The Perilous Festival (9)
"Hey, have you lost your mind!?"
In the imperial court mages' residence—the Hall of Magic—a thunderous roar erupted from one of the rooms.
"It's not like I asked you to do anything difficult! You couldn't even handle a single event at the festival? If you'd just properly used the features built into the entertainment system, or even stuck to the basics, keeping people in check wouldn't have been a problem! But not only did you fail at that, you handed over the prize as well!? What the hell are we supposed to do if you actually give that thing away!"
If it's something that shouldn't be given out, why put it on display as a prize in the first place?
Valkius swallowed the retort that had risen all the way to his throat. There were times when words worked and times when they didn't. Officially, all court mages below the chief were equal in rank, but that was only on paper. The invisible hierarchy formed by age, family background, and years of experience was a wall that couldn't be breached without considerable nerve and social skill.
Magical talent? Valkius had been called a genius by his family since childhood, but the same was true of the senior before him—who was both a superior and not quite a superior. Besides, as a refined court mage, he couldn't simply beat someone up just because he didn't like them. Even the military, who constantly grumbled about how these mages received massive budgets despite their small numbers and lack of common sense, wouldn't go that far.
"Anyway, find a way to get it back! Handle this quietly before it becomes a bigger—"
Valkius let the torrent of nagging wash over him while his mind wandered, then seized the first opening that appeared.
"The person who cleared the maze and took the prize isn't someone I can just meddle with."
"Huh? Even if there were impressive people among the festival participants, how impressive could they possibly be?"
"It was the Imperial Princess."
"Like I said, Imperial Princess or wha—"
The senior who had been ranting suddenly sensed something off and stopped mid-sentence. Valkius inwardly lamented his lack of preparation. Ah, I should have recorded that! He'd missed the chance to remove one of his rivals above him using reasonable "negotiation" rather than crude violence. It was truly regrettable.
"So... the one who took the prize was... who again?"
The senior glanced around hurriedly, checking if anyone else had heard what he'd just said, then spoke. Feeling a strange sense of satisfaction at the sight, Valkius answered with deliberate, crisp pronunciation.
"It was Her Highness, Lyla Everblaze Barhart, the Imperial Princess."
Valkius continued with a detailed report: how the princess had unleashed high-tier spells like they were mere magic missiles, physically destroying every obstacle in her path; how she had smashed the golem to pieces from the front; how using traps had caused her to block the passage itself; and how she had simply flown through the air. The senior could only listen with a stiff, sour expression.
"...That concludes the report. So, what should we do?"
The senior thought about it. What should they do? What could they do? If the other party had been a commoner, they could have invoked the authority of a court mage. For an ordinary noble, some material compensation might have smoothed things over. If it had been royalty from a vassal kingdom or a high-ranking imperial noble, they might have attempted some form of "negotiation." But the other party was a member of the imperial family. The emperor's own daughter, at that.
"...Just bury it. The chief mage will understand."
"So, where exactly did your planning begin?"
"Planning? I'm not sure what you mean."
Lyla Everblaze Barhart narrowed her eyes at me. Ah, this feels like a bad idea to answer carelessly. Sensing danger, I quickly moved my tongue.
"It's an event hosted by the court mages, after all. The prize was something rather extravagant. I had a feeling normal methods wouldn't be enough to obtain it. In situations like that, the surest approach is to partner with a powerful sponsor, isn't it?"
"It's quite a talent to so boldly tell the woman you invited on a date that you planned to use her from the very beginning."
"I am a bit unique, yes. Thanks to that, I'm able to have a conversation like this with someone others wouldn't dare approach, as if she were a flower blooming on a cliff."
Besides, if I'd been worried about the atmosphere, I wouldn't have used those lines when I first asked her to attend the festival with me. Depending on the person, such words could easily earn a slap across the face, but they seemed to suit the princess's tastes.
"Well, I enjoyed myself in my own way, so I'll forgive you, Chrome. I'm glad you obtained what you wanted."
She spoke while looking at the reward from this event that I held in my hand. I examined the tiny tear-shaped blue gem with Dantalion's Monocle, and its general information appeared.
Magic stones were ranked according to various factors: the amount of magic power they contained, their size, and the purity of their attributes. Low-grade magic stones were relatively common. Mid-grade ones fluctuated wildly in price, often requiring one to accept significant losses depending on market conditions. High-grade stones were frequently impossible to obtain even with money. As for supreme-grade ones?
They couldn't be defined merely by size or the volume of magic power they held. What elevated a magic stone to supreme-grade was none other than a star. Only after a high-grade magic stone absorbed the power of a star beyond the heavens could it finally be recognized as supreme-grade. Such stones were granted unique names.
At this stage, the magic stone itself functioned like a kind of spell. It manifested miracles on its own without any external processing. The power contained in this Tear of Okeanos was 'purification'—specifically, purification of liquids. One didn't even need to do anything special. Simply dropping this tiny gem into contaminated water would cause the water to cleanse itself. Even the murkiest sludge would instantly transform into drinkable water.
If the power of a single named star—not even one of the seven special ones—was this strong, it was no wonder people revered them as Star Gods. It wasn't for nothing that the court mages had desperately tried to avoid handing it over. Though honestly, if they hadn't wanted to give it away, they shouldn't have offered it as a prize in the first place. But the world was full of unreasonable things.
"It's all thanks to you, Lady Lyla. It's not much of a return gift, but would you accept it?"
I offered her the Starlight Message Earring I had obtained earlier. Ligret and Fiore were usually with me anyway, so such a communication tool wasn't essential for them. But the princess was different. If I had to give it to her eventually, presenting it like a gift now would make it easier for her to accept.
She stared silently at the earring sparkling in my palm.
"...Very well, Mr. Swindler."
After a brief silence, the princess accepted the gift with a mysterious smile.
Swindler? Seriously?
"Why am I getting insulted when I'm giving you a present?"
"Not knowing that is a sin in itself."
It was utterly unreasonable. Still, she didn't seem upset, so I supposed it was fine.
The third sun of the festival set.
And then came the long-awaited final day of the festival.
I had recovered all the items worth collecting and planned to spend the day relaxing, but I ran into an unexpected obstacle.
"What do you mean you're not selling Cubes!? I came with such high expectations after hearing about it from my son!"
"I rushed all the way here from the Spero Kingdom after hearing rumors that Palion's famous painting came from one of these Cubes! Hand over those Cubes right now!"
"Five Cubes! No, ten! I'll pay double the price!"
"Hah, who do you think you are, trying to butt in with just double? I'll pay quadruple, so bring out your entire stock!"
"What nonsense is this! Trying to buy everything with money is tyranny!"
"Exactly! Opportunities should be fair for everyone!"
What was this? Who were these lunatics?
I had approached the shopping district where the festival was being held only to recoil in shock at the sudden crowd. I hastily retreated toward the central area, but the situation there was just as bad.
"Midas, sell the Cubes right now!"
"Hoarding all the benefits for yourself and refusing to sell when it matters—this is customer deception!"
"Suspending sales without any prior notice—what kind of tyranny is this!"
I did give notice! I spread the word days in advance that I wouldn't be selling during the festival! Why were they only complaining now?
"Wait, aren't you all going to the festival!? Why are you making such a fuss about buying Cubes on a day like this! If you want to spend money, spend it somewhere else!"
"When else would we buy if not now! If you buy on a commemorative day, the great blessing is sure to dwell at your fingertips!"
"O Star Gods!"
"O great emperor! Please grant me a miracle!"
Surrounded by these madmen, I looked around desperately for help.
"Ligret! Do your duty as my bodyguard!"
"It's a holiday today, so handle it yourself. I don't do unpaid labor."
"Fiore! Save me!"
"You look like you're having fun, Brother. See you later!"
"Your Highness! Lady Lyla!"
"This is your own doing, Chrome."
Abandoned by everyone, I ended up spending the final day of the festival selling Cubes.
"Boss—or rather, Mr. Chrome. Will I get special pay if I work today?"
Get lost, you ghost addicted to gambling.