Chapter 46
Chapter 46
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 46
Chapter Title: The Reluctant Trip to the Conference
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46
6
“The weather’s nice….”
The returning weekend was so clear it made one reluctant to see spring go.
The sky was blue, the sunlight warm, and with summer approaching, it was cozy to the point of being slightly hot.
In short, it was perfect weather for a stroll.
For once, there were no incidents or appointments.
After spending weekdays busy with sword training, dimensional magic practice, lectures, and assignments, today I could afford to relax.
Come to think of it, there hadn’t been a single peaceful weekend since possessing this world.
You cruel villains, at least distinguish between weekdays, weekends, and holidays for your evil deeds.
Even you should rest on weekends.
Anyway, it was a rare day off.
There couldn’t be greater happiness than this.
With no assignments to handle, I was leisurely strolling with Choco.
Perhaps because of the fine weather, Choco’s steps were lighter than usual today.
“What should we have for lunch?”
Naturally, Choco didn’t answer.
But wagging its tail side to side, it seemed excited.
It’s all about eating and living, after all. Food really is the best.
Lobster was a letdown, so let’s go with meat today.
“Oh, Student Theo.”
Someone called me during the pleasant walk.
It was Bailey, wearing a scarf for some reason in this season.
“Hello, Professor Bailey.”
“Where are you headed?”
“No, just taking a walk since it’s the weekend.”
“Any appointments?”
“Appointments?”
I had none today.
I was thinking of grabbing lunch like this, then leisurely heading out with Choco to use those meal vouchers from last time.
If you count that as an appointment, then maybe.
I knew right away I’d made a mistake.
Bailey’s eyes sparkled eagerly.
Ah, right.
This guy… he’d asked me to go to the conference on the weekend, hadn’t he…?
I’d completely forgotten amid my busy schedule….
“Looks like you don’t have any plans. Shall we head to the conference together?”
See that.
The moment an opportunity arises, he latches on…!
Damn, failure.
I should’ve flatly refused when he first suggested it.
Because he’s a nice person, I tried to politely decline and dug my own grave.
“Ah~ The appointment I mentioned is with my house raccoon.”
I picked up Choco.
Choco, dragged out unexpectedly, first raised one front paw.
“Planning a little outing?”
“Yeah, something like that. Thinking of heading into town together.”
“Perfect then. The conference allows companion animals. Wouldn’t it like seeing a new place?”
“Well…. Whether Choco would like a new place….”
The Choco shield isn’t working.
A lance forcing its way through and a shield desperately blocking.
Amid this clash of the century, the scarf around Bailey’s neck twitched.
The scarf lifted its head.
Looking closely, it was a snow-white mink.
“Ah, this is Vanilla, the mink I raise. We attend the conference together every time.”
“You wear a mink like a scarf…?”
“It likes it that way. It’s getting a bit hot now, but it’s warm in winter.”
Doesn’t that seem off somehow?
I barely managed to keep my expression from twisting.
Around then, Choco and Vanilla, who had locked eyes, started growling at each other.
Their names sound like a perfect match.
Especially as the two great mountains of ice cream flavors.
“…Seeing how they don’t get along, accompanying each other might be tough.”
But this was an opportunity.
Use it as an excuse to escape.
I pulled on the thread of hope with all my might.
“Vanilla, then that won’t do.”
But hope was false.
At Bailey’s words, Vanilla rolled its eyes but stopped growling.
Then it wrapped around Bailey’s neck like a scarf and behaved obediently.
“There, all good?”
“…….”
That’s not it?
No matter how I looked, there was no escape.
In the end, my vision went dark….
7
The scenery of Esset city streets flashed by quickly outside the window.
Finding it fascinating, Choco stood on its hind legs, completely plastered to the window.
It must be its first time on a train.
I wanted to enjoy Choco’s puppy-like reaction, but… looking around made it hard to relax.
The conference Bailey mentioned was held in Winnizden, quite a distance from Esset.
Winnizden was a city that took nearly half a day even by train.
Considering the time, taking the train was obvious.
However, we were riding in first class, no less.
Top-grade facilities for privacy: seats more like beds than chairs, and exaggerating a bit, rivaling a decent suite room.
In fact, it wasn’t chairs lined up in rows.
Two facing sofas formed a single room, essentially renting out the whole compartment.
Of course, the price matched the quality—insanely expensive.
Even in the game, I only rode it in the mid-to-late game when I was fairly wealthy.
Well, back then, most train travel time was skipped, so no need to splurge.
Anyway, buying two first-class tickets showed Bailey was clearly quite wealthy.
Thanks to that, my body would be comfortable even on a long train ride.
My mind was a bit uneasy, but… giving up would make it easier.
It was already too late.
Let’s cleanly give up.
I sank into the plush, comfy seat.
Doing this, it actually felt like a train trip—not bad.
Just then, the view outside shifted from Esset’s cityscape to racing through nature.
I resolved to enjoy the train ride and behave at the conference.
With that pledge, I stroked Choco’s head as it climbed onto my lap.
Knock knock.
Along with a polite knock, in came the snack cart.
A friendly attendant asked if we needed anything.
Ah, the snack cart.
A relic of bygone eras, long vanished into history’s back pages.
I’d never seen one myself, but I knew train trips boasted the ancient tradition of boiled eggs and cider.
“It’s a long ride, so snacking’s nice. Anything you want?”
Bailey asked with a bright smile.
Since I was dragged here, snacks should be fine.
Let’s conscientiously pick just three.
“Three kinds of Jean Polgaré macarons, potato chips with ground ash-gray truffle, and Mirror Desert saffron candy. That’ll do.”
From the macarons made by royal pâtissier Jean Polgaré himself, to potato chips with whole ground ash-gray truffles—one of the three great delicacies here—and even candy with Mirror Desert saffron, pricier than gold.
Desserts costlier than a full meal.
But considering a professor’s salary, no burden at all.
Indeed, Bailey nodded a couple times.
“You picked all the tasty ones.”
“Here are your three ordered items. And this….”
The attendant carefully brought out what I ordered.
Then, hiding evident fluster, pointed at Choco.
Before I knew it, Choco had climbed down from my lap and was hugging a pile of dried fruits and jerky….
“Choco, you can’t eat all that.”
Shake shake.
“Not shaking your head—you’ve got more stomach than that, I said…?”
Shake shake.
As if mastering a new trick, Choco kept shaking its head vigorously.
“If it wants to eat, let it. That enough?”
“Yes…?”
“Looks sufficient.”
Bailey paid cheerfully without even checking the price of Choco’s haul.
Choco, plopped amid the snack pile unexpectedly, grinned proudly.
Damn, unintentionally racking up a debt of gratitude….
“By the way, any dinner preferences?”
“No, nothing in particular.”
I’d prefer academy food if possible.
But my hopes shattered miserably not even 10 seconds later.
“Then look forward to it. I reserved the tastiest place in Winnizden.”
Reserved?
From Esterro Academy to being dragged onto this train, Bailey had been with me the whole time.
No chance to book a restaurant—when exactly…?
Don’t tell me he planned this even before bumping into me…?
8
“Ugh….”
Stepping off the train naturally prompted a stretch.
Winnizden, reached after the long journey, was truly a city of magic.
Buildings towered higher than anything in Esset, evoking a modern skyscraper forest, yet people flew freely on broomsticks between them.
Not just that—floating trams ran at ground level, owls with mail bags flew low, and golems half human-size cleaned the streets. It was like the crossroads of fantasy and sci-fi.
The tall tower visible amid the high-rises was the Third Magic Tower’s core—realistically, the entire city could be seen as the Magic Tower.
Thus, not just anyone could enter.
Glancing around, most were Magic Tower wizards carrying staves or brooms.
Their attire varied widely, though.
From classic wide-brim hats and robes to outfits straight out of modern British gentleman fashion.
A mix of eras and fantasy from any angle.
That was the Third Magic Tower’s city, Winnizden.
“What do you think? Impressive, right? Everyone’s amazed their first time here.”
“Understandably. Only Winnizden can maintain large-scale multi-barriers over the whole city at all times.”
Protective barriers, of course, plus complex ones for public order blanketed everything.
No wonder they say in Winnizden, barriers detect crime faster than guards arrive.
No exaggeration.
Among the flying owls were magically engineered automata surveilling the ground, and the cleaning golems linked to barriers functioned as security components.
One misstep and it’d be prime dystopia material.
If someone just built a Big Brother….
The chance of that was infinitesimally low.
Winnizden was a city of magic, by magic, for magic.
It embraced any change for researching and developing magic, but any regulation or suppression of magic, even slightly, would rouse the whole city.
“Alright, still time before the conference. Shall we shop for clothes first?”
“Clothes?”
“Conference has a dress code. Didn’t bring luggage, so need something to change into, right?”
“No need to go that far for me….”
“Nah, I brought you, so I’ll take responsibility. Come on, I know a good shop.”
Bailey led the way, ignoring further objections.
Those light steps… made me suspect the whole thing was planned.
At least intentional, for sure.
Psychological debt sometimes weighs more than real money.
Since it can’t be measured or cut down.
From train snacks to clothes, even dinner.
Each piling up, I already dreaded how much obligation would accumulate.
Different from Edmund, but scary in his own way.
No paradise at the end of fleeing a fox.
I avoided one tiger only to run into another….