Chapter 39
In the center of Rigved, there was a large square and a fountain.
Unlike the major cities of other countries, it wasn't large enough for thousands of soldiers to gather for a parade.
At most, it could accommodate five or six carriages passing through simultaneously, and this waste of space was considered the greatest luxury in Rigved.
Lilith looked out the window.
This square could be considered the most expensive view one could see in Rigved.
Opposite the fountain, the Eternia branch of the Magic Academy was visible.
And in front of it, three black carriages with Eternia's seal were parked.
Those black carriages stimulated Lilith's desires.
Staying in the most expensive mansion in Rigved held little meaning for her.
Lilith had been desperately working toward entering Eternia throughout her teenage years.
Now, she was on the verge of reaping the fruits of her labor.
Will the day ever come when I can proudly ride in one of those carriages?
She closed her eyes for a moment. She briefly imagined the elation of that day.
And when she opened her eyes again, the dry reality faced her.
"Haa."
She couldn't postpone her duties by indulging in dreams and fantasies.
Lilith's desk was piled high with letters that had arrived from the empire.
She sat back down at her desk.
Thanks to the imperial embassy being right next door, she was bombarded with direct letters.
Lilith opened the letters one by one, read them, and carefully wrote replies.
Even if she was sick of it, she absolutely couldn't just gloss over them.
She knew what her strengths were.
She could tell just by looking at the gender ratio of those who sent these letters.
Nine out of ten were men.
In their letters, they all pretended to purely support her Eternia admission, mentioning the empire's honor, magical achievements, and grand causes, using flowery language as they did so.
Lilith knew. If she were male in her current situation, these letters of support would never have come.
What these men ultimately sought was Lilith's beauty and body. They sent her these letters in the hope that she might lower her guard and build intimacy.
Most men were such creatures. Obvious, trivial, and vulgar.
These men had never once succeeded in taking Lilith's heart and body. And they never would in the future.
She merely managed them, throwing logs to keep the flames of interest from dying out so that they could continue to benefit her.
Just as Lilith was putting a period on her reply to the 5th Prince, someone knocked on the office door.
Knock knock.
"Come in."
It was the captain of the guard who had received orders from her to track down the masked man earlier.
He saluted Lilith politely and then reported.
"We couldn't find any trace of the masked man."
He swallowed nervously. Following the theft of the artifact, even the order she had particularly emphasized had come to an unsatisfactory conclusion.
Contrary to expectations, Lilith responded calmly.
"I see. You may go."
"I'm sorry. If we deploy more soldiers to search..."
"It's fine. That person isn't an enemy. What can I do if he wants to kick away my favor?"
Lilith soothed the guard captain appropriately and sent him away.
Her wounded pride had long since recovered while writing replies to the letters. There was no need to react sensitively to this matter.
Whether that man was a current student or an admission candidate like her, he was someone she would encounter again at Eternia someday.
No matter how great he thought he was. Swords and magic didn't rule the entire world. In the end, it was politics that moved the world.
Even the Emperor rules the empire despite being a layman in swordsmanship and magic.
While she might not be among the top in her specialty of magic, she could pride herself on becoming Eternia's best “connection”.
So she could guarantee. That guy would deeply regret ignoring her someday.
***
After catching the thieves, some people started following me.
To prevent being identified, I took off my mask, got a cloak, and covered all my clothes.
After changing the wooden sword back into its sapling form, I bought a bundle of miscellaneous herbs and moved with it tied together.
Fortunately, by the time I reached the front of the Magic Academy, no one was following me anymore.
Seeing my appearance in front of the Magic Academy building, Silveryn seemed to be contemplating whether to scold me or not.
"Didn't I point you to 'Fillin's Forge'? Did you perhaps go somewhere else?"
"No, I did go there."
"You didn't accidentally go to the wrong place and get scammed, did you?"
"..."
I returned the money pouch to her as it was.
Silveryn confirmed that the pouch was still heavy and said, "What about the sword?"
I grasped the base of the sapling. Soon after, it transformed into the shape of a wooden sword.
Silveryn crossed her arms, looked at it, and nodded quietly.
"Hmm, you chose a suitable one."
"Something came up, so I had to change my appearance a bit."
"Is that so? Let's go to the carriage quickly. There are too many eyes watching in the square."
I loaded the bundle of herbs separately in the back compartment of the luggage wagon and got into the carriage with Silveryn.
As she gave the signal, the carriages started moving.
"Today, we won't go far. We'll be staying in Rigved. And I've extracted some information from Eternia officials at the academy, such as things you should know."
"I understand."
"And at the place we're staying today, you'll meet someone who will be your classmate at admission."
"Is that person in the Combat Department too?"
"No, Magic Department. She lives noisily, so don't bother talking to her."
She seems to have quite a lively personality, but is there a reason I shouldn't talk to her?
"Should I not become friends with her?"
"Hmm. She just doesn't like people in general."
"...?"
"Especially men."
Her last words made me somewhat nervous.
The carriage stopped at a place not far from the square.
As we got out of the carriage, an elegant mansion greeted us.
Above the main gate of the mansion was a golden plaque with a wolf's face drawn on it. Judging by its craftsmanship, it seemed to be used as an annex of some prestigious family.
Perhaps hearing the noisy wheel sounds, a butler and a girl with long blonde hair had come out to greet us at the main gate.
Is that girl the one Silveryn mentioned?
They bowed politely to greet Silveryn.
The blonde girl said, "It's an honor to see you again, Professor."
She replied indifferently, "Yes, it's been a while. I'll be imposing on you."
The blonde girl briefly looked me over with emotionless eyes, without any particular action.
Remembering Silveryn's advice, I didn't make any particular gesture either.
The butler guided us. The interior of the mansion wasn't very spacious. Silveryn and I were each assigned a guest room, and the servants were told to share two rooms among themselves.
"First, organize your luggage and come to my room."
Silveryn said that and went in first.
Since I didn't have much luggage to organize, I lay down on the bed for a while to wait.
For someone said to live noisily, the mansion was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.
Knock, knock.
Someone knocked on my room door and then opened it, poking their head in.
It was Liria.
"Lady Silveryn is calling for you."
"Alright."
I got up and came out into the corridor. Then I went to the door of the next room and knocked.
"Come in."
Inside, Silveryn was sitting at a tea table wearing only a translucent negligee.
"Sit down."
She crossed her legs and rested her chin on her hand with a languid expression.
As I sat down opposite her, she slid a paper on the table towards me.
It had the names of unfamiliar people written on it.
Silveryn said, "The entrance exam isn't taken individually. Everyone gathers in one place and takes the exam with the same goal. Whether you cooperate or compete with others is up to you, but it's good to know who you're dealing with, at least."
"This is..."
"It's a list of children who will enter Eternia through recommendation letters."
"Is it okay for me to know this?"
"It doesn't matter. Rumors have already spread as much as they can. It would be unfair if only you didn't know, right?"
Wait, so does that mean rumors about me have already spread too?
She continued her explanation, pointing out each name one by one.
"I'm quite familiar with Gale Varianne. He’s from the north. He's skilled beyond his years and can handle any weapon. His combat senses are as good as yours. He’s in the Combat Department too."
I'm good at remembering faces but not people's names. Even if she tells me like this, I might forget it all.
"You saw Luna just now, right? She's the owner of this house."
"...!"
So the blonde girl I had just met was Luna.
Since she disliked people, especially men, it seemed unlikely that we'd get along well in the future.
"Cecil Fontar is an enchanter, so she's not your direct competitor. However, she might be helpful later, so try to be friendly with her even if you don't feel like it."
I'm not good at intentionally becoming friends, so I just hope this Cecil person likes people and men.
"Actually, the other kids aren't that important. The reason I called you is different."
She pointed to a name written on the last line with her index finger.
"It's because of this child. I heard she made quite a name for herself across the sea on the neighboring continent. She's also famous as the cherished disciple of a great Sword Master."
Shamefully, I didn't know how great a Sword Master was. It was because I had lived for a long time in a place with little interaction with the outside world.
"Apparently, there's no one among this year's applicants who can beat this girl."
"No one... can beat her?"
"Yes, she's said to be the embodiment of competitiveness. She's already faced other promising kids, including Gale, and apparently, they were all crushed by her. Doesn't it sound interesting?"
"..."
I'm not sure what's supposed to be interesting about it.
Silveryn's tone was somehow full of expectation for some reason. It seemed her intention in calling me separately wasn't to instill a warning or caution in me.
The name she pointed to was that of a girl I had already encountered.
And that too, just a few hours ago, at Fillin's Forge not far from here.
I quietly stared at that name.
Sion Izarel.
"She might become your rival."