Chapter 24: Jealousy?

At that time, I was sipping tea with Vertical Rolls high above the clouds. Her eyes darted from left to right while her body kept fidgeting. She had been like that for a while, and since I found it quite cute, I decided to continue observing her reaction.

“Ummm… Lumina-sama…”

“Hmm?”

Vertical Rolls stiffly placed her hands on her lap and looked at me with a troubled expression.

“I-is it r-really okay… for us to have t-tea here?”

“Hmm, I think so. No one has ever told me not to.”

“I-i-is that so?”

“Yup, by the way…”

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I placed my teacup back on the table and asked, “Stop being so stiff. I won’t do anything to you. So calm down and relax.”

“B-but, you said I have to take responsibility.”

I pondered for a moment and recalled what she meant. The moment I remembered, I clapped my hands and told her, “You’ve already taken responsibility for what you did this morning.”

“Eh?”

“Don’t worry about it, Vertical Rolls.”

“Eh?”

Vertical Rolls’ expression froze the moment she heard me call her ‘Vertical Rolls’. She then touched her vertical rolls and timidly asked me, “D—do you hate this?”

“Nope, not really. I like it instead.”

Her face suddenly turned red, and her fingers started twirling the edges of her vertical rolls.

“Hmm… By the way, why are you all so scared whenever I try to talk to you?”

“Eh? Ahhh… Ummm… It’s because… well…”

Vertical Rolls started moving her hands around, and large beads of sweat began falling from her forehead while her eyes darted from left to right. Her reaction was quite comical, so I waited for her to tell me rather than stop her.

“Uuuhh… Umm… It’s because you’re an important person.”

“Eh? Important… person?”

“Nn. There’s no other way to explain the grace and dignity you possess.”

I massaged my temples as I listened to her.

“I’m not an important person, you know. I’m only a daughter of a low-ranking family.”

“Eh?”

“Didn’t Emilia tell you this morning?”

“No. She only told us that the way you acted spoiled in bed was the real you.”

“Hmm… Is that so.”

I refilled my teacup and drank it in one gulp to calm myself.

(Ahh~ Drinking tea is the only thing that calms me down. Maybe this is the reason why I’m a tea addict.)

“Ummm… Then why do you act like that, Lumina-sama? If you’re only a daughter of a low-ranking family, then it’s strange why you need to act like that.”

“Hmm… It’s because I don’t want to disappoint my family and also…”

“Also?”

“This is the only way I can repay Emilia.”

Vertical Rolls cocked her head to the side and asked why.

“Because of Emilia, who was assigned to me by the school as a servant. She’s also the very first friend I’ve ever made (in this world). So I wanted to treasure her and give her something. However, because she’s my servant, I couldn’t give her anything.”

This was the norm in this world, which was taught to me by my mother. According to her, the only times we can give our servants gifts is when they save our lives or die for us. I also felt that Emilia was a strict adherer to this.

“The day I decided to act like this was because of a thought I had on the first day I was enrolled here. Her classmates were with her at the stairs, and like her, they were waiting for the people they serve. It was then that I decided to act like a master she would never be ashamed of. One where she can puff out her chest and say, ‘She’s my master’ in front of her classmates. It was the least I could do for her.”

I placed the teacup back on the saucer and let out a sigh.

“I didn’t think it would become the reason why I didn’t have friends. Haaa~ The mistakes of youth.”

“I-is that so?”

“Un.”

Vertical Rolls started mumbling on her chair. When I was about to ask her what she was mumbling, she suddenly stood up and clenched her fist.

“Don’t worry, Lumina-sama. You’ve been really successful! I feel that Emilia’s very proud of you.”

“Fufu… Thanks.”

I gave her a smile and stood up to pat her head.

“What are we going to do now, Lumina-sama? The teapot’s empty.”

“Hmm… Let’s do some experiments then.”

“Yes!”

Vertical Rolls made an enthusiastic shout in response. I then looked at the fields to see if everything was okay on their side.

---

**Emilia POV**

I stood in front of the new servants of Lumina-sama. Behind me were Mary and Victoria. We were assigned by Lumina-sama to teach the students how to combine ‘Null Element’ magic with normal magic.

“Today, as ordered by Lumina-sama, the three of us will now teach you how to properly use this magic.”

The eyes of the students glittered as they stared at me.

“Here’s a simple demonstration.”

I glanced at the two behind me. They nodded in response to my gaze and created a large box that covered all of us.

I then made 50 mana balls appear in the sky and converge on a single spot. The result was a giant ball of mana about four meters in diameter.

[Appear before me <Fireball!>]

I cast a small fireball and let everyone see it. Next, I made the fireball fly towards the mana ball, and at the moment they collided, the four-meter mana ball became a four-meter fireball. I then manipulated it and turned it into a dragon, a sword, and a spear before them.

““““Ooooh!””””

All the students cheered as they saw the fireball change shape. The reason I was able to manipulate the giant fireball without difficulty was because its base was the mana ball. So, although the mana ball became a fireball because of my magic, I was still able to control it like a mana ball because of its base.

“What’s more, Lumina-sama is able to create a hundred of these with ease.”

The moment I told them this exaggerated lie, the faces of the students became pale. Others became more enthusiastic. All in all, their reactions greatly satisfied me.

“So don’t ever betray her!”

“““Yes!”””

“Then go practice how to do this with your element. If any of you have any problems, come to us, and we’ll guide you step by step.”

The students then flew around in groups inside the mana box created by Mary and Lumina.

As I surveyed my surroundings, someone suddenly placed their hand on my shoulder. I turned my head and saw that it was Mary.

“What’s wrong?”

“Ummm… Is it really true that Lumina-sama can make a hundred of those?”

“Hmmm… Not really. At most, she can make around 2 or 3 of them.”

Her eyes widened when I told her the truth. At first, I entertained the idea of telling her a lie, but because she was a ‘friend candidate’ of Lumina-sama, I decided to tell her the truth.

“Then why tell them that?”

“It’s for Lumina-sama.”

“Eh?”

I twirled my finger in the air as I tried to come up with a plausible explanation.

“It’s kind of like this. I want to support Lumina-sama, and because of that, I don’t want any of the servants to betray her. The easiest method to strengthen their loyalty is to invoke respect by having them fear her.”

“Won’t Lumina-sama become lonely because of this?”

I laughed and faced her with a serious expression.

“Do you remember the magic Lumina-sama did last night?”

Mary nodded meekly.

“I’ll tell you something because you might become her friend. Do you know ‘Science’?”

“Science?”

Question marks floated above her head as she tried to understand the meaning of the word.

“It’s heretical knowledge that goes against magic. In fact, according to her, ‘Science’ can even explain how the world and the celestial heavens were made. I only managed to understand a bit of that ‘Science’, and it took me five years just to understand its basics.”

Her expression became aghast when I told her that it was heretical knowledge. My belief in it being heretical was solidified the moment she told me about ‘The Big Bang’, in which, according to her, the universe wasn’t created by a god, but by a giant explosion. And that explosion created everything around us. But because it was too hard to understand, I didn’t try to explain it further.

“She completely understood all of it at the age of seven! For her to know that heretical knowledge, she’s not a prodigy anymore; she’s a ‘Monster’! And even though I knew she was a ‘Monster’, I still stood beside her, befriending her and supporting her. People who become afraid because she’s powerful or too smart aren’t worthy to be her friend! They should be just her servants. Mindless people who only know how to follow the strong.”

I narrowed my eyes and frowned at Mary.

“Now that you know she’s a ‘Monster’, not because of power but because of the things she knows, will you stop being her friend and just become her servant like them?”

Mary stood frozen for a while, and after a few minutes, she shook her head and showed me a warm smile.

“No, I won’t. Because of what happened

this morning. If I hadn't seen the real Lumina-sama back then, I’d surely choose to become her servant instead of a friend. Just remembering her joyful face when she befriended Liza makes me want to protect her. Also, even though you told me that, my jealousy of you only became more intense.”

“Jealousy?”

“Yes. It's because you're the first person to ever understand and know her.”

It was now my turn to be surprised. I had thought she was just a timid and shy person because she rarely spoke. However, the fire that ignited in her eyes felt somewhat familiar. It kind of felt like mine when I first decided to support Lumina-sama. I then accepted her will and showed her a smile.

“Then will you help me? I want to make them fear her more so that she can find true friends like you.”

“Yes, with pleasure.”

After that, Mary, Victoria, and I taught the students how to combine Null Element with normal magic. At the same time, we continued to mix lies with truths so that they would become more afraid of Lumina-sama.

As a result, whenever Lumina-sama would appear before the students, those with weak hearts would cry while others showed great respect. Mary and I were quite happy with the result. However, Lumina-sama would make a very complex face whenever she saw a student cry.

“What did you do?”

“I don’t know. I only taught them what you told me to, right?”

“Right~”

““Hehehe””

Mary and I giggled as we answered Lumina-sama’s question. And although she glared at us, because we knew she was a kind-hearted person, it didn’t really have an effect. However, the students who saw her glare became pale and started crying.