The Spirit Mage's Manor (3)
The Grand Coalition Assembly convened on a regular basis, once every few months.
Every great power from every nation surrounding the Agnis Central Empire had gathered in a single room.
Second in the imperial line of succession, Second Prince Julian. Tower Master Rown of the Magic Tower. Gerard Cleyret, head of the famed swordsman house of Cleyret. Bella, head of the famed magical house of Frezia. Shakan, elder of the Elundir Elves. Ermang, headmaster of the prestigious Academy.
And last of all—Rose, the one and only Great Spirit Mage of the Lien Spirit Kingdom.
They sat around a long, circular table, facing one another across its polished surface.
The assembly's convenor, Second Prince Julian, spoke first.
"Grand Mages, swordmasters, spirit mages—thank you all for gathering here once again."
The proceedings rolled forward through the usual ceremonial pleasantries, and as expected, the matter at hand was the Eclipse Cult.
The toll of lives claimed by dark magic. The mounting difficulties born of their relentless attacks. The damage had spread all the way to the Academy—what were the cultists truly after, and how would they stand against them going forward?
The agenda was so perfunctorily formal that most of those present nodded along absently, letting the words wash over them. Only Julian, who had assembled them all, remained earnest and engaged. Unlike his greed-ridden elder brother, the First Prince, he genuinely cared for the Empire.
Just as his remarks were winding down—
"The Second Prince is as impressive as ever. And more than that, every time I see him, his face just keeps getting prettier. Honestly, he's like a girl."
"...Haha, thank you for the compliment, Lady Bella."
"How would you feel about marrying my daughter?"
"I'm afraid I haven't given much thought to marriage yet... What a pity."
Starting with Lady Bella, the heavy atmosphere in the room began to loosen once more.
This was exactly what everyone had wanted—a chance to network, to forge friendships and connections with the great families.
By the time the idle chatter had stretched on, Julian was left smiling awkwardly—
Until Rose slammed her palm against the table with a resounding crack, and every head in the room turned toward her.
"We're gathered here to exterminate the parasites bleeding this continent dry, and yet somehow the conversation keeps drifting toward nothing of substance."
Rose Eswell. The wielder of national power in the Spirit Kingdom, and the sole Great Spirit Mage whose abilities every person in that room coveted.
Rose had disliked the shifting mood of the meeting for some time now.
They say the cultists are crawling their way into the Academy itself—the students should already be evacuated, and these people want to trade small talk?
It genuinely disgusted her.
In Rose's eyes, the people before her were drowning in their own complacency.
Not that she couldn't understand. Bella was currently 8-Star and would soon reach 9-Star. Tower Master Rown already had. Gerard and his household had each attained 7-Star in swordsmanship and magic respectively—to them, second-rate outfits like the Eclipse Cult were probably something they could wipe out whenever they pleased.
But I know better.
The cult's recent movements were dangerous. They had succeeded in reinforcing something as pitiful as a tree spirit with dark magic, amplifying it far beyond what it should have been capable of. And that tree spirit had apparently been a failure, because they'd just tossed it carelessly near the Forest of Dead Mist.
What kind of horrors were they building now?
Their dark magic—magic that converted human life into raw mana—was a genuine threat.
As Rose fumed, Gerard Cleyret, head of the famed sword house, closed his eyes and spoke with a voice steeped in dignity.
"...Then let me ask you this, Rose. Do you truly believe you alone possess some brilliant solution, in a situation where all we can manage is a stalemate?"
"Yes. I do."
At her bearing, even Shakan, elder of the Elundir Elves, interjected.
"Great Spirit Mage of the humans, I am well aware that reaching such heights at so young an age deserves applause. But when everyone here is speaking with careful deliberation, do you not think that attitude of yours comes across as rather arrogant?"
"Honestly speaking, my ears haven't caught a single word of substance since this meeting began. If they had, I would have listened without complaint."
"Ho-ho."
At that moment, Tower Master Rown—who had maintained his neutral stance all evening—burst into laughter.
"Is something funny, Tower Master?"
"No, not at all. You see, I happen to share Lady Rose's opinion. Youthful audacity really is a wonderful thing. However—"
Rown continued, his gentle, chuckling slit-eyes standing in stark contrast to the sudden weight in the air.
"If the countermeasure Lady Rose has in mind fails to persuade everyone gathered here, I suspect that attitude of hers will come back to cost her dearly."
He was right.
Rose might possess the most versatile abilities of anyone in that room, and she might wield power on the scale of a national authority within the Lien Spirit Kingdom—but if she couldn't persuade them, then her earlier manner was nothing short of insolence.
The pressure on her mounted.
But Rose simply let out a soft snort of laughter amid that suffocating weight, and spoke with perfect composure.
"I've taken on a disciple."
"A disciple...?"
"Yes. My first."
"...!"
Every pair of eyes in the room went wide.
That Rose—the Rose—had taken a disciple? The woman who prized acting alone above all else, who refused to socialize unless it came attached to a formal commission, who was forever bristling like a hedgehog crowned in thorns? She'd taken a disciple?
Everyone naturally assumed the disciple must be a spirit mage. And perhaps—unlike Rose herself, who had rebuffed every overture of diplomacy for years—if they courted the disciple's side successfully, they might reap considerable political gain. Expectation rippled through the table.
A few were already leaping several steps ahead of themselves.
Rose's disciple would be around my daughter's age, more or less. I should get my hooks in early. Please let it be a boy!
Even Gerard, ever taciturn, seemed to take an interest and asked her directly.
"A spirit mage?"
"No. He cannot handle spirits."
"Then a mage?!"
Bella perked up as well, excitement bleeding into her voice.
"Neither. My disciple is a pure swordsman."
The room erupted into murmurs.
What kind of nonsense was this? Not a spirit mage—the closest thing to relevant—or even a magic swordsman, but a swordsman who used nothing but a blade?
"Pardon me for steering this slightly off-course, but what possible connection does this disciple of yours have to our present situation?"
"An excellent question, Tower Master. ...Unlike the clergy, my disciple can neutralize dark magic with no side effects whatsoever."
"Neutralization... without any side effects...?"
Rown pressed, disbelief coloring his gentle tone. Perhaps she was exaggerating—a swordsman with enough divine power to make it side-effect-free? But no, he couldn't bring himself to believe she'd simply invented it to break this deadlock. Rose had always been one to stand by whatever left her mouth.
And yet still—
"...Haha, forgive me, but I find that rather hard to accept at face value. Neutralizing the Eclipse Cult's power without side effects, you say."
"I was skeptical at first myself. But then I watched him purify a cursed artifact steeped in dark mana, and heal the residents of my territory one after another. After that, I was certain."
Rose went on.
"...This could prove to be a crucial hint in countering the Eclipse Cult's dark magic. And my disciple's talent with the sword is nothing to scoff at, either."
"Ohh! Then he'll be enrolling at the Academy?!"
Ermang, headmaster of Agnis Academy, who hadn't managed to wedge a single word into the conversation until now, spoke up with the unmistakable gleam of a man eyeing something he wanted.
"The Academy..."
Rose rested her chin on her hand, deep in thought.
...He does have a point. Rudy's swordsmanship is considerable—not just his power over the moon. I don't know the full extent of that talent yet, but letting it rot away at the manor, doing nothing but neutralizing dark magic on request, would be a waste.
Rose flashed the glistening-eyed headmaster a wide, winning smile.
"My disciple—"
After the long assembly drew to a close, Rose used the National Teleportation Magic Circle to return to her own Eswell Ducal Territory, and heaved a sigh as she opened the doors of her manor.
Exhausting. I don't want to look at those greedy old fossils for another few months.
The door swung open.
And the moment she stepped through—
"...What are you doing?"
"You've arrived, Lady Rose."
There stood Rudy, dressed in a butler's uniform, bowing at the waist with impeccable formality.
"The maids and I have prepared a fragrant black tea. I brewed it myself."
"...?"
Bewildered, Rose allowed herself to be guided to the sofa. The maids soon arrived with tea cups, and Rudy began diligently kneading her shoulders.
"How is the pressure, my lady?"
"Mmmh... it'll do."
"Thank goodness. To be granted the honor of massaging your radiant body, Lady Rose, is a privilege beyond measure."
"...Ugh, what's gotten into you all of a sudden? It's unsettling."
"Is this not simply how things ought to be?"
After all, she had paid off his debt.
'Hey.'
'...What is it?'
'You in debt?'
'I am. Is this some kind of mockery?'
'Just, y'know. Asking.'
Once Rose confirmed that Rudy was in debt, she went straight to the administrative office to investigate, and quickly discovered that he alone carried the crushing debts of a fallen sword family.
As a Great Spirit Mage and the head of a ducal house, she hardly needed to be a party involved—exercising the power of the state to pull an official's records was child's play.
And so, without Rudy's knowledge, Rose marched down to the office and wiped out every last coin of his debt.
Obviously, it was to keep him tethered to her manor.
Rose was not, by nature, a doer of good deeds. But she had decided that Rudy was someone she genuinely needed.
Word of it reached Rudy while Rose was away at the imperial assembly.
By this point in the month, the collection notices demanding repayment should have come flying in—but none had, so he'd gone to the office to ask, and that was how he found out.
"You are my master now, Lady Rose. And I am your dog. Woof!"
"That's disgusting. Cut it out."
"Understood. Whew... your shoulders are so broad I nearly gave myself a cramp kneading them."
"What the hell is wrong with you?"
"More importantly—what is that earring supposed to be?"
Rudy, seeing Rose all dressed up for the first time, pointed at her ear.
"Say that again. I'll undo the debt clearance and put it all right back on your head."
"No—that's not it! It just doesn't match your image, is all."
"What image?"
"The earrings look too... middle-aged. You've got this cute face, but you're acting like a grown-up, and it's a little jarring."
"...You're saying I have a cute face?"
Rose, mid-sip of her tea, suddenly burst out laughing—spitting the mouthful all over the table. Rudy's face twisted in distaste.
"Ugh, what the—what was that for?!"
"Pfft—shut it."
It was, truthfully, a novel experience for her.
Rose was a Great Spirit Mage of a nation. She always stood at the top of the political food chain, and no one—not once in her life—had ever treated her like a child.
And yet the boy before her had dared to call her cute.
He'd been like this from the very first meeting, that fool of a puppy who didn't know to fear anything. He talked back to her barbed insults without hesitation, and his honesty bordered on outright insolence.
He was an infuriating boy in every possible way. And in some strange way—living as bluntly and honestly as she always had—he reminded her of herself.
Before long her laughter died down, and the real Rose wiped her mouth with the handkerchief Rudy had offered her.
"Hey."
"Yes?"
"Want to go to the Academy?"