The Sleeping Devil

"I must take my leave here. I still need to soak in the bath tonight. Sheriel, well done, that was a beautiful water sphere. Goodnight."

Amidst the hustle and bustle in the corridor, Dior suddenly left the scene. She cares about me, but it seems she's solely interested in beauty.

"Mother, thank you for the lovely unveiling ceremony today. Goodnight."

Still nestled in Sergio's arms, I bid my goodnight while entering the domain of slumber. Dior elegantly nodded and disappeared into her room.

I still felt like I could hear Marcel's voice from the small hall, but it must be an illusion. Upon entering Sergio's study, the door was securely locked with both a physical key and soundproof magical devices. I wonder when I'll be allowed to sleep.

"Now then! Sheriel, what exactly did you do just now?"

"That... no matter how you ask me... I learned it from Professor Noah today."

"Sigh... So, does that mean he doesn't need an incantation either?"

"Yes."

Noah is indeed a bit of an odd kitty. He managed to successfully perform my baptism ceremony, even though nobody could figure out the cause of the failure. He can even change into a human form, and considering he's not your usual teacher, there's really no point in questioning him.

"You seem to completely lack understanding of the gravity of this situation. This is quite serious."

"Is that so? Professor Noah said that I would be able to do it with practice. I've managed to do it myself."

"Listen here. Magic is like a divine tool bestowed by the gods. Incantations, spells, chants, magic circles--these cannot be altered. Yet, you've fundamentally changed them. Do you understand? You've changed the very mechanism!"

When put that way, it sounded like a big deal, but I don't think it's all that complicated once you understand the mechanism. Besides, something's off. I can't quite grasp the reason everyone's so surprised, and I'm not entirely sure why there's such a discrepancy in perception.

Could it be that I'm being scolded for defying the gods and blaspheming? My confidence wavered a bit, and my voice became hesitant.

"I haven't changed the mechanism itself... I just altered the way a little, maybe."

"How did you do it?"

Hmm, he seemed interested after all. It appears that the Beriard family members are curious about things other than their usual obsessions.

"Um, in order to directly summon a phenomenon from the dimension where magic resides, you create another dimension within yourself and generate a magic circle there. But once you grasp the sense of that dimension, you can do it easily."

"Hmm, that's still quite confusing. It gets really messy towards the end."

"Sheriel, did he do something to you?"

Something, huh? It feels like everything related to magic is connected to Noah. Without much time to worry about whether I should be honest, I met Hermes' gaze and surrendered.

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"He blessed me, expanded the entrance of my magic, shared thoughts with me, and adjusted my magic, something like that."

"I only understand up to the point of the blessing. By the way, didn't we forget to ask how he blessed you? I totally forgot about Noah and Sheriel's remaining lifespan."

"Ah, I did ask. I didn't quite understand, though. Now that I think of it, that's also a modification of magic, isn't it?"

Sergio said it so nonchalantly that Didier trembled and clenched his fist to contain himself.

"Is that so? Understood, Your Grace. Um, should we have Noah explain it properly? Of course, I'll be present too. Leaving this matter entirely to you, Your Grace, might lead to Sheriel facing trouble without us realizing. And, by the way, what exactly has Grandfather been doing all this time?"

"I've decided not to interfere in this matter."

The male members of the Beriard family are starting to fall apart. If I can get Noah to explain, that would be ideal. But even if I try to explain, I still don't understand what's normal in this world, so I can't see what exactly needs to be explained. To me, the fact that water comes out by chanting a spell is also a puzzling phenomenon that's hard to explain.

"Really! If it's like this, I can't leave the academy in peace."

Originally, there's no class for the five days after the baptism ritual, so my next magic class should be three days later. But tonight, I plan to ask Noah if he can come again tomorrow.

"More importantly, what should we do about Marcel? This has become quite troublesome. Maybe we should just finish him off here?"

"Father, isn't Marcel your friend? If you kill him once, you won't be able to bring him back."

"He's not a friend. Well, it's true that I'm starting to get the feeling that he might cause even more trouble later."

Dangerous, dangerous. If someone were to die because of me, I'd probably dream about it every night. I vaguely remember that the magician sent for the baptism ritual usually attends the unveiling ceremony and stays overnight before leaving. So, Marcel will be leaving tomorrow.

"Is there no magic to erase memories?"

"Well, there's a magical tool that can read memories, but as for erasing them, even if there is, it's likely controlled by the royal family."

Hmm, Sergio was in the Royal Knights, so his information should be reliable. Maybe I should try hitting him a few times... I remembered Marcel's massive frame and instantly dismissed the idea of a physical attack.

For now, how about suggesting he leaves? The issue seems to be leaking out, but for me, the bigger challenge is avoiding that boar-like investigation.

"Could you create a reason for him to stay?"

"What? Set fire to the capital?"

"No, since Marcel will report back to his captain as long as he's alive, it will eventually lead to more trouble. Should we find something to hold over him and keep him silent?"

"Hmm, it seems it's not working after all. Everything seems to be quite complicated. Listening to both of you, it appears that it's less about the non-verbal casting itself being the issue, and more about the hassle of being pursued from various sides. In the end, everyone here seems to dislike trouble. It's quite surprising to find a sense of family bonds in a place like this."

"Father, at this point, why not just brush it off as a misunderstanding? Since you can surely command the castle's people to coordinate their stories?"

While I tried to suggest a peaceful solution, Hermes let out a slight cough.

"Sheriel, I'm a bit worried that this might affect Marcel's mental state. He could become paranoid and harbor impurity. Due to his single-mindedness, he might descend into darkness even further once he gets fixated."

I see, that makes sense. I thought it would be better than murder or attacking the capital, but Hermes seems to think that the suggestion might be a bit cruel to Marcel.

Ultimately, no good solution emerged, so we settled on keeping silent. Marcel probably won't leave until he confirms the truth of the situation, so the consensus is to wait and hear what Noah has to say. Honestly, everyone is tired of the trouble, so I've abandoned thoughts about Marcel.

Returning to my room, I suddenly felt relieved, and my stomach rumbled loudly. Speaking of which, I haven't really eaten much.

"Sheriel-sama, your meal is ready. I will bring it to you."

"Thank you. Have Mary join us."

"I'm grateful for the invitation, but as a servant, I'm not allowed to dine with the master. I appreciate it, but I will have my meal later."

No one was watching, so it should be fine. But after the baptism, I have to conduct myself formally as a noble. Even in private. It's necessary to maintain appearances behind the scenes. Various meat dishes that were served during the banquet were gradually brought in, along with bread and vegetable soup.

It seems Cork was aware of my hunger and had been waiting. Everything was freshly made and steaming.

"Cork seems to have mastered handling vegetables completely."

The vegetables' sweetness, the meat broth, and even the herb seasoning were perfectly done. As I ate while mumbling to myself, the window made a crisp sound.

"Meow."

"Oh, Professor Noah!"

It's the first time he's come while Mary was here, but maybe seeing him in humanoid form during the day has lessened her wariness.

"Eek... a black... cat..."

"It's cute, right? It's Professor Noah, my magic instructor. Actually, he's a kitty."

Opening the window and letting Noah in, he hopped onto an unoccupied chair and sat down elegantly. Mary still seemed uncomfortable with the black creature, so she kept some distance.

"Sheriel-sama, can magical beasts turn into humans?"

"Professor Noah is a magical cat who's good at magic. Cats that live for a long time can eventually transform into humans."

"This is the first time I've heard such a thing."

I wonder if such stories turn into ghost stories here. In this world, the only scary stories I've heard are about the Devil's Forest. Perhaps they don't spread stories that overly fuel children's fears.

"But, don't you think he's cute in this form? Being glossy and able to use magic, isn't that amazing?"

While still a bit bewildered, Mary nodded as if trying to keep up appearances and retreated to the corner of the room.

"Professor, good evening. Today, during the debut, I used a water orb, but things went awry because I didn't recite a spell."

Noah didn't seem to react, his nose sniffing at the assortment of meat on the table.

"Oh right, I forgot to bring meat. Mary, if there's any meat left, could you cook it without using salt and oil? Is that alright?"

"Yes, it's still the time for the servants' meals, so the kitchen is still operational. I'll be right back."

Hastily, Mary left the room, and while waiting for the professor's meal, we engaged in some conversation. As Noah was in his cat form, he couldn't talk, so it was mostly me talking.

"Professor, please wait a moment. So, about the non-verbal casting? Could you explain it to Father and Brother?"

"Meow."

"Is that alright? I'm sorry, I couldn't explain it well. I would be delighted if you could come again at lunch tomorrow."

Noah jumped off his seat and onto my lap. As I stroked from his head to his back, the velvety smoothness brought a sense of comfort.

"Hehe, with this appearance, you're quite a spoiled one. Well, cats are capricious, after all. You're so glossy tonight too."

While I feel like it's impolite to pet a cat while eating, it's break time now, so it should be fine. After a while, Mary brought in the meat, and when it was placed on the table, Noah started alternating between staring at the meat and me, as if trying to figure out if it's appropriate to eat.

"Go ahead, Professor. We haven't used any salt, so it should be safe even for a kitty like you. Please let it cool a bit before you eat."

Noah sniffed at the meat and, seemingly startled by the steam, blew a gust of air to quickly cool it down.

"See, Mary? Even though he's a kitty, he uses magic, right?"

"Yes, but using magic and turning into a person are different matters."

Ignoring our conversation, Noah continued to devour the meat with gusto. I continued my meal after having my hands washed again.

"Professor, speaking of which, magical beasts don't use incantations, right? So, do you know a method to not use incantations?"

He pounded his tail on the table and still seemed deeply engrossed in the meat.

Finally, I realize the source of the uneasiness I felt earlier. Right, I've been watching Noah, in his cat form, summoning light. Guri-chan and Kurumi use magic without chanting spells.

Hence, I didn't have a sense that magic requires incantations.

"I see, that clears things up. So, everyone is just under the impression they can't do it. Professor, please help us tomorrow. It's difficult for me to explain alone."

Noah made a small meow, showing interest in the hot milk Mary brought.

"My goodness, Professor, are you listening? You said you didn't need milk at lunch. I'll put it in a small dish so it cools down. Please drink it once it's cooled."

Pouring half of the hot milk into a small dish, I offered it to Noah. He blew another gust of air and started licking it.

Truly capricious. But that's what's charming about cats.

As he sipped the cooled hot milk, I talked to him about tonight's debut party.

And the next day, Noah didn't appear even after noon.

This is why cats are like this...