[V2C10] I Have Thoughts About That (I Don’t)
Translated by Jodas 2: Daily Lives of a New Teacher and the Apprentice Mages“Who are you trying to show off to by achieving that goal?”
Wren opened his mouth to respond to Sevil’s words, but then bit his lip. He looked like he was about to say some excuses or curses, but decided instead to swallow them.
Wren scratched his chair across the floor, stood up, and fled the classroom without a word.
“Piyo!?” Tia reacted in shock, as she looked back and forth between Wren’s back and Sevil. Her mouth hung open in a diamond shape that gave her an empty-headed look.
“Pirororororo…….I’ll be back!”
In the end, Tia also stood up and ran after Wren. She waddled away without swinging her arms or bending her knees.
(What’s up with the way she runs?)
Tia’s strange running style intrigued him, but Hütter turned towards Sevil, deciding this should be handled first.
Sevil scrunched the tip of her nose, not hiding her anger as she glared at the door through which Wren disappeared.
He saw she was disappointed and disgusted. But also frustrated.
(I see, I see…..)
Without breaking his aloof image, he spoke matter-of-factly
“You had expectations for Wren. You thought he was different from the others.”
“Exactly. But I was mistaken.”
Sevil spat her words out in a low tone.
She was a magnanimous and open-hearted person, but she had one line that, when crossed, would make her close her heart without fail. If you think of her as a member of the Imperial Family, it was obvious.
She had opened herself up to Tia and Wren.
It appeared that she had allowed them to get as close as one step away from that line she did not want crossed.
(…..Good grief.)
Hütter’s right hand moved unconsciously. He really needed a smoke. But he shouldn’t do that in front of the Princess.
He picked up a stick of chalk in his right hand, desperate for something to hold, and whispered.
“If you ask me, Wren’s dream sounds like the typical delusions of a boy at his age. At the very least, it feels much more wholesome than saying he wants to kill his brother or something.”
“…………”
Before becoming a con man, when he was still just a boy himself, he’d thought about the same things as Wren.
Become wealthy, eat good food, sleep with beautiful ladies…….He had wanted to brag to someone else about how happy he had become.
To be human is to want something else. But it was more than just wanting those things.
He wanted to show them off.
“Who are you trying to show off to by achieving that goal?”
Sevil’s words were correct. They were so correct that they hurt Wren’s self-esteem.
It was only natural for boys that age to want to show off to someone else how happy they were; how cool they were.
They wanted others to think they were amazing. Hütter understood that feeling well.
Well, the end result for someone who chases that glory and only learns how to lie and deceive is to wind up as a third-rate con man.
Hütter sighed at his own fortune.
“By the way, what you said about killing your brother……you were looking for information, weren’t you?”
Sevil lifted her eyelids, impressed by Hütter’s words.
“Oh? I’m surprised you noticed.”
(Of course I’d notice.)
The majority of the mages at the Wedge Tower had been living in seclusion for years so knew little of the world outside and its common sense.
That was why Sevil had tried to gather information from the other students and from Hütter, who had been dispatched from the Mage Association; all of whom were living outside until very recently.
When she announced that she had attempted to take down her brother but was driven away, she was trying to gauge by people’s reactions whether or not her brother had sent anyone after her.
(Basically, Princess Adelheid wants information.)
Hütter fidgeted with the chalk in his hand as he asked.
“When exactly did you attack His Majesty?”
“At the start of the Summer. Around the same time as the incident near the border in Warmberg. Since then, I’ve been living on the run without being able to settle down anywhere until I made it to the Wedge Tower, so I haven’t had the opportunity to gather as much information as I would have liked.”
“Hmm,” Hütter placed a hand on his lips.
Hütter, or rather, the Smoke Fox, received his orders from the Black Lion Emperor at the end of Spring. Sevil’s mutiny was after that.
That meant Sevil going after his life was not the reason he sent the Smoke Fox to the Wedge Tower.
(Even when I asked my contact, Heidi, about Princess Adelheid, all she said was “Continue doing your job.”…….What’s up with that?)
Hütter chose his words carefully.
“……I came to the Wedge Tower around the middle of Summer. I think of myself as having an average grasp on the rumor mill, but I hadn’t heard any rumors about Princess Adelheid rebelling until today.”
“So my brother is at least not sending any official search party after me……..Perhaps he thinks I am not even worth pursuing.”
Sevil lifted the corners of her lips into a ferocious smile. When she smiled like that, she looked just like the Black Lion Emperor.
Wow, what siblings! holding such an inconsequential thought, Hütter snorted through his nose.
For the time being, it would be best to put a pin in things.
“I would ask you to leave those squabbles behind while you are here. As far as the Wedge Tower is concerned, the presence of the Imperial Family could be a dangerous spark.”
Hütter spun the stick of chalk around in his right hand, then pointed the tip towards Sevil.
Then, with a sharp glare, he declared in a low voice.
“If someone goes spreading sparks all over the place, well……. I’d have thoughts about that.”
He didn’t have any such thoughts. It was a bluff.
He wasn’t sure if she bought his bluff or saw through it. At the very least, Sevil didn’t seem to be intimidated.
But her hand did not move towards her curved sword.
“Understood. As you say, I shall control myself, Mr. Hütter.”
At least she was treating him like a teacher.
As he’d anticipated. With people like Sevil, if you showed too much weakness they would look down on you and refuse to acknowledge you.
However, if you made them think you were strong, they would be willing to come to terms with you.
(But, sheesh…….the Imperial Family is scary!)
Sevil was direct, but she was not simple. She was always evaluating her opponents.
Then, while she would be magnanimous to those in her corner, when the time came to cut them off, she would do so without hesitation. She had to be cold; otherwise she would not have been able to survive.
Therefore, if Hütter made one missed step—if she found out that he worked for the Black Lion Emperor—then she just might cut him down.
Hütter brought the chalk in his hands up to his lips, then set it down on the lectern in a panic. He was so nervous he had mistaken it for a cigar and was about to try smoking it.
He couldn’t let her see his nerves. He had to act proud and powerful……Convincing himself, Hütter pulled a wallet out of his pocket.
“In that case, Mr. Hütter has his first assignment for you.”
Hütter took a few copper coins out of his wallet and placed them in front of Sevil.
Sevil frowned, but Hütter lifted his lips in a smirk.
“Do you know how to buy things?”
“I’m not stupid. I sneak out to town all the time.”
“Then this should be easy. The dining hall at the Third Spire: Water Bubble sells snacks. At eleven o’clock, they start selling some delicious cookies. They’re a popular product and sell out fast. I want you to buy some.”
At the moment it was just before eleven. The Third Spire was a little ways away from here, so she could make it if she hurried.
Sevil didn’t insult him or shout you cur! or anything. She scooped up the copper coins and looked at him, trying to ascertain his intentions.
“I sincerely doubt that Your Imperial Highness would think about simply taking the money as your own.”
“Of course. Don’t think so lowly of me.”
“Don’t forget that there are some out there who so, so desperately want even a pittance such as these coins.”
Sevil held her mouth shut.
She slid the copper coins in her pocket, stood up, and left the classroom.
Hütter called out to her as she walked away.
“And make sure to use your words and explain what it was that made you angry. It’s naïve to think that people can understand you without you saying anything. And someone you just met, even more so.”
Rather than respond, Sevil waved a hand.