Sunshine Sky Hotel
The Sunshine Sky Hotel couldn't compare to the high-end Illumination de Vivaldi where Arina had stayed in the Vivaldi Territory, but it was a cost-effective establishment with excellent facilities for the price. It enjoyed a solid reputation among travelers.
"The hotel is rather compact. I quite like it."
It was no wonder Marily, standing beside Arina, voiced such a sentiment the moment she laid eyes on the Sunshine Sky Hotel's exterior. After all, she resided in the Elemental Royal Castle—one of the most magnificent structures in the capital of Raymond—and whenever she traveled, she exclusively patronized the highest-end hotels in each region.
As the princess of the Elemental Kingdom, staying at a value hotel like this was likely a first for her. At first glance, her remark about the "cheap" accommodations might have sounded like sarcasm, but everyone present understood that Marily's description of it as compact was meant as praise.
"I'm looking forward to this."
The rooms they had reserved in advance were configured for two people per suite. Marily's face was flushed with excitement at the thought of sharing a room with Arina for the first time in ages since her life in the royal palace. Arina glanced at her and quietly asked, "By the way, where will your attendants be staying?"
"I heard they've booked rooms on the same floor."
Even Marily, a princess of this nation, was adhering to established protocols without demanding separate quarters. There was no chance her attendants would stay elsewhere. The sole reason they had accompanied her all the way to the Mendelssohn Grand Territory was to support her.
"Sir Philodane, who came as an escort, will be staying in the room right next to ours."
Marily emphasized this fact so heavily that it felt like it might stick in their ears forever. As she spoke, Arina instinctively turned her head and met Lucian's calm gaze. He gave a slight nod.
No matter what discipline one studied, reaching the 7-star realm was an extraordinary achievement. These were individuals standing at the threshold of the 8-star transcendent domain—the very limit of human potential. Frankly, unless an 8-star transcendent targeted them directly, there was virtually no danger that Lucian Philodane would fail to notice any threat occurring in the adjacent room.
For the same reason, Professor Karlsen had taken a room positioned between the two where the students would be staying. And though only Lucian Philodane among the accompanying personnel knew this, one of the Seven Deadly Sins—Jealousy—was also present.
So that's Jealousy.
Lucian's gaze, which had drifted from Arina, shifted subtly toward Professor Clara. Had the other party noticed that he knew their true identity? The moment their eyes met, she mouthed the words What are you looking at? But when the gaze of a maid standing behind Lucian joined in, her expression smoothly transformed into a gentle, crescent-eyed smile as if nothing had happened. The instant the maid looked away, however, she whipped her head around and thrust her middle finger straight up at Lucian.
The stark contrast in expressions was so extreme it was hard to believe they belonged to the same person.
With that one here, there's no chance anything will happen to the young lady.
Lucian had directly or indirectly witnessed the power of Royal Mage Division Commander Chrombell Legacy and, more recently, the Seven Deadly Sin known as Greed during Prince Mikhail's escort. Because of that experience, he had a relatively clear understanding of the strength a transcendent possessed. Even if the entire hotel and surrounding area were bombarded with grand magic, a transcendent could protect the children without issue.
In one sense, it might seem like excessive overprotection, yet Lucian couldn't quite shake his uneasy feelings.
"This time, pay even closer attention to protecting Her Highness. Well, it probably won't reach this far, but one can never be too careful."
The words Magic Sovereign had spoken before their departure lingered in his mind, along with the low, sigh-laden mutter about how their schedules had unfortunately overlapped. From that, Lucian could infer that some major incident was likely to occur in the Mendelssohn Grand Territory during the Academy Tournament. A colossal event that would even surpass the capabilities of a 7-star mage like Lucian Philodane.
If Magic Sovereign judged that it wouldn't affect this area, does that mean the incident will take place in the western area?
The Mendelssohn Grand Territory was vast—easily the size of two or three average large domains combined. Given its scale, Magic Sovereign's assessment that this side wouldn't suffer significant impact wasn't unreasonable. Of course, the underlying factor in that judgment was another restraining force Lucian knew nothing about: the arrival of the absolute being known as Sawang tomorrow.
Regardless of what happened, Lucian resolved to focus even more intently on protecting the princess. He followed behind the children as they walked toward the hotel entrance with Professor Karlsen.
"Oh, here they come, here they come."
As they entered the hotel lobby, a man waved enthusiastically to greet them in place of the hotel manager. He stood roughly 160 centimeters tall—far too short for an adult. Even by eye, he appeared smaller than Jeon, who was only fifteen.
"Sir Agni?"
Lucian, who recognized his identity, widened his eyes in greater surprise at the man's face than at his height. Did Arina know him? She turned her head slightly at the murmur coming from behind her.
"He's Agni Zbel, leader of Violent Crime Team 1 in the Special Investigation Unit of the Police Headquarters."
The answer to her question came not from behind but from the side. Marily, who had recognized him at a glance just like Lucian, stared intently at Agni as he approached and spoke.
"He's also the one who wrote Jeon a recommendation letter, allowing us to participate in the tournament."
This explanation would resonate more with Arina than the previous one. Unlike Jeon, who dreamed of joining the Special Investigation Unit, ordinary children rarely took interest in the identities of police executives.
"Ah."
Just as expected, the moment Arina learned he was the one who had written the Academy Tournament recommendation, she let out a soft exclamation of understanding. Meanwhile, unlike the others whose attention had been captured by Agni, Jeon and Togun's gazes were fixed on the figure behind him—the familiar woman walking toward them: Julia Evergreen.
"Nice to meet you. I'm Agni Zbel, leader of Violent Crime Team 1 in the Special Investigation Unit."
Agni extended his hand first to Professor Karlsen, who stood at the front of the group, as if offering a handshake.
"Ah? Ah, yes. I'm Karlsen, professor of curse magic at Benedict Academy. It's a pleasure to meet you as well, Sir Zbel."
Karlsen, who had been staring at Julia just like Jeon, flusteredly took Agni's hand after the greeting.
Agni gave a small chuckle at his words. "Please, just call me Agni. Ever since I became a police officer against my family's wishes in my youth, using the Zbel name has felt rather uncomfortable."
"Understood, Sir Agni."
Agni casually revealed his dark past while scratching the back of his head with an awkward smile. He nodded as he studied Professor Karlsen's face, which was heavily marked with dark circles.
His face really does look intimidating.
Despite trying his best to smile brightly, Karlsen's inherent gloominess was so off-putting that even Agni—who had faced countless criminals as a Special Investigation Unit team leader—had to acknowledge it. Realizing anew that his subordinate's assessment had been accurate, Agni turned to look behind Karlsen with anticipation.
"So, Julia. Which one is the kid you said had your approval?"
Agni turned his head toward Julia. Without even waiting for an answer, he followed her gaze.
"Ah, it's you?"
Agni walked past Karlsen to stand before Jeon and gave him a light once-over from head to toe.
Not bad talent, I suppose.
A fully matured 3-star at age fifteen. The boy certainly possessed outstanding skill. But that was all. Agni couldn't detect anything particularly exceptional about Jeon.
The mana-rejector kid is just average too.
The tale of a Masao family swordsman defeating a transcendent despite being a mana-less incompetent was quite famous. Yet there wasn't a single person in the world who didn't understand how difficult and nearly impossible such a feat was. It was a miracle that required heavenly luck piled upon heavenly luck multiple times. From the start, it was impossible for a mana-less incompetent to even keep up with a transcendent's movements.
In the end, they were people whose limits were predetermined.
I'm more interested in that child over there.
Agni's gaze passed over Jeon and Togun to land on Arina. It lasted only a fleeting instant. He quickly returned his attention to Jeon and gave the boy's shoulder a light pat.
"I heard from Julia. You dream of joining the Special Investigation Unit, right? I'm not sure if work will let me watch the matches, but I look forward to seeing you shine in the tournament."
Well, this was merely a first impression. Seeing him actually use magic could easily change the evaluation.
"Yes!"
Perhaps because his idol had personally encouraged him, Jeon's usually ice-cold face flushed bright red with uncontainable joy.
"Then, Professor, I'll take my leave here."
After exchanging a brief glance and nod with Marily, he bid farewell to Professor Karlsen. Agni and Julia then walked past the children toward the hotel exit.
"My apologies for the late greeting, Sir Philodane."
As he passed Lucian Philodane, Agni spoke quietly enough that the children behind them wouldn't hear.
"Please take good care of Her Highness's protection during the Academy Tournament."
Professor Karlsen nodded as he watched Agni's retreating figure leave the hotel.
"It seems he came personally to see what kind of students the ones he recommended are."
From Agni's perspective, he had written recommendation letters for first-year academy students based solely on his subordinate's words.
"For a Special Investigation Unit team leader to be so busy yet still make time to visit... He must be quite a responsible person."
As if.
Lucian, who had been silently listening to Karlsen, inwardly shook his head as if to refute the statement. No matter how responsible one's personality, considering the workload of the Special Investigation Unit, personally stopping by like this was highly unusual. He must have had official business in the Mendelssohn Grand Territory and simply dropped in while he was here.
And Lucian had a hunch about what that business was.
Just what kind of incident is going to happen that even a transcendent is getting involved?
The 8-star transcendent Agni Zbel had even given him a warning. It was tantamount to a silent admission that he himself could not control what would occur here.
"...Damn it."
Meanwhile, Lucian Philodane wasn't the only one who had grasped the overall situation from Agni's appearance. The Special Investigation Unit team leader's sudden visit, along with the meaningful words whispered to Lucian. Was it simply his imagination that Jealousy's mind flashed with Pride's face as he heard them?
No way.
Perhaps because he had already been burned once in the Vivaldi Territory, Jealousy was certain that Pride had once again orchestrated something behind his back.
Of course, this time will be different.
In Vivaldi, they hadn't informed him in advance because they needed to use him as bait and wanted to prevent him from preparing anything. This time, it felt like they hadn't told him in order to send the implicit message: Don't get involved in this and focus solely on protecting the young lady.
But what did the purpose matter? The fact that something was definitely going to happen in the Mendelssohn Territory was undeniable.
Looks like they're finally getting serious.
One might forget a favor, but never a grudge. Among the Seven Deadly Sins, Pride was the one who best embodied the motto of Sawang Heokcheon. Even if he had gained the upper hand relatively speaking, the fact that he had been beaten in Vivaldi must have ignited his fury. Knowing Pride's personality well, Jealousy could immediately tell that the bastard had set the board.
He's definitely going to pull some tricks to catch Master's eye.
From what Jealousy had heard, Master would also be coming to observe this tournament. Considering that Togwi had personally shown up in Vivaldi, even if Master had no intention of intervening in the commotion, the other side would likely try to divert Master's attention just in case. There was no telling what might happen during the tournament.
Jealousy swept back his pink hair, already feeling the oncoming annoyance and irritation. From his mouth, a continuous stream of curses directed at Pride flowed out through ventriloquism.
"Fuck. Fuck."