The Blacklist of Valen
The land blessed with abundant mana. Thanks to the rich mana flowing through the very earth, it was beloved by mages and rumored to produce an unusually high number of brilliant minds.
The capital of Veilran, the nation of scholars and mages, was Valen.
Three things made this place famous. The first was the Tower of Mages, where the greatest sorcerers gathered. The second was Signati, the ironclad walls that embodied every barrier spell those mages had ever devised. And the third was the enormous public library, said to rival even royal palace collections in scale.
The public library was renowned above all because its vast repository of knowledge was open to anyone. Commoners, ordinary citizens, nobles—anyone who sought knowledge was free to enter. That open-door policy had become a symbol of the nation itself.
Yet today, a certain unfortunate girl was being denied entry at the library’s front gate.
Me.
“I want to go in!”
I stomped my feet and threw a tantrum while the head librarian looked down at me with icy eyes. So my cuteness attack didn’t work. She was a formidable opponent!
She pushed her glasses up with her left index finger, her expression utterly cold.
“I’m afraid that’s impossible.”
“Why not? The library’s motto is that it’s open to everyone!”
I’d rushed here at dawn, worried I wouldn’t make it in time, only for the librarian to block me outright. She stared at my face for a moment, then pulled a scroll from her sleeve and unrolled it.
Rai, who had sidled up behind her at some point, kindly read the contents aloud in my mind as usual.
[August Blacklist Additions and Descriptions. Jeanie (10, female). Entered the city on the 22nd under the guarantee of the Shabel Mercenary Captain. Student of Drike Academy, the royal academy of Dmitry. Typical noble-type girl with blonde hair and blue eyes.
Special note: Carries a white snake in her arms.]
[What? They actually keep a list like that?]
[Rune Year 983, July 22nd. Caused a white-snake incident at an inn inside the city. Responsible for property damage and inciting a fight among mercenaries.
July 23rd. Central fountain explosion. The fountain was suddenly destroyed. No injuries, but construction is ongoing. Reports indicate a blonde girl used magic.
July 25th. Signati contact incident. An attack spell was fired at Signati, triggering an emergency. Witnesses reported seeing a blonde girl.]
Wow. As expected of the nation of scholars—their information network was terrifyingly fast.
[Same day. Jeanie’s white snake caused a disturbance by breaking into Ringsen Trading Company. They attempted to kill it, but it was too durable.
July 28th. Another fight at the inn due to the white-snake incident. Secondary damage occurred. Details unclear, but the parties reached an agreement. Jeanie was at the center of the conflict.
July 30th. Orc-herding incident.]
[Is this ever going to end, Rai?]
[This is the last one. Orc-herding incident. Unauthorized departure from the city on the grounds that Drike’s party was arriving soon. Pursued by four orcs and barely made it back. She is the focal point of the incident—exercise caution…… There were a few more, but I guess those didn’t get reported. Master!]
I had to shut my mouth as Rai’s voice replayed the events like a panorama in my head.
Tch. I’d only been experimenting with the fountain to see if higher pressure would make the water shoot higher—who knew it would actually explode?
As for the walls called Signati, I’d just been practicing spirit magic against them. The knights had overreacted and come running, screaming their heads off.
At Ringsen Trading Company, Rai had only gone to look for rare gems and got caught. He didn’t even eat anything, so why did they have to bully our poor snake like that?
I’ll admit I caused a little trouble.
That’s why I’d gone out to meet my party, feeling self-conscious. Who could have imagined there’d be orcs near the capital? Besides, I took down two of those four myself—there were originally six!
“Your name is Jeanie, affiliated with Drike Academy. Is that correct?”
While I was busy making excuses in my head, the librarian asked for my name.
I considered playing dumb, but for some reason denying myself didn’t sit right.
“Uh…… probably?”
“As expected, entry to this library will be difficult. I’m sorry, but please return—”
“Hic! I only wanted to gain knowledge. This is too much.”
[Undine, more tears. More!]
[Yes, Master!]
I discreetly summoned Undine with practiced ease and activated my eye-watering technique. This newly developed skill had proven surprisingly useful in all sorts of situations.
“Ah, um…… Well, that is……”
“I just…… sniff, wanted to read books. Hic!”
As I began to cry, fat tears rolling down my cheeks, the librarian panicked, unsure what to do.
“Sigh. This really isn’t allowed……”
“Hic hic.”
“……I suppose there’s no helping it. Stop crying and follow me. Here, wipe your tears.”
[Good work, Undine. You can go back now.]
[Yes, Master.]
I took the librarian’s hand, pretending to follow her in defeat. Once inside the library, I sent Undine away.
Inside I was doing a happy dance, but my acting skills had improved so much lately that none of it showed on my face.
***
By now the inn felt like home. I pushed open the familiar door and stepped inside to find my companions just finishing their meal.
Anel spotted me and smiled brightly.
“How was the library, Jeanie?”
“It was great! There were way more books than I expected. Lots of things I’d never seen before! I didn’t find what I was looking for, though.”
I clung to Anel’s lap as usual and chattered excitedly, but her expression seemed strangely dark.
“Why do you look like that, sis? Did something happen? Did someone disobey you? I’ll scold them for you!”
“……It’s not that. I’m sorry, Jeanie. It looks like we have to head back now.”
“Head back? What do you mean?”
“What do you think it means? We’re returning to Sharan. We got a new request.”
The one who answered wasn’t Anel, but Shabel, wearing his usual indifferent expression.
I couldn’t hide my shock.
“What about me?”
“Your party should arrive today or tomorrow, so just wait here quietly. I already told the innkeeper to keep feeding you……”
“No! You’re trying to abandon me!”
“Abandon you? People will get the wrong idea if they hear that!”
“You’re heartless! That’s why you’re still a bachelor!”
“……What does that have to do with anything? It’s already decided! We have to leave today. We need to make a living.
We’ve already stayed here three extra days because of you! You should thank Anel.”
I was stunned by the sudden news of the Shabel Mercenaries’ departure.
I’d assumed they’d stay with me until Drike’s group arrived. Of course I was grateful they’d stayed this long, but…… why did it hurt so much? Why were tears welling up again?
Shabel turned away from my trembling eyes and headed upstairs without looking back. The other mercenaries did the same—when I looked at them, they all fled.
“Waaah!”
“Jeanie……”
So I was the only one who’d gotten attached? That was it, wasn’t it? They’d all found me annoying.
Anel called my name worriedly, but I only answered with more tears.
Was I upset because Shabel was cold, or because Anel’s genuine sadness made it impossible for me to hold back? Or was it because the mercenaries’ faces looked just as miserable as mine?
“Jeanie, don’t think too badly of the captain. He worked hard for your sake too. He just can’t express it well…… but he said he was glad you were here. He’s also the one who suggested we stay longer since we had time before the next request.”
“……I’ll miss you.”
“Me too. I’m sorry. I wish we could stay longer…… Please understand, Jeanie.”
“Hic, hiii.”
That wasn’t Undine. Those were real tears.
I’d only caused trouble and acted selfishly, never properly thanking them, and now the farewell had come so suddenly. When Anel hugged me tightly, I couldn’t hold back any longer and burst into loud sobs.
Gratitude, guilt, disappointment, and longing for the mercenaries who had stayed in Valen nearly ten days because of me all mixed together until I couldn’t contain my emotions.
Even though I had memories from my past life, this body and brain were undeniably those of a ten-year-old girl. Sometimes I couldn’t stop my feelings from taking over.
Just like now—when I was truly sad, I became a child again. When I was truly happy, too……
“Sis! If we part now, when will we meet again?”
“The gods will help us. If fate allows, we’ll definitely meet again, Jeanie.”
Unlike nobles, Anel was a wandering mercenary from the jungle. There was no way I could send her letters, which only made me sadder. We had no way to stay in touch.
“Hey! Why’s the kid crying?”
“Who made the little one cry?”
The mercenaries gathered around my wailing form. I’d tormented them plenty, yet they still worried about me. It was touching—and a little sad to think my test subjects were disappearing.
Ah, scratch the test-subject part.
***
At the city gate, seeing the mercenaries off, I clenched my teeth to hold back the tears that threatened to fall again.
This damn child’s body—why did it always want to cry at the worst times?
“Sis, you have to write letters, okay? Send them to the academy!”
“I will, Jeanie. Enjoy the festival! Don’t get hurt. I’ll cheer for you from afar, all right?”
“Okay!”
The gatekeeper gripped the back of my neck tightly, clearly worried I might run outside the city again.
As if I’d drag more orcs here! Even I wouldn’t……
“Everyone, take care! Live long!”
“You too, kid!”
“Stay alive.”
“If you live long enough, we might meet again somewhere!”
In this world, telling someone to live long was the deepest way to say “see you again.”
I waved enthusiastically until Shabel’s group disappeared from view.
Leaving gratitude and longing behind, I promised myself we’d meet again someday, but parting still felt painfully unfamiliar.
By the time they were completely gone, I had cried more than ever before.
***
After crossing a small hill and losing sight of Valen’s walls, Signati, Anel finally let her tears fall.
“Hic!”
“Hey, Anel! Don’t worry too much. That kid’ll be fine.”
“Yeah. She’d survive even if you threw her into the Dark Empire of Koiran.”
“I know. But she’s only ten years old. How scared must she be all alone? Didn’t you see how much she kept crying? How could she……”
The mercenaries fell silent. None of them—except Anel—had escaped feeling their lives were in danger around that ten-year-old.
“Look over there, Anel.”
Shabel suddenly stopped his horse and pointed into the distance.
A group was approaching from the opposite direction. At their head flew a familiar flag.
A golden lion and eagle intertwined against a red background, soaring upward.
It was unmistakably the flag of Drike Academy.
It had been modeled after the royal crest—impossible to mistake.
“……Thank goodness.”
Anel’s face lit up with relief, tears still streaming down her cheeks.
“That kid’s weirdly lucky, isn’t she?”
Kenta chimed in at Shabel’s words.
“More than weird. Remember how shocked we were by that ogre? She’s got more lives than a cat.”
“With guts like that, she might make something of herself someday.”
“Yeah, yeah. She’s no ordinary kid.”
Though they felt wistful, none of them seemed particularly worried. Only Anel kept glancing back.
“She’ll be all right, won’t she? Someday…… I really want to see Jeanie again. I really do.”
Anel spoke wistfully, but none of the mercenaries shared her sentiment.
Unlike Anel, the Shabel Mercenaries were united in their hope that they would never meet Jeanie again.