PMZ 050 – You’re selling it? Seriously?

PMZ 050 – You’re selling it? Seriously?  

Now, what should I do?  

I have no idea why I did that, but the fact is, I do screw up.  

I’ll reflect on it later, but now I have to think of a way to get through this.  

“… I think the best course of action is to just walk out while feigning innocence, what do you think?”  

I’ve been pressing my forehead against his shoulder for a while now, and he hasn’t moved as if he were dead.  

Should anyone ask ‘What’s wrong?’ we’ll just say, ‘Oh, well, I’ll tell you about it later’ and leave gracefully. That’s our only option.  

I’ll apologize to the store owner later, but I think His Highness could not do anything about it.  

“You know, Hayato. Let’s just open this crate and go. At this rate, we’re going to get shipped out…   

…Hayato? …Are you okay?”

He shook his head loosely, keeping his forehead pressed against my shoulder, and muttered, “… it’s hard to hold back after you tease me that much…”.   

I’m sorry.   

There was no point in dwelling on it, so I put my hand on the lid and tried to open it.  

But my wrist was grabbed, and my body was stopped.  

“n? Do you want to stay here a little longer?”  

“No, of course not. I just want to try something because I feel like I could.”   

“What?”   

I was about to ask him what he meant when I noticed a dim shadow rippling all over the inside of the crate, like the surface of the water.  

—What is this, dark magic?   

It felt as if my feet were sinking into the mud.  

“I can do this.”  

The moment Hayato muttered that, along with an indescribable floating feeling, we fell into the darkness.  

Yes, we fell.   

Before I knew what had happened, I was sitting in the shadows outside the box, away from where we were before.  

“It worked.”   

In a casual tone, Hayato stood up and took my hand, pulling me up.  

“Was that shadow shifting?”  

“Yes. I’m finally able to do it when I’m not dyed by dark attribute, and even when we’re both together, I’ve grown(evolved).” {kanji can also be read as evolved}  

While saying this, Hayato is looking for His Highness from the shadows.  

He says it in a light-hearted way, but isn’t that a great thing?  

Being close to him daily, it’s hard to know the expected standards of greatness.  

Anyway, at the academy he’ s going to attend, I’m pretty sure no one knows anything about the dark magic that uses shadows. It simply impossible for ordinary people, including me, to establish another dimension.  

Hayato, who created it with his intuition, and big brother Chris, who listened to the explanation, then understood it and turned it into a magic formula, are the ones who are strange.  

My brother explained the formula to me, but I could only understand it vaguely as if it were a theory of the multiverse. I don’t think I have what it takes to become Hawking’s student.  

Anyway, I think it’s better to keep it a secret because if you do it too openly, you might be framed in case there is an assassination attempt somewhere.   

“It’s really amazing! But I don’t think you should use that in public.”  

“Hmmm… You’re right. Someone coming out of the shadows would be unpleasant in the eyes of others. I’ll try to keep this secret.”  

From the direction of the shop, I could hear his Highness said, “You have three seconds from now to come out by yourselves. 3, 2, 1…………Oh, I see, you’re not coming out. Then let’s open it. What? They’ re gone!”.  

I didn’t want to be spotted again, so I decided to sneak out while I could.  

Our plan to [hunt for cute glasses] was not going to happen today.  

I went straight home without stopping at the guild, took a shower, changed my clothes, and checked the letterbox on the front door.  

Betty knows where I live, so I hoped she might have left a letter for me while I was gone.  

Oh, there it is. I’m glad.  

I took the letter, opened it, and read it.  

The contents of the first few pages were asking about the celebration party’s date and talking about how fun it was to work with Ted and his friends.  

There was also a report on how cute the dogs were.  

I’m glad to hear that they are doing well.   

As I was sitting at the table writing a reply letter, a naked Hayato came out of the bathroom, wiping his head with a towel.  

Getting used to something is scary, and seeing him like this doesn’t make me faint anymore. It only made me a little giddy.  

“Please put on your clothes before you come out.”   

“I don’t like to wear wet clothes.”  

“You could just dry yourself off.”  

“That’ s what I’m doing. Are you writing a letter…? To who?”  

“It’s for Betty. I’ve got a letter for you as well. Do you want to read it?”  

“Yes.”  

Her letter didn’t contain any sensitive information, so I offer it to Hayato.  

Hayato seemed to be wondering if she was doing well with Ted and his friends, and as he read on, his expression is painted with a soft smile.  

The more he read, the softer his smile became. “…… I see, they seem to be having fun. I’m glad. This celebration party is in half a month? Is Alice okay with this date?”   

“Yes. Is Hayato okay with it as well? It will be after you enter the academy, but it will be in the evening on a Saturday, so you should have plenty of time.”  

“Sure.”   

I wrote a reply to her letter, folded it, and sealed it. All I need to do is to send it.  

“…Come to think of it, what kind of party do people in the city have when they get married?”   

“We get together and drink, eat, play music, and dance, I guess.”   

“Hmm, not so different from the aristocracy then. Who plays music?”   

“Someone who can play an instrument brings his own instrument and plays it. Ah, don’t be surprised if the music is quite different from the nobles’ style.”   

“Yes, that’ s all right.”   

I’ve listened to everything from pop to classical music in my previous life. I’m sure I could even listen to a rap battle if it suddenly started.  

…I don’t think there will be any rappers in this world, though.  

“If it’s that kind of atmosphere, what should I wear ……? Is it okay to be a little formal?”  

“I think anything is fine. Though I suppose the girls will be more enthusiastic than usual at such events.  

… Yeah, by Alice’s standards, it could be a bit different. I’ll ask Carlos-sis about it next time.”  

“I got a bad feeling about this.”  

But I’m sure that my standards are unreliable, so I decided to listen to Carlos-sis anyway.  

Hayato’s skin seemed to have finally dried, and he offered me a cup of tea. I was relieved to see that he was wearing a black hoodie.  

“Oh, by the way, …what do you want to do with these?”  

He suddenly pulled out a mystery object from the shadows on the underside of the table; it’s the Killer Bee honey wine.  

“What do you mean?”   

The original idea was to gift it to my father, who often had a hard time because of his children. I wonder if there was any other use for it than giving it to him.  

“About that… Alice, how did you feel when you drank this?”   

He says it in a very awkward way. I wonder why?  

“It feels like it’s burned my throat. Other than that, I just thought that it wasn’t delicious.””   

“Didn’t you feel a little weird after drinking it?”  

“Weird? Hmmm… nothing special, really.”  

Then Hayato sighed loudly and plopped down on the table, “Hah…”  

“If that’s really the case, it’s okay… but…  

In the meantime, I’ll ask Pete for more information about this thing tomorrow. It might be something pretty troublesome.”  

“I understand.”  

Troublesome huh… It’s no good if the thing I give to my father is something strange, so I’d better make sure it’s something proper.  

The next day, I asked Pete at the guild for the actual item, and he became pale and asked, “… You’re not drinking any of it …are you?” He asked me.

When I told him I had taken some, he first gave me a stern look and then explained in an awkward whisper.  

He told me that it is a drug that is effective for male-female relationships when the two parties are tightly bound, close, and passionate.  

“But I’m glad… From the looks of it, it didn’t work for you.”  

No, it did. I know exactly what you mean.  

It’s just that there was a time difference, and I didn’t realize it…  

In the end, I canceled it as a gift for my father, sold it immediately, and turned the money into a simple, high-end brandy.  

—————————  

And so the days passed, and finally, Hayato is about to receive his knighthood ceremony.  

AN note:  

Finally… after 50 chapters, I want to finish the academy chapter ASAP, but I took a little detour.  

TL note:  

How to upgrade OP character:  

Let him battle with a strong opponent (X)  

Let him face an embarrassing moment (OK)