Chapter 8: Jealousy

10 Years Old Arc: A Girl from an Inferior Race

Jealousy

Today was a truly wonderful day. I learned another thing about Celica.

First, she loves risotto.

The moment Celica saw the risotto laid out for lunch, she shook her tail violently from side to side, almost as if it would break off.

Throughout the meal, she kept her tail moving, ignoring the other dishes and devouring the risotto until the plate was empty.

And perhaps saddened by the empty plate, she drooped her animal ears, let her tail hang down with gravity, and furrowed her brows.

Did she really like the risotto so much that she was sad to see it gone?

I beckoned Aunt Bernold over and asked her to bring more risotto for Celica.

★

Today was a truly wonderful day. I learned another thing about Celica.

As expected, she's incredibly naive when it comes to sexual thing.

She was enjoying playing in the river without caring that her clothes were getting wet.

Her clothes clung to her body, revealing the curves of her full, rounded breasts and hips, and her long arms and legs.

Furthermore, the fabric of her clothes became transparent with the water, revealing not only her beastman panties but also the color and shape of her pink nipples.

Celica didn't seem to notice at all, though.

★

Today was a truly wonderful day. I learned another thing about Celica.

Amazingly, she can use magic too!

However, she can only use healing magic; she has absolutely no aptitude for offensive magic.

She was depressed about it, but actually, just being able to use healing magic is quite amazing.

There are fewer people who can use healing magic compared to other types of magic. I can't use it either.

Furthermore, I think Celica's healing magic skills are outstanding.

I once observed military healing magic training with my father, and the rookie healers took twice as long to heal a scrape as Celica did to heal my laceration.

I kept quiet because it was amusing to watch Celica get depressed.

★

Today was a truly wonderful day.... until I heard those words from Celica.

"Ah.... if it's this delicious.... I wish I could.... have let Al.... try some too."

...

This Al boy is handsome, gets good grades, is incredibly athletic, and always protects Celica from bullies.

I don't like him.

Not because of his high abilities, but the fact that he has a monopoly on Celica. He is someone I'm unfamiliar with, but he triggers my inferiority complex.

The fairy tale hero who saves the princess Celica. I was so frustrated that I couldn't take that position for myself.

At this rate, I'll probably end up taking out my negative feelings on Celica, who's talking about him so passionately.

I decided to stay away from her until I sorted out my feelings.

★

"...Good.... morning... Max."

"...Good morning, Celica."

We met for the first time today in the dining hall, exchanged greetings, and sat down for breakfast.

"".....""

After that, we ate breakfast in silence.

During that time, Celica's animal ears and tail were drooping weakly.

★

As I walked down the corridor to return to my room after breakfast, Celica followed me from behind, a little hesitantly.

When we reached the front of my room, I turned back to Celica and said:

"I have something to do in my room now. Could you play by yourself in this villa, Celica? I can't come with you, so don't go outside this building."

After unilaterally stating my request, I entered my room and closed the door, ignoring her sadly bowed head.

Now, I need to get back to the work I started last night.

★

...

It's done.

The desk was quite cluttered with tools and failed attempts, but a sense of exhaustion and accomplishment filled me.

As I was basking in that feeling for a while, there was a hesitant knock on the door.

I quickly put the finished product in my pocket.

"Come in."

"Max... This is for you... from Aunt Bernold."

It was Celica.

She was holding a tray in both hands with sandwiches and steaming hot cocoa on it.

I suddenly remembered that I'd been so focused on my work that I'd forgotten to eat lunch and dinner.

I quickly moved things aside to make space on the desk, and, thanking her, I took the tray and placed it on the desk.

As I was taking a sip of my cocoa, Celica bowed her head with a determined look.

"Please...! Don't hate me.... I'll fix my flaws.... I'll do anything."

"..... Anything?"

The words, spoken in a slightly hoarse voice, and the sight of her animal ears drooping as tears streamed down her face, aroused my sadistic desires.

"You really will do anything, won't you?"

"Yes!!"

I stroked Celica's head with my left hand as she nodded, her face filled with despair. Then I put my lips to her animal ears and whispered.

"There are two conditions if you don't want me to hate you. First, you must never talk about Albert in front of me again. Can you do that?"

"Yes.... I can."

Celica nodded obediently.

"And the second thing is..."

I took out the clip-on ear cuff accessory I'd put in my right pocket earlier and attached it perpendicularly to Celica's left animal ear from the outside.

"Wear this ear cuff all the time. Don't take it off even after we part ways."

"Oh.... If it's just that much..."

"Now we've made up. Come on, let's watch the stars together again."

★

After that, we spent time together looking at the moon's surface through a telescope and searching for constellations from the window using books about stars, before I sent her back to her room.

When I was alone, I recalled the atmosphere of Celica's presence that I hadn't experienced for almost a day, and thought about the present I had given her earlier.

The mithril ear cuff had a detection spell cast on it, allowing me to know its location within a radius of about one kilometer.

Celica is dangerously clumsy.

I need to guide her so she doesn't get lost in the forest.

....

And there's another purpose.

It's a form of revenge against the boy named Albert, whom I haven't met yet, for monopolizing Celica.

To put it another way, it might be a challenge.

The accessory I gave Celica was a two-birds-with-one-stone kind of gift.

However, I'm not entirely satisfied with what I made. The color of Celica's silver hair and the mithril metal blend slightly.

That's my only slight regret, but I couldn't imagine any other time to give it to her than when she said she'd "I'll do anything."

It would be too much to ask if I should have colored it a primary red or blue to highlight her silver hair.

Nevertheless, I'm looking forward to tomorrow.

I've put an end to my own issues, so I wonder what kind of fun I'll have with MY Celica tomorrow.

★★★

[Albert's POV]

"Why! .... You! .... You're always like this! .... Always doing whatever you want!!... What if ..... something happens to Celica...!"

"You're such a worrier, Najka. Mr. Rüdiger is a trustworthy guy, so it'll be fine."

Aunt Najka, who usually greets me with gentle, albeit broken, Alban dialect, handed me juice with a rougher gesture than usual when I came to inquire about Celica's whereabouts, and then pressed Uncle Gerald again.

.....

..... It was empty.

School life without Celica had stripped the color from my world.

Uncle Gerald was too busy trying to calm Aunt Najka down to answer my question about Celica's location.

In the end, all I learned from my visit to the Ahrenheim household was that I was certain to face a tomorrow without the happiness of My Celica.