BEHIND THE SCENES 05: EXPECTATION A knock echoed throughout the King’s office.
The servant inside of the room politely informed the occupants about the visitor.
“Head Magician of the Court Mage Division, Dreves-sama, has arrived.”
“Alright. Let him in.”
The servant bowed at the room owner’s words and returned to the entrance once again.
After a while, a good-looking man with a smile on his face appeared.
The man also respectfully bowed to the room’s owner.
“I have come to give my report.”
“Really?”
The King guessed the content of the report by the few ushered words, and cleared people out of the room.
The only people left inside the room were the King, the Prime Minister who had just arrived, and the Head Magician.
“Is the report about the【Saint】?”
“Yes.”
The Head Magician nodded in reply to the Prime Minister’s question.
And then he told them the appraisal results on the two saint candidates.
Both the King and Prime Minister, hearing the report, groaned and remained silent.
Aira’s appraisal finished without a hitch, and her status was transcribed and then submitted with the report written by the Head Magician.
The problem was with the other candidate, Sei.
The Head Magician’s appraisal magic repelled off her and her status couldn’t be confirmed.
The King and the Prime Minister were surprised.
The reason for that was, Head Magicians were renowned across the kingdom for their unsurpa.s.sed level and magic.
Appraisal magic could repel if caster did not have the consent of the person he was casting it on.
That only happened if the caster and the target had the same basic level.
It was possible for the caster to forcibly confirm someone’s status if the person they were casting appraisal magic on was at a lower level.
Hence, the people at the palace believed that the Head Magician’s appraisal magic would succeed.
“It repelling means that her basic level high?”
“It appears so.”
“By the way, what level is she?”
“She told me she was 55.”
“55……”
Appraisal magic usually repelled if the person casting the magic wasn’t higher level than the person they were casting the magic on.
Speculation about Sei’s level being higher than the Head Magician was derived from this fact.
Their speculations had been correct and from what he’d heard from the Head Magician, Sei’s basic level was 55.
She was 10 levels higher than the Head Magician, who was said to be the highest levelled person in this Kingdom.
It was only natural that the appraisal magic repelled because of their level difference.
Everyone in the room thought so.
“So you’re saying that you still don’t know which one is the 【Saint】?”
The Prime Minister muttered with a grim look on his face, the Head Magician, however, replied “no”.
They looked relieved and focused their eyes on the Head Magician.
The Head Magician, who was being stared at, remained silent while an artificial smile appeared on his face.
“Which one?”
“…… It is probably Sei-sama.”
The Head Magician replied in one breath to the King’s brief question.
The King, who heard the answer, inhaled and then exhaled deeply.
“There’s no mistake?”
“I’m only speculating, but she most likely is.”
“I see.”
“Why do you think that she is?” the Prime Minister inquired to the Head Magician, who answered without changing his expression.
The Head Magician continued his explanation eloquently:
The holy magic that Sei had used at the hospital.
The Knights, who saw her use it, reported that it looked different from normal holy magic.
The different results he saw when he asked Sei and Aira to use their holy magic in front of him.
As a result, he concluded that Sei was the 【Saint】.
At first, the Head Magician had thought that the golden particles were a characteristic of being summoned from another world.
However, Aira’s magic was the same as the people of this world’s when she used it.
Holy magic only glowed white, it didn’t intertwine with gold particles like Sei’s magic did.
Therefore, the Head Magician concluded that the phenomenon that happened when Sei used her magic was something that was not unique to otherworlders, but to Sei herself.
“The gold particles that appear in her magic are probably unique traits of the 【Saint】. In addition, unlike Airdono, every time Sei-sama has used her magic, the results have always exceeded those of a normal person’s.”
“I see.”
The King nodded after hearing the explanation and dropped his gaze onto the desk to think.
“Good work. You may leave.”
“Yes, then if you would excuse me.”
The Prime Minister spoke after confirming that the Head Magician had left the room. “Well, things just got troublesome.”
“Yeah. Is that still the same?”
“If it’s about your son, then it would appear so.”
The King sighed deeply at the Prime Minister’s words.
He was referring to the Crown Prince when he said that.
The Crown Prince who supervised the 【Saint Summoning Ceremony】became Aira’s guardian after it was over.
The Crown Prince was vigorously protecting Aira as her guardian, and as a result, conflict had arisen amongst the courtiers.
People around the King had reported this to him, causing him to be filled with worry.
The King, of course, had advised the Crown Prince many times on this matter.
However, the Crown Prince’s att.i.tude hadn’t changed.
As a result, there had been talks about forcefully separating the two away from each other.
However, it would be difficult to do so because of the issue with throne succession.
The King could pull them apart if something important came up, but unfortunately, nothing like that had happened.
Forcefully separating the two would become a blemish for the Crown Prince and would result in more support for the Second Prince.
If so, then a smooth succession might be jeopardized.
Because the upper stratums thought like that, this problem was at a stalemate.
There was also another problem with the Crown Prince.
For whatever reason, the Crown Prince had overlooked Sei when she was summoned, and left the room.
As a result, the Kingdom incurred Sei’s anger, and the people around her had trouble dealing with her.
According to the Head Magician’s report, he was almost certain that Sei was the 【Saint】.
If she was, then her anger towards the Kingdom was very problematic.
Because then, the Crown Prince would come under more scrutiny.
“We should soon prepare for the worst……” the King grumbled as if talking to himself, and the Prime Minister just watched him silently.
They had established that Sei was a beneficial person to this Kingdom, and it didn’t matter whether she was the 【Saint】or not.
Therefore, people had been talking about giving her an apology for the Crown Prince’s rudeness, and about the necessity of rewarding her for her contributions.
Those people would only be more aggressive now that Sei was almost certain to be the 【Saint】.
“We must make an official apology. How should we prepare for it?”
“We have already done the preparations, but because of what happened just now, adjustments need to be made.”
“I see. A long time has pa.s.sed since she was summoned, so get things ready as fast as you can.”
“Understood,” the Prime Minister respectfully bowed at the King’s words and answered.
A short while after silence filled the room, the King slowly said, “About Sei-dono……”
“It’s necessary to start treating her as a 【Saint】from now on, but it would probably be better not to overdo it.”
“Is that so?”
“Ah, I had the chance to talk with her before, and it seems that she’s not good with flashy things. I also offered her rewards that aristocrats would ask for, but she refused them all.”
“That’s…… difficult. I would like her to receive rank or territory, if possible, so that she would stay in this Kingdom.”
“She also refused that. From what I hear, both of the Summoned have received a very high level of education and understand our intentions behind the offers.” The King laughed in self-derision, and the Prime Minister put his hand to his forehead and shook it side-to-side as if he had a headache.
Afterwards, they discussed the minor details for the official apology.
They talked about things like how big it should be and who should attend the audience.
They discussed how they should treat Sei from now on.
Finally, they decided that the venue would not be hosted at the room where they received foreign messengers, but in a smaller throne room. In addition, other than the King and Prime Minister, all the Ministers, Knight Captains, etc., would also attend. Only the upper stratum would be invited.
This was the King’s and Prime Minister’s utmost consideration for Sei, and also their expectation.
“I’m back.”
The person who said that as he entered his room was the Head Magician, Yuuri.
The desk of the Deputy Head Magician, Airhart, was also in the Head Magician’s office.
The reason for this was because Airhart did most of the work that the Head Magician was supposed to do, on behalf of Yuuri.
When Yuuri was a child, he had been discovered by the former Head Magician because of his talent and later adopted.
Therefore, he was brought up in a household full of gifted magicians and received special education.
That’s why his eyes sparkled when it came to magic.
He was a.s.signed to the Court Mage Division straight after graduating from the academy, and joyfully immersed himself in magic research.
The reason his basic level became the highest was also for the sake of research.
Yuuri only levelled up to progress in his research, since it was necessary to level up one’s magic skill in order to advance in magic.
If it was for the sake of research, he didn’t mind going out on subjugations alone. The nickname he received from that, Battle Maniac, wasn’t very Mage-like.
By the time he’d noticed, he couldn’t tolerate others, even those within the Court Mage Division, because he was more familiar with magic than people.
The honourable role of Head Magician was practically given to Yuri as a collar to keep him at the palace.
He could research magic as freely as he wanted if he was the Head Magician.
Yuuri became the Head Magician just because of that.
Because he was only interested in conducting magic research, he only did the minimum necessary as the Head Magician.
He was indifferent to everything except for his interests.
And the person he hired to a.s.sist him was Airhart.
“I finished giving my report.”
“Were you not grilled about her status?”
“Nope. I only told them what she told me about her basic level.”
“I see.”
“Weren’t they preoccupied by the fact that you thought Sei was the 【Saint】?”
Unlike in the King’s Office, Yuuri had an innocent smile on his face. Airhart, on the other hand, looked grim.
Yuuri didn’t notice his expression and continued talking.
“Will my opportunities to meet Sei increase? I’m interested in that magic power~.”
“……”
Yuuri was interested in Sei’s magic power, which was unique.
He wanted to observe her magic up close.
He wanted to study how it was different from theirs.
If Sei was the 【Saint】, then the opportunities for him to meet her would increase, and he would have more chances to observe her magic power.
He thought and uttered.
He finally noticed that Airhart’s expression was grim.
Yuuri chuckled.
“You don’t need to glare at me that much. It’s fine, I only want her to show me a little of her magic.”
“……”
“You’re rather interested in her, aren’t you?”
“That’s not true. I’m worried about what you would do.”
“Eh~, only that? It’s rare for you to approach people, but I heard that you came into contact with her, so I thought you liked her. Come to think of it, your brother likes her, does he not, Air?”
Yuuri baited him, and smiled bitterly when Airhart’s expression didn’t change.
It was rare for that Airhart to become interested in a woman.
The rumours were probably true after all.
Yuuri had fallen into a coma right after the 【Saint Summoning Ceremony】.
However, he had heard about what the Saint candidates did while he was asleep, and could almost grasp what was happening.
Yuuri was interested in the magic used by the 【Saint】, and also in magic used by someone summoned from another world. On top of that, he’d heard about how the Hawk brothers were treating Sei with kindness.
It was well-known amongst high society that the Hawk brothers disliked women.
The rumour was so famous that even Yuuri, who had no interest in high society, knew as well, and it was also well-known in the Royal Palace.
Actually, he’d seen Airhart acting coldly to the young ladies many times.
When Yuuri had heard that Airhart made contact with Sei when she came to the Court Mage Division, he’d put the talks about magic power aside and became a little interested in her.
It wasn’t just Yuuri who was surprised by Airhart’s att.i.tude.
The same was true for the Court Mages who had witnessed the scene. For a short time, there was even a rumour going around the Court Mage Division that springtime had come for the Deputy Head Magician.
However, the rumour about his younger brother, Alberto, had more credibility, so Airhart’s rumour soon faded.
Yuuri wasn’t interested in anything but magic.
He wasn’t even interested in the people who worked with him at the Court Mage Division, so he didn’t know much.
Because Yuuri could use magic of all attributes, he didn’t need to rely on other people for experiments, and mostly conducted the experiments by himself. Another reason was that he didn’t really a.s.sociate with other people.
Airhart, however, was his Deputy Head Magician and did work on his behalf, so he was someone that Yuuri thought of as a close friend.
Yuuri might be the only one who thought this way.
Even Yuuri wanted to avoid displeasing one of his few friends.
“I won’t harm her. If I did, I would incur the wrath of you and your brother, the Director of the Medicinal Herb Research Inst.i.tute, as well as numerous other people,” Yuuri informed him while laughing, but Airhart didn’t entirely trust him.
This was, after all, the Yuuri who entered into a trance-like state when it came to research.
In fact, he had caused problems before in the past because of it.
Yuuri said he understood, but his eyes still shone with a light that said he was going to overdo it.
Airhart unhappily sighed inside.