This Love is Futile

Chapter 077 – Ancient Magical Language Lv. 1

In conclusion, I didn’t get to see Vidello-san.

Due to what seemed to be a common business trip, he was now apparently at Sei’s castle town. 

Apparently, the gatekeepers over there and the gatekeepers from the aristocratic quarters had some sort of dispute, so they decided to send Vidello-san there as a pinch hitter.

“Well, if his achievements there get recognized, it means he’ll get promoted to an even higher position, so it’s a good thing.” The gatekeeper who always calls me a chibi roared with laughter.

That’s right. The corporate ladder. Why Vidello-san though?

“It’s because Vidello is crazy good at smoothing over messy situations, you know? It seems he’s got his eyes on quite a number of places. If you didn’t live here, he’d probably already gone somewhere else.”

“Eh…”

Could it be…? Was the reason Vidello-san wasn’t rising up in the ranks… me?

I stood dumbfounded at the gatekeeper’s words, and he gave me a bitter smile, like he knew he’d just said something uncalled for.

“Vidello’s doing it for his own reasons so don’t mind it. Even before your guys’ relationship got steamy, he was infatuated with you. He even went so far as to purposefully go on the roads you were taking so he could say hello to you. I mean, I get it though. You don’t treat us like we’re objects. I also get a super nice feeling when Mac greets me.”

“Eh? That, this is the first time I’m hearing that.”

“That guy’s desperately trying to look good in front of you. It’s almost funny how hard he’s trying to act like a cool guy. That’s why everyone here is cheering him on.”

Is that how it was?

Even before I fell in love with him, I thought Vidello-san was a super-friendly, kind and good person. I probably fell for him completely that time he almost died protecting me, but… it seems he liked me long before that.

“Then, I should be happy about Vidello-san’s promotion…”

I mean, it’s a promotion. It was a happy thing.

I got downhearted and the gatekeeper slapped me on the back. It hurt a bit.

“Look at the face you’re making. Didn’t I tell you that this time around he’ll only be gone for a little bit? He’ll be back soon. There’s no way he wouldn’t tell you if there was something going on. He was just in a hurry this time around. Greet him with a smile when he gets back. I’ll let you know when he does.”

“Thanks. You’re big and burly and have kind of a scary face, but you’re a good person, Gatekeeper-san.”

“Hey, saying I have a scary face is too much.”

Instead of getting angry, the gatekeeper laughed heartily and kept waving his hand at me until I turned the corner.

I see, so I won’t be able to see Vidello-san for a while.

Maybe the reason Regalo-san and Crash said that Vidello-san was special was because of this promotion. The gatekeeper said that the reason Vidello-san didn’t want to leave this town wasn’t because of me though, right? Still, though it’s a bit conceited of me, no matter how much I think about it, I still think I’m the reason.

A sigh spilled out of my mouth as I trotted along.

Should I go over to Crash’s place and learn the ancient magical language for a change of pace?

I did have a souvenir of witch-style herbal hotpot for him. I made it in a small pot and put it in my inventory as is.

When I got to Crash’s store, I saw Emily-san was there. How unusual.

“Hello. I came to learn the ancient magical language, but if you’re in the middle of something I can come back later.”

I greeted them like that when the two noticed me come in.

Emily-san said, “There’s no such thing,” and patted the seat of the chair next to her. 

I guess I’m supposed to take a seat?

From behind the counter, Crash beckoned me to come over.

“You’ve finally come to learn. I’ve been waiting.”

“Is Mac going to learn the ancient language from Crash? I also know a bit so I can teach you. Crash is almost fluent in it so learn a lot, ok?”

Oh yeah, Crash did say he learned the ancient magical language from his mother. Which meant…

“Can Emily-san also use magical circles?”

Emily-san shook her head at my question.

“I’ve got no sense when it comes to creating them so I can’t use them at all. It’s faster to cut with a sword and use a direct magic attack, so I can’t use magic circles at all.”

“Is that so?”

“I learned from Sage-san so I’m better at it than my mom. I don’t have as much magic power as her though, so I can’t do anything that amazing. World’s not fair, huh?”

Compared to normal people, Crash had quite a lot of magic power, but compared to an elf, it was the same level as that of a child. On the other hand, Sage-san and Emily-san have such an infinite amount of magic power that it seemed like they’re from a different world.

Magic power and MP were different things, right? I wonder if other kinds of magical powers exist?

Crash laughed and said it wasn’t easy being a half-elf, so I wondered if Regalo-san, who was also a half-elf, thought the same. That guy was shrouded in mystery as always.

“First thing first, you have to read this book on the ancient magical language.”

Crash quickly whipped out a heavy, thickly-bound book. He placed it in front of me with a thud.

I flipped through the pages. Yup. I don’t get it.

Oh, I don’t think I’ll be able to learn this… but if I do pick it up and become able to use magic circles, then I might be able to slightly make up for my lack of firepower.

Determined, I set out to read the first page.

『When maso1 accumulates a magical being’s body is created
When the magic being’s life is extinguished the maso returns to the sky』

It wasn’t smooth but I managed to read a sentence in the ancient language.

At the start, Crash helped me out with the reading, but when I understood the logic behind it to some extent, I got this weird feeling and the way I should read the words popped up in my head and I was like — ah, I understand this somehow.

When I glanced at my skills window, “Ancient Magical Language Lv. 1” was written there. I guess that’s why I could read it all of a sudden. Skills truly were useful. Let’s level up!

“You’re amazing, Mac. I didn’t think you’d be able to do it in one day. You definitely have the skills.”

I can’t believe it took me a day to get the ancient language skill when I completely failed at swordsmanship. I was once again struck by the fact that I had zero sword skills.

Being able to learn it was a good thing. The problem came after that.

“These letters have a complicated shape. I can’t seem to get it right.”

“You’ll get used to it. You’ll be able to write them nicely after some practice.”

It’d be nice if that were true. From now on let’s practice every day so I can write these letters properly. I mean, if they don’t look neat, there’s no way I’ll be able to write magic circles. The basics of magic circles were more about writing the ancient language than reading it, no?

More importantly…

I closed the book for now and placed it in the corner of the counter.

“I’m hungry. Shall we have some food? What about you, Emily-san?” I said placing a small pot with a lid on it on the table next to the counter.

The two of them cheered and quickly sat down.

As I hurriedly lifted the lid, I was kind of excited to see the looks on their faces when they saw what was inside.

Crash reacted the way I imagined he would, but Emily-san had a completely different reaction.

“No way, no. To be able to eat this again…”

She got teary-eyed and covered her mouth with her hand.

Huh?

“What is this, Mac? What did I win to deserve such a prize? I love this [dish]. Sara would always make it for me.”

It seems I’ve accidentally made something that brought up memories of Sara-san. Was the person who came up with this hotpot… the warrior called Sara-san?

“Eh? Really? T-that Sara-san really was an impressive person…”

“Yeah, they were great at everything they did. Except having feelings for Luce. They were a late bloomer only when it came to love. Just seeing it was annoying.”

“I see…”

It seems that Sara-san loved this Luce person. By the way, who was Luce again? I feel like I’ve heard that name before… I pondered as I watched Emily-san reminisce.

After that, Emily-san started eating happily and, after looking at it suspiciously as if it were some kind of strange object, Crash also hesitantly reached out for the hotpot.

Even with the promise I made, Crash gave exactly the reaction I’d been waiting for. I was satisfied.

“Crazy. It’s delicious. Why?!”

“Yeah, I thought the same thing at first. But the gap between how it looks and how it tastes is what makes it so addictive.”

Saying that so frankly, I thought Emily-san was a much more splendid person than me. ‘The gap,’ she said. That’s what makes women so strong.

After we’d completely devoured all of the hotpot, Emily-san, seemingly satisfied, waved goodbye and went home. There’s something nice about a great person being so amiable. The guild would love her as well.

When it was just me and Crash, I opened the ancient language book again.

“Mac, it’s a good thing that you’re such a diligent person, but you’ve got to relax once in a while too. If you don’t, even I’ll start getting worried, even though I’m the one teaching you.”

Relaxed? Aren’t I always relaxed?

I was about to answer that I was fine.

“Then,” Crash forcibly closed the book, “I have a request. Make me a delicious post-dinner tea that’s easy on the eyes. We can drink it together.”

As if in response to Crash’s words, the quest window lit up with a ping.