“So that’s my situation, and I’m currently wandering around town looking for someone I can call my teacher. And while I was looking, I found you. This is fate. Just three days will be enough, so I want you to become my teacher.”
The girl appeared in front of me right after I passed through the gate into the city.
This is a slight digression, but I do occasionally run into people who target travelers ignorant of the circumstances in their city and try to rip them off with some ridiculous scheme.
For that reason, I’m fairly wary of people who come up to talk to me right after I enter a new place.
“I see.”
I was curious about the girl who had suddenly appeared before me and casually introduced herself as Crechill or something. And because I was curious, I found myself lending an ear to her life story, which she launched into all on her own.
According to her, she apparently had a rival.
Well, in short, to sum up the story she told me…
“You lost big, so now you want to retaliate, is that it?”
That’s about what it came down to.
Crechill was standing in front of me wearing clothes that were covered in mud and filth. Though she was standing beneath a sunny sky, her whole body was filthy all over, as if she had plunged headfirst into a mud puddle.
Since she was out there looking like that and begging me to become her teacher, it was easy enough to guess the outcome of her duel or whatever.
“Heh-heh-heh. That’s just the kind of insight I would expect.”
“I just said my reaction to what I’m seeing.”
“No, you misunderstand, Lady Witch. I’m praising myself for taking such an insightful witch for my teacher.”
“……”
“That’s just what I would expect from me… It’s not for nothing that I’m known as the embodiment of the phrases accomplished in both the literary and military arts, attractive face and figure, and gifted with both intelligence and beauty.”
Are you sure you’re not the embodiment of narcissism?
Practically every word she said sounded like boasting. This girl, Crechill, seemed to be incredibly prideful. It made me feel sort of embarrassed, like I was looking at a former version of myself.
“But I think it’s pretty questionable to say you’re accomplished in both the literary and military arts when you were entirely defeated by your rival.”
“Humph. Don’t get the wrong idea, Lady Witch. I wasn’t entirely defeated at all.”
“Are you sure about that?”
“If anything, this time was a narrow loss. I just couldn’t quite get fired up for the fight, so I happened not to win this time, that’s all, and actually, come to think of it, I haven’t had anything to eat all day, so one cause of my loss was being so hungry, and also, I was worried about whether or not I had locked my door, so I couldn’t really focus on the match, which also had a big effect on the outcome this time. If you put it all together, my loss was just a fluke. It’s certainly not because I’m weak. You got that, Lady Witch?”
“You talk really fast.”
“Anyway, it just so happened that this time I wasn’t feeling well, that’s all, Lady Witch. I wouldn’t be such a sorry sight normally.”
“Oh, is that so?” I asked. “By the way, what’s your record like in your fights against your rival?”
You said that in total, you’ve had forty-two duels, so even assuming you lost this one, what percentage of those duels have you won?
“Let me see, well, to put it mildly, in forty-two duels, I have suffered forty-two losses.”
“Are you sure you know what putting it mildly means?”
You’ve lost every last duel, haven’t you?
“But I want to mark our forty-third duel with a triumphant finish, Lady Witch.”
“Huh…”
I suppose that’s why you were deliberately seeking out a witch.
More importantly, this girl is really convinced she’s a genius despite her record of failure.
“Uh-oh, Lady Witch, you just thought, ‘She’s really convinced she’s a genius despite her record of failure,’ didn’t you?”
“That’s incredible. That is exactly, word for word, what I was just thinking.”
“Do you know why that is?”
“It must be because you’re shameless.”
“It’s because I think the same thing, too, every time I lose!”
“So you’ve been crying behind your thick mask of shamelessness…”
Now, I knew there was no way this girl truly thought she was a genius. Her words of praise for herself seemed to be about eighty percent in jest.
I was very familiar with people who tended to say and do things that seemed crazy like that.
Who on earth could that be referring to?
That’s right, it’s me.
“But I’m not sure it’s a good idea to get too hung up on wins and losses. You’re not a child.”
“Please don’t say such insensitive things, Lady Witch. Do you really mean to mock those of us who live our lives dedicated to competition?”
“Do you really think your struggle against your rival is so serious that it demands a life dedicated to competition?”
“Of course!” She raised her voice even more. “And when you’re living a life of competition, losing isn’t a rare event. No matter how much of a genius you are, you will experience failure and defeat.”
“…Sure, I guess you’re right.”
I obediently agreed with her. She had a point.
“I think that what separates a genius from an ordinary person is what kind of analysis they’re capable of when they fail, Lady Witch.”
Mm-hmm.
“So then, what kind of conclusions have you drawn, as a genius?”
When I asked that question, she paused. Then, staring at me with clear eyes, she said, “I concluded that, in the end, I’d best seek the help of another genius.”
“Oh-hoh?”
What’s that? A genius, you say? My, my, who on earth could that be?
“My rival is also a genius, and we are evenly matched. I figured that in order to challenge another genius, I obviously ought to seek knowledge from many other geniuses, even though I’ll fight her on my own, Lady Witch.”
“I see, but I’m impressed you were able to perceive that I’m a genius.”
“Actually, I’ve been observing you this whole time, ever since you were undergoing your immigration inspection, and I saw your expression, full of confidence, and the way you carried yourself, as well as the star-shaped brooch that backs up that confidence. I surmised that you must be a genius magic user who became a witch while still quite young.”
“Oh my, my, my!”
“How’d I do, Lady Witch? Did I guess correctly?”
“Apparently, your powers of perception are pretty sound…”
“Heh-heh-heh. They are, aren’t they? So then, for the next three days, I’d like to learn anything and everything from you, Lady Witch. How about it?”
“Huh? Don’t you want me to teach you magic?”
“Lady Witch, in order to better understand Nadona, I want to learn everything about geniuses. To that end, please don’t limit yourself to magic. Show me things like how you live, your hobbies, and your special skills, too. I want to get stronger, even if it’s just a little bit, by learning about geniuses, Lady Witch.”
“I see. You’re greedy, then.”
“I’d like to ask you not to say insensitive things. I simply have a craving for knowledge and all the skills I can gain, heh-heh-heh…” She chuckled and put on a bold smile. “You see, I’m frustrated, Lady Witch. My rival not only beat me with a wand she borrowed from me, she then said some nonsense like ‘Well, it was just pure luck that I won today.’ It was humiliating, her showing kindness to her enemy. I want to get back at her, no matter what it takes.”
“She must be a very nice girl, to be so considerate of the person who lost.”
“Or maybe she held back because I started bawling like a baby.”
“You cried over it?”
“As you might expect, after forty-two consecutive losses, I was pretty disheartened, you know?”
“I mean, I understand the feeling, but…”
“Anyway, I want to get a deeper understanding of genius. And that’s why, Lady Witch, I’d like you to allow me to record your behavior in detail.”
So basically, she wanted me to stay with her constantly for three days, not necessarily to teach her magic spells but simply to show her my normal life, and act as a conversation partner, while teaching her some magic if we had any free time. That seemed to be her standpoint on the whole thing.
I’d say those are favorable terms, since they demand basically no responsibility from me.
I’d also say that whether or not I’m going to accept her request depends on the retaining fee.
“By the way, I forgot to mention it, Lady Witch, but since I’m renowned for being the embodiment of the concepts of accomplished in both the literary and military arts, attractive face and figure, gifted with both intelligence and beauty, and living the life of luxury, if it’s money you need, I’ve got plenty.”
“Understood. I’ll do it.”
I immediately accepted her proposal.
“Now then, Lady Witch. Now that we’ve settled everything, I wonder if I could get you to ignore me entirely and just let me see what you would normally do after you enter a new city?”
“What I would normally do, huh…?”
I certainly wouldn’t spend so much time thinking about what I would normally do, so I wasn’t sure how to deal with that now.
What exactly would I do, if I was my normal self ?
I feel like the moment people are made aware of how they act naturally, they stop acting naturally.
After thinking just a little bit, I said, “For now, I think I’ll go to a café or something.”
Then, in what I figured was the best plan for the situation, I pointed at a nearby establishment without giving it much thought.
“If you like, I’ll treat you. Have you had breakfast already?”
“No, that’s all right!”
“Oh, so you have eaten?”
“Actually, I ate quite a lot of sandwiches just a short while ago.”
“So on top of receiving comfort from the person who defeated you, you accepted her charity as well?”
“They were delicious.”
“That’s good to hear…”