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Author’s Note: I really wanted to include this in the main story, but I felt like it would’ve bloated the chapters and thrown off the flow, so I’m briefly writing it out here without any narration.

It also includes some world building.

Interlude 1: Magic = Sorcery

Natalia: “I’ve been wondering for a while, but magicians are called that because they use magic, but wouldn’t that mean that sorcerers use sorcery?”

Damuel: “Magic is just easier to say than sorcery, but sorcerer just sounds cooler than magician.”

Natalia: “Huh, that’s it?”

Damuel: “It’s a trend that started around 120 years ago. A group of young court magicians began calling themselves sorcerers, and that name was quickly adopted amongst the higher ranks of nobility, and that’s how we ended up here.”

Natalia: (So names also evolve like that in this world, huh…)

Damuel: “There are also wizards and witches though. Usually someone who can cast high level spells while omitting half their chants and without the aid of a staff gets that title.”

Interlude 2: A battle maid’s fighting style

Ruri: “Hey, Natalia, have you thought of doing that thing? You know, with the curtsy before throwing bombs everywhere from under your skirt?”

Natalia: “I did think of trying that, but I don’t really have bombs here. There are spells to make explosions but I can’t use them, and making exploding magic devices wouldn’t be too efficient. Also, I can always keep stuff in my magic storage, so I don’t really need to hide anything under my skirt.”

Ruri: “But you still keep those small arms in there?”

Natalia: “I keep those for surprise attacks in certain situations, but they only work if they’re attached to my body, so I can’t keep them in my magic storage. It’s better to keep them attached rather than trying to find a moment in the middle of a fight.”

Plum: “Should I try learning some fighting styles as well?”

Natalia: “If you want that, you should think of a way that won’t use too much mana, since you can’t be active for too long. Considering your size, something small like a dagger might be for the best too.”

Natalia: (It’s a bit of a shame she can’t put her full power to use, but carrying a large weapon would throw her off balance, and she can’t use magic storage like me so it’d be too cumbersome too. Maybe a magic blade would be better…actually no, that would drain her mana and shorten her active time even more. Maybe a magic device would work…though that would still require her to charge it up with mana beforehand…)

Plum: “Sister has stopped responding…”

Ruri: (I guess she’s the type to read through the entire manual before assembling plastic models and things like that.)

Interlude 3: Olivia’s love talks

Olivia: “I thought noble parents would always choose their children’s spouses, but that doesn’t apply to you Chris and Ryuka?”

Chris: “They haven’t thought about that yet, since I’ll be busy working at our research center for now.”

Ryuka: “My wedding is on hold as well. Though they’ll probably search for someone within three years.”

Olivia: “To be honest I used to think Chris and Mathias were engaged when I first met them.”

Amy: “Speaking of which, what do you think about Mathias, Chris?”

Chris: “I don’t.”

Mathias: “I’m glad you’re finally acknowledging that now.”

Chris: “It’s not that I’d be against it, I wouldn’t be able to refuse if our parents decided we should marry anyway. It’s just that I don’t see Mathias in a romantic way.”

Mathias: “Same here. I think our parents did think of it at some point in the past, but since they put us together since we were small we turned out more like siblings.”

Olivia: “Hmmm. Say, Mathias, is there anyone you like?”

Mathias: “Ghah!”

Amy: “You’re the last person who should be asking that!”

Chris: “Mathias, pull yourself together!”

Ryuka: “Ignorance can sometimes be the most lethal weapon…”

Olivia: “?”

Interlude 4: Marize’s possibility for a straight romance flag, and Ruri’s kimono

Mathias: “I only see Marize as my junior, not to mention that she’s already engaged even if she dislikes it, so I have no intention to meddle with that.”

Oswald: “I’m also into older girls, so yeah, let’s just stay as friends.”

Marize: “Why are you two talking like you’re rejecting me?”

Natalia: “Actually, I’ve been wondering for a while, but your kimono looks kinda weird, doesn’t it?”

Ruri: “Oh, yeah. It used to be a regular kimono, but we kept getting attacked by monsters and bandits on our way to Ingralowe, so eventually it broke apart, and this is how I sew it back together.”

Afterword: Somehow I’d really like to see Marize refer to Olivia as sister by mistake and get all weirded out.

I’m not the only one, right?

Also, Ruri’s kimono became like that because the 3D models I used as reference to create the characters lacked the necessary parts.

The main chapters will return after this.