Chapter 130: Flower Arrangement Club (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 130: Flower Arrangement Club (2)
#Marie - I’m going to kill you, Adam Smith.
Rather than her actual name, Marie was becoming more accustomed to the name—or rather, the nickname(?)—"Fire Spammer" among those around her. She was lost in serious thought.
Should I just kill him?
For the sake of peace in the magical world, perhaps she really ought to kill Adam Smith.
The "Mage Hatred" Adam Smith had cultivated was no longer just a subtle undercurrent; it was spreading through the Academy in plain sight, to a degree that made her genuinely consider murder.
"Hmph. A mage, I see. Come at me."
A student from the Swordsmanship Department picked a fight with a passing mage. While such sights were becoming common, there was a problem.
"Aren't you a first-year?"
"I have no intention of treating a mage as my senior!"
The issue was that first-years were now taking that kind of attitude toward second-years.
And that wasn't all.
"Fire! I mean, Marie!"
"..."
Even among the girls who weren't exactly close but could be considered classmates, the nickname "Fire Spammer" was beginning to circulate.
If it was spreading even to the Magic Department students who had no reason to interact with Adam Smith, then those who frequently crossed paths with him—like the club members—went without saying.
...Should I really kill him?
She could tolerate being called a Fire Spammer. However, there was one thing she absolutely could not stand.
"..."
Marie stared blankly at Arwen, who was mindlessly poking flowers into a vase.
Her master, who was more precious to her than her own life, her most beloved existence, was broken.
She didn't even need to think about when it started.
It was the day he lost to Adam Smith.
Of course, the symptoms had worsened after the fight with that woman Daisy and the Dragonkin... but the fact remained that it all started with Adam Smith.
"I really should just get rid of him."
Marie couldn't help but ponder this seriously.
"What are you saying right in front of the person's face?"
She was pondering it so boldly that she said it right in front of the target!
"If you die, I'll probably be the culprit."
"...?"
"I'm going to kill you."
"Mister, what's wrong with her again?"
"Put your hand on your heart and think about it."
"I've done so many things, I wouldn't know where to start."
"Ah, so that's what you meant?"
Anger bubbled up again at the sight of Adam Smith tilting his head with his hand on his chest, but Marie had to shake her head and clear her mind at his following words.
"Anyway, to get to the point... though we've had some early guests, the list of heterogeneous species entering the Academy has been finalized."
Heterogeneous species.
At those words, Marie couldn't help but narrow her eyes.
"First, as expected for the Dwarves, there's Prince Alphonse and his guard..."
Mages didn't have a good image among other races. Because of that, Dale, known as the Kingdom of Magic, naturally had poor relations with various heterogeneous species.
At least things aren't too bad with the Dwarves.
The Dwarves occasionally sneaked into Dale to plunder rare ores, and since Dale usually overlooked it without making a fuss, their relationship had actually improved somewhat.
"And as for the Elves..."
The Elves were different.
Living in their forest with the World Tree, they still hissed at humans, and some would recoil in horror at the mere mention of Dale.
In a sense, when it came to Mage Hatred, they were on par with or even worse than Adam Smith!
For the sake of the Kingdom, I must get close to the Elves this time.
Marie steeled her resolve, hanging on every word Aeryun said.
The Elves were sending High Elves, who held a status similar to—no, even higher than—human royalty. And two of them, at that!
"And..."
The Beastkin were also a group Dale needed to befriend, but Marie quickly gave up on that.
"...They're actually coming?"
Adam Smith looked just as dumbfounded.
It was because one of the Beastkin coming to the Academy was an acquaintance of his.
It's already too late.
If they were a race close to Adam Smith, Mage Hatred would have already taken root.
Therefore, she decided to target the Elves—Dale's long-standing goal—who hadn't been "contaminated" by Adam Smith yet. But...
"Hmph. Typical Magic Spammer."
"...?"
"She's a Fire Spammer."
"Hmm. Is that so?"
"...?"
She really should have killed that bastard sooner.
Marie had no idea that she would be harboring such regrets in the near future.
The other races were arriving soon.
Even the doggy who had gone home was coming back.
"Hey, Loser."
"...I'll kill you, seriously."
However, the guest who had already arrived was more important than the ones yet to come. Even if his true nature was that of a Magic Spammer, he was still the royalty's ancestor.
"A person can lose sometimes. How long are you going to stay holed up in your room?"
"...No, stop making it sound like I'm moping because I lost! This is just a Dragon's habit!"
Staying holed up in a room is a Dragon's habit?
...Now that I think about it, that sounds plausible.
"How do you plan on attending the Academy?"
"...Honestly, I'm regretting it. How can anyone go to classes five days a week?"
I thought I only had to go for a day or two.
I shook my head as I watched the Super Fire Spammer Ancestor grumble.
"Do you want to drop out now?"
"...Should I?"
Seeing him blink and seriously consider it was absurd. Although he had completed the enrollment process, he wasn't officially starting until the second semester when the other races arrived.
"You haven't even attended a single proper class yet."
Thinking about dropping out before even taking one class. Why did he even come to the Academy?
"Honestly, do I even need to take human classes?"
It was a statement full of confidence and self-esteem, something a Dragon Descendant could certainly say, but...
"Saying that after losing to a human makes you look a bit pathetic."
"..."
Seeing him shut his mouth at my words, it seemed he wasn't entirely without a conscience.
"Th-that was because of the weapon difference! That thing is a total cheat!"
He wasn't wrong.
"I guess even Dragons can't overcome a weapon difference."
"..."
You're a Dragon by blood. You should be able to handle that much.
"And there's someone on the faculty who overcomes even that kind of weapon difference."
"...Is that possible? Is there a mage of that caliber?"
"Not a mage, a swordsman."
"...?"
"You're in the Swordsmanship Department."
"......Ah."
I shook my head at his "now I get it" expression. Even with Leon's blood flowing through him, his mindset was all wrong.
Nothing for it, then.
"It's not official yet, but why don't you go sit in on a class?"
I needed to wake up his swordsman's blood, not his Magic Spammer's blood.
Today was another day of anti-Daisy combat training.
"..."
"..."
I lightly ignored the intense gazes coming from both sides.
"An audit, huh?"
The important thing wasn't the student's opinion, but the professor's.
"Well, I suppose it's fine."
And the Sword Emperor, who was as generous as he was skilled, allowed the sword-wannabe-turned-mage to audit the class.
"Then, let's start with the freshman."
"...?"
No, maybe he just wanted to show a Magic Spammer the greatness of the sword.
"Gyaaaah!"
The Dragonkin, the so-called Dragon Descendant, let out a cry. It wasn't a roar of victory, but a simple scream from being beaten.
"Typical Magic Spammer."
"...?"
"Adam?"
What? What is it?
When I looked back with a defiant gaze, the Minor Sword Emperor and Prince Ellen looked like they had a lot to say, but they just turned their heads away.
"..."
Our Super... no, our Ancestor, who had just been thoroughly thrashed, gripped his sword with a sulky expression.
"I-if I could just use magic..."
"You used it and still lost."
"..."
"You can't even beat Daisy, so how do you expect to win?"
"Who even is that guy?"
Looking at the Ancestor, who was pouting like a child despite his age, I thought for a moment about how to explain.
"Roughly... someone similar to your father?"
"What?"
"The Sword Emperor. He's currently evaluated as the strongest swordsman among humanity."
Well, according to Boradori, there were others on a similar level in terms of pure skill. However, in terms of fame, reputation, and activity, no one surpassed the Sword Emperor. Even setting that aside, his skill was undeniably at the peak, so it wasn't an exaggeration.
"M-my dad is stronger."
He looked even more disgruntled at that, but there was no way to prove it. After all...
"There's no way to know that."
"What?"
"It's not like we can resurrect him to make them fight."
Well, Violet did mention a dark mage who could resurrect ancient beings later on, but even a Dragon Descendant shouldn't be breaking such taboos. So...
"If you want to prove it, defeat that man using the swordsmanship your father taught you."
"..."
At that, a fire lit up in the Ancestor's eyes. He looked like he might finally earn the title of "Ancestor Wannabe" instead of just "Super Fire Spammer." So, I decided to add more fuel to the fire.
"Because right now, you can't even beat a swordsman who shares the same roots as you."
Prince Ellen, who was thrown into the fray, was beaten like a dog by the Sword Emperor. As a bonus, I got thrashed too, but I decided to be satisfied since I planted an apple tree today.
#Daisy - A dream further away than world conquest.
Daisy had prepared with everything she had. She had studied under the former club president, who was last year's runner-up and was widely believed to have won if not for a sudden genius from the East!
—Anyone can make something flashy.
—The important thing is harmony. Not everyone needs to be the protagonist. The charm of flower arranging is making even a plain flower the star.
Bellian's style was elegance. He created works that weren't flashy but possessed an inescapable charm the more one looked at them, achieving harmony with modest flowers.
Daisy had been moved by it.
—Why didn't I know about this last year?!
She had blurted that out in admiration.
—Well, that's because we couldn't really do club activities...
—Ah!
Daisy couldn't say anything to Bellian's lamenting sigh, but...
President...
She closed her eyes and called out in her heart to Bellian, her senior and mentor.
What am I supposed to do about this...!
When Daisy cautiously opened her eyes, she saw an indescribable disaster.
"Hmm... not bad, right?"
It's bad...
Before her stood a vase filled only with flashy flowers. It wasn't beautiful; it was mind-boggling. If the title of the work was "Chaos," it might actually get a decent score. The problem was that this was one of the better ones.
"Hmm. It looks strong."
Why does a flower arrangement need to look strong...
There was a vase filled with gaping carnivorous plants.
"Sniff, sniff. Something smells weird."
That's because those are ingredients for narcotics...
Still, they were better than the people who were decorating vases with materials that would justify the Student Council or the Imperial Knights kicking down the door right this second!
Why, why did it turn out like this?!
Senior Bellian never taught me what to do in a situation like this!
The Flower Arrangement Club's conquest of the tournament... at this rate, that dream seemed even further away than the club's conquest of the world.