Act 1. Travel Kingdom (3) - Day 2

All the servants rose at 5 a.m. to prepare breakfast and clean. Swish—swish— Of course, that included me. Right now, I was meticulously dusting every corner near the windows with a feather duster.

"Is there no such thing as a vacuum cleaner in this world?"

"How could a mere servant use magic? I'm already a precious mage as it is."

I was chatting with the viewers while cleaning alone, catching up on our conversation.

"Argh, seriously."

After finishing cleaning, I watched them set up for breakfast. But Princess Arie was nowhere to be seen.

"...Arie is skipping breakfast again today, I see."

From King Leopold's words, it seemed like a regular occurrence.

"...We'll send her meal up separately. You there."

Callis pointed at me.

"...Yes. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠I'll prepare it."

I moved only after seeing Callis nod. ...This is the perfect chance, huh?

With Callis and his servants all gathered on the first floor, I'd gotten an opportunity to meet the princess alone.

...She might not even listen, though.

I headed up to the second floor carrying simple soup and freshly baked bread.

...Smells delicious.

I had to eat some bread after clearing the main quest, I'd decided. Knock knock—

"Princess. I've brought your meal."

The door stayed firmly shut, showing no sign of opening.

"...Princess." Knock knock—

"...I have something important to tell you. Would you please open ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the door?"

Rustle—rustle— A somewhat subdued voice began to come from inside.

"...If it's about stopping my research again, get lost."

"It's not that. I think it's something you'd like."

Only then did the door creak open slightly, and golden eyes symbolizing the royal family glared sharply at me.

"...You're... the new maid?"

I was momentarily overwhelmed by the atmosphere but quickly regained my composure, flashing a bright smile as I spoke.

"May I come in first? I'd like to tell you quietly."

"...How impertinent. Daring to suggest entering a princess's bedroom."

Arie's gaze sharpened even more. If this kept up, my search for proof would all go down the drain. So I pulled out the documents Asella had given me from my pocket and handed them to her.

"...This is...?!"

Seeing Arie's expression fill with surprise, I smiled brightly.

"Feeling like talking now?"

"...Come in."

Arie's room looked nothing like a princess's chamber. Papers scribbled with magic formulas littered the floor. The only light came from a single candle.

Arie tucked away Asella's documents and turned, glaring sharply at me again.

"...So, why do you have this?"

"No need to worry about eavesdropping. This room has triple-layered soundproofing magic."

I quietly pulled Asella's brooch from my pocket.

"Allow me to reintroduce myself. I'm Noel, successor to the Great Witch Asella."

"...Ah, so you're her. Then why is the successor in this getup, here of all places?"

"...Do you know that the first prince has contracted with the Archdemon of Greed, Albarox?"

"I know."

I was briefly stunned by how casually she admitted it.

"...Pardon? You knew?"

"Yes. I know."

"...Then shouldn't you do something to stop it?"

"Why should I?"

I stared blankly at Arie for a moment.

"...Let this wretched family all go to hell."

Seeing the mix of sorrow and anger flash across her face, I recalled what Asella had said.

—There was some big incident in the past. I don't know the details either.

"My goal is to bring down the first prince."

"And?"

"For that, I need proof of his pact with the archdemon."

"...And?"

"...Let's make a deal."

"You think you have anything to offer me?"

...She had a point. Materially, I had nothing to bargain with a princess. But.

"Transmutation formulas."

I'm someone who climbed to 2nd in the elemental sorcerer rankings in another world. I knew most transmutation formulas inside out, and I was confident no one understood their mechanics better than me.

"...You?"

Arie still looked skeptical. I picked up one of the papers from the floor.

"You know lightning attribute has the strongest power of any element, but its casting time is extremely long."

"That's because lightning mana takes a long time to circulate through the body."

"To speed that up, we can use one method."

I grabbed a chalkboard from the corner and sketched a simple diagram of the human body.

"We'll run a slight current through our bodies. Obviously dangerous, right?"

Arie listened silently.

"So we'll limit the current to specific areas. The nervous system, specifically."

"We'll deliberately overstimulate the neurons to generate action potentials more frequently, speeding up brain signal transmission."

"Like this."

I completed the cast in an instant, gathering electricity at my fingertips. This was actually Rapid Stimulation, a hero-grade transmutation formula I'd discovered long ago—a game-changer for lightning mages. Sure, the increased frequency tired you out faster, but the risk was worth it.

Arie stared silently, then closed her eyes and drew up her mana. A moment later...

"...This is incredible. It should work on other elements too."

Arie looked at me with ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠newfound eyes and extended her hand.

"...Fine. I'll help take down Callis. But come to my room this afternoon for more."

"Sounds good. How exactly will you help...?"

"Oh, that. I already have proof on him."

"...Pardon?"

"You know how much that bastard's been after me all this time, right?"

I wanted to ask how she knew I knew, but I just nodded in resignation.

"So I made a surveillance magic tool that evades detection spells and planted it in his room."

"Wait, how did you even...?"

A surveillance tool that dodged detection magic? Was that even possible? My common sense twisted a bit, but I let it slide.

"...So when do I get it?"

"You're giving it to Yurian anyway, right? I'll handle it."

"..."

I gave up thinking and nodded.

In the afternoon, we discussed transmutation formulas with Arie.

"That part would be more efficient like this."

"Why are you writing the magic formula that way?"

Favorability rose as a bonus. Arie smiled subtly during our talk, let out dry laughs—showing more varied reactions than usual. I learned a lot from her, and she from me; it was a fun, productive time.

...The viewers didn't seem to agree.

"..."

Before I knew it, evening had arrived amid our conversation.

"...Aren't you joining for dinner?"

"Nah. Talking magic with you is more worthwhile than eating there."

Her favorability had built up enough to change how she addressed me.

Keeping her favorability climbing like this would definitely help later...

At this rate, the viewers might actually die, so.

"...I need to eat. We'll have plenty more chances later."

"...Hmph. Fine. That's enough for today."

Before opening the door to leave, I turned back to relay the plan to Arie.

"Oh, by the way, the plan starts tomorrow."

"I know. Tomorrow's the successor declaration ceremony."

"Yes. See you later."

As Noel closed the door and left, the single candle illuminated the room once more.

"...It's been too long since I talked to someone like that."

Today, the candle burned brighter than usual, lighting up the room vividly enough that no other light was needed. Brightly.

In the pre-dawn hours when everyone was asleep, I knocked on Yurian's door. Knock knock—Creak—

"Come in."

I entered Yurian's room and naturally sat on the sofa.

"...How on earth did you convince my sister?"

"Just helped her out a bit."

"...Impressive."

"Finally, tomorrow it all ends."

"...Indeed."

Yurian watched me silently for a while before speaking.

"...Thank you."

I chuckled, propping my chin on my hand.

"For what?"

"...Everything."

"Didn't peg you for the cute type."

"W-What are you saying."

I smirked at Yurian blushing in front of me and stood up.

"You can thank me properly after everything's done."

"R-Right... Um..."

"See you tomorrow. Get your mind ready."

I left Yurian's room and returned to mine. I opened the chat window for some long-overdue interaction...

"...If you don't quiet down, I'll go see Arie tomorrow too."

Only then did I smile satisfactorily at the now-healthy chat.

"...Tomorrow, it all ends."

"Dunno. After the main quest, I probably won't push the story for a while. Got plans with Asella too."

I chatted with the window for about 10 minutes, then closed my eyes to see the conclusion of this tale.