Sophien merely glared at the fountain pen fixed in midair. She had been taught that the destructive-type “Fireball,” the auxiliary-type “Barrier,” the manipulation-type “Telekinesis,” and the like were the basics of each school of magic.
Since the output of magic itself had clear limits, these were the most fundamental of fundamentals, where a mage’s talent exerted the greatest influence.
“……”
Sophien pulled hard at the fountain pen with her own “Telekinesis.”
The fountain pen still did not move, but the “Hall of Learning,” caught up in her rough “Telekinesis,” was already half destroyed.
The road surface was torn up, the ceiling had caved in, pillars had been smashed, bookshelves had been crushed……
Even in the middle of that devastated space, Deculein’s face remained perfectly composed. He showed not the slightest sign of strain. His breathing was calm, his bearing exceedingly neat. His aristocratic presence gave Sophien a certain stimulus.
“……How curious.”
Sophien possessed an intelligent, sharp sense of perception. It was a sense that let her gauge what was possible and what was, for now, impossible.
Deculein’s “Telekinesis” belonged to the latter. Of course, at first she had not wanted to admit it, but the time had already run out, so there was nothing she could do.
“Twenty minutes have passed.”
The Emperor simply looked at Deculein. His blue eyes also met hers. They were mysterious pupils, gleaming like crystal.
“I understand the confidence with which you wagered your head. We cannot defeat you with ‘Telekinesis.’”
Sophien gave a faint laugh. Deculein replied.
“Then I shall now begin the conceptual lesson.”
“Do you still have a concept left to teach us?”
“Yes. I intend to offer Your Majesty a concept known only to me.”
“A concept known only to you?”
“Yes. That is correct.”
Answering the Emperor, Deculein drew a magic circle in the air. Its form followed a completely different path from an ordinary magic circle.
“How curious.”
The Emperor propped her chin on her hand. More than the magic circle, Deculein himself was curious.
“I know you. I have read about you in documents, and I have seen you in person before as well.”
Sophien took out the “documents related to Deculein” that the Intelligence Bureau had provided. Then she immediately held them out to Deculein.
“They are all wrong. Not a single thing in them is correct.”
“……Your Majesty. Those are top-secret documents. You must not hand them over to anyone.”
Deculein frowned as he looked at the documents. Sophien did not care. They were all wrong anyway, so what did it matter?
“They said your talent was fake, and that you were a fraud who deceived others. Yet what are you, as we see you now?”
The Emperor stared at Deculein. That self-righteous gaze held an intense question.
“You are full of oddities. We believe you are hiding a secret. What say you?”
“Yes. That is correct.”
At that question, Deculein nodded. He never spoke a lie.
Sophien was satisfied with that alone. If there were no lies, then he was fully qualified to look upon her in this place.
“Good. Someday, we shall tear that secret out of you.”
“If Your Majesty devotes yourself to the lessons, that moment will not be so far away.”
There was spirit in Deculein’s answer. The Emperor gave a faint laugh, and only then did she properly look at the magic circle Deculein had presented.
“This is the magic I wish to teach Your Majesty. It is a concept brought from antiquity, and a school of magic recreated in the modern age.”
“Oh? And what is that?”
“It is Runic language.”
“……Runic language?”
Sophien’s eyes were tinged with surprise, but Deculein remained calm.
“Yes.”
In truth, from the moment he had discarded the Runic language, he had intended to teach the whole of it to the Emperor. He intended to give her the great power that would break through the Emperor’s ennui and oppose the final boss to come.
“I heard you destroyed it?”
Sophien was also well aware of Deculein’s symposium. The eyes and ears of the Imperial Family were the fastest channels in the world for such news.
“It still exists in my mind. Therefore, from now on, there will be no physical evidence in my lessons.”
This was a lesson possible only because the teacher was Deculein, and the student Sophien.
A communion formed solely of words and mana.
“……”
At that very moment.
Sophien realized Deculein’s true intention. Another emotion rose in the Emperor’s gaze as she glared at him.
“I shall teach Your Majesty all forty-eight characters of the Runic language that I have interpreted. If it is ‘Telekinesis’ performed with Runic language, you may even be able to defeat me.”
Indeed, there was no way a mage would so easily destroy his own research. Especially if that research were something as extraordinary as Runic language—what madman would bury the whole of it from the world?
For mages were a breed that wished, madly, truly madly, to leave their footprints upon this world.
“Then you are now.”
Sophien grasped Deculein’s meaning.
This man had been waiting, and longing for it.
“You mean to have us play the part of your prized disciple?”
A superhuman capable of accepting a vast magic known as “Runic language.”
A talent who would carry on his research from a position more noble than anyone else’s.
“Yes.”
Deculein nodded honestly. Having guessed his true thoughts, the Emperor gave a deep smile.
“Your Majesty will become the first prized disciple of my Runic language.”
This was the bastard’s goal.
From their very first meeting, he had harbored such a black-hearted scheme.
“By teaching this Runic language, I will be able to understand Your Majesty, and Your Majesty will also be able to understand me as you learn the Runic language.”
“Impudent bastard.”
Sophien laughed. It was not an unpleasant feeling. Rather, she liked this audacity.
“Very well. I do not know whether things will go according to your will, but do try your best……”
Deculein immediately began assembling the Runic language.
The sight of him rushing in as if he had been waiting for this was so honest that it was almost cute.
* * *
……After the ninety-minute lesson ended.
I came out of the Hall of Learning.
“Lord Yukline.”
As I was walking down a corridor of the Imperial Palace, someone called my name. I turned to see the eunuch Jolang.
“Has your instruction ended?”
Blond hair and the typical attire of a eunuch. Short stature, pale skin, a beard that would not grow. A figure too neat to be called a retainer, more like an attendant.
I knew who this Jolang was. He was a named retainer with quite a significant role even within the Imperial Palace. He was also the owner of the “Demon’s Mirror” quest called “The Darkness of the Imperial Palace.”
“It has ended.”
“Then there is something I must tell you.”
“You mean the underground of the Imperial Palace?”
“……”
Jolang looked surprised. However, he soon composed his expression and looked up at me.
“Yes. That is correct. First, please follow me. In the Imperial Palace, there are listening ears and watching eyes everywhere.”
I followed Jolang down the corridors of the Imperial Palace. There were hundreds, thousands of rooms in the Imperial Palace, and Jolang led me to one of them.
It was an empty room where scented candles flickered.
“Suitable for a secret meeting.”
“Haha. Yes. It is a room intended for that purpose to begin with.”
“Do eunuchs have romances as well?”
“Well, it depends on the circumstances. In any case. Lord Yukline. From now on, I shall explain. What exists in the Darkness of the Imperial Palace……”
The underground of the Imperial Palace. I already knew the inside story.
The darkness lurking beneath the Imperial Palace; within it existed a product of the demon.
No, whether it was truly a demon or not, no one knew. That mirror merely reflected the other side of this world.
If it only reflected, there would be no problem, but the mirror was also connected to a passage into the world beyond, and by this point, it had long since encroached upon the underground of the Imperial Palace.
“……Therefore, we are gathering people to purify that underground. Since Her Majesty trusts Lord Yukline……”
“Very well.”
I did not ask many questions.
There was no need to ask. This was a quest I had already cleared back when I was test-playing.
“However, I have a condition.”
“What is it?”
“Julie is to be excluded.”
Jolang raised his eyebrows. He soon laughed quietly.
“……Is this the love of hedgehogs?”
The love of hedgehogs.
Jolang had merely said it as a joke, or perhaps as mockery, but that phrase pierced sharply through my mind.
Two hedgehogs shivering in the cold draw close to share warmth. They try to endure the winter by embracing one another, but in the end, they come to realize.
That the closer they draw to each other, the more the countless spines covering their bodies only wound the other.
“It was a joke.”
Jolang, misunderstanding my hardened expression, quickly changed his words.
“……Enough. Understand it that way.”
“Yes. Understood. I will explain it to Knight Julie as well as I can.”
I nodded and left. My head was rather complicated, and I had consumed a fair amount of mana teaching the Runic language, but I still had something left on my schedule.
The auction house in Haillech.
* * *
……Haillech, the wealthiest city in the Empire, was the trendsetting place where all sorts of goods, rare treasures, splendid luxury items, and beautiful works of art gathered.
Al Los closed her eyes as she felt the golden, brilliant sunlight of Haillech. The streets of this wealthy district were filled with a vitality different from ash heaps.
Rustle, rustle—a small leaf settled on her shoulder. A voice flowed from that leaf.
—Al Los.
Al Los opened her eyes in a narrow squint.
—It’s Jukaken.
Jukaken. Like Al Los, he was in a cooperative relationship with the “Altar,” but at the same time, he was also one of the six snakes of the Six Serpent Heads.
“I told you I’m not participating.”
—The plan is certain. Also, we’re not killing him, we’re capturing him alive. I need your and Gerek’s help. There is no risk.
“……Gerek isn’t someone who helps with plans. He’s a bastard whose eyes roll back when it comes to Deculein. He doesn’t suit your cautious nature.”
Jukaken of the underworld was thorough to a fault.
He had probably been devising a scheme ever since the “Altar” put up thirty million elne for Deculein’s capture.
Compared to him, the multiple-personality Gerek was closer to a mad lunatic.
—Have you forgotten that Deculein clashed with Rohakan? We need force to match that. At minimum, Gerek has to be there.
“Gerek would do it for free if it meant killing Deculein.”
—The mission is capture, not assassination.
As she walked and conversed, Al Los arrived at Haillech’s auction house. She looked up at the sign that read [Kline].
“I’m cutting this off.”
—The Altar has added a “Magic Stone of Ruination” to the bounty. I’ll give you fifteen percent of it. I only need to borrow your doll and Gerek.
“……”
If it was a Magic Stone of Ruination, she was a little tempted.
Jukaken dug into that opening.
—You only need to lend me your doll. Do you see the red-haired middle-aged man smoking on the right side of the road right now?
Al Los looked in that direction. A chauffeur in a suit was smoking a cigarette.
—That’s “Jeff.” Deculein’s chauffeur for today. We’ll subdue him, so you use your doll to impersonate him.
“You idiot. Deculein has a record of noticing my dolls.”
The first person to see through her doll had been Deculein.
Of course, thanks to the hint he had given her, ash no longer got caught on her dolls or anything like that.
—Deculein does not pay much attention to servants. He thinks of them like tools. There will be no trouble. I guarantee it.
Al Los did not answer.
—It’s a top-grade magic stone, Al Los. There are also gems comparable to mana diamonds. A Magic Stone of Ruination untouched by human hands. Don’t you want it?
“……”
—I estimate the value of the magic stones they offered alone at one hundred million elne. Fifteen percent of that. Fifteen percent.
After pondering, Al Los said.
“Twenty percent.”
—……
This time, Jukaken fell silent. Al Los had nothing to lose.
She did have a personal grudge against Deculein, but she did not want to make an enemy of all of Yukline.
—Damn it, agreed. I, Jukaken, “the Politician of the Underworld,” promise a twenty percent reward to the money-devouring hippopotamus Al Los.
“Good. However, don’t make it this sudden next time.”
—Opportunities don’t come that often. Today is the best chance.
Al Los nodded. Then she entered [Kline].
“Please show your identification.”
“Here.”
“Yes. Lord Sollet. Confirmed.”
There were many people in Haillech’s auction house, [Klein]. Most of them seemed to be nobles, judging by their fine attire. They were probably after the “Homeren Shard Ring,” just like her.
Al Ross had no intention of yielding it.
······Two hours later.
“Lord Solette. Congratulations on winning the Homeren Shard Ring. The owner of the item is waiting inside.”
Having succeeded in the bid, Al Ross nodded. Guided by an employee, she arrived at the backstage area behind the auction hall.
The owner of the item stood in the middle of the backstage with his back turned. Al Ross found the silhouette of his back familiar.
“The winning bidders have arrived.”
The employee spoke. At that, he turned around. Though she did not show it, Al Ross was quite greatly startled.
Deculein. With the sunlight at his back, he looked at her. The sight was radiant, like some kind of halo.
“Congratulations on your winning bid.”
He said so, holding the item in one hand. Al Ross approached calmly.
There was no need to be nervous. Deculein did not know her true appearance.
“Thank you.”
“Your name is Solette, is it?”
Al Ross nodded. Looking at her, Deculein smiled.
It was a smile familiar to Al Ross. Men who saw her appearance always broke into broad grins.
Only, since the person in question was Deculein, it felt somewhat unpleasant.
“The Homeren Shard Ring. Here it is. It was a good transaction.”
“Yes.”
An item that had cost a full twenty million elne. Just as Al Ross received the ring in its case—
Deculein looked behind her and widened his eyes.
“······Sylvia?”
“Yes.”
Al Ross belatedly looked at her as well.
It truly was Sylvia, the daughter of the Iliade family.
“······The ‘Loterin Amber Brooch.’ Was it you who bought it?”
“Yes. It’s my allowance I’ve saved up until now.”
“Aren’t you busy with final exams?”
“It’s fine.”
Al Ross watched that strange combination for a moment. Deculein seemed flustered, and Sylvia was expressionless, yet somehow bright.
“Then I’ll be going now.”
Al Ross soon went outside.
—The brooch is pretty.
—······.
—Professor. Have you had dinner?
—I have.
—Ah.
Whether it was Sylvia or whoever, if she stalled him for time, all the better······.
* * *
After the auction ended, I got into the car.
“Goodbye.”
Outside the window, Sylvia bowed her head. Beside Sylvia’s hair, after she had stayed with me backstage for nearly thirty minutes, was the “Loterin Amber Brooch.”
“Yes. The brooch suits you well.”
“Ah.”
Sylvia puffed out her cheeks, and I closed the window.
“To the Mage Tower.”
“Yes.”
Today’s chauffeur was Jeff.
The car set off as if gliding. As usual, I leaned back against the seat and took out a thesis.
[ Solda Drent’s Thesis: 「Axial Rotation」 ]
Last week, during a career consultation, Solda “Drent” had asked me to make corrections to this thesis.
Since my corrections were of such high added value, I did not accept them merely because anyone asked.
—I, Solda Drent, wish to become Professor Deculein’s assistant!
Drent had won my favor by saying she would apply to serve under me. She seemed to have reflected quite a bit in her own way, so I accepted her along with a contract.
[ I have configured the core circuit of 「Axial Rotation」 in this way. The role of this circuit is······. ]
“Inefficient.”
Hmph— I let out a dry laugh from the very first paragraph. An inefficient circuit had been discovered right from the beginning of the thesis.
“Far too immature, too.”
The flow of the circuit, its knots and connections, were not firm. It was because the effect called 「Axial Rotation」 itself was too difficult.
“Her ability is lacking compared to the goal she set.”
I continued reading the thesis.
“The fact that she came to me itself is commendable, however······.”
However, that “conception” itself was not bad, so there was room for development.
“······She’ll need proper education.”
Honestly, her talent was too good to be under Deculein······.
······.
······Meanwhile, Al Ross was driving Deculein’s car.
Jukaken had kidnapped Jeff the chauffeur as planned, and Al Ross had breathed Jeff’s form and her own soul into her doll.
“······.”
Al Ross looked at Deculein through the rearview mirror. He was reading some document. She could not see its contents.
‘At this distance, I won’t be found out.’
Al Ross swallowed a sigh of relief.
Her doll was hardly different from a human.
Furthermore, it had perfectly taken on the appearance of the chauffeur called “Jeff,” so Deculein, who had no interest in servants, would never notice······.
That was what Al Ross thought.
But then—
“Inefficient.”
Suddenly, Deculein spoke.
Al Ross’s heart sank. Without realizing it, she gripped the steering wheel tightly.
Out of nowhere, what was he calling inefficient?
Al Ross looked at Deculein in the rearview mirror. He calmly continued speaking.
“Far too immature, too.”
Al Ross clenched her teeth.
“Her ability is lacking compared to the goal.”
It was certain.
Her doll had been seen through.
To Al Ross, that in itself was a humiliation, and a question.
How is this possible? Is there some magic that can grasp my doll this instantly?
‘The plan has failed.’
Al Ross tried to relay those words to Jukaken, but for some reason, something felt strange. It was an odd sense of incongruity.
Even though he had noticed her, why was Deculein showing no hostility? In that barrier, he had reacted so violently. Or was it merely him talking to himself?
······Just as she was agonizing over it—
“The fact that she came to me itself is commendable, however······ she’ll need proper education.”
Education.
At that arrogant tone, Al Ross bit her lip.
At the same time, she realized it.
Whether information had leaked, whether there was a traitor, or whatever it might be, she did not know the method, but Deculein had foreseen this operation perfectly. He probably already knew who was behind it as well, and had been waiting for this meeting from the very beginning······.
Al Ross let out a rough breath, but soon calmed herself. In any case, all she had to do was leave the doll behind.
Jukaken.
If I take this bastard with me—
The rest is up to you.