Chapter 18
Chapter 18
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 18
Chapter Title: New Star: Lua Polaris (5)
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Inside the grand library where starlight twinkled.
Lua Polaris, facing the night of Celestia for the first time, turned her gaze toward the young man calmly reading a book before her.
Archmage Johan.
The master of the Phantasm Library Celestia showed no particular concern about her arriving at this hour.
Instead, he seemed lost in some complex thoughts.
"Um, Lord Johan… why am I here right now?"
Lua asked him in a small voice.
As far as she could remember, she had definitely been in the middle of a battle just moments ago.
She had fought an unidentified mage in the drawing room, guided there by the butler.
That scene was the last thing in her memory before it cut off completely.
Hearing her question, Johan, who had been staring at his grimoire, finally lifted his gaze.
"Because I was protecting you."
"Wha…?!'
What came from Johan's mouth was something Lua had never anticipated.
Archmage Johan had personally protected her—.
It meant that Johan, who resided in the Phantasm Library Celestia, had rescued her from a crisis.
"Magic that directly interferes with the human mind… It seemed to be something along those lines."
"……."
"You must have lost consciousness due to its influence and ended up here."
Johan was explaining her situation to the puzzled Lua.
She had been attacked by the mansion's master, lost consciousness, and entered the library.
It was because she couldn't properly counter the magic she had never seen before.
Moreover, Johan's explanation didn't end there.
"I've handled it on this end, so there's no need to worry."
"Ah, no… you handled it completely?"
"That should have taught him his place. Even if he returns, the mage named Allandorf won't harm you."
Johan declared that the confrontation from moments ago had been fully resolved.
Hearing this, Lua's face flushed even more with bewilderment.
While she had been unconscious on the floor, everything had been neatly taken care of.
All she had done in the process was get hit by magic and collapse.
It was practically the behavior of dead weight.
No matter how she looked at it, she hadn't contributed anything to resolving this incident.
"Ahem."
Recalling her actions, Lua cleared her throat awkwardly and clutched the hem of her skirt.
She was an official mage of the Blue Tower, after all—wasn't it too pathetic to have been taken down so easily?
She even felt a bit sorry toward Johan.
With Lua thinking such thoughts right in front of him, Johan finally spoke as if something had just occurred to him.
"By the way, have you ever heard of a group called the 'Extremist Arcane Research Society'?"
"The Extremist Arcane Research Society? Of course I have."
Hearing Johan's question, Lua recalled the familiar name and searched her memory.
The Extremist Arcane Research Society.
It was a name no one affiliated with the Magic Tower could be unaware of.
They were a collective of utterly depraved mages.
Mages who conducted all sorts of unethical and immoral research.
It was famous that they had once wiped out an entire village.
They were more than worthy of being called enemies of the Magic Tower.
Yet their skills were exceptionally outstanding as well.
"It's a secret society of incredibly dangerous mages—a criminal organization I recommend avoiding entanglement with due to the risks."
"……."
"And their chairman, 'Pilgrim Bartov,' is a mage so powerful he's counted among the Seven Counts."
A gang of utter villains.
Listening to Lua's explanation, Johan casually tossed out a remark.
"Their vice chairman… a fellow named Allandorf Petreus came to this library."
"Ah, their vice chairman came here… Pardon? W-wait a second! Who did you say came?!"
As Lua was discussing the Extremist Arcane Research Society with Johan.
Her face stiffened as she listened to his response.
"V-V-Vice chairman?! The vice chairman of the Extremist Arcane Research Society was here?!"
What kind of group was the Extremist Arcane Research Society?
Even the most powerful factions found them distasteful and avoided provoking them carelessly.
So what did it mean that the number two of such a vicious secret society had shown up?
It meant the identity of the opponent who had so easily overpowered Lua Polaris was that secret society's second-in-command.
'The guy I was facing until just now was a monster like that?'
She had stepped into the lair of a terrifying mage.
It was no different from sticking her head into a lion's mouth.
"He acted so arrogantly that I tore him apart and sent him back."
"Y-You tore the v-v-vice chairman to shreds…?!"
"It was magic that strikes both body and soul without distinction, so even after returning, there'll be some lingering effects. That should have been lesson enough."
Moreover, with Johan speaking of such a mage as if it were no big deal, Lua struggled to find the right words to respond.
Her lips twitched helplessly.
"……."
Lua Polaris.
After opening her eyes here, the scene she faced terrified her greatly.
* * * * * *
Since first setting foot in the Magic Tower, Lua Polaris had never been treated with such respect.
Most of her life there had been that of a lowly apprentice mage.
Even setting that aside, it wasn't easy for someone of her unremarkable status to receive respect.
There were hardly any who bothered trying to curry favor with an unknown mage.
Thus, a banquet prepared solely for her was a first in Lua's life.
"Miss Lua. Please forgive my rudeness from moments ago."
"……."
In the dining hall of the antique mansion.
The dining hall where the invited mages had been waiting until just now now featured a feast that looked lavish at a glance.
From meats sprinkled with various spices to warm bread and fruits.
It was a scene worlds apart from her usual evening meals.
How much money and effort must have gone into preparing such a banquet?
It was beyond anything Lua could even dream of attempting.
"It was a personal curiosity that led to my discourtesy. Toward you, and toward that lord as well."
Moreover, the one who had prepared this banquet was none other than the vice chairman of the Extremist Arcane Research Society.
Vice Chairman Allandorf Petreus.
A mage who wouldn't bow his head even before most nobles was groveling before Lua.
As if desperate not to offend someone.
"Y-Yes."
Of course, Lua felt just as uncomfortable around the mage before her.
Who was this man?
He treated human lives like consumables.
How many people had ever received such treatment from the vice chairman of the Extremist Arcane Research Society?
Being hosted by such a powerhouse wasn't exactly relaxing.
"This gathering is to apologize for that rudeness. Please, enjoy it to your heart's content."
"Um, you're bleeding from your mouth…"
"Ah, it seems the backlash from the soul fragment I inserted to subdue you has dissipated…"
However, she couldn't just up and leave right then.
The mage whose soul had been ripped out by Johan was right in front of her.
"It'll take some time to recover. If not for me, you'd have been done for."
Who knew what such an Allandorf might do if she refused the banquet?
Thus, Lua had no choice but to accept it.
Perhaps thanks to the recent skirmish, her stomach felt a bit empty.
Slice, slice.
Lua's hand cut into the golden-brown roasted meat.
Dipping it in sauce and putting it in her mouth, the meat melted tenderly on her tongue.
It seemed they had procured extremely fresh meat.
"Has that lord's anger subsided even a little?"
As Lua enjoyed the feast before her, Allandorf, watching her with a kindly smile, spoke up.
It wasn't hard to guess who "that lord" referred to.
Archmage Johan.
Recalling her conversation with him, Lua replied to Allandorf as cautiously as possible.
"I believe… he thinks that's sufficient."
"I see. That's a relief."
Allandorf smiled in relief upon hearing Lua.
He had apparently been worrying about Johan even while preparing this banquet.
Lua glanced at Allandorf watching her, then resumed enjoying the feast.
Munch, munch.
As Lua ate a well-baked pie, Allandorf continued the conversation.
"The path ahead won't be easy. Inviting in dangerous entities carries that meaning."
"……."
"However, drawing the gaze of such beings is a special occasion in itself. Our Arcane Research Society has many who seek to summon outer monsters, but few have actually succeeded."
"Is that so."
Allandorf directed profound words toward Lua as she tore into her bread.
The gaze of dangerous entities.
A special occasion.
Outer monsters.
These were topics related to the research conducted by the Extremist Arcane Research Society's mages.
Listening, Lua nodded quietly.
It seemed Allandorf had some inkling of the secret society's goals.
Well, it would be stranger if a mage of his caliber hadn't noticed.
"I doubt you'll be the only mage accompanying that lord on such a arduous journey."
"Y-Yes."
"Our Arcane Research Society has no desire to antagonize that lord—or you, Miss Lua."
"……."
"We won't directly assist with your dangerous experiments, but we won't interfere with your plans to summon the library's mage either."
With that, Allandorf looked up at the butler.
Snap.
Right after Allandorf snapped his fingers at the butler.
The butler, receiving the signal, fetched something.
"William. Place the prepared gift before Miss Lua."
"Yes, Master."
The butler called William set the items he held before Lua.
Slide.
Lua's gaze swept over the items William had placed down.
A small box.
And a book wrapped in luxurious leather binding.
As her eyes met them and turned to Allandorf, he chuckled softly and addressed her.
"It's a gift of reconciliation from our Arcane Research Society."
"A… gift of reconciliation?"
"We've prepared a high-grade magic stone and a grimoire recording an ancient spell formula."
The gifts Allandorf had prepared.
Hearing what they were, Lua's eyes widened hugely.
They were items so expensive just hearing about them made her head spin.
Yet he was offering them as gifts.
"I do hope the gifts I've prepared please you."
"Ah… I'm sure that lord will be delighted too!"
Grip.
Lua's hand firmly grasped the grimoire before her.
It was her job to bring these gifts back to the lab.
Indeed, even when running errands, those for the Archmage yielded the most rewards.
She should stick close to Johan from now on.
With such thoughts, Lua smiled faintly.
Her tumultuous day was drawing to a close.