Chapter 23. The Hero's Party's Mage (1)
Chapter 23. The Hero's Party's Mage (1)
Ymir was in a thoroughly foul mood.
She was already buried in personal research, and now an uninvited guest had forced their way into her laboratory.
"It's been a while, Ymir. Have you been well?"
"Get out."
Ymir moved to slam the door shut.
Berdia wedged her hand into the gap and muscled it back open with sheer force, stepping inside without waiting for permission.
"......Goddammit, you really are just a musclehead with nothing but brute force."
"It seems the one with the problem here is you, not me."
"Sure, sure, I bet it feels great winning a strength contest against a mage."
"I didn't say that as a mage. I said it because I think it's purely a lack of exercise...... When was the last time you went outside?"
"Haven't set foot outside since you left."
So she'd been holed up in this room for over half a year.
Ignoring the party the kingdom had assigned to her for all that time was one thing — but the fact that she had no other meaningful interactions with anyone was hard to wave off as mere social ineptitude.
"Ymir. I've said it before, but no matter how important it is to focus on your research, you still need stamina even for mental work. I'm not saying exercise, exactly, but I think you at least need to loosen up those stiff muscles......"
"Enough. What in the world am I supposed to do with looser stiff muscles?"
Ymir couldn't keep Berdia out, but she whipped her head sharply away — as if she couldn't stand the sight of her.
With that motion, her chest swayed violently enough to pull the eye, and Berdia's gaze flickered briefly downward.
Even through the helmet, Ymir knew perfectly well.
Everyone who faced her looked there first. Every single one.
"......Hey, paladin."
"Ahem. My apologies."
With a dry cough, Berdia turned back to face Ymir properly.
As she followed her deeper into the darkened room, she surveyed the mountains of books and documents piled up around them.
"If that's the case, wouldn't it do you good to at least pay a little attention to your appearance?"
"Hah. And who exactly am I supposed to pretty myself up for?"
Maybe it bothered her that much — seeing someone throw away a "weapon of womanhood" she herself had never possessed.
But as it happened, Ymir had long since stopped living as a woman. To her, these grotesque lumps of fat were just dead weight dragging on her shoulders.
"You were chosen for the hero party, after all. Learning to manage how others perceive you will eventually become necessary."
"When that day actually comes, other people will dress me up anyway~ It's not like I wanted any of this. I only went along with it because everyone kept nagging me."
Ymir swept the cluttered desk roughly clear with one arm and set a thermos and two cups on top, her words dripping with sarcasm.
A thermos of leftover coffee.
Hardly proper hospitality for a guest, but for her, even this took considerable effort.
If she didn't offer at least this much, that musclehead might pin her down and force her to her knees for a sermon.
"Honestly, even a scholar can't do peaceful research without interference. This world really is impossible to feel any attachment to."
"I wish you'd say that only after trying, even a little, to form an attachment."
"Yeah, yeah, I'm sorry for being a shut-in hermit who's cut herself off from the world~"
Ymir clicked her tongue and slouched lower.
The moment her chest settled onto the tabletop and the weight eased off her shoulders, the sneer carved into her lips deepened.
"You're truly something, sending official notices over and over to someone like me~ Anyone else would've given up by now, after being ignored this much."
"I cannot give up. The hero party is an absolutely essential existence for humanity, and you have been selected as its cornerstone."
"...That's exactly what pisses me off. There are plenty of other mages, so why force it on me of all people."
Her goal had been to earn the title of Grand Archmage by proving her research achievements. But because some brat around her age had been chosen as the hero around the same time, she'd been conscripted into the party — for no reason other than the idea that the two of them could foster each other's growth.
"...Lumping me together with that snot-nosed brat. There's a limit to how absurdly maddening this gets."
It wasn't a sentiment she ought to voice about the hero, but Ymir carried enormous pride in having climbed to the rank of Grand Archmage.
She'd even ground her own youth to dust to reach this height. And yet the other party, simply because she'd been chosen as the hero, was now running one of the Ten Strongest of the Continent around like her personal servant......
How could that not breed resentment on every possible level?
"It is certainly wrong to place you on the same level as her, given that you received the Grand Archmage title at much the same age. One day she will grow enormously — but not today."
Berdia answered evenly, as if she understood that point well enough.
But as she continued, her attitude shifted past cool composure into something businesslike and detached.
"However, from what I have looked into, Ymir — I've heard that you are currently on the verge of being stripped of that Grand Archmage title......"
Which was only natural.
She'd come here for strictly official reasons, and personal feelings had to be set aside for the greater cause.
"The title of Grand Archmage bestowed by the Magic Tower can only be maintained if you produce commensurate results each year. Yet since receiving the title, you have submitted no reports of note to the academic community...... If you provide support to the hero party, you could pause that deadline under the justification of official duties — but if you refuse to cooperate, we on our side will have no choice but to report your noncompliance to the academic community."
"Ha. Haha. You're threatening me with that — do you really think I'd be swayed by some title?"
"The title may not matter. But the stipend that comes with it does."
"......."
"......Yes. Research costs a great deal of money, after all."
Berdia pushed aside the cup placed before her and laced her fingers on the desk.
Her eyes were so sharply honed you'd never guess this was a conversation between comrades.
"Ymir, you always say you focus only on personal research and keep your distance from everyone, myself included — but in truth, the funds and support that research requires all flow from this Magic Tower...... and ultimately from the kingdom's taxes. If the results produced from those funds are not of 'immediate' benefit to humanity, then we too have no choice but to resolve ourselves to such lengths to move you."
She sincerely hoped these words would not have to become a notice rather than a warning.
At that grim tone laden with implication, Ymir raked her disheveled black hair back roughly and slammed the table.
"I know that, I know it, so quit lecturing me!"
"Does that mean you will follow me to that child's side?"
"Fine, fine, I'll go this instant if that's what you want. Hell, I'll even kindly blast a highway all the way to the Demon King's castle for you. After that, chop off the Demon King's head or whatever......"
It was colossal confidence, but no one would dismiss it as empty bravado.
No matter how lacking her social skills were, she was a genius who had upended the academic world with discoveries made at an age when she'd barely become an adult.
"......Haa. Honestly, this is the most critical phase of my research right now. Why did they have to pick this exact moment."
But even so, she was still a human living with finite time.
When even the funds and temporal leeway gained through the Grand Archmage title felt insufficient, concerning herself with anything outside her research was bound to leave her bitter.
Her obnoxious attitude might well come across as deeply grating.
"If jumping in immediately doesn't sit well with you, then the news I'm delivering now might be a bit more welcome."
Yet Berdia paid no mind to Ymir's attitude. Instead, she showed a faint smile, as though she understood perfectly.
Seeing a woman who almost never smiled actually do so sent a chill down Ymir's spine.
Instantly on guard, she pushed her glasses up and asked cautiously.
"......Welcome? What do you mean?"
"As you said, Serika is still inexperienced. If she relies too heavily on a mage's assistance at this stage, a great hole will open up in the qualities she needs as the hero. That child must first learn to overcome the dangers she faces under her own power...... That is my current judgment."
"Ah, is that so? In that case, since her growth isn't yet complete, I would be very much obliged if you'd leave me in peace......"
"I cannot do that. Serika is not the only one the party has to look after."
After speaking those words, her smile grew only clearer.
On her face, as if she were recalling someone, emotions Ymir never thought she'd see were gradually becoming more pronounced.
"I'll tell you now, while we're on the subject: the current party consists of myself, Serika, and Ymir...... And aside from the one who has yet to return from the Great Forest, we are considering recruiting one more."
"...An additional party member?"
"Yes. An adventurer hopeful that Serika brought along. Officially he is in charge of miscellaneous tasks, but since he and Serika get along well, we are considering bringing him in as a permanent party member once his proficiency rises."
"......Ah. Is that so."
To Ymir, it was a story of no consequence.
Whatever the party size grew to later, she figured it didn't matter so long as no one bothered her.
"But what about this additional party member?"
Right. So long as no one bothered her.
"While I take full charge of mentoring Serika, I want you, Ymir, to spend some time interacting with him."
"......What."
"I said I want you to take the time to grow acquainted as future party members."
Damn it.
Welcome news, her ass. So in the end, she was saying she'd stick her with babysitting the new recruit?
"Of course, you're free to refuse. But if that happens, the report on your uncooperative attitude will......"
"Fine, I got it! I'll play along — happy now?!"
Ymir shouted in irritation and reluctantly began packing her things to follow Berdia out.
Other people's stares, titles — none of that mattered. But research took money.
'Damned money. The root of all evil, I swear.'
Fine. She'd just think of it as earning research funds.
At the time, Ymir took it that lightly and simply went along.
***
But now, standing in the present that waiting had delivered her to —
Ymir could not help but feel no small measure of disgust as she took in the man who was supposed to be her new comrade.
"What the hell. It's a guy."
"......Did I not mention it?"
"No. You didn't."
Her brain must really be packed with muscle if she forgot something this important.
Annoyed, Ymir studied the man standing there blankly.
'Goddammit. It's already a pain having only women in the party, so why in the hell has some random guy barged in.'
-Jiggle.
A shiver of displeasure ran through her, and her quivering chest — the very thing that had captured the gazes of so many men before — would be no exception for the one standing in front of her now.