Chapter 271: Surprising Whiteness

Today, the task of 'shrine making' has increased again. I'll work on it little by little during study breaks with the home tutor. Nero attends the lessons too. It seems Nero is quite smart and absorbs scholarly knowledge without much struggle.

He's handsome, smart, and good at sports—his specs are off the charts. Well, logically speaking, I'm in that category too. I suppose I'm considered a catch by the women of society. The upcoming tea parties seem daunting. I'm starting to not want to go.

"What's wrong? You seem distracted since earlier."

"Oh, just thinking about the tea parties."

As a high-ranking noble's son, I can't just skip them. In that case, it might be better to decide on a fiancée soon to ward off some of the attention.

"Is that so? Speaking of which, your date with Fabienne-sama is coming up soon."

That's right. I hadn't forgotten, but it's almost time for my date with Miss Fabienne. It seems Nero thought I was planning to invite Fabienne to a tea party. Given the current situation, I can see why he'd think that.

Alex-niisama and sister-in-law Daniella have already researched local date spots within the territory. Reservations at a restaurant are already made. If there's a problem, it's deciding what gift to give. Maybe something she'll like from the jeweler's would be good.

Since we're going, I'll bring some dried fruits, a local specialty from the fiefdom. They're easy to eat in the carriage without making a mess. Should I also give her some liquid detergent? No, it might be better to teach her how to make it. After all, Fabienne-sama is already a skilled alchemist.

"It would probably be bad to give a shrine as a gift, right?"

"It doesn't seem suitable as a gift for a date."

Nero said it with difficulty. He's right after all. I'll invite Fabienne-sama to the house once and see how she feels about the shrine before deciding what to do.

In the afternoon, it's swordsmanship and magic training. I'm finally getting back to my usual routine. Lately, there's been an unusually large amount of crafting going on.

It seems like a playful and lively scene! 

"Julius-chan, look at this!"

"W-Wait, sister-in-law Mika, what are you doing?!"

It appears Cain-niisama and sister-in-law Mika have been training in swordsmanship since this morning. When do they study? Well, never mind that. Just as sister-in-law Mika spotted me, she rushed over and discarded her armor. Her white undergarments were dazzling.

"I washed it with liquid detergent, and look how white it turned! Plus, it doesn't have any unpleasant smell. Here, smell it, smell it!"

"Uh, sure..."

Cain-niisama, come stop this already! What is he doing, leaving his fiancée like that? Oh, he's stretching over there. Looks like he got carried away. Why does he have to go all out like this?!

Well, there's no helping it, so I cautiously sniff. It indeed doesn't have an unpleasant smell, but it's something different—it smells nice. Probably sister-in-law Mika scent.

"How is it?"

"Wow, you're right. It doesn't smell bad at all."

"See, see? Julius-chan, could you maybe share some of this liquid detergent with me?"

It seems sister-in-law Mika really likes the liquid detergent. And she's looking at me as if she wants to take it back to the academy. There's no particular reason to refuse, so I agree to share.

"Of course, I don't mind at all. Should I send some for Cain-niisama as well, and regularly to your place while you're at the academy?"

"Really!? Thank you, Julius-chan!"

Phew, my heart, it's pounding a bit!

After managing to get sister-in-law Mika back into her armor, we joined the training. Cain-niisama said he'd spar with me, but apparently he'd already been thoroughly beaten by the Heine Marquis household's knights, so he wasn't up for it. Well, this turned out to be lucky in its own way.

"It's been a while, Julius-sama."

"Yeah, I've been a bit busy. Hard to find time."

"I've heard various rumors."

Knight Commander Lionel smiled. He must have heard quite a lot of rumors. I'd like to know how things got to this point myself.

I decided against sparring with Lionel. Today, I focused on basic training. Lionel looked disappointed, though.

I started sparring among the apprentice knights of the same age. Of course, Giles and Christopher were there too. The basics of a knight are still the sword. Even if it's not my forte, daily practice is necessary.

Watching me and Nero spar, Lionel quickly noticed Nero's talent. It seemed he was going to teach Nero seriously, so I decided not to interfere and focus on magic training.

I casually shot some magic, but it felt like I was using less magical power than before. Could this be the effect of the spirit's blessing? While one wasn't very noticeable, having three seemed to elevate it to a noticeable level.

It seems magical power decreases proportionally. So, the true value shines when using powerful magic. Not that I think I'll have such an opportunity. It's probably better if I never have to use grand magic.

"Julius-sama, if it's alright with you, could you teach us magic?"

"Huh? Why? Shouldn't I be the one learning?"

"No, there's nothing left for Julius-sama to learn. Rather, we should be the ones learning from you."

A member of the Heine Marquis household's exclusive mage corps approached me like that. It seems they've been watching me shoot magic at targets. But why would they suddenly want me to teach them?

"Why do you think that?"

"It's because Julius-sama's magic accuracy is too high. Please look at the target Julius-sama uses. It's in the form of a magnificent Southern Cross. ...Could it be, were you doing it unconsciously!?"

For some reason, they started speaking excitedly. Other members of the mage corps gathered around. Why does it always end up like this? Is this some kind of curse?

"Such accuracy unconsciously... What would happen if you did it consciously?"

No, let's not find out!? People were realizing one after another. The atmosphere here suddenly became heated.

I was desperately trying to figure out how to escape from this situation.

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