Chapter 15
Chapter 15
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 15
Chapter Title: Unexpected Meeting (4)
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「The Knight Order has acquired a means to counter Skeval.」
Such a rumor began circulating on the battlefield.
It stemmed from the fact that the Knight Order, trapped within Skeval's barrier, had dismantled it and escaped in less than ten minutes.
In light of this unprecedented event, whispers spread that the Ashen Mage Raniel had returned to the battlefield, but those rumors quickly died down.
The former Crimson Mage Tower Lord,
and current Knight Order Magic Advisor, Libert van Crepica.
Because he had been seen personally dismantling Skeval's barrier.
Of course, Libert hadn't dismantled the barrier through his own power alone. It had been made possible with the assistance of ten mages under the Crimson Mage Tower. But that wasn't the important part.
Skeval's barrier had been dismantled.
In less than ten minutes, no less.
The implications of that fact were enormous.
It meant the Knight Order now had a way to stand against that ancient lich. It meant they no longer had to despair at the sight of that barrier.
The knights raised their shields. They lifted their spears.
No longer did they retreat, even when the ancient lich appeared on the battlefield.
That day,
the Knight Order, which had only retreated over the past month, endured through the night for the first time.
They didn't advance, but they didn't fall back either.
As the morning sun rose, the knights could gaze upon the frontline they had defended and smile.
2.
-Knight Order Magic Advisor, Libert van Crepica.
-To Princess Aila.
A letter stamped with both the Knight Order's seal and that of the Crimson Mage Tower.
Aila tore open the envelope.
The letter contained no lengthy passages.
-Thank you, Princess.
-The Crimson Mage Tower will not forget this favor.
A short note of gratitude.
Aila, who had already learned of the battlefield situation from Heinkel's report, let a faint smile cross her lips as she read it.
'I was right to send them.'
Her intuition in dispatching those mages to the Knight Order had been spot on.
Aila felt an inexplicable sense of pride.
'This should improve my brother's situation a little.'
She finally felt like she could breathe a sigh of relief.
Of course, as the Fourth Princess—not even a member of the Knight Order—she had no real reason to interfere so deeply in the battlefield. Even the king refrained from meddling in frontline matters.
Yet Aila knew her innate talent.
And because she knew it, she had no intention of letting it go to waste.
A child beloved by the stars.
A highly developed intuition bordering on prophecy.
That intuition had sometimes rooted out traitors siding with the demon race, and other times predicted regions where black dragons would appear.
"I'm glad it helped again this time."
Relieved to hear at least one piece of good news, Aila leaned back in her chair.
Of course, not all news was good.
Nor were there any dramatic changes.
The war situation remained desperate.
Since the Ashen Mage's departure, countless frontlines had faltered, and the Demon King's army raged even more fiercely.
The lines were still precarious. The terrifying presence of the ancient lich Skeval remained unchanged.
However...
'That fear is less overwhelming than before.'
It was no longer an unstoppable terror.
The Knight Order now possessed a means to counter the barrier erected by the ancient lich.
'Ever since Raniel left the battlefield and Skeval appeared, those frontlines just kept getting pushed back...'
Now, perhaps it was okay to hold a little hope.
It would be hard to find someone whose mere existence checked the enemy as effectively as that Ashen Mage... but this might fill the void, even if just a little.
"Hoo..."
Aila sighed and looked up at the ceiling.
With the situation somewhat sorted, one question lingered.
'Just who was she?'
The woman she had met in the royal library that day.
A mage with ashen hair and blue eyes, an appearance that evoked someone specific.
Aila recalled the mysterious figure.
For some reason, she felt a strange familiarity. It was as if reuniting with a long-lost acquaintance, complete with a sense of joy.
'Come to think of it, I might have caused her quite a bit of trouble.'
Forcing her to solve that problem had been necessary, but Aila had made one mistake with her.
"I approached without any warning."
Remembering that blunder, Aila gave a wry smile.
As she had grown older, Aila had received several blessings from the stars. Among them was one that mages particularly dreaded.
'Star's Binding, loss of mana control.'
Within a certain radius centered on her, unless she permitted it, mages lost control of their mana. It wasn't a rampage, but rather an inability to draw it up—that was the accurate description.
-It's like being bitten by a mana-eater.
-As if a lock sealed the circle around one's heart...
Aila remembered the pale-faced royal mages' words. They had described it as an extremely unpleasant sensation they never wanted to feel again.
Loss of mana control.
Inability to draw up mana.
How great a shock this was to mages was evident from their ashen faces.
But that woman?
'...She didn't seem bothered at all.'
Aila had belatedly tried to retract the blessing, but the woman had broken the Star's Binding first.
With a single breath.
A few blinks.
Just that, and she had shattered the Star's Binding.
A binding that not a single royal mage could break.
"Hmm..."
Aila rested her chin on her hand, tapping her lips lightly with her index finger.
That mage was undoubtedly extraordinary. She had instantly broken the Star's Binding and even provided the solution to Skeval's barrier.
Put her in an important position.
Keep her close to the royal family.
That was Heinkel's advice.
A wind that cannot be caught.
It's foolish to try binding the wind.
The stars had whispered that in her ear.
"Hmmm."
After a moment of contemplation, Aila raised her hand and called for her guard knight.
"Havel, are you there?"
"Yes, Princess."
The door opened, and a knight entered.
Aila handed him the portrait she had drawn earlier. True to her artistic talent, the image matched the woman from her memory perfectly.
"Could you look into this person's identity?"
Even if she couldn't keep her close, it wouldn't hurt to know who she was.
With that thought, Aila spoke.
"I met her about ten days ago..."
"Ah, I know this one."
"...Pardon?"
But before Aila could finish explaining, Havel nodded as if he knew her.
"You know her?"
"Yes, I saw her with Lord Rosel before. I believe she's the adopted daughter he brought along."
Lord Rosel's adopted daughter...
"...Lania van Trias?"
"Yes, I heard she's been appointed as an assistant professor at Aphria Academy."
"......"
Aila fell silent for a moment.
The silence didn't last long.
"Hmmm."
Aila narrowed her eyes and stared at her index finger. The prophecy the stars had delivered recently, accompanied by a stinging pain. Recalling it, Aila let out an involuntary laugh.
'The awaited meeting.'
"...So that's what it meant."
"Pardon?"
"Nothing. More importantly, Havel?"
Aila pulled out a sheet of paper and scrawled her name across it.
"Could you deliver this to Lord Rosel and his disciple?"
"This is..."
Seeing the contents, Havel looked flustered, but Aila smiled.
"You're thinking it's too generous a gift, aren't you?"
"......"
"It's not excessive at all. If anything, it's insufficient recompense for her contributions."
"I... see."
Havel seemed a bit reluctant but took the document and left the office. Left alone, Aila absently tapped the table.
'It's a bit unsatisfying.'
Havel, unaware of the full story, saw it as overly generous, but even that felt lacking to Aila.
In truth, she wanted to promise something even better.
To announce her merits publicly, appoint her to a key position, and keep her by her side.
Someone with that level of talent was rare.
She couldn't let her slip away.
Moreover, what Aila had witnessed was likely just a glimpse of the mage's abilities. After all, this was someone who called a problem that had stumped the Knight Order for years "simple."
'If I could, I'd summon her to the royal family right now...'
But Aila knew better.
It would be greed, something she shouldn't do.
'Raniel didn't refuse a royal position for no reason.'
This place still wasn't a position worth calling "good."
She was a desirable talent, but recruiting her could wait. Better than rushing and ruining it.
'I don't want to drag her into the bloody power struggles of the royal family.'
Besides, hadn't the stars themselves told her?
Don't try to catch an uncatchable wind. When the stars spoke so firmly, there was always good reason.
'And Aphria Academy isn't bad at all...'
As a student, she could naturally cross paths with her.
"Hoo..."
Putting her thoughts in order, Aila glanced out the window.
Winter's snow had melted away, and spring had arrived before she knew it.
Warm sunlight poured down. The blowing wind was gentle.
Winter had passed, and spring had come.
In that season of beginnings, Aila would leave the suffocating royal palace behind for a time and enter Aphria.
Sensing that the day was not far off, Aila brushed back her wind-tossed hair.
"I'm looking forward to it."
Especially her meeting with that mage, Lania.
3.
"...Do I really have to wear this?"
"It's a gift from Her Highness the Princess herself. And she'll be at the entrance ceremony—imagine how it would look for her if you didn't wear it?"
"Well... you're right."
In the end, I reluctantly changed into the robe.
It wasn't short in length. Nor was it overly ornate. It wasn't even a robe I'd never worn before...
'The problem is the timing of when I wore this.'
When I was tutoring Princess Aila in the royal library.
It was the exact same robe she had gifted me. An expensive garment enchanted by the royal mages.
'I freaked out when I received it...'
Even now, fumbling into it felt a bit uncomfortable. She surely hasn't noticed. The accompanying letter suggests she hasn't...
There weren't any telltale signs to give it away, right?
...Or maybe there were.
"Sigh..."
What was the point of dwelling on it now?
"All dressed?"
"Yes, I'm coming out."
I straightened the robe's sleeves. I adjusted the inscribed circuits to fit the size. I pulled out the hair tucked inside the robe and tidied it.
Seeing the unfamiliar girl in the mirror, I gave an awkward smile but headed to the entrance anyway.
"Let's hurry, or we'll be late."
"Yes, Master."
March first.
Today was Aphria Academy's entrance ceremony.
Author's Note
It's a TS story, but it took 5 chapters to get to the TS.
An academy story, and it took 15 chapters to enter the academy. D-D-D-D-D
Pababam!
5 uploads a week... I kept it... right...!