109. The Stainer (3)
109. The Stainer (3)
- 1 -
"She was a really pretty mage, right, sis?"
"Yeah, she was."
Though Amelia agreed with her younger sister's words, an inexplicable unease lingered inside her.
It was because the aura she had sensed from the mage she met this time was anything but ordinary.
'Something... gave me chills.'
She couldn't have known it, but that was the instinct of a mage who had awakened a 'purification'-type trait.
Those capable of manifesting the trait to purify corruption or evil were not limited to clerics alone.
Among practitioners who handled the elements, some with special talents could also manifest the 'purification' trait, and she was one of the mages who carried that seed.
It was a special talent that, had it been discovered in time, would have allowed her to develop brilliantly through exchanges with clerics.
'...I think I should invite a cleric.'
If she had sensed something ominous, confirming it by calling a cleric was only natural.
Commoners would have no choice but to ask any passing cleric, but a noble could simply pay an additional fee to request an expedited visit.
Amelia, who was normally frugal, possessed more than enough wealth for that.
For a rural noble who had never experienced war, it was an admirable judgment.
"I'll need to stop by the information guild in town. Please help me get ready."
She simply failed to realize she was already in someone else's grasp.
- 2 -
"A cleric, huh..."
Amelia's actions were remarkably swift.
Far too much so for a girl barely in her teens, and excellent qualities even measured against any noble child.
If she properly manifested her talent as a mage later on, those qualities would surely catch the light and flourish splendidly.
But there was no reason to feel sorry.
I, too, could become an excellent sun and water to her.
Even if the nature of it was a little different.
"Arrange for one to be summoned."
And so, I nodded.
To have Amelia's request reach a nearby shrine.
"Is that permissible?"
"Wouldn't it be prudent to have at least one in your pocket?"
Even if a cleric came at the request of a mere rural noble, there was no way anyone of particularly high standing would arrive.
Unless, by chance, a high-ranking cleric happened to be in the vicinity.
And even if such a high-ranking cleric did appear, as long as their numbers were few, they were a threat I could sufficiently handle.
"Indeed. It seems as though the light of wisdom possessed by you, Master, will illuminate the whole land."
"Enough with the excessive praise. You may withdraw now."
"Next time, I shall return with better news."
The Cerebrum Skull, a retainer I had planted in the local information guild, vanished, and I gazed down upon the city through the window of the inner castle.
- Ha! Ha!
From afar, the sounds of soldiers training could be heard.
Though somehow the shouts lacked much force, seeming to be nothing more than obligatory drills...
Considering there were domains that didn't even do that much, it was still admirable.
"Hehehe!"
"Hey! Give it back!"
Nearby, two children ran around in close quarters, kicking up a ruckus.
Judging by their neat attire, they were at least close to nobility or children from wealthy households.
"..."
"Mom... I'm hungry..."
Behind a nearby alley, a woman and child could do nothing but stare vacantly at such children.
The ones in rags wouldn't know that merely being alive made them fortunate.
They couldn't know that there were dozens of events in this world that could bring down families in poor circumstances.
"What are you thinking about?"
"Nothing at all."
As I was surveying the domain like that, I felt a presence kneeling beside the window.
When I raised my hand in response, I felt her naturally take it and kiss my fingertips, then the back of my hand.
"Whether demon or human. As long as they remain within the grasp of a wise ruler, that is enough. Master."
Then, she drew out some of my idle thoughts—ones I hadn't even spoken aloud—and soothed them.
Things that had been merely unorganized notions before she spoke, drifting and simultaneously potential anxieties.
"Is that so?"
Only after hearing her words did those things begin to stir something deeper inside me.
"It is so. All they need is simply a life without war. They will grow accustomed quickly."
"But the land where I reside will become the root of war."
"When we begin a war, will it not be at a time when there are already no enemies in this vicinity?"
I nodded at Evangeline's words.
What I was currently trying to achieve through this covert maneuvering was a wide territory.
A territory wide enough that even if my presence radiated outward when I reached a higher grade, even if someone within it detected it, it would not be reported to a human royal palace or the Holy See.
And so, if I were to begin a war, it would be after I had already amassed the capacity of a small nation.
At the same time, I could guess what she had left unsaid.
"They are already accustomed to tranquility."
"That is correct."
"Then I need only let them enjoy what they already have."
"Without a doubt."
"Still, there is no need to leave the masses idle. I shall give Sonia a task."
Whether it was a warm sunbath or falling asleep under blankets in the dark.
That was tranquility.
Though they might feel some anxiety at first, the more I repelled external enemies and organized the interior, the more they would grow accustomed to a daily life no different from before.
What I had to do was lower the 'aversion of the prey' in their hearts until they grew accustomed to my rule.
Of course, the same went for the 'hostility of the predator' held by the opposing side.
"Well then. Indeed, all that remains to be conquered are the nobles and adventurers."
"When shall we begin?"
"First, I must tighten the grip holding these families."
"Yes. I shall prepare to subdue the knights."
"Do so."
The countdown to dominating the human domain had already begun.
The castle officials who had not learned any particular power had already become demons 'of their own will.'
To save their families, and to preserve their own lives as well.
'It was easier than I thought.'
Since what I desired from them was not their original talents but merely their intellectual functions, it mattered not if they were transformed into another form capable of using a human skin and intellect.
That way, gaining loyalty was far easier, and converting them into monsters significantly reduced the cost.
'It would be best to keep the lord's family human.'
The baron himself mattered little, but the baron's wife was the daughter of the count who ruled over all the nearby domains—more precisely, the daughter of the former count.
This was a factor that made it impossible to determine her use just yet.
'If she is to be used as a hostage against the count, her value will be higher if she is at least kept human.'
Her children as well, for the same reason, must be kept human to broaden the range of their utility.
Of course, depending on the situation, a different approach would need to be chosen flexibly.
'For that.'
I would have to play house for a few days.
Because the first task the baron had entrusted to me, who had become the court mage, was to manifest the talent his daughter possessed.
"Hello, young miss! Please take one of these!"
"What is it, mister?"
"It's the tastiest apple from this harvest! Have it as a snack!"
'Indeed. Will you choose egoism, or altruism?'
Into my eyes, the figure of the domain's heir, receiving smiles from everyone who passed by, was reflected.
I was looking forward to her choice.
- 3 -
"Miss Amelia. You were already here."
"Hello, Teacher. I was just getting ready."
At the voice that reached her, Amelia raised her head, and a smile exactly as she had learned from her mother rose to her face.
A smile that was artificial, yet not improper in etiquette.
A smile that a noble who valued decorum would have applauded as well-learned, yet the kind of smile she would have little use for in the future if she continued living in the countryside.
What was commonly called a 'noble's smile.'
Though wearing such a smile, Amelia thought it did not match the one on the face of the woman before her.
'She definitely seems to be a noble, but...'
Because the smile hanging on the lips of the person appointed as her first mage teacher truly seemed harmless.
Judging by her face alone, if she were evil, one would think everything in this world was evil.
'But.'
On the other hand, the atmosphere she had sensed at their first meeting remained.
That atmosphere, as if she were seeing something alien, where a strange dread grew the longer she looked.
This made Amelia want to avoid her, but an unproven hypothesis could not serve as justification to refuse the lessons.
'If I refuse these lessons out of mere anxiety, Father might say it's the talk of someone too well-fed and childish...'
In a world where ability was a luxury asset and the tutelage of senior ability users was so difficult to obtain.
As such, this was something the influence of a mere rural noble could not refuse, and refusing risked turning a mage into an enemy.
If it was an opportunity to be gained at the cost of a 'salary that had to be paid anyway,' that was even more so.
'Until the priest arrives, let us wait.'
Therefore, Amelia's judgment was rational.
At least, within the information she had been given.
"Now then, before we begin the first lesson."
"Yes."
Whether she knew Amelia's gaze and thoughts or not.
The aristocratic mage of antique atmosphere, who had given her name as 'Mist,' immediately began the work entrusted to her.
"First, shall we hear what Miss Amelia has learned?"
"Ah, yes. Firstly... 「Invisibility」, 「Flame Orb」, 「Create Purified Water」..."
At first, Amelia had opened her mouth with confidence.
But afterward, with each thing she recounted that she had learned, she lost confidence.
Because the other party's benevolent face had gradually darkened.
"Hmm..."
"Is something wrong?"
Still, she could endure up to this point.
For although she was not formally affiliated with the mage guild, what she had learned so far had been acquired one by one through the recommendations of regular mages.
She did not yet know that the problem was that those recommenders were ultimately private individuals, not formal instructors.
"I cannot be certain yet. First, let us discover what Miss Amelia's talent truly is. Here."
"This is...?"
"It is a measuring device used only within the guild."
Solemio, relative to its location, belonged to the side with an abundance of mage personnel.
Though they were all research-oriented, not combat mages.
"Just as I thought."
"The result is...?"
"The mages showed you goodwill, but they did not teach you the fundamentals."
"Is that so?"
"Would you like to look here?"
"Ah, yes..."
As such, she initially doubted the authenticity of the 'measuring device' itself.
Because when she had visited the guild mages, she had never seen such an object.
Her new magic teacher carried a vaguely suspicious air, and it was only natural to trust the guild mages she had been close with since childhood.
"The corners of this rectangle tell you which domain your aptitudes belong to. Here, 'Exterio' and 'CelesTia' are shining. This means that the coordinates forming the basis of your mana belong to 'Outer Plane' and 'Soul'..."
But afterward, upon hearing the detailed and coherent explanation that the teacher continued, Amelia had no choice but to be convinced.
'So the aptitude test I received from the guild mage as a child, and the things I've learned... none of it was good...'
That what she had learned was wrong.
Because no matter how she listened, it was neither an improvised lie nor a plausible forgery.
Thus, Amelia, who had experienced the guild's official measurement, felt a measure of betrayal.
'Things obtained through personal goodwill could never have been a formal curriculum. I was a fool.'
But after thinking for a moment, she succeeded in washing away that sense of betrayal as well.
She was not stupid enough to mistake goodwill for something she naturally deserved.
So she believed.
"So the fields you must learn are... purification and light. Depending on your preference, you could keep either fire or water alive as well."
"That's a relief, at least."
"Even if they focused on what was easy to teach, they would have told you what was easy for you to learn."
"Ah..."
Hearing her words, filled with benevolence and gentleness, Amelia realized her petty sense of betrayal had been discovered and blushed.
'Wait...'
And soon, realizing the reaction she herself had shown, she felt her heart stiffen on another side.
As if bewitched by something, her carefully restrained heart was loosening before she knew it.
Even though she was experiencing a certain atmosphere possessed by the mage before her, even though she was sufficiently tense.
"Now then, from here on, let us find your coordinates. The more clearly you know where you are, and the more you know what is around you, the more accurately you will be able to learn."
"Ah, yes."
Yet even having felt that once, Amelia found it increasingly difficult to rein in her loosening heart.
On one hand, drawing comfort from the teacher's presence, and on the other, an alarm bell ringing in her wariness—the first lesson.
'Please come quickly... priest...!'
The most definite action she could take now was nothing more than prayer.