The Ultimate Sage Who Faked Incompetence and Was Disinherited Just Wants to Enjoy His New Life! - Episode 106: Cultural Differences

Episode 106: Cultural Differences

After finishing the meal and returning to the room, I immediately summoned Pii-chan. Pii-chan popped out from the distorted space in front of me. No matter how many times I see it, it’s a strange sight.

“Have you finished your meal?”

“Yeah, we’re done. Now all that’s left is to sleep and get ready for tomorrow.”

It seemed that Ardan and the others were going to take a bath now. Apparently, they made sure we could go straight into the bath once we came back. I was thankful. Of course, I expressed my thanks.

“We have to wake up early tomorrow morning and head out.”

“Yeah. I want to finish the preparations as early as possible.”

As we talked about that, my eyelids began to droop. I thought I still had plenty of magical power. But it seemed like my physical strength was more exhausted than my magic.

“Fel, let’s go to sleep first.”

“It’s okay, Aniki. I’ll explain everything to the others when they get back.”

“Really? Then I’ll go ahead and sleep.”

I crawled into bed. Lilia quickly snuggled into my chest. I remember up to that point.

—

“Aniki, Boss lady, it’s about time to wake up.”

“Mmm, did something happen?”

“No, it’s just that it’s morning already. Aren’t we supposed to leave early today?”

It’s already morning? No way. I’m sure I just got into bed. I check on Lilia lying against my chest. She’s still asleep. And completely naked. That’s not good.

“Pii-chan, could you bring me something like a towel?”

“Understood!”

I wrapped Lilia in the towel Pii-chan brought. Then I gently placed her near the pillow so no one would accidentally step on her. And I covered her with a blanket. That should be fine. Even if she’s still half-asleep, she shouldn’t be wandering around naked now.

Lilia doesn’t need breakfast. The ones who need it are us. As I slowly got out of bed, I saw that everyone else was already awake.

“Good morning.”

“G-Good morning. Are you alright now?”

“Alright with what?”

“With what… you know…”

Jill glanced over at the bed. Yeah, this is one of those situations where they’ve totally misunderstood something. How should I explain this?

“It’s fine. Last night I was just recharging Lilia’s magic while we slept.”

“I-I see. Pii-chan said, ‘Aniki and Boss lady are sleeping together, so be quiet.’ So I thought for sure…”

“Pii-chan?”

Pii-chan made a face like, “Huh?” It didn’t seem to mean anything bad, but the way it phrased it was problematic. If you asked whether a Spirit understands human nighttime activities, probably not.

I explained things again to the three of them, who still looked doubtful. But I wasn’t sure if they really understood. If Lilia suddenly showed up naked now, everything would be over.

With a praying-like mental state, I ate the breakfast Ardan had prepared.

—

“I think finishing the battlefield setup will take about one or two hours.”

“I see. What can we do in the meantime?”

“It’s possible that sea monsters might attack. So I’d like you to keep watch.”

“Right. We’ll stay on alert.”

Around the time breakfast ended, Lilia finally woke up. Her eyes were still drowsy, but she was properly dressed. What a relief.

“Mornin’~”

“Good morning, Lilia. You used a lot of magic yesterday, so you must be tired.”

“More than I thought, apparently. I want to finish everything quickly and go back to sleep with Fel again, nice and cozy.”

Ah, everyone’s gaze is oddly sharp. Now that I think about it, maybe Fairies don’t understand human nighttime activities either. What should I do? I should probably have a serious talk with the two of them. But for now, I have to cover this up somehow.

“Yeah, let’s finish quickly and head back. How’s your magic power? No issues?”

“I got plenty from Fel yesterday, so I’m good. Hehehe.”

Lilia gave me a blissful smile. According to her, my magic power is really tasty. I don’t know if magic power even has a taste. Or rather, isn’t any contractor’s magic tasty to their Spirit?

“Fel, you…”

“You’re wrong! You’re misunderstanding something, right, Jill!?”

Not just Jill—Ardan and Elise also had awkward expressions. It’s a misunderstanding. A total misunderstanding. How did it come to this? It’s amazing how cultural differences between species can align perfectly with misunderstandings like this!

—

In the end, we arrived at the battlefield we prepared yesterday, still misunderstood. For now, the plan is “let’s try to keep the rooms separate,” which I appreciate. But there’s still a fuzzy feeling in my chest.

Lilia used magic to flatten the surface of the raft made of logs. The flat space increased little by little. It was probably to prevent slipping. When I touched the surface, it had a rough texture.

“I wish I could help too.”

“It’s fine. I’m getting magical power from Fel. Thanks to that, I can use magic—so it’s basically like Fel is the one creating it.”

“Is that so…”

Maybe that’s true. But while Lilia is working hard, I’m just standing beside her. I feel kind of useless.

The waves gradually began to rise. The dark sea was probably getting closer. Maybe because of that, sometimes sea monsters would leap onto the raft.

All of those were dealt with by Ardan and the others.

“Leave the monsters climbing onto the raft to us. You two focus on your task.”

Once he said that, there was nothing I could do to help. I continued to supply Lilia with magical power as she worked. It felt like the waves were getting even higher.

“It might be time to use the Mild Wave spell.”

“Yeah. The dark sea is already right up close. The waves are going to get higher soon.”

Looking out, I could see the dark sea approaching from afar. It had already come into visible range. It looked like we’d manage to finish the final adjustments to the battlefield just in time.

When I used the Mild Wave, the previous rough swells calmed down as if it had all been a lie. Ardan and the others noticed this and gathered around.

“Looks like you used magic. Is your magical power okay?”

“I’m still fine.”

“Using magic over such a wide area would usually drain it quickly. But I guess that’s just how incredible Fel is.”

“Y-Yeah…”

Elise seemed completely amazed. As someone who can use the same magic, she might have noticed the abnormal amount of magical power I have even more than Ardan or Jill.

Like Lilia said, maybe it really wouldn’t be strange if I were called a Demon King. Maybe I should be more careful about how much magic I use.

At last, our preparations were complete. The raft was now quietly floating in the dark sea, like a leaf drifting on a lake. Only a little time remained until the battle with the Water Spirit.

I didn’t think the Water Spirit would ignore us and move on after we foiled its scheme—but we still needed to make sure it paid attention to us.

“Lilia, can you tell how far the Water Spirit is from here?”

“Umm, let’s see…”

Lilia seemed to be sensing the Water Spirit’s magical power. But unfortunately, I couldn’t. Through Analyze, I could vaguely feel some magical power. But I had no idea where the real body was. In that area, it seems I really can’t compete with a Fairy skilled in magic.

“At this speed, it’ll reach this area in about thirty minutes.”

“It’s in the sea, right?”

“It’s in the sea.”

Hearing that, Ardan folded his arms. Jill and Elise also had serious expressions on their faces. The ship that brought us here had already gone back to land. By now, they should be hurrying the evacuation near the port. The dark sea should already be visible from the port too. The waves near the port must also be starting to get rough.

“We’ve got to find some way to drag it out of the sea.”

Ardan looked at me as he said that. Jill, standing beside him, nodded.

“I’m thinking of trying Water Tornado, like when we took down the Water Dragon. Maybe we can pull it out of the sea.”

“I’m counting on you. But don’t push yourself.”

He looked at me with concern. But there’s no problem.

“It’s okay. Right now, Lilia is the one using Mild Wave. So I can focus entirely on the fight.”

Division of roles is important. I want to keep Lilia, who’s important to me, safely in the rear. Elise will probably be in the same place. So, I’d like the two of them to work together to support us.

“Well then, I’m counting on you, Fel. Now then, I wonder what form it’ll take when it appears.”

Ardan checked his equipment. Jill checked the footing and nodded with satisfaction.

“With this much space, we should be able to handle most monsters. Even a Kraken wouldn’t be a problem.”

“Now the issue is how we’ll stop the Water Spirit from trying to dive back into the sea.”

Once the battle turns against it, it will definitely try to escape into the ocean. How do we stop that? That’s another challenge.