Seventh Daughter 2-21

 

Chapter 2-21 : Cleaning Up The Flowerbeds

 

「P, Professor Sabine, can you make my certificate of penalties float a little bit lower? Everyone is watching!」(Mylia)

「Be quiet. I’m focusing.」(Sabine)

「O… Okay…」(Mylia)

「It’s quite difficult to make it stop fluttering… If I strengthen up my gravity magic, it will go higher….. I need to pull both sides with gravity magic, but….. Mumumu….!」(Sabine)

「…Umm… Professor?」(Mylia)

「I said be quiet.」(Sabine)

「Alright…」(Mylia)

「………Mumumumu………. Kaahhhー! This is too hard, I can’t do it! Dammit!」(Sabine)

Prof. Sabine who kept trying while groaning for a few minutes finally gave up.

「Oi, Dragon Slayer, how could you even imagine a gravity force pulling the banner to the side yesterday?」(Sabine)

As she said that, Prof. Sabine swung her wand, and then Mylia’s certificate of penalties fell slowly into Mylia’s chest.

Mylia then hurriedly put it in her magic bag.

「Professor, you’re terrible! If you want to experiment, please use another piece of paper! Geez!」(Mylia)

Mylia puffed her cheeks.

After noticing why Mylia was angry, Prof. Sabine put her wand on her belt and looked at Mylia with an apologetic face.

「A, Ahaha… Did someone see it?」(Sabine)

「Yeah, some people saw it. You embarrassed me.」(Mylia)

「I’m sorry. When it comes to experimenting with magic, I can’t see anything else around me. As an apology, I will help you clean up the flowerbeds.」(Sabine)

「Eh? Really!?」(Mylia)

Mylia immediately forgave her. She was truly a simple girl.

「We have only thirty minutes left until breakfast. Let’s do it quickly.」(Sabine)

「Okay!」(Mylia)

「Can you explain more about “vector” when we’re working?」(Sabine)

（Master never told me not to teach others about magic. Besides, I’m planning to teach Aria-san too, so…）

「No problem!」(Mylia)

Mylia took some cleaning tools from the closet nearby and started cleaning the flowerbeds with Prof. Sabine.

 

◯◯◯

 

There were many things to keep in mind when cleaning up the flowerbeds.

For example, the light blue lavender, Aqua Sophia, was particularly difficult to take care of. Because it was a special lavender species that grew in the seashore, a flowerbed filled with seawater was required to grow it.

A few years ago, Aqua Sophia was replaced by ordinary lavender because growing flowers in seawater was too troublesome, but thanks to a genius student from the Industrial Department who developed a seawater circulation device, they could grow Aqua Sophia again.

（Hee… so every morning someone has to put magical power into this device to remove contaminants…）

「Hey, your hands stopped moving.」(Sabine)

「Ah, I’m sorry.」(Mylia)

After being told by Prof. Sabine, Mylia continued removing soil and fallen leaves that were floating on the water around the Aqua Sophia flowers with a net. Because the device couldn’t remove such things, she had to do it manually.

While they were working, Prof. Sabine kept asking Mylia questions about “vector”.

Mylia tried to explain but it made Prof. Sabine even more confused.

（Hahh… Why is teaching people things so difficult? I wonder if I’ll be able to teach Aria-san magic…）

 

◯◯◯

 

After cleaning the three other flowerbeds, the sound of the school bell was heard.

「Alright, we’re done for today.」(Sabine)

「Phew~ They look much cleaner now.」(Mylia)

The flowers looked beautiful from the beginning, but thanks to both of them the flowerbeds and the cobblestone paths in the courtyard were free of dust.

「Your explanation was confusing, but I think it’s interesting. Anyway, please do the same work from tomorrow on. I will help you if I have free time.」(Sabine)

「Un! Thank you, Professor!」(Mylia)

「Fufu. Now I know why her older sister loves her so much.」(Sabine)

Prof. Sabine murmured to herself.

She thought Mylia’s innocent smile was cute, but it made her worried about Mylia’s future. She usually didn’t interfere with other people’s business, but somehow she could imagine bad aristocrats would take advantage of Mylia in the future, and she couldn’t ignore it.

「Professor? Did you say something?」(Mylia)

「Nothing. If you have any problems, don’t hesitate to consult with me. Also, there’s one more thing I need to tell you.」(Sabine)

「What is it?」(Mylia)

「It’s about a Magic Department teacher who is in charge of Rose Maria, Professor Caroline. Do you have some kind of connection with her?」(Sabine)

「Professor Caroline…?」(Mylia)

（Ah, she must be the witch-like teacher I met at the entrance ceremony.）

Prof. Sabine looked at Mylia with a serious expression.

「Look at that bay window of Roze Maria tower.」(Sabine)

「Hm?」(Mylia)

Mylia glanced at Roze Maria dormitory tower and saw Prof. Caroline looking at Mylia and Prof. Sabine from a bay window with eyes as if she wanted to curse them.

Prof. Caroline then noticed Mylia’s glance and went to the back.

（Uwahh… She looks so scary… She’s like a typical villain in a magical girl themed anime…）

「You have to be careful with that person. She will definitely punish you as soon as she finds you causing trouble. She is a very strict teacher, but the way she treated you at the entrance ceremony was too much. I have a feeling she’s hiding something. Do you by any chance know why she hates you?」(Sabine)

「I just met her for the first time yesterday, so… I really have no idea…」(Mylia)

「Hmm… Perhaps I should try to find out what she’s up to.」(Sabine)

Seeing Mylia’s worried face, Prof. Sabine patted Mylia’s head.

「Don’t worry, you’ll be fine. First, you should get used to life here at school. Make friends and have fun, will ya?」(Sabine)

「Un, you’re right!」(Mylia)

「Good. Anyway, today’s cleaning is over but you still have to do it for the remaining six days. Don’t slack off, okay?」(Sabine)

「I won’t….. Probably…」(Mylia)

「Hm?」(Sabine)

「N, Nothing.」(Mylia)

「….So, do you have any questions?」(Sabine)

When Prof. Sabine asked that, Mylia recalled a question she couldn’t solve in Daemon’s Map.

「I have a question but it has nothing to do with cleaning up the flowerbeds.」(Mylia)

「It’s okay. What is it?」(Sabine)

「Are there only three types of coins: bronze, silver and gold in this kingdom?」(Mylia)

Mylia was thinking that Prof. Sabine might be able to give her a hint to answer question vertical number 1, which was “100 bronze coins equals 1 silver coin. 10 silver coins equals 1 gold coin. 10 bronze coins equals one ▢▢▢▢▢▢ coin.”

（It’s safe if I don’t ask the exact same question, right?）

The rule was not to ask the same questions as the ones in the map. If Mylia did, those questions would be changed into other questions automatically, and if she did it three times she would lose ownership of the map.

（If the question changed after this, I should stop asking others even with different questions…）

「Coins? Why are you asking about coins all of a sudden?…. Ah, you got the Daemon’s Map from the school director, didn’t you? I see now.」(Sabine)

Prof. Sabine nodded and took some money out of her magic bag.

「Look. Other than bronze, silver and gold coins, there are large gold coins.」(Sabine)

She showed four kinds of coins in her hand to Mylia.

「There’s one more. They’re called “sacred gold coins”.」(Sabine)

「Sacred…?」(Mylia)

「Yeah, their value is higher than large gold coins. Unfortunately, I don’t have one. Normally, that unit of money is used in transactions between wealthy merchants or aristocrats.」(Sabine)

「I see…」(Mylia)

「Oh, right. Actually, there were small silver coins, but we stopped using them ten years ago.」(Sabine)

「Small silver coins!?」(Mylia)

Hearing those words, Mylia immediately started counting with her fingers.

（Small, sil, ver, co, in, s. Six characters! This is the answer!）

*/ Katakana for Small silver coins is ショウギンカ (shouginka). Six characters.

「Professor, thank you very much!」(Mylia)

「Fufu. Don’t push yourself too hard to solve it, okay? I remember my grades dropped so badly because of that map.」(Sabine)

「Eh? You were once an owner too?」(Mylia)

「Yeah, I was a student in this school, you know? Well, we can talk about it later.」(Sabine)

Prof. Sabine pushed Mylia’s back.

「Now, you should go have breakfast before there’s nothing left to eat.」(Sabine)

「Aa! That would be very bad! Let’s hurry to the cafeteria!」(Mylia)

「Nah, I’m not going. I drank too much last night, so I don’t feel like having breakfast right now.」(Sabine)

「Eh!? I can’t believe there’s a person who skips breakfast. Professor, listen, having breakfast is the most important thing to do before you start your activities for the day. When I was at home, I had to eat black bread as breakfast. Given that, you’re lucky to be able to eat delicious food here, so you have no excuse not to have breakfast! Ahh~ I wonder what kind of breakfast they will provide~」(Mylia)

「But…」(Sabine)

「Come on! Let’s hurry!」(Mylia)

Mylia grabbed Prof. Sabine’s hand and pulled it.

She looked like a cute small animal while doing that. It made Prof. Sabine smile.

「Alright, alright. I’m going, so stop pulling.」(Sabine)

「By the way, do they usually prepare vegetables and fruits as well?」(Mylia)

「Yeah, there are vegetables and fruits every morning. I never eat them though.」(Sabine)

「Really!? I will cry if they run out! Let’s run!」(Mylia)

「Geez, why are you so pushy?」(Sabine)

「I’m super pushy when it comes to food! Ah, by the way, my favorite food is yakiniku!」(Mylia)

「Who cares!?」(Sabine)

The two started running through the courtyard.

Because Prof. Sabine was way taller than Mylia, she didn’t have to use too much energy to catch up with Mylia.

The cafeteria was on the first floor of the main castle which was in the center of the academy.

While running, Prof. Sabine remembered something and grinned at Mylia.

「Ah, I almost forgot… There’s something I have to tell you. Phu, phu.」(Sabine)

For some reason, Prof. Sabine giggled as she said that.

「What’s wrong?」(Mylia)

「After this, make sure you put your certificate of penalties on the bulletin board in your dormitory.」(Sabine)

「….Eh?」(Mylia)

Mylia suddenly stopped running and stared blankly into space.

「Wha… What did you say…? Are you telling me to expose my own failure to everyone…?」(Mylia)

「Yeah. I feel bad for exposing it to people earlier, but in the end you have to show your certificate of penalties to everyone. Phu!」(Sabine)

「Seriously…? But why do I have to do that in the first place!?」(Mylia)

Mylia crouched while holding her head.

While holding her laughter, Prof. Sabine patted Mylia’s head.

「Well, that’s the rule. Don’t worry. On the bulletin board, there’s the announcement of you getting a star badge from the queen for killing an elder dragon. You can put your certificate of penalties near it so that you don’t feel too embarrassed. Just think of it as a life experience.」(Sabine)

「But…! Ughh… Maybe you’re right… Besides, some people have already seen it…」(Mylia)

Mylia decided to accept it and stood up.

「Phu…! In the history of this school, you’re the first student who got a star badge before enrollment and got a penalty on the first day. I couldn’t believe there would be a student who got a reward and punishment at the same time on her first day at school. That’s so hilarious. Phu…! Bwahahahaha! Dammit, I can’t hold it any longer! Haaahahahaha!」(Sabine)

「Geez! How can a teacher laugh at her student like that!? You’re so rude!」(Mylia)

After yelling at Prof. Sabine, Mylia continued running toward the main castle.

Prof. Sabine followed her while holding her stomach, laughing so hard.

 

 

*TL : What a funny teacher

 

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