Close Encounter of the Fifth Kind
"Ah, Lieutenant!"
After lounging comfortably through the entire lecture, just as I was about to head back once it ended, I stopped at the sound of a voice calling me from behind.
I think I've heard that voice before, I thought, turning around. There stood a girl.
Her light blonde hair flowed long in low twin tails. Beneath those cascading streams sat the academy's gray uniform. She already had such a gentle look about her, and with those large, round glasses, she was the picture of a timid straight-A student.
Beni. The one who'd been sitting in the front row during the lecture.
"Miss Beni. What can I do for you?"
"Um, well..."
Our eyes met, and Beni quickly averted her gaze. The way it drifted toward my chest... probably just her trying to be polite.
"Ah, you're that new student from before. The one who got lost."
Naturally, Captain Yael Jeffrison, who was walking with me toward the faculty office, also stopped and looked her way. From the sound of it, the captain remembered seeing her at the café that day too.
"Thank you so much for that time!"
Hearing those words, Beni hurriedly bowed at the waist in thanks. Sure, it hid her face and mouth, but that was its own form of courtesy. Hiding the mouth—the core tool of yeongchang—signified "I have no intention of harming you." In other words, it was akin to a handshake from my past life and this one.
On my end, not looking at her mouth acknowledged her unilateral superiority. So what did it mean to bow one's head so deeply up close?
Truth be told, not covering the mouth was just manners; it had no real practical effect in neutralizing threats. Most spells couldn't be interrupted within ten seconds of yeongchang anyway—what good was blocking the mouth for an extra one or two seconds?
That was why Captain Yael, standing beside me now, was so highly regarded that she'd been parachuted into the academy. I'd once appraised her as someone who'd recreated Mister Wick in real life, but really, I needed to add a line: she'd done it with a single matchlock musket.
There were limits to shortening yeongchang times. Magic was like that—its peaks could upheave terrain, but in actual combat rather than war, it came with serious drawbacks.
That was why I, with my magic-specialized translation cheat, had chosen the warrior path anyway. And attempting assassination with magic right in someone's face? Unless you were exceptionally skilled in close quarters, you'd be subdued the moment you started chanting.
From that perspective... bowing so low that it covered the face—more precisely, exposing the crown of the head—was actually a sign of profound respect. It meant I didn't need to worry even if her mouth was covered. If I tried anything funny, she had full license to smash my skull right then...
Yeah, something like that. Taking it further, prostrating oneself expressed total submission, like "You could even stomp on me."
"Um... could we possibly talk for a moment...?"
Having shown her courtesy that way, Beni cautiously broached the main topic.
"Do you need some counseling?"
"Y-yes, well, not exactly... It's my friend. She really wants to talk to you, Lieutenant...! Not that I know you personally or anything...! I know this is incredibly rude...!"
I listened quietly to her story. But Beni, meeting my gaze, seemed terrified she'd offended me and started rambling on with excuses.
"Hm."
I got the gist of it. She'd been asked by her friend to introduce us... Our only connection was that one chance encounter where I'd shown her the way. We weren't close enough for proper introductions.
But apparently, her friend had caught a glimpse of me guiding Beni that day or something and assumed we were buddies. I'd sensed it from our chat before, and her expression now confirmed it... Beni seemed pretty introverted. Not the type to aggressively make friends.
Of course, that might just be my bias...
Still, for someone as socially awkward as her, a rare friendly connection must feel precious. Not wanting to disappoint her friend, she'd come trembling like this to ask me.
"Understood. That's no trouble at all."
Turning her down coldly after she'd gone this far felt wrong.
"R-really?!"
"If I brushed off a student who wants to talk, I'd be failing as a teacher. Though in my case, I'm just a lowly assistant instructor..."
Students approaching faculty first wasn't exactly common. I should be grateful. Especially when it was fresh-faced female college students who purified the soul just by looking at them, rather than some bumbling guy.
...Though by age, most first-years were my peers. Still, the "female college student" label had its exotic appeal.
Beni looked up at me with wide eyes. I nodded, meeting her gaze.
"So, about that friend of yours..."
"That's me!"
"...?"
...And now it was my turn to widen my eyes.
I'd known someone was hiding around the corner. They weren't hiding their presence at all. I'd even anticipated that Beni's "friend" would be waiting nearby.
But... the identity of the one who popped out was the problem.
"...Lady Groomha?"
Leopard-print... no, Riley Tiwe Kuntak, heir to Groomha County. She strode around the corner—or rather, jiggled her way over.
All eyes turned to her. Everyone, without exception, stared in wide-eyed shock.
Wait, why are you surprised?
This situation was unexpected enough, but Beni was reacting with surprise too.
"Count... you mean, the ruler of Groomha...?"
"That's right!"
"Miss Beni, did you really not know?"
"N-no... I knew she was from some rural area based on her looks, but I thought she was just a regular student..."
So she'd guessed Riley was from Groomha County but never imagined she was the leader's daughter.
...That was an absurd misunderstanding logically speaking. Why would an ordinary citizen from that barbaric tribal nation—practically an enemy state—enroll in the Imperial Academy?
If someone from there did show up, you'd assume some major political motive. And naturally, they'd be no ordinary person.
'I knew she was from the provinces, but I didn't realize she was that rural.'
But if that "logic" wasn't fully ingrained, things changed. Like if she was so backwater she bought into imperial propaganda like "Groomha is our vassal state."
Maybe Beni even had a thick accent. I couldn't tell since it all translated to standard speech in my ears.
"F-f-for-forgive my rudeness..."
"Huh? What's 'rudeness' mean?"
"...Pardon?"
"Angras words, hard."
Realizing too late the status of the "friend" she'd claimed, Beni bowed frantically, but Riley didn't seem to care at all.
Well, that was typical Groomha folk. Sure, they had their own hierarchies and protocols... but they never harbored grudges like Beni feared. If they felt offended, they'd scowl and demand an apology on the spot.
In other words, no reaction meant no need for a belated apology. They hadn't seen it as wrong or upsetting.
"So, you're the one who wanted to talk to me?"
No need to explain all that to Beni now. That could wait.
I lightly stroked the handle of my cane with my thumb and looked at Riley.
"......"
...She was a foreigner, but as next in line for succession, a little decorum wouldn't hurt, right? I rationalized it that way as I let my gaze drop to her chest.
Ah, I crave some leopard stew.
"That's right!"
"May I ask what this is about?"
"Huh? Can't it just be 'wanna talk'? Mom talked you up a lot, so I wanted to meet you."
"The Groomha Count, you mean."
I'd been admiring her chest with fond appreciation, but my expression stiffened at her next words.
"Yep. Praised you lots."
"That's... quite an honor."
Her mother could only be one person. The leader of those barbarians. The Groomha Count. She embodied the very concept of the "Groomha County"—distilled into liquid form. Simple, brutal, battle-loving... and insanely strong.
She'd once barged into a battlefield uninvited, smelling a fight, despite having no stake in it. I'd clashed with her once, and honestly, I never wanted a rematch.
It might sound like self-praise, but... the 2nd Combat Military Band was an elite special forces unit, honed by a centuries-old elf general. And she'd routed us single-handedly.
A monster, plain and simple. At this point, she transcended humanity into something else.
"She said I'd meet you if I enrolled here!"
"I... see."
As those traumatic memories bubbled up, Riley continued blithely—probably oblivious—with her confident, booming voice.
Of course, it wasn't her fault.
I nodded along appropriately.
"...Hm? Could you wait a moment?"
...Then I suddenly looked up at her face.
"You heard you could meet me here? And that's why you enrolled?"
"Yeah?"
The timeline was backward. My assignment was decided after her enrollment.
Well, Riley Tiwe Kuntak's enrollment wasn't the only reason I came to the academy. The Union Kingdom's princess enrolling led to the racist professor getting fired, and me filling the spot...
Even if they'd anticipated my dispatch by then, it wasn't impossible.
"Who told you that?"
"Well, of course... Hep?! They said not to say!"
Riley started to answer naturally but clamped her hands over her mouth in a panic.
"...I see."
It was that guy. The shadow puppeteering Groomha County, luring Lady Riley to the Imperial Academy. In that country, no one else could make that call.
I'd hoped to grab his tail, but... he wasn't dumb enough to leak info this easily.
I clicked my tongue inwardly.
Still, confirming his existence was progress. "Probably there" and "definitely there" were different.
I'll report this much, at least.
I wrapped up the conversation casually. They didn't plan to hold up the hallway long either and soon parted with a promise to talk later.
「...Regardless of that puppetmaster's intentions, doesn't it boil down to her coming to see you?」
"Yes. That's correct."
That afternoon, after summarizing and reporting the encounter.
「Satisfying that wish could lower her guard and create an opening.」
"Yes. That's correct."
「Then, if you stick close and melt her heart, a path forward might open?」
"Yes. Tha—that's... yes?"
Suddenly thrust into a honey-trap scenario(?) with an enemy nation's heir, I blanked out.