Chapter 187
After Selina and the others had sadly said their goodbyes to a number of students and then returned to me, Fatima, Nell, Phenia, Christina, Lenia, and Irina all came by to see us.
The surrounding students and their parents looked at us curiously, seeing that we were the ones who had achieved overwhelming victory during the Magic Tournament.
In particular, it had already been officially announced that Christina would become the new baron of Bern in the spring, and for better or worse, the fact that she was the young daughter of the great Almadia family and she was leaving the family house, just brought more and more attention to her.
Her grandfather was in charge of the development in the northern part of the kingdom, and I’ve heard rumors going around among the governor-general’s office in Galois, the neighboring nobles, and the influential merchants in the city, that the royal family is going to recommence the frozen development of the northern part of the kingdom.
Christina is from a particularly noble family line in the country, and is close to Princess Frau. And thanks to her good looks, and her skill which is said to be among the best not only in the school, but in the whole kingdom, there are many people vying for her hand in marriage.
In order to keep the movements of such people in check, Christina has been using wordless pressure through the occasional glance, and since she has kept up this tiresome act, she looked a little tired.
It’s a custom for graduates to be given one of the buttons from the uniforms of their underclassmen as a token of affection, but Christina had been given so many buttons, both her hands were full, and even her pockets were overflowing, so much that she looked fed up with it all.
Although this was a sign that people liked her, if this much was forced upon her, even Christina would find it hard to bear.
「Christina, why don’t you put those away for now?」
I couldn’t bear to see Christina in such a miserable state, so I suggested that while pointing toward her shadow.
I’m sure Christina should have mastered Shadow Box Magic, which turns one’s own shadow into storage space in a different subspace, and it was a magic that I often used myself.
「Yes, it would be wise to do that. But unlike Dran’s, mine is only as big as a small box, so I don’t think it can fit everything」
「As always, you’re still bad at non-combat related magic, huh?」
「Well, I’m better than I was before, but I still have more to learn」
Christina has an excellent aptitude and learning speed for magic that strengthens her physical abilities, but she was not blessed with as much talent when it comes to magic like the Shadow Box, which is useful in everyday situations.
She could make up for it with Dreadnought, but Christina didn’t like relying too much on tools.
Dreadnought also seems to recognize Christina as its master, and wishes Christina would just use Dreadnought as a tool as much as she pleases, but Christina was firmly adamant about this and wouldn’t yield.
『Christina, you don’t have to do this on your own, I can take care of such trivial matters myself』
The owner of the clear, bell-like sounding voice, which sounded like both a boy and a girl, was Dreadnought, who was supposed to have been stored away in Christina’s room.
Dreadnought wasn’t hanging from Christina’s waist right now, just like Elspada, but for this sword, a legacy of an ancient civilization, connecting to its owner through telekinesis was a piece of cake.
But for me to say that about the sword that once pierced my heart, isn’t that ironic?
「If humans rely on tools simply because they are convenient, we will only become rotten to the core. Unfortunately for you, I think of myself as an ordinary person. If I rely on you once, it’s obvious that you will slyly continue to have me rely on you.
If that happens, I will quickly become a human that is not suited for wielding you. Though I am sorry to the people who believe in me and recognize me as your owner」
『I have concluded that Christina is not that kind of human, but if you, my master, truly thinks that way, then it can’t be helped. I, Dreadnought, shall reluctantly accept that you will not make use of me』
「Recently, you’ve been less reserved with me. I thought Nyx had gotten to you or something. Are all my familiars and weapons destined to become like that?」
『That is just because you’re such a friendly and undiscriminating master to your servants』
Oh, my. It seems Dreadnought and Christina have developed such a friendly and informal relationship now.
Compared to before, when Christina had told me about their first encounter, it was as if Dreadnought was now a completely different person. Well, this should make it easier for Christina and Dreadnought to get along from now on.
「When we get to Bern Village, I plan on asking you to help me with bookkeeping and paperwork」
『It’s not something that I should be doing as a weapon, but if it’s helpful to my master, then there is nothing more rewarding to me』
「Haha, well, let’s just say that that’s what I’m thinking. We’ll probably have a labor shortage at first anyway」
Fumu, for me who will be working for Christina, Dreadnought will be both my coworker and my boss’s weapon. It’s a truly strange relationship, but in Bern Village, which is full of strange and unprecedented happenings, it wouldn’t be so weird.
This strange situation where Christina was conversing with a longsword that wasn’t even present, struck the surrounding students who didn’t know the situation as strange, but no one among us thought it was odd.
While Selina and I were traveling through the empire, Phenia, who had spent a lot of time with Christina, opened her mouth to express her amazement at how frankly Dreadnought was now speaking toward Christina.
「Christina, you sure have one hell of a magic sword. But seeing that you are now able to exchange words so unreservedly, I think you are building a good relationship, just like how you two had synchronized cooperation during our mock battle」
「Thanks for the compliment, Phenia. In the end, all we did was have mock battles until Dran returned from the empire. Although it’s too late now, I think we probably should have gone shopping or had study groups together」
「What, we did have the tea party with Fatima and the others, didn’t we? We could have gone to see a play or a recital or something, but you’re not very good with those things, are you, Christina?」
「You know me too well, Phenia. It’s just a part of my upbringing and natural personality. If it’s for a business meeting, I can wipe my true feelings from my face, but if I go with friends, my boredom would show on my face, so I’m sorry about that」
「Fufu, I think the most important thing I’ve gained in this past year is that you’re now able to honestly say that we are friends. The next best thing was getting to know Dran, Nelneshia and the others better」
Compared to when we first met, Phenia’s hopeless atmosphere of constantly wanting Christina’s attention had gone away, and now she is able to act very naturally, without any unneeded tension in her shoulders.
She’s become a far more attractive woman now than she was before during our first meeting. To have become closer to such a woman, and for her to be happy about that, made me honestly happy as well.
I decided to follow my heart, and confess my feelings honestly. I wonder, when did I ever learn in my previous life, that it is important to put one’s own thoughts into words and communicate them?
「It’s a bit too late to say it now, after we’ve gotten closer, but if I had known people like Phenia and Nell and the others were here, I would have wanted to enroll in the Magic Academy much earlier.
It’s just that if I had done that, then maybe my encounter with Selina and Diadora would have turned out differently, and that’s what I’d be worried about」
「Ohoho, I see Selina and Dramina are number one to you, Dran. It’s only natural you would treasure your lovers the most. I have no objections to that.
But if you had enrolled in the Magic Academy earlier, then not just last year, but the year before, and even further back, you could have had more victories, and had the shining honor of being the champion of the Magic Tournament three years in a row. I am filled with regrets when I think about that possibility」
With me, Phenia and Christina, I’m sure three consecutive wins would have been certain, so just as Phenia said, it would have been possible for me to be champion at the Magic Tournament three years in a row.
「Even if I did enroll earlier, I would have wanted to skip grades and graduate early anyway, so the only time we could have stood shoulder to shoulder and fought together in the Magic Tournament would have still been for only one year」
「Jeez, even though you’re usually such a gentleman, you can be really impulsive sometimes. You’re very sweet toward Selina and Dramina, but I guess that’s just the difference between being your lover and not being one.
Dran, even though polygamy and polyandry are legally and morally allowed in our country, you should not be so eager to add more new women to you life that you end up neglecting the wonderful women who are already by your side. I am warning you from my heart」
Phenia’s warning was something that many other people have told me before, with slight variations in wording.
After all, having feelings for more than one person of the opposite sex has its own problems. When I think about that, my mother, who had eight husbands, was really amazing. I wonder if there was any way I could ask her to teach me something about that.
NEXT CHAPTER
RELEASE RATE
Goodbye Dragon Life, Hello Human Life
Speed up schedule by 10 hours
Current schedule: Every 70 hours
Dran’s mother has 8 husbands? That’s news to me.