Just the Two of Us (3)

Thanks to the golden roses Asella had brought, he was able to enhance the candy.

It was a superb candy that not only covered the reduction but even provided extra recovery. Popping it straight into his mouth gave the sensation of barely escaping a race toward death.

Now even yellow roses won't cut it anymore.

Thanks to Asella bringing quite a few golden roses, he could hold out for a while. But he needed to cultivate them somehow, and the only usable land in the imperial palace was the backyard of Moonlight Palace, so he'd have to send seeds back home. If he left it to Neria along with instructions for building a greenhouse, she'd probably fill an entire mountain with golden roses in no time. What a reliable little sister.

Anyway, this time I owe my life to Asella.

After repeating this hundreds of times, even this felt routine. He had a debt now, so he had to repay it.

"Princess."

"Yeah."

"You've bestowed a great favor this time. For a mere personal physician like me to receive such grace..."

"Shh."

Asella pressed a finger to her lips with an irritated expression.

"I told you, I hate stuffy talk."

"Right. Honestly, so do I."

In ten years, Asella would snap the fingers of any noble who slacked on etiquette even slightly. She must not have tasted real power yet.

"So, how should I repay you for today's service?"

"Payment, huh."

Asella rose from her seat, gripping her staff tightly.

"Young master, you're going to become the empire's greatest physician, right?"

"Not sure about the greatest, but yeah, I'd like to be the most famous doctor."

"Good."

He had no idea what her intent was with that question, but she seemed satisfied with his answer.

"Then I'll become the emperor of the empire."

"Pardon?"

He couldn't follow how she'd jumped to that conclusion. Asella's thought process was beyond the grasp of a mere mortal like him. She pouted at his reaction, unimpressed.

"Not good enough?"

"No, of course not."

If emperor's not enough, go ahead and unify the continent. That'd create new extinction routes and balloon the bad endings to a thousand.

On the contrary, the system notified him of a drop in the probability of the empire's destruction ending. It meant Asella's hatred for the imperial palace had lessened, and she now at least saw it as a place worth living in. Most of the knight order members had cheered at Asella's performance in the end today. She pretended not to care, but she loved praise. Maybe that's why she'd decided the imperial family could stick around.

"I think I can manage one more Recall now."

Asella focused her mind. Once the casting finished, the same hatchling from the demonstration earlier perched on her hand, flapping ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠its wings.

"This should do it."

Moments later, a flash of light half-demolished the crudely built cabin. An old man stepped over the fallen logs, flicking his ridiculous mustache.

"Whew, took me forever to find you. Couldn't you have sent the location sooner?"

Seymour approached them, chuckling heartily.

"Master."

"Ruined my vacation thanks to you two. Seeing both my disciples safe and sound is a relief, though. Oops, should I have come later? Did I interrupt a good mood?"

"Stop joking around at a time like this. I could collapse into bed right now."

"Just you?"

"Of course?"

Seymour was asking weird questions. The old man must be losing it in his dotage. Even Asella looked annoyed, her expression sharpening.

"If you're ready, let's head back. High Teleport."

Seymour swung his staff, drawing and linking six magic circles. Another teleport—sigh. Motion sickness ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠pills needed to be taken hours in advance to work, but better than nothing, so Ras rummaged in his gown's inner pocket for them.

"Mm."

A lot was missing.

"They got soaked in the rainwater earlier."

The princess explained matter-of-factly, without a hint of guilt. Fine, take it all.

Back at the imperial palace, Ras ended up bedridden, groaning until the next day.

"Your personal physician collapsing before his lord? Pathetic."

Back safely at Moonlight Palace via Seymour's teleport, Asella hurled abuse at Ras. He swallowed a cough behind his mask, burying her insults along with it. Seymour chuckled merrily at the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠sight of Ras staggering from the aftereffects.

"Rest from duties today. I'll check Asella's mana circuits."

"I can't trouble the sage..."

"Go rest."

Only at Asella's command did Ras shuffle off reluctantly. Now only Asella and Seymour remained in the study of Moonlight Palace.

Seymour grinned broadly, like a hahoe mask.

"You showed some impressive magic, Asella. Took down a serpent dragon, they say."

"Yes."

"Let's talk it over calmly. The tournament finals are returning tomorrow as scheduled."

"Tomorrow?"

Even after such an incident, the emperor planned to enjoy the flower-viewing fully. Well, canceling the annual event over a mere monster would look worse. It could give enemy nations the impression the empire's momentum was waning. She'd chalk up not being searched for personally to that.

"Recall will be banned. You'll get a spatial magic seal, along with all the mages at the tournament. Probably me handling it."

"I see."

Asella replied flatly. Seymour paced the room slowly without sitting, due to his lack of sensation making discomfort irrelevant.

"The construct spell was predictable. No one but you could use it. You pierced the fifth magic circle from a higher dimension, right?"

"Yes. As expected of my master."

"No worry of Recall leaking abroad, but the emperor will think differently. That guy's gotten more timid with age."

"But someone transferred the serpent dragon."

"Camilla, no doubt."

Silence fell at the name. Only two people in the world could teach her magic and understand it: one was here, so the other was surely the culprit.

"No evidence left anywhere. The serpent dragon's nest was beyond the eastern mountains in uncharted lands, not the interworld. Unexpected spot. And not far from the tournament grounds, factually."

"...Why would Mother do that?"

"To answer that, Asella, first ask why Camilla entered the palace."

Seymour said flatly.

"This makes Camilla your clear enemy—no stretch. Be cautious for a while. Distinguish allies from foes well."

"Are you my ally, Master?"

"Haha, what a clever brat."

Seymour smirked and tapped Asella's head.

"You know it. I'm on the side of more valuable mages."

"Yes."

Asella knew from long association that Seymour was an eccentric obsessed with high-hierarchy magic. He wouldn't dote excessively even on his prized disciple.

"Want solid allies? Then look after your physician."

"Ras..."

Asella thought of him and shook her head.

"I don't know. What he's thinking."

"Do you know what you're thinking?"

"The unconscious gets contaminated the moment it's observed."

"Conversely, unobserved, it's forever unknowable. Observing thoughts is called conversation."

Have an open talk with Ras, Seymour meant. But Asella didn't want to. He was her confidant but also a politically entangled fiancé. She didn't want to lose the upper hand. She wanted him ignorant of her depths, yet to pry every secret from him

Notebook.

She recalled the bizarre sentences scribbled there.

"Master, what do you think someone who endlessly hypothesizes world-ending or self-destructive scenarios is pondering?"

"One of two. Patient, or prophet."

Asella blinked at the unexpected word.

"Prophet?"

"Yeah. They prep countless cases to lie about foreseeing events after they happen. Ninety-nine out of a hundred prophets are frauds."

"Hm..."

Seymour's words stuck in her ears oddly.

"And a real prophet?"

"A skilled mage who can use Foresight."

"Foresight."

Asella's eyes sparkled with curiosity at the new term.

"What kind of magic is it?"

"Time-series magic. Observes all possible events that could occur in the future."

"All possible events?"

"Haha, just sees countless hypotheticals. Can't claim it's our future. Useless magic."

"For example?"

"I roll a die now. Think there are six outcomes, 1 through 6?"

"Probably."

"Foresight shows the die falling off the table, shattering on impact, or someone bursting in mid-roll. All possible, and happened in other timelines."

"So you can't know the actual die roll without doing it."

"Exactly. Only experience reveals it."

Asella fell into thought at Seymour's explanation. A magic deriving possibilities from the present. For becoming emperor—and after—she could factor every political scenario. Seemed highly useful.

"I want to learn it."

"Oh?"

"Spatial magic will be banned anyway. You said I have good spacetime sense."

"No space, then time. Hm, fine. I'll dig through my old books. Rest today first. Your mana circuits are parched."

Learning Foresight would show endless ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠futures of Ras's pathetic downfall. She could record them in a crystal orb and tease him endlessly. He might even cling to her skirts in fear. Imagining Ras, Asella unwittingly smirked in delight.