Chapter 57
-Well, I won't deny I had other motives.
Deputy Director Albert on the screen flashed a bright, innocent smile and lifted both hands in mock innocence.
It was an incredibly brazen attitude.
-As for the details, it's a bit long, but recently the Imperial Mage Corps' main mission has been to track down traces of black mages...
“Don’t change the subject for no reason.”
I rested my chin on the pillow and narrowed my eyes as I said.
“Just tell me the point, the point. I feel like I’d fall asleep listening otherwise.”
I barely swallowed the yawn that had risen all the way to my mouth.
The deputy director let out a deep sigh, then spoke with a serious expression.
-Didn't I tell you before? That the black mage was behind the attack on Miss Lunaris's village.
“So...?”
-We were just about to catch him.
“That’s good news.”
-But we're missing exactly one piece of the puzzle. To obtain additional clues, we briefly materialized Miss Lunaris's subconscious in reality.
In other words, it was a kind of witness interview.
The deputy director shrugged and added casually.
I was so dumbfounded I could only blink blankly.
What the heck is this guy talking about now?
“No matter how you look at it, do you really think it makes sense to peek into someone else’s mind like that?”
-W-well... it isn't even a spell that can look through everything in the first place, just a pinpoint little...
“This isn’t the time to make excuses.”
-...Haah. I know. I know this wasn't something I could be proud of.
The deputy director rubbed the back of his neck, saying he was really sorry.
“Then you did it even though you knew it was wrong?”
-So I had to go through the trouble of meddling with the final exam questions and do it in secret. If I tried to do it openly, you'd obviously refuse...
“Nice brag, seriously.”
-Still, I didn't look at anything except memories related to the black mage. Really.
“How am I supposed to believe that?”
-...I can only bow my head. I apologize once again.
“You can’t just say sorry with your mouth, you know?”
-Of course not. I'll make sure to compensate you properly for this matter. Is there anything you need?
The deputy director gave an awkward smile and told me to name it—magical materials, ancient books, even a post in the Imperial Mage Corps.
He was casually slipping in a little trap—plain devious, honestly.
“That all can go.”
I answered right away, as if I'd been waiting for it.
“Please stamp as many off-campus activity permits as you can for next semester.”
-...Huh?
“And while you're at it, please handle the activity reports I'll be submitting to the academy.”
-No, I mean, are you telling me to forge official documents right now...
“I’ll forgive you for that.”
The deputy director blinked blankly at my suggestion.
Of course, I was a little annoyed that he'd tried to peek into my subconscious, but honestly I wasn't that angry.
For good reason, too—I lived a life with nothing I needed to be ashamed of.
I spent more than half the day sprawled out sleeping. I didn’t even have much of a sex drive, so I'd never secretly indulged in any private time.
Even if he'd looked straight through my head, well, he probably wouldn't have seen anything particularly special.
If anything, the only thing I might feel a little guilty about would be... childhood memories from when Grandpa was still alive.
But that was, well, another person, not 'me.'
So, I'll take just this much and let it slide.
-Haa... understood. I'll issue as many as you want.
Hearing his half-resigned voice made me chuckle.
-But you still need to meet the minimum attendance requirement. You also have to take the exams. Repeating a grade would be a problem.
“I’ll manage it myself.”
I didn't want to attend the academy for more than four years, either.
The deputy director awkwardly scratched the back of his head.
As the atmosphere loosened a little, he started grumbling under his breath.
-Haa... Honestly, I thought it was a perfect crime. What a shame.
“No, why would you think you wouldn’t get caught?”
Out of the Belhart Empire, where else was there someone who could cast a large-scale illusion spell like that?
“Besides, the mana residue making up the spell was obviously yours, Deputy Director. It’d be strange not to notice.”
Illusion magic is still ultimately a matter of innate aptitude. At this point, I was starting to suspect he’d simply intended to get caught.
-...Miss Lunaris is just unusually sensitive to mana; anyone else would never have noticed.
I am a little sensitive to mana.
I suspected that, like my talent for magic, this might be something I was born with.
A bad feeling suddenly crossed my mind.
I narrowed my eyes slightly and asked the deputy director.
“But... surely you weren’t planning to look into the other students’ memories over that issue too? One of the people who took the exam is even the princess.”
No matter how you looked at it, messing with the royal family was crossing the line too far.
But the deputy director shook his head with a calm expression.
-In any case, that spell could only be activated by solving the final question. And the only academy student who could solve that question was Miss Lunaris.
“...”
-Even in the very unlikely event that someone else solved it, I judged there was no way they’d do so faster than Miss Lunaris.
So, the moment I completed the answer and activated the spell, I obtained only the information I wanted and immediately cut the magical connection, the deputy director said proudly.
-My creed is to keep a low profile and live long, you know. In other words, I never do anything that would needlessly invite danger.
“You’re the one who said if you don’t get caught, it’s legal and whatnot, so hearing that from you is rich. Anyway, did you get the information you wanted?”
-Of course.
The corners of the deputy director's mouth on the screen curled up coldly.
-Thanks to that, I managed to catch a rather crucial clue.
“That’s good news.”
I replied indifferently and sank back into bed again.
Whether they caught the culprit or not, that had nothing to do with me.
-Ahem! Um, Miss Lunaris.
The deputy director abruptly trailed off and then subtly made me an offer.
-If you'd like, I'll give you the chance to go catch that bastard together.
“...Huh?”
-In other words, I'm saying I'd give Miss Lunaris the chance to take revenge in person.
He said the man who'd done that to my hometown was my enemy, and asked whether I wouldn't want to land a blow on him myself.
The deputy director said it as if he were doing me a favor.
I blinked blankly.
Revenge? Me?
“Me? Why?”
-...Pardon?
The deputy director looked quite taken aback.
It seemed he had not expected me to react like that at all.
-No, I mean... don't you feel like you'd want to get one back on that guy or something?
“Well, if you’d found him, I might have thought about it a little... but you said you still haven’t found him.”
I answered while swallowing a yawn.
“Honestly, it’s a hassle to scour the vast lands of the Empire with the other Imperial Mage Corps members.”
And I trust the deputy director.
Well, I'm sure you'll catch him just fine on your own.
So, good luck.
-Anyway, the academy's on break soon, isn't it? You won't have any other plans, will you? How about going together as a change of pace?
“No, I have a really, really, incredibly important thing scheduled for vacation.”
-A schedule? What on earth could it be...
I hugged my pillow and answered with a profoundly serious expression.
“Obviously, I have to sleep as much as I want.”
Was that even an answer?
*
Not long after final exams ended, the rankings and scores for each year were posted in the central plaza.
As for the results... well.
It might sound like I’m showing off if I say, as expected, but I managed to keep the top spot without trouble.
The other students' rankings had hardly changed compared to the midterm exams.
It was an utterly boring result.
If there was any twist at all, it was this.
“T-this... this isn’t a dream, right?”
Claire's name had risen far higher than I expected.
Written exam score, tied for 2nd place overall in the year and tied for 1st in the Magic Department.
Practical exam score, 6th place in the Magic Department.
That gave her a final rank of 3rd in the Magic Department.
“Starting next semester! I’m going to be at Linea Hall toooo!”
Claire's cheer made the nearby students glance over.
There was envy mixed in with their looks of disbelief.
“Congratulations, Claire!”
Princess Celestina, standing beside her, clapped happily as if it were her own achievement.
By the way, the princess's ranking had also risen a great deal.
Just her written score, which had been in the lower-middle ranks at midterms, had risen to the point of being among the very top handful in the entire Magic Department.
“Wow... Claire got 3rd place? The Magic Department’s class is dead, totally dead.”
I added a spoonful of playful teasing to the princess's congratulations.
“Whaaat?!”
At my joking jab, Claire bristled and turned to look at me.
Her pouting expression made a chuckle slip out of me before I knew it.
Claire really did have great reaction time, didn’t she?
That said, I actually knew better than anyone how hard she had worked.
During the exam period, the amount of time I rolled around in bed and the amount of time Claire worked her pen were almost the same; that said it all.
Pretending not to care, I rose onto my tiptoes slightly and reached over Claire's head to muss her bangs.
“You worked hard.”
“...Huh?”
“Once vacation’s over, we’ll be seeing each other a lot at Linea Hall. Congratulations, Claire.”
Claire blinked blankly at my words.
Maybe because all the tension she'd been holding until now let go all at once.
A mist of tears began gathering in her big eyes in an instant.
“...L-Lunaaa...!”
Soon, both eyes turned bright red like a rabbit's and she started dropping tears.
Then she collapsed into my arms.
“Waaah- Luna, thank you so much! If it weren’t for you, I never would’ve gotten this score!”
Something damp touched my chest.
...Fortunately, it didn't feel sticky.
“I-It’s fine to cry, but don’t blow your nose on me.”
“I-I didn’t blow my nose! Who said I was blowing my nose... sniff!”
As I sighed while patting Claire's back, a familiar voice came from far away.
“Luna~!”
Senior Estelle was waving both hands and making her way over to me.
I patted the back of Claire's head, which was buried against my chest, and said.
“Oh, perfect timing. Hey, the one who blew her nose on my clothes.”
“...Huh?”
The moment Claire sniffled and pulled away from me, Senior Estelle latched onto me.
“Luna~ congrats on being the top student!”
“You too, senior. Congrats on being the top student.”
“Whaaat~? It’s not like being top student gets me any special privileges, though. Nyaahaha~”
Senior Estelle let out an awkward laugh, then only belatedly noticed the princess standing behind me and cried out in surprise.
“Huh? The princess is here too. Hello!”
“Nice to see you, Senior Estelle.”
The princess replied with an elegant smile.
“It feels like I’ve been seeing you especially often lately.”
“Yeah. The other Magic Engineering Department students seem busy researching, but you look pretty free, Senior.”
“...”
They were both smiling, but somehow the air felt heavy.
I deliberately looked away, pretending not to notice.
Senior Estelle lightly moved away from me and smiled with a shrug.
“Since Luna—no, Miss Lunaris—is my apprentice, I came as her assigned supervisor to look after her, but it seems the princess is right there beside her every time.”
For a very brief moment, it felt like sparks flew between the two of them.
...Ah, no way. It must be my imagination.