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The Golden Fairy – Part 07

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Translator: Kell

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St. Marguerite Grand Library.

When Kazuya came running up the maze of stairs again, Victorique was already in the garden, smoking a pipe like always.

“So, you made an appointment for this weekend,” Victorique said without looking up.

Difficult books were spread out around her. Her long, blonde hair cascaded down like an untied turban as she immersed herself in her reading.

The fact that she could flip through the pages while listening to Kazuya indicated that she was able to read difficult books and have a conversation at the same time.

“Yup,” Kazuya answered.

“With Grevil?”

Kazuya puffed out his chest. “I couldn’t claim ownership of the yacht, but we can count this as a win for now.”

Victorique lifted her head slowly and looked at him with disbelief. He was burning with rage and feeling elated at his victory.

Melancholic, green eyes, like an old-timer who had lived too long. A raspy, yet clear voice.

“Let me ask you something,” she said.

“What is it?”

“Do you like Grevil?”

“Of course not! I hate him. He makes me sick!”

“One more question. Do you enjoy spending your precious weekend with the person you hate?”

“No! Oh…” After a few moments of stunned silence, Kazuya slumped down on the spot, his head thrown back. “How did this happen?”

“I would like to ask you the same. But I see…”

Not paying any attention to Kazuya, Victorique looked up from her books and smoked her pipe idly.

Her porcelain skin glowed under the soft light shining in through the skylight.

“I can leave this prison… Grevil said he would get me special permission!”

Kazuya did not notice her cryptic mumbling.

“A weekend out with the inspector… How did it come to this? No, wait. He’s probably just as bummed as I am, so it’s even. I wish he’d at least do something about that hairdo. I don’t wanna be seen walking with him with that thing on his head.”

He realized Victorique was on her feet. Standing about a hundred and forty centimeters tall, she had long, blond hair that hung down, radiant white skin, and emerald green eyes. She looked more like an intricate, mobile doll than a human being.

Kazuya also stood up.

Rarely did he see Victorique on her feet. Her small size suprised him once again. He was small for a boy, but there was a small golden head around his chest. Lifting her head back like a child, Victorique looked up at him.

“I’ll go get ready.”

“What? There’s still a few days until the weekend.”

Victorique looked miffed, then began walking in silence.

She pressed the button for the staff elevator and entered the steel cage.

“Whaaat?!”

“What’s wrong, Kujou?” She turned around.

“Why are you taking the elevator?”

Victorique removed the pipe from her mouth. “Because I have permission. This is an elevator for staff and me. What’s wrong? You look like you’re on the verge of tears.”

“I assumed you climbed the stairs like me… I thought we both went through the same struggle.”

“Ridiculous. You’re the only moron who would waste time going up these stairs. Speaking of which…” She gave a distant look. “This morning, when I came up in the elevator, I saw you on the stairs. I didn’t call you, though, because you looked like you were in a hurry.”

“You should’ve called me! I was here to see you!”

The metal door closed.

“Let me in!” Kazuya cried.

“No can do. This is for me and staff only. You use the stairs. Drag your legs painfully up and down. It’s valuable exercise for you who do nothing but study. Gain some stamina.”

Kazuya couldn’t say anything back. Back in his country, his two older brothers not only excelled in their studies but were also physically fit. So whenever his family told him to run or do push-ups, he would run around the neighborhood. But he hadn’t done any exercise since he came to Sauville. His older brothers were big and strong, and they used to beat up brats in the neighborhood. As they grew older, the eldest brother, a brawler, became a scholar, while the other one, a fast runner, became a politician. Hard to say whether they were the right people for the jobs.

As Kazuya stood there with a distant look in his eyes, Victorique gave him a mocking smile and waved her tiny hand.

“Adios, my friend. I will see you downstairs.”

“Huh? Hey, Victorique!”

Clang.

Cruelly, the steel cage began descending, carrying only Victorique.

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Time passed and weekend came.

Overcast skies covered the quiet grounds of St. Marguerite Academy.

In a corner of the campus located halfway up rolling mountains stood the student dormitory, a place where the children of nobility resided. A two-story building made of fine oak wood, silk curtains swayed in the windows of each room. Inside were spacious private chambers for each student, and a large dining hall with glittering chandeliers.

In front of the dormitory, Kazuya and Victorique were arguing.

“Why is there so much stuff?!” Kazuya said. “This is just weird.”

“My brilliant mind has determined this as being, uhm, the absolute minimum luggage neccesary… for the trip.”

She didn’t sound so sure.

Face red, Kazuya pointed to the travel bag on the ground that looked to be twice her size.

“Why do you need so much stuff for an overnight trip on a yacht? It looks like you’re running away from home. This bag’s big enough to hold both of us inside.”

“If I say it’s necessary, it’s necessary!” Victorique repeated stubbornly.

Kazuya was not to be outdone. “Why do you have more luggage than I did when I came here? I crossed the ocean all the way from the Orient. I think I was onboard a ship for like a month. By the way, can you carry all of this by yourself?”

“Of course I can’t.”

“So…”

“You will carry it.”

“Are you stupid?!”

Kazuya opened the huge travel bag and began inspecting its contents.

“You can’t just touch my things!” she protested. “My privacy…”

But no one could stop him at this point. Ms. Cecile, who was passing by, stared at the two of them with surprise.

“You two always get along so well,” the teacher said. “But what are you doing?”

“Great timing, Teach. Here.”

Kazuya tossed something to Ms. Cecile. The teacher caught it with a bewildered look.

Victorique looked downcast. “That’s my compass…”

“The yacht should have one already. Oh, and you don’t need this life vest. And this pile of clothes… you only need one change of clothes. Uh, why is there a utensil set here?! And a chair?! What are you, a refugee?!”

In the end, the luggage was reduced to one bag that the small Victorique could carry over her shoulder, and the two of them were able to depart without much problem. They left the huge bag with Ms. Cecile and started walking toward the village.

“Kujou, you are one bossy man,” Victorique said in exasperation.

“No, I’m not.”

“They say that traveling together can reveal surprising flaws between even the closest friends, creating a crack in their relationship.”

“What are you talking about? Oh, we should run. The plan’s to take the 54-minute train.”

They hurried to the only station in the village. It was a small station, marked by a round clock on the triangular roof. Whenever a train arrived, the small building shook.

Kazuya bought a ticket and was about to go through the ticket gate, but Victorique just stared at him blankly.

“Victorique, do you have a ticket?”

“…A ticket?”

“You buy one here. Take out your wallet.”

Seeing the wallet full of bills, Kazuya quickly told her to put it away. He bought a ticket for her, then hurried to the platform, pulling her by the hand.

Like two rats scurrying across a kitchen floor, they dashed through the crowd of adults getting ready to travel. The train they were supposed to take was in the middle of the platform, just starting to move. Kazuya turned and pulled on Victorique’s hand. She was running as fast as she could, her golden hair bobbing in the air. Kazuya lifted her up onto the train, then boarded after.

The train gained speed and roared past the platform of the small station building.

Victorique’s golden hair puffed up like cotton candy as the wind blew. She was standing still near the door, gripping the railing. Her emerald green eyes widened in surprise.

The train gradually accelerated.

People dotted the vineyard sprawled along the village. Eventually, the train was moving too fast to make them out.

Kazuya motioned her to their seats, and Victorique quietly followed.

They got to a box seat and sat facing each other. After settling down, Kazuya yelled.

“Why do you have so much money with you?!”

“I need it.”

“You don’t need that much! Besides, if people see a purse like that, pickpockets will be all over you. You really scared me back there. Hmm, Victorique?”

Victorique put both her small hands on the window frame like a child and stared at the scenery outside.

Gingerly, Kazuya peered into her face.

He was worried that he might have made her mad since he’d done nothing but give her a piece of his mind since morning, but Victorique didn’t seem offended. She just looked out the window with her green eyes wide open.

Lush greenery. Majestic mountains.

Gradually, the scenery turned into an urban cityscape with more buildings and roads.

They were descending down the mountain where the academy was located and approaching the city. Victorique was staring at the scenery ecstatically.

From time to time, her gaze flitted to rocking vehicles and chimneys billowing black smoke.

She looks like she’s never rode a train before.

Kazuya quietly regarded Victorique’s face as she stared out the window.

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