Chapter 4
Iseria's house was in the mage district in the eastern part of the city.
It was a combination that seemed both fitting and unfitting for a mage and an elf, but it was the result of Iseria's insistence that she wanted to live where the sun rose earliest.
After forcibly dragging Fulcare along as he looked around, delighted to be visiting the mage district for the first time in ages, Vieta arrived at Iseria's guardian tree.
Standing before the tree at the very eastern end of the district, Vieta spoke.
“Iseria!”
Pale-brown branches moved slowly toward Vieta and Fulcare.
It was a procedure to determine in advance whether they might harm its master.
Before long, a door opened in the middle of the massive tree trunk, and Vieta and Fulcare entered.
Thanks to the elves' unique magic for building homes inside trees, the interior was spacious beyond imagination.
A woman stood tall in the center of the vast lobby, which was filled with golden motes of light.
She was Iseria, with lustrous golden hair that swayed softly and eyes that resembled fresh greenery.
“Welcome, Al… no, Lady Vieta.”
Click, click.
Grace overflowed from every step Iseria took as she welcomed her guests.
Iseria was approaching Vieta when she met Fulcare's eyes behind her and came to a stop.
“…The mage is here too.”
“Yo, hi. Long time no see, Iseria.”
Iseria's lovely face stiffened.
Fulcare, who diligently carried out what was asked of him but lived freely without being bound by any particular rules, and Iseria, who always pursued propriety and courtesy, were sworn enemies who mixed together about as well as oil and water.
Vieta broke out in a cold sweat at the tension passing between them.
At this rate, the whole thing would fall apart before she even had a chance to ask Iseria to become the prince's partner.
“Iseria. The tea leaves you've been sending me lately are excellent.”
Vieta wanted to shout, Fulcare, don't pay any attention to this! But she couldn't.
To ease Iseria's feelings, since she valued etiquette and appearances, Vieta needed to cater to her tastes.
“Ah, I was rude for a moment. Lady Vieta, why don't we go inside and talk?”
After calming herself down, Iseria led Vieta and Fulcare to the drawing room.
*
“Are you asking me to become the prince's partner?”
Click.
Iseria set down the teacup she was holding.
“Yeah. Could you possibly do it?”
Vieta pleaded without even touching the Trom black tea set before her.
And for good reason. When she needed an ordinary ball partner, she usually asked Fulcare, High Priest Theodore, or, if neither of them could do it, the old imperial courtier Raimond.
If even that proved impossible, Vieta could simply become the ball partner herself.
Her money and family background were unimpressive, but she was fairly decent-looking, at least.
But things were different now.
This was the ball partner for the future crown prince.
Even if money wasn't necessary, she needed someone with the family background and appearance befitting the dignity of the imperial family.
Of all Vieta's connections, Iseria was the only one who fit the bill.
She was a hero who had defeated the Demon King alongside Vieta, as well as the daughter of the chief of the blue-eared elves.
“Every time you come around, so many interesting things happen. Just as one would expect of a hero.”
By Iseria's standards, that was practically a string of vicious curses.
But Vieta couldn't say a word.
Elves disliked putting themselves forward before people. No, to be more precise, they avoided being tainted by the secular world.
It was Fulcare who soothed Iseria's chilly mood.
“Don't think of it too negatively. The chief of the elves changed recently anyway, so think of it as another chance to show that the pact between the Empire and the elves remains firm.”
Iseria let out a short sigh.
She disliked Fulcare, but since everything he said was always rational and reasonable, she couldn't simply dismiss it.
“Besides, no one will mistake this for you trying to become crown princess.”
“That certainly doesn't sound too bad.”
Iseria's attitude relaxed considerably, and Vieta felt relieved.
“Then will you agree to be my partner?”
“Very well. I can't refuse a request from a hero. And perhaps….”
Iseria, who had been continuing in a soft voice, suddenly stopped speaking.
Since Iseria had never done that before, Vieta tilted her head.
“Is something troubling you?”
“…No.”
Iseria lifted her teacup and moistened her lips.
“There. Don't worry too much. It'll work out.”
“I don't care to hear any more from the mage.”
At Iseria's sharp retort, Fulcare chuckled.
***
“Iseria really isn't hiding something, is she?”
Vieta and Fulcare were walking through the mage district carrying a gift set of Trom black tea.
“Yeah, it's probably just that the chief changed, right?”
The way elves chose their chief was somewhat unusual.
The World Tree selected the sons and daughters who would become candidates for chief, and then the elves themselves elected their chief from among those selected sons and daughters.
Thus, even when a new chief ascended, the sons and daughters selected as candidates did not change, so there should not have been any major problem for Iseria.
“Then why did she trail off?”
Vieta couldn't shake the uneasy feeling that Iseria was hiding something.
“Should we ask the elves?”
“And then what kind of trouble are you planning to cause? Elves are incredibly closed-off.”
Fulcare made a shooing motion with one hand.
“Anyone listening would think I'm a troublemaker.”
“Is that wrong?”
Vieta glared at him, but Fulcare remained unfazed and continued speaking.
“Didn't you actually cause trouble at the imperial palace today too? Boss, please spare a thought for the person who has to clean up after you.”
“You really!”
Unable to hold herself back any longer, Vieta lunged at Fulcare.
Since they were in a place where plenty of people were sure to recognize Fulcare, she had tried to endure it as much as possible, but Vieta's patience snapped after only a few words from him.
Just as she'd expected, people around them began whispering as they watched the two of them, but Vieta paid them no mind.
“I surrender! I surrender!”
After a lengthy scuffle, a cry of surrender burst from Fulcare's mouth.
Once he escaped Vieta's grasp, Fulcare was a complete mess.
His always-neat collar was crumpled, and even his hair was sticking out in every direction.
‘Was that too much?’
Vieta found the sight both amusing and pitiful.
“Hey, lower your head for a second.”
“…?”
Fulcare lowered his head with a deeply suspicious look in his eyes.
“Your hair's really messed up.”
“You mess me up, then offer me medicine?”
Though his words were gruff, Fulcare kept his head still to the very end.
“And Iseria really isn't dealing with anything, so don't worry about it.”
“All right, all right.”
Vieta giggled as she fixed Fulcare's hair.
***
“The more I learn, the more fascinating she is.”
Blanc picked up the letter lying on the desk.
[From Vieta]
At the same time, countless spells appeared in his violet eyes, then vanished in an instant.
Although he had lost most of his power, he had once been a mage too.
It was a truly shabby letter on white stationery without even a seal, but the magic contained within it was incredibly powerful.
A high-level spell that even an ordinary mage would have difficulty detecting.
It was a type of illusion magic that not only delivered itself automatically to the recipient, but also revealed itself only to that recipient.
[Hello. This is Vieta the Fixer.]
[I am writing to inform you that a ball partner has been chosen for the request Mr. Blanc Alexandre de Leber made previously.]
Blanc's brow twitched slightly as he calmly read through the letter.
[Partner: Iseria, daughter of the elven chief.]
“An elf….”
Blanc stroked his chin.
If someone with a weak foothold in the Empire like him received the elves' support, it would greatly help him solidify his position.
“Could she have taken even that into account?”
For some reason, he felt a little bitter.
People might laugh if they heard him say it, but he had no interest in politics.
He had always hated fighting, and his personality was far too weak-willed to overcome conflict.
That was why Blanc had fled to the Kingdom of Madak. In an Empire with Crown Prince Gavin, Blanc was entirely unnecessary.
Yet now everyone was urging him to become crown prince.
“As she said, she must certainly be beautiful.”
Blanc recalled the elves he had seen recently in the Kingdom of Madak.
Their noble features, worthy of the claim that they were a race sculpted by the gods, still appeared vividly before his eyes.
Considering that he had seen quite a number of elves even in the Kingdom of Madak, when they had previously been visible only around the World Tree in the eastern part of the continent or within the Empire, the world had certainly changed a great deal.
The elves had demanded only one thing in exchange for helping conquer the demon realm.
That they, too, be acknowledged as masters of the continent.
Accordingly, the Empire officially recognized the elves' right to reside there, and Iseria, who had fought alongside the heroes to defeat the Demon King, settled permanently in the eastern district of the city.
“I heard she rarely moves unless absolutely necessary.”
Who would have thought Vieta could draw Iseria out?
Raimond must have had a reason for recommending her.
Blanc set down the letter. Its wording was ordinary, but somehow it seemed chilly.
“Is that it, then?”
Blanc knew well enough that, capable as she might be, there could be no good in continuing to meet a flighty woman like that.
Still, he felt a little disappointed. He had hoped, just a little, that she might become his partner after all.
“….”
What on earth was I just thinking?
Blanc sprang from his chair and hurriedly opened the window.
"I suppose trying to do something I never do has made me lose my mind.”
Otherwise, he never would have had thoughts like that.
“Let's just forget this cleanly and move on.”
Blanc leaned against the window and spent a long time clearing his head of those strange thoughts.
***
A shabby shed built of stone and mud.
Warm sunlight filtered in through gaps here and there.
Chichi the cat sat atop the straw in one corner of the shed, which was meant to feed the livestock.
Yaaaoong-.
Perhaps bored from staying still, Chichi let out a long cry and stretched.
“Chichi? Are you hungry?”
Meow.
As though it understood its owner's words, Chichi shook its head.
“All right. If you get hungry, make sure you tell me again.”
The brown-haired girl with large eyes lightly patted Chichi's rump.
Since running away, Chichi had become remarkably well-behaved, and the girl was happier than she could say.
Humming to herself.
While the girl hummed and focused on cleaning, Chichi blamed itself for its foolishness.
‘Why did I have to fall asleep in that field at that exact moment….’
If it hadn't fallen asleep then, it wouldn't have been kidnapped and brought to this farm, and it wouldn't have encountered that woman.
It might sound ridiculous, but the moment it encountered that strange woman in the imperial palace…
That was the most frightening moment of its entire life.
The oppressive presence was so intense that it couldn't move a muscle carelessly.
Fortunately, the woman didn't seem to realize that it was actually human, but it still couldn't afford to move rashly.
Even a single slip of the tongue could put its life in danger.
‘If I disappear now, that woman will come looking for me again, won't she?’
No matter how gifted a mage it was, it would be difficult to run from that woman forever.
It was better to stay quietly holed up on the farm.
It would take at least a week for that woman to lose interest in the farm, but that didn't matter.
To complete the request safely, it needed time to uncover that woman's identity.
With its thoughts in turmoil, Chichi the cat drifted off to sleep.