Opportunity

Whether it was because she had been so thoroughly startled, it took Esmue longer than expected to calm down and properly examine the sword floating before her eyes.

"Ah, you didn't pick up an artifact just to tease me, did you?"

"You're saying things that would make anyone mistake you for a third-rate mage, Your Highness."

Saying I'd picked up a Demon Sword someone had dropped was about as absurd as it got. Honestly, a Demon Sword would be more plausible.

Of course, Esmue herself knew full well how nonsensical her own words were, but that didn't stop her from throwing hamster punches and bickering with me. Still, being someone who studied magic, she seemed to grasp the situation quickly enough.

"Good heavens. To truly feel nothing at all, how can such a thing be? And your body? Is your body truly suffering no ill effects?"

"Since I was... about five? I've been practicing it since then and using it all this time, and I'm fine. If anything, I've gotten more skilled at using it over time and learned to control it with more finesse."

"Hmm, Asilie wouldn't have just stood by idly if your body were developing problems. Still, it remains a wonder."

Even though they'd only spoken a few times at most, Esmue seemed to have assessed Asilie quite accurately.

"Enduring Magic Power... but then, how does your power grow? Aura and Mana are refined by gradually increasing their purity and conditioning the body to accept them as one ascends, but you cannot ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠do that, can you? And yet, to say you fully wield Magic Power..."

"It's weak."

"Heh heh. Yes. It's an absurd way to put it, but that sums it up."

I'd even been stabbed by Envelde just recently, so what more needed to be said?

"If I had to put it another way... skilled mages layer multiple protective spells, right?"

"Mm. Mm."

"I'm just in a state where I've got one incredibly durable protective spell wrapped around me. Aura users might have a few weak ones or a solid one depending on their level."

"And if you destroy the protective spell first, you win... but your protective spell is incredibly durable?"

"Exactly. There's probably a way to cast something stronger than that protective spell, or maybe layer them, but right now that's the only thing I can do. And even the efficiency is shitty?"

There was leakage in the process of using my power, so even when I swung a proper strike, it came out as a relatively ordinary attack for someone supposedly wielding Magic Power. Of course, compared to aura it would still look like an extraordinary feat, but compared to an example like the Demonfolk, the gap was ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠unavoidable.

"It's a domain unrelated to humanity, so it's hard to understand easily. Still, I feel I can roughly accept it..."

"I can't really express it any other way either. I don't have a teacher, after all."

Strictly speaking, I did have one. A mage I met when I was young. Though I only learned up to sensing Magic Power, without that I'd have died long ago, so I can't deny he was my teacher.

I wonder what he's doing with his life now? He seemed like the adventurer type. Maybe I'll ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠run into him someday.

While I was briefly lost in such reminiscence, Esmue, who had been pondering with her chin propped on her hand, nodded as if satisfied.

"As it happens, my royal guards were all harboring doubts about your skill, and now I see there was a secret like this."

"Huh? They were?"

"Indeed. When they didn't discuss it among themselves, each thought their own eye was still lacking, but after speaking together, they uniformly reported having misjudged your skill. If it were anyone else, perhaps, but for my entire royal guard to have done so is an impossibility, so it was being reviewed as a matter of considerable importance."

That was some staggering confidence, but... I could accept it. I heard later that the Demonfolk member that attacked the academy back then had been practically killed in an instant by them. If I fought that thing, I'd definitely die. It wasn't even a matter of ganging up or not, I'd have been hard-pressed just to block it.

"It's a blind spot. I see no way to help."

"Don't worry about it, it's my problem to solve. Anyway, that's part of the reason I can't accept Esmue's offer, grateful as I am."

"And is that why you stayed with the Ogatorf household without even going through the formal knight training?"

"Well, that's a reason if you want one. But mainly, I didn't want restrictions placed on my actions."

Becoming a formal knight meant learning a lot.

Learning a lot was fine, but excessive court etiquette and musical ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠instruments crossed the line. Fucking sixty desirable postures for a retainer serving their lord—where the hell would I ever use that?

Worse yet, when you look at the advanced courses—how a knight should attend their lord, how to treat a lady, how to show courtesy to an enemy—it's an absolute shitshow. I can't just pick and choose like college course registration and only learn swordsmanship and strategy tactics. And the massive increase in time wasted being dragged around uselessly by others is just a bonus.

And after learning all that and becoming a knight? I'd have unilaterally received the Ogatorf family's help, so I'd owe a mountain of debt, and the kingdom would exploit me as kingdoms do.

Knight training isn't free, and it takes a long time, so that's the natural result, but from my perspective, the drawbacks obviously outweigh the benefits. So I simply avoided it.

"At my skill level anyway, even if Lord Ekaf personally granted me instruction in swordsmanship, I wouldn't gain any enlightenment, and having received the favor, only duties and obligations would arise. Even if I'm there in the form of a personal butler, I still receive the same combat training as other retainers, so why bother? I'd rather split my time and do even one more adventurer job. That's more beneficial."

"...You truly have no greed for power."

"I'm not interested. Vengeance comes first, that's all."

"For one who says that, are you not diligently attending to more sensible matters as well?"

"Because I have no intention of giving up on life after vengeance either. The world isn't something you live in through sheer brute force alone, isn't that obvious?"

After finishing my revenge and achieving my goal, this time I would live out my full natural lifespan and go. Definitely.

And for that, it's naturally better to have plenty of close neighbors, right?

"You are truly an unfathomable figure. Judging by your actions alone, one would think you possess a thoroughly Hegemon's Way approach, yet your words are of the King's Way."

"...I'm not sure what you mean."

"It's a theory argued by the scholar Teuriseupeu Rihikaeteu. Simply put, authority gained through respect is the King's Way. Through fear, the Hegemon's Way."

Huh? That's completely Mencius...

"Well, that charm of yours is why it matters not anyway."

There she went again, saying embarrassing things as if it were nothing. Isn't this usually the guy's role? Seriously driving me crazy.

Feeling awkward about reacting, I subtly slid the sword still floating in the air back into its sheath, when hurried footsteps sounded from the corridor and someone knocked on the door.

-Your Highness. Pardon my interruption, but I seek to ask if Eldmia may be escorted for a brief while.-

"It seems rather urgent. Has something happened?"

Contrary to her leisurely tone, Esmue wore a sullen expression as if she was not at all pleased.

-It concerns a matter related to the late Count Envelde. The court mage has come calling...-

"...If that is the case, cooperation is fitting. I understand."

"...Then, I shall take my leave for a moment."

Court mage?

Are they doing some high-tech magical investigation or something? Wearing a dumbfounded expression at the unexpected visit, I rose from my seat and stepped outside, where a familiar-faced maid let out a small sigh of relief.

Jenny, one of the few maids in the manor my age, had probably been fretting over what to do if Esmue refused.

"I really don't know how many times my heart has to drop in a single day."

"Sorry about that, really."

"If you know, then quit it!"

Smack! She slapped my forearm, but I couldn't help but laugh, so I apologized half-heartedly and was then guided to the main hall.

"Did you catch the mage's name?"

"Ugh, what was it again? I definitely heard it..."

"Relax. We haven't committed a crime, why are you so anxious?"

"You are definitely weird somehow. How are you so calm after meeting Her Highness the Princess?"

There's a secret there I can't tell... a heavy secret I can't tell a loose-lipped adolescent girl.

"I'm the guy who lopped off a count's head."

"...Alright, you were never normal to begin with."

Shaking her head as if fed up, Jenny seemed to relax a little, and she clapped her hands and continued immediately.

"Ah! Right. Regneva! He said Widra Regneva!"

"...Isn't that name really unusual...?"

"...Is it? Not sure."

It struck me as having a pronunciation as peculiar as Duke Lesrom's family name Lawinera. Was it just me?

"Is he, by any chance, also the owner of a tremendous musculature or something?"

"Uh... no? He seemed pretty average."

So not all high-ranking mages were musclebound monsters rivaling warriors. Come to think of it, that annoyingly handsome pretty boy from the Empire was also a skilled mage but slim, according to Asilie.

While I entertained such idle thoughts and arrived at the hall, there they were: Sheryl, whose eyes were spinning from the sudden face-to-face with yet another high-ranking personage, and someone whose hood was pulled down low, standing together.

Even just a robe and hood could look that high-end depending on the design, I marveled as I approached. Sheryl, collecting herself as if she'd seen a savior, introduced the other party to me.

"Eldmia. This is Widra Regneva, one of the court mages. He says he has matters to discuss regarding the incident at the late Count Envelde's mansion, and obtained permission from Duke Lawinera to come here."

"I am honored to meet you, Court Mage Regneva. I am called Eldmia Ega."

"...Eldmia Ega?"

"Yes. That is correct."

"Survivor of the village west of Ogwen. Am I correct?"

I had politely bowed my head in greeting, but now I tilted my head and slowly raised my gaze. He knew me from there?

"You are correct... but how did you know?"

I wondered if the royal family had investigated, but even as I puzzled over why he would bring it up now of all times, the mage let out a long breath and slowly removed his hood before speaking.

"...Four years... it's been ten years now."

In that instant, a shock like lightning striking down from the crown of my head seized me. So it was true that people got dizzy when they were genuinely shocked. But I still had to say the words.

"Mister Mage...?"

"Yes."

Somewhat melancholy, downturned eyes. In contrast, eyebrows that arched up slightly as if faintly angered. And eyes of the clearest sky-blue.

What was revealed when he swept back his hood was the face of the mage, unchanged as if lifted straight from my memory.

"At last, I am able to keep my promise."