Youngest 095
by CristaeEpisode 95
The mage clicked his tongue lightly.
The Zevert heiress.
He’d thought her round eyes and smooth brow resembled that ‘seventh’ somehow.
‘No… Honestly, all kids have round faces and smooth skin.’
The truth was, he’d only seen the ‘seventh’ once, and even that was hazy in his memory. Nonetheless, he volunteered for the tracking mage position.
In order to be noticed by the Mage King.
And that decision was not mistaken.
“I can’t betray expectations now.”
He’d even been entrusted with a precious magetool.
The corner of his mouth curled into a crooked smile. If he could just capture the ‘seventh,’ the king’s trust would be his—entirely.
He absently touched where the Mage Kingdom’s crest was engraved on his right forearm.
‘There was a strange magical energy in that maze.’
That must mean the mage was here.
Of course, the magetools Asha Drucan had left scattered everywhere muddled the energies, making them hard to read.
But the seventh’s magical presence was distinctive enough; he could detect it all the same.
‘That heiress from before is especially suspicious. If I could just get another look at her up close…’
Magic.
If he could verify it, that would be best.
The mage thoughtfully touched his lips.
His eyes flashed sharply.
I dashed forward at full speed. The delay because of the mage annoyed me so much, I pushed myself even harder!
The victory fireworks hadn’t gone up yet, so maybe there was still a chance!
But in the distance, I spotted someone ahead.
“Gasp, it’s Licht.”
Licht was moving toward the exit at an agonizingly slow pace.
“Ugh…”
I was horribly disappointed.
‘Looks like first place will slip away after all.’
If it hadn’t been for that mage’s interference, who knows? Things could have been different!
Either way. The kingdom never does anything to help my life.
“But!”
I, Rubian, will not give up!
I lifted my chin resolutely and clenched my fists tight.
“Oh, Rubian?”
Licht’s eyes widened in surprise at the force of my charge (even if it was all in my head). His face broke into a bright, genuine smile.
“You waited— Wait, no, my rival has arrived!”
Shuffling along, Licht suddenly stopped to tighten his shoes before breaking into a run.
“I can’t lose!”
I ran even harder.
Surprisingly, Licht wasn’t as fast as I’d imagined. Truthfully, our pace was about the same… No, it’s just that my running is really fast!
“Huff, huff. Licht, how many stickers do you have?”
“Stickers?”
Licht counted his stickers as he kept pace with me.
“Five. Got one at the first gate… Only got two questions right, though.”
Oh, dear.
My competitive spirit blazed even brighter. If I just won the badge, this could totally be my landslide victory.
Running into a trap midway had been my biggest setback.
‘What now?’
This maze contest—maybe it was exactly my specialty!
Will they hold this again next year? Is it okay if I win twice in a row? What if I get super strong and smart and…? Wow, just imagining it makes me feel…
“Like I could fly!”
“…”
Licht glanced sideways at me.
“You… feel like you could fly?”
“Yeah!”
“Is that something you say because you can actually fly…?”
Licht murmured, furrowing his brow in serious thought.
“What?”
“No, nothing…”
Taking a deep breath, Licht turned to look at me, suddenly serious.
“Rubian, you…”
His expression suddenly looked grave.
I didn’t know what he was thinking, but Licht was noticeably slowing down.
“Are you and Asha…?”
But I didn’t let myself get distracted.
Because right in front of my eyes—
My hands stretched out ahead of Licht’s and—
“First placeee!”
I threw open the garden gate of the maze!
“Rubian!”
“You little squirt—!”
My family, charging like bulls (literally, this time), rushed toward me.
Sob-drenched hugs from Grandpa and Mom squeezed both tears and snot out of me, and I triumphantly raised my stack of cards.
The judge smiled broadly as she checked my name.
“Yes, the winner of the maze contest is Lady Rubian Zevert!”
Wow! I did it!
“Grandpa, those runs in the training yard really paid off!”
“The training yard… We must expand the training yard! The pride of the family! What an honor!”
Ha ha ha. I laughed in Grandpa’s embrace. Dad stood behind with arms crossed, turning his lips up in an uncharacteristic smile.
“As expected… My daughter.”
See, Leon? She’s my daughter.
See that, Marquis Eibreich? She’s my daughter.
Dad, uncharacteristically, was chatting excitedly with everyone.
I landed back on my feet and pinned the badge to my chest with pride. Licht finished in second right after me.
“Oh, right. Licht, what were you going to say?”
“Oh.”
Licht paused to watch my noisy family before shaking his head.
“It’s nothing. Next time.”
“Really?”
“To be honest, I just wanted to talk to you back in the maze garden…”
He scratched his pale cheek.
“Your competitive streak was just stronger than I expected.”
Heh. I’ll take that as a compliment.
“Congratulations on your win.”
Licht reached out his hand.
I gladly took it to shake—well, I tried.
“Thank yooouuu—?”
“Congratulations, Ruby.”
My two hands were suddenly caught.
A rush of blue magic followed.
A sword intercepted the hand I’d been extending to Licht.
Licht stepped back, wearing a look of disbelief.
I glared fiercely at Khalid.
‘Way to be bold, doing this in public!’
The tracking mage seemed to have disappeared somewhere, and of course, no one here could sense the magic anyway.
Having caught the meaning in my glare, Khalid awkwardly looked away.
“…You need to recharge.”
“Recharge?”
“You must be tired from running.”
Well…
‘I guess that’s true…?’
With battery logic like that, I couldn’t quite refuse. I stood still and let myself be recharged. Khalid leaned closer and whispered,
“Did it help?”
The meaning was obvious.
“Hugely.”
I made little squeaking noises, imitating a squirrel.
His handsome lips curved into a long smile—before suddenly dropping, as if he remembered something.
“…Should I try approaching again?”
I answered him with silence.
“Our Ruby is so, so precious.”
Rosetta, my mother, kissed me on the cheek.
With the gold badge pinned proudly to my chest, I made my triumphant return home. Adolf, Hazel, and all the staff in the manor shed tears of joy.
Maybe it’s just the badge being real gold, but I swear I was radiating a halo.
I grinned at my reflection in my bedroom mirror. The star stickers I’d collected in the contest had already been submitted to the judging panel.
They said they’d announce the final scores at the award ceremony and banquet tomorrow evening.
“Hehe.”
After admiring the badge, I flopped down on the sofa. Dad lounged with his arms thrown over the backrest, smirking.
My whole family seemed genuinely happy for me, and I felt light, like a balloon floating skyward.
“Well done.”
Dad mussed my hair with a smile.
Remembering my usually taciturn dad, who had gone around everywhere bragging about me, made me laugh.
“Aren’t you tired?”
“No! Not at all. I could probably go again, twice more, even…”
“Your eyes are spinning. She’s out of her mind, Rose.”
“Oh, my.”
Pffft.
As soon as Dad finished speaking, I sagged like a deflated balloon.
“Actually, I’m exhausted.”
I confessed the truth. With the endorphins gone, the fatigue I’d put off hit me all at once.
“Let’s go to the hot spring, just us girls! Soak well, have dinner, and then sleep—you’ll feel good as new.”
“Gasp. The hot spring.”
I jumped up. There was no way I could refuse such a delicious offer.
“Ruby, apparently the judges said there was an uninvited guest in the maze garden.”
Dad asked suddenly.
“Hmm, probably just a lost Mister! It was nothing!”
“…”
I glossed over it. As if I could say, ‘Yeah, the tracking mage showed up and tried to cast nullification magic on me!’
Yet, even so, both their faces went completely still.