Chapter 6: The Circle
Several days had passed since the recent shady part-time job incident. After that, nothing particularly eventful had occurred. The only regular occurrence was Reina visiting my room.
Today, I was attending a lecture as a Magic Knight. The seating arrangement was like that of a Japanese university, with free seating. The further back you sat, the higher the floor level became.
My usual spot was by the window at the very back, the equivalent of the juiciest part of a pork cutlet.
“The Earth God Rakildis is said to have expanded the earth and brought prosperity to this world. It is believed that the royal family of our country was granted power by Rakildis, and therefore—”
The theocratic nation of Rakildis. Although it’s called a theocratic nation, it’s ruled by the royal family, specifically the king. The reason it’s still referred to as a theocratic nation is because they worship the Earth God and are said to have received his power.
But honestly, it’s probably just urban legends and conspiracy theories. Surely, there’s no such thing as a god. Since coming to this world, I’ve never seen one, and even in my past life, though I’ve argued with people who were into shady religions, no one had ever claimed to have seen a god.
Gods don’t exist in any world.
However, in this world, the Six Great Gods seem to be quite revered. They’re taught in class, and there are festivals in the royal capital dedicated to them.
But according to Reina, it seems that faith in the gods is gradually waning.
[It feels like people’s faith in the gods is diminishing… Perhaps it’s because as society develops, humans are maintaining the world on their own.]
Well, of course, it’s because gods don’t exist. It’s only natural for faith to fade. Even after years of worship, not even a shadow of a god has appeared. It’s no wonder more people are starting to think they don’t exist.
But Reina also mentioned that even though faith is waning, the total amount of faith hasn’t changed because the population has grown significantly compared to the past. Therefore, the gods remain strong.
[With the stability of social systems and the increase in population, the total amount of faith hasn’t changed. Even if it’s faint, like in old fairy tales, everyone knows about the gods, and there’s still some unconscious faith, so the total power remains unchanged.]
She said this with a very serious face, but I couldn’t help but wonder if she was okay in the head.
I honestly thought she might just be tired, so I hugged her and patted her head while listening to her.
“Alright, that’s it for today’s class. Dismissed.”
As soon as the teacher said that, the students all looked relieved. My class has about fifty students, and there are ten classes in total. It’s a large school with three grades, similar to a big high school.
Of course, even in a school with so many people, I mostly keep to myself. This academy is heavily focused on magical abilities. If you can fire magic spells continuously or have a special talent, you can rise through the ranks by defeating demons.
In such an environment, who would want to associate with a guy who’s an inferior with zero magical power? Almost no one.
I said almost because there’s one student I occasionally interact with.
“Ah, Rain. Good job today.”
“…Hmph, you’re still as laid-back as ever.”
The only male student I interact with is Rain, an excellent student.
All the students at this academy have an emblem on their left shoulder, indicating their rank. The order is gold, silver, bronze, blue, and black.
Rain’s left shoulder gleamed with a gold emblem. Yeah, he’s really outstanding and cool. But he’s also a loner. He’s popular among the female students, but he’s still a loner.
Maybe it’s because he has a bit of a bad vibe.
“…You should start worrying. Your emblem is black, and you could fail. You’re only allowed to fail twice.”
“Well, I think I’ll be fine.”
He’s a loner and always sits in the same seat. I usually sit at the very back, but he sits a bit closer to the front. Many female students are captivated by his twilight-like aura.
The only slight inconvenience is that sitting near such a brilliant guy might make me look like a lump of meat in comparison. The contrast between an outstanding student and a inferior is just too harsh.
But, well, it’s fine.
Rain is a handsome, black-haired, black-eyed guy with glasses and excellent skills. It’s only natural that he’s popular. There’s no need to get upset about it.
—If I’m being honest, it’s annoying, but since we’re both loners, I can somewhat forgive him. Plus, it seems like he doesn’t hang out with anyone, so in reality, Rain and I are on equal footing.
That’s why I occasionally talk to him. Only occasionally, though.
Now, time to go get some lunch. I left the classroom, got my food at the cafeteria, and secured a seat. It’s a two-person table, but no one was sitting in front of me…
“Well, well, if it isn’t my big brother. Still as lonely as ever, I see.”
“Little sister. What’s up?”
“Mind if I sit here?”
“What, are you a loner too?”
“I don’t want to hear that from you. I have friends, but I don’t talk to them much.”
“Good to know we share the same blood. I don’t have many friends to talk to either.”
“What a terrible thing to have in common.”
Ilza sat down in front of me. As usual, her face is cute, but her words and actions are anything but.
READ THE ORIGINAL TRANSLATION AT gadgetizedpanda.net
“Big brother, don’t you think you should make some friends?”
“Friends? I wouldn’t mind having them, but I don’t desperately want them. My weekends are pretty busy.”
“What do you do?”
“Job hunting, food tours, hot spring trips, and recently, I’ve been growing vegetables.”
“Wow, you’re living a fulfilling life! For someone like you!”
“Ha, you’re no match for my lonely hobbies. It’s fun to go into random shops I’ve never been to during the day on weekends, like playing the lonely gourmet.”
“I don’t get it, but I’m a little envious. All my friends are weird.”
“Ah, being a gold emblem must be tough.”
“Yeah. You probably know, but there’s the Third Princess and Nadeko. They’re all gold emblems, but it’s suffocating.”
“You’re not good at socializing, are you?”
“Yeah, what about it? Is that bad?”
“Not at all. I think it’s cool that you’re trying to talk even though you’re not good at it.”
“Eh!? Ah, um, th-thank you. I didn’t expect you to compliment me…”
If the Third Princess is involved, it must be troublesome. And with Nadeko, who’s a total materialist, it must be really tough. With such a strong-willed group, it’s no wonder Ilza finds it difficult. She’s the type who likes to depend on her big sister and me.
“Ahem, so where do you go on your food tours?”
“Well, neighboring towns, other countries, the theocratic nation of Laneberg…”
“…Laneberg? That’s really far, isn’t it?”
“Yeah, I ride a horse. I’ve recently taken up horseback riding.”
“Multi-talented!? You, of all people!?”
“A white horse with blue eyes has taken a liking to me.”
“Huh, really? What else have you started doing?”
“I’ve started keeping a cat. A silver-haired cat with blue eyes just started living in my room.”
“…What? Anything else?”
“Ah, I’ve also flown through the sky with a big bird.”
“!?”
“A silver bird with blue eyes took a liking to me.”
“What the heck!? How are you so popular with animals!? Wh-what else!?”
“Hmm, nothing else, really. I’ve mostly been doing market research and part-time jobs to save money.”
“…Big brother, do you need money? Wait, market research?”
“Eventually, I want to sell something, so I’m thinking about what might sell well. Since I don’t have magical power, I can’t earn much as a Magic Knight, so I’m looking for other ways to make money. That’s why I started growing vegetables.”
“Ah, I see. You’re living a fulfilling life, I’m jealous… You know, if you took your cute little sister on a horse ride to another country on the weekend, it’d be even more fulfilling.”
Ah, she wants to go out. What should I do? Honestly, I really want to ignore this, but she’ll probably complain if I do.
“Reina will come along, though. Is that okay?”
“…Reina, that maid, huh?”
“You don’t like her, do you? Reina.”
“…I don’t like her vibe. And I don’t like how she’s always sneaking around with you. She comes to your room regularly, doesn’t she?”
“You know about that?”
“I knew it… I thought she’d do that.”
“She’s a bit odd, but she’s a good person.”
“I know she’s a good person. But her vibe… It’s like she’s not human. Those blue eyes are kind of scary.”
“She’s completely normal.”
“You’re the only one who thinks that. Father, Mother, and even Big Sister are a bit wary of her.”
“I think she’s normal.”
“Have you never thought she was strange?”
“…Ah.”
“So there is something.”
“She ate my cookies without asking. They were expensive, and I was really looking forward to them.”
“…That’s not what I meant.”
“…Ah, this isn’t as big a deal as the cookies, but when I went to Laneberg the other day, I noticed she was eating next to me.”
“No, no, no, no, no!! That’s scarier than the cookies!”
“But she’s not very good at hiding her presence. Even though I knew she was nearby, I wasn’t that surprised.”
“…Big brother, you’re weird too. I knew it.”
My little sister seems to dislike Reina. You’d think she’d realize that Reina, though unique, isn’t a bad person. But, well, everyone has their own preferences. Not everyone can be liked by everyone.
“Meow.”
Before I knew it, a cat had come over to me. It was a silver-haired cat with blue eyes, the same one I’ve been keeping in my room.
“Is that your cat?”
Also check out my friend Localizermeerkat for more LN translations!
BUY THE SOURCE MATERIAL TO SUPPORT THE AUTHOR !!!
Kindly click on the green button above and contribute to filling the green bar if you’re interested in having another LN from the request page translated. Also, every donation is being used to purchase the source material and to fund more English translations.
Please consider joining my Ko-Fi membership. By becoming a member, you’ll also gain access to 2-10 additional chapters of all of the novels from this site translated into English. Last but not least your support will also assist me in upholding the translation quality and speed. For more information, please follow the link.
Donation for faster release is always welcome
Additionally, I am now accepting translation requests.
