Chapter 21
Isabel answered as if it was nothing special.
“I completed a small magic by combining Honey’s mana with the newly created magic formula. It’s interpretation magic.”
“Ah, right. You said you were learning magic, didn’t you?”
Michael also accepted it without much thought.
Neither Isabel nor Michael thought it was special.
Isabel continued speaking calmly.
“Yes. He said that if I hide, older brother should hide too. Don’t tell me older brother has been making only Honey hide?”
“Yeah. Can’t I?”
“I think that’s cowardly.”
“Cow, cowardly?”
“Yes.”
Michael rubbed his nose.
He realized his cowardice.
He didn’t think much of it in the first place, but once he realized it, he was quick to admit and apologize.
“Hey, I’m sorry.”
Michael held out his hand, and Honey bit it hard!
He didn’t whine about it being painful today and just let her bite him.
Isabel said.
“Honey. Can you come here for a second?”
As Isabel sat on the chair, Honey quickly jumped and sat on Isabel’s lap.
She rubbed her head on Isabel’s stomach, expressing her affection.
“Hey! She only bites me!”
Isabel started to arrange the mana flow around the honey badger according to the formula.
Five-colored mana settled on Isabel’s hands.
The colorful light covered Honey’s body.
‘Hmm, is this how you do it?’
The innate intuition that Karin talked about shined.
Just like knowing how to breathe without being taught, Isabel naturally activated interpretation magic.
Then something amazing happened.
『You. Hate.』
Michael, who wasn’t surprised by this strange phenomenon, was very surprised by the word ‘hate’.
He seemed to be quite shocked.
“Why do you hate me?”
『Good things. All yours.』
『Bad things. All mine.』
“I thought of you as a friend!”
『Friend X.』
“If you’re not a friend, then what are you?”
『Food giver.』
“Th, that’s too harsh!”
As if acknowledging, Honey also nodded.
Seeing that, Michael felt a little relieved.
“Right? I’ll give you another chance, what do you think of me?”
『Punk.』
Honey was very firm.
She had an expression that said there was no room for negotiation.
Then she looked up at Isabel’s face.
Honey’s expression changed in an instant.
Honey’s eyes were filled with affection for Isabel.
『Guardian♡』
Isabel found this situation fascinating.
She had felt a strange mana flow from the beginning, but she didn’t know she would be such a smart magical creature.
Isabel stroked the honey badger’s head.
It felt a little strange.
‘Is interpretation magic this effective?’
Of course not.
Magic that could interpret the intentions of animals to this extent didn’t even exist in the first place.
If it had been seen at the academy, it would have caused a huge commotion.
But unfortunately（?）, there was no one here to evaluate Isabel’s magic.
‘I guess everyone can do this much.’
Magic letters continued to be created above Honey’s head.
『Guardian=Owner』
『Owner. Last name. Demand.』
“Last name?”
『Last name. Family name.』
Even though she was having a fairly specific conversation with an animal, Michael didn’t think it was strange.
He still had no thoughts.
“Hmm……”
Honey Bilotian.
This seemed a bit too weird.
It was difficult to call her that.
‘Then just normally……’
She decided to give her a name that was easy to say.
“Kim Beolkkul.”
『Call me. Kim Beolkkul.』
A 『♡』 mark appeared above Kim Beolkkul’s head.
She seemed to like her name very much.
Kim Beolkkul and Isabel quickly became close.
✦✦✦✦✦✦
Karin, who returned a month later, was surprised to discover this phenomenon.
“Did you express the honey badger’s psychology in letters?”
“Yes!”
“You completed the magic theory and actually applied it while I was away.”
“Yes, I worked hard.”
Karin was speechless.
There was no magic that could read the minds of animals.
‘It’s not just about having magic theory and magic power.’
Several factors had to be added.
First of all, the magic caster herself had to have an innate affinity to communicate with animals or magical beasts, and there had to be an animal that was compatible with the wavelength of that affinity.
‘Was the honey badger such an intelligent animal?’
Enough to communicate with humans to that extent?
‘No way.’
That meant that it was Isabel’s special power that amplified the honey badger’s emotions, humanized them, and then interpreted them.
‘Then the mana amplification theory must have been naturally incorporated as well.’
Karin’s head became complicated.
Isabel seemed to be more of a genius than she had thought.
Seeing Karin speechless from the shock, Isabel became anxious.
‘Is the completeness of the magic too low?’
Isabel had never met a wizard other than Karin.
She had never experienced what level a genius wizard was in this world.
Therefore, there was no comparison.
Because of this, she had no understanding of how great what she had accomplished was.
‘The magic doesn’t work anymore either.’
It was strange.
No more magic letters were created above the honey badger’s head after she met Karin.
In other words, the magic failed.
Isabel was able to make a reasonable deduction in her own way.
‘Honey must have instinctively recognized the final villain.’
There was no other way to explain it.
Karin spoke nonchalantly as if it was nothing.
“You seem to have worked hard while I was away.”
“Yes. I worked hard! Did I do well?”
“Yes. It was decent.”
“Really? Are you praising me?”
Isabel smiled brightly.
It was as if the warm autumn sunlight filled the room.
That’s how it looked to Karin.
She wanted to hug Isabel and rub her cheeks right away.
‘I have to get my mind straight.’
Karin pulled herself together.
The moment she let her guard down, she felt like she would grin.
She, who had never been loved, didn’t know how to give love either.
“I look forward to your future endeavors.”
✦✦✦✦✦✦
Karin went to Chief Attendant Dailtha.
“Older sister.”
“Call me Chief Attendant during working hours.”
“You’re being stiff again. I like it when you’re friendly, older sister.”
“……”
“You’re the first older sister I’ve ever had, so please be understanding.”
Karin was from an orphanage and had been bullied there.
Dailtha was the first ‘older sister’ she ever had.
Although they hadn’t known each other for long, Karin had a deep affection for Dailtha.
And Dailtha didn’t dislike Karin either.
“So. What’s the matter?”
“I think I have to go back to the academy.”
“Didn’t you return today?”
“Her Highness showed me something amazing. I was really surprised.”
“It seems like you have something else you really want to say.”
Karin repeatedly clenched and unclenched her fists as if she was holding something back.
She seemed to want to shout something.
“I thought I was going to d*e because Her Highness was so cute. Haa! I feel better now that I said it.”
“You were so cold in front of Her Highness.”
“I can’t help it. There are two teachers in charge, and one of them is half crazy.”
Dailtha nodded.
It was because she knew very well how Viaton treated the Princess.
“There’s another crazy person among the teachers.”
“Yes?”
“There is. A person who is serious about playing house.”
“Who is that……?”
Dailtha shook her head. She seemed to not even want to mention it.
The two continued their conversation.
“Her Highness’s talent is almost demonic.”
“Is it that much?”
“Yes. If you’re not careful, she’ll devour herself. So I have to be there to keep her grounded.”
She earnestly explained why she had no choice but to treat the Princess coldly.
Afterwards, Karin continued.
“I’m going to officially register the magic formula Her Highness created with the academy this time. I’ll register it under my name again, and I’ll add a separate clause so that the intellectual property rights are automatically transferred to Her Highness when she turns 12.”
“I heard the procedure is quite complicated.”
“It’s because I’m Wilhelm’s adopted daughter. I can do that much.”
Karin couldn’t bring herself to call him ‘father’.
Dailtha didn’t bother to point that out.
Karin’s voice lowered a little.
“If I had Her Highness’s level of talent, I think I would have had a very big ambition.”
“A very big ambition?”
“Like world domination.”
“……”
“But Her Highness has no ambition.”
“That’s an insult to the Bilotian Imperial Family.”
“Her Highness just wants……”
Karin bit her lip.
She looked down at her hands.
“She wants a word of praise from me.”
She wanted to stroke that head with her hand.
What the Princess wanted wasn’t that grand.
“She just wants her mom and dad to be tired.”
“……”
“She wants to deeply connect with a single, self-willed honey badger.”
“……”
“If I were Her Highness, I think I would have been very miserable. I would have cursed my fate. I would have thought that only I couldn’t d*e. Rather than only me dying, I would have wanted to k*ll everyone.”
“……”
Tears welled up in Karin’s eyes.
“But Her Highness smiles all the time.”
“……”
“It’s so warm.”
Isabel changed Karin’s world a lot.
“It’s like sunshine. That’s why it’s so strange.”
It was her first time having such a soft heart.
It was so strange and awkward.
Dailtha listened to everything in silence.
After a while, she slowly walked over and patted Karin’s back.
“There’s nothing strange about it.”
Karin didn’t dislike Dailtha’s body temperature.
She hugged her older sister like a child.
“It’s just that spring is coming to you too.”
Spring called Isabel.
It was the first spring she had ever experienced.
