NOVEL NEXT WORLD Chapter 9: Adults are rigid
Colette Bloodberry.
Her silky, beautiful brown hair, long enough to reach her hips, belonged to a woman who was also slated to become the ‘Minister of Magic,’ the head of all mages in the ‘Magica Kingdom.’
“You should answer, my niece.”
Aunt Colette, whom she always admired and thought was cool.
“The Demon race… are the enemies of the Bloodberry family.”
“Yes, you said it very well. Then what should we do?”
“We must walk the path of magic to the best of our abilities.”
“And?”
Colette said in a gentle voice, softly gripping her niece’s trembling shoulders.
“…We must.”
“Say it again, louder.”
“We must kill all demons. We must become a Hero and exterminate all demons in this world.”
“What if you cannot become a Hero?”
“We must become friends with the Hero, and somehow work together with them to kill all the demons in this world.”
Colette slowly inhaled, then raised the corners of her mouth.
“It seems you remember well, my pretty niece.”
“Esme wants to be like Aunt Colette.”
“But… why did you take classes so amicably with such a filthy demon?”
The enjoyable time with her aunt was over.
“That’s…”
“Esme, Esme… my pretty niece. What are demons to us?”
“Enemies! Enemies we cannot let a single one of them live!”
“Yes, but why did you take classes so amicably with that demon?”
Esme’s lips trembled.
“Murmur is…”
Esme recalled the lesson she had received today.
Unlike the stories she had heard all her life, Murmur was kind. She was not evil or malicious, she did not look down on her for her greater magic, and she did not whine about not wanting to lose Nikea.
She was a good kid.
A good friend.
Even as a fifth-grader in elementary school, she could understand right from wrong to that extent.
“She’s a… a good kid.”
“Ah… what are you saying, Esme.”
“Murmur was kind! Auntie! Please listen to my story…”
“Nonsense! Anyone from the Bloodberry family with any sense should consider them as enemies! We must kill them all, leaving not a single one alive!”
Colette shouted roughly, tightly gripping Esme’s small shoulders.
“A, Auntie…”
“Can’t you remember? Or are you pretending not to know? Esme? My beloved niece. Your mother was murdered by demons.”
Esme’s face turned pale.
“You’re young, so you probably don’t remember.”
“No… I do.”
“You’re still young, so you don’t understand! Demons are the enemies of humans! Even at this moment, they are plotting evil schemes to exterminate us all!”
─ Squeeze!
“We have a noble duty. We must assist the Royal race, protect the Hero, and not leave a single demon alive on this land.”
“But…”
“There are no good demons in this world. Remember that my sister was murdered, your father was tortured to death in a truly gruesome way.”
Esme shed a single tear.
Even this young child knew that much. That was why she hated demons. Murmur was really, really not to her liking at first.
However, in today’s class, it was not like that. She was a good kid.
She could not possibly think of her as the same as the trash that brutally murdered her parents.
“I know. I know very well, Auntie!”
“Do you really know well?”
“I know. There are really bad demons in this world!”
“Yes… to my sister… to that excellent and diligent child… Ah, you are not an adult yet, so I cannot tell you what happened that day.”
Colette sighed.
“She died agonizing over being born a woman.”
Esme did not know what that meant.
However, the story that demons were terrifying and that revenge was necessary was a story she had heard so often that it made her head ache.
“But Auntie…!”
“Esme, if you are going to talk nonsense, be quiet.”
“Princess Nikea also! Played with Murmur! The magic lessons were taken together by three people! And! We did a great job with the collaborative project!”
Esme said, trying her best to smile.
“Esme…”
“Murmur’s magic was really amazing! As amazing as the Princess…! she never bragged, and she catered to me! The Princess even hugged me!”
“None of that matters, Esme. Team projects or whatever… It’s something done in academy classes, isn’t it?”
“Esme doesn’t even use transformation magic!”
“Ah, my niece… Esme…”
Colette gently stroked Esme’s cheek.
“But the Princess…”
“Esme, it seems like you really need to be punished.”
Esme was startled and took a step back, but her shoulder was grabbed again.
“N, no…”
“Esme! Listen carefully! Your parents were murdered by demons! My younger sister suffered a terrible fate! We have a duty to take revenge on demons!”
The child’s sincerity did not reach the rigid adult at all.
Colette was rather pitiful.
“How pitiful! Demons are such trash? They put on good faces, say nice things, and make us feel safe!”
“Lady Colette!! There’s no need to go that far with the punishment…”
“You shut up! What do you know, you servant?!”
Colette roared roughly, pushing away the approaching servant with mana from her palm, then grabbed Esme’s waist.
“Demons are all trash. Your mother was also deceived and murdered like that! The family’s legacy was burned and gone!”
“A, Auntie! Auntie! I was wrong! I was wrong!”
“You don’t know… You don’t know… Yes, Princess Nikea liked that demon? Then I’ll show you.”
Colette grabbed Esme’s skirt and pulled it down, then grabbed her underwear and took it off.
Esme, desperately struggling to get out of the adult’s arms, was eventually forced into Colette’s embrace.
“A, Auntie! Don’t hit me! I was wrong! I’ll do better! I won’t be friends with Murmur!”
“Listen carefully… Esme, the Princess hates demons very, very much. She hates them so much that she wants to leave not a single one of those little bastards alive.”
Colette raised her hand high.
“So, remember. Demons are our enemies. They are your enemies, and they are trash that we cannot leave even one alive.”
* * *
“Ugh…!!!”
She held onto the toilet with both hands and spewed out a rainbow-colored liquid.
What is this? Where did my soft and vibrant morning go?
I went to sleep excited, thinking I could do a stretching exercise event, but it’s completely ruined!
“Ugh…”
From the beginning, my head hurts, my horns throb. It’s so hot that I can’t cool it down with my hands! I have to turn on the cold water in the shower to barely cool it down, what’s with that?
[ 『A new event has been detected!』]
[ 《Play with Esme Bloodberry》]
[ 《Time: After school》]
Actually, there is a more serious problem than the pain in my horns.
[ 『The event has been eliminated!』]
[ 《Play with Esme Bloodberry》]
[ 《Time: After school》]
The status window is going crazy.
Actually, this is why I spewed out the rainbow-colored liquid. I’m so dizzy! What is this supposed to be?!
[ 『A new event has been detected!』]
[ 《Spar with Esme Bloodberry》]
[ 《Time: After school》]
[ 『The event has been eliminated!』]
[ 《Spar with Esme Bloodberry》]
[ 《Time: After school》]
“Ugh…”
[ 『A new event has been detected!』]
[ 《Give a gift to Esme Bloodymary》]
[ 《Time: After school》]
[ 『The event has been eliminated!』]
[ 《Give a gift to Esme Bloodymary》]
[ 《Time: After school》]
[ 『A new event has been detected!』]
[ 《Play with Esme Bloodberry》]
[ 《Time: After school》]
[ 『The event has been eliminated!』]
[ 《Play with Esme Bloodberry》]
[ 《Time: After school》]
[ //s_win]
[ “Ugh… Hee-eet…”]
[ After spewing out a rainbow once more, I quickly grabbed the showerhead and poured it on my head.]
[ What is this? There are no such events in Legend of Academy?]
[ From the beginning, how can an event be detected and then eliminated on its own?]
[ And eliminated? That’s the problem. Events are eliminated only when the favorability of a character or group goes completely negative, or when a choice made in a specific event is completely opposite to the nature of the detected event, right?]
[ For example, if I choose the Demon King route, I cannot get along well with Nikea. Because Murmur is plotting evil and terrible schemes in the Academy, Nikea and I can never become close.]
[ It’s like that, events that cannot be chosen are automatically ‘eliminated,’ right?]
[ “What… Ugh, what happened? Seriously.”]
[ //slw『A new event has been detected!』]
[ The status window appeared again.]
[ Are you just making fun of me? Are you happy to torment a soft little kid like me?!]
[ //s_win]
[ 《Talk with Colette Bloodberry》]
[ 《Time: Night》]
“Huh…?”
Why is this woman appearing now?
From the beginning, I’m still in the 5th grade of elementary school, right? Shouldn’t a woman who is only mentioned by name in the middle school chapter not appear?
She’s the woman who first appears as a plot point when Esme, who was completely defeated by Murmur, cries and shouts that she will tell her aunt.
“No… way.”
As the heat from my flushed horns disappeared, I felt my whole body freeze.
Colette Bloodberry was a member of the ‘Moonlight Dawn Society,’ a secret organization that was extremely prejudiced against demons and sought their extermination.
This woman is seriously trying to kill Murmur. She’s a dangerous woman with three related dead ends.
“Why is this happening? There’s no way this woman can meet me now?”
I felt the blood in my whole body freeze, but I had something more worrying than that.
* * *
“Murmur? Is something the matter?”
Nikea’s voice was very kind.
“I’m okay.”
“Really? Unlike yesterday, you haven’t eaten anything, have you?”
I was not in the mood to leisurely cut my steak or twirl my spaghetti with my fork held in reverse.
It would be nice if I could know exactly how the situation is turning out.
Should I use a little of Nikea’s power?
“I’m really okay. But Nikea, did you see Esme today?”
“Esme?”
“Since we became friends yesterday, I thought it would be nice to have breakfast together.”
Nikea blinked a few times, then gave me a very gentle smile.
“That’s a good idea. However, it might be difficult today?”
“Why?”
“Ah… I guess Murmur didn’t know? Yesterday, Esme’s aunt, Lady Colette Bloodberry, came to the Academy.”
What, that woman came to the Academy? There’s no reason for her to come?
“The reason…”
“She said she had some matters to investigate.”
“Ah, that’s right. Sometimes the Magica Kingdom sends people, so it’s not a special occasion. Colette is also scheduled to become the Minister of Magic soon.”
The Minister of Magic, a person who handles all matters related to magic in a country.
It was a position similar to a prime minister or a chancellor. She hasn’t taken that position yet! That woman.
“Then Esme will have a meal with her aunt?”
“Yes, that’s… Oh, she’s here?”
Nikea pointed to Esme, who was walking into the dining hall with a thud, with her left hand.
Esme, who had her brown hair tied into cute pigtails, came in with a cheerful face that made me think my worries were foolish, grabbed a plate, and piled up a lot of food.
And she sat down in her usual chair.
“Huh?”
No, she couldn’t sit down. Esme put her butt on the chair once, then jumped up in surprise, patted her waist with both hands, then sat down again, then got up again, and only after about three times did she barely perch on the chair.
The ‘pain’ that could be felt from her deeply frowning face meant that my worries were right.
“So that’s what happened.”
Colette Bloodberry is a woman obsessed with revenge.
No matter how much her 5th-grade niece says she has made a friend, nothing will change.
In the eyes of a rigid adult, a soft child is just flimsy, and they look at them with anxiety as if they were looking at a child left by the river.
There were quite a few events that had to be seen to succeed in persuasion and avoid dead events even in the high school chapter.
“Hoo…”
I can see the future that will come to me.
Esme Bloodberry will try to kill me.
In the original story, the motive was simple.
Because Esme kept failing the promotion exams. Because the demon, who was the enemy of her parents, was crushing her and succeeding, as people said. Because Aunt Colette kept pressuring her to become an excellent mage and gave her stress.
Jealousy.
Natural prejudice.
Resentment.
At the end of those numerous negative emotions, Esme Bloodberry openly tries to kill Murmur in the high school chapter.
And what gives wings to that action is none other than her aunt Colette Bloodberry, who has become the Minister of Magic. A trashy woman who tries to get a higher position in the Moonlight Dawn Society by getting her niece’s hands bloody.
“Let’s do it.”
This time it’s different.
Esme and I became friends, although it’s only at the first level of favorability.
Unlike the original story, there is no accumulated resentment. Just yesterday, we were even laughing and exchanging gifts, right?
From the beginning, Esme’s dead event could be avoided in the original story.
And.
I don’t like it.
An adult who forces a little kid to do what they want by even hitting their butt, I hated that even when I played the original story.
“I can do it…!”
“Murmur? Are you really okay?”
“Hup! Th, that’s… the novel I read yesterday was… interesting.”
Nikea snorted and chuckled, resting her chin on her hand as she looked at me.
Ah! Really! A child’s body is uncomfortable!