How a Wizard Survives (39)
How a Wizard Survives (39)
Dragged into Katrina's room, I got scolded all night.
I didn't feel the slightest bit of unfairness.
Hadn't I fooled her yet again?
The fact that I was a mage? Fine, whatever.
But I could have told her I was from the Einhold Family much sooner.
I'd agonized over it several times, actually.
Each time, I hit the same wall: there was simply no coherent way to explain how she'd figured out I was from the Einhold Family.
Still, I groveled until my hands and feet nearly wore out, and she eventually forgave me.
Considering everything I've pulled, the real wonder is that she hasn't reported me even now.
By daybreak, she even wore a strange, almost pleased expression.
"So, Jaeger, you really were of noble birth? And you have a way to prove it?"
"That's how it turned out."
"... Alright. But... don't ever deceive me again. Understood?"
"I don't want to deceive you either."
Later, when I have to talk about my teacher... what do I do?
Forget it. I'll leave that to future me.
As I'd guessed, Reinhardt decided to return to Reshutal as soon as the sun rose.
He'd rushed over after getting a support request in the first place, so he had almost no time to spare.
"We'll be off, then. Now that we've dealt with one, things should stay quiet for a while."
"Always grateful, Duke Reinhardt. By the way, what happened to the fur on your cloak?"
"Simply removed it. Too hot. Jaeger, Katrina, let's move!"
When we hurriedly mounted our horses, Einhold scrambled after us.
Just as the commandant was about to see us off, Luft appeared in front of him.
"Commandant. May I accompany you as far as the capital? Escort duty as well..."
"L-Lord Luft? Of course. Please do."
The commandant and his comrades were visibly flustered, as if Luft had never asked such a thing before.
Fortunately, his suggestion passed without issue.
The demons would lie low for a while, and Luft had distinguished himself greatly in the battle.
Watching even Angelica and the Einhold people look surprised made me worry about him all over again.
'This uncle... what kind of life has he been living?'
Thankfully, the capital was still far off.
There'd be a chance for a private conversation somewhere along the way.
Contrary to my expectations, Luft drew his horse alongside mine as soon as we passed through the village.
Making small talk on a tedious journey was perfectly natural, but... the problem was that in Luft's case, it was anything but normal.
"Young master. I thought about it all night... wouldn't it be better to come to Einhold now?"
Since the retirement plan he and my father had arbitrarily cooked up fell through, now he was nudging me to switch sides.
Still, I understood his feelings.
He probably wanted to protect me somewhere within his own sphere of influence.
But I had no choice in the matter.
To help with my teacher's and Ash's plans, staying in the Inquisition was far better.
I refused as firmly as I could.
"That won't work. It's not as if you can just leave the Inquisition because you want to."
"... Understood."
"And outside, just call me Jaeger. Comfortably."
"That is..."
"Uncle, please... you are my uncle, aren't you?"
Luft looked as if he'd been physically struck by my form of address, and his whole body shivered.
Unable to contain his intense emotions, he hastily withdrew, and Angelica deftly guided her horse over.
"How did you get so close to Uncle Luft?"
"Everyone likes Heretic Inquisitors, apparently."
"No jokes."
"Well... we rolled around on the same battlefield together. And we caught a demon yesterday."
"Even so. I've never seen Uncle have a long conversation like that. What in the world did you talk about?"
"Singing your praises."
When I answered lightly, as if teasing, Angelica stuck her tongue out slightly.
Katrina, looking as if her anger had fully subsided by then, had taken off her helmet and was savoring the fresh air.
Wearing that thing was seriously hot... seeing her wear it anytime, anywhere, I found it rather admirable.
'Is there some kind of magic on it, maybe?'
Unfortunately, I had no further chance to talk with Luft that day.
Aware of his own reputation, he didn't push his approach unreasonably either.
When we arrived at the day's camping ground after riding hard, Katrina, helmet off, spoke to me.
"Jaeger, do you still have that handkerchief Her Highness the Princess gave you last time?"
"Ah, yes! Should I give it to you?"
"Please."
Thinking she probably wanted to wipe away sweat, I promptly handed it over...
Katrina tossed it straight into the freshly kindled pile of firewood.
I was horrified, but I could not bring myself to rummage through the firewood. It was already too late.
The handkerchief was soon engulfed in flames, shriveled up, and turned to ash.
"K-Katrina?"
"I'll buy you one later."
Even so, it was a royal gift. Wasn't burning it that coolly a bit much?
Reinhardt, who'd been watching the commotion, chuckled as if he found Katrina commendable.
Luft, too, wore a strangely satisfied expression from a distance.
Whether unluckily or luckily, the journey to Reshutal ended quickly.
Luft took advantage of a lull to close the distance again.
"Young master. I visit Reshutal often, so please give me any order whenever I do."
"... For example?"
"Someone you want dead. Something you want stolen..."
Uncle Luft, asserting his professional specialties with absolute clarity.
Feeling a headache coming on, I tossed out a question I'd been saving.
"By the way, what happened to my father's... soul? Was it collected by the Einhold Family's demon?"
"Regrettably, yes. The battle with Bael was so fierce that there was simply no leeway to take sealing measures."
Luft, who had answered in a somber voice, swiftly added, "That doesn't mean he became a Demon Thrall or anything. The Einhold Family does not permit such acts. Our family's demon is more like a prisoner of war."
"That's a relief."
While we were talking...
The king, the princess, and even the queen came out to greet us.
Despite the royal welcome, Reinhardt's face twisted into a scowl.
The princess and queen aside, there was no way the king acting so skittishly looked good to him.
He really must be incredibly spooked.
Noticing that I didn't much like the king, Luft displayed a rather unhealthy enthusiasm.
"Shall I eliminate him?"
"Don't say such crazy things so casually... Is everyone at the Front Lines like this?"
As I gave him a chiding that was half-joke and approached the city gate, the king's praises reached my ears.
Apparently, he'd already received word from the Front Lines.
"Duke Reinhardt! We have already heard of your heroic exploits! To defeat a demon once again, following the last time!"
"... It seems you have misheard. It was Einhold and Katrina who defeated the demon."
Reinhardt was being needlessly humble...
But the unit that destroyed the catapult was the one that included him.
On top of that, there were almost no casualties even against a High-Rank Demon, so it was a military achievement worth boasting about plenty.
Regardless.
The princess, smiling warmly again today, walked straight toward me as if she had no interest at all in the king or Reinhardt.
Remembering that Katrina had burned the handkerchief, I broke into a nervous sweat, but thankfully, there were no questions about that.
"Sir Jaeger. Thank you for your hard work on this expedition as well. If it's agreeable, I'd like to hear tales of your demon-slaying valor at the upcoming royal banquet..."
The royal event invitation I'd dreaded.
For one thing, since it was a royal request, refusal was impossible.
I asked for her consideration, but it didn't work at all.
"Last time I attended a banquet, I believe an utterly horrendous incident occurred... Are you certain it's alright for me to attend?"
"Of course. I would welcome the chance to see that heroic display again."
"..."
Maybe because she was a politician by birth, her way of redirecting the conversation was an art form.
As I shook my head inwardly at that, I was struck by a sense of incongruity.
I didn't know why, but whenever I stood before the princess, my body kept trembling.
'At first I thought it was because she's royalty... but the same doesn't apply to the king or queen.'
To be honest, that type of person was just inherently difficult for me.
She smiled at me with her eyes once more and then gracefully withdrew.
I quickly turned around and prepared to part with Luft.
"Uncle. Get along with your comrades... no, at least your family, and eat some vegetables."
"Don't worry."
He wore a bitter smile similar to mine and nodded readily.
"Now I have a reason to live. I will see you again in good health."
"Yeah."
After seeing Luft off, I stopped by the branch office and helped Katrina unpack her belongings.
Now that we'd been all the way to the Front Lines, I was expecting a few fairly slack days.
Katrina caught me as I was about to return to the smithy and asked, "By the way, Jaeger... are you really going to accept the princess's invitation?"
"How can I refuse a royal invitation?"
"That's true, but..."
"Besides, if I go, then of course you'll also be invited, Katrina."
Since I'm Katrina's squire, that was only natural.
Katrina nodded, looking a bit reassured by my words.
"Understood. Go inside and rest quickly. I'll see you tomorrow."
"Yes. You rest well, too, Katrina."
I returned to the smithy as if flying, stood before my teacher and Ash, and immediately laid out the story.
But today, my teacher was dressed in aristocratic outing clothes even though it was nighttime.
Was he going somewhere later?
With his record of already having wormed his way into Reshutal's noble society, he'd be under thorough surveillance, wouldn't he?
I swallowed that question with difficulty, and Ulysses chuckled.
"So it really wasn't a coincidence... To think you, too, were of noble birth, Jaeger. Dietrich Einhold? That's practically royal blood, isn't it?"
"I-Is that so?"
"It is. Einhold actually intermarried with royalty before receiving their ducal title. Though the degree of kinship with the current generation of royals will be a bit distant."
I scowled at the notion that the king might be my sixth or eighth cousin...
Ulysses swiftly reassured me.
"Among high nobles, it's rarer for royal blood not to be mixed in at all, so don't hate it too much."
"Nobles, honestly... But what did you mean by 'I, too, was of noble birth'? Then Ash or you, teacher..."
"Ash is the daughter of a foreign count's house. I'm not. I'm a 100% pure commoner."
"Kgh."
A complete commoner, despite looking more aristocratic than anyone else here.
Ash, beside me, shrugged.
"Ridiculous, right?"
"Honestly, it sounds like a lie. You've even infiltrated noble society..."
"I studied hard."
"Ah, right. You two, do you happen to know anything about the princess?"
Given that Ulysses and Ash had gone so far as to make puppets of the royal family, I figured they'd done some investigations of their own...
When I recalled the earlier incongruity and said that, Ash tilted her head to the side.
Ulysses, on the other hand, reacted as if he'd expected it.
"The princess? Why all of a sudden?"
"She keeps approaching me... and when I saw her earlier, I felt a strange sensation."
"What, you're openly two-timing now?"
Ash joked and laughed, and Ulysses shook his head.
"Jaeger's devoted to Katrina, so... Well, I did find the princess odd myself. I saw her at the palace last time, and she was a bit off. So she really isn't an ordinary human, then?"
"Sh-She isn't?"
"Yeah. Your senses are far sharper than mine, so you're probably right. Be as careful as you can around her."
With those words, Ulysses rose from his seat.
The conversation was roughly over, and it looked like he was heading out on business.
When I stiffened, he pointed toward my room.
"You might be a bit tired, but... bring your mask, too."
"Where are we going?"
Wearing a mask meant operating as a mage.
I clenched my fist at the prospect of activity after so long, and he chuckled and explained.
"There's a gathering of mages being held in Reshutal. Apparently, Ulysses, the Wizard of Change, summoned them all."
"Huh?"
I was thrown off by the sudden third-person reference.
There was no way my teacher would come seeking help from trash mages at this point.
After a moment of sputtering, I caught on to the rough situation.
"... An impostor, then?"
"Exactly. Impersonating me while clearly knowing I'm in Reshutal. Shall we go have a look at their face?"
"Yeah!"
I raced off to fetch the mask, but Ash pulled my mask from somewhere in her dress.
Accepting it, warmed by her body heat, I froze blankly.
"Why was that in there..."
"I added some functions while you were gone. I'll explain them step by step, so let's head out first."
"Ah, understood. Thanks."
Into the dark night, two mages silently departed the smithy.