The Last Semester - 1
My final vacation of a lifetime had come to an end. From now on, I wouldn't hear the word "vacation" again until Cheotnun became an Academy student. The thought left me with a hollow, faintly wistful feeling.
"Are you sure it's all right for you to go? Wouldn't it be better to send another mage?"
"I can't very well ignore all the students who gathered just to see me. Besides, I was the one who said I would serve as lecturer through this year. I have to take responsibility for my own words."
Right up until the moment we left for work, I had tried to talk Trixie out of it. I failed.
It was a truly pitiful state of affairs. My wife was pregnant with triplets, and instead of letting her rest at home I was making her go to work. There could not be a more worthless husband in the entire world.
"Don't worry so much. I know my own body better than anyone. If it comes to it, I can just throw out a discussion topic and sit back and watch."
Still, she looked so confident that pushing any harder felt awkward. Using the excuse of caring for my wife to steamroll over her wishes would be completely backward.
Of course I was only accepting this because she was still in the early stages. If she had been even midway through the pregnancy, I wouldn't have tried to persuade her at all. Past the midpoint, it would be strict mansion rest and nothing else.
"Come on, let's go. At this rate we'll be late for the opening ceremony."
As if she had read the look in my eyes, Trixie smiled gently and took my hand—almost as if to say the subject was closed.
"All right. Let's go."
In the end I let out a small laugh and closed my fingers around hers.
Thinking about it, Trixie was probably worrying about her body just as much as I was. Her body no longer belonged only to her; it was mine as well, the future of House Catoban, and a blessing for the elves. She was not so reckless that she would treat such a treasure carelessly.
The idea that I alone had to worry about everything and solve everything was pure arrogance. I would trust Trixie and let it go.
Only until the second trimester, though.
It was a cliché, but if gazes possessed physical force, my body would already have been reduced to dust.
Stings.
I rubbed an arm that felt prickly for no real reason and casually lifted my eyes toward the ceiling.
The entire Academy was staring at me. I had thought I was used to attention by now—yet this kind of excessive scrutiny still made my heart pound no matter how many times I endured it.
Even so, I had braced myself for it and managed to keep a reasonably blank face. Trixie's pregnancy was already a celebrated piece of good news that had spread across the continent; of course the Academy's students and staff had heard. Being treated like a rare beast in a zoo throughout the entire opening ceremony was something I had prepared for.
Ugh.
The moment I lowered my gaze even slightly from the ceiling, however, that resolve nearly shattered. I had locked eyes with the blazing stares of the mages.
Those don't look like human eyes at all.
They were the eyes of beasts. Or fanatics.
The last time a human gaze had made me flinch had been that bastard Kagan. Even though these were plural rather than singular, I never expected the day would come when people would make me flinch again.
At least they aren't the eyes of obsessive fans.
Fortunately, the mages' feverish stares did not carry any "How dare you do that to our Lord!" emotion. If anything, they were closer to reverence directed at the hero who had given triplets to the Lord they worshipped.
Everyone knew that elven blood ran in Trixie's veins, and anyone who paid even a little attention knew that children between humans and elves were rare. The example of her father, the Duke of Transmission, already existed; there was no way people could be ignorant of it.
Even those who had congratulated us on our marriage had assumed that an heir would be a matter for the distant future. People who had fretted that the blood of Catoban—the Empire's greatest magic house—might die out had breathed sighs of relief and looked forward to better days.
And then, ta-da. Triplets, right after the wedding.
Yeah. I'm a hero, all right.
Children who would inherit the blood of the Magic Lord, the pinnacle of the magical world; children who would carry on the name of House Catoban.
Having produced such children, I was being treated among mages as something like a hero and honorary Tower Master. Strange, when you thought about it…
"That concludes the opening ceremony."
The headmaster's closing declaration rang out at just the right moment, so I hurriedly rose from my seat.
Objectively speaking, I fully deserved the mages' burning gazes. Subjectively speaking, I was terrified of when those lunatics might rush me.
Please, just don't let them charge into the clubroom.
The atmosphere at the Academy was quite lively.
"I've heard that House Catoban has always had few children, but that every single one of them was born with extraordinary talent."
"The previous Duke Servette was the greatest mage of his generation as well. These days there isn't a single paper that hasn't been influenced by his theories."
More precisely, a serious debate forum had opened with the mage students at its center.
It was only natural. A mage was someone who had chosen the path of magic of their own free will, and mages were beings filled with respect and awe for the Magic Lord who stood at the end of that path. Regardless of nationality, age, gender, or status, any mage paid close attention to the Magic Lord's words and actions.
And now the object of their deepest reverence had borne children. Considering that every member of House Catoban had always been an outstanding mage, it was a celebration for the entire continent's magical community.
"This is not a blessing bestowed upon a single house, nor the good fortune of a single nation. It is a continental celebration that transcends borders."
"Triplets? Then preparing three times the gifts will be more than enough!"
Yes—a celebration for the continental magical world. That was why the councilors of the Magic Council had all raised their voices the moment they heard of the Magic Lord's pregnancy.
As if that weren't enough, they had even looked at me with faintly envious eyes just before the semester began.
No matter how unpredictable the world is supposed to be…
This felt excessive.
I almost laughed out loud from the sheer absurdity. I had entered the Imperial Academy with the heart of a man going into exile, all so I wouldn't threaten my elder brother's succession rights. Somewhere along the way that decision had turned into a wise choice that earned me the envy of prestigious Magic Council members.
At least that wisdom was the wisdom of a mage rather than the wisdom of a politician. If it had been mistaken for the latter, what exactly would I have spent three years for?
Three years thrown away.
Of course that was only a manner of speaking. I had loved someone with all my heart, made good friends, and even received the Magic Lord's personal instruction. I could hardly call it time thrown away. On the contrary, I would never again have a period of my life more rewarding or enjoyable than this.
The last semester, huh.
The corners of my mouth that had been ready to snort in amusement had already twisted into a bitter smile.
If it were up to me I would stay at the Academy as an assistant instructor, but the school life I had enjoyed had been enjoyable precisely because I shared it with those other guys. Remaining alone in the Empire would be meaningless, and I shouldn't do it anyway.
I wonder who will win this semester's class competition.
The class competition—the only real event of the second semester—suddenly came to mind.
If I could claim victory in the final competition, I would never forget it even decades from now. This time I would give it my all.
"Just as the Magic Lord surpassed the Duke of Transmission, won't the next Duke Servette surpass His Excellency as well?"
"It's hard to imagine a mage greater than the Magic Lord."
In the meantime the mage students were having a rather interesting conversation.
It was definitely a topic that caught my interest. The odds were low, but if a mage superior to the Magic Lord ever appeared, what title would they even give them?
The Emperor is going to have a headache.
Whether the current one or a future one, someone was going to suffer.
The closer I got to the clubroom, the more a booming voice reached my ears.
I hadn't even seen the face yet, but I already knew who it belonged to. I had hoped the summer heat might have mellowed him a little during the vacation. Instead of suffering heatstroke, had he come back even stronger?
"Congratulations on the triplet pregnancy! Already four children are waiting for the day they can see Advisor-teacher and his wife!"
When I opened the door, sure enough, Ryutis was laughing heartily. No one else could produce a voice of that volume.
"Ah, and this is a small gift."
"I receive something every time I see you. Thank you."
Then, as if only just remembering, Ryutis held out a small box to the Advisor.
Damn.
I was a step behind him again this time. I had prepared a light gift myself—
"…Tofu cake?"
At the Advisor's voice, the hand that had been about to produce my gift froze solid.
That crazy bastard.
I quickly looked back and forth between the Advisor's face and Ryutis's. The Advisor's expression was, of course, faintly furrowed; Ryutis wore his usual bright smile.
I couldn't believe it. Giving a gift like that to the Advisor, who had bad memories involving tofu? I had thought he returned from vacation stronger. Turns out he hadn't gotten stronger—he'd just eaten heatstroke and come back broken.
"In Armein we use tofu cake in all sorts of ways! It's healthy food, and because the fragrance and taste are mild, expectant mothers can eat it without any burden. There's even a custom of eating it while wishing for the children in the womb to be born pure and spotless white!"
The problem was that the explanation Ryutis launched into next sounded surprisingly plausible. It felt too much like a genuine goodwill gift to get angry over, yet the past memories made it hard to just let slide.
"I see. Thank you."
Faced with that grotesquely awkward choice, the Advisor picked the former option.
Anyone watching could only feel sorry for him.
With trembling eyes I stared down at the tofu cake.
You cowardly bastard.
Internally cursing a certain red-haired son of a bitch, I quietly closed the lid. He had to go and use the pretext of "healthy food for pregnant women," so I couldn't even get properly angry.
What made it even more maddening was that I was half-convinced by Ryutis's reasoning. Food made from tofu really did seem like it would be good for an expectant mother and the babies.
"Um, Advisor."
"Hm? What is it?"
While I was still blank from the mental shock, Later's voice reached me and I lifted my head.
"I also prepared a small gift. The formal gift from Yuven is still being prepared, so this is truly just a light token, but—"
"It's fine. The thought is what matters with gifts."
I quickly scanned the object Later held out and allowed a faint smile.
Unlike the vicious tofu cake, it was an elegant rattle that gave off a soft bluish glow.
As expected, this one is more normal than Ryutis.
Of course, when a mage went crazy their peak was terrifying, but if you looked at average levels of insanity, mages were still better than knights.
From today onward, that was how I would think of it.