The Curse of the Connection (1)
No matter how I looked at her, she just seemed like a noisy, oblivious, ill-mannered, arrogant little noble brat who wouldn't listen to reason.
Parania's nickname was the Ice Witch.
She'd been easily subdued by me, but her ice magic was essentially on the level of a siege weapon.
Ice spears the size of a person flying fast enough to embed in the ground were like missiles without the explosion. If she could launch dozens of them at once, she was worth a hundred men on the battlefield.
The reason Parania had earned the title of Ice Witch was that in this noisy city teeming with all sorts of races, whenever riots or brawls broke out, she personally quelled them.
She'd drive multiple ice spears between fighting groups, instantly creating a ceasefire line. That forced them apart, giving everyone a cool-down period.
There had been a few incidents where someone ended up skewered like an ice pop, from what I'd heard—some underling of Katona, apparently.
That thug must have wisely decided not to tangle with her, figuring he couldn't win.
The reason I'm suddenly explaining all this is because she just looks like such a kid.
Hell, I wanted to straight-up call her a brat.
I totally got why Agnes put up with her.
Her emotions always ran way ahead of her, making any real talk impossible.
Finally, Ashu couldn't take it anymore and pulled Parania aside into a small room with a wardrobe and such.
Paranil and I figured we shouldn't intrude, so we stayed in the living room.
It felt like the break room where a senior was chewing out a newbie in some messed-up company.
A few minutes later...
"You have to maintain some dignity. If you start crying just because we said a few harsh words, how's the academy supposed to keep any prestige?"
In front of Ashu, Parania was shedding tears like a little chick.
I'd honestly shared how we felt, and Ashu had kindly but at length explained everything with a gentle smile. This was the result.
"B-but... b-but... again... again... hng. Sniff."
Paranil and I were peeking in on the situation.
"Please understand. She was deeply shaken the last time Agnes scolded her. Today, she really wanted to do something nice for you all, but she ended up causing trouble unintentionally, so she's feeling really sorry about it."
"Couldn't you have stopped her?"
"If she'd been doing something bad or dangerous, I would have. As you can see, there was no malice in coming here. If it had been the same mistake as before, I would have stopped her... but no, I'm making excuses. Sorry."
Hmm. Guess I had to cut her some slack. The timing had been terrible, no doubt.
The biggest issue was her total lack of awareness—she hadn't backed off when she should have. Even Paranil had been slow on the uptake.
"Is your sister always like that?"
"Not usually. She's tough on others, but endlessly soft on the people she likes."
She wasn't dodging the question this time. Good.
"Noona wants to give everything to the people she cares about."
"She carried me on her back, played with me, taught me—everything a child needs, in place of our parents. She was even ready to throw her life away for me. To me, noona is no different from another set of parents."
I got the tight bond between the siblings, but the fact that she'd carried this young man on her back implied Parania was at least middle-aged, despite appearances.
If she'd piggybacked him when he was elementary-school sized, he must've been tiny back then.
Either way, she'd raised her brother well. Real well.
Though our connection was short, Ashu and I must count among her favorites too. I didn't hate her myself.
She was the elf who'd pushed through her trauma to rush in and save her brother from being frozen solid.
Watching that, I'd judged she wasn't someone to kill. That's why I'd quickly sheathed the dagger I'd drawn on her.
But she was still annoying as hell. Her manners definitely needed fixing.
Agnes must've felt the same way.
Ashu's lecture must've wrapped up. Now Parania was hugging her.
It was a picturesque scene: the saintess cradling the girl.
Ashu probably didn't dislike her either.
The bad timing had pissed me off, but not enough to make an enemy of her.
Spending time around her, I could tell. She was Ashu's type.
Maybe someday she'd try dressing the vice president in dark, flashy clothes.
Parania desperately hoped we'd at least share a meal with her, if not attend the banquet, so we accepted the invitation.
It ended up feeling like we were granting her a favor, not the other way around.
Ashu whispered that this was the art of diplomacy. I told her to drop it—too complicated for my head.
On the way in the carriage, Parania cautiously asked me something. Her ears weren't twitching for once.
"Um, Kirgil. Can't we invite Agnes too?"
"Right now?"
As far as I knew, it took at least a week from Agnes Village to here.
Factoring in messenger time, more like two weeks. And we were already committed to the Darania Royal Palace invitation.
"We can't stay here for nearly a month due to other commitments."
"No. If Agnes decides, she can teleport here right away. There's a spot prepared for her, but that stubborn woman hates facing me, so she'll insist on taking a carriage! Can you believe an academy alum outright ignores my words like that?!"
"...Should we not call her?"
"No! No... wait, no. Call her."
Her emotions flared up again, but her brother—the external voice of reason sitting beside her—placed a hand on her shoulder, and she calmed right down.
Why not just merge the two?
Nah, I meant it spiritually. Don't get the wrong idea.
Anyway, important mages had emergency contact methods. There used to be active research and production of such magic tools.
Devices that ignored distance.
Come to think of it, Ashu and I already had one: the Connection Ring.
If you cleverly exploited that principle, long-range communication seemed feasible.
"Are you calling Agnes too?"
"That's the plan. It might take some time—is that okay?"
"Of course. I miss her, and I want to show her how I've grown."
Agnes was a big name in her own right, fame-wise.
But more than that, she probably missed the woman who'd truly seen her and treated her warmly in the cold palace as a child.
Agnes had always spoken highly of Ashu in her letters, happy that we were together.
The carriage passed the academy—not the city named "Academy," but the massive central building.
Having seen skyscrapers back home, the 30-story structure looked like a huge apartment complex to me.
But to newcomers, it was a stunning landmark.
Up close, it was a pentagonal pyramid tapering at the top.
There was a wide courtyard or field around it, where a few mages practiced combat spells.
Someone was even firing down from the roof. Siege prep?
"It's not usually this rowdy. The students are showing off more than usual because of this carriage."
Paranil's explanation made me realize mages had show-offs who wanted to impress the higher-ups too.
They seemed the quiet research type otherwise.
But Parania was watching each spell closely.
She even hummed thoughtfully, like she was internally grading them.
"Using magic toward the building without my prior approval. And on the day we fetch distinguished guests. Paranil, tell them the student on the fifth floor is getting disciplined."
Surprisingly, this little girl properly pulled vice president duties.
The spot for summoning Agnes wasn't the academy, but the academy president's mansion a bit away—Parania's home, basically.
No wonder Agnes avoided using it.
She didn't even call Parania by name to my face—just "pointy-ears" or "the one with the clipped ear."
Behind the mansion was a building with a marble platform. No windows, no furniture—it screamed "ritual site."
There, Parania brought me a gypsum stone slab etched with Agnes's name at the bottom.
"This is originally for emergencies. In a crisis at the academy, it summons select esteemed mages with a short message."
"What if this place gets attacked—what do you write then?"
"'Struck by lightning.'"
Tall buildings attract lightning. Reminded me of the Tower card in tarot.
Short phrases only, so probably limited to that length.
"Wouldn't she at least come check if you write 'struck by lightning'?"
"...Not Agnes. Never."
"Why's that?"
Just asking drooped her ears in a dejected pout. She'd clearly screwed up big with it before.
Paranil explained instead.
"Noona tried inviting Agnes with it once and got reamed out. That's why she won't say noona's name anymore."
"......"
Agnes had done well scolding her. Totally deserved it. I'd want to fix that attitude too.
I knew Eastern history where a prank false signal doomed a whole kingdom.
So, what to write?
Short. And something Agnes would instantly know came from me.
Easy between us.
"Seriously, you think Agnes will come for this?"
"She will."
"Th... hmm. Is this really okay? Feels like it'll get me in trouble again."
Parania was sweating bullets. Paranil too. Even Ashu went "oh dear..."
The message I wrote to Agnes was this:
"I want to pinch you."