EP.235 An Uninvited Guest (3)
The Mage’s Night is approaching.
There was about a month of leeway until the largest event would be held, and I thought I should organize the work I needed to do before the event began.
‘First, I guess I need to handle this.’
As I rolled a potion bottle between my fingers, I walked forward. The place I arrived at was the Royal Guard’s office, and since I had already received an invitation, entering the office wasn’t too difficult.
Creek.
As I opened the office door and stepped in, what caught my eye was a living zombie. I greeted the contradictory being.
“How have you been, Kalt?”
A desk piled with mountains of paperwork and rivers of books.
The zombie, sprawled across the desk, slowly raised its head and looked at me. Kalt blinked his dull eyes a couple of times and spoke in a cracked voice.
“… I think I’m going to die, sir.”
“You sure look like it.”
I smiled wryly and settled onto the desk.
Picking up a document from the scattered pile, I read it, but the content wasn’t very pleasant.
“An illegal research facility? Are there still people building it openly in the capital?”
“Lately, since inspections haven’t been conducted properly, they’ve sprung up like weeds in the underground waterways. I haven’t slept in days because I’ve been busy cleaning them up.”
“But isn’t that just the usual routine?”
Since ancient times, the cleanup of illegal research facilities and the assassination of rogue mages had always been in the Royal Guard’s hands.
In short, it was just a mundane task. I didn’t think Kalt would be groaning about such routine work.
“True, it’s a bit of a hassle, but it’s not a huge problem. I just need to get out there and take care of it. The real issue is…”
Kalt pulled out a badge buried under the paperwork.
“This is it. This.”
Guarder.
I blinked as I looked at the engraved words on the badge.
“Guarder? I’ve never heard of that title before?”
“They say it’s a title given to the head of the Royal Guard. It seems that the tradition of having no leader in the Royal Guard has been broken this time.”
It wasn’t hard to guess why it was broken.
“… You were just too extraordinary, huh?”
Kalt’s presence was indeed peculiar among the Royal Guard.
A knight from the battlefield, he had amassed countless achievements even before becoming part of the Royal Guard.
‘It would be a bit odd to just leave such a person as a mere ‘Royal Guard.’’
I nodded and added, “You have indeed achieved quite a bit.”
“That’s true, but that’s not all. There are also the recent incidents in Apuria and the events we experienced together, sir?”
Kalt continued, ticking off fingers one by one.
“First, the Skebal subjugation battle that happened around spring.”
“That was related to Resti, right?”
“And then, the Traitor subjugation battle in the summer.”
“That was with Belnoa and Chloe. That was tough.”
“… And again, the recent Skebal subjugation battle.”
“Oh, that was really dangerous. That skull-headed jerk came with some bizarre crystal…”
As I recalled the past incidents, Kalt let out a long sigh.
“It seems like whenever I get involved with you, a lot of incidents happen…”
“Well, I tend to find where incidents occur.”
Because there was no one else competent enough to take on the job.
“… In any case, it’s three times in a year. I’ve repelled disasters three times, and with such achievements, the royal court officials have started to have some difficulty dealing with me.”
“Difficulty?”
“Yeah. It’s too much of an achievement for a single knight. So it seems they decided to promote me this time. Things have gotten a bit tangled up…”
Listening to Kalt, it appeared that the recent disappearance of the First Prince and the restructuring of the Royal Guard’s power system had led to a complicated situation.
At the end of it all, Kalt was given…
“So the result is that you’ve become the head of the Royal Guard?”
The title of Guarder.
“Yeah. Not exactly thrilled about it, though.”
He didn’t seem to like it much, but it was certainly a prestigious position.
“The work itself hasn’t changed. I’ll just be running around as usual and handling tasks…”
Kalt trailed off.
It didn’t take long for his trailing words to turn into a sigh.
Hoo…
With an expression like he was about to cry, Kalt gazed blankly at the desk.
“The amount is doubled.”
A mountain of paperwork piled haphazardly.
The sparkle in Kalt’s eyes had long faded as he looked at the paper tower.
“The papers… the papers just won’t decrease…”
“Once an organization restructures, the amount of work becomes insane. It should get better after a while.”
I smiled bitterly and patted Kalt’s shoulder.
“Well, you’ve been promoted, right?”
“True.”
“Then as your senior, I should give you a gift.”
Snap.
I reached for Kalt’s head and grabbed it.
“… What are you doing? Why are you grabbing my head?”
“Just hold still.”
“No, why are you…?”
“Shh, just don’t move.”
While holding his head, I popped the potion bottle I’d been rolling around into my magical tool.
A magical tool inscribed with an enhancement seal.
The potion I inserted was a recovery potion developed by Cardi himself. It raises the self-healing capabilities of a superhuman to their limits, providing additional support.
Hiss. Just hold still.
I directed the syringe tip towards Kalt’s left eye. His only remaining right eye trembled.
“Hey, just wait a second…”
“Ah ah ah, hold still. This is an incredibly expensive potion. It cost half a year’s budget of the tower to make, okay? Do you have any idea how many golds I burned to make this?”
“How many golds are we talking about…?”
I whispered the exact amount into Kalt’s ear.
“E-eight, nine, ten…?! Oh my gosh…”
It seemed like an unimaginable sum for Kalt, as he gasped. I nodded to confirm.
“The fourth digit on my bank balance has changed.”
“… The fourth digit? Just how much money do you have, sir?”
“I told you last time. I could probably build about five towers with this money. Anyway, it’s expensive, so just hold still.”
As I spoke, I squeezed Kalt’s head tightly and inserted the syringe right next to his eye.
Gaaaah…!
Kalt’s strange scream echoed, but I successfully finished the injection. It would take about ten days for the recovery to fully kick in, but the effects would surely be significant.
“Congratulations on your promotion, Kalt.”
I smiled and slapped Kalt’s back hard.
“… Thank you for the gift. I honestly didn’t think I could heal this.”
As he rubbed his eyes, Kalt suddenly seemed to remember something and shot a sly glance at me.
“Sir.”
“What?”
“Could you buy me a building in the capital when I retire? My dream is to be a landlord…”
“Looking at you, I’d say that’s not going to happen.”
Looks like he hasn’t given up on that dream yet.
2.
The foremost job, restoring Kalt’s eyesight, was done. Next on my agenda weren’t pressing matters.
‘These aren’t things that can be handled in just a day or two; they’re long-term objectives.’
It was just normal tasks that needed to be managed along the way.
Having returned to my usual routine, I continued teaching at Apuria as always.
“Today’s class ends here.”
Just as always, I wrapped up the class and assigned homework.
“Any questions?”
If there was anything different from usual, it was that students had begun to respond to my usual parting words at the end of class.
“Uh, Professor Rania. About that part you just taught…”
After class, students started coming to me with questions. Until now, I would usually leave the lecture room when the bell rang, but now I found myself lingering for a few more minutes as students approached with inquiries.
“This works like this… You engrave the circuit this way. Any other parts you want to go over?”
“Professor, I also have a question about this…”
“Sure. Let’s take a look.”
Thanks to this, I often returned later to my office, occasionally keeping my mentor waiting for our meal appointment, but my mentor seemed pleased with this situation.
“You’ve grown, Rania.”
“Really? In what way?”
“It’s good to keep some distance from your students, but being completely mysterious isn’t ideal. It makes them think you’re not one of them.”
In this regard, I had indeed made progress.
I had begun to show a more human side.
As my mentor said this, I tilted my head in confusion and asked.
“A more human side?”
“I’m referring to how you behaved at the beginning of the second semester. You were completely unbearable, and I couldn’t show my face for days after those events.”
“… Ah.”
Embarrassed by the subject, I hurriedly changed the topic, and my mentor gave me a subtle scolding, implying I knew better.
In any case, I spent my days like that.
I was starting to get used to the lectures and recognizing my students’ faces. Basking in the crisp autumn air, I headed to the forest near Apuria.
An additional task added to my routine… well, to conduct a ‘special class.’
“Oh, they’re here.”
Students had already arrived in the forest.
“Lac. Belnoa.”
The two who had experienced the trial of the Holy Grail.
Looking at the two, who I had much to teach, I lightly stretched my wrists.
“Shall we get started today?”
3.
“Hey, Belnoa.”
“What?”
“Why do you come back covered in dirt every three days? I heard from the maids that you’ve already destroyed three outfits?”
“… I have my reasons.”
A deeply hidden reason.
Something that couldn’t be revealed.
Belnoa sighed deeply, tilting her head back. After receiving ‘education’ today as well, she felt exhausted throughout her body. It seemed her arms didn’t want to lift anymore.
“Reasons you can’t say? What could that be?”
When Belnoa didn’t reply, Chloe tilted her head and glanced around. Next to her sat Lac, who was applying an ice pack to his neck.
“Lac. Do you know anything?”
“I have my reasons I can’t say.”
“Who hit you?”
“…”
Lac remained silent.
Though they had unwittingly opened up to each other, Belnoa chose not to pry further.
“Even if I ask him, he won’t say.”
After all, this was a private lesson conducted in secret.
Belnoa twisted her stiff shoulders and flexed her fingers. The sensation left in her hands was rough.
‘It seems pulling it out is still difficult.’
The new direction of sorcery she had seen during the trial.
She was struggling to draw it out, but had barely grasped any of it.
“I’ll be the trial.”
While Professor Rania had been watching, the path ahead still looked long. With a body worn from that ‘trial,’ Belnoa let out a sigh.
Hoo…
As Belnoa sighed like an old person who’d tasted all bitterness in life, Chloe, sipping from her teacup, spoke up.
“By the way, Belnoa, the Mage’s Night is coming up, right?”
“Oh, I heard it was happening.”
“Are you going to the Magic Academy Conference with Yetual?”
“Well, since he’s my master, I suppose so.”
“… I thought so.”
Chloe looked at Belnoa with envy.
“You too, Lac, right?”
“Yeah. It looks like I’ll be participating with my mentor too. He’s coming to the capital for this opportunity…”
“Hmm…”
Chloe’s shoulders drooped slightly.
Seeing her unusual demeanor, Belnoa blinked in surprise. Chloe, who should be the happiest during a festival, seemed off today.
“What’s wrong? Don’t you want to go?”
“… Yeah. Yetual told me to stay in my room for the ten days of the festival.”
“Suddenly?”
“I don’t know. He doesn’t seem to know either, but he said I shouldn’t go out, at least.”
Chloe lowered her head and sighed.
‘There must be a reasonable explanation…’
Yet, her depressed appearance was hard to look at. Congratulations during a festival, keeping Chloe, who usually enjoys such events, locked up for ten days was almost torture.
“The Mage of Ancient Dragons is coming too. Who knows when a chance like this will come again…”
Chloe sulked.
Not wanting her to dwell on it until the festival, Belnoa finally spoke up.
“Three days or four, that’s out of the question.”
“… Huh?”
“I’ll stop by on the fifth day and take you out. If we wander around together, he shouldn’t say anything.”
“Really?”
“It’s not like I’ve never done this before.”
These two had repeatedly escaped from the restrictions imposed on them by the Head of the Black Tower.
‘This time should be no different.’
As mages congregated from various places, security during the festival would tighten. With knights spread out across the streets, surely there wouldn’t be any issues.
‘Especially with the Mage of Ancient Dragons attending…’
No one would dare act foolishly in front of a being akin to a god.
“Really? It’s a promise!”
As Chloe cheered, Belnoa let out a faint smile. It might be a bit of a hassle, but if that girl was happy, then that was good enough.
