[V4C28] Everyone’s Working So Hard
Translated by Jodas 4: Flying Through the SkyThe day after the girl’s party, Sophie headed for the group lesson classroom with lighter steps than usual.
Today, she wore her favorite frilly blouse and wore a bracelet weaved from colorful threads. It was the same thing Rukiye had been making during the girl’s party.
“I just wanted to practice weaving in this pattern, but I don’t really need it myself. Anyone else want it?”
So Rukiye had said, and Sophie’s hand had shot up immediately.
(Ehehee, cu~te…)
Thanks to the girl’s party, Sophie’s downer mood had completely recovered.
It relieved her to know that, by doing that girl’s party, her presence was allowed and appreciated among these people.
It was out of a desire to confirm that, that Sophie had suggested doing a girl’s party for so long. Of course, there was also the fact that she just really wanted to do one as well.
(Though I don’t think Rukiye would like that way of thinking…)
A meeting to confirm ‘Am I allowed to be here? You’re not gonna leave me out, right?’
Rukiye would probably scowl and say ‘What a dumb idea.’
…‘If you want to make fun of me, just do it.’
(After all, I’ve never even done that before.)
Sophie had never gathered with a group of girls near her age.
So while it was a fresh and enjoyable experience for her, she was also worried whether or not she was doing it right.
Fortunately, everyone at the Wedge Tower had their own reasons for being here. That was probably why they didn’t balk at the story of Sophie’s family.\
(I wish I could do another girl’s party some time… No, I definitely will. Next time I’ll be the one to invite everyone…)
Finally reaching the group lesson classroom, just as Sophie sat in her seat, she heard a nervous voice saying “Um, excuse me.”
It was Wren who called out to her. Gerald stood beside him.
“I’m sorry about yesterday. I asked too many prying questions even though you really didn’t want to answer them.”
“I also have to apologize… I’m very sorry for everything I said.”
Sophie blinked rapidly.
Both Wren and Gerald were so downtrodden. But neither of them feared Sophie at all.
Shamans had the power to control the Abyss, born from the entanglement of negative human emotions and mana. Perhaps as a result, she was sensitive to negative emotions.
Especially fear.
—If you oppose the Schwarzenberg Family, you’ll be cursed to death.
When those feelings of fear were directed towards her, she felt a unique sort of unease. As if someone was stroking her skin with a brush dipped in ice-cold water. That sort of uncomfortable feeling.
Yet she didn’t get that feeling from Wren or Gerald at all.
Both of them weren’t apologizing out of fear towards Sophie.
“It’s okay. I’m not mad anymore.”
‘I’m not mad anymore’ was a lie.
After all, she wasn’t mad at all from the beginning.
Sophie only felt sadness, that everyone else might come to fear her.
Wren and Gerald both stood there awkwardly.
(What do I do? Did that come out wrong? Should I have made my voice a little cuter and said ‘Mad? Nosiree, not me!’ or something? Eek, that’s definitely too casual though…)
While Sophie’s worries spun around in her mind, Wren spoke meekly.
“Um… In order to make a plan for the upcoming magic battle, I felt like I had to ask everyone what they could do. If I don’t know that, it’ll be hard for me to put together a plan, right?”
“Yeah.”
“But I don’t know a whole lot about your family, or mages, or Monster-hunting families, so I don’t know about any unspoken agreements… So, the next time I make a step too far, I was hoping you could let me know… or something.”
Oh, that’s how it is. Sophie only now came to a realization.
Wren really was just a normal boy. He lived in a world completely divorced from the Wedge Tower and from mages.
That such an ordinary boy would be willing to approach herself, who was born to that special kind of family known as Shamans… Thinking of it that way, it made her feel strangely delighted.
“I see~! Yeah, yeah! Of course I’ve gotta teach you all about the world of mages!”
Sophie was filled with confidence, and Gerald also bowed deeply towards her.
“Yes, both of us know so little, so we would appreciate anything you’re willing to teach us.”
Seeing Gerald bowing at a perfect right angle as he spoke, Wren commented with a tense expression.
“…You’re really serious, huh.”
“…? I think you’re serious as well, Wren?”
“Totally~ Isn’t he so serious~?”
Sophie agreed with Gerald’s words with a smirk. Wren made an irritated face.
“Stooooppp itttt! I may be a serious pretty boy, but it makes me feel itchy all over when someone even more serious than me says it with a straight face!”
“Kyahaha!” Sophie couldn’t stop herself from laughing.
The sound of her laugh surprised even herself.
(Oh, wow. I didn’t think I could laugh normally with normal boys.)
“Sorry guys~ I’m late! You’ll forgive me because I’m a pretty boy, though!”
During their midday strategy meeting, Tia’s eyes widened as she saw Wren running into the classroom as the last one to show up.
Wren was wearing glasses.
“Piyo? Why are you wearing glasses, Wren? Did your eyes get worse?”
Tia asked while tilting her head from side to side. Wren stylishly pushed the glasses up with his fingertip.
“This morning, everyone was calling me ‘serious this’ and ‘serious that,’ and I had an epiphany. Wouldn’t it be a big hit if I went for the glasses-wearing serious pretty boy angle?”
Tia thought ‘What is Wren trying to hit with those glasses?’
An atmosphere of exasperation spread across the classroom.
Gerald, the originator of the whole ‘serious’ discussion in the first place, spoke without hiding his exhaustion.
“I’m sorry. I take back what I said this morning.”
“Too bad~ it’s too late~. Today, I’m the serious pretty boy~. That said, let’s get serious about this magic battle strategy meeting! Tia, no singing!”
Making sure to put a stop to Tia’s antics, Wren started to write some letters in chalk on the blackboard.
“To start off with, let’s touch on our offensive and defensive options for the magic battle. At the moment, this is all we have.”
Attack Options
-Julius : attack magic, primarily fire
-Roswitha : attack magic, piercing with water fish
-Sevil : magic sword
Defense Options
-Julius : defensive barriers
-Roswitha : fish can act as a wall
-Rose : defensive barriers
While Oliver was also training with magic swords, it was doubtful whether he’d manage it in time, so if they were just counting the most realistic offensive and defensive options, this was the whole list.
There were twelve Apprentices in total. However, at the moment, these were the only options they had for offense and defense.
Gerald whispered to himself.
“…Looking at it now, that’s not a lot. Our lack of attack options is particularly tragic.”
“Piyo. I think so too. I don’t think we’ll be able to hit him with just this.”
Tia had witnessed Frederik’s flight magic. She knew exactly how fast and maneuverable his flight magic could be.
Sevil’s magic sword wouldn’t be of any use unless she could get close to him.
And while Julius and Roswitha’s attack magic were reasonably powerful, they didn’t particularly stand out in terms of their casting speed. Frederik would probably have an easy time dodging them.
(And on top of that, we’re not just fighting Frederik.)
In the upcoming magic battle, Rikard and Helena would be acting as support.
Even though it seemed like the two of them wouldn’t be participating on the offense and would only be focusing on defense and crowd control, she was confident that their involvement would make it almost impossible for the Apprentices to land a single attack.
So Rose stuck his hand up and offered an answer.
“Then, wouldn’t it be a good idea for us to just keep using a defensive barrier and run away for an hour?”
“Kuku… I don’t think that’s very realistic. Unless one of us had extremely high mana, we’d just run out and lose.”
“I see… Yeah, that’s true…”
Shot down by Julius, Rose surprisingly backed down without much fuss.
The bigger a defensive barrier was, the more its strength and duration fell.
If they were talking about a barrier big enough to cover all of the Apprentices, it would be completely impossible to keep it up for a whole hour.
In a magic battle, you lose if your mana falls below a set value. If you just kept using a defensive barrier the whole time, you would expend all your mana and lose without accomplishing anything.
Roswitha frowned as well.
“…It pains me to say this, but I agree with Julius. Even though I have the highest mana reserves out of all of us, it would be impossible for me to protect us with my fish for a whole hour. Whether it’s barriers or fish, if it gets hit by an enemy attack, it’ll be worn down.”
(I see… I can’t assume these people have mana or endurance that compares to Harpies.)
For mages, who expend their mana just by using magecraft, defensive battles and battles of attrition probably put them at a disadvantage. On top of that, the group assembled here were Apprentices with little experience in combat.
Then, while adjusting his glasses, Wren spoke softly.
“Honestly, when I heard the rules for magic battles, I realized something… A way to perfectly defend ourselves that even we can do.”
“Piyo!” Tia chirped, carrying the meaning of ‘No way!’