The Emperor's Offer
The closer I drew to the Emperor, the more eyes locked onto me.
The spectators, the Royal Knights, the other winners standing behind me, and every last participant beyond them.
“I have a question for you.”
Finally!
“What exactly is a Spirit Master? Explain it yourself.”
“...You wish me to explain about Spirit Masters, Your Majesty?”
“How does it differ from a mage, specifically?”
“Would it be presumptuous for someone as inexperienced as myself to—”
“Watching your match stirred my interest quite naturally.”
I was grateful he’d taken an interest in spirits, but all I wanted was to make my damn wish and leave. I could feel my patience running dangerously low.
Still, I had to endure. The man before me was the Emperor. The Emperor.
One rude gesture and my head could roll. The reminder made fresh patience surge through me like a miracle.
When my life was on the line, I could be remarkably well-mannered.
“If we use water as an example, a mage imposes rules upon it. A Spirit Master grants it life.”
“Oh?”
“A spirit is the very origin of water. Because we command spirits with powerful intent, the result is functionally the same as commanding water itself.”
I paused.
I had no idea how far I was supposed to go. I was a student, not a lecturer.
But a quick glance at his face told me I needed to continue. Until His Majesty was satisfied.
“The more a Spirit Master becomes one with their spirits, the greater the power they wield. This allows us to manipulate water in far more varied ways than mages can.
We can of course cast the water magic you already know, yet ours is more fundamental—and far stronger—than a mage’s spells.”
“It almost sounds as though you’re claiming Spirit Masters are superior to mages.”
“We are simply different. Mages have their own strengths.
While most Spirit Masters delve deeply into a single attribute, mages command every element.”
“Hmm?”
“I only handle water spirits, but mages can impose rules on fire, water, wind, earth, lightning, light—every visible thing in our world.
We are deep but narrow. They are wide but shallow.”
The fact that I contracted both Rai and Adore made me an exception. Mostly because I happened to be a genius in this field.
“Fascinating. And quite clever.”
“Thank you.”
“In truth, after seeing you, I grew curious and summoned the imperial Spirit Masters.”
An empire would naturally have a few. But why call them?
“Every last one of them was deeply impressed. They marveled at how a child so young could command spirits with such freedom.
They judged that you have already surpassed the realm of adulthood. In swordsmanship, it would be comparable to… Lord Robenin.”
“You flatter me far too much.”
“Did you know? You are the first Spirit Master to ever compete in this tournament.”
“...I was not aware.”
I had simply assumed I was the only Spirit Master participating. I rarely paid attention to my surroundings.
“And not only did you compete—you won the championship. How utterly unprecedented. Especially with such ease…”
What was this Emperor getting at?
A vague anxiety began to coil in my stomach. A very fierce anxiety.
“The imperial Spirit Masters petitioned me. They said a talent like yours belongs in the empire.”
W-was this… a public scouting?
My breath caught. Cold sweat prickled across my skin.
Were all these empire folk collectively drunk on imperial supremacy? Was that why they were being so obnoxiously persistent?
Did they honestly think I’d cry “What an honor!” and happily naturalize into Elan?
Of course, past winners had often wished for imperial titles, but I had zero interest.
Besides, I was ten years old.
“What do you say?”
“...I’m afraid I don’t understand what you mean.”
I played dumb for the moment.
I couldn’t read the Emperor’s true intentions.
“It means you may wish to become a member of the empire.”
A confirmation strike. How generous.
I had definitely seen a massive crowd before I knelt, yet now not a single breath could be heard. It felt as though the entire arena was holding its silence, waiting only for my answer.
“...I…”
My lips had gone bone-dry.
“I do not desire such an excessive honor.”
“You do not desire it?”
“I am grateful for the words, but I hold no dissatisfaction with the land of my birth.”
Did I refuse properly? Or am I dead?
I hated the idea, so I’d turned it down indirectly, but I was terrified I might have offended the Emperor’s mood.
As his shadow drew steadily closer, my heart began to hammer.
“Above all, this girl is still young. I do not wish to be separated from my parents.”
I’d thrown my parents under the carriage without hesitation—those same parents who never even opened my letters and simply shoved them in a drawer—because it was the most plausible excuse.
“Hmm. Dmitry’s brainwashing is thorough, I see.”
Fortunately, the Emperor seemed to accept the answer.
After all, while I might be a somewhat tempting talent, I wasn’t valuable enough to make the ruler of the world fly into a rage over losing me.
Feeling my life dangle on a single word from a man of power, I renewed my vow to stay out of the spotlight. I had no desire to get dragged into political games and shredded like cheap meat.
“Come closer.”
Was he angry? Was he going to kill me?
I’d heard the Emperor was rather cruel, so I could only tremble harder.
Getting this close to him had never been part of my practice. When he stepped so near that the tips of his shoes nearly touched mine, a particular kind of terror began to bloom inside me.
It was the heavy fear that came from having no idea why the situation was spiraling this way.
“The knights reported there is a young girl who saved my son.”
“...Pardon?”
“A golden-haired girl. They said she was a Spirit Master.”
His voice was so low only I could hear it.
Yet it carried weight and power—a solid, resonant whisper.
Blasphemously, I looked up at the Emperor with a dazed face.
He hadn’t given permission to raise my head, yet I met his eyes anyway and drank in those vivid golden irises.
Would Ash grow up to have a face like that?
“I also heard she was part of the academy’s representative delegation.”
“......”
“A rare combination, is it not? Impossible to miss.”
When I saw the Emperor’s eyes curve into a languid smile, I felt a huge wave of relief. I probably wasn’t going to die.
“To be honest, I feel like granting you anything. I wanted to give you the very best, yet you refused.”
Excuse me, Your Majesty? Isn’t the assumption that an imperial noble title is “the very best” a little too arrogant?
I kept my mouth shut. I liked my head attached.
“Then, as champion, what wish will you ask of me?”
I had only just relaxed when the question I’d been waiting for finally came.
Since the Emperor already seemed to know so much about me and Ash, I held onto the hopeful thought that he would accept my request without difficulty.
For a moment, anyway.
“What I desire is an audience with Your Majesty’s second son, His Highness Eron de Pon Ephiros.”
I finally spat out the words I had kept buried inside.
After circling around so much just to say this one sentence, the relief that washed through me was immense.
But the Emperor showed no reaction whatsoever.
I immediately recognized it as rejection.
“Denied.”
Honestly, it felt like a slap to the back of my head.
Why!
I couldn’t shout it out loud, so I simply filled my eyes with raw injustice.
“The Second Prince currently resides in the Palace of Silence.”
“...What is the Palace of Silence?”
Right. Of course. Asking a question without the Emperor’s permission was, strictly speaking, a crime.
This was so damn picky. Seriously.