How a Wizard Survives (68)
The scandal involving Princess Alina was quickly settled.
Everhart's contractors still turn up now and then... but with the royal family's internal strife resolved, there shouldn't be any real trouble.
By now, Everhart must be racking his brains, wondering how that man is holding out so well.
'For a pushover, that level of pushover is honestly impressive...'
But once someone reaches that point, calling them a pushover doesn't do them justice.
Isn't that exactly what true love is?
The choice of a true great king—safeguarding peace for the royal house and his family.
Screeee.
When I finally returned to the smithy after several days, the Smith automaton greeted me.
Right after, the Jaeger automaton also activated inside.
I passed it as if we were changing shifts, then headed down to the basement.
I sent a signal in the basement cluttered with odds and ends, and a section of the floor slowly opened.
"Must you go to these lengths every time?"
"The surveillance from Sir Reinhardt has intensified since I revealed my identity, after all."
I stroked Shui as I descended the stone steps.
In the meantime, everyone's living space had retreated one step further, driven into a basement beneath the basement.
Ash, who had opened the door on the inside, greeted me.
"Welcome back. Looks like it was resolved well?"
"Yes. Pure love overcame the demon's plot."
"But was it really necessary for you to grant that favor personally, master?"
"I'm not sure. The queen confessing her sin first seemed a little dangerous."
The king had apparently been unable to bring himself to reveal the truth because of misplaced pride...
Turning it into a scene where he forgave the queen's confession would have been awkward.
I figured it was better for the king to reveal it first.
After all, since Everhart had transformed into the king, the queen probably never dreamed that she herself had committed adultery.
In the end, she had been deceived by Everhart too.
Anyway, it's a relief that the palace situation was wrapped up well.
Now I can worry about myself.
"Are there still people watching outside?"
"Yes. They haven't left yet."
"Sir Reinhardt really is relentless."
When I expressed my exasperation at his tenacity, Ulysses, who had been boiling water for tea, chuckled.
My body, chilled by the night wind, warmed up thanks to the tea.
"He suspects you because he wants to trust you. And since you actually are deceiving him, you're in no position to complain, are you?"
"That's true."
"His order to marry Katrina by year's end was probably an attempt to help you solidify your standing as quickly as possible. If you establish yourself within the Wizardvein family and accumulate achievements, you might be safe later even if your identity comes to light."
When I was reminded of something I'd been trying hard to forget, Ash teased me.
"Have you booked a venue? You ought to start preparing soon. Oh, but you're under the Inquisition, so maybe it doesn't matter?"
"That's..."
"What? Do you not like Katrina? Are you planning to go with Alina after all?"
"No way. I just... I wonder if it's all right to go through with it like this."
Katrina still doesn't know about Ulysses and Ash.
I had no certainty that she would still love me unchanged if she learned of their existence.
But even wanting that was unreasonable.
The wedding was at year's end. And Ulysses's plan was set to be carried out at year's end, too...
When the time comes, things will be settled one way or another.
I decided to think about it as lightly as I could.
"Ah, and Diana..."
"She's doing well. I went to see her with Alina two days ago."
"Good. You can at least rest for a day or so, right?"
"No chance."
Unfortunately, there was no such thing as vacation.
Around-the-clock royal escort duty was practically treated as routine work by then.
Still, we killed quite a lot recently, so it'll stay quiet for a while.
I returned to the workshop like that and buried myself in bed.
As expected, the next day's duties were fairly relaxed.
We visited an Einhold villa for the first time in a while and enjoyed lunch.
Alina, who had returned to the Inquisition branch starting today, didn't leave my side for a moment.
Thanks to that, Katrina had been in a sullen mood since morning.
"Your Highness. Is it truly necessary to stay that close to him?"
"I apologize, Lady Katrina. I do not wish to disturb Sir Jaeger either, but my trauma regarding demons..."
Alina answered with a perfectly innocent face that showed not a trace of trauma.
She already seemed to have completely shaken off the aftereffects.
Alina had originally been something ambiguous between demon and human... but thanks to this incident, she had been able to establish her own identity.
She had parents who were far greater than her biological ones.
Frankly, I was almost envious.
'Well, I do have my teacher and Lady Ash, so I'm in no position to speak of others.'
Regardless of what the two women were doing.
Angelica had her eyes fixed on my sword.
"Jaeger. Can't you show that to me one more time?"
"Again? Here, just try wielding it yourself."
"Really?"
I handed over the Glass Sword, sheath and all.
Angelica drew the dark-blue sword and grinned with delight.
She really loved swords, even though she never put much effort into swordsmanship.
Katrina, beside me, worried for no reason.
"Isn't she going to break it, swinging it around like that?"
"Oh, it's fine. It's as tough as diamond."
If it were that easy to break, I wouldn't have bruised myself black and blue making it.
Angelica stood up and swung the sword around, nearly stumbling.
"Whoa! This thing is incredibly heavy. The balance feels a bit odd too..."
"That's because I made it as thick as possible to maximize the adamantite's mana-damping effect. It's very heavy even for a single-edged sword."
And my design was highly successful.
Wasn't this very Glass Sword the only thing that managed to damage the Destruction Demon Thrall in that fight?
However, in exchange, the Glass Sword became a sword so large and heavy that even I can barely swing it.
If I made it just slightly heavier, I'd have to use both hands.
Angelica diligently swung it for a while, then suddenly said something completely absurd.
"Then make mine a little thinner and lighter."
"No... I can't control the grain unless I forge it myself, you know?"
"If it breaks while I'm using it, just make another one! Aren't you lot adamantite rich now, anyway?"
She had a fundamentally different way of thinking from us.
I asked Katrina, who was next to me, first.
"Do you need one?"
"I'm fine. I can barely handle the one I have as it is..."
Katrina already had a sword I had made for her.
Hers was fifty percent purity.
That was the limit of what she could handle with her current skill.
Angelica butted in again, not at all unpleasantly.
"But now that you have an adamantite sword, you don't need that Holy Relic anymore, right? Turn it in soon and exchange it for something else. You're only allowed one Holy Relic per person, aren't you?"
"There's nothing in stock right now anyway. And this sword is fairly useful."
Katrina answered, glancing at the Holy Relic leaning against the wall.
While we were enjoying such a leisurely time.
A carriage rolled into the villa's courtyard.
Embedded in the carriage's flank was the crest of Einhold.
"Hm? Who's that now?"
"Didn't the Family Head return to the duchy?"
"Ah, I did hear one of the Eight Swords was returning from the Front Lines. At His Majesty the King's request..."
As expected of His Majesty our king.
I'm glad he hasn't changed as a person.
I naturally expected it would be Luft coming to settle in the capital... but the man who stepped out of the carriage was far larger than him.
With a build like that, he could easily match Hector or Reinhardt.
The moment Angelica looked down at him, she grimaced.
"Kuh, it's Dominic. Of all people, His Majesty had to summon someone like him to Reshutal."
"Is he a difficult person?"
"He's a little... uncomfortable to be around."
Angelica answered Alina's question passively.
She couldn't bring herself to badmouth a family member in front of the princess.
Dominic, the member of the Eight Swords in question, had been looking around the villa. He spotted us and frowned toward the pure-white uniform.
"A Heretic Inquisitor? Why is Wizardvein trash in an Einhold residence?"
"Because she's my guest."
Angelica spoke as if scoffing, but Dominic, with his fierce, tiger-like face, didn't look convinced.
His face, heavily scarred by battle, twisted unpleasantly.
"Who are you to invite guests? Hm? That sword..."
Dominic readily reached out his hand toward the Glass Sword in Angelica's grasp.
Before she could even hurriedly hide it.
I reflexively let out my intent.
I couldn't bear the thought of a stranger laying hands on the Glass Sword.
"Kh!"
The next moment.
Startled, Dominic leaped backward and drew his sword.
Perched on the windowsill, he looked exactly like a furious cat.
Though his posture was slightly comical, his combat stance was definitely ready.
He had positioned himself so that he could even escape if necessary.
Soon, Dominic's shocked eyes fixed squarely on me.
Judging by how he had read that just then, he had extremely keen senses.
"Just what are you..."
"How dare you draw your sword before royalty?"
As Alina stepped forward from where she had been slightly behind me, Dominic hurriedly knelt on one knee.
He must have been so preoccupied with the adamantite sword and me that he hadn't noticed Alina's presence.
Whether you're one of the Eight Swords of Einhold or not, drawing a weapon before royalty without permission constitutes an act of treason.
"I have been rude, Your Highness the Princess."
"Sir Jaeger and Dame Katrina are guests invited here together with me. I will not tolerate any further discourtesy. Withdraw."
Dominic reluctantly withdrew from the spot.
I took the Glass Sword back from Angelica and quietly asked, "Why does that person hate Heretic Inquisitors? If he's one of the Eight Swords active on the Front Lines, wouldn't he have had many occasions to cooperate with Wizardvein?"
"Well... there are circumstances."
After hesitating for a moment, Angelica sat back down at the table and spoke.
Given that he had just committed a grave discourtesy toward the princess, it wasn't an atmosphere where we could simply let it go.
"Sir Dominic, well... he doesn't have a mother, you see?"
A random mom-joke right off the bat?
Thinking that, I dismissed it as nothing much.
In truth, almost no one present had a mother who was alive and well.
After choosing her words for a moment, Angelica elaborated a little more properly.
"Sir Dominic's birth mother was a Heretic Mage... she was discovered by Heretic Inquisitors and executed."
"Th-that's absurd!"
Katrina's startled objection had a point.
No matter how out-of-control Heretic Inquisitors might be... they would never have dared touch a mage who had already become a member of the Einhold family.
Pulling something like that and getting away with it would have been difficult.
"In the case of a mage belonging to an allied family being directly executed..."
"The thing is... she wasn't from an allied family."
"What?"
"The previous family head did not recognize Sir Dominic's birth mother as a family member, so she was not under Einhold's protection. Sir Dominic is also officially treated as an illegitimate son of unknown maternal lineage."
"..."
Well, I can see that.
Accepting a mage of unknown origin into the family carries great risk.
If that had been done carelessly, Einhold's position would have become extremely dangerous.
Given all that, it's only natural he would hate Heretic Inquisitors.
I was curious about something slightly different from his family circumstances.
"But how did Sir Hector win against that man?"
"...Does Sir Dominic look that strong?"
"Yes. Stronger than the current Family Head, of course, and far stronger than Sir Hector."
Katrina's eyes trembled when she heard my impression.
Judging by chronological age, the two of them should have faced each other in the Family Head Tournament.
Yet the one who won the tournament and became family head was the current head, whom Hector had backed.
Angelica easily answered my question.
"Huh? My father never beat him?"
"What do you mean by that..."
"The Family Head Tournament observes very strict age limits, you see? At the time, Sir Dominic was one year too young to participate. So naturally, among the next tournament's participants, he'll be the oldest."
"Aha."
So the timing was utterly exquisite.
If that guy had participated in the previous tournament, the outcome would have changed drastically.
He must be the most likely candidate to win the next one.
"Then he'll be participating in the next tournament for sure, I take it?"
"Of course. I hear that man is already running his mouth about what he'll do when he becomes Family Head."
"Oh-ho."
When I showed deep interest in the tournament, Angelica perked up again.
"There's less than a year left, so I have to start preparing soon myself. When the time comes, I'll make sure you can attend as an observer, Jaeger."
"Is that possible?"
"Of course. The invited spectators from various regions also serve as witnesses. Though Heretic Inquisitors are very rarely invited, even so..."
I had been a little at a loss about how to barge into the Family Head Tournament...
At this rate, things might turn out easier than I thought.
I exchanged a glance with Katrina and gave a small smirk.