Chapter 79
"This time, I heard the one receiving Archmage investiture is named Lunaris Evermoon."
The Duke of Adrian's casual remark came the instant the chef brought out the main dish.
Beneath the glittering chandelier, a heavy silence settled over the long dining table where only two people were seated.
The duke wiped his mouth with a napkin and continued in an indifferent tone.
"The top freshman entering Elterion Academy this year is also Lunaris Evermoon. Are they the same person, Miriel?"
Miriel Adrian, who was finally having a meal alone with her father after a long time, quietly set down the cutlery she was holding and smiled bitterly to herself.
As expected.
'No wonder Father wanted to have lunch with me alone.'
The reason was obvious: not the accomplished older sister who was the pride of the family, nor the younger brother chosen as the next heir, but herself, the family's 'ambiguous second child'.
He probably wanted her to run errands or do chores.
Or he needed information that would benefit the family.
"Yes, Father. At Elterion Academy, I'm enrolled in the Department of Magic Engineering."
A businesslike voice, almost unbelievable coming from a father and daughter.
When a father saw his daughter as a tool, the daughter couldn't grow attached to him either.
'Come to think of it, that girl Lunaris was recently officially recognized as an Archmage by the Magic Tower, wasn't she?'
It was a rumor easy enough to hear without even activating any information network.
The birth of the youngest Archmage was a hot topic in the Belhardt Empire.
'A first-year student becoming an Archmage...'
Come to think of it, the head of the Magic Department, Raymond Cloud, did say that Lunaris had the talent to gain Archmage status before graduating from the academy.
And yet, never mind graduating—she hadn't even been enrolled for a full year, and already she had been recognized in the magical world as an Archmage.
What a monster of a kid.
"Right. Since you're also in the same Four Seasons Club, I suppose you do have some connection with Lunaris Evermoon."
The tone made it sound as if my daughter being the top student in her year was only natural.
The Duke of Adrian continued cutting the steak in front of him.
"What sort of girl is she?"
"Well..."
Miriel chose her words for a moment.
If I stripped away the filter and said the words in my head exactly as they were... Lunaris would be the embodiment of sloth, a time bomb, and some kind of unpredictable monster, maybe?
But there was no way I could spit out such unseemly words in front of the duke.
"...She's a junior who's impossible to predict; she could veer off in any direction. Her personality is pretty unusual too. But..."
Miriel's gaze settled, calm and steady.
"Her magic alone is unquestionably excellent."
"Hmm."
"She uses bizarre, overwhelming magic that I can't possibly understand with my shallow knowledge."
It was only natural for a candidate Archmage to be good at magic, after all.
Even so, Lunaris's magic was on a different plane from everyone else's.
Miriel wanted to convey the shock she'd felt in as much detail as possible.
"That's not what I asked. I didn't ask about Lunaris Evermoon's magical skill."
Of course, for a duke who was a noble and politician to the marrow of his bones, a mage's aptitude was likely neither here nor there.
"How are her connections? I hear the deputy commander of the Imperial Mage Corps is her patron."
"That is..."
"And I also heard recently that she's been close with the Third Princess. What's it actually like?"
So he knew everything, huh.
Then why ask me?
Miriel grumbled to herself as she opened her mouth.
"Given that kid's personality, it doesn't seem likely she'd join the Imperial Mage Corps. She hates being tied down anywhere."
"Oh? That's quite useful information."
"And as for the Third Princess, it seems they started spending time together around the end of the semester, but it looks more like the Third Princess is doing the pursuing."
Miriel drew the line at a reasonable point.
She couldn't bear to say that the Third Princess had managed to get Lunaris under her control when Miriel herself hadn't even been able to sway her.
"The Third Princess is frantic in her own way at the academy, then."
Duke Adrian stroked his chin and fell into thought for a moment.
"As it happens, the Second Prince has shown interest in Lunaris Evermoon."
"Isn't she the youngest Archmage in the Belhardt Empire's history? It's only natural that he would be interested."
"True enough. But it seems the other factions are being cautious about making contact."
The duke emptied his wineglass and muttered as if to himself.
"More than anything else, isn't she too young?"
In the magical world, being young was a powerful weapon.
In politics, being young was a fatal weakness.
"At the imperial palace, what they expect from a mage with no political sense is a title like best or strongest. Being the youngest means nothing at all."
"..."
"By the time that kid is called the empire's greatest mage, the struggle for the throne will already be over."
There was one fact Duke Adrian didn't know.
Lunaris was the freshman with the highest score ever recorded on the entrance exam since Elterion Academy was founded.
That was a title you couldn't obtain unless you possessed not just talent for magic, but also economic knowledge and political insight.
Right then, hadn't she already casually offered a brilliant solution that struck at the heart of the problem in the Four Seasons Club?
And one more thing.
'Father was wrong.'
What? Too young?
Still immature?
Not a chance.
If he'd seen Lunaris Evermoon's magic with his own two eyes, he'd never make such a judgment.
Miriel remembered the overwhelming magic Lunaris had shown at last semester's magic exchange event.
'In what universe is that the magic of an immature mage?'
No need to look far.
With her current abilities, and with that rate of growth...
Miriel was certain that by the time Lunaris graduated from Elterion Academy alongside the Third Princess, the title of the empire's greatest mage would belong to Lunaris.
"Well, the Second Prince probably isn't planning to do anything right away either... He just wants to see her face first, I'd imagine."
There was nothing wrong with making an early impression.
At her father's guess, Miriel nodded silently.
Though she seemed to agree with the opinion on the surface, she felt differently inside.
The words that one should not meet Lunaris with such a lighthearted attitude rose all the way to her throat.
But Miriel didn't bother saying it.
This was something you wouldn't understand unless you met her in person.
"I don't think I'll be able to attend this Archmage investiture ceremony."
Miriel focused once more on Duke Adrian's voice.
"So, Miriel, attend in my place."
"Yes. Understood, Father."
"And when you're there, naturally introduce Lunaris Evermoon to the Second Prince."
"...Pardon?"
"Since you've gotten acquainted through Four Seasons Club activities, setting up a conversation shouldn't be difficult, should it?"
The tone made it sound casual, but it also carried a clear threat: she had better get it done.
So Miriel could only nod blankly.
"Ah, understood, Father..."
"Finish your meal. I have another appointment, so I'll take my leave first."
At Miriel's answer, Duke Adrian stood from his seat with a satisfied expression.
Watching his retreating back, Miriel belatedly grasped reality.
'H-hold on a second.'
Introduce me to the Second Prince?
Lunaris Evermoon?
...Me?
Cold sweat suddenly began to trickle down Miriel's forehead.
'I... I'm not really that close with Lunaris, am I...?'
Of course, they did belong to the same Four Seasons Club.
They talked now and then, and when Lunaris was doing maid service, Miriel would tease her with a small prank or two.
But that was all.
When they passed each other in the hallway, had she said hello...?
At least she thought she had, but had Lunaris returned the greeting?
She had tried to show that she wanted to get along, though.
Lunaris should have been a little more guarded.
Come to think of it, they'd hardly ever had a proper conversation.
You could count them on one hand: once in the Ghost Story Club room, twice in Linea Hall, three times in the Four Seasons Club. And that was it.
'This is just the level of knowing each other's faces...!'
And she was supposed to introduce her to the Second Prince?
Not just anyone, but that Lunaris?
'Th-this... isn't this a disaster...?'
Miriel's face went pale.
No matter how she thought about it, she couldn't see a solution.
*
After the long schedule at the Magic Tower ended, I returned to my sweet home, Linea Hall.
I flopped on the bed and basked in the air-conditioning.
"Haaah... this is the lifeee..."
The problem was that I could only enjoy this cozy, comfortable feeling for half a day before I had to be dragged off somewhere again.
"Get up, Student Lunaris."
The academy's absolute evil.
Worse than a black mage, the worst of the worst, the most terrifying old hag.
The head of the Magic Department, Raymond Cloud—the Sweet Sleep Breaker—had come to drag me out of bed.
"We should get going soon. The carriage sent from the imperial palace is waiting."
"...Department Head."
Wrapped up in my blanket, I let out a groan.
"Could I just say I'm sick and not go?"
Like sudden acute mana reflux.
Or some incurable disease with no known cause.
Or maybe I worked so hard on magic research that I finally went insane!
"No. What would we do if the ceremony's main attraction didn't show up?"
"Couldn't I send a proxy? It worked for the entrance ceremony."
"Is the investiture ceremony the same as the entrance ceremony? And besides, you shouldn't have skipped the entrance ceremony in the first place, Student Lunaris!!"
Department Head Raymond, in his dress uniform, raised his voice with his hand on his hip.
"You did promise Tower Master Eleanor, didn't you? That you'd definitely attend the investiture ceremony!"
"Ugh, I did say that, but..."
"Come to think of it, Tower Master said that if you kept throwing a fit about not coming, she'd come get you herself."
"...!"
I let out a sigh so deep it seemed to sink into the floor.
"Fine. I'll go, all right? I'll go."
I groaned and slowly sat up.
"All right, you're up. Let's go."
"..."
The department head stared blankly, mouth open, taking in my appearance from head to toe.
"Student Lunaris, you're not planning to go to the imperial palace looking like that, are you?"
"...Huh? What's wrong with it?"
At my words, Department Head Raymond slapped his forehead as if he couldn't believe it.
"Mirror... first, please look in a mirror."
Led by the department head's hand, I stood in front of the full-length mirror in the room.
Inside the mirror stood some scruffy little wreck.
My long hair was sticking out every which way, a tangled mess, and there were clear creases pressed into my face.
"Mm, this is a bit much."
I rubbed my eyes and picked the sleep from the corners.
Then I put a finger to my tongue, moistened it with saliva, and pressed down the tufts of hair sticking up.
The stubborn tuft of hair sticking straight up on the crown of my head... yeah, let's just call it a charming cowlick.
"That should do it, right?"
Department Head Raymond slapped his forehead again and staggered.
"I've lived a long time, and you're the first person I've seen who'd go to the imperial palace without even washing."
In the end, as if making up his mind, the department head clapped his hands briskly with a solemn expression.
"Did you call for me, Department Head Raymond?"
At the same time, the academy's second devil, Ms. Odette, burst into my room with her legion of maids.
As if she'd been waiting for the department head to give the signal.
"...Uh, uh?"
Before I could even back away, the maids seized my limbs in an instant.
"Take however long you need, but make Student Lunaris into a proper human being."
"Leave it to us. We'll reincarnate you into a form worthy of the investiture ceremony's protagonist."
"As expected of the head maid. I'll leave it in your hands."
Wait a second.
Didn't something scary just come out of her mouth?!
"Reincarnate...? Are you planning to kill me or what... Eek!"
"Lady Lunaris, if you keep still, it'll be over faster."
"W-wait... at least make it not hurt... Aaaagh!!"