Youngest 141
by CristaeEpisode 141
As I thought.
I broke into a broad grin and clapped my hands.
“That’s wonderful!”
“It’s all thanks to the hint you gave me, Miss Rubian.”
Yuliope spoke softly.
“I’m truly grateful for all the times you’ve listened to me and lent your help.”
“Oh, I didn’t do anything worth mentioning!”
In truth, I’d done quite a lot!
Regardless, I demurred, hiding my contributions with a modest wave of my hand.
Then, a sudden thought struck me, and I lifted my head sharply.
“Professor! Does this mean I can go to the archive whenever I want now? It’s not a restricted area anymore?”
“What? The archive is still restricted. You still need basic permission.”
“Huh, really?”
Ah, well, that made sense.
That lock did look ancient.
‘I suspect… perhaps the one who placed the magic circle on that monument also forged that lock?’
That was my vague impression.
Yuliope laughed, gently patting my head.
“Still, if you just ask, I’ll let you in whenever you like, Miss Rubian. Not that it matters much—we only have tomorrow left anyway.”
“Wow, thank you! I’ll look around quietly and won’t trouble your salary, Professor!”
“What a thoughtful student.”
Yuliope was so moved that she scooped me up in her arms.
“Oh, but new restorers are coming tomorrow. You should make the most of going in and out today.”
“Ah, okay!”
Restorers… they’d been hired.
I nodded.
“Professor, work hard at the restoration!”
“Yes! It looks like I’ll have to give up on going home early again!”
Hahaha!
Under the clear autumn sky, Yuliope’s laughter rang out joyfully.
On the third day after Rubian left for the camp.
In the north, at Zelox.
“……”
Morris gazed, stricken, at the annex lobby.
Just looking at the mountain of brightly colored gift boxes stacked to the ceiling was enough to make his head spin.
“Sword~ bow~ shoes~ clothes~ hairpin~”
Balok, visibly delighted, wandered among the boxes.
“Uh, Your Excellency, what are you doing?”
When asked in a disgruntled tone, the old man who had been humming spun around. Apparently, he’d spent quite a summer—his skin was deep bronze.
“I’m going to the capital.”
“What? So suddenly?”
“Didn’t that Leviathan fellow say something urgent came up? I was just longing to see the youngest anyway—so it all worked out!”
Morris spotted a wooden box tossed carelessly near the entrance, full of acceleration magic stones. Leviathan must have sent them over.
“Even if we leave now, we’ll barely make it in time for the last day! We need to hurry!”
“So you’re packing for the capital now? Where’s Lady Rosetta?”
“Hm. Rosie said I should get a bit of fresh city air! She’ll mind the house on her own!”
Hmph, that didn’t quite sound right…
Morris felt a flicker of suspicion but chose not to press the issue.
“Our little one must be dying to see her old grandpa. I’ll just pop over, sneak past the academy wall, and get a quick look at her sweet face.”
“Why go through all that instead of a formal visit? Your Excellency, have you ever heard of dignity?”
“What’s that?”
“It’s what men of your station are expected to uphold. Shocking, isn’t it? And also…”
Morris wiped sweat from his brow, inhaling deeply, and let loose a barrage of complaints.
“How do you expect to carry all this? Not even twenty horses could haul it. I’ll compromise, but please—just take five. Five gifts! For dignity’s sake!”
“What? Five? Are you kidding me?”
“Have you ever seen me joke?”
“No!”
“Hmm? And what’s this—sword, bow… Why are you bringing these? Are you off to war? You were always so jumpy around the young miss!”
“They’re for children! Besides, our Ruby needs to catch bugs—she needs to be brave!”
What on earth? Morris heaved a long sigh.
Time for the final strategy.
“If Lady Rubian hears you were late because you were fussing over gifts… what will she think?”
Freeze.
As if on cue, the old duke’s shoulders stiffened.
“Maybe she wants to see her grandfather’s face more than the presents?”
“Well… that’s true. I am more of a rare sight, after all.”
Morris could only gape at the twitching corners of Balok’s mouth. He knew the young miss was precious and lovely enough, but this had to be getting worse by the day.
As if making up his mind, Balok kicked the boxes away.
“Fine! Put it all back! I can just ransack the capital’s shops, can’t I? We’re leaving now. Coachman! Take the reins!”
“Why go to such lengths! Wait! I’m not even done packing…”
Whoosh.
The old duke vanished on the wind.
“Heh, what an extreme man.”
Left behind, Morris wiped his forehead with a soft chuckle, then flung his handkerchief to the ground.
“Ah, I just want to go home!”
No, forget it, I just want to retire!
Either way, the carriage bearing the old duke raced through the streets of Zelox as if sprouting wings.
As always, it was a wild dash, and as always, the townsfolk saw Balok off with calm faces.
“Open the gate!”
The sentry grew alarmed at the dust-raising party galloping towards them, but opened the gate smoothly, long accustomed to this.
Then, from inside the carriage, Balok waved his arm.
“Wait! Halt!”
Screech. The procession stopped.
“What’s the matter, Your Excellency?”
As the escort knight approached, Balok gazed at him with indifferent eyes.
“Isn’t Oberon here?”
“Yes, he is.”
“Tell him to post more knights to the wall. Autumn always brings the most trouble here.”
“Ah, yes, understood!”
The knight, about to dash off, tilted his head in curiosity.
“But Your Excellency… Lately, magical beast incursions have dropped off significantly. They try to attack the walls, but once inside a certain range, they lose strength and die.”
He continued, his tone thoughtful.
“That mage’s barrier, is it? I hear it’s quite impressive.”
“So you’re saying you plan to slack off?”
“N-no! I just meant you can travel at ease, sir!”
“Hmph. Complacency gets you nowhere. If I return to find so much as a scratch on the wall, you’re all hiking the northern mountain together! Understood?”
“Y-yes, sir!”
Balok rolled down the window without hesitation, satisfied by the sharp reply. The carriage sped forward once more.
Inside the shaking carriage, Balok turned to Morris.
“…Do mages usually whip up barriers like that so easily?”
“Beats me. Never cared much to keep score of those people’s abilities. Nor have you, Your Excellency.”
“There’s that.”
Balok muttered to himself.
Even in his younger days, he’d shown little interest in the fanciful abilities of mages, so he had nothing more to add.
The mage who had moved to the north had offered to reinforce the walls against magical beast incursions.
Leviathan had seemed uneasy about letting some petty mage lay hands on the wall, but I’d heard he reluctantly agreed when Rubian expressed some odd desire for it.
‘If our Ruby wants it, it must be done.’
If that little one was cowering in fear of magical beasts, how could anyone refuse?
In truth, he wondered if she hadn’t wanted it long before, bottling it up all this while.
‘She must have been startled too, when the beasts appeared during the last visit to the wall…’
He recalled vividly the time that impudent Khalid boy had appeared.
‘Huh?’
Balok tilted his head.
‘But was our little one frightened then?’
The more time he spent with her, the clearer certain things became—things unnoticed at the time but suddenly obvious in hindsight.
When Rubian was genuinely scared or wanted to avoid something, she would shrink into herself.
But what about then?
“Nonsense!”
“Dear, keep your head down!”
Didn’t she gaze out over the wall without hesitation? As if she could sense the magical beasts, maybe even somewhat accustomed to it…
“Bah. Nonsense.”
Balok shook his head briskly.
“Your Excellency?”
“Pick up the pace! If I don’t get there before our little one’s observation day, you’ll regret it!”
He shouted pointedly, stomping his feet.
“Napping now!”
Snore, snore.
Beside him, Morris sighed in exasperation. Balok ignored him, obstinately closing his eyes.
‘What kind of child is familiar with magical beasts, anyway!’
Even if Rubian had grown up under difficult circumstances, there was no way she’d be used to dark beasts or magical beasts.
Unless she’d grown up under that lunatic Mage King, of course.
‘Damn it.’
Balok swallowed a curse.
Just the thought of that filthy mage left him feeling dirty.
The carriage sped out of the north, as quick-tempered as Balok himself.