The White Raven's Invitation
Busy days continued, immersed in research on the white raven while improving the arm structure of the close-combat dedicated machine named Knight and planning a second mock battle—an utterly crucial task that kept me occupied every single day. After alchemy class ended that afternoon,
"What the hell is this?"
I arrived at the workshop to find a white raven perched boldly in front of the door. I only realized it was a raven because it looked exactly like one.
That's intriguing.
Id never seen a white raven before, but ravens themselves weren't all that unusual, so I just grabbed it and brought it inside, naturally clamping onto its neck…
"You bastard! Trying to snap my neck right off the bat?! Were you planning to eat me just like that?!"
"What? Since when do ravens talk?"
Magic made anything possible, so it wasn't that surprising. I nodded calmly and tightened my grip again…
"Why do you keep grabbing my neck! In a world with magic, shouldn't you at least spare a talking white raven out of sheer curiosity?!"
"In a world with magic, talking ravens probably aren't that rare, right? Come to think of it, don't some ravens mimic human speech?"
The alchemy department alone churned out tech beyond imagination. A talking raven? Probably common even among wild ones.
Maybe my nonchalance made it realize the gravity of the situation, because the raven seemed to get a grip.
"I-Im one of the Abatus family's errand runners. O noble one, please forgive this lowly creatures rudeness and let's resolve this through conversation?"
"Errand runner? Don't the Abatuses use human servants?"
"We do, but everyone's so busy, so they imbue us wild birds with wisdom and send us off with letters and such. And they dye our feathers with magic—white for those who become public heralds for the Abatus family! We're different from the black ones assigned to other tasks!"
"I see."
They could use life magic to grant intelligence to animals…
"…So plenty of errand runners must get eaten by wild monsters or natural predators. Especially the white ones."
"Plenty, yes. But we get plenty of food as compensation."
"Got it."
Right around the time I was thinking time to wrap this up, the raven squawked.
"W-Wait! If it's protein you're after, I have some bugs I've stashed away! Don't eat me, please!"
"Why would I eat your bugs? I was just thinking of trying some meat dishes lately, and here you hand-deliver yourself."
"Th-There's a letter and a verbal message! I'll offer something proper later, so spare me!"
Maybe I'd teased it too much. Truth be told, if this one vanished, another bird would probably show up tomorrow, so I had half a mind to let it go until a less appealing one arrived… but I wasn't that desperate for raven meat anyway. I'd only grabbed it because it was there and convenient.
Anyway, I loosened my grip, and the raven nimbly hopped onto the desk, preening its feathers with its beak.
"Phew, two years as an errand runner, and this is a first. For real."
"Is two years veteran status or rookie territory?"
"Uh, veteran, right? Wait, no. I'm not your average raven. Is it short?"
Just as I was about to debate the point with this raven, the door swung open.
And in rushed Erica, sword drawn.
"Suspicious intruder! You knew Erica of Phoenix was here and still barged in?!"
"Kwaaack!!"
"W-Wait a second! A white bird means it's an Abatus family herald! Stop!"
Noel burst in at the last possible second, having talked Erica down. She'd somehow flown through the air using magic to intercept—explaining her speed.
That's something I need to analyze too.
Noel always got exhausted after using it, so I'd held off asking for a breakdown, but if the chance arose, I had to uncover the principles behind that levitation and apply it to golems…
"Aizen?"
"Oh, sorry. Just startled for a sec."
Noticing my suspicious gaze, Noel smiled and approached, so I quickly denied it.
Thanks to Noel's intervention, Erica finally stood down, and the raven was stroking its chest with its wing.
"Is there no civilization in this place…? Nearly got eaten, then almost sliced to bits…"
"One more arrogant word, and you'll endure Aizen-brand boiling hot water for 40 minutes to become today's rations."
Mina had appeared behind me at some point. When did she sneak in?
With everyone gathered, the raven sighed faintly and spoke.
"Ahem. Time to get down to business. First, formal greetings. My name is…"
"Get to the point. Three sentences max."
"Lord Cardio Abatus of the Abatus count family invites Aizen Arclight as an honored guest to the ball! He wishes to arrange a venue for receiving Prince Gilford's apology! He begs your presence, also to apologize for past rudeness!"
This little guy's got skills. Abatus magic must be top-notch; the raven handled sophisticated conversation just fine. Instead of bio-weapons or whatever, they'd make a killing selling these as pets.
…What do they lack to bother with bio-weapons?
They had massive noble influence and seemingly practical magic. High nobles probably knew the details, but as long as they didn't interfere, I had no issue drawing attention.
"A ball, huh. I can't dance. And I don't have the clothes."
"Uniform is fine. Lord Cardio said attire needn't follow strict etiquette—dress freely."
"I see."
I nodded at the raven's words.
Then let out a deep sigh.
"I hate politics."
"Shall I relay your response to Lord Cardio? Or just tell me!"
I wanted to sigh even deeper.
Looking at Noel's and Mina's faces, I said quietly,
"I'll go."
"Details are in the invitation! If you have questions, leave some imperial fruit tarts by the window—I love those!"
The raven deftly pecked open the window with its beak and flew off.
I stared after it for a long moment before murmuring,
"They probably left surveillance or something here, right?"
"Likely. I did a basic sweep, but even flushing with electricity has limits."
I'd felt a faint tingle of current; Noel must have used detection magic. Her expression turned grave.
"Pretty blatant. The Abatus count family."
"Yeah. Lately, I've noticed politics dragging me in nonstop. Miss the pure old days."
"You were never pure."
Mina's jab was just to ease the tension.
Erica asked quietly,
"You sure you're okay with going?"
"Everyone knows it's an excuse—a 'reconciliation' with the prince."
A headache-inducing pretext. Noel nodded solemnly.
"Vespa Kingdom's history of poor relations with the Empire means reconciliation acts carry an implicit promise to voice the other's subtle wishes…"
"But you can't refuse when a mediator steps in asking for peace."
It'd be rude to the mediator. In short, it hands them justification.
We'd already settled it with a duel—fulfill that, and done. But they dragged in royal reconciliation as cover, slyly mixing in Hephaestus family business too.
"And they still set traps like pros."
"You're sharp."
Noel smiled wryly and nodded. On the surface, it sounded like a friendly invite to come casual…
"But showing up to 'reconcile with the prince' in uniform? Someone's bound to call it disrespecting the royals."
They want to claim we were wrong, but this is a kingdom. With a supreme authority—the king—and his bloodline's heir apologizing isn't trivial. We must observe protocol to save the prince's face, yet casual attire? Hands them more justification.
And there's another issue.
"Aizen. You can't dance, right?"
"Yeah."
A rural noble without title, treated as an outsider bloodline—fat chance of etiquette or dance lessons. Lucky if I don't giant-swing my partner and yeet them.
Invited as honored guest? Means spotlight too.
"Can't refuse, gives them ammo to trash you, and a stage for mockery. Thorough."
Plus, honored guest messenger is a raven. Fun conversationalist, sure, but a bird. Protesting to it changes nothing. Refuse? It claims forgetfulness, and we're voiceless.
"This is high noble politics in Vespa, huh."
Tormenting one person? Masterclass.
"At this point, I'd consider defecting to another country."
Abatus headaches—how many times now? Sick of it; part of me wanted out.
Noel ventured cautiously,
"I get how you feel, but… please don't say that if possible."
As Nexia duke's daughter, talk of leaving must sting. Erica looked uneasy too—realizing too late I'd blurted without considering others.
"Sorry. Got heated."
"It's fine."
"I think that sometimes too!"
Noel and Erica smiled. Mina narrowed her eyes.
"If you're set on leaving, I could help, but it won't change much elsewhere."
"I know."
My scrutiny stemmed from Abatus taking a direct hit in bio-weapons while staking military claims. No guarantee of non-competitors elsewhere.
"Starting from scratch elsewhere would suck anyway…"
This setup—sustaining Cyclops mass-production—owed to luck and speed. No assurance of replicating it.
Reasons to stay piled up; they were a nightmare foe.
"It's because it's Abatus."
Erica's voice chilled, uncharacteristically cold. Her family's knights died to Abatus bio-weapons—no way she'd speak well of them.
Noel spoke carefully.
"…His Majesty often grumbles about regretting the marriage after seeing their faces…"
"Skip the irrelevant gossip. Quit dreaming; face reality."
I nodded at Mina's words. At least, I needed proper attire now.
And luckily, we could navigate this.
"Thanks to Count Phoenix, I'm prepared for this."
No clothes in Phoenix County taught me; I'd prepped formal wear since.
Erica smiled faintly as Mina shot me a displeased look.
"Precisely my doing."
"Yeah."
Phoenix sparked it, but Mina provided the clothes—installments or not. Wear them, dodge most issues.
"Might as well treat it as meeting Abatus's heir."
"What about dancing?"
"Can't be helped."
Can't dance means can't. Mock away.
As I resigned,
"Aizen. There's… one way."
"A way?"
Noel hesitated, fingers twitching on her cane.
Then.
"…Actually, I got an invite to that ball too."
She gazed at me, face full of quiet expectation.