Chapter 54
"Me...?"
"Weapons aren't permitted at tonight's banquet. What are you planning to do?"
Unable to understand the point of Maxim-san's question, I tilted my head.
"I don't normally carry weapons in the first place."
"Is that so!? I see... You mainly use magic and close-quarters combat, don't you...?"
I don't rely solely on magic and close-quarters combat, but if I also admitted to using weapons, the number of Talents I possessed would clearly seem absurd, so I kept quiet.
"There are plenty of guards besides me, right? I don't think there will be any attacks."
Only the twelve-year-old honoree and one guard were allowed to attend the banquet. Guards could not carry weapons, but that was no problem as long as they could use magic, and there were surely plenty of seasoned fighters who could fight even without weapons.
"No, that's not the issue. What concerns me is the treasured swords carried by the young noblemen."
"? Then isn't that even less of a problem? They'll be given Talent Jewels after this banquet, won't they?"
In this country, nobles who turned twelve were given Talent Jewels after attending a gala hosted by the Holy King and being recognized as adults.
I didn't know the details of the system, but apparently nobles held almost exclusive control over the rare Talent Jewels produced by the "First Altar." Whatever the nobles didn't use trickled down to the guilds and ordinary citizens.
Lady Eva was supposed to receive a Talent Jewel from Count Slyries after tonight's banquet. Neither she nor I knew what kind of Talent it would be.
Conversely, that meant the twelve-year-old boys carrying treasured swords today had no Talent.
Then surely they were nothing to fear?
"No, no! Apparently, the magic imbued in those treasured swords is quite powerful."
"Magic...?"
"Hmm? You didn't know? My greatsword has magic imbued in it that increases its power."
"Really!?"
When I asked for details, I learned that the sword Maxim-san and I had used when we sparred was a practice sword, so it hadn't been enchanted. In actual combat, he used a greatsword with its power cranked way up—even though he wasn't carrying it here. Carrying a greatsword around inside the mansion would have been far too intimidating, after all.
"What kind of magic can be applied?"
"Let's see... It can sharpen the blade and increase its impact, of course, and it can even extend the weapon somewhat. It can also increase the user's strength or stamina. There are limits, naturally. It should be possible to reach roughly the equivalent of a one-star Talent."
"Wow..."
"It can be applied to armor, too, of course, but the armor has to be made of metal."
"So it has been applied to that armor, too?"
"That's what I'd like to say... but armor is out of the question."
"Beyond your means?"
"It costs too much."
"Ohhh."
I was impressed.
To be honest, I had thought it strange that the chief military officer in the service of a count of the Holy Kingdom of Kurvaan could be weaker than Dantes-san, who was half-petrified.
So magical augmentation really was a thing. Maxim-san had learned to fight on the assumption that he would be using it.
But even with a practice sword, he had already been a pretty powerful fighter, hadn't he...? What would happen if you added augmentation to that...?
(...This is probably someone I really shouldn't catch bare-handed.)
I remembered catching Maxim-san's attacks during our spar.
What would have happened if it had been a punch from a fully augmented Maxim-san?
"These are things only nobles themselves or knights can equip. I've heard that even first-rate adventurers sometimes possess enchanted weapons and armor, though."
"If you had magical enhancements covering you from head to toe, it would cost an incredible amount of money."
"It would probably exceed one hundred Holy Gold Coins. Even so, anyone who sees it as the price of their life would consider that cheap—and those are the people who use it."
Equipment worth more than five hundred million yen... It seems like something better left on display at home.
"In any case, noble sons who have never held a treasured sword before might draw one on a whim. Be extremely careful."
"Understood. Thank you for the warning."
"We'll be outside the venue as well."
Maxim-san raised one hand and walked away.
Weapon enchantment, huh? I'd better watch out for that...
Lady Eva took a long time to finish getting ready, and I was suppressing yawns in the hallway, but at last the door opened as dusk approached.
The head maid gave me a sharp look.
"Reiji-san. Please be sure not to say anything rude."
"Do I look like the kind of man who says careless things?"
"Boys are frightening because they say them without realizing it."
To the head maid, who was in her thirties, I was just a child.
"Be sure to compliment Lady Eva properly. You'll be the first man to see her dressed up."
"Understood."
"But don't say it in a monotone, and a direct compliment won't do, either."
"............"
Aren't there an awful lot of instructions?
"Reiji-san. Today is an extremely important day for Lady Eva. Please cooperate, too."
"...Yes."
The head maid reached out and straightened the askew emblem on my polar tie.
"You're quite handsome when you keep quiet, too. So don't say anything unnecessary at the banquet."
"Understood."
Handsome, huh? That was the first time anyone had ever said that to me.
Following the head maid into the room, I found Lady Eva seated in a chair at its center—
"—Reiji?"
When Lady Eva turned around, I was rendered speechless.
Her blonde hair, combed more carefully than usual, gleamed. There was no glitter in it, which only made its beauty stand out all the more.
The off-the-shoulder dress revealed her delicate shoulders and smooth, pale skin.
Her face, which looked strong-willed and inclined to speak its mind plainly, had been lightly made up, and her lips were painted to match the pale-pink dress.
Eyeliner accentuated Lady Eva's eyes—and those bewitching eyes that made even me think "This is dangerous" when I looked directly at them were fixed on me.
"M-My lady..."
Having taken one step beyond girlhood and preparing to enter the adult world, Lady Eva radiated an allure that was almost sensual. My head began to spin.
There is a phrase, "peerless beauty."
Its origin is the expression "peerless and independent," which comes from a passage in the Book of Han.
"Peerless in the world and standing alone"—a beauty with no equal in the world, an exalted presence.
It continues:
"One glance topples a city"—with a single glance back, she topples a city.
"A second glance topples a nation"—with a second glance back, she topples a nation.
I even felt a chill. If Lady Eva continued to grow as she was, might not nations themselves collapse as they fought over her?