なのでモニカは昼休みになると、いつも人のいない場所を探して、ポケットに入れた木の実を齧っていたのだ。
She’s always doing that? I hope she’s also eating some other things; a diet based only on coffee and nuts cannot be healthy.
Also: She’s not beating the 子リス allegations. 
ぎこちなく首を捻ったモニカの視界に映ったのは、陰鬱な空気を漂わせた黒髪の令嬢クローディア・アシュリーだった。
Huh. I’m wondering how that will go down.
「無理やり言わせてんじゃないわよ！」
だよねー
「貧乏貴族がよく学費を払えたな、ぐらい言ってもいいわよ。実際、私もそう思ってるし。セレンディア学園に入学できたのは、ほんと運が良かったのよね。ご縁のある親切な方が支援してくださったの」
Hum hum. I think I’ll read again over the end of the prologue soon. This sounds like she might have a mission here, possibly from that mysterious benefactor.
「乗馬も、刺繡も、学園祭も……全部、楽しみ……です」
[…]
モニカは人の多い場所が苦手だ。その最たるものが祭りなのに……。
（……わたし、ちょっとワクワクしてる、かも）
She’s come so far 
学園祭で何かをしたいという目標があるわけではないが、成功すればいいと思う。無事に、なにごともなく。
Aaaand now you jinxed it. If that’s not a flag, I don’t know what is.
「我々の予定が他の生徒に伝わることに、なんの問題がある」
「……ニールは、ブリジット・グレイアムと二人きりで立ち会いをするのね……私以外の女と二人きりで……邪魔しなきゃ」
Haha. A question, asked and answered 
「……あらあら、名前で呼んでもらえないのね、お兄様。私はモニカとお友達だから名前で呼んでもらえるけれど、お兄様はただの顔見知りだから名前で呼んでもらえないのね。ただの顔見知りだから仕方ないわよね。後輩に慕われていない可哀想な、お、に、い、さ、ま」
I thought I kind of liked her after she saved Monica, but she’s been getting more and more on my nerves since then. I pity Cyril.
クローディアからは、なんだかとっても良い匂いがする。それなのに、これっぽっちも心が安らがないのは何故だろう。
何故だろう… it’s a mystery.
「誰が嫉妬など……っ！」
Answer: Felix is the one who’s gonna be jealous. (When he hears Monica call Cyril by his first name.)
そういえば、最近こっそり聞いていた魔術の授業では、精霊との契約は上級魔術師クラスでないとできないとかなんとか言っていた気がするが……。
Hmm. But can you only do it for yourself? Or could an upper-class magician do it for someone else, e.g. for Felix?
（じゃあ、あの王子は魔術師なのか？）
Nero seems to think the former.
この手のことはモニカに訊くのが一番だ。
Yes please!
隣には、よくモニカに意地悪を言う、焦茶の髪の垂れ目もいる。
That’s… not a bad summary of volume 1 Eliott
倉庫内の魔力反応は非常に弱いものだ。だが気のせいか、時間の経過と共に微妙に魔力が膨張している。
Maybe the device from the prologue? After all, we are almost at 74% of the book and we’ve yet to see it again.
ネロは木から飛び降りると、モニカのいる東門へ駆け出した。
Well… good luck with coming up with an excuse so you can check out this situation, Monica!
「……ケイシーが、縄を、切ったんですか？」
Oha. So it was her. I didn’t want to doubt her for a third time here, so I didn’t write anything earlier, but Kelsey suddenly vanishing and then getting into this seemed really weird.
Admittedly the other reason why I didn’t mention it was because I don’t have the slightest idea for what purpose this was. Just… sabotage? Did she try something specific and it went wrong?
But I guess Monica is asking that very question, so maybe I should stop typing these words and just read on 
Just one last side note though: That’s the second time Kelsey is near an incident concerning traders, and this time she is clearly somehow involved. (And I’m not counting the tea incident, when she was seemingly the only one who knew where Monica’s tea was… because I don’t want to think about that too much.)
ケイシーはモニカの数歩先まで歩くと、そこで足を止めて、くるりと振り返った。
その顔に浮かぶのは、いつもと変わらない快活な笑顔。
「あっはは、バレちゃったかぁ……うん、そう、私がやったの」
Quite the actor, aren’t we?
Don’t feed my earlier suspicions too much, please.
「モニカが嫌いだから、ちょっと意地悪してやろうと思って。本当はね、あの木材でモニカを狙ったのよ。そしたらドジ踏んじゃって、木材が自分の方に倒れてきちゃってさ。いやー、参ったわ」
Sometimes I hate it when I’m right.
I’m still pretty surprised though. If that’s true, she did a really good job playing her friend so far.
その口調も笑い方も、ケイシーはいつも通りを装おうとしているのだろう。
だが、どうしてもぬぐい切れない演技臭さがあった。ケイシーの言葉には、まるで用意していた台詞をそのまま口にしているかのような違和感がある。
Hum. Or maybe she’s being blackmailed or otherwise forced? Maybe by her mysterious “benefactor”?
「お茶会の授業の時、モニカの紅茶が捨てられてたの覚えてる？」
覚えてるよ。
「……わたし、昔、苛められてたことがあって……よく物を隠されて……だから私物には、名前、書かないんです」
Ha! So it was a clue after all, that nobody else would know that this was Monica’s.
Still, I hate being right in this case.
「西の倉庫に変な魔力反応があるぞ。しかも、徐々に強くなってやがる」
It’s nice that you’re not talking as a cat, Nero, but this doesn’t seem like something you should say in front of other people?!
「どうしてモニカが〈螺炎〉を知ってるのよ……？」
I mean, that question goes both ways, doesn’t it? 
その呟きを聞いた瞬間、今までのケイシーの行動が一つに繫がる。
Really? Okay, let’s hear it.
「ケイシーの目的は…………殿下の、暗殺？」
Yeah, but… what was the point of that whole “cutting the rope” deal when she didn’t know that Monica was actually a highly qualified mage and the prince’s bodyguard? If she knew that, it could’ve been a trap to put Monica out of order while things unfold on the other side of the campus, but since Kelsey clearly did not know that…
I guess I’ll find out soon?
Anyway, what a way to end the chapter. I’m glad that I had enough time to read the last few pages together, because there’s no way I could’ve stopped.
And it looks like my suspicions were right on the money every time. Still, she had me fooled enough that every time I was like “Naaah, probably nothing.”
And now a break until tomorrow before I devour the next chapter. Moments where Monica is using magic are always highlights and it looks like it’s going to be hard to stop once I start!
Same! I’m heading to China in less than two weeks and crazy distracted by travel preparations and learning Chinese, so I needed more than a week for the first half of this chapter but like half an hour last night for the second half, because once I was hooked, I was really hooked.
Since we’ve lately gotten bombarded with clues that Felix can do magic but doesn’t want anyone to know, maybe he’s so fascinated by the Silent Witch, because he hopes she can teach him chantless magic so that he can finally use his magic ability.
Since Monica learned about it at Minerva, is this a clue that her old, recently transfered teacher is involved, too?
I guess I’ll find out soon?
I hope so. There’s a lot about Casey’s behavior that doesn’t add up yet, but there are so many possibilities how it might fit together, that I can’t find the time for speculating.
Yeah, funnily enough, I felt the same way as Monica about Casey. Her behavior was sus sometimes, but at others she just felt too much like a genuine friend for it to be an act.
Oh, that’s a good idea! I feel like it might be more than that (I think I remember him mainly describing how precise and “beautiful” her magic was?), but that aspiration might be one element of his adoration.
I don’t think he’s related. Casey has had the tool since the prologue at least, and if I was a teacher moonlighting as an assassin I’d probably not show my tools of the trade in class.
Also, if that half-senile seeming old man is somehow involved I’d be really surprised
Btw, maybe you can just pack the whole post into the details section? I might be more sensitive than others to spoilers, but even meta stuff like “it gets really exciting at the end” are things that I’d rather find out by myself than by accidentally reading about it and then being prepared for it.
