Volume 3: Chapter 012: Ulysses – Comings & Goings
Author: かっぱ同盟／友麻碧
Link: https://ncode.syosetu.com/n3862be/
Translated by Zzonkedd
Edited by Gumihou
Gumihou: [1] Adjust Ulysses’s dialogues to make it casually condescending and less eeeeh~~
Hello.
It’s been a while, this is Ulysses.
[1] I had been doing my best to stay on top of things.
[1a] Seriously, I understand Tooru-kun’s situation. I really do. He had been tasked to be Lulu’s guard and really, involving a great mage like him in silly palace struggles was a rather pointless and shameful thing.
I truly felt sorry for him, but I’d also feel bad for Maki-chan if I defended Tooru-kun too much.
Especially since she must really want him there for her birthday. After all, from what I heard, Tooru-kun had never been absent for her birthday ever since they reunited on the day he was presented to her as a birthday present.
“M-Maki-chan…are you here?”
I took a break from work and stopped by her room early in the morning. I knocked, but no one came out.
“…?” I was just wondering what to do when a young boy suddenly appeared by my side.
[2] “Excuse me, Lady Makia has gone to visit the Shrine Maiden of the Holy Nation with Miss Lepis.”
The boy had black hair and was dressed in a black robe. He had a delicate look about him that made me think of Tooru-kun. He must be one of the Twilight children sent to Ruskia. Noah Twilight, I believe.
“Ah, I see. Thank you, Noah Twilight.”
“You know my name?”
He looked puzzled.
“Indeed, Princess Shatma told me that there is a very promising young mage in the Twilight clan.”
“… …”
Noah Twilight suddenly looked down.
[1] He must be embarrassed. How adorable.
I had met with quite a few people from the Twilight clan, but nearly all of them have the habit of hiding their emotions and maintaining a calm facade. It was quite refreshing to see such a frank reaction for once.
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“Oh? Did something happen? It’s rare for Ulysses to come by so early.”
Percelis was justifiably surprised to see me at the Holy Nation. My dear fiancée… by the way, we shall be marrying this coming spring.
“I heard Maki-chan came by, I’m here to tell her something… haah…” I was panting a little from power walking all the way here.
Percelis poured me a cup of water.
“But, Makia isn’t here any more. By the way, she secretly brings me all kinds of things, you know?”
“Things? What kind of things?”
“Fufu~ it’s a secret?” she said with a finger over her lips.
It was cute, but a pang of jealousy struck my heart. Before this, she used to tell me everything…
“No, wait. This isn’t the time for this!! We have to find Maki-chan!!”
“Makia did say that she’s heading towards Urbanus’s mansion. Isn’t it Makia’s birthday today? If I could leave the Holy Nation, I could celebrate her birthday with everyone…”
“Percelis…”
As the Green Shrine Maiden, Percelis is forbidden from leaving the Holy Nation. I stroked her head gently.
“Geez, you’re treating me like a child again…”
She looked so cute with her puffed-up cheeks that I felt like I could keep stroking her head forever.
“Geez, Ulysses. Aren’t you looking for Makia? Hurry up! Makia’s birthday party is tonight, right? Don’t worry about me and just keep Makia company.”
“… …”
When Percelis scolded me, I felt like a husband being scolded out of the house for not leaving for work on time. I reluctantly left the Holy Nation behind and headed for Medite’s mansion.
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“Dear me, dear me, Your Highness. How unusual for you to be out and about without an escort.”
Lord Medite’s mansion was located next to the Magic Research Institute within the capital and quite close to the church. It was a fairly quiet place with few passers-by.
The gates of the mansion were always open, which gave it an eerie feeling of a beast with its maw open, waiting to take a bite out of its prey.
“If you’re looking for Lady Makia, she is with my wife and child. Will Your Highness come and take a look at my only son?”
Lord Medite sounded a little flustered.
He was a shady young man whose intentions were difficult to discern. However, it looked like tales of him being a devoted husband and doting father appeared to be true.
A rather pale maid guided me to a room within Lord Medite’s mansion. Since it was rare for me to leave the palace, this is my first visit to his mansion.
“Oh? It’s Ulysses. What are you doing here?”
“Maki-chan…”
Maki-chan was with Lady Medite.
The lady of the house stood up, the baby still in her arms and nodded to me with the words, ‘A pleasure to greet Your Highness’. She was a beautiful woman with glossy brunette hair tied back from her face. However, the hint of poison in her magical aura showed that she was undoubtedly a member of this abnormal family.
[1] The child, Acreos Medite, was named Maki-chan and as his godmother, she came by to visit him often. He looked very small with his wild baby hair and tightly curled fists.
“Woah, he’s really sweet…” I cooed.
“You like children, don’t you?”
“Fufu, when Shuma was born, he was just as tiny…”
Maki-chan’s nickname for this baby was A-chan, a fitting nickname that’s similar to something Honourable Uncle Raymond would give.
A-chan is very well-behaved with eyes that are quite similar to Lord Medite’s. Which was a rather terrifying thought. Would this innocent little baby take on the colours of the Medite family and grow up into a shady mage?
“Speaking of which, you want to speak to me about something?”
“Ah.”
Ah…
No way, I had been thoroughly distracted by the cuteness of the baby and had almost forgotten the reason for my desperate search just now. The smile fell off my face, and I guided Maki-chan out of the room.
Before I could say anything, Maki-chan cut me off and said, “If it has to do with Tooru, I already know about it.”
“What?”
“I woke up this morning to this note on the door.”
Maki-chan took out a piece of paper from her dress pocket. On it was Tooru-kun’s blocky handwriting. It simply said ‘Sorry’ in Japanese.
“Well, it looks like Tooru thought that escorting the princess was more important. Still, my finding it not-fun is different from me getting angry at it. Don’t you think so?”
“Yes…”
What else was I supposed to say in the face of that quiet aura of anger?
I had imagined this meeting playing out in several ways. Maki-chan is getting angry and punching the wall, maybe launching herself at me with her claws out or at the very least stamping her feet angrily and screaming ‘Tooru, you idiot!!’ over and over again.
However, for some reason, Maki-chan appeared calm yet still intensely angry at the same time.
“As mentioned before, even the Buddha’s face could only be seen three times… hmpf.”
Her shoulders lowered with a huff. Her back, which was usually ramrod straight thanks to the tight corset around her slim waist, gave her quite the haughty bearing. It was rare for me to see her slumped over like this.
“I-it will be fine, Maki-chan. I’m sure it was a shock…”
“Hah? A shock?”
She said that, but I can clearly see the disappointment in her eyes!!
Like a balloon devoid of air, she looked diminished, deflated somehow. She walked past me and tottered down the hallway, swaying a little.
Maki-chan, where are you going?!
“Dear me, Lady Makia~ Back from your little discussion already? Well, now, the chef is in the middle of preparing his best for tonight’s dinner!”
“Well, at least I have that to look forward to…”
“Goodness me, is something the matter, Lady Makia?”
Lord Medite did not seem to understand the seriousness of the situation. For some reason, he looked at me and grinned.
“Ah, that is… Tooru-kun could not come by today because of knightly duties,” I said awkwardly.
“Hoho~ ahaha, he must be busy escorting our dear princess, eh? Oh dear, oh dear~”
He’s too perceptive.
For some reason, seeing his amusement rubs me the wrong way. I really don’t like this guy.
Maki-chan left the Medite Mansion without a coat and looked like she was about to stagger back to the palace in the cold. I grabbed her coat and tried to get her to put it on.
“Maki-chan, you’ll catch a cold like this.”
“Yeah, yeah, thanks, mom…”
“Who’s your mom?!”
Maki-chan paused. She looked a little shocked.
However, she put on her coat with a sigh and a sad little smile.
“I have kind of gotten used to not seeing you and Tooru much, but I thought… that we could all be together again just for today, you know? Kind of like how it was back on Earth. Life was pretty fun then, huh? I just wish that stupid Tooru would be here. Tooru, that idiot… I’m going to beat him up when he gets back…”
“Yeah, he’s really an idiot…”
At that moment, I had completely forgotten the promise I had made to Tooru-kun this morning and jumped on Maki-chan’s bandwagon.
Sorry, Tooru-kun.
Still, it was worth it to see Maki-chan’s shoulders straighten and hear her laugh again. However, she soon drooped again.
“That’s a complete lie, I hate it… I know I’m totally acting like a child. Unlike you and Tooru, I basically do nothing around here…”
“Maki-chan…”
I’m so sorry, Maki-chan. This is all because of the stupid infighting between the Ruskia royals!!
As I look at Maki-chan’s neck, buried in her cloak, and her dazed expression, a sharp pang pierced through my chest.
Suddenly, Maki-chan smacked her own cheeks. As though a switch had been flipped, she straightened up and let out a manly, “Right!!”
“It’s all fine. So what if Tooru isn’t around? I have plenty of other people to celebrate with. I’ll take Noah with me and stuff with all kinds of delicious food! Then I’ll hug him and pat his head and give him lots and lots of love!!”
“Eh? That’s a little…”
“You’ll be coming by later, right?”
“Of course, Percelis even told me not to come by the Holy Nation today…”
“Right, I’ll have to remember to bring a gift to Percelis as thanks next time I see her.”
“… …”
Lately, it felt like some sort of connection had formed between Percelis and Maki-chan without my knowing. To be honest, I was a little jealous of it.
They seemed to be getting along well; maybe they were bonding over something that only women would understand?
In the end, the people who showed up for Maki-chan’s birthday party included: the Medite couple, Lepis, Noah and even Uncle Raymond, the root of Maki-chan’s dazed state. Even brother-in-law Eska crashed the party partway through, bringing with him the typical chaos of his sheer existence. Maki-chan acted like a drunken older sister as she fussed over Noah amidst the chaos.
Maki-chan stuffed herself with the food and seemed to be having fun, so at first sight, it looked like all was well. However, there was still the feeling that something was not quite right.
Tooru-kun was not there.
It felt like Maki-chan was trying her best to ignore this by enjoying herself as best she could. For some reason, it felt a little lonely to not have the three of us together on such an important day.
If I, as a bystander of this birthday celebration, experienced such complicated feelings, I wonder what Maki-chan must be feeling right now.
The smile on her face felt complicated. It would have been so much better if she had yelled and screamed angrily.
Since there was nothing I could do for Maki-chan, the only other thing I could do was stealthily pinch Honourable Uncle Raymond’s side. The mastermind of this awkward situation.
However, since my uncle was busy enjoying the strong alcohol recommended by Lord Medite, he did not really notice my poking.
[Gumihou: Hmm…]
[1] Adjust Ulysses’s dialogues to make it casually condescending and less eeeeeh~
Here’s a sample of the original:
Hello. It’s been a long time. I am Ulysses. I had to keep myself together. I understand Tooru’s circumstances very well. It’s unreasonable of him to act as Lulu’s guard. Involving such a great mage as him in the stupid palace struggle is both a very sorry and grateful thing.
[2] Noah-like dialogue per precedent
[3] Edit for dramatic purpose. Show, don’t tell.
Sample of the original
In my simulation, I thought that after coming out, Makia-chan would hit the wall or scratch me, stamp her feet and repeatedly shout “Tooru, you idiot!!”, and show intense anger.
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