Chapter 11
Cornelius Merhes.
One of the two administrators of the Succession War.
His duties were trivial.
All that was entrusted to him was to stare at ten crystal plates all day,waiting for a signal that a Treasure had been discovered.
For a task given to the dean of the Imperial Academy of Magic, it was so simple as to be shabby.
Still, he could not complain.
It was a job assigned by Hermai Merhes, his adoptive father, master and the Imperial Chief Mage.
“Cornelius, are you doing well?”
“Of course.”
At his master’s question, Cornelius gave a bright smile.
His pride was wounded, but he had no other choice.
Hermai took a bite of a donut and chuckled.
“My, what a pretentious smile.”
“…We-well, my apologies.”
“More importantly, nothing new?”
“No, three Treasures discovered. Still the same.”
“Hmm. They’ve been working hard, I see.”
Ten Treasures.
Three of them had found their masters.
One for the master of each of the three largest factions.
Ferbias, Leniar, Secundus.
Secundus was a little late, but he managed to catch up somehow.
If not one of those three, who else would sit on the Imperial Throne?
“In the end, it will be one of the three Highnesses, won’t it?”
“I suppose so.”
“What if someone else discovers a Treasure?”
“It will get ve-ry noisy.”
There were eight princes and princesses in total.
But besides Ferbias, Leniar, and Secundus, none seemed to even think of looking for a Treasure.
It was perhaps natural, as a foolish move could cost them their lives.
The First Prince, Ferbias.
The First Princess, Leniar.
The Second Prince, Secundus.
The three closest to the throne were already engaged in a fierce battle.
They were mobilizing all their power to find the Treasures and were not neglecting to send assassins after one another or to root out and execute spies.
“By the way, Cornelius, have you quit your spying?”
“…You did tell me to.”
Just as his wizardly attire suggested, Hermai Merhes was indeed a benevolent old man.
He also doted on Cornelius, his adoptive son and disciple.
However, he was not one to fail to distinguish between public and private matters.
Had Cornelius tried to find out the location of a Treasure one more time, his head would have truly been on the line.
“Whose side were you on?”
“……”
“Goodness. Trying to maintain your credibility? Go on, speak up. You wouldn’t want to become a test subject for my new confession spell, would you?”
“W-well, it’s not that……”
Cornelius opened his mouth hesitantly.
He seemed somewhat ashamed.
“…To all three Highnesses, a little bit of sincerity each……”
“……”
Hermai Merhes stopped the hand that was bringing the donut to his mouth.
He slowly chewed what was in his mouth and swallowed.
Only then did he speak.
“…Have you been short on research funds lately?”
“Yes, a little……”
“Well done. That’s a talent in itself.”
“Is that a compliment?”
“Does it sound like a compliment?”
Cornelius felt the need to change the subject.
“…By the way, Master. I have a question.”
“What an awkward way to change the topic.”
“Ahem……. Anyway, it’s about this crystal plate. It looks strange, no matter how I look at it.”
He held out one of the ten crystal plates.
Each one was connected to a respective Treasure.
A signal would be sent upon discovery.
But the one plate he held out was noticeably worn.
Moreover, its shape was strangely different.
“This one is different from the others. Was there a special reason?”
“Ah, this one, you mean……”
“Didn’t you always say that uniformity is important, Master? It seemed odd, no matter how much I thought about it.”
“…I did not make it.”
“Pardon?”
He couldn’t help but be surprised.
“If not you, Master, then who?”
Hermai Merhes was the general manager of the Fiftieth Succession War.
If not him, then who on earth made it?
Why was something he didn’t make designated as one of the Ten Treasures?
The Ten Treasures used in the Succession War should have always been created by the Chief Mage of the era.
“Well……”
Hermai slowly opened his mouth.
“…There is a treasure that has not been discovered for 400 years. I had no choice.”
“You used it as is?”
“The security was so thorough that it couldn’t be separated from the Imperial Palace’s barrier. No one could for 400 years!”
“The creator should have been able to, shouldn’t they?”
“…If that person had remained in the Empire, perhaps.”
Cornelius realized he was hearing a deep secret.
“A figure from 400 years ago, a Chief Mage who left the Empire, could it be……”
His complexion changed drastically.
“…Sen Sorti?”
“Yes. It is the work of the primus magus.”
Hermai groaned, his pride wounded.
“Even I could not break through his magic interference field.”
Even the Imperial Chief Mage was helpless.
The opponent was Sen Sorti, after all.
The library.
It was certain his Treasure was hidden in the Imperial Grand Library, but that was all.
No one knew how to find it or what was hidden.
That was also why he had been concerned about Shion frequenting the library.
“But do not worry.”
Hermai stroked his long beard.
He brushed off a bit of his anxiety that way.
“It has not been discovered for 400 years. Who could find something Sen Sorti put his mind to hiding? Unless he himself revealed it, that is.”
“That’s true.”
“Yes. So don’t worry about……”
Beeeeep-! A loud noise.
A red light flashed again.
It was a notification that someone had discovered a Treasure.
Cornelius hastily turned his head.
“Oh my, another Treasure discovere… huh.”
“What’s wro… huh.”
The master and disciple wore the same expression.
They looked down at the crystal plate like that.
Staring, and blankly. For a long while.
“U-uh, Master……”
“…Go on and say it……”
They stammered.
“…This is that crystal plate, isn’t it? The one from, 400 years ago……”
“…Yes, the one Sen Sorti made, that……”
The crystal plate had a function to announce the discoverer.
Otherwise, there would be no way to report the progress of the Succession War.
Soon, letters were engraved on its smooth surface.
As befitting something made 400 years ago, it used the ancient Hotus language.
“The discoverer’s name is also strange……”
“…What a coincidence. I was thinking the same thing.”
The formed letters indicated the name of one of the eight princes and princesses.
But it was unbelievable.
It was a name they had never expected.
[Fifth Prince Zionis.]
“…So, you’re saying that His Highness Zionis has obtained the Treasure from 400 years ago?”
“…I suppose so?”
The master and disciple looked at each other.
The master stroked his long white beard and the disciple fiddled with his neat mustache.
They opened their mouths as if groaning.
“…This is going to get noisy, isn’t it?”
“…Ve-ry noisy.”
***
After obtaining Mana Armor Valziart, I returned to my detached palace.
Pies spotted me from afar and came running out.
He was wearing an apron.
“Your Highness! Where have you been all night without a word!”
The apron-clad imperial guard wiped away his tears.
He seemed to have been anxiously waiting for me.
Looking closely, there was a completely cold pumpkin pie on the table.
Had he planned on having dinner together?
“This Pies was so worried……. Oh, you’re hurt! Weren’t you at the library!?”
“I was at the library. I returned the book, too.”
“No, then how did you get this wound……”
“Pies, Pies!”
I raised my voice.
Pies, who had been stamping his feet, froze.
There was a strange power in my voice.
“It’s nothing. So calm down, and bring some tea. Heat up the pumpkin pie, too.”
“Pardon? It’s already nighttime.”
“It’s not for me to eat.”
I twisted the corner of my mouth.
“A guest will be here soon.”
***
Pies Roesti wiped the dining table.
‘I’m only doing it because he told me to.’
With all the hand maids asleep, he had no choice.
It wasn’t an uncommon occurrence in the first place.
He was an imperial guard in name, but he more often held a dishcloth, laundry, or a ladle than a sword.
But being used to it didn’t mean he didn’t grumble.
‘A guest? What a guest.’
The night was deep.
Swoooosh-.
On top of that, it started to pour rain.
‘There’s no way anyone would come on a rainy night like this, Your Highness.’
This was the detached palace of the Fifth Prince Zionis.
No one in the Imperial Palace paid him any attention.
At least, that had been the case for as long as Pies Roesti had watched over him.
Today didn’t seem like it would be any different.
‘It’s not like anyone visits anyway……’
Pouting, he heated the pumpkin pie.
The magic oven was convenient indeed.
A sweet smell wafted out.
He didn’t think anyone would end up eating it, but it was the prince’s order, so he had to heat it.
Even if the other party was Zionis, Pies wasn't brave enough to disobey a prince's command.
‘…Hmm?’
Clang.
At the strange sound, he looked out the window.
Then again, clang, clang.
A familiar bell sound.
It was the sound of the bells placed on the path to the detached palace.
The sound was getting closer.
It was clear even through the rain.
‘…Is someone really?’
It was definitely the presence of a person.
To say the bells were ringing because of the rain, the intervals were too regular as it approached.
Someone was getting closer, politely making their presence known.
They would probably reach the palace soon.
Pies took off his apron and muttered.
“It’s just as you said. You’ve been really strange lately.”
Since the day the Succession War began, Shion had become strangely mature.
There were often times he showed a side that was hard to believe for an eleven-year-old.
Although, seeing him mindlessly gobble up pumpkin pie made him wonder if it was just his imagination.
The bell sound stopped.
Pies folded his apron and put it away.
In its place, he drew a longsword.
Even if housework had become more familiar, he was a knight. Zionis’s one and only imperial guard.
“This is the detached palace of His Highness, the Fifth Prince Zionis.”
He asks the guest.
“For what reason have you come?”
***
I was lying down.
I was trying to recover even a little of my fatigue by chewing on pumpkin pie.
“The rumor will spread quickly.”
That another Treasure has been discovered.
By the Fifth Prince Zionis.
During this Succession War, this was the most urgent and important news.
In a few hours, it would have reached all three factions.
“Until now, I've spent my time quietly, without standing out, but I suppose I can't do that anymore.”
Still, the timing was right. I couldn't just keep reading books forever.
My first Ars, ‘Fantasy Finger’ and Mana Armor Valziart.
It couldn’t compare to what I had before the regression, but it was the minimum strength needed to protect my own body.
“They'll want to know just how the sluggard Zionis managed to get his hands on a Treasure, after all.”
I looked out the window.
People from each faction must be rushing over.
Looking at the rain-swept scenery outside, I raised the corner of my mouth.
“Now, where did the first guest come from?”
Knock, knock, the sound of a knock.
Pies opened the door with his hand on his sword.
A soaking wet man stood there.
His aura was formidable at a glance, but Pies Roesti did not back down.
“I asked for what reason you have come.”
“I have come to see His Highness Zionis.”
“At this time of night, so suddenly? His Highness is already in his chambers.”
“I apologize for that.”
The drenched man bowed his head without hesitation.
Pies was flustered.
In this Cordis Imperial Palace, it was very rare for someone to admit their fault so easily.
The man spoke again.
“However, it is a very urgent matter. It was unavoidable, so I ask for your understanding.”
“…Very well. His Highness had already told me to prepare for a guest.”
“Is that so?”
The man looked surprised.
Pies was, too.
How had he known a guest would come?
The man wiped himself dry with the towel Pies handed him.
He looked much better once he was clean.
“Please hand me the towel and come in. I will go and bring His Highness.”
“Is it alright not to ask who I am?”
“Ah. I forgot about that.”
Pies scratched his head awkwardly.
It’s not like guests ever came calling.
Since it was such an unfamiliar event, he had forgotten the most important thing.
“Who should I say has come, and from where?”
“Amethus.”
Between his rain-soaked strands of hair, jade-green eyes flashed.
They were sharp, like a beast’s.
Pies’s body stiffened.
He hadn't recognized him while he was drenched in rain.
But this man, he remembered him.
He had seen him on the day the Succession War was declared.
Wasn’t he standing next to the First Prince Ferbias Caseptus?
“Please tell him it is Amethus, here on behalf of Prince Ferbias.”