The students had departed, leaving behind only a cluttered schoolhouse. Leftover crystal lenses, pure ice, a mana-powered brazier, a mana xylophone, and so on were scattered messily across the floor.
It was a sight that would make one sigh at the thought of cleaning it all up. Not me, but the housekeeper.
I called the housekeeper with a jerk of my chin.
"Hey. Clean this up."
"Mmnya... Yes? D-did you call me?"
"Where was this person wandering around at night that she's dozing off in the day? I said clean this up."
When I answered irritably, the housekeeper wiped the drool from the corner of her mouth and muttered with a sullen voice.
"Pfft. No need to go that far..."
Despite her grumbling, her cleaning speed was fast. She only swiped a few times, and the items were organized in an instant. The housekeeper looked at the magic tools packed in a large box and spoke to me.
"Wow. A whole bunch of incomprehensible things. Did you prepare all these items for the children?"
"What nonsense. These are my experimental tools."
"Thanks to these magic tools, the children were able to sense mana. I've never seen this many magic tools for teaching children in the Magic Federation until now."
"It just so happened I had an experiment to do."
I was in the middle of finding a way to awaken magic in the Crystal Tower, and I merely needed test subjects for it. They were truly lucky to receive my visit and reap the benefits.
"Your appearance was a fortuitous encounter for the children..."
"That's right. I am a fortuitous encounter, a miracle, and a grace to them. If I hadn't taken an interest in awakening magic in the commoners, if I hadn't followed the auntie who caught my eye, they would have been wasting their lives on a gamble with uncertain odds in this fringe schoolhouse."
Hearing my words, the housekeeper lowered her gaze and muttered.
"Teacher, you say that, but you're actually a good person, right?"
"Huh? What are you suddenly talking about?"
"Your words are cold and your attitude arrogant, but you're working for the children in this backwater. Outstanding people don't go out of their way to come to a borderland and help others. Unless they're missionaries, that is."
I shrugged and replied.
"Effectively, that's the case. But I only act as I please, and no matter what expectations you harbor, I won't necessarily act according to them."
"...Are you perhaps embarrassed?"
"I'd like to feel it. I don't know what kind of emotion that is."
It seemed my answer didn't satisfy her curiosity. The housekeeper tilted her head and organized the luggage.
"Shall I bring your meal? Or would you like to take a bath?"
"Let's eat first, then wash."
"Yes! I'll tell the auntie to bring your meal!"
As it was mealtime, the housekeeper ran out with quick steps. Look at her hurrying because her own meal is coming too. She's only serious about her own business.
At that moment, the Resonance Crystal Orb vibrated in my pocket. When I casually took it out, Avant-garde's face was dimly visible. I twisted the Resonance Crystal Orb to align it and spoke.
"I received it, Senior Avant-garde."
Then, as if he had been waiting for it, Avant-garde's voice was heard.
[Hughes. How have you been? How's the lower realm?]
"I'm staying at a nice place, so it's comfortable. The rules are also fascinating."
[Ah, right! I forgot to explain the rules of the Celsius territory! U-what should I do? Should I bring you a guidebook?]
"This is also the fun of learning. And I've gotten somewhat used to it. Thanks to the freezing point and boiling point anomalies, it's quite easy to handle crystal magic."
[Right! In the Celsius territory, the crystal structure of snow and ice is reinforced, creating freezing point and boiling point anomalies! You just need to know that!]
Avant-garde chattered excitedly. Although the distance was too far to read thoughts, he could at least listen to a conversation. Having conveyed a few trivial stories and greetings, Avant-garde talked for a while before stopping.
[The Crystal Tower is busy because it's the ladder connected to this descent point. It seems like I'll have some free time around next week, so I'll come down for a visit too! Make sure to do well until then!]
"Of course. You'll be surprised when you see me. I'm waiting for the day I can show you my changed self."
[I... w-want to see it too!]
Avant-garde said only that and ended the communication. The light faded from the Resonance Crystal Orb. Having finished one task, I noticed a gaze and asked back.
"What is it. Housekeeper."
"...Sinful person."
"Did you change jobs from housekeeper to judge? Putting that aside, why are you staring at someone else's communication? How rude."
"Then go into your room and do it!"
What. Why is she so sharp. The housekeeper said coldly.
"I told the auntie while you were dawdling around. The food will be here soon. But..."
"But what."
"...Outside, there's someone looking for you, Teacher."
Someone looking for me? Not Avant-garde, and hopefully not Lankart. Shei? That's weird. If it were Shei, they would have just come in.
"You can just let them in. Is there a problem?"
"Yes. There is. The auntie dragged them out."
"Excuse me?"
Feeling doubtful, I immediately went outside.
In the Celsius territory, ice does not melt easily. Because of this, most of the territory is covered in snow and ice, and buildings made of ice instead of rock are not an uncommon sight.
The roads are made of ice, and vehicles are mostly in the form of sleds. Occasionally, people skating can be seen. They mainly raise huskies, and dog sleds are a practical means of transportation.
It is warm enough for the snow to feel cozy, but moving around is difficult, so people tend not to wander outside without a special reason.
However, today there were many signs of life around the schoolhouse. The auntie, who had brought a group of people, shouted with fire in her eyes.
"This is our school district! When we were desperately asking for help, you didn't even glance our way, and now you're trying to horn in?!"
The opponent was an old man with a long, drooping beard. Although his realm was shallow, the old man, a retired mage, spoke with a relaxed expression.
"My, auntie. Horn in? If anyone heard that, they'd think you set the table."
"I did set the table! I brought him here, and I hosted him!"
Unlike the auntie who screamed at the top of her lungs, the old man retorted brazenly.
"Even if you say you brought him, it's not like you called him from the Floating Castle, and even if you say you hosted him, would it satisfy the Mage's eyes? The Mage simply entered the nearest schoolhouse, didn't he? If so, there's no rule that says that schoolhouse isn't our schoolhouse."
"There's no reason for it to be your schoolhouse either!"
"Our schoolhouse is larger, has more students, is more outstanding... and we could offer much greater rewards, don't you think?"
It was a schoolhouse run by a retired mage, who even stepped forward to teach himself. Compared to an auntie who merely had one successful child, their standing was completely different.
Even so, the auntie couldn't give up the windfall that had fallen into her lap, so she fumed and tried to argue back.
"And auntie. I stayed quiet after seeing your son, but..."
The auntie couldn't say anything more. The reason was simply because an icicle had frozen over her mouth.
At the sudden, biting cold sensation, the auntie trembled violently. It was not only because of the cold, but because she felt terror at the magic cast without her even noticing.
Having finished the magic, the old man stroked his beard and spoke.
"The Mage will leave with the Floating Castle, but we will continue to live here, won't we? We shouldn't redden our faces and should resolve this well. If you don't want to be struck by an incomprehensible magic, that is."
It was a statement half akin to a threat, and a reality that had crashed down upon the auntie.
Mana is the authority to bring forth natural phenomena through will. If one has perception, they can feel it; if one has control, they can resist it. Unless it's a grand magic prepared in advance, magic hardly works against a mage.
But what about ordinary people who have neither perception nor control? They don't even notice when magic is used, and they cannot resist when attacked. Even if they are attacked, they have no way of knowing who did it or how it was done.
Even if they report it, the culprit cannot be arrested; even if they accuse them, it cannot be proven. To the commoners, magic is an invisible hand. How can one prove the invisible?
Commoners are commoners.
Just as a legally incapacitated person needs a guardian, without a mage as their guardian, the commoners would only suffer one-sidedly.
The reason the auntie didn't suffer a worse fate was because her son was a mage. The old man recalled that fact and spoke with courtesy.
"Did we demand anything great? We only wished to meet the Mage. To not even accept that and spew abusive language is unfair, isn't it?"
"...!"
"Now, then. We shall head to the schoolhouse."
The auntie's group dared not block the mage's path. The old man, about to come to the schoolhouse with a slight sneer, finally ran into me.
"It's crowded. What are you all doing, gathering around with nothing to do?"
At my overtly annoyed expression, the old man immediately realized I was the mage.
"Oh. Greetings. Are you the one who came from the Floating Castle...?"
"What's your business?"
'How arrogant! Though I suppose that's to be expected from a chosen one of the Floating Castle.'
He understands even when I rudely retort with a short question. What kind of existence is a mage.
The old man conveyed his business as concisely as possible.
"Ahem, ahem. It's nothing much. We wish to invite you, a noble who has mastered outstanding magic, to our schoolhouse, rather than this backwater."
"How did you know and come here? It's only been three days since I arrived."
"The Celsius territory is small. The land where people live together is even smaller. When a mage with powerful mana like yourself appears, everyone is bound to notice..."
The old man, who was spouting smooth talk, sensed my mana and became slightly flustered.
'Hmm? Strange. I heard he was an outstanding mage who came from the Floating Castle, but his mana is extremely faint?'
Tch, he's a mage.
Mages can sense mana. That means my mana is exposed.
Of course, a mage who has reached a higher realm can conceal their mana. But there's no need to do that. Because there's nothing wrong with showing that you are more powerful.
'Why is his mana so low? Could it be a stand-in set up by the auntie? Let's see.'
The old man stroked his beard and subtly lowered his gaze. Beneath my feet, at the point where snow and shoes met, mana slowly gathered.
That beard, it's fake. Inside the beard, there's a tangled coil of woven threads. Is he using that as a medium to cast magic?
Even if I'm as weak as can be, this much is enough.
I pulled my hand slightly back and grabbed a card. The card I took out was Clover 3, my new card made by Lankart at the Floating Castle, replacing the Clover cards I had used up before. After dropping it behind my leg, out of the old man's sight, I smoothly moved my foot and stepped on the card.
"Fahrenheit."
As soon as the mana contained in the card ignited, it clashed with the old man's magic. The icicles trying to cover my feet met the heat and scattered, and pure white steam rose like a cloud.
The old man's pupils widened.
'Magic with just an incantation without a medium?! I couldn't even track the flow of mana. A high-ranking mage!'
There was a medium, but it was invisible to the old man's eyes. It's hard to see my card even with the naked eye, let alone with old eyes.
The old man hastily took his hand off his beard and spoke.
"Ahem. My apologies. Since you were concealing your mana, I wondered if you might be someone else."
"Should I be the one suffering your discourtesy?"
"...Gasp! O-of course not! I am truly sorry!"
Elder? Respect for elders? That's outdated common sense. In the Magic Federation, magical prowess is everything. I looked down at the old man who hastily bowed his head for a while, then finally opened my mouth.
"So, about your business."
"I only asked about your intentions, so please do not be too angered!"
"See to it yourself."
"We can host you comfortably, so if you're ever interested... yes?"
"Bring them here yourselves. I won't take them as disciples, but I'll look after them in my spare time."
Surprised by my more favorable answer than expected, the old man asked back.
"Is that true? But, you said to bring them here?"
"It's annoying to pack my bags. I've already adapted my body to this place too."
"Our schoolhouse is much larger and the facilities are better, though..."
"Then teach them in your fine facilities."
"No, no, no! We must accommodate your wishes! The thirsty dig the well. I shall tell them so!"
The old man bowed his head to me several times and retreated with his people. It was a good result for a single entanglement, so I was quite satisfied inwardly.
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The auntie's pride was also salvaged to some extent. She might be disappointed that she couldn't monopolize me, but it wasn't bad for this borderland school district to become the center of events. As the old man said, once I leave, only they will remain in the end.
However.
'He's not someone who lazes around, but he's even less someone who volunteers himself. Why is he increasing his workload when he's not even a missionary? What kind of result is he trying to create this time?'
Only the housekeeper was glancing at me with eyes mixed half with curiosity and half with suspicion.