Foresight (2)
Whoosh! A lavish golden light flooded the training grounds, filling the sky. The magic circle Asella had drawn spun fiercely overhead. From the gray clouds that had suddenly formed, a blizzard came howling down in a torrent.
Having succeeded in the cast, Asella swung her staff to dispel the storm.
“Whew.”
It was advanced magic that had drained a great deal of her mana. Asella wiped the sweat from her brow, breathing heavily.
“Blizzard casting is perfect now. You could say you've reached the 5th Hierarchy without issue.”
Seymour flicked his mustache and chuckled heartily.
“Really? Were there no shortcomings?”
“Hmm. All that's left is repeated practice. Nothing more to teach.”
“I'm still a long way off.”
Magic was the one field where Asella became humble. Even her mentor Seymour was a sage who had reached the 7th Hierarchy, a figure who had etched his name into human history. A single numerical difference in magic hierarchies represented an immense gap. Advancing from the 5th to the 6th required more than twice the experience and effort of climbing from the 1st to the 5th. The same went for the 6th to the 7th. The realms of magic had no end.
“I mean it—there's nothing more to teach.”
“Pardon?”
Asella sensed something off in Seymour's tone, different from his usual manner.
“Asella, your specialties in space-time and ice magic aren't mine. As you know, high-hierarchy mages can't teach the same affinities unless they're blood kin—the structures of our innate mana circuits differ.”
“That's... true. Because of the differing mana circuit structures.”
“Teaching you further won't yield the dramatic results we've seen. I stayed at the imperial court to repay a debt to the Emperor from the war. That was twenty years ago already.”
Seymour nodded deeply and continued.
“The debt's long repaid, but you've been so entertaining that I've lingered too long.”
Teaching spells to that Gotberg fellow was fun too, Seymour added inwardly.
“Does that mean... you're leaving the court?”
“I must develop my own magic. That's the purpose of a mage's life.”
Asella understood his words completely.
“Anything else you want to ask before I go?”
Asella bit her lip. Questions would pile up like mountains in the future. But at her current level, she couldn't even know what to ask.
“Please look at my magic one more time.”
“That's no trouble.”
Asella steadied her breath. She channeled mana through her mana circuits, focusing it into her staff to draw the circle.
"Foresight."
⟨ Foresight ⟩
Whoosh! Asella's vision and senses shifted dramatically.
How many times had she cast Foresight? Whenever she had mana to spare, she practiced it. In the process, she'd gleaned quite a few clues about the imperial court. Most were useless in the current situation, so her hit rate was low. Still, Asella liked that in every future she saw, she was always the Emperor.
Where will it be this time?
Her field of view changed abruptly. In the next instant, Asella was in an office she'd seen a few times before. The Heavenly Palace, the Emperor's seat.
Asella was receiving a report via the crystal orb handed to her by a secretary. An image flowed from the orb.
An adventurer party?
A female warrior swinging her sword at the front caught Asella's eye. The holy aura enveloping her. In her lightly flicking wrist was unmistakably the Holy Sword.
The Hero.
Asella pierced her identity.
The Hero will appear soon.
This was a major gain. Even futures seen through Foresight didn't erase existing people. Someone of Hero caliber was bound to emerge. If she could bring her under Moonlight Palace first, it would massively boost her faction's growth. With the Hero leading, a warrior, mage, healer, and saintess—four adventurers felled a demonkin. Definitely a Hero party.
Huh?
Asella thought the face of the healer battling fiercely with demonkin at the rear looked familiar.
Ras?
Ras Gotberg was there. And the saintess was his sister, Neria Gotberg. Strangely, they didn't look much different from now. If anything, younger than at the social party she'd seen.
Why is Ras there?
Asella's curiosity went unsatisfied. But seeing Neria chosen as a saintess confirmed this wasn't a future continuous from the present.
Ugh! Ras took a demonkin attack and rolled across the ground. Her heart sank, but only briefly. Seeing him dart around like a veteran adventurer, casting healing spells, eased her worry.
“Argh, so damn slow!”
Exhausted, he thumped his holy book. Asella burst into inward laughter at the pathetic sight. Without her guidance, Ras was fated to suffer endlessly. A smug satisfaction welled up.
“Ras, over here!”
But the next scene soured her mood slightly. The Hero dispatched the demonkin surrounding Ras with flashy sword strikes in an instant.
“Ras, you okay?”
“Saved thanks to you. Always reliable.”
The Hero helped Ras up, encouraging him with a bright smile. They slung arms around each other like best friends, supporting one another. In the tense battlefield where lives hung in the balance, they called each other by name, trusted deeply, and entrusted their backs.
Of course, they were comrades-in-arms, but still.
The Hero's a woman too.
Irritation prickled, disrupting Asella's focus.
Ugh.
Her vision warped. In the final moment, the her staring at the orb scribbled something on paper. Instinct told Asella it was crucial, but whoosh—darkness swallowed her view.
The scene shifted.
“His Majesty has collapsed!”
“Where is the chief physician!”
The Heavenly Palace again. The red backdrop suggested the current Emperor's era.
This is... before I become Emperor. Father's assassination?
Asella judged this was several years from now. Ambrosia emerged from the Emperor's bedroom.
“He's in critical condition. We need healers of higher hierarchy.”
A young chief physician suggested at her words.
“What of Marquis Gotberg? Outside the Imperial Medical Office, no other healer in the Empire comes to mind.”
“And father to a saintess candidate.”
The discussion turned to summoning Marquis Gotberg. Conveniently, his estate had a Teleport Gate. He could rush there in an emergency.
Father dies here. Someone assassinates him amid the illness. That's how Marquis Gotberg gets involved.
Her gaze, watching the physicians, turned somewhere. The long-haired healer who first mentioned Gotberg.
Unfamiliar face. Was there someone like him in the Imperial Medical Office?
Her current attention on him marked him as significant.
The ones executed for treason were the physicians and Marquis Gotberg. This man wasn't visible.
A conspiracy was certain in the Emperor's treatment ahead. And if there was a schemer behind it, odds were high it was this long-haired physician she was seeing.
Wait. No Ras here.
This wasn't continuous from the present either. So if the same happened in her reality, could Ras be summoned instead of the Marquis?
Then the treason charge would fall on Ras.
Hmm.
Asella felt like she'd collared Ras's neck.
He has no idea.
Without her tip, he was as good as dead. Even if he survived, he'd be demoted to commoner and dragged to the front lines eventually. Without her, everything about him was doomed. Clan exterminated, himself ruined—this was massive intel. What to demand in exchange? The Hero's irritation faded a bit.
Whoosh! Asella's vision snapped back to the present.
“Clean cast. What did you see?”
Seymour praised her Foresight.
Asella's lips curved slyly.
“Found a clue.”
“Heh, that cast confirms I wasn't wrong.”
“But, Master.”
Asella bit her lip.
“My Foresight isn't complete. Can't target timelines or see beyond the court.”
“You'll raise its hierarchy yourself in time. No one can help with that.”
Seymour bowed to meet her eyes.
“Foresight visions change by casting location too—keep that in mind. Try outside the palace.”
“Outside the palace...”
Asella nodded at his final advice.
“When we meet again, you'll surely be a grand mage. I look forward to it.”
With farewell, Seymour handed her a small box.
“Master, what's this?”
“Open when you need magic's aid. With your fiancé.”
That day's lesson ended, and Seymour vanished from the court without attachment.
Outside the palace.
In her new office, Asella reviewed documents. She picked up a report on rival factions' movements.
[1st Princess Faction Barbarian Subjugation Campaign Plan]
“Your Highness, long-term leave request.”
Seeing Ras's vacation form, Asella finalized her outing plan.
“Welcome back, Brother!”
Emerging from the Teleport Gate, Neria greeted me with a beaming smile.
“It's been a while, Ras. You look healthy—I'm relieved.”
After reporting to Father, the honored guest arrived with escorts. Needless to say, Asella, who'd followed me.
“We meet Your Highness. Thank you for gracing our territory again.”
Father bowed to Asella. As Gotberg retainers, protocol demanded we receive her thus.
“I accept your welcome. I'll walk your lands for a time, Marquis Gotberg.”
Unlike her first visit last year, Asella strode confidently. Reaching me, she glanced sideways at Neria.
“You haven't grown much here either.”
“Pardon?”
Asella ignored Neria's puzzled tilt and clicked onward.
“Ras, Her Highness has gained even greater dignity.”
“Yeah.”
Maybe from growing taller, Asella brimmed with confidence. Still some disconnect, but she increasingly resembled the Emperor Asella I knew.
“No need for mansion guidance, right?”
“Hmm. I'd like another tour.”
Trailing her like a lady-in-waiting into the mansion, Sibers bowed. He beamed at seeing me after so long but restrained before Asella.
The head maid, briefed by Sibers, addressed Asella.
“Your Highness, the marquisate has prepared quarters in the main building. Please proceed and rest.”
I assumed the same room as last time. But Asella lifted her chin, rejecting.
“Why prepare a room?”
“Well, for your stay...”
“I'll stay in the young master's room.”
What? What did she just say?
Her bombshell drew varied reactions. The head maid looked troubled, Father gaped in shock, and Sibers, thrilled, clasped his hands and wriggled.
Neria covered her mouth with both hands.
“Brother, you're amazing...”
I didn't grasp the meaning, but this vacation would be anything but relaxing for me.