What Business Does the Second Chapter's Boss Have With Me?
A few dozen minutes before meeting Ian. Clatter— Inside a carriage slowly crossing the academy grounds. The outside, bustling with reconstruction efforts from the flood damage, was noisy, but Judith La Roche sat with her legs elegantly crossed, gazing out the window.
"Report."
In the seat opposite Judith, the maid holding a thick bundle of documents straightened her posture and spoke.
"First, the status of the academy's restoration. It's progressing faster than anticipated."
"Is there no room left for us to intervene?"
"Not at all. We've already identified three points where our house can get involved and have provided funds and manpower under the La Roche name. Our technicians have been deployed especially to the magic barrier repairs, which will make accessing internal security information within the academy significantly easier going forward."
"Well done. Continue as planned."
Judith rested her chin on her slender fingers. The young lady's praise is always an honor. The maid bowed her head and moved on to the next item.
"Second, regarding Lena Youngstern. We discovered unusual circumstances in this disciplinary process."
"The punishment level is strangely light?"
"Yes."
"Any chance Count Youngstern's house or another powerful family pulled strings?"
"We investigated thoroughly but found no such traces. It appears to have been overturned purely by strong opposition during the faculty meeting."
"Professors, hmm..."
A peculiar smile curved Judith's lips.
"Madmen like the Magic Tower Master are always starving for talent. Or perhaps the academy tried to shift blame for this disaster onto the students and ended up having their own weakness exploited. Dig deeper. If that weakness ever falls into our hands, it will prove extremely useful."
"Understood. And..."
"Recently, a strange trend has been spreading among the young noble ladies in high society. The dress designs for this debutante ball are heavily influenced by a particular work."
"A work?"
"An illustrated comic drawn by someone using the pen name 'Extra.' Three volumes are currently in circulation: the Saintess edition, the Maid edition, and the most recent Childhood Friend edition. The outfit from the Childhood Friend volume in particular is said to be all the rage."
Judith paused briefly, then let out a small laugh.
"Can you obtain that work? Start with the Childhood Friend edition."
"I've heard it's rather... explicit and crude."
At those words, Judith slowly recrossed her legs. The silk dress slid aside with a soft whisper, revealing her smooth, pale thigh.
"Crude and noble are separated by a single sheet of paper. Shattering that boundary happens to be my specialty."
"...I will prepare it at once."
Judith smiled sweetly, then suddenly snapped her fingers as if a thought had struck her.
"It seems there's something between His Highness the Crown Prince and the Saintess."
"Did something happen during the disaster?"
"The Saintess saved His Highness right before he collapsed. Afterward, he suddenly awakened. He sliced the divine beast apart right then and there. It was quite the spectacle."
While Judith spoke lightly, as if recalling an entertaining show, the maid's expression darkened.
"In that case, securing His Highness the Crown Prince as your debutante partner might require..."
"A few careful maneuvers."
"We will review options such as spreading malicious rumors about the Saintess or provoking the conservative faction within the Holy Sect."
The debutante—where noble young ladies formally entered high society. The partner one chose was a matter of utmost importance, as it essentially determined the young lady's value.
And if one were to name the partner with the highest possible value, it would naturally be Crown Prince Leonhardt Bell. With both his status and the heroic feats he displayed during the disaster, he had become a living legend.
"Good. Consider every possible method."
Despite her light tone, the implications carried considerable weight. With that meaningful remark, Judith turned her gaze back to the window. The carriage was now passing the eastern side of the academy square—the very spot where Princess Eiphrid, Kano, and Ian Ashy had fought their desperate battle. What exactly had transpired there remained unknown.
In truth, the western square was littered with fragments of the water dragon's scales and shards of magical energy, but this area was strangely pristine. There was no massive corpse or any trace that should have remained from the fall of such a mighty being.
"This place is awfully quiet. Could it be that nothing happened? Or perhaps..."
Had something so extraordinary occurred that not even a trace remained? It had the scent of deliberate concealment. The possibility that someone had intentionally suppressed all information—or ended the situation in a way beyond imagination.
A certain man's face flickered through Judith's mind.
"Schedule the meeting with His Highness first. But prepare for the possibility of refusal."
The maid asked cautiously, "If His Highness the Crown Prince is unavailable, will you require an alternative? The debutante partner is directly tied to our house's prestige."
Judith smiled sweetly as she stared at the silent scenery outside.
"It may call for a rather bold choice."
Before long, the carriage arrived in front of the Annex Library.
A slender finger clad in black lace gloves lightly tapped the book cover.
"Do you like cats?"
Judith's gaze brushed across the cover of the book I had unconsciously pulled out.
...Ah, damn it.
Cold sweat broke out all over me. Because the book was A Beginner's Guide to Raising Felines: From Stray Cats to Ancient Spirit Beasts. I'd grabbed it from a dusty corner of the library since I had no idea what to feed Freya after taming her without meaning to.
Naturally, I couldn't let this dangerous woman learn of Freya's existence.
I hardened my expression and answered in the driest, most indifferent voice I could manage.
"No. I don't keep any. I just like furry beasts."
"Hmm, is that so? Looking up books on the subject seems rather serious. Did you pick up a cat somewhere?"
Judith narrowed her eyes with clear amusement. That look that seemed to pierce through everything. I didn't know if our dear young lady was bluffing, but that expression was bound to make anyone shrink back. Then you'd stutter, and the lie would come apart.
If I tried to brush it off awkwardly now, it would only invite more suspicion. In situations like this, the best move was to play along shamelessly.
"Not yet. But I am planning to kidnap a clueless stray cat soon."
At my brazen declaration, Judith's eyes widened. Then—
"Pfft! Kk, ahahahat!"
She burst into laughter, shoulders shaking. It was a laugh that slightly cracked her elegant poise, yet it carried a strangely captivating sound that sliced through the library's silence.
...What the hell was so funny about my answer?
She laughed heartily for a while before lightly wiping the tears from the corners of her eyes with a finger.
"Kidnapping a stray cat? Really, Student Ian, you always manage to exceed my expectations with your answers. I'll sincerely cheer for that kidnapping scheme of yours."
"No need to cheer. So, what brings you here? Does the young lady of House La Roche have business with someone like me?"
When I asked with clear wariness, Judith donned her languid smile once more and rested her chin on her hand.
"Just... hmm. Curiosity?"
"Curious about what, exactly."
"What happened in the east."
The question was tossed out casually, as if it were nothing. But simply facing it sent a chill racing through my gut with no end in sight.
Why? At this point, I needed to properly address the person known as Judith La Roche.
Beautiful. Carries a wonderful scent. The kind of femme fatale who seems capable of bewitching you just by standing nearby. But beyond that charm, it was her behavioral logic.
A political virtuoso. If I had to summarize this villainess in one sentence, it would be this: A personality that instantly calculates whether any event—or any person—will bring her profit or loss with knife-like precision. And the decisiveness to seize anything beneficial without hesitation, or cut away anything detrimental just as cleanly.
That was where Judith's scariness originated.
Such a woman had come all the way to where I was. It meant she had definitely caught the scent of some gain or loss. And at this critical time when the entire academy was bustling with flood recovery efforts, no less.
So the natural question arose: Just what did she want from me?
.......
But no matter how much I thought about it, nothing came to mind. All I had was erotic manga and an erotic-manga-like brain. Honestly, I couldn't imagine Judith needing either of those.
So I chose to deliver the information calmly. That was probably what she was after anyway.
"Nothing special. I just rolled around in the mud a bit."
"Nothing special? In the middle of that massive mana storm?"
"Ah, well, Princess Eiphrid was putting on such a flashy show that I just held my breath and watched from the back. There wasn't any room for me to step forward."
I used the princess as a thorough shield. It wasn't exactly a lie, either. It was true that she'd thrown away her dignity and spammed earth magic all over the rampage site.
"I see~ So you simply watched from behind."
Whether she believed my excuse or not, Judith gave a faint nod with an unreadable, mysterious smile.
This should be enough of the information she wanted.
"Ah."
Judith spoke as if the question had just occurred to her in passing.
"Who will you be attending the debutante ball with?"
"...Pardon?"
I let out a stupid sound. It was such a completely unexpected change of topic.
"If we're talking about the person at the academy with the least connection to the debutante, it would probably be me. I understand male students aren't even required to participate."
At my answer, Judith let out a small laugh.
"It's customary to attend with a partner, after all. I simply wondered if someone as popular as you, Student Ian, might already have your schedule completely booked."
"Popular? As if. Of course there's no one. I have zero interest in such troublesome events, so I'll probably just spend the time quietly in the library."
At my curt reply, Judith once again let out an elegant "Ohoho" of laughter.
"That's also very much like you, Student Ian. Well then, sorry for disturbing you. I hope your kidnapping plan goes well."
She rose from her seat, offered a light greeting, and slipped out of the library as silently as she had entered.
"What the hell is with that woman?"
I stared blankly at the door where she'd vanished and muttered to myself.
Did she come all this way just to poke at me for not having a partner and not being able to attend the debutante? Was that her hobby or something?
"Wow."
She's a real villainess, alright.