The Magic Academy's Physicist-Chapter 164: Beware Of The Red-head (6)

Chapter 164: Beware Of The Red-head (6)

Rosemary practically ran away from the scene.

I felt bad but it couldn’t be helped, because for me right now, Lotte was far more frightening than Rosemary.

Like most people, I, too, referred to past behaviors to make a judgment about someone. With that perspective, Rosemary was someone who was reassuring.

Rosemary had shown a consistent response so far. She was weak to me in particular, and this time was no different.

That wasn’t the case with Lotte.

Today, Lotte showed an unexpected side of her–cold eyes and refusing to back down in an argument even against a Cataclysm.

I was grateful, because it proved that she cared for me.

Yet at the same time, it was scary.

Lotte was a friend who was always soft and gentle, and I thought my heart would stop when she showed that dark expression.

It was something I’d never experienced before, and so I had decided that it was best to choose Lotte over Rosemary.

I didn’t know if this decision was right or wrong. I guess time would tell.

Today had been an unexpectedly difficult day. It was then that Lotte came over and linked arms as I was sighing.

“It’s quite cold, isn’t it.”

Late night. Lotte and I were walking the dark main streets after our meal.

“Uh, yeah.”

It was as she said. The night air was particularly cold tonight.

It was still early October, but it was cold enough that you’d feel it if you weren’t wearing a thick robe or coat.

This kind of weather was due to the Empire’s geography; it was cool in the summer, and became colder in the fall. As such, we’d wear thin robes even in the summer a lot of the time.

“We’ve seen everything that we needed to so let’s head back early today.”

Lotte hastened her steps as she said that, and so my walking sped up, too, because our arms were linked.

Even if I didn’t want to, I had no right to refuse since I’d promised Lotte that I’d do whatever for her today and tomorrow.

Considering that, choosing Lotte was the right answer. If I had said that I was going to live with Rosemary out of familial loyalty, I couldn’t even imagine how Lotte might have reacted.

I hated that kind of uncertainty. It scared me. I was afraid that I wouldn’t be able to maintain the status quo because I didn’t notice it later on.

That was why I preferred those who were shallow when I formed relationships with others. It didn’t matter if they were likable or not. The important thing was for how long the one-dimensional relationship could be maintained.

“Huh? Look at that.”

As I was lost in thought, Lotte called me. When I turned my head at her words, there were some thick yarns on display.

Her steps headed towards that display case, and I followed along without thinking.

Then the store owner of the shop with the display case appearance. He said ‘Welcome’.

“Oh my, are you perhaps Academy students?”

“Yes, we are.”

“Well, well! No wonder.... You both look elegant and lovely!”

The owner looked between us, then began to explain as solicitation.

“These yarns are magic tools called ‘Enchanted Seamster’. As you can see, it has the function of weaving clothes according to the will of whoever imbues it with mana. Because of that, it’s selling fast as a gift for lovers, friends, and family.”

An impressed ‘oh’ came out of my mouth. A yarn that changes to whatever if you flow mana into it?

It piqued my curiosity. I got permission from the owner and picked up one of them. A strange sensation floated around my fingertips.

“This is fascinating. Where does this come from?”

“Haha, where did it come from? You needn’t worry about the quality, as it’s from the famous Saliere estate.”

“Saliere?”

“Yes, that’s right. That estate... they’re quite well-known for things like fabric and wool, no?”

Huh, were they?

My head turned to Lotte, and Lotte looked at me without a word.

A bright smile was on her lips.

“I’d like one, sir.”

As I was going ‘uhh’, Lotte paid for it. She opened the wrapper on the spot and unraveled the yarn.

I could from looking alone that it was a high-quality material. My guess was also supported by the fact that Lotte had held out a gold coin when she paid.

Lotte skillfully brushed over the yarn. Subtle red-colored mana surrounded her hands, then unbelievably, the yarn aligned here and there and began forming the shape of a garment.

“Here, I made this for you.”

What Lotte made was a scarf, a scarf that was white like a daisy.”

Lotte spread the freshly-knit scarf over her arms, then proceeded to wrap her arms around my neck.

My eyes met Lotte’s. Her eyes were calm and quiet like usual.

Except for one thing. The only difference was that there was a tiny bit of fierceness in them.

The eyes were said to be the window to the soul. From meeting a lot of people, I came to be able to guess what a person was feeling just by the subtle movement of pupils. In that sense, the feeling with which Lotte was looking at me right now was....

“Ta-da, it’s a gift from me before I got to the elf kingdom.”

Right, what was the point in saying it?

Half a year after entering the Academy, a collar was put around my neck once more.

“You have to keep using it until winter break is over, alright? Or else I’ll get upset.”

White and warm... yet a collar that seemed like it’d burn me if I tried to take it off.

**Rosemary burst through the palace doors, fuming.

She ignored the maids asking what was wrong and went into her room. A maid concerned for her came personally to her room, but she threw the turtle pillow at her and chased her out.

“Fuck...! Fuuuck!!”

Whump! Whump! Whump!

The mattress of the neatly-made bed was beaten mercilessly, an unfortunate target of her venting.

“What is it now? Did something happen?”

Duke Blanton was in the room with her, and having been resting while quietly drinking tea, he asked.

The noble assembly was still in progress, but the plan that they were going to execute this meeting fell apart. Rosemary was discouraged and Duke Blanton was also unmotivated as a result.

She then received a notification that a large amount of money went out from the card that she had given to Aether. Wondering if she’d lost the card, Rosemary had immediately tracked her down and met up with her.

And what was the result? Coming back after an awful experience.

But Rosemary had no desire to blame her sister. How could she act harshly towards the one who saved her life?

The source of this c𝓸ntent is freewebnøvel.coɱ.

“Please stop cursing and tell me as well. I am your adjutant, after all.”

Despite Blanton’s attempt to dissuade her, Rosemary kept cursing up a storm, a behavior unbecoming of a Lady.

Then after a while, one thing came out of her mouth as she was trying to catch her breath.

“That red1 asshole....”

“That is what they call the Golden-Eyed residing in the ‘ghost town’ within the elf kingdom, no?”

“That, that red-head bitch is the problem. She’s worse than the reds!”

Rosemary chewed on her lip. Snap, her thumb pressed into the corner of her mouth.

“That fox-like bitch.... Some young brat whose age can’t even fill a tray of eggs2 dares to take sis from me?”

Blanton let out a deep sigh. Seeing the way his boss was reacting, someone must have properly provoked her anger.

“Who is it?”

“That Saliere girl! She was acting all haughty, not even knowing her place. So annoying, seriously!”

Snap! Rosemary opened the fan and cooled her cheeks. But it still wasn’t enough to cool her boiling head.

“Is there freon gas somewhere?”

“There should be some in stock at the Iron Formations.”

“Bring it by next week.”

Rosemary got up from the bed, groans continuously spilling from her mouth.

She kept thinking about that face even after coming back to the base–the cold, stiff face of that human girl which had thrown off her sis.

“Just why didn’t Intimidate work?”

That was the question, no matter how hard she thought about it.

Intimidate worked against those who were mentally weaker than her. If the target had no fear of Rosemary or were feeling a strong emotion like fury, then it didn’t work at all.

There were veterans like that amongst the humans. Tactical-class mages who’d struggled on the front. They went on the battlefield prepared to die from the start, so they couldn’t be chased off simply with Intimidate alone.

Which meant that that girl was also the same type.

“I see, so that’s how you want to play it.”

Rosemary’s mind was racing. Dozens of ways to destroy her right now came to mind.

But most of them were plans that Aether wouldn’t like. Plans that would get found out no matter what they did.

It was as she was thinking that she needed a more thorough plan.

“You said that Miss Saliere was an obstacle, correct?”

“Yeah.”

“Come to think of it, what happened on the first day of the meeting had been strange as well. When I tried to get rid of Count Saliere, Secundus personally stepped in and stopped it.”

“...Right?”

Indeed. It was then that Rosemary understood the whole situation.

Footnotes

1. More commonly, 'commie'. The derogatory term for communists in Korea uses 'red' as it's the color generally associated with them so it's a wordplay, allowing Rosemary call Lotte a mean name based on her hair color2. Again, Koreans have 30-egg trays