The Academy of Turmoil
Natalia didn't look like she was going to drop this anytime soon.
"Look, the Imperial Army's already handling the help part. We took down the Demon King, Pector's not showing up, and we already sent Berna packing. That leaves Clanis and Seto, and those two aren't an immediate problem. The Seven Stars can handle them just fine."
"We're talking about anti-imperialists. Why are those two even coming up?"
Why were they coming up? Obvious, wasn't it?
"Meaning, if you're strong enough to take on those two, you can carve through every last anti-imperialist without breaking a sweat."
Even if things got a little rough, the Seven Stars were the kind of monsters who could gather up, pick the Four Heavenly Kings apart one by one with proper strategy, and still come out on top. Any one of them could solo a demon army and drop thousands without trouble. There was zero chance they'd lose to a bunch of anti-imperialist rabble.
"His Majesty is placing a great deal of hope in you."
"Oh, for fuck's sake!"
She kept dragging the Emperor into it.
"Maybe before, but right now you're the Princess of Ashtar and a subject of His Majesty the Emperor. That's the reality. You get me?"
"You cruel, underhanded Imperial bastards!"
This was exactly why I hated the Empire. I'd have rather been a princess of some kingdom. Hell, even a royal princess with no claim to the throne would have been better. Of all places, it had to be the Empire that stuck me in this mess. Just my luck.
"Oof, that almost sounded like real anti-imperialist talk. But you're still one of us Imperials, you know?"
"So I'm already the Taesa. What more do you want from me?"
Taesa meant the Emperor's own teacher. Was she seriously asking for something beyond that?
"What, you got plans?"
"I'm joining the Mage Corps. I can't go hunting anti-imperialists under the Seven Stars."
More than anything, it sounded like a massive pain in the ass.
"Say that again. You're going where?"
Why the shocked face?
"The Mage Corps."
"Ashtar's?"
"That's right, Light Sword."
Look at that smug little grin creeping across her face. Rage boiled up. Should I just punch her?
No. In this body, if I traded blows with Natalia, her brutish swordsmanship might actually put me on the floor. A mage should stick to magic.
"With your skill, what's the point of joining the Mage Corps? Showing off?"
She knew damn well what my dream was and was still poking at it.
"Ma'am. Even back when I was Noah, I barely ever got called a proper mage."
Okay, people said it, but never officially. The sheer madness I put on display had been a little too spectacular for that. In this body I planned to use a bow and sword only when I felt like it.
"Since when have you been so hung up on being a mage?"
"Ever since I crawled out of the Ruined Land!"
I want to become a grand archmage!
"You already died and came back as a princess. Is this really a necessary step?"
I'd accomplished nothing right up until the moment I died, after all.
"Becoming a princess makes it even more necessary."
"Fair enough. Unless you're in a special position like me, noblewomen pretty much have no choice but to marry."
"I've still got the Saint's seat, so that part's not an issue."
If some guy showed up begging to marry me, I'd erase him so thoroughly even the rats and birds wouldn't know what happened.
"Taesa and Saint. You honestly want to pile 'mage' on top of that?"
Honestly, I'd rather dump the first two. I scowled hard enough to crease my brow, and Natalia clutched her stomach laughing.
"How about I pass those two off to someone else and you just give me the mage title?"
"Become a princess and suddenly your greed balloons, huh?"
Greed? If I'd really been greedy I would have already bought a mage registration certificate at sword-point with cash. The slums were full of people who could forge identities. Hell, the kids I kept on retainer down there could crank out IDs without breaking a sweat.
"No. The Saint title I at least have an excuse for—I'm useful there. But Taesa? I never asked for that."
Even now the whole Taesa thing still left me speechless.
"It's a legendary office."
"Yeah, so why the hell did they give a legendary office to me?"
Why hand over some ancient Imperial title that existed who-knows-when and no one could even locate anymore? Legends were supposed to stay legends or they lost all their meaning.
"Isn't it simply proof that His Majesty holds the Princess of Ashtar in especially high regard?"
She was mocking me, right?
"Haaah. So what am I supposed to do? I hate anything that sounds like work."
"Become a princess and all you do is whine more."
Couldn't be helped. I was also under the influence of the original first-generation Olivia's personality. Which was exactly why, this time around, I was going to achieve everything I never managed as Noah.
"I'm carrying traces of the previous Olivia's personality, remember."
"Fine. You can join the Mage Corps. But your main duties would be purging anti-imperialists and black mages. How's that sound?"
That actually sounded manageable. The Ashtar Mage Corps already handled public security, and there was no point even pretending the anti-imperialists and the black-mage cults dreaming of resurrecting their god weren't the same problem.
"Hmm."
"I was planning to negotiate with Ashtar from the start. I've already spoken with the Duke."
"This time? What are you thinking?"
She wanted to work with Ashtar now?
"Ashtar just pulled off that successful campaign."
"True."
It had been even more spectacular than the previous generation's.
"Because of that, the other nobles can't raise their heads as freely anymore."
Which was probably why the other noble brats had stopped treating me carelessly.
"So you want to trust that strength and leave the job to Ashtar?"
There was some logic to it. Other nobles had private troops, sure, but the only house that could wave recent combat experience around was Ashtar. Now that they'd rebuilt their reputation, they would make an excellent blunt instrument for crushing anti-imperialists and applying pressure.
"Bluntly speaking, most of the military already leans Ashtar. Am I wrong?"
"That part's also true."
Yeah. No clean way out of this one. And when I really thought about it, it wasn't even a bad deal.
"Personally this is me asking you for a favor, but on a larger scale it's Ashtar requesting cooperation."
"Fine. I'll think about it."
Once an imperial decree dropped, it wasn't like I had the right to refuse anyway. Orders were orders. For all that talk about me being the Emperor's teacher, the way he worked his teacher like a draft animal just proved the guy was a tyrant. Not that I'd actually taught him anything.
"And... I hesitated over whether I should even mention this."
"What now?"
"There might be anti-imperialists inside Attelina."
Natalia shrugged.
"Really?"
"In the Commoner Division."
"The Commoner Division, huh. Makes sense. It's a perfect infiltration route into the Imperial core."
Low-born anti-imperialists could get into Attelina's Commoner Division easily enough, then try to leverage their talent into the heart of the Empire.
"Exactly. There could be more of them than we expect."
"Ugh."
"Which means..."
I already dreaded whatever nonsense was about to come out of her mouth.
"You, as the Saint, need to help."
"Fine. Not like I have a choice."
Things were about to get complicated. First order of business: get a handle on the situation at Attelina.
Liberal arts classes at Attelina usually focused on the deportment young noble ladies would need later—bridal training, etiquette, that whole package. Of course I'd skipped every last bridal class. No reason to attend, and the rest of the curriculum was enough.
Except then this happened.
"Would you perhaps consider visiting our territory during the break?"
Some idiot started talking without even introducing herself. It was the woman with croissant-shaped hair hanging on both sides of her head.
"Croissant?"
Long time no see.
"Yes. Yes, it's Croissant."
What the hell did Croissant want? Ah. I got it. The news of Ashtar's victory after the campaign had just finished sweeping the entire Empire. Like every other noble, she was here to wag her tail at me.
Scheming little snake.
"Wow. Do I finally look impressive enough that you came to cozy up?"
"That's..."
"Let's be honest. That's it, right?"
Might as well say it straight. She was pure malice.
"Not exactly. It's just... my father wanted me to say he is sorry to the Saint."
Sorry? Now? The apology had already been given and the matter closed. Why dig it up again?
Should I play along with the atmosphere?
"How quick of him to decide he's 'sorry.' Amazing. You don't actually think of me as just the Saint, do you?"
I'm the Taesa, got it? I planned to keep that title for a long time. She needed to learn to kneel on her own.
"I am aware."
"I already received the apology earlier, so I don't particularly care. What's the real angle?"
There was no way the proud Croissant would bow her head to me for free. The earlier apology had already been extracted under duress.
"The Empire didn't have a Saint before, did it?"
"And?"
"Meaning a different kind of Saint from the ones the Kingdom or the Holy Nation used to have."
Her rambling was endless. I preferred things quick.
"Should I just burn that hairstyle off your head, or are you going to spit it out?"
"Truthfully... our house has been considering a marriage alliance with the Ashtar family."
A marriage alliance with Ashtar. Calling me over specifically meant she was about to spout some garbage about wanting me as a daughter-in-law.
Oh, look at this. Not a shred of shame left.
I smiled sweetly and asked,
"Why?"
"Well... between houses..."
Between houses? So she wanted to cash in on the benefits.
I stared her down. She must have realized how ridiculous it sounded, because her face twisted.
"Even you think it doesn't make sense, right?"
"That's... I..."
"Say it properly. It's not 'between houses.' It's about dragging the whatever-family name that just got ground into the dirt back up a few inches, isn't it?"
That was obviously it. Watching a family that barely scraped by as mages strut around calling themselves a magic house never failed to leave me speechless.
"Well, that is part of it, but for a noble lady to put it that way..."
"Hopeless."
"Saint. Even so, we are young ladies, and you are the Princess of Ashtar. For someone of your station to speak so freely..."
Speak freely and then what? If she had a problem she could try being better than me first.
"Even if that station forbids it?"
"Pardon?"
"You've got no shame left, Croissant. You picked a fight with me, got thoroughly wrecked, and now you don't even know your place—daring to invite me for a marriage talk? You want me to haul myself all the way out to your backwater just for that? You should be the ones crawling over here on your knees begging me to please, please marry your precious son."
"Ugh..."
She wanted me to sit around the house going 'tee-hee, my lord' like some noble housewife? That was the dumbest shit I'd ever heard. I had zero intention of living that life. Even if they offered me an empire's worth of gold, I wouldn't marry anyone.
"I have no intention of agreeing in the first place, and I plan to die of old age exactly as I am."
"Then at least..."
"At least?"
"Would it be possible for us to simply maintain a certain level of acquaintance?"
Not marriage—just a friendly connection with Croissant?
"Acquaintance?"
"Yes. I've already been scolded by my father for damaging our relationship with the Saint."
Because I was the Saint and the Taesa, of course. If I'd been an ordinary princess, that magic-house pride of theirs would never have let them kneel so easily.