This Delusional Voice Keeps Telling Me I’m a Villain

I Want a Matching Pair

Translated by: chocolala
Proofread by: Lil-valley

To be honest, I was relieved. Theodore really wasn’t interested in the boy from before. Rather, the look on his face stated he was disturbed and uncomfortable.  

Oh, yeah, I was really relieved. I thought…maybe Theodore would get taken from me…

I… I might be quite possessive, surprisingly…

It must be because this matter concerned Theodore; I had subconsciously thought that he would remain as family no matter what happened… I didn’t want to hand Theodore to that boy earlier. I wonder why…

…A lot has happened, but let’s change the topic! Theodore didn’t even pay him any mind. I even received some custard pudding to bring home; I’m so very content!! 

Theodore and I headed for the main street. The avenue was as crowded as ever, with people coming and going. As I was browsing through the street, I noticed something: there were a lot of people wearing accessories in pairs. 

In Janvangar, many people—not just couples—wore matching jewellery as a sign of affection. Friends and family would buy matching accessories and wear them on a daily basis. While such behavior was commonplace in commoner culture, this was not so popular among the nobles…  

But, at this moment, I felt like the matching accessories were very nice.

“Theodore, to commemorate this day, why don’t we buy something? Maybe something like a ring? I think it’ll be nice.”

“Ring?”

“Yes! Let’s turn it into a necklace with a chain. Why don’t we wear the same one?” I suggested. 

Although we were family, we weren’t related by blood. Lately, we hadn’t seen each other at all, and I wanted to have some kind of proof of our connection. This was the perfect time. 

Theodore was surprised by my suggestion but nodded. “We can. Alright, let’s go.” 

He, even more enthusiastically than I—the one who suggested the commemoration—took my hand. With a firm gait, as if he had an accessory shop already in mind, he headed for a place downtown and entered a shop. That shop had a very nice atmosphere… 

It was an upscale silver jewellery shop. 

Silver was one of the most expensive precious metals in Janvangar. Gold was expensive, but silver was even more expensive. This was because… silver was used as a magic tool.

Silver was also used in ornaments and household utensils, but since its conductivity was incomparable to that of other metals, it was mainly used to make magic tools. After magic was passed through the medium of silver, the magic tool became imbibed with magic power: for example, a knife with unusual sharpness or an enchanted mirror. These tools could also come in the form of a protective amulet or an automatic shield against enemies. That was why silver was in such high demand and cost so much in Janvangar. Naturally, accessories made from such silver would be spectacularly expensive. 

Theodore and I walked into the silver jewellery shop, and I was the only one to tremble over the prices. 

“Oh, dear! You can buy ten 500g bags of sugar for just a pair of earrings! Theodore!” 

“In other words, you can buy silver jewellery with 5kg of sugar…” 

The staggering price freaked me out. 

I belonged to a ducal family, so I never had to worry about money. I was the type of person who would buy anything if I wanted it; but, if a product was obviously expensive, I would shy away from it. Theodore, on the other hand, was unconcerned. He took the catalogue from the shop assistant, selected the items without hesitation, and showed me his picks. 

“The ones on this page are currently in stock and can also be worn by men. This one allows you to add your own design for extra charge. I can also imbue magic to the ring, so you can ignore the price for that process. For now, just choose what you’d like.” 

“Huh, imbuing magic?! Theodore will take care of it? You can do that?”

“I can. It’s easy when you know the theory. By manipulating the metal with magic, we can construct a framework of mechanisms, within which we can build a memory board and the basics of circuitry, as well as a pseudo-permanent engine and energy amplification…”

“I-I got it! I don’t really get that but I got it! I’ll entrust that to Theodore!”

I really have zero understanding of magic theories or something, but Theodore was a true genius… I already knew he could do anything, but never had I imagined he could also process silver using magic… 

But wait… All of the rings that Theodore recommended were among the most expensive in the catalogue! Their prices even reached millions! With the pocket money from the ducal house it was still affordable, but I didn’t dare wear that while walking outside! Impossible! 

“Isn’t it expensive?! Like, too expensive?!!”

“Urschel. The spell I’m about to imbue on the ring only works on high quality silver.”

“Wait, I don’t know what spell you’re going to imbue, but! If it’s a matching pair with you, I wouldn’t mind any ring…”

To be honest, I was thinking of any old accessory—something cheap sold at some stalls that only cost around 10001 and wouldn’t look embarrassing to wear. And here came silver! Even that the idea of buying silver was astounding enough! 

But, it seemed Theodore thought differently from me. 

“All the more reason for us to pick something good because they’ll be our matching accessories. Plus, it has to last for years, even decades. They have to be something worthy. I wouldn’t let Urschel have anything halfway decent.”

Years, even decades… Did he mean for me to keep the ring on me for my whole life…? So did that mean Theodore was going to keep the ring for years and decades as well…?

“Cer-certainly, they aren’t something we can buy half-heartedly… It’s something we’ll both keep forever.”

For some reason, my cheeks were burning…

I looked at the ring’s designs without paying attention to the prices written in the catalogue. Amongst the simple silver rings, there were some with a mix of lines and crosses, rugged rings, and rings with quirky designs such as feather motifs. 

…Among them, I found…

“Theodore, how about this?”

A beautiful silver ring with curved lines in the shape of a bird.

The two rings looked like the beaks of birds facing each other when placed together. They were not too flamboyant, but they matched each other. I found them to be a good choice. The price was… I’d better pretend I didn’t see it.

Also, there was a height difference between the birds facing each other—roughly the same as our height difference. I liked that because it looked like us.

Theodore seemed to like it too, and, when he received the catalogue from me, he directed our purchase to the shop assistant. 

So quick! Very cool!!

“I’ve also ordered the chains.”

“Huh?! You also bought the chains?”

“The ring is silver; if the chain is made out of cheap plated metal, it’s just not right.”

“That’s true, but… Am I going to spend every day of my life wearing insanely expensive things…?”

“Urschel, you’re strangely like a commoner in quirky ways…”

As we conversed, the shopkeeper prompted us for payment. The rings we ordered today would be delivered to the Minusle estate in a few days, after being adjusted for size.

Theodore then said, “I’ll work on the rings once it’s delivered, so it won’t be in Urschel’s hands for a while. 

“Of course! No problem. I’m already so happy since I’ve always wanted for us to have something matching!”

It was very expensive, I have to cherish it by using it to make it worth the price… More importantly, Theodore, the super genius, will personally imbue magic on them!

“Theodore, somehow this feels really exciting. It’s YOU we’re talking about here, I’m sure you’ll create something far beyond my imagination!”

At my words, Theodore looked away, as if he was embarrassed. “If you expect too much from me, I’ll be under a bit of pressure, you know?”

“It’s not an expectation, it’s a given! I’m totally looking forward to it! When the rings are ready, show them to me first!”

“Okay…”

Then, out of nowhere, our eyes met. We both laughed at each other reflexively. 

Yup! I’m happy!  

The shop assistant, who was watching us, blinked and asked us a question that he had seemingly been wondering about this entire time, “Um… Are you two in a relationship?” 

“Huh?”

“You two look so close… So, I assumed you two were lovers…?”

He said we looked so close—like lovers…!!

For some reason, I was too embarrassed to answer the question.

 

Feel free to try this at home: Urschel’s custard pudding! (No oven needed and will deliver proper sweetness) 

*This pudding has no caramel! Because Urschel’s also has no caramel in it! If you want the caramel version, please search for the recipe yourself.

Ingredients (roughly for 3 to 4 persons)

3 eggs (yolks only)

60g granulated sugar (120g if you want to taste Urschel’s version)

400ml milk

200ml fresh cream

10g gelatine

8 drops of vanilla essence (using vanilla bean is more authentic; use about half from a vanilla pod)

*If you want to make it for less than two people, you can proceed by using two eggs and halving all the ingredients.

How to make:

Put the egg yolks and 60g granulated sugar (if making with 120g, use half of the 60g first) into a bowl and mix with a whisk. When the mixture starts to turn white, it’s OK.Pour the milk (if using 120g granulated sugar, add the remaining 60g at this time) into a small saucepan. Then, heat it over medium-low heat until the milk comes to a light simmer. Turn off the heat and add the liquid to the bowl with the eggs and sugar in three batches, mixing with a wooden spoon each time (do not allow the mixture to foam)Once the mixing is complete, transfer the contents of the bowl to a small saucepan, add the gelatine, and cook over very low heat. When the gelatine has dissolved, add the vanilla essence (or vanilla bean) and, when you scoop the mixture with a wooden spoon, run your finger through the dough on the spoon; if you can draw a line, remove it from the heat.After removing the batter from the heat, strain it through a colander (or a tea strainer) into a bowl. Add the cream at this point. (If you want a fluffy pudding, whisk the cream for about two minutes and mix it in patiently.)Pour into a bowl and chill in the fridge for at least 3 hours.

If the batter does not set after 3 hours, soak gelatine in 3 tablespoons of water and heat it in the microwave for 20 seconds. Mix the dissolved gelatine in the batter; wait and check the mixture again.

If you have a sweet tooth and want to get even more into Urschel’s character, you can drizzle the pudding with syrup, honey or maple. Personally, I recommend pouring caramelised condensed milk over it, but there is a high probability that your tongue will go crazy and you will kick the bucket.

chocolala: They got matching rings! And Urschel still dense about it (or not?) BTW, the recipe made this chapter longer than it should, sorry this week is kinda short, but don’t worry, next week is guaranteed to make you squeal, lol

Footnotes

It doesn’t state the currency here, but I guess the author is probably thinking in Japanese yen, so 1000yen is around 10USD, so he really means cheap stuff at the roadside