Chapter 13 – I think I heard something snapping


    Keisan’s


    words caused Anisan


    to regain his calm and he released his hold on me.


    With the pressure on my body finally gone, I breathed out. Even though my


    shoulders were released from the pressure, I could still feel it tingling.


    While I was confirming the state of my body, Keisan


    urged Anisan


    to return to his


    seat before he sat down as well.


    「What are you planning to do after going to Tournons Kingdom? Do you have any


    relatives there to… that’s impossible, isn’t it?


    Do you have someone you can rely on?」


    Anisan


    was probably going to keep asking until he got an answer he could accept.


    That’s the kind of vibe he’s giving off. Would I be able to give him a reason that can


    get him to give me his consent?? I’m really worried now. It seems like Keisan


    is of


    the same mind, so I wouldn’t be getting any help.


    How the heck did things turn out this way? Recently, it feels like this is the only


    thing I’ve been saying, but it can’t be helped. The events that happened recently


    were all things that I had no control over. And they were also not something I could


    understand, which makes me want to sigh.


    For now, should I try the standard excuse? I feel bad for the earnest Keisan


    and


    Anisan


    but I can’t possibly tell them the truth.


    「I don’t have anyone like that in Tournons Kingdom. But I have been saving up for


    the sake of migrating alone, so I think it’ll be fine. As for the reason why I chose


    Tournons, it’s because I heard that it’s a country of magic and I wanted to see their


    spirit magic in particular.」


    This is what I told Mookssan


    as well. In his case, he thought I yearned for magic


    since I couldn’t use them myself, so it probably didn’t feel out of place.


    I didn’t know if it would work on the two of them, but it wasn’t completely a lie. I do


    want to see spirit magic! If it’s really possible to see spirits, I want to try it! There’s


    finally a fantasy world component after all, so I definitely want to fully enjoy it!!


    「Our country won’t lose out to Tournons in terms of magic. We also excel at


    swordsmanship and the like, unlike Tournons.


    Spirit magic is rare, but you can learn it at the academy. Isn’t this country’s


    academy considered the best amongst all countries?


    Even if the magic probing stone did not react and you can’t use magic, you would


    be able to enter the academy with your swordsmanship and a bit of studying. After


    getting in, if you get good results, you’ll be able to work in the royal palace. On the


    other hand, if you just graduate with poor grades, or even if you drop out of school,


    you’d have grabbed the attention of a lower class noble.


    It would also be better that way; you wouldn’t have to keep taking on requests at


    the agency, but instead you can get stable employment. Your wages would also be


    「However, I do understand what Ani wants to say. Az, do you hate the academy?


    Or is it… this country?」


    I had my breath stolen from me for an instant when I heard his words, and his


    expression rendered me speechless. The reason being that he looked extremely


    sorrowful.


    「I do like this country. Everyone is surrounded and protected by flowers of all


    colours and it is gentle.


    Everyone around me is nice to me. This is my favourite place.」


    Keisan


    looked slightly less sorrowful after I said that. As I was feeling somewhat


    relieved, Anisan’s


    next words made the two of us freeze in place.


    「If that’s the case, you should just continue living in this country!


    Is it a monetary problem? It’s true that for commoners who can’t use magic, that


    might be an issue. If that’s the case then let me handle it. You can also leave


    everything after enrollment to me! It’s an investment. You should just attend school


    without worries.」


    Eehhe’s


    advancing this topic by himself? Why?


    If the magic probing stone had reacted, I would have been forced to enroll in the


    academy, but school expenses and the like would be covered by the country. It


    seemed that I would then have to pay back a certain portion of the expenses after I


    get a job, postgraduation.


    Generally, everyone will work for the royal palace and


    get reduced wages from them. The magicians are trapped in this way and they


    become part of the nation’s power.


    I’ve heard that it is rather costly to enroll by other means. The same goes for school


    fees. It’s not something a mere commoner could afford. I gathered this information


    despite not having any interest in it, just in case something unexpected happened.


    But, an investment, huh? Who said I wanted to enter the academy? Aah this isn’t


    good…I’m going to snap for the first time in a long while.


    「Ani! What a great line 『It’s fine. I will cover it with my personal assets.』 」


    Was the snapping sound putsu that I heard in my head just my imagination?


    I stood up from my chair with a loud bang and glared at Anisan.


    「What are you joking about? Do you think I’m stupid? Who wants to enter the


    pale.


    「Aah, there are probably earnest nobles as well. But, I think the majority there are


    those who would obtain their worldly desires by force.


    Naa, can I ask you? Just what the heck do the nobles learn in the academy?」


    My anger has overflowed and burst forth, I can’t stop. I don’t know how to stop.


    The faces of the kind villagers and townsmen, the staff at the agency and the


    martials artist pop up in my mind. As the time we spent together increased, we’ve


    talked about various things. Of good things and of bad things. Furthermore, there


    are also things I’ve seen during this short life I’ve lived.


    I know that it’s useless to tell the 2 of them this and that this is just me venting my


    anger, but I can’t stop. My frustration had been piling up… no, I had just been


    averting my eyes. I would not have been able to go on otherwise. It’s painful to see


    this world with my previous life’s outlook. I’ve only been experiencing situations I


    can’t do anything about, so no matter how unreasonable it was, I’ve been


    pretending that I didn’t see it for my own sake.


    「They learn all that is necessary to become magicians, knights or soldiers.」


    Anisan


    replied painfully, and it was obvious that he’s depressed.


    「That’s right. But, nobles hire home tutors to teach them from young. Well, they


    might not focus as much on actual techniques but there are probably those who do.


    What would these people learn in the academy? Commoners are tested on their


    magical capabilities at the age of 10. Nobles? Right after they are born, right?


    Why’s that? It’s for them to be able to use magic from young. Naa, is the academy


    necessary? Aah…don’t say things like commoners can enroll too. After all, didn’t


    you say it earlier? That it might be an issue for commoners to enroll without magic.


    It might be better if it was just an academy for magicians, since everyone with the


    makings of a magician will be forced to enroll even if they were commoners.


    Teaching them the right way to use magic? I do think it’s important. But, as for what


    comes postgraduation…


    it’s not like I don’t understand. They have to work for the


    country and become the country’s strength. If they went to other countries, what this


    so proud of. I don’t want to understand it too.」


    Haa… I sighed. Seeing the 2 of them now made me wince. Keisan


    bit his lips so


    hard that it bled. He probably clenched his fists so hard that he hurt himself too. I


    can see the blood after all…


    I quietly used recovery magic. The moment I used it, Keisan


    looked surprised and


    showed a bitter smile while tearing up, surprising me.


    「Haa… sorry. I was just venting my anger. I know it myself but I couldn’t stop. The


    2 of you are good nobles so I took advantage of that. I’m really sorry.


    This is just my own opinion but nobles should learn to have conduct befitting their


    pride. I would like them to learn the weight of their words and actions, and be


    responsible for them when they are home tutored. It’s the basics of basics after all.


    The academy would become a slightly better place in that case. Well, I think the


    decent nobles have no need to learn it though!」


    When I became my current self, I was speechless at the excessive irrationality of


    this world. While this is true of only a portion of the nobility, these nobles view


    everyone outside of nobility as trash. I initially thought of them as idiots, and


    expected them to be the minority. But, I was wrong. In this world, such a thing was


    commonplace.


    Even if it’s irrational, they were nobles, so I could only give up. I could only accept


    things as they were. Despite us all being human beings, what’s so different about


    us?


    Even in my previous life, I encountered irrational things. It’s a part of life. Even if


    that’s the case, this world has way too many irrationalities.


    「I can’t remember how many years ago it was but I met 2 brats when I went to


    brats, they were taller than me so they were probably older? Well, it doesn’t matter.


    Brats are brats.


    The noble was overconfident and came to take on a magic beast on his own. The


    attendant came along somehow or other. While I was covered in wounds from


    protecting the 2 of them, I set up a trap and managed to defeat the magic beast.


    But, do you know what that noble said in the middle of the fight? “Aren’t you


    embarrassed to use traps!? To use such a method for the sake of victory, as


    expected of scum. Have you no pride?” 」


    I hang my head down and stare at the floor. Even though telling them this will only


    bother them.


    It’s really a nuisance to them. But, if I rant this much, we won’t meet again, right?


    While I’m being a nuisance, I’ll make them listen to the end! I raised my head to


    face the two of them.


    「It’s so dumb that it’s unforgettable. It’s not like I mind being told something like


    that, but at that time, what came to my mind was that the incident was caused by


    this mistaken pride of his. Just what the hell is this “pride of the nobles”? Where


    does this pride come from and what are they so proud of? Or rather, who the hell


    do they think they are? The roads, the villages, and the companies are all the


    same. Do they think that if they use prideful words however they want and in any


    situation, they can overcome anything? Even though they didn’t fulfill their duties?


    I would not look down on this “pride” if it was used for the sake of establishing


    oneself, instead of being used to look down on others. There are things nobles


    must do. The world of the nobility exists, doesn’t it? But, the country doesn’t just


    belong to the nobles. Commoners and nobles are all citizens of the country.」


    I sighed and sat down. Keisan


    and Anisan


    looked baffled.


    That’s not surprising, since I said all that, huh? I looked up, closed my eyes and


    grumbled.


    「I do think education is important, you know? But just a small mistake and it’ll be


    brainwashing….is what I personally think.」


    「Brainwashing?」


    Did he hear my monologue? Keisan


    sounded confused as he said that. I faced him


    and nodded.


    「Un. Should I say common sense? No, a person’s way of thinking? I think there


    exists strange educational methods, for example – this might be an extreme case –


    but if children were taught that hurting others was normal, and continued to be


    taught that way, wouldn’t they not feel anything while hurting others? They would


    think it’s natural to hurt others.


    For nobles, if they grow up surrounded by idiots, and are taught that way by their


    parents, it’d be natural for them to turn into idiotic nobles, right?


    The commoners are like this too, if they see their parents debase themselves


    before nobles more than is necessary they would probably end up thinking it’s


    normal. There are negative examples too, so I can’t generalise it.


    Education… I think it’s really difficult.」


    But, how did I come to this topic? Aah, it’s because I lost control, isn’t it!? I spewed


    out my emotions as it is, and ended up losing track of what I wanted to say….


    Tehe*.


    (TL note: probably short for tehepero which is something like this )


    I ended up ranting about all the complaints I had about the nobles. Thanks to that, I


    feel refreshed, but their expressions have become tragic~!