An Audience with the King
I was still chewing a mouthful of bread when the shout came.
“Undine!”
“Uuuung?”
The people lined up behind Teacher Iel were all staring at me with terrifying intensity. The dean, who I was somewhat acquainted with, the vice-dean, and several elderly spirit masters I’d seen a few times before.
“That one! Summon that one right now!”
“The water spirit!”
“Let’s have a look!”
Only then did I finally understand the situation. I’d wondered why they were suddenly causing such a commotion—it turned out they’d come to see Undine.
Well, my Undine is pretty cute. I’d been scared half to death thinking I was about to get scolded.
“Undine.”
My throat was dry anyway, so I needed the water. I picked up a cup from the table and called her name. Water droplets rushed together in midair, forming the shape of a splashing mermaid. It was my small water spirit, Undine.
The moment she was summoned, she simply looked at me.
“Some water here…”
I held out the empty cup, and Undine gave a tiny nod before filling it to the brim. As if it were the simplest thing in the world. It wasn’t exactly free when you considered the mana it cost, but the sight was utterly fascinating.
Water had risen from the very bottom of an empty cup.
“Ooh!”
“How marvelous.”
One of the teachers even pushed up his glasses as he exclaimed in awe.
“So this is a spirit? It’s my first time seeing one in the flesh.”
“Ahem, I’m a professional myself, but it’s been a long time since I’ve seen an Undine this distinct! Look at her! Such beautiful clarity.”
“They don’t usually appear in such delicate forms.”
“Incredible. To have reached this level at only ten years old…”
Listening to their gasps of admiration directed at Undine, I squared my shoulders and drank the water. Maybe it was just my mood, but it tasted unbelievably good. Clean and refreshingly cool.
“Thanks, Undine.”
Plop.
“It’s the best water I’ve ever tasted!”
Undine shook her little head as if embarrassed. Completely won over by that cuteness, I instantly shoved the fact that my first contracted spirit had actually been Rai to the farthest corner of my mind.
Very, very far back.
My first spirit is Undine! That’s right! Undine is the best! The cutest in the whole world! My heart’s own fairy!
Ah. I’d almost added another candlestick to the dining hall collection.
“Hic.”
I realized all over again that I’d gotten far too full of myself. I clutched my unsettled chest and hiccuped. What kind of sudden lightning bolt was this?
Just because I’d contracted a lower spirit, I had to have an audience with the king!
The moment I opened my eyes that morning, I was abruptly dragged off to the royal palace. I should have run away the instant the dean and Iel—dressed to the nines—knocked on my door! I should have fainted when the home tutor who came with them peeled my half-asleep body out of bed and stuffed me into pretty clothes.
Why hadn’t I done any of that?
The royal palace, which I was seeing for the first time, was far larger and more majestic than the academy. Knights stood at perfect attention everywhere I looked.
Whoa, it’s been a while since I’ve been to the palace.
You’ve been here before?
A very long time ago. I ate an orichalcum crown back then, and the humans thought a thief had broken in and caused an absolute uproar…
Don’t eat anything here!
I gripped the scarf brooch where Rai was staying, but my heart kept hammering wildly.
Why was I so nervous? It was just meeting one person. Sure, that person happened to be the king, but still…
Yes. The other party was the king. One wrong word and my head could fly off. The smallest rudeness and my hand might be chopped off.
Besides, I was a student at the Royal Drike Academy—the place that was essentially the king’s personal training ground for his elite forces. I’d been brainwashed about His Majesty’s greatness since I was tiny.
The brainwashing I thought I’d laughed off and ignored apparently still had some effect. Look at me shaking like this.
“Hic!”
“Calm down, Jeanie.”
“How am I supposed to calm down? This is all way too sudden!”
“Hehe, there’s absolutely no need to be nervous. You’re here to be praised.”
The white-bearded dean tried to soothe me gently, but it wasn’t easy to settle down. Right before this they’d crammed one hundred and twenty-four examples of unforgivable rudeness toward the king into my head, confiscated anything even slightly pointy I was carrying, and now I was walking down a path surrounded by armed knights.
I had to cling to the dean’s collar and shuffle along timidly.
I’d never thought of myself as particularly cowardly, but it seemed I did understand the value of my own life.
To me, this unfamiliar and strict royal palace felt as precarious as walking across thin ice.
It was a solemn place where acting as freely as I usually did might get my head chopped off.
“When I told His Majesty about you, he found you most admirable.”
If I’m admirable twice I’ll have a heart attack! Why are you putting me through this ordeal?
“There is no record of anyone summoning a spirit at only ten years old, not even in the empire. So it’s only natural that His Majesty wishes to see you. You may straighten your shoulders. His Majesty greatly cherishes talented individuals.”
Passing the corridor of knights while tense to the point of bursting, we reached a vast garden.
Rose vines filled the air with such thick fragrance that it made my nose tingle, their overwhelming scent dizzying my eyes. Roses of every color—red, white, pink, yellow—only intensified the effect.
After walking a little farther into the garden, I saw an arch-shaped outdoor terrace in the distance, so beautiful it looked like a work of art.
And in front of it, yet another formation of knights. The palace seemed to be nothing but knights no matter where you went. Here, they were layered especially thick.
I knew it instinctively. The king was at the center, the place the knights were guarding most carefully.
My breathing grew shallow. None of this felt real. To think I would actually see the king I’d heard about until my ears practically had calluses.
The strongest knight in the Dmitry Kingdom, a seasoned Sword Master, and the kingdom’s absolute ruler.
Dikel III.
In this strictly hierarchical noble society, I had been relatively lucky to be born a noble. To someone like me, the king was inevitably an overwhelming existence. He would be the highest-ranking person I could ever meet.
Of course the emperor of the empire would rank higher, but I was a citizen of Dmitry. Therefore, my king was Dikel III alone.
An existence I had been serving from the moment I was born. The pillar and root of this country.
What the king meant to me—I had to decide that right now.
“Give your greetings, Jeanie.”
While I was still wrestling with my emotional turmoil, someone gave me a sudden push from behind.
So rudely that I ended up looking straight up at the king. I was a small child, and he was a large man standing with the sun at his back.
The king was stronger, more beautiful, and clearer than any human I had ever seen. Simply by standing there, he overwhelmed his surroundings, claimed them, and ruled them. It wasn’t hard to understand that this was what they called charisma.
I’d heard he was middle-aged, but he looked far younger. His trained body and mind shone proudly in his eyes.
His blue hair sparkled in the sunlight as if he wore a halo. His seemingly indifferent expression carried such boldness that it truly seemed worthy of a king.
The first emotion that rose inside me was fear. Admiration and awe quickly followed.
“Jeanie?”
“Hurry and greet him.”
Dikel III made me want to shrink away, yet at the same time made it impossible not to look at him. From the king, I felt an indescribably clear and powerful aura.
Spirit masters tend to have strong intuition, and I was no exception.
And right now my instincts were telling me that the king…
“So you are Jeanie Crowell.”
“……”
“They say you are a fine talent. It is truly something to be proud of. I am glad to meet a young subject of mine after so long.”
A large hand settled on the head of the girl who stood there with wide eyes, not even offering a greeting.
Gently. Kindly. When the king looked at me and smiled with friendly warmth, I… felt a strange sensation.
In that instant, I felt like I had become the king’s captive.
How could anyone be so strong and noble? The wonder one feels when seeing perfection—I felt it from my king. My king was truly magnificent.