Refuse Harem
Translator: Tsukii
Editor: Prius
Read at Watashi wa Sugoi Desu!
Chapter 179 – Dear Tenma, Everything Was Inevitable VI
The books Luca had were instruction books, strategy books, and practice books. The titles were slightly different, but one could see the lineup was related to richu.
“Thank you, Luca. It must be heavy, right?”
“That’s alright. However, do you really need to read all the related books in the library? This is just part of it, and there are still others in the book storehouse…”
The number of books in Luca’s hands alone exceeded 20, and the number of books in the academy was the largest in the kingdom. Many of those were not generally available to the public.
“As expected, it’ll be worth reading it. Well, I’ll return these by tomorrow morning, so can I request you to borrow another set?”
“B-by tomorrow morning?”
Luca murmured in surprise. Even though it was still daytime, each of those books was definitely not thin. Finishing all of them by tomorrow meant Sophie would need to stay up all night reading them all.
Remiel disturbed her good night’s sleep the day before yesterday, and Sophie spent most of yesterday night creating the curriculum for the black star. Sophie hadn’t gotten proper sleep the last two days.
Gerald hurriedly tried to stop Sophie, but she casually answered, “I read fast, so it’s okay.” How much vitality did she have?
“But in the end, I do prefer to have an opponent to practice with instead of just reading books.”
Knowledge learned from books alone was far inferior to that gained from practice.
Is there anyone I could practice with? Sophie looked at the two with that question, but Luca shook his head. Certainly, for him, who belonged to the copper star, he didn’t have time to leisurely enjoy richu.
Sophie then moved her gaze to Gerald, but he also had a displeased expression.
“I’m no match for Remiel-sama, and since I often played with him since childhood, all my moves were already memorized.”
Even though Remiel forgot Gerald as a person, it seemed he didn’t forget what they did. It seemed his interest was consistent.
“Then do you know anyone who is good at richu?”
“Then how about my elder brother?”
Sophie retorted loudly at Luca’s happy proposal.
“Lorenzo-sama is no good!”
“Is it not good? I heard my elder brother is quite skilled in that, so I thought it would be okay.”
“No, I’m not worried about his ability. It’s just if Lorenzo-sama learns of this, he’ll just think I’m playing around!”
As Sophie said her refusal, the two thought.
Aah, so she is aware she is playing around.
“It doesn’t need to be a bearer of five stars. I’d prefer if it’s someone close whom I could request more casually.”
And it needed to be a quite capable opponent. It was quite a difficult request, but Gerald recalled just the right person. It could be considered close as well.
“There’s someone who is quite skilled in richu within the academy, but…”
“Really? Who is it?!”
“It’s Instructor Vincent.”
“…Eh, that silver star instructor?”
Sophie blinked upon hearing the unexpected name.
According to Gerald, it seemed Vincent was the champion of the official richu tournament and currently the holder of the highest title possible. Neither Lorenzo nor Remiel was interested in the tournament, so it was hard to say Vincent was the best out there, but at least his skill was guaranteed.
“I see… that’s…”
After hearing Gerald’s explanation, Sophie’s voice became lower.
Her gaze fell slightly downward and had a thoughtful expression.
Luca thought there might be a conflict between Sophie and the instructor of the silver star that he didn’t know about, as he could see turmoil in her expression.
Realizing the guess might be correct, Gerald opened his mouth to withdraw his proposal, but Sophie laughed before he could do so.
The corner of her mouth formed a smile.
“―That’s convenient.”
Fufufufufufu, laughter that leaked out of her mouth sounded like a curse, which made Gerald and Luca flinch.
Knock knock
After a knock on the door, a voice called out from inside, allowing entry.
“Greetings, Instructor Vincent. Please excuse me.”
Sophie gracefully opened the door and gave him a ladylike greeting.
When Vincent finally confirmed who entered, he stiffened for a moment because of the visitor he didn’t expect.
“Why are you…?”
Vincent, who gave permission to enter the room since he thought it was another instructor or student, was dumbfounded in his leather chair as he muttered so.
“Oh my, am I not welcome?”
It was customary to stand up from the chair and let the visitor sit in a chair. It was especially the case since the other party was the bearer of the purple star. It was completely impolite to be stuck on a chair while being dumbfounded.
Vincent, who was implicitly criticized for being rude, raised his eyebrows regretfully and showed Sophie the prepared welcoming set.
“So, why are you here?”
The short sentence sounded prickly to the teenage girl, but Sophie didn’t seem to mind that. On the contrary, she seemed to be having fun.
“Actually, I’m looking for an opponent for richu due to various reasons. According to what I heard, Instructor Vincent is the holder of the highest title in that regard. Could you please be my opponent?”
“…Hah? Be your opponent in richu?”
Vincent didn’t even hide his puzzled expression.
Well, that’s a normal reaction.
If one excluded the purple star she had, Sophie was just a daughter of a baron family. It was definitely not a family status that would normally dabble in richu. Remiel, who challenged her and thought it was natural for her to be able to do so, was the weird one.
“Can you please be my opponent?”
But explaining would be troublesome, so Sophie proceeded with the topic.
There was no need for Vincent to receive a detailed persuasion or an explanation.
After all, she could already expect his response.
“I refuse.”
Upon hearing the expected answer, Sophie was smiling inwardly.
He was an easy-to-understand man as expected.
Considering his prideful personality, it was expected that he wouldn’t be a person who would easily accept others who have beaten him down once. In that case, all Sophie needed to do was to use everything at her disposal.
“Oh my, I came to visit since it’s your free time at the moment, then we can just do it another time…”
“It might be my free time, but I wasn’t that free to be your opponent in a game. My answer stays the same no matter how many times you come to visit.”
Vincent’s rough answer made Gerald twitch.
“Instructor Vincent, did you forget about Sophie-sama’s title? If your words go overboard, then I will need to deal with you appropriately.”
Even if he was young, Gerald was still a paladin.
He had the status that provided him with the authority to punish those who disrespected the royal family and the purple star.
However, Vincent just snorted and had no intention of changing his attitude.
“Just strip me of my star if you want to. I’ll say it first, but I have no intention to give in to your arrogant behavior.”
“Please don’t say that, I won’t give such an order.”
Sophie had no intention of making such a threat.
After all, there was a more loathsome punishment for Vincent that didn’t involve stripping him of his star.
“But let’s see… I think Instructor Vincent is a person capable enough to teach me in that aspect. I’m sure you have a brain that surpasses my talent. That’s why――how about I recommend you to the Institute of Medical Science?”
“――――Gh?!”
With a soft voice that didn’t sound like sarcasm at all, Sophie managed to change Vincent’s expression in an instant.
Author Note:
The chapter is cut due the half-assed total length
It might be short, but the rest would be updated tomorrow (‘◇’)ゞ
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Thank you for the chapter!
Sophie is hitting both his rivalry and inferiority complex at once… Savage Sophie is savage.
she “technically” promoting him after all, so of course it’s a good thing