Our Shop Is Open for Business
Today was the day we were supposed to have our sparring match, so I came by anyway... but it looks like that's not happening, right? You still don't seem fully recovered.
Trie smiled awkwardly. Come to think of it, today was the scheduled date for the next swordsmanship lesson. I'd completely forgotten.
"No. I think it'll be fine."
"Really? Are you sure you're okay?"
"...Just take it easy on me."
Trie's eyes sparkled as she stepped closer. This girl was the type to beat someone senseless without caring whether they were half-dead or not... A sudden chill ran down my spine. I wasn't actually going to get beaten to death today, was I?
"So what about you."
"Huh? Why are you asking me?"
"I'm asking why you're here again."
Iris was leaning back on the sofa, leisurely enjoying her tea. She was acting like she owned the place.
"I had something to talk about. I told your attendant, and she let me in."
"......"
When I glanced at Emilia, she silently avoided my gaze. I'd have to tell her never to let Iris in again from now on.
"Besides, we have a makeup class soon. I thought I'd rest here for a bit and go with you, Schluss."
"Cough...!"
Trie suddenly coughed as if she were about to spit out her tea. Did she choke? What was wrong with her now?
"If you have something to say, say it now and leave."
"It's something I can only say when we're alone?"
"Then say it later. Leave for now. I have sparring to do."
"I'll wait here until you're done."
"No. Get out right now."
"How cold..."
Iris shot me a glare before slowly standing up and heading toward the entrance. I was confident that a firm order to leave would prevent her from making a scene. After all, she was a saintess.
"Honestly. You still don't trust me? We're going to be together for a very long time, you know."
"......"
I did trust her. At the very least, if she were truly hostile toward me, there would have been no reason for her to go out of her way to save me. But not being hostile didn't necessarily mean she was friendly. There was no telling when her mind might change and turn against me, so letting my guard down would be foolish.
"Then make me believe you."
"Alright."
Iris silently stood on her tiptoes and beckoned to me. Did she want me to bring my ear closer? I slightly bent my knees and leaned my ear toward her lips.
"Your attendant is in danger. If you don't want her to die, you'd better stay sharp."
"...!"
"Well then, this uninvited guest will be on her way."
Leaving behind those cryptic words, Iris immediately turned and left the mansion.
What did that mean? Emilia was in danger? Had she caught the eye of some dangerous person? When I looked at Emilia, she merely tilted her head in confusion. It didn't seem like she'd give me a straight answer even if I asked. This was giving me a headache.
I couldn't just dismiss Iris's words as nonsense either.
"The class is in two hours, so let's get started quickly."
Whatever. When my head was this cluttered, nothing beat moving my body.
"Sure. Your training room only had wooden swords, so I brought real ones."
"What...?"
Trie smiled as she picked up two swords from the floor. They were training blades with completely dull edges, but being made of steel, they weren't much different from real combat swords. Which meant I was about to get pummeled by those things.
"I'll finish you off quick!"
"......"
I should've just said I was resting today. I was screwed.
"Everyone's here."
Ludwig stood on the platform and looked around. This was the makeup class for the first lesson that had been canceled due to the bombing. He'd heard Schluss was injured and thought he wouldn't come, but surprisingly, he had arrived early. His appearance suggested he was on death's door—the aftereffects of his injuries must have been severe.
"First, allow me to apologize for the previous attempted terrorist incident and move on. Security has been strengthened, so there won't be a repeat. You may all rest easy."
Ludwig stepped back. Beside him was a cart loaded with mana stones.
"The content of this first lesson is simple. We will measure the mana capacity of every student in the class."
"I have a question."
"Speak."
Erika raised her hand high before slowly standing up.
"Will each individual's mana capacity be made public?"
"It will."
"P-Professor...!"
"Questions are over. Come up to the platform in the order I call your names."
The students instantly began to stir, but Ludwig skillfully shut down any further questions and proceeded with the class. Mana capacity was one of the absolute factors that determined a mage's ability. There were undoubtedly some worthless insects here who had been exaggerating their own mana levels. Whatever happened to their reputations was none of Ludwig's concern.
"Schluss Heinkel."
"......"
The instant Ludwig called the first name, silence fell over the lecture hall. All eyes focused on the top student as he slowly descended the stairs. This was the one who had blocked the wide-area magic aimed at the Mage Day event venue. The only method the students could think of to dismantle such a massive spell formula was computational magic. Computational magic, created solely for breaking spell formulas, was known for its abysmal mana efficiency. The mana capacity of a commoner top student capable of using such magic was bound to surpass imagination.
"Place your hand on the mana stone."
Following Ludwig's instructions, Schluss placed his hand on one of the mana stones in the cart. Mana stones had the property of storing mana. By using that property, they would first absorb all of the subject's mana, then pour mana back in until their body was completely full. This allowed them to measure maximum mana capacity regardless of how much mana the person currently held.
"Schluss Heinkel..."
As Ludwig moved the chalk toward the blackboard, the corners of his eyes twitched. An unbelievable number was displayed on his artifact. Thinking it might be an error, he measured again, but the result was the same. In the end, Ludwig had no choice but to announce the result in a trembling voice.
"Schluss Heinkel. Mana capacity: 1000."
"O-One thousand?"
"Only a thousand?!"
As expected, the lecture hall instantly erupted in noise. How could someone who had so easily dismantled wide-area magic only have 1000 mana? They wanted to demand if the measurement was wrong, but—
"Everyone, be quiet."
At Ludwig's icy voice, they all shrank back. There was no way the measurement method of this notoriously thorough professor could have been flawed. While everyone was still struggling to accept it, Ludwig had already formed a hypothesis.
'The mana stones' charging limit is 300,000.'
The total mana charging capacity of the stones was 300,000. In other words, the measurable range was from 0 to 300,000. If someone with more than 300,000 mana underwent measurement, an error would occur. For example, an absurdly small number like 1000 might appear...
'No way.'
Sweat trickled down the back of Ludwig's neck. Was 300,000 even a plausible number? Even the Ma-in Alexia only had around 100,000. When Ludwig looked up, he met Schluss's eyes—eyes that looked like those of a rotting fish. In that moment, Ludwig felt goosebumps rise all over his body.
'This must be covered up.'
This wasn't just a school problem. It was something that would shake the entire continent. Therefore, Schluss's mana capacity had to remain recorded as 1000. The fact that his mana capacity was 300,000—or possibly even higher—must be known only to him. That was the only way to prevent attacks on Schluss. At least until that boy fully bloomed his talent for magic, protecting him was his duty as a teacher. Though he wasn't even sure if the boy needed protection in the first place.
"Next..."
Ludwig swallowed dryly and continued the class.
It had already been two days since Mage Day. Many things had changed in that time, but what had left my mind in chaos was—
"Are you kidding me? How much did it go up?"
The fluctuations in the stock market. When I had received the dignity maintenance allowance, I'd dumped 5,000 Trion into the Shaden Company and the Holy Knights. Both were supposed to experience explosive growth soon due to the impending civil war. But my prediction had been completely off the mark. Both stocks had grown over 500 percent even before the civil war broke out. It was probably the aftermath of the failed Mage Day terror attempt. From now on, as threats within the empire gradually emerged, the position of private knight orders would grow day by day. Among them, the Holy Knights would take on the protection of the imperial family and grow tremendously.
"All in, double or nothing."
Selling the stocks here would be stupid. Once the civil war happened, both the Shaden Company and the Holy Knights' stock prices would rise over 100,000 percent. However, since the Holy Knights would have a larger increase, I needed to adjust the ratio a bit. But when I thought about it, 100,000 percent was a thousandfold. Stocks weren't cryptocurrency—did it make sense for them to rise this steeply? Since I wrote the novel back when I was completely ignorant about stocks, there were quite a few holes in the setting...
"Miss Emilia. I'm going out for a bit."
"By yourself? May I accompany you?"
"Hmm..."
"I'll change into plain clothes and be right out."
Before I could even answer, Emilia had already gone into her room. Lately, Emilia kept trying to follow me everywhere I went like this. She probably wanted it to look like she was concerned for her employer's safety, but I knew better. She was trying to monitor me thoroughly to see if I was hostile toward the intelligence agency, never leaving my side for even a moment. If someone like me were judged to be hostile toward the intelligence agency... I'd be eliminated 100 percent. These were the guys who had tried to turn ten thousand people into dust just to catch one Roman. When it came to eliminating me, they wouldn't hesitate over means or methods. Before that happened, there was something I had to do.
"You... must really like this place."
"Yes. The atmosphere is quite nice."
The place I arrived at with Emilia was that same café. The disguised café run by the intelligence agency. When we entered, the interior looked rather messy. All the tables had been pushed into one corner, and several shelves were missing. It seemed they were planning to withdraw. Well, their carefully planned terror attack had failed, so it made sense they'd want to lie low. As we entered, Eric greeted me with a puzzled expression.
"Are you open for business?"
"Yes. However..."
"Then that's fine. One cup of Darjeeling, please, Master."
This was the only intelligence agency base I knew. I couldn't let them withdraw.
"I'll have Earl Grey..."
"Understood. One Darjeeling and one Earl Grey."
"Master. Have you seen the newspaper?"
"I have. Ah, by any chance..."
"Yes. The person who stopped the terror attack. That was me, haha!"
"Wow. What an honor. To think such a hero was a regular at our shop."
"Hero? Not at all. I was simply enjoying the event when..."
It was a natural flow. Since Eric was also skilled at drawing information out of others, my casually revealing information probably didn't seem unnatural. And so, I carefully explained to Eric and Emilia, in great detail, how I had stopped the terror attack. Of course, it was slightly different from the truth. I couldn't tell them about my abilities.
"The assailant who attacked me that day looked exactly like a customer I'd seen in this shop. Did you know?"
"Ah, no. I had no idea."
"It's a dangerous world. To think a terrorist was frequenting the same shop... What an ignorant fool."
"......"
I thought I heard the sound of teeth grinding from beside me. I'd better stop badmouthing Hurtlocker here. If I kept going, I might end up getting killed by his little sister.
"Customer. Who do you think was behind the terror attack?"
"The police investigation will be accurate, but my guess is... it was probably the separatist faction."
"Separatists? There are many saying it was the kingdom's doing."
"No way. How long has it been since the ceasefire? Why would the kingdom try to provoke our empire? I believe the kingdom seeks peace. I think that's how it should be."
"Is that so..."
With that, the ideological verification was complete. I had imprinted on the intelligence agency that I had no intention of opposing the kingdom and was trying to take a peaceful route if possible. That way, they wouldn't do anything stupid like wasting their strength trying to assassinate me.
"By the way, the shop looks a bit messy. Are you closing down soon?"
"Ah, no. We're just planning to change the interior a bit. We have no plans to close."
With a finishing touch, I even got them to withdraw their closure. The result of once again emphasizing that a useful idiot who was friendly toward the kingdom and willingly brought them information would continue to visit.
"That's a relief. I'm looking forward to the new interior."
"Yes."
With this, I had eliminated the assassination threat from the intelligence agency. Now I could finally sleep a little easier. Without worrying about getting stabbed by Emilia in my sleep.