The Sleeping Devil Vol. 2 - Chapter 18 - True Identity

Two days after the debutante ball, Noah still hadn't shown up. In the end, I managed to get through by keeping silent about Marcel.

Fortunately, since I've officially beco a noble now, Marcel can't just barge into my room as he pleases. The tower I live in is on the outskirts of the castle, so apart from als, life wasn't that inconvenient without using the front entrance as before.

"Ah, finally I can settle down and play with Sheriel."

"Brother is about to co of age, isn't he? Is it okay for you to be playing with instead of your friends?"

Even though he said "play," it mostly involved having tea or helping with various business matters. Occasionally, he would engage in experintal activities in the servants' anteroom. At fourteen years old, he should be in his pri for wanting to play with boys his own age, but is it really alright for him to be playing with all the ti?

"There's nothing as boring as friends of the sa age. Just give them a few kind words and they'll mistakenly think I'm a good person and start fawning over . And those who really know won't co near ."

"It seems mastering disguise is inconvenient in that regard. Without intending to, my brother ends up behaving in a charming way."

"That's right! Do you understand? Just occasionally, when I'm getting bored, if I stick a thorn in, they tremble like a fawn. That's quite enjoyable too."

I don't sympathize, but I can sohow understand. Since Beriards are trained to automatically behave like a person of good character, people might approach him to flatter him just with a few sweet words. Even though he doesn't care for it, he sowhat enjoys it.

"My brother, friends of the sa age are important. In my past life, I didn't have many friends, but I still learned a lot."

"Sheriel, were you not very bright in your past life?"

"Well, it's not quite like that. It's just that even by observing others' perspectives and experiences, your own world can broaden. But even so, Grandfather said I'm still immature..."

My few friends. I might not have had any romantic experiences, worked for a harsh company, or had an idol hobby, but even just listening to my friends' stories made feel like my world had expanded.

"Sounds like sothing close to a lesson on human nature. Learning from those above you is important, but it's equally important to absorb various perspectives and make appropriate choices. Of course, it might lead to interesting stories or acquiring rare items too."

Hmm. I wanted to talk about the richness that can co from connections between people more, but it still seems difficult for . Also, for to be lecturing Didier like this, my own insecurity about making friends is actually quite significant.

"I'm also starting to worry about whether I can make friends or not. Perhaps my hair is causing more confusion than I thought?"

I rembered the gazes at the debutante ball. Even the adults, essentially my parents' subordinates within the castle, had that reaction. It's understandable for children to show blatant disgust. Although I haven't experienced those gazes yet, the mory of them lingered within .

"It's not a big deal. Sure, they might be surprised at first, but once they get to know Sheriel, everyone will like you. Those who judge Sheriel based on sothing as trivial as hair color aren't worth befriending, right? It's a shortcut, after all."

"Indeed, you're right. It's easier not to have to go through all the probing."

"Well, those who dare to approach might be cunning in so way, so if I do make a close friend, I'll definitely introduce them to you, you know?"

Isn't that being a bit too overprotective? I've heard that the upcoming tea party will invite noble children aged seven to ten. They plan to invite a few pairs from outside territories due to relations with other domains, but since most are local nobles, even if they express disgust, there shouldn't be any plotting or sches.

"If my brother will introduce his friends, I will be the first to introduce mine, once I have any friends, that is."

"Haha, for geniuses like us, making friends might be the most challenging."

"Hehe, that's not funny at all, dear brother."

Since Noah, my only friend, has recently beco my teacher, I currently have no friends. If things continue like this until I die, it will probably be a more miserable existence than in my previous life.

"Speaking of which, Licht also doesn't have friends, right? He must be bored, so shall we go visit him for a bit?"

"Licht should be receiving treatnt from Grandfather right now. His heart, which had been paralyzed for so long, has suddenly started to move again, so it might still take a bit more ti."

I thought his complexion had improved quite a bit at the debutante ball...

"For Licht, Sheriel is like a potent dicine, so taking it slow is probably for the best."

"What, comparing people to poisonous substances?"

After all the commotion of the past few days, it feels like I finally have so ti to relax.

The following day, when it was ti for the magic class, there was an imdiate knock on the door. Today, Noah was welcod without Mary screaming.

"Good day, Professor Noah."

"Excuse , Sheriel. Oh, Didier is here too?"

"I have sothing I want to ask."

"Starting off confrontationally isn't a good idea, I believe, dear brother."

Because of their similar ages, I was a little nervous, but Noah responded with a simple "yeah" and took a seat.

"That's right, why didn't you co the day before yesterday? I thought you had agreed to it."

In reality, it was just my assumption. Like with Guri-chan, communicating with cat Noah isn't possible. It was just a vague feeling, really.

"Hmm? The night of that day? Sorry, I don't rember hearing anything about it."

"No, it's just that I asked you out of the blue, so it's alright. Anyway, there's been a bit of an issue with non-incantation magic, so I'd like you to explain it to my brother. I couldn't explain it well myself."

Noah looked at Didier for a mont as if contemplating, then tilted his head with a little smirk. This gesture was quite cat-like, and it seed the habit carried over even in his human form. Observing this, a quiet battle of wits between Didier and Noah began.

"What's the problem?"

"Huh? Why does magic activate without incantations?"

"Can't you do it?"

"Are you trying to pick a fight? Normally, you wouldn't be able to. Why are you asking ?"

"You can do it once you're used to it. Sheriel, you managed to do it, right?"

"That's why I'm asking!"

Oh no, this isn't going well. It seed that Noah truly hadn't heard the story from that night. Didier's patience seed to have reached its limit in just a few minutes.

"Uhm, dear brother, please calm down. I think I might rember sothing now."

"What? You only gave an incomprehensible explanation the other day."

Calling it incomprehensible is quite rude. While it's true that my explanation wasn't great, I still should have had enough communication skills to beco a freelance engineer.

"Well, after that, I rembered sothing. Noah is a cat, so not using incantations is normal for him. Guri-chan and Kurumi don't use incantations either, right?"

"I'm sure Noah also doesn't know that humans need incantations to activate magic. That's why we're having this misunderstanding..."

Strangely, both of them were staring at , puzzled.

"I'm not a cat."

"Huh?"

"Hm?"

"I'm not a cat," what does he an by that? Is he talking about being a magical beast or a cat yokai or sothing like that?

"Huh, Sheriel, did you still think of Noah as a cat? I thought you had already noticed. Ahaha! Really?"

"Oh, so you thought I was a cat all this ti. No wonder you seed a bit strange to , like a quirky child."

What's with these people? Just a mont ago they were so tense, and now both of them are... No, I understand. I'm starting to understand. I've made an enormous misunderstanding. Suddenly, my cheeks felt warm, and my entire face felt as if it were burning.

"Wait... So, then Noah isn't a cat, but a person who transford into a cat? Talking, lounging around, purring, and even letting rub his belly, all of that was a person... a man?"

"Huh? No way, the cat and I are different entities. So the other night, when you said I ca to you, it wasn't ."

"Pfft... Ahahaha! Could it be, Sheriel, you were talking to a cat, thinking it was the professor? Well, no wonder he didn't show up the next day."

"You don't need to laugh that much. It's just a cute misunderstanding of a child! Besides, even Noah at first..."

"Well, then, why didn't you say anything when we bumped into Grandpa and everyone?"

"I was impressed by how kids co up with outrageous excuses. I didn't expect you to actually believe I was a cat."

"But you knew about the conversations with the cat, right, Professor?"

"That's because our thoughts were connected. It's the opposite of what you did to the other day. I linked the cat's vision and hearing to my own thoughts. Ah, don't worry, I didn't link touch or sll, so relax."

Ah, I don't understand anymore. Why is all this happening? Wait, let's calm down. The professor is a person, and the cat is just a cat. Oh, co on, this is obvious, silly . I feel like I'm about to cry. I felt a mix of embarrassnt and confusion, and my mind wasn't working properly.

"So, Professor Noah, you have an actual human na, right? Why didn't you tell ?"

"At that ti, I didn't plan to et anyone. I thought it would be troubleso if you accidentally let it slip. Eventually, it got revealed quickly though."

"Eh, so does that an... Professor, did Father and Mother also know about you?"

Noah nodded in agreent, and I realized. I was the only one who thought he was a cat. Co to think of it, Mary also ntioned that magical beasts can't transform into humans. What kind of ridiculous lies must she have thought I was making up?

Still laughing heartily, Didier seems to have completely forgotten that he was just arguing with Noah a mont ago.

"Understood. I seem to have made a very rude misunderstanding. I apologize, Professor Noah."

"Call Julius. Can you call Julius?"

Like the serene and divine smile of the moon in the dark night, he looked straight at . This isn't fair. I can't believe this face belongs to a human.

"Ju, Julius, Professor."

"Hehe, anyway, you thought I was a cat. This is quite a first for ."

"Haha! It's true, being mistaken for a cat is a rare experience. I'll call you Julius, is that alright?"

"Ah, let's give the na Noah to that cat. It seems he's attached to it. Right?"

These people are truly absurd. They are making a laughingstock out of this innocent child. If I were a normal seven-year-old, I'd be in tears.

"Sigh, so, what's the conclusion? Noah is a cat, or rather, a magical beast? And because you can share thoughts with it, you can use magic without incantation?"

Finally, we are getting back to the main topic. It's a bit different from what I expected, but either way, the key seems to be that magical beasts don't need incantations.

"Well, that might be possible. When I realized it, our thoughts were already connected, so I didn't pay much attention to it."

"Is it a Gift?"

"Probably. But more importantly, is it true that you normally can't use magic without incantation? I thought it was because the humans I knew were not good at magic."

Wow, I've t a Gifted person for the first ti. Even though they are rare within the kingdom, I was able to et one so soon.

While I was amazed by the Gift, Didier and Julius were swiftly aligning their understanding and forming hypotheses. It's impressive how well their conversation matched when they weren't arguing.

"Well, I see. In that case, try the thing you did to Sheriel on ."

"Sure, I also wanted to test it a bit more."

"That's a great idea! If Big Brother can do it too, it'll make sense since he's a Beriard. Should we call Father too?"

And so, we ended up calling for Sergio, who should have been busy with work. Zaris might not be pleased, but Sergio will probably be happy.