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“Finally, a long vacation!”
The bedding gently caught me as I jumped into bed with gusto.
Thanks to the absence of attainment exams this semester, I could start the long vacation without any worries. I have no prior knowledge of art, let alone other subjects, so if there had been an exam, it would have been a retake for sure.
Since I was promoted to the second year, I have had almost no time to relax. Starting with studying abroad in Sternkurst, the magical beast commotion in the royal capital to the resurrection of the Calamity Dragon. Then, after the engagement announcement, I went to Tornx with the Crown Prince and Aurora to show off my magic, so there was no time to catch my breath.
In Tornx, I was almost trapped by the son and daughter of a terrible man, but thanks to Percival’s quick thinking, I was able to avoid the crisis. His Majesty the King and Her Royal Highness the Queen of Tonrx apologised to us, but even though the strange magic had caused real harm by making Percival sick, it was the daughter who was the one who was embarrassed. Besides, we were there to celebrate, so there was no need to make things any more complicated. Taking our intentions into consideration, His Highness Melchior was able to arrange the conversation well.
By the way, we managed to buy the dried apricots. The lady remembered us, and when we told her how delicious they were, she gave us lots of extras.
When I returned home, the magic I had performed had already become the talk of the town. The royal families and ambassadors from various countries were saying things like, “Just as you’d expect from the great nation of Solmontana! To think they’d elevated magic to the level of art!” Thanks to their high praise, it seems that the people who had been opposed to show-off magic had completely changed their attitudes. Gabriel-san was in a good mood and said enthusiastically, “I’m going to be busy from now on!”
And so, these past few months have passed so quickly that I don’t even know what happened. I thought maybe my classmates had forgotten about me because I had hardly spent any time at the academy, but they all remembered me.
And from tomorrow, I’m heading to Vanderwall with Percival for my long vacation. I’ve already been taken care of a lot and they have provided me with everything I need, and I don’t need to bring anything in particular with me, so I’ll be going empty-handed.
Also, Madam Adeline wants me to come back as soon as possible, so I’m going to transfer to Vanderwall. I like travelling, but that’s something I’ll enjoy another time.
***
“Sapphy! Welcome back! We’ve been waiting for you!”
“Fugyuu……!”
As soon as I stepped into the entrance hall of the castle, I was embraced by Madam Adeline.
“Madam, please calm down. Sapphiras-sama is having trouble breathing.”
“Oh, oh my……I’m sorry. It’s been a while since we last met, so I just……”
After Jacob-san’s rebuke, Madam Adeline hurriedly let me go. She was as strong as ever, despite her appearance. I’m used to it now though.
“I’ve heard about what happened in Tornx. It must have been really tough.”
“No. Percival was me, so it was fine.”
“I’m glad to hear that. First of all, thank you both for your hard work. We have prepared a variety of Sapphy’s favourite meats for you tonight, so you can look forward to it. I hope you can make yourselves comfortable in your rooms until dinner.”
Meat! That’s something to look forward to…….While thinking about meat dishes, I head to my room with Percival.
“Aren’t you tired?”
“You’re exaggerating. We came by transfering.”
“……I suppose so. Then I’ll see you later.”
Percival’s expression suddenly relaxes and he gently touches my hair.
Oh, here it is! Lately, Percival has been giving off a sweet vibe all the time. I’ve gotten used to it, but when the normally serious Percival smiles at me with a gentle smile, my cheeks start to heat up.
While wondering if Percival was enjoying seeing me upset, I watched him walk off to his room next door, and entered my room, where Anna-san and Clarabelle-san were waiting for me.
“Welcome back, Sapphiras-sama!”
“Now, now, Sapphiras-sama, your bath is ready.”
“Eh? U-umm?”
Without even a brief greeting, the two of them pushed me into the bathroom. The bathtub was filled with plenty of hot water, and it was filled with a refreshing, pleasant scent, probably because lemon oil had been dripped into it.
Now that I’m in a dormitory room for high-ranking nobles at the academy, I can take baths whenever I want, but I don’t really take my time soaking in the water. After all, students are busy with all sorts of things.
I decided to enjoy the refreshing scent of lemon and took a longer bath than usual. When I came out of the bathroom, the two beauty wizards guided me to the sofa.
“Come this way. Let us give you a massage.”
“My, my, your body is all stiff.”
As I was massaged from head to toe on the fluffy sofa, I was completely soft and limp. The massage was done with just the right amount of pressure, and it was both slightly painful and pleasant.
Even though I said I wasn’t particularly tired, the comfort of the massage made me succumb and I fell into a deep sleep until Percival called me to tell me it was time for dinner……
***
First day at Vanderwall. I’m at the lake with Percival.
Of course, we’re riding Matteo.
For lunch I had roast beef and fried chicken sandwiches, and lemon tart for tea.
Last year I fell asleep and could only fish, so this year I’m going to swim and take a walk around the lake. It would be a shame to just sleep after being brought to such a beautiful lake.
Besides, this year I want to be able to cast the bait far away without using magic.
“This time, I’m going to enjoy the lake to the fullest!”
Having said that, I immediately prepared my fishing rod and started fishing.
Recalling what Percival had taught me last year, I cast the bait several times and gradually got the hang of it. I no longer needed to use magic to get the bait to land exactly where I wanted it.
“You’ve gotten a lot better.”
“Really?”
“Yeah.”
With Percival’s approval, I’m going to catch a lot of trout today and have them make meunière for dinner tonight.
The rich aroma of dairy butter, the crispy, fragrant skin and plump white meat……
“Sapphiras,”
As I was thinking of the meunière on my plate when Percival called out to me, which took me by surprise. The moment I cast the bait, a ripple occurred. The bait disappeared into the water. I quickly raised the tip of my rod and felt a weight on the rod.
“Yes, it’s hooked!”
I calmly reeled in the line and successfully caught a trout. The trout was smaller than the one I had caught before, but it was a memorable one that I had caught without using magic.
“Not a bad size.”
“All right! Let’s keep going like this and catch lots of trout today!”
Percival and I caught about 10 trout together. That’s quite a catch, isn’t it?
I smile as I watch the trout swimming in the basket.
“It’s about time for lunch.”
“Mm!”
I stuff my sandwich into my mouth while watching the lake surface sparkle in the sunlight. The roast beef sauce is as delicious as ever. The fried chicken and lemon sauce are refreshing, and I feel like I could eat this forever.
“Mmmm! Delicious!”
“’……Saphiras, you have sauce on your mouth.”
“Eh?”
Percival stroked my mouth with his thumb and licked his finger without any hesitation.
……Eh? Ha?
“What’s wrong, Sapphiras?”
“Oh, uh, nothing!”
I hastily bit into my sandwich.
I-I was shocked……it was a handkerchief before……but now my heart is pounding and I can’t calm down.
Seriously, getting sauce on my mouth all the time? Am I a kid~
Melon: I forgot to mention in the previous chapter that I changed Queen Sophia to Sofia because I was looking at my notes for this novel and found that there was previously another character named Sophia (she’s the one that almost got slapped by Flavia).
In other news, this chapter (In the vicinity of the lake) has 3 parts so far so I decided to translate and post them all together. They will be posted in 5 min intervals so that it will appear in order on discord. If you don’t see the next button, just refresh and it should be there.