Chapter 81
“You’re here, dear!”
The Tower Master, Eleanor, came over to Lunaris with a bright smile.
“Hello, Grandma.”
“I hardly recognized you. You’re so beautiful it’s blinding.”
A warmhearted grandmother and a shy granddaughter.
‘Did they seriously mark that brat as the next Tower Master?!’
‘This might be worth far more than I expected.’
‘I need to sweet-talk her while she doesn’t know anything...’
The nobles’ mental calculators started whirring at the sight of how friendly the two were.
Then, another group approached Lunaris.
Unlike the shabby mages of the Magic Tower, these were sharp-looking mages in pure white robes.
They were mages from the Imperial Mage Corps.
“Tower Master Eleanor, I can’t tell you how long it’s been since I’ve seen you.”
The elderly man at the front of the group gave Eleanor a respectful bow.
“Why, if it isn’t little Gerard. Your hair’s gotten quite a bit whiter since the last time I saw you.”
“Heh, little? I’m well past sixty now.”
“You should have dropped by the Magic Tower from time to time and let me see you grow up.”
“Even if I had, you’d have been asleep, wouldn’t you?”
Commander Gerard chuckled and turned his gaze to Lunaris.
“Was it because of this child that you came down this time?”
“Yes. She’s like my granddaughter. She’s very talented.”
“Haha, Deputy Commander Albert bragged about her so much that I already knew she was an amazing girl.”
Gerard bent slightly to meet Lunaris at eye level.
“I’m Gerard, commander of the Imperial Mage Corps. Nice to meet you.”
“...Hello, I’m Lunaris.”
Lunaris only gave a sleepy nod.
She showed no sign of being intimidated, even in front of one of the Belhardt Empire’s most renowned archmages.
“Hmm, seeing you up close, I can tell you’re definitely much better than the ones behind me.”
“...?”
“What do you say? Interested in the Imperial Mage Corps? I think the white robe would suit you very well.”
“No.”
Her answer came out as fast as the speed at which Lunaris herself cast magic.
Not expecting her not to hesitate at all, Commander Gerard gave a bitter, disappointed smile.
“Heh, at least pretend to think about it.”
“It’s better than dragging things out for no reason. By the way, where did the deputy commander go?”
“Albert? That fellow went off to beat up black mages. He’s in the prime of his career, so he ought to work hard.”
“Aren’t you in active service too, Commander?”
“Oh dear. Unfortunately, I only have a few months left in my term, so I’m basically a has-been now. I was planning to spend my retirement just stamping papers, but I ended up suffering through preparations for the Archmage investiture ceremony in my twilight years.”
Commander Gerard let out a hearty laugh and took a crystal orb from a subordinate standing behind him.
“You know this, right? Mages who have reached the top tier or above must register their personal mana when entering the imperial palace.”
“I’m still only a high-tier mage.”
“But tomorrow you’ll be an archmage, won’t you?”
“...”
“It’s nothing special. It’s no different from handing over your weapon before entering the imperial palace.”
Lunaris stared blankly at the crystal orb in front of her, then suddenly asked,
“Do I really have to do this?”
“Of course. Your master and the Tower Master have both registered already.”
Lunaris turned to look at the Tower Master as if asking whether that was true.
“I went through the same procedure years ago too.”
The Tower Master nodded with a kind smile.
“It’s proof that the empire acknowledges the child’s power while also keeping it under watch, so please bear with it.”
At the Tower Master’s words, Lunaris let out a helpless sigh and nodded.
“All right.”
Lunaris placed her hand on the crystal orb with an utterly indifferent expression, annoyance practically dripping from her face.
The moment she poured in her mana, the crystal orb began shining with brilliant starlight.
At that dazzling sight, just as everyone watching let out low gasps of admiration,
-Fwoooosh!
The light inside the orb expanded as if it were exploding.
-Crack! Pop!
With a sharp crack, the crystal orb shattered to pieces.
Because the mana was so powerful, the fragments didn’t scatter in all directions; instead, they turned to powder and dispersed in the air.
And in its place.
-Swoooosh.
A dreamy trail of stardust, as if the Milky Way itself were flowing, swirled around Lunaris.
Utterly unreal.
And because of that, it was a sight so beautiful and overwhelming it felt beyond reality.
The origin of the epithet that would one day describe Lunaris: ‘the Mage Who Calls the Stars.’
“...”
Stardust settled in the hall, which had fallen deathly quiet.
But this starlight couldn’t simply be admired to one’s heart’s content.
“Guh... I, I can’t breathe...”
“Kgh! M-my body... it’s heavy!”
That was because the dense mana had seized control of the space inside the hall, centered on Lunaris.
It was only because Commander Gerard and Tower Master Eleanor hurriedly released mana from their bodies to neutralize the air that it was manageable.
If those two hadn’t stepped in, someone might well have suffocated—or been crushed.
In the end, just as Commander Gerard, unable to hold back any longer, was about to fully draw up his mana,
Lunaris, as if she had been waiting for it, trapped the starlight back inside her body.
It was as if she had been timing it to the most precarious moment possible.
Sharp intakes of breath escaped from here and there.
Soon, everyone’s gaze was fixed on Lunaris.
Astonishment, and fear.
Some of the nobles threw suspicious looks her way, wondering if Lunaris had deliberately blown up the crystal orb.
“Uh...”
Yet the person herself only blinked blankly.
“This crystal orb seems a little weak.”
“Hmm...”
“Maybe its durability isn’t very good...?”
She really was a fox, pretending nothing was wrong.
Commander Gerard swallowed a short, dry laugh and shook his head.
“No way. This thing was made for measuring archmages.”
“Then maybe it’s just gotten old from being used for too long?”
Gerard scratched his head in disbelief.
Then he turned to Raymond.
“Hey, Raymond. What are you going to do about raising your disciple into a monster?”
“Ah, haha, ha... I-I mean, I saw a shining rough gem after such a long time, so... I really did... p-polish it...?”
His boastful voice was trembling and stuttering.
Well, claiming he had raised that himself would prick his conscience.
“By the way, what do we do about this... If we don’t register her mana signature, we can’t let her into the imperial palace.”
At those words, Tower Master Eleanor stepped forward.
“Let’s just let this one slide and properly register it the next time you visit the imperial palace.”
The Tower Master placed a hand on Lunaris’s shoulder and added,
“Could we get by this time if you and Elder Raymond vouched for Lunaris’s identity?”
“Eek?!”
The word vouch was enough to make even an arrogant archmage recoil.
“T-Tower Master? It’s a little awkward to say this, but I’m not really the type who likes vouching for other people...”
What’s more, the person in question was Lunaris, the troublemaker at Elterion Academy.
The memory of having to write an embarrassing apology letter and do night patrol because of Lunaris was still vivid as if it had happened yesterday.
Even just moments ago, hadn’t she immediately tried to show force the second things got a little sour?
It was only a hunch, but for some reason he felt like he’d be getting into trouble because of Lunaris again this time too.
But when Tower Master Eleanor shot him a sharp, piercing glare, Dean Raymond immediately yelped and changed his answer.
“A-ah, all right! I get it! I’ll keep a close eye on Miss Lunaris too! She is my prized disciple, after all!”
“Just look at that. And Miss Lunaris is, before being an archmage, still a child who hasn’t even come of age yet. Rather than forcing restrictions and duties on her, having a guardian care for her is far more effective.”
In the end, Commander Gerard also had no choice but to raise both hands and step aside.
“Very well. Then just this once, we’ll make an exception for the two of you and let her in without registering her mana signature. Of course, there won’t be a next time.”
The commander tapped Lunaris’s shoulder and continued in a low voice.
“Behave yourself, little miss, so I don’t have to clean up any pointless trouble in my old age.”
“...I’m fine not going into the imperial palace.”
Lunaris grumbled in protest.
She had thought she might be able to return to the dorms legally, and seemed very disappointed that it ultimately didn’t happen.
“What do you mean, the protagonist is trying to sneak off?! Come on, come on! Let’s go, Student Lunaris!”
Dean Raymond, looking thoroughly disgusted, pushed at Lunaris’s back.
Given her prior record, there was no way he could ignore her.
Besides, if she wanted to, she could always use alteration magic to warp space and escape in a flash.
It felt like this must be what it was like to raise a troublemaking cat.
*
After the mages, including Lunaris, had all poured out of the hall.
“Hoo... that really was impressive.”
“An archmage really is on a different level from all those dime-a-dozen mage posers.”
“This is the fifth archmage investiture ceremony I’ve seen, and it’s my first time seeing the measuring crystal orb explode.”
A collective sigh went up among the remaining nobles.
‘...I’m doomed.’
Miriel was one of those nobles as well.
‘I’m doomed, doomed, doomed...!’
Cold sweat ran down Miriel’s spine as she watched from afar the spot where Lunaris had disappeared.
‘What on earth happened over vacation to turn her from a monster into a fully awakened monster?!’
To think she’d have to deal with such an outrageous existence.
That Lunaris Evermoon, with the Tower Master and the Dean of the Magic Department shadowing her every move.
...and I’m supposed to introduce her to the Second Prince?
‘Should I just go back to my territory...? No, maybe an early return to the academy would be better...’
Miriel let out a hopeless sigh.
Today, the ceiling of the imperial palace’s main hall felt especially high.