SWNOVELXO Chapter 134
TLed by NolepGuy
Chapter 134
“Huff…!”
“…”
“Huuufff!”
“…”
As the end of winter approached.
The Young Lady and I were out in the yard, practicing magic for the first time in a while.
The Young Lady, who couldn’t use magic, was lazily sipping cocoa, while the Inferior Student, who had recently taken an interest in the study of magic, was screaming bizarrely at a snowman with his right hand stretched out.
“Huff…!”
‘I can feel it.’
‘I can feel the flow of mana swirling inside me, gathering in my right hand.’
‘If I imagine the shape of blazing fire in my mind and firmly believe in my success.’
“Huff.”
As the shape of magic slowly formed in my mind, I took a deep breath and slowly opened my eyes.
-Flash…
‘Here it comes.’
“Fireball.”
-Fwoooosh….
“…”
An awkward silence hung in the air.
The Young Lady, frozen mid-sip with her cocoa, and the Inferior Student, who had struck a dramatic pose only to fail spectacularly, both stared awkwardly at the snowman.
-Pop.
“This is strange. It feels like the world is conspiring against me.”
“It’s because Ricardo is stupid.”
“Theoretically, it was perfect.”
“Ricardo is too stupid to understand theory.”
“I may look like this now, but I was once called a genius at the Academy.”
“Not a genius, a fool.”
“That’s not true. I was called a genius of scheming.”
“That’s not a compliment.”
“…”
“Anyway, explain the theory you came up with, Ricardo. Then we’ll see if you’re a genius or not.”
“Um… Flash, then boom?”
The Young Lady looked at me with disdain. Her gaze clearly questioned whether that was truly the magical theory I had in mind.
Under the Young Lady’s affectionate yet exasperated stare, I awkwardly scratched the back of my head.
“Looking at me like that makes me embarrassed.”
“…That’s not a compliment.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes.”
“Then, today’s snack will be dumplings with carrots in them.”
“Eek…!”
Leaving the trembling Young Lady behind, I placed a hand on my chin and fell into deep thought.
‘What went wrong?’
‘I thought it was perfect.’
There are five major factors that determine the success of magic.
First, understanding of the spell formula.
Second, the speed of magical computation.
Third, unwavering focus and confidence.
Fourth, the imagination to manifest magic.
The last is the total mana capacity.
No matter how much I thought about it, I couldn’t find a reason for the failure. My total mana capacity wasn’t lacking, and I had a perfect understanding of the theory.
Then where did it go wrong?
Normally, I’d have figured it out by now, but the lack of progress was frustrating.
‘Could it be that my imagination is too excessive?’
Wiping the beads of sweat forming on my forehead, I looked at the Young Lady.
“Why isn’t it working?”
“Because you’re planning to serve dumplings with carrots in them.”
“I don’t think that’s the reason.”
“Eeeek! I hate carrots! Devil…! Ricardo, you’re a devil!”
“That’s not something I’d expect to hear from a wizard who summons devils.”
The Young Lady formed a cross with her fingers and held it out toward me. It seemed even a villainess would turn to faith in moments of desperation.
I gave her a light smile and offered a brief comment on my repeated failures.
“I guess I have no talent for magic.”
“You’re realizing that a bit late.”
“…”
“Sorry.”
No matter how much I thought about it, I seemed to lack talent for magic. Even I found it laughable that I was struggling so much with something as simple as a fireball.
Swordsmanship had been so easy.
Hmmm…
I thought I’d improve quickly once I started learning, but magic was proving to be far more difficult than I’d expected. Without a trait like “Genius of Weaponry” to assist me, my progress felt even slower.
Feeling disheartened by my stagnant skills, I gave a bitter smile and looked at the Young Lady.
“Should I go on a training journey or something?”
“I think Ricardo would still be the same.”
“You never know. Maybe I’ll have an epiphany and instantly become an Archmage. It could be a grand story.”
“Ricardo, your dreams are too big.”
“…”
“Sometimes, not dreaming of impossible things is better for your life.”
“Where did you learn that?”
“From you, Ricardo.”
“…”
As expected of someone born a villainess, the Young Lady had no qualms about saying things that could hurt others. Of course, I was the one who’d taught her that.
Still, it was better than nothing.
If she’d whispered false hope, I might have deluded myself into thinking I was doing well.
If there’s no answer, I could always read Ruin’s Magic Book myself. There was no need to overcomplicate things.
The situation wasn’t urgent enough to require a hasty decision. For now, I’d do my best, and if I hit a dead end, I could think about it again then.
So.
“Huuuuufff!!”
I’ll just try again.
*
-Crackle.
*
Under the dark alleyway.
Yuria, who had been studying late at the library, was walking alone under the street lamp.
The time was 1 a.m.
Perhaps because it was the dead of night, the streets of the Academy were empty.
Yuria, who hadn’t even encountered a patrolling guard, shivered from the eerie feeling and quickened her footsteps.
“Did I study too late…?”
Perhaps because it was vacation, the library had been empty, so she’d left early, but Yuria now felt she’d made the wrong decision.
Regretting that she hadn’t just stayed in the dormitory to study, Yuria kept walking.
The Academy grounds were vast.
With facilities like the library, dormitory, practice room, and lecture room all gathered in one place, the Academy was the size of a small city.
The distance from the library to the Girls’ Dormitory, in particular, required about 15 minutes of walking.
Yuria tightly shut her eyes as she looked at the pitch-black street.
“Th-That’s it! I’ll sing a song.”
Singing helped a little when she was scared. To shake off the eerie feeling, Yuria began to hum a tune.
“Cuckoo, cuckoo, the cuckoo bird sings in the woods…”
“Honker, honker… the… goose…”
-Meow~
“Ahh!”
Yuria flinched and shuddered at the sudden appearance of a cat, which seemed displeased with her singing.
“Haa… Why did you come out all of a sudden? You scared me.”
-Meow?
“Sorry… sorry… I’m sorry. It’s not your fault.”
Yuria blushed in embarrassment as she looked at the cat tilting its head.
“So embarrassing…”
Shaking her burning face side to side, Yuria brushed off the eerie feeling. After all, the darkness was frightening.
The creepy sound of the cat’s cry didn’t help either.
Nor did the empty street.
Standing alone on this street terrified Yuria.
At times like this, it would be nice to have someone dependable by her side…
There used to be someone.
Hugging her reference book tightly, Yuria recalled the past.
It had been around this time back then, too.
-Why do my friends hate me…?
She remembered walking back to the dormitory alone after studying late at the library, her head hanging low.
-I want to study with them too.
Back then, she had been just as scared as she was now.
It was spring, and the faint chirping of crickets could be heard. Perhaps it had been even scarier then, Yuria thought.
And she had been mentally overwhelmed.
Things she would normally brush off lightly felt heavy, and words she would usually dismiss lingered deeply in her mind.
The street that day had been scarier and heavier than it was now.
-Plod. Plod.
That day, she had startled herself with the sound of her own footsteps as she walked.
-Are you heading home now?
Ricardo had been standing there.
On the street she feared the most, where there were no street lamps, Ricardo had been waiting for her, checking his watch.
-Oh my gosh…!
-Why are you so startled?
-You suddenly standing there… No, more importantly, why are you here? It’s so late.
-Hmm… I read it in a book.
-What?
-There’s something like that.
1st Year, First Semester.
That time had been spring for Yuria.
Whenever she was scared walking alone, Ricardo would appear as if by magic, even when she came out later than usual.
Sometimes, she wondered if Ricardo might be a stalker, but his emotionless demeanor made her foolishly feel her heart race. Those times had been warm and tender, like spring days, for Yuria.
-Why do you keep waiting for me?
-So you won’t be scared?
-…What?
-Just kidding. I was out for a walk and happened to cross paths with you.
-…Really?
-No.
For some reason, memories of that day kept coming to mind more than usual today.
It hadn’t even been a year, but the memories of her time with Ricardo always remained vivid in her heart.
So, whenever Yuria walked this street, she was trapped in the past, simultaneously feeling melancholic from the bittersweet memories.
‘Why did Ricardo torment me?’ she wondered foolishly.
Even though she had told herself to forget the pain and start anew, when the shadow of dark emotions crept in, negative thoughts would tangle her mind.
“Sigh…”
Today, too, Yuria walked down the street without street lamps, her head hanging low.
And behind her.
“Found you.”
The dark shadow began to creep in.
***
[A Quest has been triggered.]
-Protect Yuria.
Reward: Information of Vitality/???/???