Author: Suisei
Translator: Rinkage

Character page: Here

If Youki’s confession is made into an anime, it’ll probably be added into this list as well:
Top 15 Funny Love Confessions Where It Went Wrong in Romance Anime

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Chapter 95 – I was criticized by the lady mage

The plan was set, so it was time to put it into action by arranging a schedule. As such, I made an appointment with Cecilia and searched for available requests at the guild. After finding a suitable mission for the plan, I informed Clayman to accept it.

Next, feeling uneasy about carrying it out alone, I called for Duke. It wasn’t as though I was relying on others, but it was a naive belief that Duke would support me if I were to mess up. I couldn’t afford to hesitate, so I hoped he would forgive me. Since he wasn’t around when I looked for him, I left him a letter with the knight’s dormitory supervisor.

With this, everything was prepared – no blind spots remained. It was supposed to be perfect, but…

“It’s strange.”  [Youki]

I went to the guild meeting area 30 minutes earlier, but the first person who showed up was Mikana.

“Is there a problem with me being here?”  [Mikana]

“It’s a huge problem!”  [Youki]

The only people whom I invited were Cecilia and Duke. I did not recall telling or inviting Mikana at all.

“I am here at the request of swordsman.”  [Mikana]

“Eh? Raven?”  [Youki]

Why did Raven ask Mikana for assistance? In the first place, I did not recall inviting Raven as well.

“I think what he said was, sorry for not being able to be your replacement.”  [Mikana]

“Dukeeeeee!!!!”  [Youki]

Did he throw the task to Raven? And, Raven threw the responsibility to Mikana instead.

Don’t pass the buck like that; it messes up the plan, you know?

“I don’t feel happy about being a replacement either, but since I’ve agreed to do it, I’ll do it perfectly.”  [Mikana]

“Do what perfectly?”  [Youki]

“I’m here as your wingman. That seems to be what swordsman wanted me to help with.”  [Mikana]

“Are you serious?”  [Youki]

What’s with that handover? My wingman has always been… Duke. I appreciate the consideration, but…

“Leave it to me. I owe you a debt.” [Mikana]

“Wasn’t the debt written off already?”  [Youki]

“The debt I owed is not so easily written off from that minor thing. In the end, that discussion ended halfway as well.”  [Mikana]

That was because she was dragged off by Cecilia midway through the discussion.

“Were you okay after that?”  [Youki]

“I wasn’t okay! She took me to the mansion and made me sit on my knees!” [Mikana]

“Just as I thought.”  [Youki]

I heard that from Celia-san already, but I guess she was forced to sit in seiza as well. When I made a mistake, I was also subjected to the same punishment. In my case, Celia-san had rescued me when she came into the room, but Mikana had to endure through the entire thing without any help.

“I was normally a spectator whenever Yuuga was preached, but it was unbearable when I was the one subjected to the preaching.”  [Mikana]

“You know… umm, I’m sorry.”  [Youki]

“No worries about it. Her moniker has always been her hot button. It’s my fault for forgetting about that.”  [Mikana]

“I have recently learned of her moniker…”  [Youki]

“I don’t know who you heard it from, but I guess it’s not hard to find out. It’s quite well-known after all.”  [Mikana]

“Hahaha…”  [Youki]

Since Cecilia was one of the members of the hero party, her moniker would spread regardless of her actions. She was also popular among the children at the orphanage.

“If you really like her, I’d advise that you do not mention that name in front of her.”  [Mikana]

“I-I know.”  [Youki]

“That’s fine, then. So, do you have a plan today? Or are we here only to complete a guild mission?”  [Mikana]

“I do have a plan in mind.”  [Youki]

“Tell me the plan, now! I’ll be grading it for you.”  [Mikana]

“I don’t like the sound of that…”  [Youki]

Nevertheless, it was probably a good idea for my collaborator to know what I had in mind when I accepted the guild mission.

“For now, I’ll just speak up if there’s a place that needs improvement. I won’t be berating you too much.”  [Mikana]

“I understand. First, let’s start with the request we’ve received. It’s a mission to drive out the undead from a mansion where they’ve taken up residence.”  [Youki]

It seemed that a real estate firm in Minerva was in trouble. The mansion wasn’t that old, so they probably wanted to purify it and put the mansion up for sale as soon as they could. It was debatable if anyone wanted to stay in a mansion that used to be haunted, though.

“This isn’t an assignment where Cecilia can shine. Normally, Cecilia, who supports us, would be the one fighting as the main.”  [Mikana]

“Eh?”  [Youki]

“What do you mean by ‘eh’? Did you have a different intention?” [Mikana]

“I initially thought that she might be afraid of ghosts, and I would be the peerless one as I mow down the enemies.”  [Youki]

The true protagonist is the one who rushes to the heroine’s side when she’s in trouble and bravely overcomes the crisis looming over her. Thinking that I should do something like that, I recalled memories from my past life and came up with the idea of a haunted house. If I show my bravery, my likability might increase a little, I think.

“Are you an idiot!? You’re being delusional! If she’s afraid of ghosts in the first place, she wouldn’t be able to join the trip with the hero’s party.”  [Mikana]

“I mean, she’s a girl, so I thought that there might be such a possibility…”  [Youki]

“For the sake of argument, even if there are girls who are afraid of ghosts, Cecilia is a cleric. If she is afraid of ghosts and undead, she wouldn’t be able to fulfill her duties!”  [Mikana]

“T-That’s true…”  [Youki]

“How on earth did you come up with such a plan!? Think about Cecilia and make a plan. It’s pointless to think only about yourself. What’s important is what Cecilia thinks, whether she’ll enjoy it or not. Whether you’re satisfied comes second!”  [Mikana]

“…I’m sorry.”  [Youki]

Mikana gave me an earful. What she said was true, so I couldn’t refute it. All I had been thinking was to make myself the protagonist of the story. I failed to take Cecilia into consideration – if she would enjoy the experience.

“Be careful the next time. Sigh… you and Cecilia are the leading characters today, so do your best. I’ll be your support.”  [Mikana]

“Me too? Shouldn’t it be Cecilia?”  [Youki]

“Please use your head… At times like this, you two could work together to defeat the enemy. If you do that, you might be able to build a relationship of mutual trust.”  [Mikana]

“I see. If we work together, my likability might improve, huh?”  [Youki]

“…If you keep bringing that up, people might end up hating you instead.”  [Mikana]

“Ugh…I got it.” [Youki]

Was it bad to have ulterior motives? It was undoubtedly a stupid question.

“By the way, do you know what Cecilia is into lately? It might be good to have a mutual topic.”  [Mikana]

“I heard she’s practising taijutsu.”  [Youki]

“It doesn’t seem to match the mission we have now…”  [Mikana]

In hindsight, I realized I made a significant error in selecting this mission. Knowing that Cecilia was practicing taijutsu, I should have chosen a request aligned with that skill set. After all, light attribute magic was the only effective method against undead.

“I’ll think about it and come up with a plan the next time…”  [Youki]

“Do that. All in all, I can only give you 30 points this time.”  [Mikana]

That result, akin to a failing grade, was shocking to me. Talking with Mikana made me realize how foolish I was. If no one had corrected me today, I might have gone in the wrong direction. I could have caused Cecilia a lot of trouble.

“It is a reasonable score. No, I would’ve given myself a lower grade, frankly.”  [Youki]

“Well, you’ve learned a lesson today. Keep in mind not to come up with a self-serving plan like this the next time.”  [Mikana]

Mikana haughtily finished her words. It was frustrating to hear that, but I couldn’t deny it considering how naive I was.

“I understand. Cecilia will be here soon. I’ll do my best today.”  [Youki]

“Try not to act cool and end up making a fool of yourself.”  [Mikana]

I could tell from the multiple layers of doubt that she didn’t trust me at all. Considering my stupid plans so far, it was understandable. For the time being, I decided to focus on completing the mission as usual.

Before long, Cecilia’s carriage approached and stopped in front of us.

“Sorry to keep you waiting. Oh? Is Mikana also joining us today?”  [Cecilia]

“Yes, I’ll be joining you guys in this mission.”  [Mikana]

“That’s reassuring. Actually, I have invited another person. Is that okay?” [Cecilia]

“Another person?”  [Youki]

When I invited her, I informed her that someone else would be joining as well, but Cecilia had not mentioned the same at that time.

“Yes, I brought Happiness-chan along for a change of pace.”  [Cecilia]

As she said so, Happiness emerged from behind her, looking at me with her usual deadpan expression.

“…Mornin.”  [Happiness]

“Yo.”  [Youki]

Her greeting was the same as always. I was worried, but I was probably overthinking it. It was fortunate that Mikana was the one who came instead. If it had been Raven, the situation would have been awkward.

“…Why are you nodding at me?”  [Happiness]

“Don’t worry about it.”  [Youki]

I wasn’t thinking of anything bad. Rather, it was nicely played since Mikana was the one joining us. With Happiness in the team, we would be able to finish the mission without any problems.

After explaining the details of the request to the two of them, we decided to head to our destination by carriage.

“Make sure to secure your footing!”  [Mikana]

“Yes… I’ll be careful.”  [Youki]

I was cautioned by Mikana.

I might have relied too much on Cecilia’s carriage. Even though the mission hasn’t started yet, I’ve already been labelled as an inconsiderate man. Just how many times will Mikana be pointing out my faults today?

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