“Hmph! Let me make it clear, I have absolutely no intention of acknowledging you, a member of the Demon Race!”
Esme snorted and spoke, then smiled brightly and extended her hand to Nicasia.
“So, Your Highness… would you hold my hand first?”
“That’s not possible. We need all three of us to hold hands to get points for the teamwork assignment, right?”
“Ah, uh, ugh…”
Esme really does have a bit of a silly side. She said it herself, but there’s no way Nicasia would extend both hands.
“Esme, promise me you’ll hold Murmur’s hand properly too.”
Here we see our princess’s political sense at work. Esme has to hold my hand anyway, so there’s no need for such a promise.
But by saying it like that, she subtly saves Esme’s face!
“Hmph! Of course! For Your Highness’s points, I, Esme Bloodberry, will do my best!”
Esme swallowed the opportunity that came her way and extended her right hand to Nicasia. Nicasia extended her left hand and gently held Esme’s hand.
“Ah… Your Highness’s hand… Hehehe.”
“I’m jealous, Esme…”
“See? Opportunities go to those who act first, huh?”
“Ugh! I should’ve acted when Esme did!”
Professor Aiaie’s magic class has now turned into a time for holding the princess’s soft, squishy, cute, and pretty hands.
Excuse me, Professor, but shouldn’t you be standing at the front of the class watching us quietly?
“Your Highness’s hand is so soft. It’s smooth like a baby’s hand.”
“Is that so? But I feel that Esme’s hand is also very soft. Your nails are very neatly trimmed too.”
“Ah, ahhh… Your Highness…”
“Look. I’m embarrassed to say I haven’t trimmed my nails yet.”
Nicasia wiggled her fingers as she spoke, and Esme was so happy she looked like she might die of joy.
“Sigh… Happiness is fleeting, they say…”
Esme muttered as she extended her hand to me.
“I wish I could wear gloves and feel the honor of holding hands with the Bloodberry family’s young lady indirectly, but…”
“Esme?”
“Don’t worry! I’ll hold Murmur’s hand properly!”
Esme finally extended her left hand to me.
We ended up each holding one hand.
“Then let’s connect our magical energy now. Nicasia, is that okay?”
“Don’t worry. If you can do it once, you can do it twice.”
Nicasia tightened her grip.
Esme was startled but managed to focus without squealing.
A purple light began to emanate from my hand, and a pure white light emanated from Nicasia and Esme’s hands.
“My goodness… Your Highness Nicasia’s magical energy is truly vast. It feels like looking at a massive mountain.”
“Thank you for the compliment. Esme’s magical energy is also incredibly impressive. It’s like a beautiful garden.”
“Hmph~! I, Esme Bloodberry, am always striving to be the best magician!”
Esme snorted and squealed, then glanced at me. It was a subtle look, and she opened her mouth but then closed it.
She probably wanted to say something but stopped because she thought Nicasia might scold her. Esme hates demons, after all.
“Murmur, can you feel Esme’s magical energy too?”
“You don’t have to say it, you know?”
“Like Nicasia said, it’s like a beautifully arranged garden. But it’s not small enough to be called a garden. It’s incredibly vast… and every corner is neatly arranged.”
It was an honest impression, without a single lie.
Esme’s magical energy was truly abundant, but it wasn’t just the quantity—it was also well-organized and ready to use at any moment. This is the result of Esme’s hard work.
“Hmph… They say demons are good at lying, but you’re just flattering! Bleh~”
Esme stuck out her tongue to tease me but snorted happily. If she were just honest about being happy, she wouldn’t hear things like “combat power measurer lol” in the community.
“Then let’s cast the illusion magic now.”
“Hey, why are you acting like the leader? Her Highness should be the one to speak!”
“My magical skills are lacking. If Murmur is okay with it, Esme can be the leader.”
I shook my head, not particularly wanting to be the group leader for the assignment.
After all, it’s more comfortable to ride the bus than to drive it.
“Really? Haaa… Thank you. Hmm! Murmur, you’re quite perceptive, huh?”
Is that a compliment, Esme?
“Then… hoo! Let’s align our thoughts one by one.”
“What should we align?”
“It’s best to align our mental images as much as possible. Let’s start with the background. A snowy field sounds good.”
Esme spoke seriously.
“You mean a field covered in snow, right?”
“Yes, imagining a vast, empty white field… there’s no room for random thoughts to creep in.”
“Okay. I’ve got it.”
The image of the snowy field that the three of us imagined seeped through our tightly held hands.
“Good. Everyone did well. Next, let’s decide what we’re going to create with the illusion.”
“I think the white rabbit I imagined earlier with Murmur would be nice.”
“Wh… Your Highness? A white rabbit on a snowy field is hard to imagine.”
Nicasia’s cute imagination of a fluffy white rabbit came to mind.
A white rabbit hopping around in the snow is really cute, but…
“Ah, it’s a white paradise.”
“How about a black rabbit?”
“Murmur, if we imagine the same rabbit, the images might overlap and distort the illusion.”
“…That’s annoying, but you’re right. If both of you have the same image and mine is different, I’d hate it even more.”
Esme snorted once.
“How about something like our favorite food?”
“How about pasta?”
“Nicasia… there are so many types of pasta.”
“What kind of pasta do you like, Your Highness?”
“I like tomato pasta.”
“Me too! Me too! Esme also likes tomato pasta!”
Guys, if you keep talking about your favorite things randomly, we’ll never succeed in the illusion magic.
“Esme… Nicasia? The shapes of food are different, so it’s hard.”
“Tomato pasta is all the same, isn’t it?”
Esme snorted and vaguely showed a tomato pasta with lots of seafood.
“Huh?”
Nicasia, on the other hand, vaguely imagined a tomato pasta with meatballs.
“Wh… Your Highness, do you like meatballs?”
“Ah… well, if there’s a little meat, it’s more filling…”
“Heh… I’ll remember that! I’ll definitely remember it!”
“Food is a no-go. Got it?”
Esme snorted and raised the corner of her mouth.
“Then how about dresses.”
“…Esme, are you trying to find out what kind of clothes Nicasia likes?”
─ Squeeze!
“No. I’m. Not!”
“Hahaha, I’ll tell you later. But for now, we need to finish the teamwork assignment, right?”
“Ahem… really, I’m not. Really.”
Esme swallowed her saliva and looked at me and Nicasia.
You’ve realized the difficulty of group assignments, haven’t you, Esme? It’s not easy, is it?
“Esme. Why don’t we do something simple instead of making it hard?”
“Hmph… I was already thinking of doing something super~ easy.”
Esme wiggled her fingers. Nicasia’s hand was starting to sweat, so it’d be good to finish quickly.
“How about a bright red apple? It’s the basics of illusion magic, right? It’s even in the textbook.”
“An apple is something we can all imagine the same way.”
“Murmur likes it too.”
Holding Nicasia and Esme’s hands tightly, I imagined an apple.
─ Crackle crackle!
A bright red apple appeared as an illusion in front of the three of us, forming a triangle.
“Wow! It looks so real!”
“The color is so pretty too! Can… can three people really imagine the same thing?”
“Is it because Esme is the leader? Or is it because Her Highness is amazing?!”
The illusion magic was a perfect success.
Professor Aiaie approached us, grabbed the apple floating in the air, and took a big bite.
“Perfect. You even imagined the taste the same. I didn’t expect the three of you to be so in sync. I’ll give you 10 points.”
“10 points is…”
“It’s a perfect score! Your Highness!”
Esme laughed brightly and shouted, then stood up. Nicasia also jumped up from her seat and raised her hands high.
“I…! I got a perfect score in magic class! Ah, Father and Mother will be so happy!”
“Congratulations! Congratulations, Your High…!”
Nicasia immediately ran to Esme and hugged her tightly. Esme twitched like a broken doll.
“Cong…”
Before I could even open my mouth, Nicasia, who had let go of Esme, hugged me halfway and started spinning me around.
“Thank you! Thank you so much! Murmur!! If it weren’t for you, I would never have thought to participate in the magic class!”
“Ni, Nicasia…! You shouldn’t say such things in front of Professor Aiaie…”
“But I’m happy!”
『Nicasia Holimpia’s affection level has reached stage 1!』
Spin spin~!
Nicasia spun me around for a while before putting me down. I get that you’re happy enough for your affection level to rise, but am I a teddy bear?!
“Good job, Murmur.”
And then, surprisingly, Esme spoke to me normally.
“You’re a terrifying demon, after all. I thought you might imagine a rotten apple instead of a fresh one.”
“Murmur knows apples. They’re delicious.”
“Hmph, that’s what you say. …And thanks to you, I had a fun time with Her Highness. Thank you.”
Esme extended her hand to me. Didn’t you say you didn’t want to hold hands earlier? I held her soft, squishy hand and shook it lightly.
『Esme Bloodberry’s affection level has reached stage 1!』
Huh? Is this completed now? Esme’s affection level has a completion reward, right?
“And Murmur, there’s something that’s been bothering me since last time.”
What, you just reached affection level 1!
“Carrying only the required textbooks is a bit much, don’t you think? Here, take this.”
Esme spoke and pulled out a ‘Magic Book’ from her bag and handed it to me.
『Skill』
【Summoning Magic Lv. 1】
【Elemental Magic Lv. 1 NEW!!!】
“Esme? Are you really giving this to Murmur?”
What, you’re grumbling but you gave me a proper affection level reward!
You’re really not honest!
“…And.”
Esme smiled brightly and glanced at Nicasia, who was watching us, then covered my ear with her hand.
“…Since I gave you a gift. Bring Her Highness to magic class more often. Okay? Only Murmur can do that!”
It’s a cute request, but isn’t this a bribe rather than a gift?!
─ Creak creak!
Perhaps because of Esme’s absurd request, my horns started to dangerously heat up, and I had to hold them with both hands to cool them down.
“Ugh…”
“Esme…? Did you bother Murmur again?”
“No, no! No!!! I just…! I just asked Murmur to let me see Nicasia more often, that’s all!!!”
Esme looked at me, crouched down, with a very annoyed expression, but it’s not like I did it on purpose!
“I still hate demons!!!”
* * *
Esme Bloodberry’s heart was racing.
“Auntie is coming?”
“Yes, that’s right, Lady Esme.”
“Today is such a happy day. Heheh, I held hands with Her Highness, got a hug, and also…”
Esme looked at her small hand and smiled dreamily.
‘Murmur was different.’
Esme, who had managed to crawl out a little from the deep-seated fear in her heart, was truly in a good mood.
She’s just a child. She wants to do more of what she likes. She wants to quickly get rid of what scares her.
She prefers sweet candy over eating bell peppers.
Today was a very meaningful day when she realized that the bell pepper she had always been so afraid of was actually a little tasty.
“Class was really fun today, wasn’t it, Esme?”
“Huh? Ah… Auntie! You’re already here?”
Esme ran down the dormitory hallway and hugged her aunt, Colette Bloodberry, who she had just run into.
“Auntie Colette!”
“Our niece, did you miss your aunt that much?”
“Yes! Talking with you is really joyful!”
Esme stomped her feet and rubbed her cheek against Colette, whom she really, really liked.
“Auntie also loves talking with you, Esme. You’re such a talented and smart child. I heard you had magic class with Her Highness today?”
“Ah, hehe… you already heard? That’s right! I, Esme Bloodberry, am good at magic and also good at, uh, socializing? with Her Highness!”
Colette gently stroked Esme’s shining head, then slowly moved her hand down to hold her small, delicate shoulders.
“But… Esme?”
“Yes! Auntie Colette!”
“I heard you got along well with a demon in magic class today? What happened?”
Unlike the soft child, adults are always firm.
