Volume 3: Chapter 001: Makia – Tea Party & Blue Lacrima
Author: かっぱ同盟／友麻碧
Link: https://ncode.syosetu.com/n3862be/
Translated by Zzonkedd
Edited by Gumihou
Recently, the grey skies and dead trees made the cold winds feel even colder.
Looks like winter has officially arrived in Ruskia.
Good afternoon, it’s Makia.
I have just turned 15.
Right now, I’m dressed in a thick, wine-coloured robe as I make my way down the royal palace and through the corridors towards the Holy Nation.
“Miss Makia, is it really alright to leave without informing Master Thor?”
“Why? Do I have to tell him everything? Including the times I go out?”
“No, it’s just… I used to inform Master Thor whenever you leave, so…”
“Well, that guy’s busy guarding his princess now, so he’s too busy to go anywhere. What a shame~”
“Ah…”
As usual, Lepis had popped out of nowhere. I was already irritated, so my answer came with a bit of a bite. [1] I immediately felt sorry and changed the subject, “By the way, aren’t you cold wearing just one thin robe?”
“The Twilight Clan lives in the Northern Continent. This kind of cold is nothing to me.”
“That so?”
From the perfectly cool look in her eyes, it certainly doesn’t look like she felt the cold at all. I sighed as I trudged down the corridors.
“As expected, it has to do with your birthday.”
“… …”
“It cannot be helped, Master Thor had an urgent job. First Princess Lulubeth had just returned from studying abroad in Gibraltar and had taken a liking to Master Thor.”
“Hm…”
The whole mess started about two weeks ago.
Just a few days before my birthday, we, the Magic Advisors, were sent out to greet the First Princess’s return.
That kid was super clumsy since she accidentally fell over as she approached us. Thor managed to catch her and help her to her feet, and… well, anyone could see the super excited expression on the princess’s face.
In fact, I think I even saw pink shoujo manga bubbles floating behind her as she stared at Thor.
From that day onwards, she kept calling Thor ‘Sir Thor’ and appealing to Sir Raymond to make him her personal knight.
Then, on the day of my birthday, Thor was whisked away to escort Princess Lulu on some kind of inspection expedition.
That’s right, I, the former master of Thor, no longer have the power to restrain him, but this was a very not fun turn of events. Ever since then, I had been ignoring Thor.
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“Welcome, Makia, Lepis!!!”
Percelis welcomed us with open arms into the Holy Nation.
She still looked like a young girl with her baby face and small figure. It was difficult to imagine her as a soon-to-be married woman with that childish figure, but that’s exactly what she was.
Percelis and I have grown closer since that incident last autumn. Now that she has her past memories back, we can even talk on the same level.
“Mu, what was that about?! I thought Thor was Makia’s knight?!” Percelis was outraged on my behalf.
“Well, it’s not like we have a contract or anything. He just… kind of decided it on his own.”
“That’s just like the Black Demon King, he’s always been popular.”
“Mu…”
Well, he certainly is a popular one. Just how many women in the palace had been casting those pink-tinged glances and showering him with squeals of joy whenever he passed them by? The only difference now was that none of those squealing women had had a higher status than I.
Right now, tucked away in a room within the church, we have a little girls-only tea party with smuggled cakes and pastries. Percelis had been going ‘Mmm’ with appreciation over the desserts for a while now.
“But still, since Thor is Makia’s knight….”
“Enough about that,” I interrupted Percelis. “How are things between you two?”
At the mention of Ulysses, Percelis suddenly blushed. She cleared her throat a few times and then looked down for some reason.
“What’s with the face?” I asked, curious about their progress.
“Well, the other day… I wanted Ulysses to try my cooking and…”
“Yes? Yes?” I said encouragingly.
“The only thing I know how to make is the Holy Nation’s very plain porridge…”
“Ah…”
“Ulysses said it was delicious, but his face went a little… pale.”
“… …”
It did not take much imagination to figure out what happened. From the way Percelis fiddled with her fingers, I guess that Ulysses must have done his very best to eat the porridge.
I had tried the porridge before, but even I could not stomach that mushy stuff. Maybe Percelis is so tiny because she has been subsisting on that miserable porridge her whole life.
[2] “Then, my brother barged in and complained about how badly the porridge tasted… I believe that’s his honest opinion because he didn’t know I made it…”“Hm, well, he didn’t look like someone who could lie well. Wait, he ‘barged in’?”
“How indecent!”
[3] As though our talking about him brought him out of the woodwork, Percelis’s brother suddenly burst into the room. The man was in his bishop’s uniform, sloppily put on, of course, and had a devilish expression on his already evil-looking face.“Now that you have set foot into my country, you are under the Holy Judgement of my great hammer, Crimson Witch~ Yes, it is the death penalty for you!!”
“Uwah, he’s actually here. Ugh, to think he’d actually say something like ‘Holy Judgement’… How cringey…”
Still, [4] despite his chuuni-like words, he still had the grand, dignified appearance of a bishop. Well, looking at him like that certainly gives the impression that he really is the reincarnation of the Archbishop of Holy Ash from 1000 years ago. I guess one never knew what life had in store for you.
“Hah, a women-only tea party. You were abandoned by the Black Demon King, weren’t you? Hahahaha!!! How hilarious!”
Ugh.
It felt like something stabbed me in the back.
“Now that the White Sage belongs to someone else, you’re nothing but a lonely little woman. I shall do you a favour and kill you soon. Prepare to enter your grave, and don’t worry, I shall take care of your body properly,” said Esca as he picked up one of the pastries on the table and threw the thing whole into his mouth.
[1] I jabbed my fork at his side, but he twisted away quickly. This guy’s reflexes are pretty good.“Geeze, stop talking about killing Makia, Elder Brother!!”
“Sh-shrine Maiden…”
As usual, Esca shrank back the moment Percelis became upset with him. He was shockingly weak against his sister.
“In the first place, bishops should be helping people. Not talk about killing them!”
“Ha, ha…”
He ended up being preached by Percelis.
Lepis, who had been watching the whole drama without saying a word, sipped her tea and said, “As expected, he is weak against the Shrine Maiden.”
“Why are you even here anyway!?” Percelis cried as she smacked him on the back, even as she pushed him out of the room.
I guess he must just want her attention.
“W-wait, please wait, Shrine Maiden! There is something I must tell her!!”
“…?”
Esca hurriedly pulled out a palm-sized Lacrima from his bishop’s sleeve and set it in front of me.
Wait, this is for me?
“This is a recording Lacrima. One of Fresir’s latest technologies. It shows the recording of the battle with the Raiding Giants that appeared at Fresir’s northern coast recently.”
“…!?”
One of my eyebrows popped up, and I looked at Esca. “Hey, where did you get this from?”
“Hmph, I was part of the investigative team from another continent. I have set up a network of informers that allowed me to receive information from all around the world. One of my investigators brought this recording to me.”
“… …”
I picked up the round, blurry Lacrima crystal. A recording crystal? Just what could be recorded in this heavy crystal?
“Hey, you’re fine with me looking at this?”
“[5] This mighty one has already seen it several times. It is the Holy Nation’s decision to hand it to you. I was ordered to hand it to you.”
“… …”
“It shows Princess Shatma and General Kanon battling [6a].”
“!?”
[6b] I had been surprised many times ever since getting here, but one of the things that surprised me most was Esca’s willingness to share information with me. Unsure how to respond, I blurted out, “You know those two?”“Of course… I’ve never met them face to face in this era, though.”
[7] “In this era, eh?” I said as I casually played with the heavy Lacrima crystal.“Oi, [4] that thing is a national treasure containing valuable information. I don’t care when you plan to look at it, but you must bring it back.”
[7] “Sure, sure,”“Thank mighty me within 20 words.”
[7] “Why? It’s not like you’re the one who decided to give this to me. I didn’t even ask to have this, so why should I?”“Yes, that’s over 20 words. You will now be sentenced to death!!”
“Geez, stop talking about that! It’s bad!!”
“Sh-shrine Maiden…”
And there they go again. Eventually, Percelis managed to drive Esca out of the room. Lepis stared at the bishop’s retreating back and said, “How touching,” with a faraway look in her eyes.
Anyway, with Esca gone, Lepis and I decided to leave the church as well. It gets dark early these days, so even our little activities had to be cut short.
“You want to watch this with us, Percelis?”
“Um… I’ve already seen it with my brother… Please watch it with Ulysses and Thor, Makia.” Percelis answered timidly, her index finger scratching her cheek.
Goodness, to think that [7] freak would actually subject his beloved sister to scenes of war. Just what was he thinking?
“Makia… I hope you will make up with Thor soon…”
“What are you talking about?” [7] I said exasperatedly. “It’s not like I had a fight with him, so there’s no need to make up anything.”
[8] Instead of acknowledging my words, Percelis put her hand over her mouth and giggled knowingly. On one hand, it was great that she had gotten her memories back, but on the other hand… it seemed to have made her graduate from pure childishness to some kind of condescending teen. I guess it’s still an improvement, though.“Lady Makia, the sun is about to set. We need to return to the Palace,” Lepis called.
“Ah, yes, let’s go,”
I turned my eyes from the beautiful setting sun. After a short wave goodbye to Percelis, I walked out of the gates of the Holy Nation.
The air was cold.
Even so, I could feel sweat running down my back.
The blue Lacrima in my hand felt heavy. I wonder… what kind of recording does it contain? As various thoughts ran through my head, I could feel myself walking faster.
[Gumihou: I don’t know why the author made Makia so wishy-washy here]
[1] Maintain Makia’s countenance, but give a segue to the next question. [2] Adjusted details so it fits Percelis’s characteristic [3] Adjusted details [4] Adjusted details so it fits Esca’s characteristic [5] Translate 俺様 ‘ore-sama’ as This mighty one [6] Cleaning up some continuity errors [6a] It’s unclear whether the video shows the two fighting each other or the enemies. Maintain some ambiguity to prevent continuity errors in the future. It’s in character for Esca to be ambiguous anyway [6b] It sounds weird for Makia to say ‘Esca knew the two of them’ directly after he had told her about his ‘information network’, especially when several chapters ago she found out through her Naming Witch power that he has Demon King level MP [7] Makia-like dialogue. Why is Makia so wishy-washy here? Ugh. Especially since the responses from Esca are so over-the-top [8] I think the author is trying to make Ulysses seem less like a paedophile by making Percelis act more mature? Except, she did this by making Makia even more childish? What the hell?
Anyway, let’s go with the ‘teen who thinks she knows it all’ type of behaviour
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