—————————————————————–
Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Chaos
—————————————————————–
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
“Hoo, hoohoo, hoohoo hoo hoo.”
“…To be like this as soon as the princess leaves.”
“You’re going to tear your mouth, Oppa.”
I could hear them chiding me from the side, but I couldn’t stop laughing.
I mean, I just recruited THAT “Heir of Red and Blue Blood” to our side.
An all-around character with absurd mana and control, and a talent optimized for “Blue Light,” the most versatile of the three combat types, who could be developed with all sorts of bizarre builds!
I was already looking forward to how strong Lyla would become if I gave her various secret spells to combine, just like I gave Regret various weapons.
The “Nameless War Ghost” would take the front, the “Heir of Red and Blue Blood” would provide firepower from the rear.
The “Greedy Prodigal” would diligently farm items and support by giving out potions.
Mmm, perfect.
Of course, there were limits.
Didn’t the princess just say it? That she couldn’t help me every time.
This wasn’t some RPG game; just because she was registered in the party didn’t mean we could be together day and night.
Other people had their own goals and personal circumstances, so I couldn’t ignore them and make them move according to my convenience.
If I had to pick an exception, it would be Regret, who had shared the same goal since before we even entered the academy, or Fiore, who was connected by the same family name, but didn’t even Fiore miss the last dungeon trip?
The standard party in “Planetarium” had four main members and two reserves.
It would be a lot of fun if I could fill these six spots with hand-picked elites and have them with me all the time, but since that was impossible, I always needed to have backup cards.
If Regret wasn’t there, there was Crow; if Crow wasn’t there, there was Lavaul; if Lavaul wasn’t there either… what could I do?
If I didn’t want to be the tank myself, I had to use Lotto at least.
The magic side was even more dire. If Lyla was out, Pino was the only option.
The Fendevig siblings? As if those proud twins would listen to me.
In the original game, it was nearly impossible to control those two without someone like the “Heir of Red and Blue Blood.”
And it wasn’t like Lyla could just tell those two to work under me.
In fact, even Crow and Akasha, strictly speaking, were more like me cleverly using my connection with Regret or Fiore rather than them following me, so the number of people I could purely boss around on my own was extremely limited.
Well, what can you do?
I just have to keep making new connections and appropriately strengthening my existing acquaintances.
The favor I asked of Lyla this time was an extension of that.
“From what I’ve talked to her so far, the princess is well-versed in pretty much all spells, so having her as Pino’s instructor will be a great help. In your spare time, Fiore, you’ll also gain something by learning healing spells.”
Fiore tilted her head.
“Well, the basic structure of the spells is the same for both Support and Magic, so I guess it could work, but will Pino be willing to learn?”
“She has a desire to improve, one way or another, so I don’t think she’ll refuse. The problem is Lavaul.”
I had always thought he was suspicious, but I was convinced when I heard that he had thrown Pino far into the sky with his bare, un-enhanced body during the last assignment.
That guy is a physical-type talent.
If he can exert that much monstrous strength with his bare body, I’m not sure, but if he properly learns “Red Light,” wouldn’t he have at least tier-1 potential?
I also suspected that Lavaul might be the “Proud Barbarian”… but Grendel, who was with Alphonse last time, is too strong a candidate.
In fact, if he really is the “Proud Barbarian,” I’m afraid to even check because I think I’ll burst from frustration.
I mean, where did he sell his pride to be so engrossed in magic and talk about wisdom?
True wisdom is smashing the heads of impolite civilized people!
“Well, as for Lavaul, I’ll try to persuade him again.”
“Please do. That guy is first-class in stubbornness.”
Regret slung her spear over her shoulder and said.
“If you beat him up, wouldn’t he use it to survive? The ‘Red Light’?.”
Yeah, why don’t you be the barbarian instead.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Pino thought.
‘Is this Chrom person retaliating because I didn’t go with him to the last dungeon?’
“Hello, Pino. I’m looking forward to today.”
Lyla Everblaze Barhardt smiled elegantly, a smile that could make even someone of the same sex’s heart flutter.
“Y-yes.”
In contrast, Pino’s face was stiff, and her voice trembled awkwardly.
Pino was originally a very strong-willed person.
She wasn’t like Lotto, who was completely intimidated by nobles because of his commoner sensibilities, nor did she space out like Lavaul due to a lack of common sense.
If her opponent was of a higher status, she would show a certain degree of respect, but she wasn’t the type to grovel or freeze up for no reason.
But there was a line to everything.
In front of the incident of the most prominent imperial princess in the continent personally giving a private lesson, even Pino couldn’t help but be nervous.
The incident occurred this morning.
The boy with the golden monocle, whom she had met on her way to school, had suddenly said this to her as soon as he saw her.
‘Ah, after class today, Lyla-nim is going to look over your spells at the magic training ground, so if you feel like it, go and see her. If not, don’t.’
‘What did you say?’
At first, she thought it was a joke.
I mean, she was the second busiest student in this academy—the first was a certain damn son of a nouveau riche who was busy making money with Cubes these days—how on earth would she have the time to review the spells of someone like Pino, who has nothing to do with her?
Thinking it was just some silly prank, but curious to see what he had prepared, Pino headed to the magic training ground and almost fainted at the sight of the princess actually waiting for someone there.
‘Go if you feel like it? Don’t if you don’t?’
Pino imagined a future where she had just gone straight to her dorm without stopping by the magic training ground.
‘Your Highness, why are you standing here alone?’
‘Actually, I was going to look over a student named Pino’s lessons, but it seems I’ve been refused. I can’t help it.’
‘I see. Let’s go back now. We’ll take care of the aftermath.’
At this point, wasn’t this an assassination by proxy?
Pino’s whole body trembled at the fact that she had almost been hung on a pole for making one wrong choice.
There’s a limit to being petty!
“Then, could you first tell me the types of spells you can use?”
“Ah, well, first there’s ‘Lesser Mana Arrow’ and…”
The only silver lining was that Princess Lyla was not an authoritarian person at all.
She did not scold the nervous Pino or blame her for her lack of skill.
If she pointed something out, she always gave a reason for it and a way to improve, and she was not hesitant to share her knowledge.
It was unusual, considering that people called geniuses were often extremely bad at teaching others.
‘…She has more talent than I thought, this girl.’
However, Lyla was also inwardly admiring her opponent.
It was true that she was inexperienced in many ways, but considering that she had only started learning magic after entering the academy, she was a fast learner, and her sense for shooting-type spells was particularly high.
Especially the accuracy of her mana arrows was surprising.
If there was one thing to be desired, it was her lack of firepower.
When Lyla asked about that, Pino answered like this.
“Hmm, I don’t know, I understand the part about creating an arrow in the air, but the part about what shoots that arrow is ambiguous. With a bow, the more you draw the string, the stronger the power, but mana arrows aren’t like that.”
Lyla understood.
‘I see, she originally used a shortbow. That image remains strong.’
The effect of a spell is realized by the form of the spell manifested outside the body, but what constitutes that spell is the user’s knowledge and image.
It was common for the effect of a spell not to be properly manifested because the image was ambiguous.
And the solution to that was also clear.
“Pino, would you like to try learning this spell?”
What Lyla showed her was a spell called “Forest Guardian’s Magic Bow.”
Pino asked back.
“This isn’t a tiered magic, is it?”
“No, it’s a special-order magic. However, among the special-order magics, its effect is very simple and the difficulty is not very high. It just materializes a bow of mana.”
The effect of “Forest Guardian’s Magic Bow” was simple.
It allowed one to nock spells of the [The Arrow of OO OO] branch like real arrows, and it converted all the “forward momentum” or “target-seeking power” originally inherent in the spell into the firepower of the arrow itself.
“A normal mage would rather use another spell than something like that, but I think it would be a good match for you, Pino.”
Pino’s eyes sparkled as she heard Lyla’s explanation.
“Yes, I really want to learn it.”
One way or another, she was not the type of person to be indecisive enough to miss an opportunity presented right in front of her.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Thanks chaos!