“I can’t even understand the first step, let alone the magic circle…”
After struggling for 10 minutes with the magic book I brought, deciphered into the common language with the help of Armonia, Esme finally spoke up.
Since we were comfortably reading the magic book in Esme’s room instead of the library, it was really nice not having to worry about others’ eyes.
“A bit difficult?”
“No, no, no! Murmur! This isn’t just difficult. Is it even possible to understand this?”
“Murmur can do it.”
“Ugh…”
Esme looked at me, then back at the magic book, shaking her head side to side.
“If another kid said they could use this magic, I’d think they were lying. It’s that hard.”
“Sorry, Esme.”
“It’s okay. Let’s read it together again later. I managed to understand the Dual Casting part at the front, after all.”
Esme fanned her face with her hand, then lifted the magic book with both hands to show Pearl, her maid standing behind her.
“Pearl, what do you think? Can you understand it?”
“Ah… I’m sorry, miss. I never had an interest in magic to begin with.”
I had read it once and learned it simply, but ‘Gentle Release’ is indeed a difficult magic.
No wonder only the high-ups in the Holy Nation can learn it. It’s that complex and difficult, only for those people to learn and use.
That’s why when I learned this magic in the Demon King route, I could cause such a tremendous accident.
“But Murmur… it’s only been about a week, right? How did you manage to decipher it so neatly into the common language?”
“Magic.”
As expected, a convenient excuse.
“Magic?”
“Yeah, I used a magic that deciphers and another that transcribes to make it.”
“Huh… Well, good job, Murmur! Thanks to you, we can read this magic book together as my mother wished!”
Her bright smile was cute, but then Esme hugged me like a teddy bear and rubbed her cheek against mine.
Since last time, she’s been treating me like some giant sheep plushie she carries around.
“Ugh… Esme, Murmur has something to ask.”
“Soft and squishy… What is it?”
“Do you know about Citrine?”
Esme, who was rubbing her cheek against mine, blinked and looked at me.
“Of course I know! Who doesn’t know Citrine?”
As expected, she’s famous. Well, it would be strange if the main heroine of the Demon King route wasn’t famous in the Academy.
“She’s quite something in many ways, right? Personally… how should I put it? Hmm…”
“Esme, do you dislike Citrine?”
“It’s not about liking or disliking…”
Esme clapped her hands lightly.
“…It’s more like she’s hard to get close to.”
“Why? What makes you think that?”
“Well, I don’t think badly of her, but…”
Esme’s lips twitched subtly.
“I don’t really know much about Citrine. Other than that she likes money, she doesn’t talk much about anything else.”
* * *
“How about we have a delightful tea party, Miss Murmur?”
“Ugh…”
Citrine was as scary as I expected.
With Nicasia busy talking to a noble who visited the Academy, and Esme also busy handling paperwork issues caused by Colette running away, Citrine latched onto me as soon as they left.
“Murmur is busy now.”
“Even in your busyness, I assure you this tea party will be enjoyable enough to make you satisfied with your choice.”
Citrine grabbed my left hand and pointed to a table in the distance, already set up.
From a large cream cake to a mountain of cookies and scones, and even a pie with steam rising from it.
This feels more like a dessert party than a tea party.
─ Grrrowl!
“Oh my! You must be hungry, Miss Murmur?”
“Ugh…”
Murmur’s stomach betrayed her with a thunderous sound.
What to do.
If I don’t accept the gold pouch, my favorability won’t rise, so maybe I’ll just have a little?
After all, as long as I don’t accept that gold pouch, my favorability won’t go up, right?
“…Alright. It seems like Citrine put a lot of effort into preparing this.”
As soon as I turned around, Citrine smiled brightly and half-dragged me to the table where the tea party was set up.
“Thank you for attending the tea party, Miss Murmur.”
Balkan, the butler with white hair that suited him so well, looked at me with a charming smile and greeted me.
Thinking about it, there was definitely a route like this.
A situation where you try to sneakily take items and gold from Citrine without raising her favorability, summarized in a chart.
The tea party was definitely on the side where favorability wouldn’t rise.
“Please enjoy to your heart’s content, Miss Murmur. Oh, and these cookies with raspberries embedded in them are hard to come by? I went through quite a bit of trouble to buy them.”
Citrine picked up a cookie and took a small bite.
“This pie, and the cake too, are all expensive and rare desserts that an ordinary student couldn’t afford even if they saved their allowance for a year.”
“Okay, I’ll enjoy it.”
So she’s emphasizing how expensive they are. Anyway, I was genuinely hungry, so I didn’t hesitate to dig into the pie and cake.
“Yum yum… It’s delicious.”
“I’m glad you’re enjoying it as I expected.”
Citrine, looking satisfied, didn’t touch the desserts piled in front of her anymore.
“…By the way, Miss Murmur? Do you remember the conversation we had last time?”
“Yum yum… Yum, no?”
“Ugh… It was about joining forces in the upcoming joint assignment by Professor Marea.”
She still hasn’t given up on that.
“Murmur already has friends to solve the joint assignment with.”
“Are you talking about Miss Esme and Princess Nicasia? Hehe, if you join me, you can get a better score.”
“Murmur doesn’t think so.”
“No! It’s a predetermined outcome! Balkan!”
Citrine clapped her hands twice, and the butler, Balkan, took out a black bag from behind and showed it to me.
It’s already starting. No wonder people in the community call Citrine ‘Item Girl,’ and some even derogatorily call her ‘Whale.’
“This joint assignment by Professor Marea is about defeating monsters prepared in the Star Shadow Forest and finding treasure!”
Citrine pulled out a magic tool that looked expensive at first glance.
“Miss Murmur. Do you see this magic tool? This tool, made in the Mage’s Tower, has the power to accurately detect the location of monsters! I bought it for a whopping 5 gold!”
Really? Are you sure you didn’t get scammed?
What was the value of 1 gold again? Roughly enough for a family to live comfortably, right?
“Now look here. This dowsing rod has runes engraved on it. For 3 gold, it can reliably find hidden treasure chests.”
“Impressive.”
“And also, do you see this chainmail? This armor is an incredible item made by the ‘Stonefire’ forge!”
Citrine’s money bragging had no end.
The more ridiculous thing is that these items actually work. From the dowsing rod to the magic tool that detects monster locations.
Each one is a key item that could make this joint assignment a breeze.
“And also… do you see these weapons? There’s even a staff with convenient functions engraved on it, just for you, Miss Murmur.”
“Okay, I get it. But Murmur doesn’t need it.”
“You… don’t need it?”
“Yeah, Murmur can do well without those.”
I feel really sorry for Citrine, but I already know the location of the treasure chest and the monsters, their names, and weaknesses.
With Esme’s Elemental Magic and my summoning magic, we can handle it without much trouble.
“…That can’t be. This joint assignment is quite difficult as you’ll be competing with other teams.”
“Yeah, it’s okay. Murmur can do it.”
“Where on earth does that confidence come from… from that small body of yours?”
Citrine’s expression twisted openly.
Perhaps it’s because I looked too indifferent at the items that other students would clap and beg to be on the same team for.
“Hmph… …Alright, Miss Murmur? Then, do you see this paper here?”
Citrine handed me a white paper and a pen through Balkan.
“Write down what you want.”
“Anything you’ll buy for me?”
“Heh, heh! That’s right! From the birthday present you didn’t receive to something even Princess Nicasia can’t give you, I’ll gift it to you!”
Citrine’s eyes sparkled. And she regained her usual poker face, hard to tell what she likes.
“The only price Miss Murmur has to pay is one! Be on the same team as me for this joint assignment!”
I couldn’t help but let out a bitter smile at Citrine’s persistent behavior.
There’s a reason why this girl thinks money can solve anything. When I first played the game, I didn’t know that, so I just enjoyed these events as her throwing money around.
Anyway, Citrine is the ‘adopted daughter’ of the ‘Crimson Brand Duchess,’ so she thinks she can do anything with money. The Crimson Brand Duchess is the owner of the ‘Crimson Nexus,’ a large trading company thriving in the Empire, Holy Nation, and various kingdoms.
Since the person she calls mother deals with and manages an enormous amount of money, it’s only natural she acts like that. In the world Citrine grew up in, she must have seen even the most noble and honorable beings crumble helplessly in front of money.
“Alright.”
“Hehe, don’t be shy, write down anything.”
And I also know Citrine’s secret ‘identity.’
I know too well why this girl is so desperately trying and wants to get good grades in the Academy to be recognized by the ‘Crimson Brand Duchess.’
I have no intention of becoming close to Citrine or raising her favorability, but knowing her tragic fate, I can’t help but worry about her. As an adult, it’s a bit overwhelming to see a child destined to suffer.
Alright, I’ve eaten a lot of delicious cake and cookies. Let’s help her a little.
“Here, take this.”
She’s definitely going to struggle in the joint assignment, and this advice won’t change the main story much.
I’m just advising her to eliminate an opponent who would disappear anyway, even without my intervention. Truly a WIN-WIN. Citrine won’t get hurt, and I’ll have peace of mind.
Honestly, I’ve eaten so much delicious cake, so I should at least do this much.
“Miss Murmur, what item did you want to have…?”
With a hop, I got up from my seat and waved at Citrine.
“Thanks for the meal, Citrine. See you later.”
“W-wait wait wait wait!!! Miss Murmur! T-this isn’t an item you wanted!?”
“Yeah, I know. But Murmur doesn’t want anything. This is just a thank you for inviting me to the tea party.”
“W-what do you mean? This isn’t even an item, it’s a person’s name!”
Leaving a flustered Citrine behind, running away was easier than I thought.
* * *
Citrine twirled her red hair with her left hand while glaring at the white paper in her right hand.
When Murmur picked up the pen during the tea party, she thought she had finally gotten what she wanted.
But now, looking at the paper in her hand, she couldn’t help but feel played from start to finish.
“What on earth is this…”
For Citrine, who believed money could buy anything and that there was no gift that wouldn’t work, Murmur’s actions were utterly baffling.
Citrine, who wanted to clearly understand Murmur’s power, potential, and the truth behind the rumors about her in this joint assignment, was burning with frustration.
“Miss… what will you do?”
“Balkan, you seem just as baffled by the contents of this paper, don’t you?”
“Rowan is the student who was supposed to help you in this joint assignment, isn’t he?”
Citrine quietly looked down at the paper with the name of the ‘student’ she had already bribed with money.
『Rowan is a bad friend. Be careful.』
“Murmur must have already known, don’t you think?”
“Are you saying she already knew who you would team up with?”
“…Thinking about it, she refused outright from the start, didn’t she? Maybe she saw through my intention to test her power right away.”
Citrine took out her wallet from her chest pocket, stuffed the paper Murmur gave her inside, and let out a sigh.
“What will you do about Rowan?”
“Rowan’s family has been working for Crimson Nexus for a long time. In other words, he’s not someone who would do me wrong.”
Citrine continued with what seemed like a natural conclusion from her perspective.
“It’s a bit chilling to say, but it seems Miss Murmur wanted to make me doubt Rowan and exclude him, causing me to not get a good score in this assignment.”
Balkan looked a bit surprised.
“Truly the flesh and blood of the Demon God… I don’t know how she knew Rowan’s name or the details of the joint assignment so casually.”
Citrine hugged herself with her freed hands and raised the corners of her mouth.
“Don’t you think she’s exactly the person I should serve!? Balkan! Miss Murmur is truly amazing! She must be the flesh and blood of the Demon God!!!”
With her sparkling eyes gently closed, Citrine muttered softly.
“Indeed… those destined to be Demon Kings are extraordinary from a young age.”
