Chapter 27
Princess Aefrid's face turned beet red in an instant at the scream that burst from beyond the door.
What, what does that mean? What's going where? I... I have no idea...
Aefrid truly, absolutely had no clue. Really. The imperial etiquette education covered only dignity, politics, history, and magic—it didn't kindly explain anything to stimulate that kind of imagination.
So she'd have to look into other books... Ahem. Aefrid swallowed hard.
Beyond the door, the girl's ragged breathing continued. Just moments ago, she'd only been intent on uncovering the suspicious cadet's secret, but now she couldn't tear her ear away even if she wanted to.
"B-But this is too... too embarrassing!"
"No need to be embarrassed."
"What do you mean no need!"
"You might actually be the best at it."
The princess's earlobes flushed crimson. Th-this was training, right? It had to be. There was no other reason a suspicious male cadet who caught the Tower Master's eye would bring a girl into his room for a conversation like this.
...But why did it feel so suspicious?
From inside, the man's low, nonchalant voice flowed out again.
"Everyone struggles at first."
F-First time? Aefrid's eyes wavered.
"But once you get the feel, it slides in nice and smooth."
"Don't say it slides in!"
"No, really. It's tight at first, but it goes in easy later."
The tip of the princess's nose heated up. Even she, who knew her stuff about magic training, couldn't grasp what kind of method this was. There was nothing like this in the imperial archives—not for water or fire, wind or earth, or any secret tomes.
The voices continued.
"It's just big, that's all. You'll get used to it."
"St-Still, that's too big."
"The bigger, the better. Means you can pour out a ton at once."
"You're insane, seriously!"
Drip.
A red droplet fell from the princess's nose.
"...Gasp."
N-Nosebleed? Aefrid frantically rubbed her nose with the back of her hand.
How the hell do you train mana like that...!
She clutched at her chest. She prided herself on unmatched knowledge and curiosity about magic, but the conversation just beyond that door was shattering her common sense.
Then, a somewhat flustered girl's voice came from inside.
"But something that size... won't there be a water shortage?"
The princess's body jolted. Right. If there's not enough water... it hurts, she'd heard.
She shook her head vigorously. Princess Aefrid here is a pure girl who's never devoured those smutty comics from the back alleys!
She'd just glanced at them because they were trending—not like she'd read them obsessively. Maids were better than saintesses, anyway.
Whatever. ...Gulp.
Aefrid pressed her ear tight to the door again. The man's voice came through clearly.
"Your water magic should be plenty. Hang in there."
"Why do I have to hang in there!"
"Can't exactly ask someone else."
The princess cupped her cheeks with both hands. Can't ask anyone else.
R-Right. It's something only two people, a guy and a girl, do together.
Ian Ashy occasionally said the right things. Or maybe the training method was clearly defined. A practice where a man and woman mingled their bodies. She'd heard from the imperial grand mage that wizards were ultimately just part of the massive mana flow.
Training the flow of mana... that makes sense.
A practice where man and woman exchanged mana!
"...Haa."
Her head inexplicably heated up, roughening Aefrid's breathing. C-Calm down a bit.
She had to maintain her dignity as a princess. She was just eavesdropping, that's all.
— "Is... is this wet enough?"
— "Considering the size, maybe wet it a little more."
— "Hnn... hnnng! H-How about now?"
— "Good. That's plenty."
Drip, drip. Like a faucet turned on, nosebleed streamed from the princess's nose.
No, no more. She finally thunked her forehead against the wall.
Isn't this too much, oh God? To gain true magical power, must one walk such a thorny path of temptation?
Th-Thank you! No, not that.
As the princess shook her head, trying to silence her inner excuses—
— Creeeak.
The doorknob turned.
"Eek!"
The princess flinched and ducked behind a corridor pillar. In her haste, her invisibility spell flickered. Golden hair shimmered briefly in the air before vanishing.
The man's gaze lingered where she'd been, but Aefrid didn't notice.
A-Already? Isn't that too fast?
Of course, the princess was lost in entirely different thoughts. The main training couldn't have started even three minutes ago.
No matter her lack of knowledge on this, it was way too quick.
F-First, observe...
From the conversation earlier, the brown-haired girl was Lena, and the guy was obviously Ian Ashy. They continued chatting amiably in the hall.
"Anyway, this should be doable without issue."
"Easy for you to say. Looked like it'd need a ton."
"Start small at first. Ramp up once you get the feel."
The princess's face flushed red again. Lena muttered softly, her cheeks pink.
"But seriously, you can do that in the Art Department?"
"Yeah. Got the machine ready there."
Art Department. Machine. The princess held her breath.
She finally understood why today's game ended so quickly.
S-So they're planning to do it properly with the machine in the Art Department!
A secret hid in the Art Department.
But to halt such a heated session midway for the next one...
What kind of training tool...? Must be something incredible.
Wild imaginations exploded in the princess's mind: an ancient device forcing dual-attribute fusion, a secret tool compressing and inserting mana, or a forbidden magic engine unknown even to the Mage Tower.
Maybe... just maybe, it was the final puzzle to becoming the Tower Master's disciple.
"Anyway, you had more water than expected today. Lucky break. Thanks, Lena."
Wh-What rude talk to a lady!
"No biggie. Next time, I'll show you the real deal."
Hweh? The princess clamped her mouth with both hands.
S-So girls get that aggressive after their first time? Must be that pleasurable... no, effective a training.
Very suspicious, very embarrassing, very... weird training.
The princess's blue eyes began to gleam. She clenched her fist.
Yes. I'll uncover it for sure.
Master that training method, crush Ian Ashy with pure skill. The Tower Master's disciple would be hers.
Aefrid wiped her nosebleed with her sleeve again. Her face was scarlet, but her eyes sparkled unnaturally.
After walking Lena back to her dorm, I returned to the hall.
There'd been a presence nagging at me the whole time. Could brush it off as a feeling, but ignoring instincts like this usually screws you over.
A faint trace lingered on the floor where I stopped.
"...Knew it."
Someone had been watching from here. I'd glimpsed shimmering blonde beyond the window at the hall's end.
And sure enough. A single strand of hair stuck to the window frame. Perfectly refined gold.
Not everyone gets that shade in sunlight. In this novel, flawless blonde like that symbolizes imperial blood.
Not the greasy, messy gold like Golden Sun's crew—that doesn't count.
In other words.
"Princess."
The crown prince would've shown up boldly. Simple process of elimination.
Still.
Why tail me?
I pondered briefly, but the answer came quick. The princess is magic-obsessed. Magic's her only edge over the crown prince.
Funny part: her obsession runs so deep she ends up more focused on becoming a great mage than beating the prince.
Safe, in a way.
Anyway, she's genuinely talented. So she saw me survive the first magic class unscathed.
That sparked questions. Hence the tailing.
I smirked. Half the convo with Lena was deliberately vague and tantalizing.
Secured one water-affinity mage already. What I'm after is earth affinity.
Once I spotted the blonde, I pegged her as the princess—so I dropped Art Department printing press info like it was some killer training secret.
Might not bite on this bait alone.
If the princess fish takes it, the final puzzle snaps into place. Bait's cast.
Whether she bites? Wait and see.
"Eh, if not, no biggie."
Three days till manuscript deadline. Smart to scout alternatives meantime.
Even if she's a magic otaku, test the bridge before crossing.
Anyway.
"Time for an all-nighter?"
Writers pull all-nighters. Immutable law, even in rofans.
Next morning.
"Wake up."
"Five more minutes."
"Third time already. Get up or I'm dragging you."
"Then two more."
"Fine."
Drag, drag, drag.
Grabbed by the collar of my uniform, I pondered as Lena hauled me down the hall like a corpse.
Isn't this corpse transport, not human?
Pulled an all-nighter. Tweaked dialogue, refined storyboards, plotted scene transitions, ambitiously added a panel that tanked the balance so scrapped it...
Next thing, sun's up.
"Lena."
"How're you so strong?"
Thwack.
Learned what real strength means etched into my back. I stumbled into the classroom.
First time here. The blackboard up front had some long, stiff title scrawled on it.
Empire something...
"...Ah."
Dunno. Sleepy.
Third-rate villain perk: less I do, better for me.
Sat in the back, out of prof's sight, after splitting from front-seating Lena.
Then, deep sleep.
... Snore.
"...So the Kingdom of Rom has always lagged behind the Empire..."
Lullaby vibes.
"Yet House La Roche aggressively pushes trade with Rom..."
Prime sleep-aid voice.
Zzz.
Then suddenly.
Grip.
Someone shook my shoulder like mad.
"Art bum!"
"Wha-wha-what?!"
I jolted awake. Vision cleared; whole class in view.
And an eerie silence.
"......"
Everyone stared. Many wore that look.
"Pfft, look at that dumb face."
"Why'd you even bring him here?"
"Gotta teach culture to the uncultured."
"Slept through it all?"
"Look at him agonizing over an answer."
"Just thrive among ourselves. No need dealing with Rom trash like that."
Familiar sneers poured in.
...Yeah, sleeping in class ain't great.
But this? 'Villagers, behold! This fool slept in class! Stones here—pelt him!' No need for the witch hunt.
Tears welling up.
—Or so I thought. A woman loomed over me, speaking coldly.
"Asking again, Cadet Ian Ashy."
Eh? Prof?
Guess she asked something while I slept; neighbor woke me in panic.
Up front, Lena buried her face in her hands, head down. Earlobes bright red.
"Our Empire produces twice the wheat yield of barren neighbor Rom, and three times the iron ore."
The prof enunciated slowly.
"In this scenario, is pushing trade with Rom correct? That was the question."
Half-asleep brain lagged. Or lagged so hard it cut straight to the point, no distractions.
Wheat double. Iron triple. Opportunity cost problem?
Remember learning this in elementary or middle school.
Giggles from the back.
"Bet he flubs it."
"Art majors, amirite."
Shut up already. Eyes half-lidded, I spoke.
"Obviously not trading would be the loss."
Prof's brow twitched.
"...What?"