Mushoku Tensei (LN) - Volume SS - Chapter 39

Exclusive New Story:

The Dedication Ceremony for Fittoa Castle

FITTOA HAD LOST EVERYTHING in the displacement incident. Many more lives were lost to its recovery. After getting back on his feet, Sauros Boreas Greyrat was executed for palace intrigue, and Senior Minister Darius, who had sought to seize control of Fittoa by funding the recovery, met his end after losing a power struggle… If the successor to the throne, Ariel Anemoi Asura, had not declared she would support the recovery, it would likely not have progressed nearly as far. Yes, Fittoa’s recovery was quiet and steady. It was overshadowed by the turbulence of the times, though sometimes those in power offered their support.

One day, in the lands at the center of Fittoa that had once been the site of the Citadel of Roa and where the town called Reborn Roa now lay, a building was completed.

It was a castle.

Okay, maybe it wasn’t big enough to be called a castle. It was the size of a fort at best. Or, if you were comparing it to the noble district in the capital of Asura, maybe a mansion. All the same, it had been an indispensable feature of the center of Roa before the disaster. 

After the site had been lined up, it was a long time before construction began. James Boreas Greyrat, the current lord of the region, did not see it as necessary for the recovery. He stayed away from Fittoa. 

But when construction began, it showed the people that the recovery was going smoothly. When it was completed, the people who had worked on the recovery thought, We’ve made it this far at last. These lands have a mansion for a great and important lord to live in again.

Because of this, Lord James decided to hold the dedication of the castle in a grand fashion. He put on celebrations throughout the entire town, invited a great many nobles to the newly completed mansion, and applied to Queen Ariel Anemoi Asura for permission to hold a dedication ceremony. Ariel was only too happy to consent and decreed that all the nobles present would attend. The news also reached Ranoa, and Rudeus Greyrat.

***

“All right then, let’s get this strategy meeting underway.”

“Okay.”

“Yeah!”

It was nighttime in the Greyrat household, and three women had gathered in one of the bedrooms. This was the Greyrat girls’ club, which they held regularly enough to have lost count of the number of times. Usually, most of the women took part, but this time, there were only three in attendance.

Sylphie, the club president, introduced the topic for discussion. “We are going to be attending a party in Reborn Roa.”

“What about it?” These days, Eris was comfortable with going to these sorts of parties. What she meant was, “If we go, we’ll just do what we always do, right? What’s there to discuss?” 

Sylphie understood this, of course.

“Well, listen to the end. So, um, on paper, this party is to celebrate Fittoa’s recovery. But I think really it’s to make sure everyone knows how well the recovery is going and that the Boreas family is back in power again.”

“Is that right?” Eris turned to Roxy, who sat beside her.

“It’s no good asking me…” Roxy replied. “But as a rule, humans don’t throw parties for no reason. I know there’s usually some political motivation involved, like making a show of authority or showing off a relationship.”

“Do demons have parties for no reason?”

“Oh yes. Especially the Demon Kings.”

“Those sound more fun!”

“Well, from what I hear, they mean no end of hardship for the people who organize them…though given they’re purely for enjoyment, I suppose they would be fun,” Roxy said. “But I’m from the countryside, so I’ve never attended one.”

“Ahem.” Sylphie cleared her throat. The other two sat up straight, then indicated for her to continue. “Usually, the three of us attend these sorts of occasions as Rudy’s wives—that is, not as nobles, but as Queen Ariel’s guests. Because nearly all the nobles know that Rudy was instrumental in putting Queen Ariel on the throne, there have never been any serious issues beyond gossip behind our backs.”

A significantly embellished version of the story of how Ariel Anemoi Asura had claimed the throne was now known far and wide. In particular, the story of the dramatic showdown when Perugius went to Asura Castle had been dressed up so spectacularly that rumors had sprung up of Ariel physically throwing out all the nobles who stood in her way, which had set all the nobles who were hostile toward her trembling. Because of this, few would openly speak or act against Rudeus’s household, who were the ones who had orchestrated it.

“But this time is different,” Sylphie went on. “That’s because this time, there also will be a lot of mid-ranking, rural nobles in attendance who can’t go to court at Asura Castle.”

Mid-ranking, rural nobles—in other words, there would be masses of people who didn’t really understand Rudeus and Ariel’s relationship, or what the high-ranking nobles who interacted daily with royalty were afraid of and what they held back.

“As such, I’d like to prepare now for what people might say to us and the attitude we ought to adopt before there’s any trouble. Especially you, Eris!”

“Why me?” Eris demanded, pouting. 

Recently, how she conducted herself…couldn’t be said to have improved, but if nothing else, no one was brave enough to find fault with her when she attended parties in the capital at Rudeus’s side.

“Because you’re descended from the Boreas family, which puts you in the trickiest position. I think you’ll likely have some odd types bothering you.”

“I’m not a Boreas anymore.”

“That’s true. But details like that don’t matter. Not when people want to find fault with someone they don’t like. You understand, right?”

“Yeah, I get that!”

Eris cared just as little when someone rubbed her the wrong way. She also didn’t care about details when people found fault with her. Fights were decided in an instant, and if you bothered with stuff like that, you lost.

Seeing that Eris understood, Sylphie gave a satisfied nod. “Good. Then let’s do our best so that we don’t make trouble for Rudy.”

Eris folded her arms and nodded. “Gotcha.”

Really, if the party was going to be that bad, they also had the option not to go. There was no need for Rudeus’s family to carry out the obligations of Asuran nobility. But this party was “The Anniversary Party for Fittoa’s Recovery.” Eris and Roxy had once lived in that region, and its lands held fond memories, so they wanted to attend if possible. For Rudeus and Sylphie, this went without saying.

“Don’t worry,” Sylphie said. “Parties this big don’t happen every day. So long as nothing turns into a really serious problem, Queen Ariel and I will take care of things.”

Sylphie had called them to this strategy meeting because attending this sort of party meant something. She was sure Rudy would have said the same.

“All right, first of all…” 

And so the night went by in that bedroom in the Greyrat house…

***

The day arrived. A great crowd was gathered in the courtyard of the newly constructed mansion in Reborn Roa. There were high-ranking nobles who had come all the way from the capital, mid-ranking nobles who resided in Fittoa, and nobles from neighboring regions who had supported the recovery…and it wasn’t all nobles. Key members of the organizations who had worked on the recovery, as well as merchants who had laid down their personal fortunes to help out had also received special permission to attend. 

The party began with a speech from James Boreas Greyrat, but his words sounded somehow empty. It was as though he was simply rattling off lines that sounded good. To be fair, that was a given. No one could accuse James Boreas Greyrat of making any great ­effort toward Fittoa’s recovery. All the same, those who had worked on the recovery were deeply moved when Alfonse, the old man standing at James’s side, began to weep. They knew he was the one who had carried on with the late Sauros Boreas Greyrat’s wishes. It was he who had taken on the role of leader, a role he continued to fulfill in the present. It was he, a mere servant, who had gone around talking to all sorts of people, offering encouragement or lending a hand as required. He had brought people together and, all the while, patiently persisted in bringing the recovery to the attention of his lord, who was apathetic toward it. Now he stood weeping at his lord’s side not as a servant, but as one who had done a great service. Just seeing him there made the party worthwhile for those who had worked on the recovery. 

After the speech, the party continued smoothly. Ariel spoke after James, and then a Millis blessing was conducted. After that came the introduction of the band, followed by the introduction of the head chef; then the party transitioned into the sort of stand-up ­dinner party common in Asura. The style had come into fashion after Ariel’s accession to the throne and had been well received by many nobles as, especially at well-attended parties like this one, it made it easy to approach the high-ranking nobles one wanted to curry favor with. The style did have its problems, however. In particular, when there were massive differences in rank between attendees as at this party, people would talk to those who, by rights, they were not permitted to address.

“So you’re that Eris woman who used to be a Boreas Greyrat.”

Indeed, the trouble Sylphie had been afraid of was unfolding right then and there. The buffet had opened, and Eris made a beeline for the whole roasted hog. That was when trouble closed in. 

Usually, Rudeus would have been at her side to block off such pests. 

My husband…

Oi, what’re you saying to my wife? Hey, where are you from? You know Queen Ariel and I are friends, yeah?

That threat would have cleared away any malcontents in no time. But alas, Rudeus was paying his respects to Alfonse and wasn’t there to watch after Eris as he should have been. Eris had no choice but to deal with this one herself.

To her, the man speaking to her was a stranger. She didn’t know that he was the second son of a mid-ranking noble who resided in a corner of Milbotts, not far from Fittoa. His family had originally been low-ranking nobles with no lands of their own, but after the destruction of the Fittoa region, they had provided aid to the refugees who had come to Milbotts looking for work, furnishing them with accommodation and employment. In recognition of these deeds, his family had been elevated to mid-ranking nobility.

They had gone on to take on various odd jobs related to the recovery, which had brought them to the attention of James and Ariel. The local nobility also regarded them with interest. The son, however, once everyone suddenly began fawning over him following the abrupt improvement in his father’s position, had started to get some funny ideas.

“That’s right!” Eris said. She didn’t know any of that. She was just doing as they had practiced.

“I heard that you, a lady of the Greyrat family, went and married a backwater noble or something.”

“That’s right!”

“Dear me. All that talk from the Boreas Greyrats about recovery, but now I see they bought it by whoring out their own flesh and blood.” He scoffed. “How our greatest families have fallen.”

“Yes, quite right!”

Under normal circumstances, talking like that about a great noble family like the Boreas Greyrats would not have been tolerated. The man could even have been executed then and there for his disrespect. But his family had provided aid to the Boreas Greyrats during the recovery at great hardship to themselves. Basically, this guy saw it like this: Even if I say a bit more than I should to one of the Boreas Greyrats, the worst that happens is my father gets some flak. I’ll get a pass in the end.

Eris didn’t know any of that. She wanted to eat the roast hog while it was still sizzling hot, and she was considering punching out this annoying man in her way. But Sylphie had told her firmly that she was not to punch anyone. So Eris was patient. Her sword training had taught her endurance. That being said, she hadn’t gotten any better at learning or remembering, and she couldn’t apply what she did learn to save her life, so she had no idea what she was supposed to do in this situation. At this rate, the party was going to get showered in one body’s worth of blood. Eris had learned endurance, but she had also learned to counterattack at top speed without her brain getting in the way. 

The nobles nearby watched them uncomfortably. Most were mid-ranking nobles who knew the second son but didn’t know Eris. They were unsure whose side to take without knowing the relationship between the two. On top of that, they were afraid that if they stuck their noses in, it would only bring trouble down on their heads.

“Eris!” Someone ran over to her. 

She turned, then, recognizing who it was, she called out in delight: “Ghislaine!”

Tall, with red-brown skin, big ears, and the muscles Rudeus described as “like steel,” Ghislaine was getting on in years but still in good shape. Sword King Ghislaine, the Queen’s Guard Dog from the Seven Knights of Asura, personal bodyguard to Ariel Anemoi Asura and one of the greatest sword fighters in Asura, came over to Eris, then looked down at the noble who was hassling her with a crooked smile.

“This guy must be very brave to tangle with you.”

“Really and truly.” Another voice chimed in to agree with Ghislaine. Another woman stood hidden in Ghislaine’s shadow. “If it were me, I’d plead and cry and say I didn’t want to, even if Her Majesty herself ordered it. The cost of picking a fight with this one’s more than I can afford.” It was Water Emperor Isolde Cluel, the King’s Shield in the Seven Knights of Asura. She was another of Asura’s best sword fighters.

“Wh-what’s your deal?” The noble shrank away from the two of them, taking a step back.

“We’re friends of Eris’s… You don’t know us, sir?”

“How should I?!”

“Picking a fight with someone you don’t even know in the Asura Kingdom…” Isolde sighed. “Ghislaine, Eris, what do you say that we show mercy to him for his bravery and settle for only throwing him out of here?”

“Throw me out?! Just who do you think I am?! If it weren’t for us Tilmonds, Fittoa’s recovery would never—”

“How about you tell me who you think this woman is?” Isolde said, her face dead serious. The noble shrank back even further.

“But she’s just, you know, that girl from the has-been Boreas family. The one they said was a problem child…”

“You are entirely mistaken,” Isolde replied promptly. 

But that couldn’t be right, the noble thought. He didn’t know the exact details, but he was sure she was only one of those good-for-nothings who often cropped up in noble families, who had married some foreign magician who wasn’t even a noble.

“Then who is she…?”

Isolde smiled faintly at his confusion. “By all means, go and find out for yourself. Before you ruin that family you’re so proud of, that is,” she said, then grinned. The noble realized that his feet had left the ground. Ghislaine had picked him up by the scruff of his neck.

“H-hey! What are you doing?! Put me down! Let go!”

Without a word, Ghislaine hefted him above her head, swung, and released.

“Aaaaaaaaaaa…grbt!” The noble sailed out through the open window, letting out a wail that ended in a croak like a frog as he vanished from sight and, by the sounds of it, landed in a hedge.

Eris watched him go, then turned back to the other two.

“Hey, it’s been ages! Thanks for helping me out!”

“It really has, Eris! I was on tenterhooks wondering when you’d punch him.”

“Sylphie told me you don’t punch people in places like this!” 

“Does that mean if she hadn’t said anything, you would have punched him…?” Isolde asked.

“Obviously. Anyway, let’s eat already. It’ll get cold!”

“Heh. Yes, let’s. Ghislaine’s stomach has been rumbling so loudly…”

“Bothered you, did I? My apologies.” Laughing together, the three of them dug into the roast hog. Not a soul tried to say anything untoward to Eris—not with Ghislaine and Isolde on either side of her. 

Well, that wasn’t quite accurate. There was one. Two men who had been watching from a distance now approached, drawn by the sound of the wailing. One was on the other side of old age, while the other was a youth. The old man regarded Eris with a somewhat conflicted expression until, at a word of admonishment from the younger, he slowly moved toward her.

“Lady Eris,” he said. The old man—Alfonse—came up to her, then gave a short bow. “You have grown into a fine young woman. I am truly glad to see you well.”

“Alfonse…” Eris stood up straighter. She hadn’t known that Alfonse would be at the party. But she had been thinking that if she ever ran into him, there was something she ought to say. The only thing was that after discarding the name of Boreas and running away from her duty to Fittoa’s recovery, she knew she had no right to say it. Of course, even if she had stayed, there was probably nothing she could have done other than get married off to some nobleman… But she understood now, more or less, that that had been her duty as a noble. So she knew she was in no position to say what she was going to say. At the same time, there was no one else to do it. And so she said it. She said it because her father—or rather, her grandfather—could not. She said it as the last of the Boreas Greyrats who had lived in Fittoa.

“Since you took over to see Grandpa’s wishes carried out, it’s amazing how far the recovery’s come! Thank you for all your work!”

For a while, Alfonse stared blankly at Eris. Then, tears began to flow down his cheeks. “Thank you,” he said.

He had sworn his loyalty to Sauros, served Philip, and worked himself to the bone, all for the sake of the Boreas family and Fittoa. Then, Fittoa had been destroyed, Sauros and Philip died, and Eris left. Some days, he did not know why worked so hard for the recovery. Some nights he had lain awake questioning himself. He never found any answers. Nor had he forgotten how Eris had left rather than fulfill Sauros and Philip’s dying wishes. An emptiness had remained inside him even after the mansion had been completed.

“Truly, a fine young woman,” he said. “Your husband must be very happy.”

Despite all that, those simple words from Eris made him feel whole again. His heart was full of feelings he could not put into words. He felt as though everything he had done for the recovery had been leading him to this. Yes, on that day, Alfonse knew it had all been worth it.

***

Out of the corner of her eye, Roxy watched the upset around Eris, then let out a sigh of relief. She had been worried, what with everything Sylphie had said beforehand, but there had been no need. Even Eris had plenty of friends in the Asura Kingdom. There were lots of people around to help her out. It embarrassed her to think she had been readying herself to step in on Eris’s behalf if it came to that. But in any case, the trouble had passed. Now, just as planned, all that was left to do was partake of the enormous cake the size of a grown Migurd man that she’d been eyeing up since the food was served. Things like going around and greeting people could be left to Rudeus and Sylphie. If anything, she thought it was better that she didn’t participate in that sort of thing. Roxy was well aware of how she looked. If she followed them around as they greeted everyone, she would get funny looks, perhaps even patronizing comments. 

But Roxy was forgetting something.

“Here, what’s a demon child doing in a place like this…?” came a voice. “Must have snuck in from somewhere…”

She had forgotten that she was, if anything, more conspicuous on her own.

Here we go. Can I please just get some cake? Roxy didn’t panic. She was used to this sort of thing. No matter where she went, there was always someone who couldn’t pass up the chance to be racist to demons.

“I don’t believe I’ve had the pleasure of your acquaintance,” she said. “My name is Roxy M. Greyrat.”

Roxy wasn’t Eris. She was the type to put what she learned to proper use. To discourage them, she greeted them per Asuran manners, then mentioned the Greyrat name. If they were an Asuran noble of good sense, the name of Greyrat ought to put them off, and even if they didn’t know who she was, a demon with the name Greyrat would make them leave her be rather than risk provoking her. 

“A Greyrat, you say?”

“I am married to Rudeus Greyrat of Ranoa.” If this person didn’t understand, she would simply state her relationship with Rudeus plainly. You know Rudeus, he enjoys Ariel’s favor. You know what that means, don’t you?

If he went on jeering at her for being a demon after that, she only had to introduce him to one of her acquaintances nearby. Happily, she saw many familiar faces.

“Hmm. Then I suppose you must be the Roxy M. Greyrat, King-tier water magician and adventurer extraordinaire?”

“Yes, I suppose,” Roxy admitted.

Of course, you never knew how things would really play out.

“And the Roxy who put together that treatise on learning methods for silent spellcasting and truncated incantations, right?”

“Yes, I wrote that. What about it?” Roxy, reeling a little at these unexpected questions, looked up to see a nervous-looking man with pronounced cheekbones. In the depths of his eyes, she thought she saw not scorn or hatred, but something else altogether. That look was why she didn’t immediately appeal to someone she knew for aid.

“Do you really believe, my good lady, that so long as one practices it from a young age, anyone may learn to perform silent casting?”

“I wouldn’t say anyone, but it should be possible for most people.” The man had sounded like he disagreed, which made Roxy a little cross. But she did her best to reply calmly.

Engaging with people who wanted to prove her wrong was a bad habit of hers, but here, it was the way the man had looked at her that made her decide to talk to him.

“In that case, why did you add abridged incantations, what one might call a degraded form of silent casting, to your treatise? Was it not the case that you, unable to master silent casting yourself, did not wish to lose your superior position?”

“Not at all. You have to practice in order to cast silent spells with your hands or feet, or from a staff or the like. If you lose any of those, or if your mental state becomes significantly unstable, it is possible to fail to cast the spell correctly. With incantations, however, the process is half automatic, so the spell may still work even in such a state. That being so, it is rational to study both methods.”

The noble blinked a few times at Roxy when she was finished, took a deep breath, then let it out. Then, he got down on his knees, looked her in the eye, and held out his hand to her.

“I am Platio Navydog, Chancellor of the Asura Institute of Magic. I cannot express how honored I am at the chance to meet a great magician of such eminence. For all that it was uttered in ignorance, I hope you will forgive my earlier rudeness. The fact is, so little is known for sure of your appearance that many claim your name falsely.”

“Oh, no. I didn’t mind. It reminded me of the back and forths I had with my master long ago…” At this sudden shift in the man’s demeanor, Roxy, too, adjusted her tone. So he was testing me, she thought with private relief. Thank goodness I answered him properly. 

“When you say ‘master,’ do you refer to Vice Principal Jenius of the Ranoa University of Magic? I met him once, and what a humble fellow he was. I suppose he was the same when he had these sorts of debates with his students.”

“No, back then, he was very short-tempered. As was I, for that matter…But after looking back on my mistakes, I realized that it’s no good simply standing above everyone else.” Roxy took the man’s outstretched hand—a handshake, how humans greeted one another. But Platio looked down at her hand with a doubtful expression. For a few seconds, he didn’t move, but then he muttered, “I see,” and gripped her hand in return.

“Is something wrong?” Roxy asked.

“No, I only saw the back of your hand and thought that seeing as you appear to be a lady, I ought to…but then I remembered you are married.”

“Oh… Yes, my husband might be unhappy with you if you did that.”

“What a frightening thought. But in any case, I am very glad to have met you. Your name is even more widely known than Master Rudeus’s. I have wanted to talk to you for a long time.”

“You have?”

“Yes, I’m afraid it’s a very pragmatic concern, but I admit, with some embarrassment, that I am interested in King-tier water magic, and so if possible, for my future reference—though I fully realize the impertinence of my request—and I am related, if distantly, to the Bluewolf family, so I believe I can offer you appropriate compensation…”

“You want me to show you?”

“Well—” Platio’s eyes moved to something behind Roxy and he swallowed his next words. Roxy turned around. There, with a disturbingly fake smile, was Rudeus.

“Rudy…?”

“What is it, Master Roxy?”

“What’s wrong? That look on your face is terrifying…”

“Is that…right?” Rudeus rubbed his cheeks, then pushed the corners of his mouth, which were stretched uncannily upward, back down. “It’s just, I see my beloved wife, my teacher, the guiding light of my life, with some lowlife hanging off her, so I come over only to find it’s someone who fully apprehends the situation and, well, I couldn’t help it.”

“You’re getting creepy again, Rudy.”

“Are you saying I’m not always creepy?”

“Don’t be like that, please.”

“Sorry. Ahem.” Rudeus cleared his throat. “How about it, Roxy? After all Mister Platio’s just said, why don’t you give him a King-tier water magic show?”

Platio looked up with a start. “Would you really?! N-nothing would make me happier! The rulers of Asura give so little support to magic that we have no one who can cast King-tier magic—none of us has so much as laid eyes on such a person. But it is not only about King-tier magic. I have heard that the beauty of your spellcasting outshines even the other educators of the Ranoa University of Magic! May I beg a demonstration of your refined technique?”

“Who’s been saying all that?” Roxy said. “No, I can guess.”

Rudeus watched, grinning, as Platio went on with such enthusiasm that he might have been about to apply to be her apprentice. Whenever some exaggerated story of Roxy’s talents went around, it was usually his fault.

“Well, if you insist, I suppose it couldn’t hurt.”

All the same, Roxy was not a woman who was indifferent to praise. Rudeus disappeared like a mirage before reappearing a few moments later with her staff. She took it and headed for the balcony, then she raised the staff to point out the window. Then she stopped short.

“Wait, should I do this now?”

“Is there a time and place to show the world the true extent of your powers?”

“Of course there is.”

“Even so, you are very busy, Master, and I imagine it won’t be easy for Mister Platio to come all the way to Ranoa.”

“Surely I can just go to Asura.”

“Summoning you just so that you can demonstrate King-tier water magic? I won’t stand for it.”

“I mean, I wouldn’t mind just tagging along when you have business here, Rudy, but…oh, all right. But where should I aim? After how far the recovery has come, I’d feel awful if it got swept away in a flood…”

For just a moment, Rudeus looked sad to have lost the chance for a date. But he recovered himself, then pointed to a forest in the distance.

“Somewhere over there should work, right? They’re planning on developing it, but apparently, negotiations with the woodcutters guild have been rough, so they won’t be able to start for a while. I doubt anyone will complain even if your spell wipes out the forest.”

“I’m not you, Rudy. I don’t have that kind of power…”

“Well, in any case.”

As they spoke, Roxy readied her staff. The nobles nearby looked at her with slight alarm, but Rudeus was so unfazed that Roxy didn’t notice. She began her incantation.

“Oh, spirits of the magnificent waters, I beseech the Prince of Thunder! I call upon you, mighty spirit of light, lord of the heavens! Grant me my wish, and as thy divine hammer strikes its anvil, cover the land with water!” 

If you knew, you knew. If you didn’t, you were out of luck. Roxy shortened the incantation of the King-tier water spell as though it were nothing.

“Do you see your sworn enemy, in all his arrogance? I would be the holy blade that strikes him down! Let your radiant power teach him that the Emperor yet reigns supreme!”

The prayer she recited had not only been substantially shortened compared to the original incantation, it was also optimized. This was undoubtedly the result of Roxy’s ongoing hard work and research. That was why Rudeus clasped his hands together like he was praying and made goo-goo eyes at her. Roxy’s shortened incantations produced spells more efficiently than Rudeus’s silent casting. For Rudeus, who had a massive reserve of mana, this was no advantage, but for most magicians, it was a useful, if unflashy technique. The trade-off was an increase in the difficulty of mana manipulation, but Roxy had done enough practice that she carried it off effortlessly.

“Lightning!” In the same instant that her staff came sweeping down, there was a flash of electricity. The fat bolt of lightning streaked down from the pitch-black sky, causing a small explosion where it struck. A moment later, the distinctive roar of thunder shook the party, and all the nobles froze at the sudden boom. There was a moment of silence alongside many puzzled expressions. Then people began to babble excitedly, and soon one sound drowned out the rest: applause.

“Bravo!” Rudeus’s eyes had gone spiral-shaped, and he was clapping. Platio followed suit, applauding as he began to sing Roxy’s praises.

“What an extraordinary display of magic… One could tell you shortened the incantation, but the impossibly perfect control with which you manipulated the mana was more impressive still. I wish every magician would follow your example!!”

The nobles might not have quite understood what had just happened, but they knew who Platio was. This was the chancellor of the venerable Asura Institute of Magic, not to mention one of the kingdom’s few magicians. For him to be so full of praise, some of them thought, it must have been something pretty amazing, and they started clapping too. This inspired others to join in. Asuran nobles were acutely sensitive to the atmosphere around them. It was better to clap now, even if you didn’t know why, rather than risk being seen as harboring ill-will by not clapping at all. Not knowing this, Roxy accepted the thunderous applause with an air of self-consciousness. At the same time, though, she drew herself up a little, and there was a look of pride on her face.

“A-anyway, that’s more or less the idea.”

“I am awestruck. Master Rudeus was so lavish in his praise that it began sounding slightly over the top. I doubted the reality would live up to all he said, but you went far above and beyond anything I imagined.”

“Of course she did. I could never do her justice in words. In the first place, she doesn’t just have wonderful powers, she’s also a wonderful person, and—” Rudeus started off on a loud rant, but Roxy deliberately ignored him. It was the best course of action when he started acting strangely.

“How in heaven’s name did you get to this level?”

“With proper practice, anyone could do what I…well, that might be going a bit far, but I’ve always tried to improve myself, and this is the result.”

“I see. I shall teach that to my students.”

“I’m honored… Oh, but do make sure to praise them. Things that might seem trivial to you and me could be a sign of steady improvement to a student.” As Roxy said this, a hint of yearning came into her eyes. She was probably remembering the student she had lost once. Rudeus, who knew that story, was for once quiet and on his best behavior. That was the severity of the wound that incident had left in Roxy’s heart.

Platio, noticing all of this, gave a gentle nod. “I shall bear that in the front of my mind.” 

***

Sylphie watched Eris and Roxy’s conversations from Ariel’s side. For all that she had drilled into them, she needn’t have bothered. The likes of Asuran nobles were no match for either of them. She thought that perhaps the idea of a celebration of Fittoa’s recovery had put her a little too on edge.

“You’re in good spirits, Sylphie,” Ariel said, smiling at her.

“You can tell?”

“Yes, has something good happened?”

“Well… Today is the celebration of Fittoa’s recovery, and so while it might not be how it was, I really felt that little by little, I’m getting my home back. That alone would have been enough to make me happy, but…”

“But?”

“Me, Rudy, Eris, and Roxy have lived here before. But we’re not the same as we were back then. I was thinking about how much we’ve surely all grown in the meantime, until we were able to return. I don’t know, it just made me happy.”

This brought back to Ariel a memory of Sylphie, just after the destruction of Fittoa, when she had been so frail and seemed perpetually terrified. She’d come to the palace in Asura, and by living as Fitz she had, little by little, grown stronger. Perhaps that meant that when she was living in Fittoa, back before they had met, Sylphie had been even weaker and more fragile. And she doubted Sylphie was the only one. Rudeus was different, as were Roxy and Eris. Seeing those differences had made Sylphie happy.

“What sort of child were you back in Buena?” Ariel asked.

“Well…my hair was green.”

“Like Sieg, your son?”

“Yes. I could never tell you because I thought you would despise me.”

“True, back then just the sight of green hair would probably have had me screaming in terror.”

Sylphie chuckled. “It’s a good thing I kept my mouth shut, then,” she said, and the two laughed. After a moment, she added, “I really am glad we came.”

The party to celebrate the recovery of Fittoa was, to the majority of nobles, an event of no great importance. Even those who had worked on the recovery and those who had once lived in Fittoa could have done without it. But people need moments to reflect on their lives. They need the chance to look at where they’ve come from in order to know where they are now. This party, Sylphie thought as she gazed out at all the familiar faces she could see among the partygoers, had been such an opportunity for her.

***

Later, it was discovered that Roxy’s spell had started a fire that consumed the whole forest. Not only that, but the story picked up embellishments until rumors were flying that Rudeus, angry at being laughed at by his wife, had destroyed it. The Greyrat family laughed themselves silly when they heard this—but that’s a story for another time.