A Letter to My Beloved Master
I sat by the sunlit window and lazily picked up a pen. Resting my chin in my hand while staring down at the stationery, I felt as if my elegance was shining brighter than usual today.
To my beloved Master Iel.
Dear and respected teacher, this is your one and only lovely and adorable disciple, Jeanie Crowell. I hope you have been well without any trouble.
I write this letter hoping you will not be too startled upon receiving it. It seems rumors of my death are swirling darkly through the world, which is truly a sad affair. As it happens, I am still stubbornly alive and perfectly well.
I believe you will be glad to know I am safe, Master. Since I am sending this anyway, allow me to share one more piece of joyful news. It concerns a girl named Einy who will deliver this letter to you.
She is the daughter of my benefactor, whom I met by chance in the jungle. And astonishingly, she possesses remarkable talent for spirit magic. Therefore, I have brought her out into the world for you, Master, who has a gift for teaching.
Is it not truly touching? This must be the first time you have received such a present, yes? A talented student is a priceless treasure that cannot be bought with money.
A disciple like me, who gifts her master with such a student, probably does not exist anywhere else in the world. I repeat, there is no need to be overly moved. It really is nothing at all.
I know you have been training arduously for the past several years in hopes of contracting an upper spirit, yet I understand there has been no progress. At times like these, a change of pace is necessary.
I pray you will discover new happiness by teaching a gifted child.
Please do not misunderstand this as me shoving her onto you simply because teaching children is too bothersome for me. As you know, I am simply not suited for young children.
In any case, I hope Einy does not interfere with your training, Master.
Your disciple who died and returned to life, Jeanie Crowell.
After finishing, it felt a bit too curt. I tapped my chin a few times with the feather on the end of the pen before adding a little more.
P.S. I am enclosing a few jewels I received as a gift from the dragon. Please accept them as a small token of my sincerity.
I fetched an empty pouch and had Rai fill it.
Rai spat out dozens of fist-sized jewels with rhythmic clinks, like a vending machine in front of an elementary school. He looked every bit as proud as a goose that laid golden eggs.
[Should I spit out more?]
“Hmm. Do you think this is enough to show sincerity?”
[What could you even buy with this?]
“You could probably purchase a large mansion in the suburbs.”
[Ugh, that’s mere pocket change. We have our dignity! Let’s add a bit more!]
“Shall we? Pour it in!”
Since nothing showed sincerity like something that sparkled, I ended up stuffing the pouch with enough top-grade jewels to buy a grand estate, hire ten servants, and keep them employed for a hundred years.
Once the pouch was satisfyingly plump, I folded the letter with a pleased expression. That was when a knock sounded at the door.
“Come in.”
While I slipped the letter into an envelope and sealed it with wax, the person who entered walked respectfully up to the table, dropped to one knee, and placed a hand over their heart to catch my attention.
“Honored Saint, all preparations are complete.”
“Already?”
“Yes. Shall we go together?”
It was a palace mage dispatched urgently from the royal court.
At first glance, the long, flowing green robe made it hard to determine their gender, but the voice suggested a middle-aged woman.
“You can just call me by name, you know.”
“How could I possibly dare utter the Saint’s honored name?”
True to her position as a palace mage, she was extremely rigid. I gave up on casual address and rose from my seat.
Before leaving the room, I placed something heavy on the wax to ensure the envelope stayed sealed. The nearby pouch of jewels served perfectly as a paperweight.
“Let’s go. We mustn’t keep His Majesty waiting.”
“Wise words indeed.”
The destination was close.
We left the room, walked down the corridor for a short while, and arrived at another door guarded by Hansen.
It was the room Hansen had claimed as his quarters, though he had temporarily yielded it for the communication.
“Shall we enter?”
“And Sir Hansen?”
“I will stand guard outside.”
The moment felt strangely solemn because communicating with the king of a nation was no simple matter.
Everything was classified, so security was tight. The dedicated mage assisting with the communication maintained a strictly businesslike attitude without any small talk.
I exchanged a brief glance with Hansen before stepping inside. The interior had the same layout as my room but was decorated differently.
The slight sense that I had come for a fortune-telling session came from the crystal ball on the table and the uniquely dim atmosphere of a communication chamber with all windows covered.
The scent of incense burning here and there strongly tickled my nose. It was the usual fragrance burned in places with many mages, said to enhance concentration and mana sensitivity.
It smelled like old books, but I disliked it because of the appetite-suppressing side effect.
Perhaps the reason most mages were so scrawny was their excessive fondness for this incense.
“Saint, please sit here.”
I wish she would stop calling me Saint, but it seemed unavoidable.
Following the mage’s guidance, I sat across from her and glanced around.
The communication chamber I had visited at the Magic Tower before had also been darkened like this. It was probably to make the other person’s image clearer through the crystal ball.
Magic is unscientific, yet this part is strangely practical.
As I sat quietly watching the communication preparations, I naturally noticed something.
A magic circle was drawn right beneath my feet.
It was the invisible kind, but I could roughly discern its shape through the flow of mana.
Let’s see… a basic circle for condensing mana, and a communication circle for creating coordinates… I don’t recognize that one. It looks like an activation type, though.
Since magic wasn’t my specialty, I only understood the general idea. Still, I could tell this palace mage who had completed all preparations in just three hours was exceptionally skilled.
If I had been the one drawing these circles, it would have taken four or five days. Had they asked me to do all this, I would have blown up the inn instead of drawing magic circles.
Using this circle as a one-time consumable felt like a waste in many ways. But given the scale of the royal palace, I supposed it couldn’t be helped…
“Are you ready?”
The mage spoke to me as I was looking elsewhere. I turned to her—or rather, to the shadow cast beneath her robe—and nodded.
When I had visited the Magic Tower, they had hung a cloth between the mage and me so we couldn’t see each other’s faces. This time, however, we sat completely exposed to one another.
“Anytime.”
“Then I will begin. Please look at the orb.”
The mage’s pale hand emerged from her wide sleeve and gently stroked the orb as if petting an animal’s head. The magic circle at our feet reacted all at once. The mana that had been scattered like air began rearranging itself according to certain rules.
Light swirled inside the orb like a vortex.
“Connection will be established shortly.”
A subtle wave emanated from the mage with a soft hum, lifting my hair into the air. It slowly settled back down. The sensation was remarkably similar to static electricity.
“You may speak now.”
The fading light within the orb signaled that the connection had been made.
I stared into the orb, but instead of an image, only a voice emerged.
Identity verification will now be performed. Please look directly at the orb.
This should be fine, right? There wasn’t anything like this when I spoke with the dean.
Your name?
“Jeanie Crowell.”
Confirmed communicator. Lady Jeanie Crowell, the password.
“The golden sword does not rust.”
It shall shine forever.
“Glory to our homeland.”
Thank you for your cooperation.
As expected, even with prior arrangements, communicating with the king was no easy feat. It seemed the call did not connect directly to him but passed through an inspection agency first.
That would make eavesdropping or recording impossible, making it ideal for confidential conversations… though I wasn’t sure my discussion warranted such measures.
A familiar figure—Dikel III—faintly appeared within the translucent orb.
“Jeanie Crowell greets Your Majesty the King.”
Before his image fully sharpened, I rose from my seat and bowed deeply in greeting.
[You.]
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
[Raise your head.]
It was our first meeting since that nightmarish party—fully four months later.
The king who had called me in that urgent voice still possessed a robust face.
Thank goodness. I offered a small smile.
[It really… is you.]
“You look surprised.”
[How could I not be? Everyone believed you were dead.]
“The heavens didn’t help, but here I am, alive and well.”
My survival was entirely thanks to my own efforts. The king seemed to take it as a joke to lighten the mood. He let out a hearty laugh and gestured for me to sit comfortably.
As I sat down and pulled my chair closer, the king’s image became perfectly clear.
[You look a bit gaunt. Are you in good health?]
Beyond the head-sized orb, I could see the king seated somewhere, just like me.
“People have mentioned I seem to have lost weight… but I am healthy. It’s probably because I couldn’t eat properly for a while.”
[Goodness. Did the dragon starve you?]
“Not exactly.”
The dragon had tried to feed me monster meat and had even attempted to eat me, but it never starved me. I had been forced to be completely self-sufficient, and the only edible things in the forest were jerky, jerky, and more jerky.
[I cannot even imagine what you must have gone through.]
Of course he couldn’t, since I had taught magic to a dragon. But if I told the truth, Adelaide might appear behind me at any moment and tear me into eight pieces. So I decided to only share stories that would preserve the dragon’s dignity.
“Fortunately, the dragon was a noble being who understood mercy. The fact that I am alive is proof enough.”
[Is that so? At the empire’s party that day, it seemed quite upset…]
“Ahem! Ah, it brings me such joy to see that Your Majesty is safe. What greater reward could there be? Is everyone else well? Were there no injuries?”
At my rapid questions, the king seemed not to notice that I had changed the subject.
[Thanks to you, everyone is safe. I should have said this first… Thank you.]
“You flatter me.”
[You are the savior of my life.]
“I only did what I could…”
For a moment, I couldn’t continue. I had been speaking casually when the king, who had been gazing at me intently through the orb, clasped both hands on the table and bowed his head deeply. Cold sweat broke out across my back.