Chapter 4
What a shame. Truly a shame.
On the way back in the carriage.
Baron Avril let out a long sigh, looking out the window.
To think such talent is buried in a place like this.
The image of the mage girl he'd just met, Lunaris Evermoon, still lingered in his mind.
Such overwhelming magic, so out of place on such a small, frail body!
I thought I'd seen quite a few mages while going around providing relief, but this was the first time I'd seen one like her.
I was surprised too, my lord.
The knight riding beside him nodded.
She could easily have been arrogant, yet she was humble as well. She'll surely go far someday.
The baron nodded and smiled bitterly.
Someone with that much talent would surely be welcomed at the imperial court as well.
Especially in an age like this, when mages are so rare.
Mages have always played an important role as a deterrent to war.
Magic had long been used in daily life in all sorts of ways.
There were plenty of uses for it, but not many proper mages, so each one was precious.
Not to mention, Miss Lunaris isn't an ordinary mage.
She's an advanced mage, one who has mastered both water and wind magic. And she's only just old enough to enter the academy.
She'd surely thrive as an ace even in the Imperial Mage Corps. She might even rise beyond the commander and become the first transcendent-tier mage since the founding of the empire.
After finishing his thought, the knight closed his mouth with an awkward expression.
I suppose I got a little too excited.
But the baron was even more excited.
Right. If only we could put such a talent in a key post in the imperial palace...!
He even said that the one who recommended her would have received a considerable reward from the imperial family as well.
A deep note of regret seeped into his lament.
But Miss Lunaris is so stubborn, isn't she? She doesn't seem to have any intention of leaving the forest.
Hm. That's just childishness from not knowing the outside world. Judging by this, she's definitely sixteen.
Baron Avril couldn't even imagine that Lunaris wasn't leaving the hut simply because she was lazy.
It feels like just a tiny bit of motivation would do the trick...
At that moment, as if something had just occurred to him, the knight made a suggestion to the baron.
Right, my lord. Come to think of it, didn't the imperial family send a mage to investigate this incident? How about consulting that person?
Baron Avril's eyes lit up.
He nodded with a satisfied smile.
That's an excellent idea.
*
Recently, I'd reclaimed my life of sleeping soundly.
Today too, the bed was plush and the blanket was fluffy.
The village had regained peace, and the forest seemed to have returned to normal as well.
And the lord who had tried to drag me off to some strange place had been cleanly driven away.
It was truly a perfect and blissful lazy life.
Lately, I've been spending my time researching herbs.
It wasn't as if I was worried about Lia's injured leg. Absolutely not.
This was just a way to pass the time. I was bored stiff from reading books all the time and had simply found a new hobby.
I was lying in bed, lazily yawning as I stirred the bubbling cauldron.
“Luna~ Could you open the door?”
Auntie's voice came from outside.
I flicked my finger, and the door opened on its own.
“Welcome, Auntie.”
“How have you been? Luna, you're getting prettier by the day, girl~”
“Haha...”
“What's your secret? Is it because you sleep well? Ugh~ I should be able to sleep comfortably too, but I keep waking up because of the snoring from that nuisance in our house.”
Auntie was carrying a heavy bundle in her hands as she came into the room.
It contained the groceries and daily necessities she usually brought, along with the extra things I'd asked for separately.
“Here, I also brought the herbs you mentioned. It was a bit of a hassle finding them since not a single villager escaped unhurt, hoho!”
I took one gold coin from the pouch on the table and placed it in Auntie's hand.
“Oh my, a gold coin? Don't you have any silver? I don't have enough money to make change.”
“It's fine, Auntie. You always go through so much trouble coming all the way here.”
“Is that so? Ohoho! You're generous. Still, this is too much, so let's just count it as prepayment for the groceries you'll have me bring next time.”
Honestly, I'd forgotten where I put my other coins.
I could find them if I searched the room, but honestly, I couldn't be bothered.
“Oh! Thank you so much for what happened last time. Thanks to you, the villagers survived.”
“It was nothing. I just got lucky.”
I hadn't expected to be thanked all of a sudden, so I awkwardly fussed with my hair.
“I don't know the details, but I can still picture the ice chunks raining down from the sky. That's magic, right?”
“Yes, more or less?”
“Goodness, I had no idea you were a mage. You're always lying on the bed all day long. Honestly, seeing you like that, I was worried you might not be doing any proper work at all.”
“Haha...”
“Then the person who came to our village must be a mage too?”
“...Huh?”
“No~ The person who said they were your coworker wanted to meet you, Luna, so I came along~”
“Cowork... what?”
No, what is this now?
A coworker? There's no way I could have something like that.
More importantly, I don't even have a workplace.
“Oh ho, you live in a place with such lovely scenery and such good air.”
Then, as Auntie put it, my 'coworker' appeared.
A man with gray streaks in his hair and a very dignified air.
“Indeed, the mana is plentiful here as well. It's truly a splendid place.”
Naturally, this was our first time meeting today.
“...W-who are you?”
“Who else? I'm Lunaris's coworker.”
“???”
“Well, to be precise, perhaps I should say I'm someone who will be your coworker.”
“??!?!
No, seriously, what the heck?
“Lovely lady. Thank you very much for guiding me. Thanks to you, I didn't get lost in the forest.”
“Oh my, this man! You're saying all sorts of things. Hoho!”
That man must've gotten a bit farsighted with age.
Otherwise, there was no way he'd mistake me for his coworker.
“Well then, Luna, see you next time.”
“Wait, you're just leaving that strange man here...”
“Hm? Didn't you say he was your coworker?”
...You believe that?
“No... doesn't that seem impossible?”
“What is this girl even saying? There's no way such a fine gentleman would lie.”
My head was starting to get just a little hot.
“Come down to the village once in a while too. I'll catch a chicken and make a delicious stew for you.”
“Uh... I'm the one about to be eaten here, you know?”
But Auntie ignored my protest and left anyway.
-creak, thud.
And just like that, only the stranger and I were left in the hut.
-bubble, bubble.
In the silence, only the sound of water boiling rang out.
“Then, I suppose I should introduce myself again.”
He spoke slowly, still wearing that friendly smile.
“I am Albert Marcellin, deputy commander of the Imperial Mage Corps.”
“...!”
I flinched before I knew it.
That was because it was an incredibly familiar name.
The contents of <The Academy's Tenacious Mage> flashed through my mind in an instant, as if I were scrolling up through a page.
By now, it was my seventh year living in this world.
This was the first time I'd actually met a real 'named character' from the novel.
But... the Albert I knew was definitely...
“Deputy Commander...? Not the commander?”
“Hm? Yes, that's correct, but?”
My mind was in a complete turmoil.
It seemed that right now, this was the 'past' before Albert became commander.
The novel's main story,
hadn't even started yet.
*
I thought I'd finally managed to drive off the lord, but a much bigger shot had shown up.
And not just a step or two above him, but someone right near the top had come down all at once.
My instincts warned me.
If I got tangled up with this person the wrong way, I might get dragged into troublesome things.
With my guard completely up,
the deputy commander leisurely looked around the room.
He spotted the cauldron bubbling away with herbs in one corner of the hut and spoke with interest.
“So you were boiling herbs. I hope I wasn't interrupting you.”
“You were interrupting me quite thoroughly, actually.”
At my flat reply, the deputy commander burst out laughing.
“I do apologize. But I have a very important proposal for Miss Lunaris, one I absolutely have to bring up.”
“A proposal?”
“Our Imperial Mage Corps desperately wants a talent like Miss Lunaris.”
I could already guess the rest.
“Might you have any intention of coming to the Imperial Capital?”
“The Imperial Mage Corps is too much for me.”
The answer shot out of my mouth without the slightest hesitation.
“I'm still lacking quite a bit.”
The annoyed look on my face was just a bonus.
But the deputy commander, unfazed by my rude attitude, only laughed again.
“Haha! As expected, you're humble. But if Miss Lunaris were truly lacking, our former commander wouldn't have taken you in as his granddaughter.”
“...Huh? What is he talking about now?”
“The former commander?”
“No! Surely your grandfather didn't say a single word about me or the Imperial Mage Corps?”
“You know my grandfather?”
Frowning, I shot back, and the deputy commander smiled and nodded.
“Of course. I learned a great deal from former Commander Evermoon when I was still a low-ranking mage.”
I was completely stunned by his words.
“I was often scolded, but thanks to that, I now lead others as the deputy commander.”
That was a little shocking.
I had thought the whole matter of him being commander was just a ridiculous lie. Apparently it was real after all.
After all, the grandfather I remembered was just the imperial mage parrot who gaslit me every single day.
I thought maybe I just had a pointless inferiority complex.
No... but if he was the commander of the Imperial Mage Corps, he'd have been one of the empire's highest powers.
Why on earth would someone like that live in a shabby hut like this?
Could he have been hiding after getting caught up in something bad...?
“Um... Deputy Commander, what kind of person was my grandfather?”
“He was a man who devoted his entire life to magical research and the prosperity of the empire.”
Thankfully, our grandpa wasn't the kind of criminal who'd deserve three generations wiped out.
“Even on the day he retired, he returned all of his assets to the imperial family and asked that they be used for the development of imperial magic.”
Instead, he was the kind of sap who'd be resented by three generations.