"What?! You were attacked on your way home?!" (Mitsuha)
Stunned.
A lady was stunned[1]!
Is this a luxury ice cream?!
Katie and Lorena also widened their eyes in shock.
…no, no.
No, no, no, no, no!
Why did I rent a property so close to the academy…
And in exchange for a single insect never seen on Earth, I believe I borrowed special equipment from a certain country's intelligence department...no, no, I think I borrowed special equipment from someone in the intelligence department!
Ah, for some reason, when I said "Intelligence department," those people always said, "It's Information Department!" they would correct me, which made me quite annoyed…
It wouldn't change much….
Besides, if anything, "intelligence" seemed to be more advanced and valuable than "information" …but no, that's not important!
Anyway, this was an outrageous story that Haruka-chan reported to me after Haruka-chan and Shinobu-chan left after being picked up.
"…details!" (Mitsuha)
Naturally, I asked for a detailed explanation.
Hmmmm….
Fortunately, he was just a snatcher… If he made a slight mistake, it would have been considered robbery with assault, a heinous crime… but what if this had been a pervert or a street thug, or a kidnapping to grasp the weakness of me (Nanoha) the princess of another world?
No, no, no, no!!
"Why do you keep your security equipment in a place where you can't use it right away? Besides, you said you're learning self-defense so you can dodge the first blow of a single amateur!!" (Mitsuha)
"…sorry…." (Sabine)
Ah, damn it!
Although Sabine-chan was a strong-willed girl, she was only 11 years old, and she was a princess who had been raised a great with care.
No matter how much self-defense she had learned, it was training for a princess, so she must had been practicing with a warm-hearted practice partner who had no murderous intent or even an ounce of hostility or malice.
Besides, if you were suddenly hit when you thought you were safe, there was no way you could react immediately. Even I couldn't do anything about it.
Shinobu-chan was able to react, that was abnormal….
However, out of anger, I yelled at Sabine-chan….
And, even though I knew that my words were unreasonable, she also knew that it was because I was worried about Sabine-chan and Colette-chan, so instead of saying anything back, she looked down with a tearful face and apologized.
…it was my fault….
"…I’m sorry…. I should be the one apologizing…. I should had consulted with them more about how to wear the equipment. I didn't really understand either, so I just explained how to use it and didn't really think about how to equip it…. Besides, no one here would be alarmed if a stranger walked by within a few tens of centimeters. That's what I explained to you. Even the most pro-level person would find it impossible to handle someone who suddenly charges at them with something like that. Sorry, I said something unreasonable…." (Mitsuha)
Sabine-chan shook her head in response to my apology.
"No, that's not true! Mitsuha-nee-sama is thinking about us and is taking sufficient… a little excessive… consideration when it comes to safety! It's my fault for not making good use of it…." (Sabine)
…it was not like the study abroad in Japan could be canceled if she did something wrong.
Sabine-chan looked really apologetic.
Colette-chan was also depressed.
She seemed to be thinking that, a commoner, should had acted as a shield and protected Sabine-chan….
"Colette-chan, this time I'm not sending you to study abroad with Sabine-chan to protect her. Sabine-chan will be a princess who will work for the country in the future, and Colette-chan is a vassal who will support the Yamano Viscounty. Therefore, I'm sending both of you abroad to study. So when you're in Japan, your status in your home country doesn't matter! I told you to act on an equal footing, as sisters. One reason is to avoid any suspicion from your classmates, but..." (Mitsuha)
Having said that, I thought Colette-chan would try to protect Sabine-chan even if it means sacrificing herself. Like when she protected me from an imperial assassin….
And that was not because I was a commoner and Sabine-chan was a princess.
Even if the other person was a commoner she had never met, Colette-chan's behavior wouldn't change.
…it could not be helped. No matter how much I said it, it would be pointless.
After all, she's "Colette-chan"….
Well, let's all talk a bit tonight, including Katie and Lorena.
It would be late to send Katie, who I brought over as temporary help, but since she could have dinner here and it will extend the time that will be covered by my travel allowance, I didn't think that Katie would complain.
Maybe I made the conditions for the travel allowance a little too good….
Third person view
As Sabi-Colé duo were walking down the hallway of the academy, a girl from the class next to them spoke to them.
…in fast-paced English.
Apparently, she lived abroad for a long time due to his parents' work, and her conversational skills were on par with native speakers.
Upon hearing that there was a daughter of a noble family from another country in the class next door, perhaps she thought she might try to get closer to her by using her good language skills...
That feeling was understandable.
It's understandable, but….
"I'm sorry. We can't speak English as well as we can in Japanese. I can speak reasonably well, but when someone speaks so fast, I have a hard time hearing and hearing…
Also, we came here to learn Japanese and about Japan, so please speak to us in Japanese." (Sabine)
The girl from the class next door, who seemed to have returned from overseas, was devastated when Sabine-chan said that.
For some reason, when Japanese people saw someone from another country who looked like a Westerner, they tended to assume that the other person was a native English speaker.
There were many languages in the world such as French, German, Spanish, Italian, and many others…
Furthermore, there were people who looked like Westerners but were actually born and raised in Japan and could only speak Japanese, often in Kansai dialect.
Well, since she was still in elementary school, it couldn't be helped that she didn't have enough life experience…
"I-I'm sorry!" (Girl)
If you think about it, it might have been extremely rude to assume that the other person was from an English-speaking country and start talking to them in English. Perhaps that was an act that made fun of the other people's homeland and their native language….
When the girl realized this, she was embarrassed and blushed at first, but then quickly turned pale.
If a noble thought his country was made fun of….
Sabine-chan smiled at the girl who looked like she was about to cry.
"No, I guess you thought we were tired from talking so much in inconvenient Japanese, so you tried to talk to us in our native language, which we are used to. Unfortunately, our native language is not English, but… Your kindness is clearly conveyed to me." (Sabine)
"Eh……" (Girl)
Upon hearing Sabine-chan's words, tears slowly formed in the corner of the girl's eyes.
The students around her were impressed by Sabine's thoughtfulness.
(…okay, this will definitely increase my favorability!) (Sabine's mind)
It was a good scene, but it was ruined by Sabine-chan's inner voice….
After that, in the classroom…
"So, you two can speak your native language, Japanese, and even some English?"
"Yeah. Oh, and I can also speak the languages of countries that have hostile relations with our country. Among them, English is the weakest. The enemy's words were, well, it was a matter of life and death (I couldn't get Mitsuha to take me to the new continent), so I did my best. I studied Japanese very hard because it's absolutely necessary for watching anime and reading manga." (Sabine)
"Ah~…." (Classmates)
If that's the case, it's only natural that English would be the last thing to learn.
It also explained why she chose to study in Japan rather than the UK or the US.
…everyone was generally understood.
She was cute, smart, and had a good personality, and she was currently quadruple-lingual, speaking four languages, and would continue to learn more and become a multilingual person.
(You're a winner in real life!!) (Classmates' mind)
Everyone thought like that, but since she was the daughter of a noble, she was already a super winner.
Furthermore, Colette-chan had superhuman strength.
It felt like she might be able to compete in a big weightlifting competition in the future….
And there were many other sports where you could make use of your super strength.
Even if something were to happen and we ended up living on Earth, neither of them would have much of a problem making ends meet.
Knowledge of the languages of the other world would be wasted, but if you could speak English and Japanese, and had this brain and good looks, you would be able to do a variety of jobs.
A huge winner.
That position seemed unshakable.
Author's Note
On Thursday, March 2nd, Volume 8 of "Roukin" and Volume 9 of "Potion" will be released!
Thank you for your support! (^^)/
And then, my work "I Shall Survive Using Potions!" has been decided to be made into an anime!!
It was announced on February 24th, my birthday.
So far, I have written three works, all of which have been made into books, comics, and anime.
3 hits, 3 home runs. (^^)/
This is all thanks to all our readers.
Thank you very much!!
Also, I would like to thank you for your support of the anime currently being broadcast on TV, "Saving 80,000 Gold in Another World for My Retirement"! (^^)/
Translation Note
[1] 淑女呆然
(redii boozen, it should be "shukujo bouzen" but the author used "lady" instead of "shukujo"); there's a brand of ice cream "Lady Borden" (レディーボーデン)
Edit History
10 Oct 2023: improved readability.
21 Aug 2024: just found out what the "Ice cream" pun is.