Chapter 12
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 12
Chapter Title: Inspector (1)
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"Hmm."
I left His Imperial Majesty's residence with a complicated mix of emotions. In my hand, I clutched a scroll he'd handed me.
▶ First: Become stronger than Ether.
▶ Second: Become more precious than Hedera.
▶ Third: Become more faithful than Solana.
▶ Fourth: Acquire more wealth than Chain.
▶ Fifth: Reach a higher magical realm than Neo.
At a glance, the emperor's ultimatum boiled down to two simple choices: fulfill these preconditions to escape being just some "mediocre guy," or die.
What choice did I have if the difficulty—even excluding the fifth one—was borderline impossible? If I wanted to live, I'd have to do it. This whole mess started because I felt cheated by my terminally limited lifespan; I couldn't just throw it away pointlessly now.
I chewed on a stalk of Sunweed and muttered to myself.
"...In the end, I couldn't even bring myself to suggest pretending none of this ever happened."
And there was one even more crucial fact weighing on me right now.
—How the hell did he win over all his daughters' hearts?
That's what the emperor had definitely said.
The fact that these five preconditions came from him, not the princesses themselves... the fact that he hadn't tried to kill me outright but laid out conditions instead... All the clues pointed to just one conclusion.
'Does that mean the princesses are seriously considering this marriage?'
...All five of them?
The circumstances suggested as much. More than enough.
It could be the best news imaginable, but right now, it left me with complicated feelings. After all, the emperor was a man whose mindset had long transcended human norms.
What worried me most was friction arising between the princesses and the emperor. They were women who had reached the absolute pinnacle in their respective fields—if they ended up opposing him, the fallout...
Just imagining the chaos it would unleash across the continent was horrifying.
Somehow, the continent's future now hinged on me.
It was too late to back out, and pretending it never happened was out of the question now that things had grown this big. The only way to resolve it without any damage was to achieve every single precondition. That's the situation I'd stumbled into.
"Ha."
I let out a deep sigh and brushed aside my worries.
Brooding over anxieties wouldn't change a thing. It was a hundred times better to focus on what lay ahead and the positives.
The emperor had said as much.
—If my daughter ends up with a husband, well... he probably won't have a terminal lifespan.
He'd phrased it indirectly, but the implication was crystal clear.
If I actually ended up marrying one of the princesses, he'd help me with my terminal condition issue too.
"Well, no harm in trying, right?"
I muttered that as I headed back to my lodgings.
Whoosh—
I exhaled a long plume of Sunweed smoke.
Starting tomorrow, my days were going to be insanely busy.
The next day.
"We've arrived!"
I nodded at the coachman's shout and stepped down. My feet now touched the bustling streets near the Imperial Magic Tower in the heart of the empire's capital.
The tower soared so high its peak vanished from sight. Towering buildings, floating objects drifting through the air, pedestrians strutting about in pointed hats and hoods—the quintessential mage attire...
It was a scene thick with magical allure.
Chewing my Sunweed, I checked my schedule from my pocket.
'The inauguration ceremony for Magic Tower Inspector is tonight.'
I had no intention of making it a grand affair, but showing up knowing nothing would look odd. Since this was my workplace for the foreseeable future, I figured I'd scout the area beforehand.
That was when it happened.
Clatter—!
No sooner had my carriage pulled away than a much larger one took its place.
And stepping out was someone all too familiar.
"Solana?"
The face of the empire. The empire's angel. Solana.
She spotted me right away and her eyes widened.
"Ah, Teacher?"
She'd pulled her hood low, perhaps to hide her identity, but it wasn't enough to conceal her signature sunflower-bright cheerfulness. I asked her,
"What brings you here? What about the Holy Temple?"
Solana was the empire's undisputed top saintess. No matter how much public activity she did, she spent far more time inside the Holy Temple within the imperial palace.
Yet Solana just smiled.
"The Holy Temple is in good hands with all the other priests there. Someone has to go out and spread the mercy and teachings of the Sun God directly. This time, that's me."
"I see."
"By the way, Teacher, what a coincidence running into you like this."
"Yeah. Anyway, you're probably busy. Let's catch up when we get the chance."
The moment I turned to go—
"W-Wait a second! Teacher!"
Solana darted in front of me with surprising speed.
"This kind of coincidence doesn't happen every day...! Have you eaten?"
.
.
.
.
.
"...I see. I'm glad to hear the conversation went well."
In a restaurant in the bustling district.
Solana nodded quietly as she chewed her food. I'd just finished recounting my audience with the emperor.
Of course, I couldn't tell her everything straight up.
I'd kept it vague: the talk wasn't bad, even with a few conditions attached.
It wasn't exactly a lie. Considering the emperor's temperament, this counted as a surprisingly smooth conversation.
I stuck a Sunweed stalk in my mouth and said,
"What, were you worried about me?"
"Of course I was worried about you, Teacher. Isn't that natural?"
Solana shot back with bold confidence.
It was like being told the sun rises in the morning and the moon at night— so obvious it caught me off guard. Her straightforward affection made me feel a bit embarrassed for joking.
"Still, dropping everything to chase after me?"
"...N-No, it was a coincidence. You saw it with your own eyes earlier, right? I just happened to step off my carriage."
The world doesn't call that a coincidence.
I almost said it but just chuckled and let it slide.
Every time I caught her in an obvious fib like this, it reminded me of her as a little girl—and that brought a fond smile to my face.
'She must've been really worked up about it.'
Pretending it was chance, but in truth, she'd chased me all the way here because my talk with the emperor had her on edge.
Solana cleared her throat a couple times.
"Anyway, I have some important things to tell you. Two of them."
"Sure. Go ahead."
Thanks to her hood, no one in the restaurant recognized or bothered Solana. And luckily, I had time until dinner.
"First off, your living situation is going to be tricky right now."
"You mean lodgings, not 'living situation'."
"Lodgings. Lodgings. That's what I said. Was my pronunciation off?"
Hee hee hee. Solana pressed the back of her hand to her mouth, laughing awkwardly. She probably had no idea her face was beet red.
"Why would lodgings be a problem? The Magic Tower should have dorms."
"Ah, that's actually what I wanted to talk about."
Solana pulled a sheet of paper from her pocket.
"I looked into everything ahead of time—the dorm capacity, available rooms, all of it. Since it came up, let's check again now."
Her eyes narrowed as she scanned the paper from top to bottom.
"...Huh? No way."
Her expression turned grave, and she spoke in a deadly serious tone, her eyes brimming with shock and concern.
"Teacher, what are we going to do? There are no rooms left."
No way.
Solana beamed.
"But it's okay! I have tons of work to handle around here, so I rented a place nearby—and it turned out way bigger than I expected. If it's alright with you, why don't you stay there with me?"
"Hand that over."
"... "
Slurp. Solana quietly licked her lower lip.
She glanced back and forth between the paper and me, then suddenly acted twice as shocked as before.
Her hands trembled, and her eyes nearly doubled in size.
"What should we do... Teacher, the dorms really have no rooms left."
"I said hand it over."
"... "
In the end, I snatched the paper with telekinesis.
A quick look showed the dorms weren't just full—they were practically empty. Plenty of spots, in fact. So many it made me wonder why.
"It's wide open."
"... "
Solana averted her gaze slyly.
I wasn't opposed to living with Solana, per se.
But pushing ahead blindly ignored too many complications.
What if word got out that the empire's saintess—the "face of the empire," the "empire's angel"—was shacking up with a man?
...The fallout would be massive. Besides, I had preconditions to fulfill; no time for distractions.
"Living together can wait. Magic Tower business comes first for now."
Solana blinked, as if hearing something unexpected.
"...Huh? So you're interested in Magic Tower work now?"
"Kinda got roped into it."
I was now deeply invested in fixing the Magic Tower's issues. Otherwise, I'd end up dead.
My gaze shifted to Solana, whose eyes were sparkling.
"So, what's the second thing?"
"Ah, right, the second thing."
Solana nodded as if just remembering.
"It's about tonight's inauguration ceremony."
"My inauguration?"
"Yes. Lodgings are important, but this made me decide I had to run into you. It felt that crucial."
Had to run into me? She was straight-up admitting she'd tracked me down on purpose, and she didn't even seem to care anymore.
Anyway, Solana pulled something else from her pocket this time.
"... "
I couldn't help narrowing my eyes slightly.
What she'd drawn out was none other than a letter envelope.
"Take a look. Two letters addressed to you, Teacher."