A New Wave (3)
“Bwaha-ha-ha-ha! What’s got you so worried? The Seven Stars are a lot more decent than you think. Come on, let’s go.”
“Excuse me?”
“I want to see where the Empire’s Saint, the Taesa—the woman they call the hero of the Demon Realm expedition—is getting her education.”
No, seriously, why the hell am I even at Attelina? They told me I could just leave Ashtar if I wanted. Couldn’t I have quit ages ago? If I’d dropped out sooner I never would’ve run into these damn people.
“Ladies! How about we go knock back some drinks?”
Ugh, fuck. That voice is way too familiar. Don’t tell me that bastard’s here too.
Please let my ears be wrong.
Especially as Olivia, if that guy shows up it just becomes a giant pain in the ass.
“Kyaa~ Get away from us! How rude!”
“Keh-keh-keh. Come now, no need to be like that. Join us, won’t you? My will is as good as the Goddess’s will, is it not?”
Hilarious. So he really is here after all.
Gladose, the Light of the Empire. He looked exactly like the sort of pretty-boy who spent his time seducing noble wives—and that was precisely how he lived. A complete piece of trash.
The kind of guy who made you think, If the Pope had been young and handsome, he’d probably act just like this.
“Hooh. Our Iron King. You’re here as well?”
Ugh, that face of his hasn’t changed a bit.
“You’re still the same yourself.”
“And who might this lovely lady beside you be?”
Lovely ladies, he says. My disgust just spiked.
“Olivia Lapa Ashtar, apparently. The Empire’s Saint.”
“To think she’d be this beautiful.”
He ran those greasy eyes up and down my body.
“Ueeek. What the hell do you think you’re doing?”
He thinks he can treat me like any ordinary woman? Revolting beyond belief.
Sure, most girls might enjoy the attention of a good-looking man at first glance, but inside he was rotten to the core. Anyone who actually knew what kind of man he was would never give him the time of day.
No question—he was the Pope type through and through.
“It’s been a long time since I met a girl who didn’t fall for me.”
“Would you fall for someone like yourself? What good is a pretty face when your personality is a complete lost cause?”
He was a lecher, but the most irritating kind of lecher.
If that hero bastard used his looks and the title of Hero to reel women in, Gladose used the prestige of the Seven Stars and his face. Fine up to a point—as long as the women he seduced weren’t me. Whether they got burned by him or not was none of my business. But the real filth? Even with Seven Stars funding available, this idiot squeezed money out of the women he charmed.
Even the Pope didn’t sink that low.
I noticed him eyeing Celia as well and casually steered her behind me.
“Isn’t a handsome face everything a man needs? Wait—hold on. We’ve never even met, have we? And you’re a young lady of a great house? The Saint? Can you really speak to me like that?”
Ah, fuck. Looking at that repulsive face made me snap emotionally.
“Isn’t it true your personality has already been nailed into a coffin?”
“Ah. Well. A certain kind mage named Noah told me as much.”
“That bastard claimed he wanted nothing to do with us. Said he’d look once and walk away. Guess he still cared deep down.”
Well, I never thought I’d have much business with the Empire after that.
“You’re free to put such a positive spin on the negative parts if you like.”
“Enough. So why have all the Seven Stars gathered here?”
They each probably had their own reasons.
“Because of the New World Group problem.”
“Of all places, Attelina? Wouldn’t the Assembly be better?”
I really don’t want to look at your faces here.
I wanted to say it out loud. Back when I was Noah I could have. A shame I couldn’t now.
“Anyway, it’s mutually convenient, isn’t it? Honestly, even we don’t know the full picture.”
“Mutually convenient? What do you mean?”
“We get to show our faces to Attelina’s nobles as well. People here are uneasy about the New World Group too.”
The New World Group has reach even here?
“We were already debating whether to head to Attelina or the Assembly. The Headmaster’s words decided it.”
“Ah. I see.”
“By the way, Lady Olivia?”
Hearing this bastard call me “Lady Olivia” is so goddamn annoying it feels like electricity running from my toes to the top of my skull.
“Just call me Taesa, please.”
“And what about Saint?”
“Being called Saint puts me on the same level as you, Sir Gladose. Taesa suits me better.”
Bernoah was essentially handling the Saint’s duties now. Even if she was like a clone of me, I wasn’t performing the role of Saint at the moment. Taesa fit better.
Gladose let out a deflated sigh at my words.
“Well, strictly speaking the position of Taesa is equal to or above ours.”
“Huh. That high?”
“No matter how independent the Seven Stars are, we’re still the Emperor’s subjects. Taesa means teacher to the Emperor.”
Watching him explain it to Tans made it clear he already knew and had just been trying to hit on me.
What am I supposed to do about the goosebumps on my arms? You despicable bastard.
Celia whispered carefully beside me.
“They’re… more airheaded than I expected, somehow?”
Airheaded, huh?
Ah. There are some gaps in my memories of the Seven Stars too.
I think I interacted with these guys more than I realized.
“Why did that man create such a weird office in the first place?”
“How should I know?”
“You’re all already here— Oh, Olivia!”
Someone suddenly called my name and threw an arm around my shoulders.
Not Celia. Light Sword Natalia. Why was Natalia—ah, right, she’s one of the Seven Stars. Of course she’s here. Being around these people was making my own intelligence drop.
She spoke to everyone with a mischievous look.
“Hooh. Already met our Olivia, have you?”
“Light Sword?”
“What’s this? You knew a pretty girl like her and never said a word?”
Gladose immediately tore into the Light Sword.
Pretty girl. Why does that phrase sound so goddamn filthy coming from him?
“Any reason I should have told you? I knew you’d react exactly like this. Sorry, but she isn’t yours.”
“Hah. I wasn’t even thinking that.”
“Anyway. Just look at her. Doesn’t she give off a bit of a Noah vibe?”
“True. Same feeling earlier—it’s strange.”
Strange my ass. What the hell is this? The Iron King’s gaze on me turned weird after the Light Sword opened her mouth.
What? What do you want to ask me?
“Are you going to keep spouting nonsense?”
If I don’t shut this girl’s mouth she’ll go around telling the whole neighborhood I’m Noah.
To stop her I grabbed both of the Light Sword’s cheeks and stretched them.
“Aya-ya-ya-ya! Hey! Hey! I’m one of the Seven Stars! Let go already! This bitch’s body reinforcement is ridiculously strong—”
“How else am I supposed to hold my own against the Seven Stars if I don’t use magic?”
Right? And the Light Sword’s mouth needed gagging on principle.
“Anyway, the Headmaster called everyone, so let’s move.”
“Are all of the Seven Stars present?”
“That’s what they said, isn’t it? And it’s because of the New World Group.”
I asked suspiciously and the dwarf immediately whipped his head away.
Yeah. Figures. It’s not just the New World Group after all.
This dwarf either couldn’t lie or was a little thick. The way he kept bringing up the New World Group out loud meant there was another reason.
“No, I mean the summons is the summons, but who exactly has gathered?”
I grinned as I said it and Tans’s face soured.
“Mm. Well, both the Emperor and the Headmaster called us. Plus we received word from Princess Amelia as well.”
Received word? Just as I thought.
These Seven Stars never listened to anyone, yet they’d all gathered in one place. That alone meant this was no ordinary matter. Definitely not just the New World Group.
“No matter how you look at it, it can’t be solely because of the New World Group that Tarhana already wiped out.”
“Seriously. I hate how sharp women can be.”
Gladose scratched the back of his head vigorously.
The Light Sword wore a subtle smile and shot me a look that clearly said, Go on, say it yourself.
Fine. So I have to spell it out.
“Ah. Is this about war, by any chance?”
“Exactly. As the Emperor’s teacher, the Taesa should be present as well.”
If it’s about war… hmm. Can’t I just skip this?
Why are they trying to drag me into it? I don’t want to. But the Light Sword didn’t look ready to let me go. As if she refused to miss out on the fun, she clamped onto my hand and wouldn’t release it.
I silently cursed her and she grinned.
“You should come. The next Magic Tower Master is here too. You’re going to sit out when you already know exactly what they’ll talk about?”
Ugh.
“Understood. Staying here won’t let me escape anyway.”
Especially not with this damn Light Sword latched onto me. Too much of a hassle.
In the end I was dragged to the Headmaster’s office with the Seven Stars.
Four of them were already waiting inside.
Alchemist Shainel.
Artillery Master Keihon.
Great Scholar Argon.
Fist King Yurgel.
Alchemist Shainel stood at the absolute pinnacle of her field—someone who could subdue enemies with alchemy alone.
Artillery Master Keihon specialized in portable magic-stone cannons. Unlike the Empire’s new magic-stone rifles and artillery, he was a master of the hand cannon he had carried long before those weapons were invented. In short, he wielded the original prototype of the current cutting-edge arms.
Great Scholar Argon—supposedly there was nothing he didn’t know about magical theory. Personally I’d only ever seen him draft strategies.
Fist King Yurgel was basically a neighborhood thug who only threw punches. The problem was that he was strong as hell anyway.
“It’s been a while, everyone.”
“And that one over there… the famous Olivia everyone’s talking about.”
“It is a true honor to meet the Seven Stars.”
Looking at the whole collection was absurd, but I offered the greeting anyway.
“Hah, and this after you tore into me so thoroughly a moment ago. Ahem.”
“Mm. I didn’t expect the Taesa to join us, but since it turned out this way, having you here is fine.”
The Headmaster looked troubled yet nodded as if he would simply accept it.
“So. Is war definitely breaking out?”
“We don’t know for certain yet. But the White King went out of his way to pacify the southern territories and continues to train troops nonstop. That can’t be for nothing, can it?”
If the White King was massively expanding his military…
Yes. It meant he had his sights on the Empire. From the distant past until now, every force that had conquered the small kingdoms eventually set its eyes on the Empire.
And the Empire was the one nation none of them had ever overcome.
“Indeed. Watching him build an army like that in such a tiny southern region is suspicious as hell.”
“With such a small population, gathering forces so aggressively can only mean one thing.”
In the end the answer was clear.
The White King was preparing for war.