Opportunity
Opportunity
Power, while perhaps nice to keep close, was a dangerous thing to abuse. You never knew when the hidden blade of the powerless might come flying at your back.
Esmue, being in line to become the next emperor, knew that fact better than anyone.
"Even when performing a friendly act, one must always lay a foundation of consideration and goodwill to avoid future trouble, is that not so? What was said to that child was no lie, so there is nothing to be caught out on."
I looked at Esmue, who sat beside me grinning from ear to ear, but she wasn't wrong, so I had nothing in particular to say.
The only problem was that this 'sharing of information to get our stories straight,' as she called it, had ended in under three minutes.
"I did not think myself particularly possessive, but it turns out that depends on the situation. I have begun to find a strange amusement in the process of racking my brain to create justifiable reasons and carve out time to arrange legitimate moments alone with you. Above all, success actually grants me time spent with you, so it is utterly perfect from start to finish."
Seeing an expression perfectly matching the phrase 'smiling radiantly' made me feel embarrassed for her.
"Isn't this a violation of the agreement the three of us made?"
"Would that not be far too advantageous for Asilie? Naturally, there is no problem whatsoever."
It seemed they had examined things thoroughly and formed a pact of their own; she left no gaps.
"More than that, I wish to hear of what has transpired since. Even adding the time you spent in the detention center, it has barely been over a week, but surely many events have occurred."
"...Yeah, there were."
In the end, I spent the time calmly recounting the events that had happened since I parted ways with her in the Empire. I summarized rather heavily, but because it took the form of conversation rather than explanation, by the time I came to my senses the sun had already set and it was well past dinner time.
And Asilie, who had been absent to help Ragnis, returned.
"I thought the manor seemed unusually bustling, and here it was because Esmue was here?"
"I asked the young lady of Ogatorf to allow me to stay the night."
"Hmm. Ah, now that you mention it, I heard you actively stepped up for Eldi this time. Thank you."
"...Heh heh. I merely acted for my future husband; what need is there to receive words of gratitude?"
"...Heh heh heh. Sharp as ever."
We were supposed to eat dinner soon, and if this kept up I felt like I'd get indigestion, so I swiftly changed the subject.
"Sis, come sit down too. Something really unexpected happened today."
The story that a passing mage I had met as a child was actually a court mage of a nation and a renowned Magic Power researcher, and that I'd had a chance encounter with them again after ten years, was enough to make even Asilie's eyes go round with surprise.
But after a brief pause, a shadow fell over Asilie's expression for reasons I couldn't fathom.
"...Eldi? Elves have a saying: 'the end of childhood.'"
The moment I heard it, a novel by Arthur C. Clarke popped into my head, but naturally the story that followed had nothing to do with it.
"Elves bear few children, so we raise them very preciously. Especially during the period before they achieve communion with spirits and before they can even sense Mana, we protect them almost pathologically. Once they gain both abilities, we celebrate it and at the same time hold a sort of ritual wishing that the child's future, now less protected than before, will always be safe."
"That's the end of childhood?"
"No, it refers precisely to the time just before that period arrives. The moment when they receive unexpected teachings, gain enlightenment, or undergo an awakening."
Asilie added that while not every elf experienced it, it was a phenomenon not rare enough to be unheard of in any tribe.
"But the elves who go through that thing, their lives become turbulent."
Her explanation was that there was an odd commonality: they lived lives so dramatic they were almost unbelievable for an elf, either becoming heroes straight out of legend or facing bottomless misfortune.
"So some call it the god's final act of care. They consider it a process where, in the last moment the child can be directly protected under the god's blessing, the god, having glimpsed their fate and felt pity... bestows mercy."
"So you're saying I seem to be in a similar situation."
"...Yeah."
I understood immediately why she had brought this up.
After all, it was a fateful encounter so significant that even I had resolved to pray to the gods every night from now on. From Asilie's point of view, she was clearly worried that a sudden thorny path might stretch out before me, just like the examples she had described.
"What's the big deal? My life's been turbulent since I was eight anyway."
Actually, it'd be more accurate to say it had been turbulent since birth. Many incidents and accidents had followed me since, but calling my fate 'turbulent' was no overstatement for the life I now led.
"Honestly, even I already figure my future won't be smooth sailing, so I don't see any need to get freshly worried over something like that."
Rather, if it truly was, as Asilie said, a god preparing a final blessing, then it was something I'd welcome with open arms.
Without that, I'd have just been sitting around clueless, agonizing over how to get even a little bit stronger than I was now.
If we're looking at whether it's a sign of misfortune or a gift to prepare for misfortune, the situation was unequivocally the latter.
"I've got no intention of dying from reckless bravado."
"And we also shall not simply let you die. It is needless worry."
Perhaps because the momentary shift in emotion had been so sudden, Esmue too opened her mouth to help me reassure Asilie.
I couldn't call it perfect, but still, Asilie answered our consolation with a smile.
"Yeah. I had acquaintances who suffered bad things in the past, so maybe I was only thinking of it in the worst light. So now magic lessons are being added to Eldi's daily routine?"
"I can't say exactly how much time I'll dedicate, but... it'll probably take up quite a bit. I was just about to talk to Sheryl or Lord Ekaf about that part anyway."
Originally, I planned to tell Sheryl and, once the future plans solidified, speak to Lord Ekaf to get his understanding. But I decided to wait and see, figuring that no matter how busy the royal palace was, if the imperial princess of the Empire was staying over, they'd probably force her to return from the palace.
Hmm, thinking about it more, since there was no proper communication device, maybe they wouldn't even be able to contact her? Not everyone carried a crystal orb around, after all.
"Depending on the situation, I might just drop all the manor duties, rent an inn room, and only show up for training."
"If you said you were leaving the Ogatorf manor, wouldn't Ragnis come take you away immediately?"
"That's... a valid point...!"
Ragnis had gotten quite sulky from the very start, back when I first came to the capital and was told I'd be imposing on the Ogatorfs. If I said I was leaving, it felt like she'd try to take me away by any means necessary.
"Still, I figure I need to gradually distance myself from high-class living..."
No matter how adaptable humans are as creatures, anything is hard to adjust to if it changes too suddenly.
Even if I didn't get my wandering-knight investiture right away, I'd receive it by early to mid next year, and considering I'd be traveling to the front lines afterward, it felt like I needed to start getting used to ordinary living now.
I had already learned the rough prices, market rates, knowledge, and common sense, all through voluntary effort while working as a butler at the manor, so it seemed right to empty that time now and dedicate it to adventurer work and magic.
"If you leave the manor, won't living expenses cost you quite a bit?"
"I'm loaded."
It wasn't something to say in front of the imperial princess of the Empire, but from a general perspective, I was indeed loaded.
Even if the capital's cost of living wasn't trivial, when I added up the money I had earned, the reward from the abandoned dungeon that I hadn't fully collected yet, and the official compensation coming from the Empire, even travel funds were ample, so it was an option well worth considering.
"I already wanted to keep some distance from the royal family anyway, so that actually might be for the best."
For a plan I had sorted out thoughtlessly in a stream of consciousness, I rather liked it.
After that, as we chatted and pondered what to do like friends on a long-awaited group trip, a servant came and informed us that the meal preparations were complete.
Sure enough, Lord Ekaf was absent from the dining room we arrived at, guided by the servant. Seeing Sheryl sitting awkwardly in the family head's seat, she didn't seem particularly fond of this situation either.
In the rigidly tense atmosphere of the dining room, it was quite fortunate for me, as I had been agonizing over whether I had to playact some awkward sense of distance, that due to that damned etiquette, Esmue was only busy conversing with Sheryl, who was hosting her as the young lady of the house.
Thanks to that, after passing all the discomfort onto Sheryl, I was able to thoroughly savor the special banquet for welcoming the imperial princess and enjoy the meal. Occasionally, Sheryl seemed to glance at me, desperately sending signals begging me to join the conversation, but I ignored her for the time being.
If I don't watch Sheryl squirm at times like this, when else will I? It was so entertaining I felt like snacking on popcorn during the meal.
"Seriously, you get perversely mischievous in the weirdest ways."
Only Asilie, who had a ghost-like sense for picking up on these things, clicked her tongue and looked at me with a gaze that said I was incorrigible.
For this kind of thing, as long as it's not me, it's fine!