Since When Did You Have The Illusion That You Don’t Have Magical Powers?!

Extra chapter today! A little late but thank you to Yuki-snack for the Ko-fi!

Characters in this chapter:

Sapphiras Perfectio, 2nd son of the Earl of Aldridge

 

“Look, Orthus. You have two clever heads. I want you to use those two clever heads to find as many magical beasts as you can. Anyway, I want to hunt two silver coins worth of prey tonight, no matter what it takes.”

I tell Orthus at the entrance to the forest in the royal capital at midnight. If there are no magical beasts attacking people or towns, we no longer have any choice but to drive out and hunt the magical beasts that are probably lurking in this forest. The royal family should have no complaints as they can get rid of the magical beasts lurking in their forest.

“Lead them out and drag them here. Now go!”

Following my words, Orthus ran into the darkness of the forest. The only thing left to do now is to take out every single magical beast that is chased here by Orthus defensively without letting any get away!

I readied my wand and waited for the magical beasts to leap out.

The next afternoon.

I somehow managed to gather up the magical beast materials and brought them to the materials shop in Oriens.

I confidently declare that for the time being, no dangerous magical beasts will appear in the vicinity of the royal capital. No matter where we look, there are no more magical beasts that could be worth money. I can say that we have eradicated them. At the end of the day, we even really forced ourselves to find them.

No matter how many magical beasts are out there now, the royal capital is still kept safe, isn’t it? The members of the Second Order of Knights must be working hard on a regular basis. All of those knights should be able to take a rest for a while.

The shopkeeper, who has become a familiar face, greeted me with a smile when he saw my face.

“Welcome!”

“I’ll be in your care again today. If possible, I’d be happy with two silver coins.”

“Okay, two silver coins.”

The owner puts the two silver coins on the counter without looking at the material I brought in.

“……Eh?”

“For the last two weeks or so, I have been buying materials from  Sapphiras-san, and there were no problems with the quality. If Sapphiras says two silver coins, it must be that much material.”

The material I brought in today is just barely worth two silver coins. I managed to hunt a few magical beast wolves and a few magical beast serpent skins. If I didn’t have enough, I was going to negotiate. The shopkeeper made up for the shortfall with his trust in me.

Trust is important, after all. In my previous life as an adventurer, I learnt a lot about the importance of trust. Even though times have changed, that hasn’t changed. I will continue to live my life with trust first.

“Thank you……! I am indebted!”

“Please continue to patronise us.”

“Of course! I’ll always be in your debt!”

Thanks to the shopkeeper’s arrangement, I managed to get three gold coins before the deadline.

I ran out of the shop and hurried to the old lady nomad’s stall. Now I can say goodbye to the days of sleeplessness. I don’t have to worry Percival either!

“……Not here……”

I stood at where the shop should have been.

The place where the nomad grandmother had set up her shop was only stacked with crates, but she was nowhere to be seen. It is almost evening. Maybe she had finished early today, but I have a bad feeling about it.

“Um, Mister. Where’s the nomadic old lady who used to set up shop here?”

I ask the uncle who runs the shop next door.

“Oh, she said the wind had changed, closed her shop early this morning and left town with her friends.”

“Ehh?”

That’s a lie right?

No, if they are nomads, it’s possible. They move by reading the wind, and the wind’s guidance is absolute. No one can stop them. So I can’t blame the old lady.

But still, I can’t believe it’s this morning. If I had reached the target amount at least one more day earlier……although it’s really unscrupulous, but if more magical beasts had appeared, I would have been able to save up three gold coins earlier.

What a thing. Three silver coins were a total waste. I had to resist meat skewers and fried snacks. Everything was a waste of time and two weeks’ worth of exhaustion was sweeping over me. I lost all my strength and crouched down on the spot.

“O-oi. Brother1onii-chan, are you alright?”

“No, not okay at all……”

It’s my strong luck. Your work is terribly half-hearted. I can’t help but wonder if even that half-heartedness is the goddess’ intention. Come to think of it, the goddess seemed to want something interesting. She’s probably enjoying watching me being pushed around by luck like this. But still, isn’t this too much?

Even if I were to look for a new return gift for Percival with the funds I have now, I wouldn’t be satisfied with what I see, after having seen the amazing magical tool first. Because what could be more appropriate for Percival than the War Maiden’s Oath?

No, there can’t be.

A ring? No, rings get in the way of putting on the gauntlet, and it would be a hassle to take them off every time.

A pendant? What kind? In the first place, would Percival appreciate a mere trinket?

Or a magic sword? For two gold and seven silver coins? I can’t buy it for that kind of money.

Should I just go and find a nearby ruin and dive?　

“……Nii-chan2the first ‘onii-chan’ was written in Kanji, this one and the following ones are written in hiragana so I’m just gonna put it as Nii-chan to show the difference.,’

If I destroy the ruins and then dig out only the treasure, it doesn’t matter if it’s a trap or a magical beast. Seal? Who knows, something like that. Even if there are living dead, if I bury them deep in the ground, they will not be able come back to the surface.

“Oi! Nii-chan!”

“Uwah!”

Bashin! I was slapped on the back, and I finally came to my senses. When I looked up, a boy, who is around 10-years-old, was looking at me in amazement.

“Eh!? What!?”

“Finally, you noticed. I’ve been calling you since a while ago.”

“Oh, um… Sorry? Do you need me for something?”

“Here you go.”

The boy holds out a dirty jute bag that fits in the palm.

“Errmm, what is it?”

“I was asked by an old lady who was peddling to give it to the black-haired Nii-chan when he comes. I’ve been waiting all morning, but Nii-chan she didn’t show up. I’ve had enough of waiting.”

Eh? Don’t tell me……this is?

I stood up and took the bag from the boy. It is definitely a weight I remember. When I opened the bag with timidity, it contained the War Maiden’s Oath.

“No way……really?”

The old lady nomad made sure it was in my hands before she left. I didn’t even pay the price. The thoughtfulness of this makes me almost weep. The owner of the material shop, the old lady, and the people in Oriens are all good people!

“She said you can pay for it the next time you see her. And I can get the money for my errands from Nii-chan.”

The boy holds out his hand.

“Payment huh. Okay, I understand.”

I took out a silver coin from my pocket, which I had kept in my pocket for the price of the War Maiden’s Oath, and placed it in the boy’s palm. The boy looks at the silver shine with a startled look.

“Ni-Niichan, this…….”

For a mere errand boy, it’s far from exceptional. But the boy did an errand that was worth it to me.

“Listen, put the silver coin in your shoes right now. Then go straight home and give it to your mother. You should never show the silver coin to anyone until you get home.”

“Ye-yeah. I understand.”

Hearing my words, the boy nodded with a serious face and immediately put the silver coin into his worn out shoes.

If it was known that a child like this had silver coins, it might be stolen by a bad person. In addition, in order to convey to his mother that the silver coin is a legitimate reward, I acknowledge that it is a reward for the errand.

“And also give this piece of paper to your mother. It’s proof that you worked hard and got paid.”

I’ve written the Royal Academy of Creare and my name on it, so his mother can contact the institute if she’s worried.

“Yes! Thank you, Nii-chan!”

“Thank you too.”

After parting with the boy, I immediately returned to my room at the academy.

I took out the War Maiden’s Oath  from the jute bag and checked it again. It’s still a dull magic tool. I rubbed it with my shirt sleeve to polish the surface, but it didn’t look particularly clean. However, when I held it in my hand, the flames swayed in the red stone. It’s probably reacting to magic. My magical power seems to be different from other people’s, so if Percival gets it, it might look different again.

I felt a sense of accomplishment, and involuntarily raised my fist.

“I did it! I finally got it!”

For me, the daytime sleepiness was a more formidable enemy than the magical beasts. However, that ends today. After all, I have obtained the War Maiden’s Oath!

“It’ll be great if he likes it.”

 

melon: He will like anything you give him, Sapphiras.

Btw, 52 more chapters before we catch up with the raws (currently 141 chapters)!

1onii-chan2the first ‘onii-chan’ was written in Kanji, this one and the following ones are written in hiragana so I’m just gonna put it as Nii-chan to show the difference.