant miscalculation.
“W-What are you smiling about? You know it’s over, don’t you? It has already been more than three days since you abducted me. The Garrison Corps should have discovered you by now, right?”
“No, they have not.”
I assured her.
“Anne Leigh Barletta. Twenty-six years old. Female. An upper-class aristocrat. Resident of the City of Commerce, Valiahar. The purpose of your visit to this city was to stay overnight on your way to the royal capital for sightseeing. Accompanied by one lady attendant, one carriage driver, and three guards. That was hardly an impeccable protection. In your next life, I suggest that you add at least five guards.”
“…W-What are you saying?”
Barletta regarded me with a pale face. Did she assume that I had kidnapped her without any preparation?
“By now, your carriage is probably on the highway at least thirty kilometers from Seal. Oh, I didn’t disclose it, but I have a messenger called Humanoid Slime. As the name implies, this thing can transform itself into other people. Actually, it preys on the target before transforming, but in this case, because of the circumstances, it didn’t prey on the target, so the accuracy of the transformation is somewhat compromised, but I suppose that’s not important.”
I had Envy transformed into Barletta and returned her to her attendant. Due to the lack of research on her regular attitude and manner of speaking, I said the minimum necessary words and already had her depart Seal. At one point, I ordered the coachman to take a shortcut through a forest inhabited by cannibalistic orcs, but I was not sure if he obeyed my instructions. Shortly thereafter, I turned off Envy’s remote control.
“…Well, anyway, I don’t want anyone to ruin our time together. Even though I still have a busy day ahead of me later today, I will be able to spend a little time with you.”
“W-What are you… going to do to me…”
With these words, Barletta wriggled around, but her hands and feet were bound to the chair, rendering her helpless to move. A deep flush washed over her face. I wondered if she thought I was going to dishonor her in some way.
I would never do such a thing. In a manner, this served as a lesson preparation. What would be the action that would most likely cause Fina and Karen to lose hope in the near future after they were under my control? This was an experiment. Well, I would be making up a lie if I claimed that I had no desire at all.
“Lately I have been working diligently too, that’s why… I might be breaking you down faster than usual.”
“Hie…!”
Barletta shuddered, either in terror or in despair. She was no longer the assertive lady she had been earlier.
First of all, I should drive nails into her toes to secure them, as I always did. That was my initial thinking, but I quickly changed my mind.
Every once in a while, I should perform harsh torture out of the blue. Normally, I would never do it as it would be a disservice, but today, the stress was getting to me. Above all, I had the impression that Barletta wasn’t a person I particularly liked from the moment I first met her. It may have something to do with the fact that she was the one who had requested Matthias to kill the Princess.
Now, as I was mulling this over, I pulled out a sturdy rope used as a lifeline, using a magical tool that can accommodate objects.
“Ahhhh! Noooooooo!!”
At the mere sight of the rope, a piercing cry escaped Barletta’s lips.
Since she was too fussy, I put her to bed with Sleep sorcery.
Having removed her from the restraints of the chair and securely bound her hands and legs with rope, I then tied her to the curtain rail on the ceiling and hung her upside down.
“Envy, keep your mouth open under her. The food will fall out eventually.”
Envy was compelled to wait right beneath Barletta after being summoned. I had already had Envy return from Barletta’s carriage.
I laid a lot of newspapers around Envy just in case and sprayed a pail of water over Barletta to rouse her up.
“Buha!”
“Hey, you’re awake.”
“Eh… arghhhh!!”
Upon waking up, Barletta started screaming again. It has been a long time since I have seen a woman so clamorous. I temporarily cast sorcery, Silence, to shut her up.
“～～～～～!”
“Don’t be so frightened. Rest assured, from now on I will not do anything to you. I will only hang you upside down like this for one night. It will be painstaking indeed, but once you get through this, I will let you go tomorrow. I guarantee it. So I hope you will do your best to endure it.”
Reflected upside down, the color of hope ignited in her eyes.
Barletta was the first to restore her authority once I freed her from the sorcery.
“…Hmph, is that true?”
“Oh, I promise. That is if you can bear it.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. It is certainly tough, but I can take it for a night if that’s what it takes.”
How could she say anything so boldly while being hanged upside down? Even I admire her audacity.
“Haha, I’ll be away for a short bit, but when I get back, I’m looking forward to seeing you. It doesn’t matter if you flee in the meantime; just put in the effort.”
“Don’t you regret it.”
Ignorance can be a terror. No, perhaps it was a blessing in disguise in this particular circumstance.
With a smile plastered on my face, I left the infirmary.
ㅤ
ㅤ
■■■■■
ㅤ
ㅤ
The destination was “Kafka”, after leaving Barletta behind.
I was scheduled to pick up a gun from Hansa, which had been adjusted for me.
While eavesdropping using Envy, who had been attached to the classroom today, I overheard an unexpected conversation between the Ido siblings. It seemed that they were planning to visit the Garrisoned Corps today.
The remainder of the conversation was not audible since they had already left the classroom, but I did not have a positive opinion of the Garrisoned Corps. As usual, my intuition was giving me a warning, and it would be better to receive the gun while I could be sure to retrieve it.
But when I reached the door of “Kafka,” I noticed that the store lights were off.
For Hansa to close the store at this hour on a weekday was a rare occurrence. At the same time, I had a sickening premonition. It was the familiar sound of my intuition ringing an alarm bell.
“…’Mist Veil’.”
Having given it some thought, I decided to take a peek inside. Just in case, I employed magic to obscure my appearance.
Had this not been Hansa’s store, I would have left without hesitation, but unfortunately, I have known Hansa for a long time. Worst case scenario: If he had been arrested by the Garrisoned Corps, he may have divulged my identity, forcing me to switch up my approach. Ortherwise, I was simply anxious about Hansa.
I silently made my way up to the door and slowly opened it.
——————
T/N:
No idea why the name is “Kafka” instead of “Cuffs”. Will change it if there is further information
