Clubs Are Just Decorations - 2
In the end, Mar's attendance at the Expo was confirmed.
Deep down, I wanted to keep opposing it to the bitter end, but what could I do? Mar wasn't the only one carrying First Snow—I held half the stake myself. Putting up a fierce fight against it would just look bad.
"They said that unless it's the absolute earliest stage of pregnancy or right before delivery, not moving your body enough is a problem too."
"Is that so?"
"Yes. So don't worry. I looked into it myself before deciding."
What's more, while I was away, Mar had already secured expert advice.
That left me with even less to say. A non-expert ignoring a specialist's counsel and pushing their own opinion is just ugly. For Mar and First Snow's sake, following the expert's advice was the right call.
Well, there was no law saying a pregnant woman had to stay cooped up at home. You needed sunlight and fresh air to stay healthy, didn't you? Too much indoor living would only do more harm than good.
"If anything happens, I'll just put a shield spell on Mar, so don't fret."
My expression must have looked sour, because Trixie gently soothed me.
Hearing that, my heart settled at once. A shield spell from the Magic Lord herself? If someone bumped into her, wouldn't the other person's bones break?
Their own fault for running into Mar.
Come to think of it, even if bones did break, that would be fine. In that case it wouldn't be shared fault—it would be the fault of whoever failed to watch out for a pregnant woman walking by and crashed into her.
I decided to think of it that way.
This year, I was living as a house spirit of the clubroom.
Last year and the year before that, I had also been a shut-in spending time in the clubroom, but at least back then I still had secondary and tertiary spaces like the Inspector's dormitory or the Student Council room.
This year, though, I was handling inspection work on a commute basis, so I had no assigned lodging, and with Mar graduated it felt awkward dropping by the Student Council. The result was that I had become a full-time unemployed man who did nothing but breathe in the clubroom from morning to night.
Of course, that didn't mean I was bored of the idle life and wanted work. Being unemployed beat running around busy any day. And this was fashionable unemployment with a steady paycheck rolling in, no less.
"Armein, Yuven, and the Holy Kingdom have said they will send people. They claim it is to express gratitude to the Academy for so excellently guiding their royalty and Saint candidates all this time."
But the heavens refused to tolerate my unemployed lifestyle.
"An Academy leading its students in the right direction is only natural—yet they call it gratitude. How excessive."
"I think so as well."
I answered the Vice Principal with a bitter smile, and he nodded vigorously in agreement.
It left a sour taste. I had truly expected to enjoy a peaceful Expo this year with zero fuss, only to get blindsided like this.
Gratitude, my ass.
If they were truly grateful, they could just send money to the Academy. Failing that, they could say, "You've worked hard, so we'll take responsibility for the rest," and drag their club members back to their own countries. Anything less didn't count as a genuine thank-you.
From the start, the purpose of those three nations coming was obvious. Trixie and I were at the Academy, so they meant to use the open Expo event as a chance to make contact.
This year is their last chance.
Once the three nations' members graduated at the end of this year, Trixie and I would no longer need to remain stationed at the Academy. For those countries, that meant now was the only opportunity to approach me. After this year, they would have to come all the way to the Imperial Capital as formal diplomatic envoys rather than private individuals just to meet me.
What a nuisance.
Meeting foreign dignitaries was a pain. Conversations with my own country's civil servants were tiring enough—how much worse would foreigners be?
Unfortunately, it was unavoidable. The Empire had absorbed the North and risen to the ranks of an overwhelming superpower, and I had been "promoted" into the position of its de facto powerbroker. In that position, other nations trying to build connections with me was only natural. If anything, dodging foreign contact too aggressively might make them wonder whether the Empire was preparing a hard-line policy.
And those foreign nations were Armein, Yuven, and the Holy Kingdom. Armein, which had bowed its head in acknowledgment of the Empire's superiority; the Holy Kingdom, which had gifted Mar and me with beatification; and Yuven, which seemed to have tagged along simply because the other two were going. Each one was hard to turn away.
"Still, the Club Expo is an event open to all, so as hosts we intend to welcome our guests gladly."
While I was resigning myself to the inescapable despair, the Vice Principal seemed to have accepted reality as well; he spoke in a somewhat gloomy tone.
It was unfortunate for him, but there was no option but to receive them. The Imperial Academy prided itself on being an educational institution that did not discriminate by nationality, and it also emphasized that the Club Expo was open to everyone. To suddenly refuse entry to foreigners after making such claims could escalate into a diplomatic dispute.
And if I had to choose between a diplomatic dispute and annoying work, the latter was better.
"They have come a long way, so it is only proper that I greet them as well. Do you happen to know who is coming?"
I refilled the Vice Principal's cup as he sighed and asked the question. It seemed some heavy hitters would be arriving—I needed to know who at least, so I could brace myself—
"Armein is sending Count Nerkaf, Yuven is sending Duke Kilanas, and the Holy Kingdom is sending Cardinal Alexandriana."
The hand pouring the tea froze.
...Did I mishear?
I was so startled I almost believed I had. Each of the three names the Vice Principal had spoken was a heavyweight on the level of a national leadership figure.
Count Nerkaf—Grand Marshal who commanded the Armein Kingdom's central army, and Armein's greatest swordsman. Rumor had it he was such an ardent royalist that he and the King of Armein addressed each other as brothers.
Duke Kilanas—Chairman of the Magic Council of the Yuven Allied Kingdom, an elder who wielded enormous influence over both Yuven's political and magical spheres. As the political partner of Yuven's king, he was the linchpin advocating for Yuven's unification.
Cardinal Alexandriana—the same person I had met last time. The most normal of the three, relatively speaking.
I'm going to lose my mind.
A hollow laugh escaped me on its own. Calling a Cardinal who also headed a Congregation "the most normal"—what kind of nonsense was that?
"The Principal was quite shocked as well. For people who must be busier than anyone in their respective countries to personally make time and come here..."
"Understandable. If I hadn't heard it from you, Vice Principal, I wouldn't have believed it either."
I nodded at his words. If the Principal could hear that glittering lineup and not be surprised, it would mean he had abandoned the human heart entirely.
Thank goodness they're coming as private individuals.
I felt genuine relief at the fact that those gentlemen were coming in a private capacity rather than as an official mission.
If they came as private individuals, we only needed to prepare as we would for ordinary guests. But if they came as a formal mission, far more lavish and meticulous protocol would be required. That was not something the Academy or I could handle on our own. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs would probably have dispatched at least a bureau-chief level official to take personal command.
Most critically, a mission arriving in the Empire meant there was a diplomatic agenda of matching weight, and any agenda those heavyweights brought would never be light. Just imagining it made my head spin.
"If you ever need my help, please come find me anytime. I will lend a hand to the best of my ability."
"Thank you. Just hearing that puts my mind at ease."
So I offered a small gesture of goodwill to the Vice Principal, who was no doubt as dizzy as I was.
In truth, calling it goodwill was almost embarrassing. Both he and I knew perfectly well that the reason that trio of heavyweights was coming all this way was me.
Heh heh heh.
Ohohohohoho...
"Guhuuhuuhut..."
"Stop that snickering. It's disgusting just watching you."
Elder Aldino scolded me for failing to restrain my overflowing joy and laughing out loud.
Ordinarily I would have felt hurt that he was even criticizing my smile, but right now even the Elder's scolding meant nothing to me.
Academy dispatch.
I kept grinning as I looked at the order in my hand.
A blessing I had never even hoped for had fallen into my grasp. I, who had been waiting for Tanian to come to the Holy Kingdom, could now go directly to where Tanian was.
And legally! Without any problem! Perfectly justifiably!
Tanian as a student.
My heart pounded. Not Tanian in priestly robes, but Tanian in a school uniform. Not Tanian praying among clergy, but Tanian laughing among his friends.
Just thinking that I would be able to see that Tanian made it impossible to stop smiling. Enen must have found me praiseworthy for all the hard work I had done for the Church and the faithful. There was no other way such happiness could have come to me.
The timing was perfect.
Around the time Elder Aldino's glare grew sharp, I forced the corners of my mouth down and checked the order again. In two days, the beatification of the Imperial Minister of the Inspectorate and his wife would take place. And once the beatification was complete, it was customary to deliver a cross and vestments blessed by His Holiness the Pope to the Blessed.
Of course, most of the Blessed were recognized after death rather than in life, so delivering the items directly to the Blessed themselves was extremely rare. In the vast majority of cases they were given to the Blessed's surviving family or descendants.
This time, however, the Blessed were alive, so I—Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints—would be going in person.
As expected of the Blessed.
The corners of my mouth that I had barely managed to lower climbed right back up. The Blessed truly were beings who had received divine favor. To bring joy to others simply by existing... They could have been canonized as Saints and it still would have been fine.
"Guhuuhuuhuuhut..."
"...Maybe I should have said I would go instead."
I heard Elder Aldino mutter, but I lightly ignored it.
An order stamped with His Holiness the Pope's personal seal had already been issued. No one could stop me from going to see Tanian—no, from going to pay my respects to the Blessed.
No one at all!
I shared the information with the foreign-born club members gathered in the clubroom. Your countries are sending heavyweights, so go play with them.
Fortunately, the dignitaries coming from each nation did not seem to have awkward relationships with the members. An ardent royalist, or a king's political partner—they would naturally get along fine with a prince as well. As for Cardinal Alexandriana, well, she seemed to be on the level of a Tanian devotee, so sticking Tanian to her should keep things from getting out of hand.
"Oh, my uncle is coming? I had heard someone would, but I never expected it would be him."
Ryutis's words, casually calling Count Nerkaf "Uncle," left me feeling pleased. If they were that close, they would entertain themselves just fine.
Which meant, I believed, that the frequency of them coming to bother me would also drop.