Chapter 14

Released:

“Alright, I’ll do as Theo says. Let’s get along, Estelle.”

Among the two who had been silently lost in thought after hearing Theo’s words, it was Iris who spoke up first.

“…Honestly, I’m not excited about it, but fine. Let’s get along, Iris.”

Estelle too knew that since Iris had already extended her hand first, refusing now would only leave her as the sole person being called “Saintess” by Theo. Understanding this, she reluctantly forced out her agreement with a sour expression on her face.

“Great, then how about sealing this reconciliation with a hug?”

Theo smiled as he suggested they hug, but both of them recoiled with visibly horrified expressions at the same time.

“Ugh, no, I don’t think we’re that close yet, right? Isn’t that right, Saintess… no, Estelle?”

“Uh, uh… same here. At least we’re on the same page about that. We’re definitely not there yet.”

Seeing both of them flinch and even take a step back, Theo smacked his forehead in mild exasperation. Still, he couldn’t exactly force them into something they clearly didn’t want to do.

Well, they were at each other’s throats just moments ago, so asking for a hug might’ve been pushing it too far.

Theo also acknowledged that it would be difficult to go that far and changed his words.

“Alright then, let’s just settle this with a handshake.”

Like this, with the historic handshake between the Crown Princess and the Saintess, the three of them managed to settle their relationship into something resembling a decent friendship.

Theo considered himself the one who had gained the most from the situation, but Iris and Estelle thought differently.

I’ll be seeing Theo often anyway while teaching him magic, so I’ll have plenty of chances to get closer to him than that bi*ch called Iris.

If everything goes according to plan, I should be heading back after today, but Estelle will probably stay by Theo’s side. Maybe there’s a way for me to stay a bit longer too…

Each of them, in their own way, was scheming to get closer to Theo. Iris had her own ideas, and Estelle had hers. They were both plotting how to deepen their connection with him in their respective ways.

***

Half a year had passed.

Before long, I had reached a point where I could use basic magic as effortlessly as breathing. My swordsmanship had also improved so much that master told me there was nothing left to teach me and that it was time for me to leave.

Of course, considering master had once been a famous swordsman, I figured this wasn’t a sign that I’d perfected my skills but rather that they were good enough for the Academy.

To be honest, master had already spent far more time teaching me than I deserved, especially given how busy he was running his butcher shop. I couldn’t bring myself to ask for more training on top of what he’d already done for me.

Well, the rest I could learn in greater depth and detail at the Academy.

And besides, wasn’t my original goal to make sure of a happy ending for Estelle and Iris, not to become a swordsman or a mage?

“Theo! Tomorrow’s finally the entrance ceremony!”

Let me take a moment to briefly recount what happened with Iris and Estelle over the past six months.

Honestly, I don’t know if these women were crazy or what.

For the entire six months, they completely neglected their own work and clung to me under the excuse of preparing for the Academy. This left me with a massive headache trying to keep them at bay.

At least Estelle had the pretext of teaching me magic, so all I had to do was learn from her and force her to return to the Holy Empire when she stubbornly refused to go back, which made things somewhat manageable. But Iris was a different story.

I wasn’t learning anything from Iris, yet she kept showing up simply because the Saintess was here. Instead of spending time with Estelle, she would constantly talk to me and then insist she didn’t want to leave.

If that was all, that would be fine and all. But the two of them spent every single day bickering over pointless things. And so I was left juggling between swordsmanship, magic training, and mediating their endless arguments.

The events I thought would only start once we got to the Academy seemed to be progressing much faster than I expected….

“Wow, the snow-covered field is so beautiful.”

“Agreed. For once, we’re on the same page. Snow isn’t common in the Holy Empire, is it?”

“Mhmm, it’s a place where it’s hard to see snow.”

Sometimes, the two of them would sit across from each other like that and create a picturesque scene.

“Honestly, I can only see views like this when I’m out on inspections in rural villages.”

“Doesn’t it snow much in the capital?”

“No, even if it does snow, it’s cleaned up right away, so it’s hard to see a scene like this there.”

The fact that the two of them, who had initially snarled at each other and refused to even mention the Holy Empire or the Ermunt Empire, were now casually sharing information that only they knew was certainly a sign that their relationship had progressed.

Even trivial information, such as whether or not it snowed often, was something they were reluctant to share at first.

“Theo, what are you doing over there?”

“What are you making?”

“Oh, I’m building a snowman.”

When they spotted me rolling snow to make a snowman, the two of them scurried over like squirrels and raced to my side.

“This is the body. If I add a slightly smaller snowball on top here to make the head, the snowman will be complete.”

Using magic, I easily lifted the snowball onto the already prepared body and placed it neatly in place.

And when I took out items like carrots or buttons,

“Huh? What’s that now?”

“Carrots? Are we having carrots as a snack today?”

I handed the buttons to Iris, who was looking on with curiosity, and gave the carrot to Estelle, who asked if it was for a snack.

“You use these to make the snowman’s face.”

“Face? Oh! Like this?”

Understanding right away, Iris used the button in her hand to make the snowman’s eyes.

“That’s right, you’re really good at this!”

“…! Me too! I can do it too! This is the mouth, right?”

When I praised Iris, Estelle didn’t want to be outdone and tried to stick the carrot horizontally into the snowman’s face as if it were a mouth, which made me burst out laughing.

“Well, I mean, you can use it as a mouth, but it’s usually used as the nose.”

“Huh? The nose? Isn’t the nose way too big?”

“You’re right, it does look a bit too big for the nose.”

As we spent this simple moment together, I found myself thinking how hard it might be to have times like this after the academy.

After all, we’d spent half a year close together, and I had grown quite fond of them, but the two of them were also destined to become a couple.

Someday, once the two of them safely became a couple and settled into a stable life, I planned to return here and live with my family again.

But, well, that was a story for the future.

For now… the biggest problem was passing the academy entrance exam.

“I’m not sure if I’ll even be able to get in.”

Those two already had their admissions practically guaranteed, so they could play around without a care in the world.

Honestly, it was hard not to wonder sometimes if I should be idling like this myself.

Especially since the exam for the commoners, one of the last to be held at the academy, was just around the corner.

“Come on, Theo, you’ll be fine.”

“That’s right. You’ll pass in one shot. You know I don’t say things I don’t mean.”

“Only you two would say that to me.”

Of course, I had been working hard.

I practiced swordsmanship and even studied magic on top of that.

Now I could use a lot of magic in daily life, and I had also learned a decent amount of offensive and defensive spells.

Though I still couldn’t use teleportation magic to travel very far, I had improved enough to transport myself from here to the opposite field.

“Theo, you worry way too much. You’ll get first place in the commoner exam, I guarantee it.”

“Why are you the one guaranteeing that, Iris? That’s my job.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. Theo is a citizen of our empire, so naturally, I’m the one who should guarantee it.”

“This bi*ch is at it again, dividing people into imperial citizens and holy empire citizens?! Do you have a death wish?!”

“Ugh, such vulgar language for someone claiming to be a Saintess.”

By now, I just let their squabbles play out.

Usually, fights serious enough to lead to the destruction ending stemmed from prolonged and genuine conflicts, not this kind of lighthearted bickering.

This sort of playful jabbing at each other was part of their basic passive dynamic in the original game, so I ignored them and cast a protection spell on the snowman to keep it intact a little longer.

“Hmm, perfect. This should keep it intact for another three or four days, even after the snow melts.”

Haah, honestly, this wasn’t the time for me to be casting protection spells on snowmen. What a worry.

“Anyway, I think I need a bit more practice. Anyone up for sparring with me?”

“Me!”

“No, me!”

Both of them were quite famous for their skills in magic, which made them excellent sparring partners. They could use their magical power with ease.

Of course, given that they were far more skilled than me, they were surely holding back significantly.

“This time, since it’s a snowy day, I thought we could try some ice-type magic.”

“Oh, then I’ll handle that.”

Estelle stepped forward.

“That makes sense. I’m a bit weak when it comes to ice magic.”

Iris who specialized in fire-type magic and could wield it at a very advanced level had mentioned before that her affinity with water magic like ice wasn’t very good.

“Alright, here I go.”

To initiate the ice magic Estelle had taught me before, I began cooling the magical power inside my body.

Once the energy cooled down to the point where it felt like it could freeze solid, I pushed it outward while visualizing the shape of the attack in my mind. Then all that remained was to strike the target with precision.

“Ice Slasher!”

Small chunks of ice, formed from my magical power, materialized around me and shot straight toward Estelle.

“Ugh, Shield!”

The defensive magic using divine power was one of the few spells that only Estelle and the Holy Emperor could freely wield.

Most of the practice continued with her using the shield to block and absorb the attacks.

“Ah! I got hit on my arm a little.”

“Huh? Are you okay, Estelle?”

When I saw that Estelle who had been blocking the magic perfectly until now failed to block it this time and got hit, I hurriedly ran over to check her condition.

6 responses to “Chapter 14”

  1. cakedereader Avatar
    cakedereader

    this is a scheme i just know it

  2. RiamuP Avatar
    RiamuP

    Thanks for the chapter!!

  3. JimmyJohns05 Avatar
    JimmyJohns05

    “surely holding back”

    I wonder… wouldn’t surprise me if he was just a monster in magic. I bet Estelle got hit for real (although given that it’s just her arm she’s gonna make use of this)

  4. Pe551 Avatar
    Pe551

    thanks for the chapter

    1. Comments Avatar
      Comments

      yeah princess and saintess becomes a couple and their loves can transcend everything, including getting pregnant

  5. Homieyoshi Avatar
    Homieyoshi

    so what’s the difficulty of the Yaoi route?

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