The Social Gathering (1)
Many things had changed since I received the Black Eagle. First and foremost, my financial situation had improved dramatically. I was granted an annual pension of five million Tirion that came with the medal—roughly five hundred million in total. I didn’t need long to decide what to do with the money.
I immediately poured 4.9 million Tirion straight into the Holy Knights and the Shaden Trading Company. Unrest in the south was already leaking into the newspapers. It was clear evidence that civil war was not far off. When the time came, I would easily recover my investment and still turn a handsome profit.
Second, the nobles’ nonsense had decreased sharply. The ones who used to badmouth me openly the moment I appeared were almost endearing by comparison. There had been plenty who would spit at me or pathetically hide my bag. Now those incidents were nowhere to be found. Instead, the only thing that had increased was the number of sly bastards trying to latch onto me for their own gain.
For example…
“Schlus, my boy. Do you have a moment? Haha.”
“What can I do for you, Professor Relic?”
“Oh, it’s nothing major. I was wondering if you might write a lecture evaluation for me. Here’s the form and a pen, so…”
This guy. He was the professor in charge of the general education psychology class. He clearly wanted to use my reputation to boost the evaluation of his own lectures. I remembered the class was infamous for recycling the exact same exams every year, so answer sheets for the midterms were already circulating on the black market among students. Since I had never properly attended, writing an evaluation was awkward.
“I’ll consider it.”
“And if you write a favorable one, well! I could give you an A-plus regardless of the reason…”
I had turned him down politely, yet Relic kept pestering me, apparently unaware of how pathetic he looked. Even if his reputation improved thanks to me, the quality of his lectures would remain the same and he would eventually return to his original place. Besides, what he offered in return was nothing special. I would get an A-plus anyway just by copying the exam answers.
“Professor.”
“Huh?”
“Stop clinging and go ask someone else.”
“What! You, you ill-mannered—!”
Relic really was… exactly the same as in the original story: stupid and wicked beyond measure. Knowing he never changed was almost reassuring. At least it meant there was no chance he would suddenly awaken later and become a threat.
I ignored Relic’s shouting and continued on my way. He apparently still had some pride left, because he didn’t chase after me.
“Welcome back, Mr. Heinkel.”
“…There’s someone inside, isn’t there?”
The moment I returned to the mansion, I noticed Emilia’s dark expression. It was the face she made when she was in trouble. Or, to be more accurate, when she was pretending to be in trouble.
“Yes. Saintess Iris is here.”
“I distinctly told you not to let her in.”
“Huh? She said she came with your permission, Mr. Heinkel.”
“……”
I was so dumbfounded I lost my words. When I passed the entrance and entered the living room, sure enough—
“You’re here, Schlus?”
Iris was sitting there shamelessly, sipping tea. She was coming and going as if this were her own house now, even borrowing the owner’s name to do it.
“I never gave permission for just anyone to enter.”
“It was future you who gave permission.”
“……”
What utter nonsense. Now she was even dragging future me into it? I let out a deep sigh and sat down across from Iris. Soon Emilia brought another teacup and set it in front of me.
“Hmm… That’s a beautiful ring. May I ask what kind it is?”
“This?”
Iris stared fixedly at my left hand. I lifted it and gently stroked the silver ring. The ring that could grant miracles. The damned ring that refused to grant my own wish. Still, its value hadn’t diminished, so I couldn’t simply throw it away.
“It’s a ring of love and hate.”
“Love and hate?”
“Something like that.”
I dodged the question.
“So tell me why you came first. If it’s a trivial matter, I’ll throw you out immediately.”
“How can one person be so consistent… Can’t we have a more relaxed conversation?”
“Three… two… one…”
“All right. You’re so impatient… I came about the social gathering.”
“……”
“How about it? Worth letting me in, right?”
I had no choice but to acknowledge it. The social gathering Iris spoke of had to be the one commemorating the Day of Magic. It was a rare event attended by rather important figures, so I couldn’t afford to miss it.
“It was postponed because of the attempted terror attack on the Day of Magic, but it seems it will be held soon. Haven’t you heard the news?”
“…I haven’t.”
“Well. That figures.”
The top student of the Imperial Academy had never once skipped the Day of Magic social gathering. Yet the fact that the invitation still hadn’t reached me could only mean one thing: they had no intention of inviting a commoner.
At this point, Iris’s reason for seeking me out was obvious.
“I’m a Pleshette, so I have an invitation right.”
Pleshette—one of the empire’s three great mage families. As a member, Iris possessed the right to invite one person to the gathering. She intended to use that right to strike a deal.
“Tell me what you want.”
“Hmm? You’ll repay me? Why are you being so compliant today?”
“……”
It was because constantly accumulating debt was starting to scare me, you idiot. From now on, I would repay every debt the moment it appeared.
“There is something I want.”
“What is it?”
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen you thank me sincerely from the bottom of your heart, Schlus. So with this opportunity, I’d like to receive a proper greeting.”
“……”
I had never been insincere. I had no idea what she was talking about.
“Give me a formal thank-you. While kissing the back of my hand.”
“……”
Iris stood with a mischievous smile. Did she think I would refuse out of pride? If so, she was gravely mistaken. The only reason I had never kissed the back of a hand before was because I simply didn’t know how.
Without hesitation I stepped in front of Iris and bowed. When I lifted my gaze slightly, she was extending her hand with a triumphant expression. I suppressed the urge to flick her forehead and gently took her hand.
“Iris. I express my gratitude.”
“It’s rather cliché… but fine. This is satisfactory.”
Ignoring her arrogant tone, I brought my lips to the back of her hand. The instant I felt the soft texture against my mouth, a faint voice brushed my ear.
“Thank you.”
It was my voice… no, the original Schlus’s voice. This was a memory of Schlus, shown by the activation of Memory of the True Body. A memory connected to kissing the back of a hand.
But the voice vanished the moment I lifted my lips, so I pressed them to the back of her hand once more.
“Thank you so much… for returning my ears.”
“I will never forget this grace.”
“Next time, I will definitely save you.”
So who exactly are you thanking, you idiot? I was concentrating on Schlus’s memory when an odd feeling made me raise my head.
“……”
Only then did I realize I had kept my lips pressed to the back of Iris’s hand for nearly ten seconds. When I looked up at her face, her agitation was plain to see. The Saintess of Pleshette looking flustered was a rare sight indeed.
“J-just kidding…”
Iris withdrew her hand and averted her gaze. Fortunately, she seemed to have taken it as nothing more than a mischievous prank. Still, it was unsatisfying to have missed the important part. I should have shamelessly kept kissing longer. At least then I might have caught the name.
“The gathering is in two days at Heinrich Castle. You should be able to enter by invoking the Pleshette name.”
“You’re leaving already?”
“You were the one who told me to state my business simply…”
Iris, who had been rising to leave, turned back. She glared at me sharply, glanced at Emilia standing behind me, then stepped closer and whispered.
“If you want to look good to the opposite sex, you should stop doing things like that.”
With that, Iris left the mansion without looking back.
What? Look good to the opposite sex?
What kind of sleep-talking nonsense is that…?
Did she think I liked her? That seemed like an excess of confidence. I was beginning to worry that staring too far into the future had finally driven Iris mad.
“Ha…”
Iris, who had walked all the way to a secluded bench, sat down and let out a sigh. When she touched her cheek, it was already burning hot. It was a relief she had left before anyone saw her like this.
The excuse of inviting him to the social gathering had only been a pretext. It was an excuse to ask about the ring. Ever since the awards ceremony, Schlus had been wearing that silver band—the same one the imperial grandson wore. When she asked about it, he had answered:
It’s a ring of love and hate.
Normally he would have explained that it was a ring made to commemorate someone, a ring to remember a person by. But Schlus had refused to say anything more, and the faint shadow on his face had made it impossible for her to press further. If it had been Erika, she would have asked without reading the room. For a moment, Iris felt a twinge of envy for Erika, who lived without thinking too deeply.
“A love-hate relationship, huh…”
Schlus had described his relationship with the imperial grandson as “love and hate.” What could that mean?
“Ah.”
The answer came quickly. Schlus must have been the one who received the marriage proposal from the imperial grandson. The benefits of accepting would have been enormous, so he had agreed, yet his heart still belonged to only one person. That was why he had used the words “love and hate.”
“Haa… It’s so sweet I’m going crazy…”
Iris smiled, lost in rapture. A man who would stand at the pinnacle of power, married to the imperial grandson, yet loved only Emilia—a girl of humble birth—with single-hearted devotion…
“But why did he…”
Yet when she recalled what had just happened, anger suddenly surged inside her. She had only wanted to see Schlus make a humiliated face. There had been no deeper meaning. But Schlus had pressed his lips to the back of her hand for a long time, as if it were no joke at all. He should have seen the look on Emilia’s face as she stood behind him with her hands clasped. That terrifyingly gentle smile.
Yet Schlus, utterly oblivious, had caressed her hand as though in a trance, rubbing his lips against it like a lover’s touch.
“Do you even like her or not?”
He really was so ignorant when it came to love that it was frustrating. If they were already living, eating, and sleeping under the same roof, he should have confessed long ago and done everything there was to do. She had no idea what he was still hesitating for. The reason she had given him that final piece of advice was simply because she felt sorry for Emilia. The girl didn’t seem entirely without feelings, yet at this rate their relationship would take forever to progress. She wasn’t even sure that blockhead had understood the advice.
While someone is trying this hard to help…
Iris slowly raised her right hand—the one Schlus had kissed. After a brief hesitation, she brought her lips to the back of it.
Even while lying to myself. Even while denying my own heart. I’m cheering you on like this.
So why do you keep acting so frustratingly?
The moment Iris, lost in thought, opened her eyes after licking the back of her own hand—
“Iris… what are you doing…?”
“Ah?”
She found herself face to face with Erika, who wore an utterly dumbfounded expression.