Saikyou Mahoushi no Inton Keikaku (LN) - Volume 14 - Chapter 78

Seventy-Eighth Chapter

Plus One

“Aha ha ha ha! You’re too weak!” a girl’s high-pitched voice rang out over the training grounds of the Second Magical Institute.

Taking advantage of the fact that nobody was around to see it, Lilisha loudly and mercilessly sneered at Tesfia. Although it had been Tesfia’s provocations that started everything, once their mock battle began, the difference in strength between Lilisha and Tesfia was apparent to anyone.

This was due in part to Lilisha’s new AWR, which performed so well it even attracted Alus’s attention. It was an unusual type of high-performing AWR that was equipped to a finger. But of all things, it was the Fable family that had sent it.

However, with the exception of Tesfia’s Kikuri, AWRs typically optimized themselves for their users through the accumulation of mana information. So it was hard to believe that it was handed down considering how well Tesfia used it.

Did they have an AWR of that caliber lying around with nobody using it? It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that it was made with the intent of handling mana steel threads. It makes sense to assume that it is related to Selva in some way, but to think they’d just give it away... Alus thought.

Alus’s cheeks twitched at the caliber of the Fable family’s generosity as he watched the two girls fight.

I don’t know what they’re planning, but it’s far too high quality to just toss to a stranger, he thought.

At the very least, it wasn’t something one would imagine the Fable family giving to Lilisha after she’d bared her fangs at them.

Who can ever understand what nobles are thinking. But if I think too hard about it, I’ll just end up right where they want me.

Alus didn’t care to learn about noble society or their fetters and customs, be it Frose Fable or anyone else.

Loki looked pensive and was thinking of something different from Alus. She had a very combative mindset, but as a young maiden she got a failing grade.

“Well, that’s definitely nasty, don’t you think?” asked Alus.

“Yes! How is she going to overcome that?” answered Loki seriously when Alus suddenly turned towards her.

When seeing someone strong, it was natural for a Magicmaster to think of countermeasures rather than marveling at them.

“You could say that the threads from that AWR are special. It’s not just a matter of strength either. You can see them oscillating a little, can’t you? It’s a very sensible use of mana steel threads,” said Alus.

The threads were strong but could still be freely manipulated. Plus, from what Alus could see, the vibrations could interfere with magic. It was like the threads were manifesting Railpine, one of the tricks up Alus’s sleeve that created powerful vibrations. The threads were tearing up any magic that touched them.

Using magic to fight magic was standard practice when Magicmasters fought other people, but the usual techniques would fail when faced with this thread.

Lilisha had learned assassination techniques and wasn’t skilled at typical magic, so this thread perfectly covered her weakness. It allowed her to replace a standard magic against magic fray with her specialty, mana against magic.

This even gave her the advantage when fighting on the limited training grounds. Conversely, Tesfia had to fend off attacks from all directions in a complete nightmare of a situation. Fortunately, the worst damage Lilisha’s threads would inflict would be a headache. It was a mock battle, after all.

Alus folded his arms and watched the conflict develop. He whispered to Loki, “If you put yourself in that position, think of what you could and could not do.”

With that, Loki stared at the sparring girls with even more intensity.

Meanwhile, Tesfia was stuck in defensive mode, unable to switch over to the offensive. Seeing her spells cut to pieces, she had given up on directly attacking with spells and kept a moderate distance where she could attack with her AWR.

She was handling herself much better than she used to, swinging her katana without hesitation as she sped towards Lilisha. However, Lilisha showed no signs of faltering and elegantly raised her right hand. It was equipped with Magdala, the AWR that had grabbed Alus’s attention.

Tesfia’s Kikuri sliced below it, but a high-pitched metallic sound rang out. Five threads had spread from Lilisha’s fingers to the ground, and the hardened threads became a wall that blocked Tesfia’s slash.

Tesfia must have seen such a defense coming, though, as Kikuri turned into an Ice Blade and left thin frost on the threads. She changed direction and swung her blade upward across the frozen threads, aiming for Lilisha’s right hand.

Then there was a strange clicking sound.

If there had been other spectators around, they would have been shocked by what had happened. Lilisha had just blocked Tesfia’s slash with Magdala.

But it was how she’d blocked it that was surprising. She had used only the single finger of Magdala, causing dense mana to blur space like oil in water—and the blade had stopped just at the claw of the AWR.

Lilisha had been confident that she could pull it off, but the success still brought a pleased smile to her face. As if in response to her glossy lips curling up, the surface of Magdala gleamed in a mysterious light. The next moment, several mana steel threads shot out from the tip of the finger and wrapped themselves around Tesfia’s blade.

Tesfia pulled on her katana and managed to shake it free from the thread. Then she raised the palm of her free hand into the air. It didn’t take long for a massive wall of ice to rise up between the two girls.

But the next moment, Tesfia had to jump back as countless threads shredded the wall.

“Phew, I recall Selva being skilled with those threads too,” she said. “Did you put all of your effort into that because of your pitiful magic?”

“You don’t have to say that! But that’s fine. Even with Alus teaching you, it looks like you have a ways to go. I’ll be able to brush off your nonsense for the time being.” Lilisha flashed Tesfia a condescending smile, as if to say that bracing herself was pointless.

Tesfia’s temples twitched and her mana exploded out in anger, instantly creating a massive Icicle Sword. The blade shone in a bright blue. It was as beautiful as a glass sculpture.

Tesfia fought back with a refined smile. Exhaling a breath of cold air, she snapped her wrist and the sword shot forward. “At least try not to die from this, Lilisha.”

It was a strange mock battle. Neither side was directly cursing the other, opting instead to stab at each other with roundabout words. It was a mental fistfight wearing the mask of nobility.

But that aside, Tesfia’s last attack was a dangerous one. The power of her Icicle Sword was the real deal. Piercing the air, the sword quickly closed in on Lilisha.

“Don’t make me laugh!”

Lilisha was quick to counter, pulling at the space in front of her with Magdala’s claw. In the next moment, Lilisha moved her finger and something strange happened to the Icicle Sword. It froze midair.

“Wha—?!” Tesfia’s eyes shot open wide.

Right before her, the Fable family’s inherited magic had been transformed into a beautiful exhibit on display in a museum.

Anyone with enough talent who was also straining their eyes might have been able to see several threads wrapped around the sword, all stemming from a single thread in front of Lilisha. They’d also see that all of them were carefully tied to the wall.

Unlike normal threads that required a point to wrap around, Lilisha’s thread seemed to grow out of the surface of the wall and the ceiling. They came from all directions and angles to wrap around the sword of ice, not allowing it to budge.

In addition, countless more threads spread across the training grounds like a net. It was a spider’s web stretching in all directions.

“I may have gotten this AWR from your family, but this is a competition. And as someone who reports directly to the ruler, I can’t lose to a mere student,” said Lilisha.

Next, she pulled a string next to her like a harp and Tesfia’s Icicle Sword shattered from within.

“What’s that? If you’re going to give up, you should do so now. I guess I’m not being very mature either...so why don’t we call it a draw?” Lilisha kindly offered, wanting to put an end to their pointless battle.

After overwhelming Tesfia with their sheer difference in strength, Lilisha offered her a helping hand with a composed smile. It was a very calculated act, and she glanced over at Alus, who was looking on. She hoped he would act as mediator between her and his disappointing student.

But all Alus did was shrug and gesture with his chin to note her naivety.

Lilisha was the one who had decided their mock battle was just some game between students. But Alus knew Tesfia hated losing. And the harder she was pushed, the more she grew. She might not be formidable, but she was a very annoying opponent.

Lilisha furrowed her brow, trying to understand Alus’s reaction. However...

Lilisha instinctively looked back at the redheaded girl she had dismissed as an unworthy foe. The slight chill at her feet made her face stiffen.

The web of mana steel threads should have kept her at a safe distance from Tesfia. It should have been impossible for her to weave her way through the threads and get close to Lilisha.

No matter how fast Tesfia moved, if so much as one of her fingers touched one of the threads, she would take massive damage. Thanks to the training ground’s system, that damage would be transformed into an unbearable headache. But even if she could somehow overcome the headache, Lilisha would be warned the moment a thread was touched.

So there was no way that Tesfia should have been there, and yet...

“Tsk!” Lilisha caught a glimpse of a red pigtail in the corner of her eyes. She didn’t know how, but Tesfia had made it all the way in front of her without being sensed.

H-How did she get past the thread...?! she thought.

Now it was Lilisha’s turn to open her eyes wide. The barely visible mana steel threads had at some point been covered in ice and turned into long, thin icicles, robbing them of their original role. Now they were easily visible and couldn’t trap anyone.

This is what Alus’s shrug had meant.

She’d looked down at their mock battle and misjudged Tesfia’s potential. She’d looked down on her and judged her as some spoiled young lady who had never walked a path nearly as harsh as her own.

This unexpected counterattack unnerved Lilisha, and she reflexively took a step back. That’s when she saw the expression on Tesfia’s face.

Her open, unblinking eyes showed extreme concentration. It was hard to believe it was the same Tesfia who had been trash-talking her moments ago. It was as if she had become an empty void.

Lilisha gasped when she heard a crackling sound. Cold air was taking shape into another bright-blue sword, Zepel.

Lilisha wondered when she had cast that spell as she unconsciously poured mana into Magdala to counter the powerful magic before her. The magic formula engraved on the AWR turned reddish-brown like blood had flown into it.

That’s when the mock battle turned serious and the atmosphere became deadly because Lilisha chose to fight back rather than just wait.

“That’s enough.” Both of the girls felt like they heard a low voice right by their ears.

And in fact, they had heard his voice. Alus had slid between them just before Tesfia could close in from her low stance. He held Lilisha’s arm with one hand and held down Tesfia’s forehead with his other.

He looked at her eyes beneath his hand and felt a chill on his hand holding her forehead.

“Ow?!”

Alus curled up his index finger and flicked Tesfia’s forehead. Tesfia bent backward a little, but she brought her head forward at twice the speed, the usual liveliness back in her eyes.

“Al! That hurts! I could feel it all the way into my skull!” cried Tesfia.

“Shut up. Try to be more serious when you fight,” said Alus.

“What are you talking about?! I was about to win... Hmm?” Tesfia suddenly tilted her head and started vaguely muttering like somebody going through a mystical experience.

She had been manipulating her body and mana using her deep consciousness. At the time, she’d only been vaguely aware of her surroundings due to her extreme focus, but that had now disappeared. Like someone waking up from a dream, the climax of the battle she’d just had was a little vague.

“Whatever. Alice, call the match. It’s a draw,” said Alus.

Tesfia and Lilisha both objected and complained, but as the referee, Alice had the final say. However, Alice seemed a little out of it and unaware of her surroundings. She didn’t seem to understand why Alus had stepped in.

“Huh? Y-yeah, okay.”

In the end, Alice nodded at Alus’s words; Tesfia frowned, clearly unhappy; and Lilisha pouted.

“Good. It’s not like either of you would be satisfied even if you fought to the end.” Alus hit them where it hurt, and they shut their mouths.

“All right,” Alice said. She took a deep breath before continuing in a lax tone. “This is a draw.”

After that, Alice had the two of them make up by shaking hands. And after the two of them reluctantly obeyed, their pointless battle came to an end.

Once that was done, they packed their things and left the training grounds to go home. Of course, Alus ended up escorting them to the girls’ dorm.

On the way, Tesfia, Alice, and Lilisha were chatting with each other. It was mostly one trivial topic after another, but they also spoke of the incident with Aferka the other day. The tension between them had dissipated and everyone had returned to normal.

In particular, Lilisha thanked Tesfia and the others for finding her and taking her to the infirmary when she’d been burned. The tips of Tesfia’s ears turned red and she hurled some light abuse in return.

While those three made merry, Loki was deep in thought next to Alus. Suddenly she raised her voice.

“That match... She was switching?”

It seemed out of context, but Alus nodded. Loki had finally found the answer to the question she’d had while watching the two fight. Alus gave a light explanation.

“The threads Lilisha used, especially in the latter half of the match, were more like lines than threads. The ones used to stop Tesfia’s Icicle Sword by affixing to the walls were abnormally strong. This means she can switch their state between thread and line whenever she wants.”

“I thought that she was switching between vibrating and not at first,” said Loki.

“That’s correct in a sense too, but the thread itself didn’t change. She can continually adapt, so it is more correct to think of it as changing states. That’s not exactly the essence of it, but it’s a good starting point in terms of countering it,” explained Alus.

Loki blushed happily at Alus’s words.

“Its vibrating state is like a chainsaw, capable of cutting through mana and spells. Meanwhile, the threads can be used for assassinations or traps like Mr. Selva makes. But right now, it’s not like every thread can freely change modes. It’s probably just the threads from the claw-type AWR that has that special property. Meaning that only her middle finger can create those special threads.”

“I see. So it’s not something the threads from all of her fingers can do.”

Loki was getting rather passionate and her voice somewhat loud, so Lilisha sent her a sharp glance over her shoulder. She seemed to want to tell them not to pry any further into it, to which Alus smiled wryly and scratched his cheek.

Nobody would be happy to have the tricks up their sleeves exposed, not to mention that she reported directly to the ruler now. Fighting against people was her main job, but she was still a Magicmaster of sorts.

So she wanted to keep the secrets of her abilities from spreading.

“I guess that was insensitive,” he said. “That’s enough of this topic.”

Alus sent a nod in Lilisha’s direction as if apologizing, and Loki likewise lowered her head.

“Yes, I pried too much.”

The Lilisha of the past, who’d proclaimed herself as neither friend nor foe, was no longer here. At the very least she was no longer an enemy. Alus and Loki trusted that.

Suddenly, Lilisha slowed down to split away from Tesfia and Alice and approached Alus and Loki. As if in apology for before, Loki stepped forward, relinquishing her spot next to Alus and changing places with Lilisha.

After a short pause, Lilisha’s slender shoulders shook a little as she broached a new topic.

“I was a little surprised by that,” she started abruptly.

But Alus skillfully picked up on what she meant. She was referring to the mock battle with Tesfia and the unexpected qualities she had shown.

Normally, it was clear that Lilisha, whose abilities outmatched Tesfia’s, would win, especially given their difference in experience fighting people. Yet Tesfia had far exceeded Lilisha’s expectations, almost cornering her. In fact, if Alus hadn’t stepped in...

“I’m surprised too.” And he was. Not at her talents, but at her sudden growth at the eleventh hour.

“In terms of making an effort she is a genius,” said Alus. “That sort of thing is only natural among Singles, but among students there are very few that could turn experience into ability so quickly. You might have been saved by that AWR of yours.”

“I’d prefer it if you didn’t put it like that. And aren’t you praising Tesfia Fable a lot?” asked Lilisha.

“Hmm? Why are you calling her that? That’s weird,” said Alus.

“Well? I don’t know what else to call her,” said Lilisha.

“You spoke to her casually before.”

“I was just pretending back then, and I was dealing with a careless and carefree noble’s daughter,” Lilisha muttered.

There’d been a big change in how she saw Tesfia. To Alus the change was colossal. Tesfia had just been a superficial friend when Lilisha had been acting, and now that she’d stopped, she was likely as puzzled about Tesfia as Alus had been when he first came to the institute.

That said, Alus didn’t really see a need for Lilisha to change anything. From a philosophical viewpoint, be it friend or best friend, everyone had to act a little bit. No matter how close people were, nobody visited a best friend’s house naked. It was a form of courtesy to show up prepared, not an act.

But while Alus felt that way, he wasn’t very knowledgeable about female friendships, which was why there was no way he could properly resolve Lilisha’s worries. So his answer was blunt.

“Just call her whatever, be it acting or anything else. That’s probably just the way it is, I’m sure.”

Lilisha glanced over at Alus and sighed. “Jeez, I chose the wrong person to consult. If it was going to be like this...”

“That’s a rude way to say it, but no matter. It’s not like you have anyone else to really consult anyways,” said Alus.

“Wha—? Isn’t that even ruder? I-I have people I can talk with too! Like...Lady Cicelnia?”

Alus’s expression turned bitter the moment that name was brought up. She was a rising star who had just made the list of top three people Alus wanted nothing to do with.

Unaware of that, Lilisha continued, muttering, “And there’s Ms. Rinne?”

“The fact that not a single student comes to mind just tells me how superficial your relationship to people around here was. But I’m sure that Ms. Rinne has gone through plenty of difficulties, so she has plenty of experience,” he casually joked. “By the way...” he began. He had recalled something he wanted to ask. “Speaking of what happened at Cicelnia’s palace, why did you want to save that good-for-nothing brother of yours?” Alus bluntly and rudely asked the girl.

Lilisha had been branded and left at death’s door. Yet at the last moment, she had begged the ruler to spare the mastermind’s life.

Why did go she that far? Why did she want to save the person who’d almost killed her? Alus could understand that Rayleigh would be useful in reorganizing Aferka, but he didn’t think that he was indispensable.

Alus could only glean a single thing from that—Lilisha couldn’t become coldhearted enough to work as an assassin.

But he couldn’t make sense of everything else. And so he sought an answer, as if to supplement something he lacked himself.

“Is it because you’re related?” That was probably wrong, but he decided to hazard a guess.

Lilisha looked beyond the light from the girls’ dorm windows as if trying to look at something far away and shook her head. “I’m not sure. And I don’t know what it is that you want to hear.”

Alus followed her lead and quietly muttered, “I see. Well...I don’t know either.”

It might have manifested as questions for Lilisha, but in reality it was also a mystery to him. Intuitively, Lilisha understood that it wasn’t exactly the answer to his questions that Alus was looking for.

Alus had no relatives. At least nobody he was related to by blood. He did have Berwick and Vizaist as political associates and allies, but there was nobody with an inseparable bond. So he wanted to know what it was that drove Lilisha to go that far.

Lilisha fell silent for a while but eventually spoke. “Rayleigh is only my half brother. And I wasn’t very sad when Gill was banished. But...I do have some vague memories that I’m not sure are real of being doted on when I was small. So I think my brother had a side like that to him in the past. I’m sure he also felt the pressure of having to lead the five families of Rimfuge.”

Even as she recalled an old memory, Lilisha spoke as if she were recounting an anecdote of a historical figure that had nothing to do with her. If it had been winter, her voice would have melted away with the white breath she exhaled.

“So sorry, but I don’t really know the answer myself. But there is something that I have decided on. And that is that I will contain the turmoil that is happening in Aferka and Rimfuge, although I’m sure that it will be difficult for just me alone,” Lilisha said self-deprecatingly and smiled happily.

Alus didn’t offer a reply, just maintained his silence.

Unsure of how to interpret his attitude, Lilisha continued, “Before coming to the Institute, I did plenty of research on you. So from both that data as well as from our short relationship, I can kind of tell that you want to think there was something logical behind my decision. Like I had found something to be gained, right? Then you would be able to enjoy some peace of mind. I’m pretty sure I understand that part of you correctly... I’m pretty sure the Alus Reigin I used to know wouldn’t have saved me. Does that give you an answer?”

“I’m not sure.” He didn’t want to admit it, but what Lilisha had said did hit home. But he wasn’t happy about it.

“You like to contemplate things. And you also want explanations. You believe that there is some factor at play, whether you like it or not,” said Lilisha.

She looked up to the night sky and then lowered her head as if nodding before turning her gaze to Alus. “But that is unexpectedly romantic,” she muttered.

Alus felt like there was a mysterious charm to her voice that he was incapable of understanding. But he couldn’t leave her words unchecked and spoke with a surly look.

“I didn’t ask for that much,” he said. “At most I just wanted to hear about it if I got the chance someday. If you ever remembered, that is, even if it was years down the road.”

“Then asking now was the right choice, wasn’t it? Or would you rather be discontent for years to come?”

The slight hint of sarcasm in her words caused a wrinkle to appear between Alus’s brows and he was unusually peeved. It was a trivial question that she would likely forget about in a few minutes of time.

“Well, no matter. Perhaps I just wanted to ask someone, and that being you was ideal,” he said.

Lilisha walked ahead without changing her gait...but after the third step she spoke up. “I would be lying if I said that emotions weren’t involved. What I said to Lady Cicelnia at that time was full of calculations, but it was the only persuasive material that I could offer. Can I tell you something very convenient?”

“Go ahead,” Alus said, acting like a third party completely unrelated to the incident or Lilisha.

“I think that my brother wanted to free someone from Aferka,” said Lilisha.

“Who?” asked Alus.

“Me,” Lilisha said and turned around, pointing at herself without much confidence.

“That’s definitely a convenient tale. You’re still claiming that after everything he did?” asked Alus.

Lilisha smiled wryly, despite Alus’s biting remark, and then turned forward again. Clasping her hands together behind her back, she continued walking, her pace steady. In fact, her steps even appeared to be lighter, as if a weight had dropped from her shoulders. She had found a point of compromise within herself that would never be lost.

“It was certainly my brother who ordered the reckless assassination on Mr. Selva. So maybe I’m contradicting myself. But when we met again in the palace, my brother said with pity in his voice that the weak have their own way of living. That was when it hit me,” Lilisha quietly continued. “Besides, the critical failure of the mission was more than enough reason to exile me. Meaning that by cutting me off from my home, I got the chance to break away from our karma. In that case—”

“But what would any of that sentiment mean if you had been killed by Mr. Selva before that?” Alus argued, unable to accept her answer.

Lilisha just shook her head.

“As you might know, my teacher, Mrs. Miltria, is a former commander of Aferka just like Mr. Selva. And as Aferka’s consultant, she was against purging Mr. Selva. There seems to be a complicated history between them. At the very least, I’m sure Mr. Selva didn’t have a grudge against my teacher...not then and not now. And I’m her disciple. I’m sure Mr. Selva was able to see as much from my movements and techniques too.”

Some of that did add up to what Alus had seen. He had seen Selva observing the techniques Lilisha had used with her mana steel threads. With their gap in ability, he could have eliminated Lilisha whenever he wanted, so it made sense to assume that he had seen the presence of Lilisha’s teacher in her moves.

“I see. So you want to say that Mr. Selva had no intentions of killing you then?”

“It’s just a possibility.”

“Still...it’s very naive. If anything had gone different, you would have been dead. There’s no guarantee that Rayleigh anticipated that much.”

“Yes. It’s possible that he was seriously sending me on a mission to die,” said Lilisha. “But humans can be contradictory at times...and I felt that my brother was very human when we spoke at the palace. Not that I really understand it myself.”

“I really don’t get you,” Alus said with a sigh. “In fact, you seem extraordinarily carefree. Are you sure you’re going to be fine leading a unit that reports directly to the ruler like that? You’re way too unreliable.”

“I’m sensible enough to understand that I’m saying something stupid. That’s why I’m not excusing it. Just think of it as being partial to my family,” said Lilisha.

One side was trying to kill her while the other pitied her. Having fought Rayleigh himself, Alus couldn’t imagine that the man would have such contradictory feelings. But if there was such a thing as feelings for family that were heavily entangled, complicated, and contradictory, then Alus with his lack of family had no way of knowing. So when Lilisha brought that up, Alus had no way of fighting back, and he just scratched his head instead.

“All right. So you’re saying that’s why you saved your brother?” he asked after a pause.

Lilisha shook her head at Alus’s question.

“Hmm, I don’t really understand it myself. I didn’t really think that hard about it myself back then. But my dying brother looked like he had been freed from a weight. And I thought that this is how a person who wants to die looks. For the first time in such a long time...it looked like the haze had left my brother’s eyes.”

“So he was planning to die,” said Alus. “Well, since he came at me back then, he probably understood that would be the outcome too. Maybe that’s something only you siblings understand.”

“I’m sure that’s because he was fighting you,” said Lilisha. “I believe that was the first time my brother could unleash all of his power yet still face death. Maybe he wanted it to be done by the hands of Alpha’s rank 1. Besides, there wasn’t anyone in Aferka who could fight my brother on even ground. Did you know as noble assassins, Rimfuge has their own magical techniques?”

“You mean like some kind of inherited magic?” asked Alus.

“It’s nothing on that level, but it’s never allowed to leave the family. The Rimfuge family has been researching the limiter theory. It’s a requirement to learn for anyone who wants to join Aferka and make their way to the top.”

“I see. So what is it all about, then?” asked Alus. “Rayleigh may have used some strange moves, but nothing that corresponded to some unknown theories. That’s why I was able to get a grasp of his tactics and principles.”

As someone in pursuit of magic, Alus was interested, but Lilisha only smiled.

“Honestly, I don’t really know myself. A failure like me would never be told the details. I was pretty much only let into Aferka because I was my brother’s little sister. Perhaps it was just jargon, but some called it Fortitude. It seems like it’s a different use for the curse mark. And my brother chose not to use that top secret technique against you. However, that’s all I can say.”

Lilisha gave him a meaningful glance, as if to tell him to guess. Alus received the message loud and clear and fell silent.

He could see what she meant and it made sense to him. Rayleigh had been serious, but he hadn’t used all of the cards in his hand.

Perhaps he had been planning to take that secret with him to the grave, alongside the old Aferka. He had avoided using the secret technique in their battle because it had been brought about by Aferka.

Instead, he’d used only techniques and powers he had developed for himself.

Alus was exasperated by how awkwardly and stubbornly both these siblings pushed forward with their will.

“How was that?” asked Lilisha.

Alus was at a loss for a response to that. In fact, he wasn’t even sure how serious he was about getting an answer.

“Heh heh. Were you expecting something like a tearjerker with siblings who trusted each other no matter what and would save one another from any danger?” Lilisha peeked at Alus’s face and spoke in a teasing tone.

Not wanting to be annoyed by that expression, Alus only glanced at her for a moment before turning his eyes away, settling for keeping some of her golden hair in the corner of his eye.

She sounded playful, but Lilisha probably didn’t properly understand the reason for her actions either. People’s minds are subtle and complex, and it would be incredibly unrefined and tactless to try and drag them all out and analyze them side by side.

So in the end, Alus understood that her choice and the results of her actions were everything.

At the same time, he felt like he’d gotten a clearer picture of what he himself was lacking. By the time he came to this realization, they were already at the girls’ dorm.

As Lilisha reached the door, she turned around to Alus.

“Besides, when it comes to saving someone or not, you’re the same, you know. Who was it that arrived at the Fable family estate and stood between me and Mr. Selva?” Lilisha suggestively asked, and a smile bloomed on her face...followed quickly by her cheeks flushing red and her looking away. “Well then,” she said and held her license over the gate.

Without turning back again, she followed Alice and Tesfia into the girls’ dorm, her steps rapping in a joyful beat. Alus looked a little discouraged, but soon smiled.

“Hmph, make sure you learn how to make good use of that AWR,” he called out to her back. Lilisha held up a hand and waved before fully disappearing into the dorms.

After that, days passed peacefully by.

Once back in the Institute, Alus and the others lived the lives of students. Alus had grown accustomed to listening to boring lectures and hearing students ranting and raving about selfish demands and complaints.

In his laboratory, he was finally getting to work on the various projects he’d left unfinished. He could once again go back to his research-intensive unhealthy lifestyle. This was the kind of crippling freedom that Alus was fortunate to have, even though he hadn’t particularly asked for it himself.

Those leisurely days passed by, and the end of the first year of the Institute was coming into view.

Tranquility set in as night fell. In the silence that filled the cradle that held the seven nations, only the auto-tuning system quietly continued to work, adjusting the external temperature and other details.

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“There’s a lot of things I’d like to respond to; I’m allowed to be mad, right?”

One night a few days before the end of the year, Lilisha unhappily furrowed her brows in Alus’s laboratory.

“Huh? It’s the end of the year, so the least we can do is do a major cleanup in Al’s laboratory, don’t you think? Well, Loki usually cleans up every day,” Tesfia said with a blank face.

Alice continued with a smile. “Well, that’s pretty much just an excuse.”

“I can accept that. And I am grateful for everything Alus has done. But...how did it turn into this?” Lilisha frowned and complained.

Lilisha looked at the table for four in front of her. Loki was bringing out one lavish dish after another from the menu she had started working on in the morning. Loki had put her all into this. The walls were decorated and an extra chair had even been brought out for Lilisha.

“I-If you had said that it was to celebrate my appointment as the new commander of Aferka, I wouldn’t have gotten mad either! But is there no concept of keeping secrets concerning Alpha in this room?!” said Lilisha.

“Don’t complain to me. If you have anything to say, take it up with that redhead and the goofily smiling Alice,” said Alus.

“Eh?!” Alice was shocked by the casual treatment, and Tesfia spoke in her place.

“It’s fine, isn’t it? Also, I did want to invite Feli too, but she wasn’t at the dorm.”

“Well, Feli is the kind who would come if invited,” said Alus, “so she probably had some other business to attend to. Besides, I’m just offering a place to hold it.”

“Maybe she wasn’t very thrilled about it since it was in celebration of Lilisha’s appointment,” Tesfia rudely pointed out, shaking her head.

Lilisha shot up from her chair in response. “That’s what I wanted to talk about! Why does everyone know about my appointment?!” she asked.

“Al told us,” answered Tesfia.

Lilisha’s sharp glare turned directly to Alus. “I thought so. What was that about not complaining to you?”

Sensing his disadvantage, Alus took a drink of juice in an attempt to escape her piercing gaze. He feigned ignorance as he quenched his parched throat.

Loki chose that moment to put a wooden salad bowl down on the edge of the table and picked up a plate instead.

“It was bound to come out eventually. Besides, Sir Alus played a part in your appointment,” Loki casually said as she served the salad in a familiar manner.

“Naturally,” the spotter said, “the Fable family has their own intelligence network. So it really would have only been a matter of time until Ms. Tesfia found out. Besides, we need you to stay on our side until the Tenbram is over, Ms. Lilisha.”

Because Alus had helped resolve Aferka’s problems, Lilisha’s neutral position had collapsed. But it would be difficult for Womruina to point that out since they had helped Aferka out, and that would mean admitting to helping in the plot to assassinate the ruler and making an attempt on the life of a servant in one of the three great noble families.

So they might instead demand that another judge be added. Then they could add a judge that was under their thumb.

Lilisha sulked and planted her elbows on the table before resting her head in her hands.

“I obviously want to pay back my debt too, but at least make sure it doesn’t spread through the campus, okay,” said Lilisha.

“Do you really need to worry about that?” asked Loki. “After all, Sir Alus’s ranking has been kept hidden so far. Although those two found out.”

“Rank aside, it’s pretty much impossible to hide how amazing he is. It’s only a matter of time until the truth comes to light,” Lilisha sharply retorted, and Alus, Tesfia, and Alice all twitched.

When Alus’s ranking had almost been exposed, it had been Lilisha who had smoothed things over so that only his affiliation to the military had been revealed. He was believed to be working part-time for them because of his ability, but the real truth of his rank had been kept secret thanks to Lilisha.

Once she finished serving salad to everyone, Loki finally took off her apron. After she took a seat, everyone picked up their cup of juice.

“Wh-What?! Can you not exaggerate this please?!” begged Lilisha.

As if to drown out her objection, Tesfia raised her cup up high. “To Lilisha’s commander appointment!”

Alus sarcastically added, “To her great promotion.”

As he wasn’t very used to this kind of atmosphere, he had no choice but to go with the flow. Alice and Loki raised their cups as well, and eventually a flurried Lilisha, being a wuss, crumpled under pressure and raised hers too.

After that, the group had a festive meal, and while they chatted the lined-up dishes shrank. Loki had made most of the food, but Alice had made one or two items herself. They shared food and exchanged opinions on them, and for this moment, they got to live a typical student life.

Typically, Alus ate his meals alone and in silence, so he struggled to adapt to this. While he did regularly have meals with Loki and had experience with cafeterias at the Institute or in the military, at home it felt somewhat different. Because of how he’d grown up, he just still couldn’t get used to it.

For the same reason, he couldn’t keep up with the girls and their constantly changing topics. He was impressed Loki could. Lilisha had originally been acting at the Institute, but she was blending in quite well too. But for Alus to feel like he could join the group, he would need to charge in with talk of his specialties of magic or AWRs.

However, he wasn’t tactless enough to bring up such violent topics when they were talking about more mundane things. In the end, he felt fed up at himself for being more comfortable in the military.

Once the group finished the food, they all took a little break, having eaten a little too much. Then, in a display of camaraderie, Loki and Alice stood up and worked together to take the plates to the kitchen. Tesfia watched them while doing nothing and wearing a slovenly smile. She happily muttered, “Phew, it’s been a while since I ate this much.”

Throughout the meal, Tesfia had been blissfully unconcerned about appearance or propriety, stuffing her face with food, raving about how tasty it was, and rubbing her stomach in satisfaction afterwards. In stark contrast, Lilisha had maintained perfect and polite manners during the meal. So nobody could blame her for the sideways glance she gave Tesfia now.

She turned to Alus, who looked equally dismayed albeit for a different reason. “This is my first time at this kind of dinner party, but...” she started.

“Don’t say anything. You’ll get used to it eventually,” Alus said, stopping Lilisha from saying any more. He already knew that it would be a losing fight. The problem was not so much with Tesfia’s upbringing as it was her roommate, Alice, spoiling her.

As tea was brought in, Lilisha finally shook her head in resignation and spoke to Alus in a quiet voice. “But are you sure that I should be here? Did I make you feel uncomfortable?”

“Don’t worry about it,” he said. “They just wanted an excuse to party. I just hope we can move on to next year without anything else happening.”

Lilisha brought her cup to her mouth and quenched her thirst. “I can agree with that...but in my case, I will be swamped with work and won’t have much time for lectures. At least it will be treated as official business.”

“You’ve already talked it out with the principal, haven’t you?”

Lilisha nodded at his question. “Yes, so I’m not particularly worried about the academic side.”

Her expression clouded as she thought about the practical side of her studies. She would be fine in typical lectures, but her magical skills did not meet the standards of the Second Magical Institute. However, since Sisty had a hand in the commotion that had happened, she would be “abusing her authority” to back her up.

Alus laughed off her worries like it was something trivial. “Instead of worrying about every single thing you’re not good at, develop your strengths to make up for it. If you only worry about the details, you’ll end up taking the safe path until the end.”

“You’re not going to tell me that?” demanded Tesfia, suddenly barging in and frowning at Alus’s words.

“It’s a matter of difference in character,” he responded.

“At the very least, I have ladylike manners and no problems with the general education...unlike a certain Ms. Tesfia Fable,” said Lilisha.

Alus and Lilisha both gave the redheaded girl a cold look. When it came to regular lectures, Lilisha was receiving special education for the gifted, so there wasn’t much to worry about there. But unexpectedly, Tesfia didn’t fall for the provocation and instead looked surprised.

“Huh, what are you saying?” she asked.

When Lilisha realized the girl’s question was not in response to her provocative attitude but to her use of Tesfia’s full name, her cheeks turned a little red. Alus decided to pretend he didn’t see anything. It wasn’t usual for a friendship to bud after a fight, but Lilisha was clumsily stumbling on the first step of that classic pattern.

Before she could start making excuses, Tesfia spoke up. “You can call me Tesfia, or Fia, or whatever you like.”

“I-I know that. But don’t think I have any intentions of getting close to you...Tesfia!” said Lilisha.

“That goes for me too! Next time I’ll win,” said Tesfia.

Hearing that, Alus looked a little surprised. It seemed that Tesfia understood her own defeat. They may have called it a draw to settle things peacefully, but it seemed she had different feelings on the matter.

That said, Lilisha’s AWR had been the dominating factor in their match. From what Alus could see, the AWR’s properties perfectly matched her style, and that had played a big part. Tesfia had also grown at a remarkable rate, but the longer the match had dragged on, the worse things had gone for her.

As this exchange was ending, Loki and Alice returned from the kitchen, carrying small plates and a cake. They set them down on the table. Alus’s cheek twitched at the sight since he wasn’t fond of desserts. But the girls, who he was sure couldn’t eat anything other than sweets, were completely charmed by the cake and dug in as soon as it was sliced.

“Wow! Is this homemade?” asked Tesfia.

“Of course not. I bought it. But I can guarantee that it tastes good,” said Loki.

“It really is delicious,” Lilisha exclaimed to Loki after taking a bite.

Loki had considerately placed a much thinner slice in front of Alus as well. He couldn’t go without eating a single bite, so he resigned himself to his fate and took a sip of tea first to reset his tongue. While he felt like the girls would enjoy anything sweet, Alus’s concept of sweetness was nothing short of naive. He ended up tossing the cake into his mouth and swallowing it quickly to dispose of it. Between him and, mostly, the four girls, the cake disappeared in no time at all, and they finally took a breather.

“By the way...what is the new Aferka supposed to do for the ruler?” Tesfia abruptly asked. Alice also leaned in, showing some interest.

“It will be like a kind of royal guard...” Lilisha kept her description vague.

Because of Aferka’s position, they couldn’t really be openly given missions. In that sense, she was in a similar position to Alus. Besides, the ruler already had a form of royal guard. However, they were just a derivation of the palace garrison, and there was a limit to the missions and authority that could be given to them. But since the relationship between the past Aferka and the previous ruler had ended, the ruler hadn’t had a private army under her direct control.

Fortunately, Alus had what it took to join this conversation. “This is the first time since Cicelnia took over that the ruler has clearly been at the top of a squad’s chain of command,” he said.

“Yes, I believe that’s because Ms. Rinne was accompanying her for diplomatic meetings and conferences,” said Lilisha.

“Talk about careless. I’m surprised she hasn’t been attacked until now,” said Alus.

“Y-Yes,” Lilisha replied hesitantly, feeling guilty about her brother’s actions.

“Outwardly, she does have a Single serving as a guard of honor,” Alus added, noting that typically it was only customary to bring a Single to the ruler conference.

Loki followed up and spoke of the importance of Single Digit Magicmasters. “Outwardly, that is. In reality a precious asset won’t be allowed to waste time in the Inner World. They are just too valuable in the Outer World.”

Lilisha could only sigh and agree. “Of course. Frankly, I’ve heard that in a political setting, showing off by having a Single accompany you is a matter of national prestige.”

Having been in the military, Loki had seen her fair share of how politics affected them. “I have no doubts about that. Prolonged absence of a Single will lead to more deaths in the Outer World, and I’m sure the military brings that up in their complaints as well,” she said.

Both Tesfia and Alice felt left out when politics were brought up, but the redheaded girl suddenly interjected with a question. “You mean that Lilisha will be sticking with the ruler and even go outside of the nation?”

“Who knows? It seems that I will probably remain a student for a while longer at least,” said Lilisha in an uncertain tone, glancing over at Alus.

“So the observation mission will continue for the time being,” Alus muttered.

“Yes. But not in any negative sense. It’s partially for appearances for the military and also because Lady Cicelnia wishes for it. Well, the military can be pretty flexible by allowing a job on the side,” said Lilisha.

Lilisha had unusual and special circumstances. She had to handle a unit directly under the ruler’s control while also working for the military. This was a special exception just for her.

Alus sighed and looked up at the familiar ceiling. “Talk about VIP treatment, but I don’t really want to hear about it.”

When he looked at the time, he saw that it was almost time for the girls’ dorm curfew, so it was time to go home. But as they’d just finished eating, he couldn’t exactly throw them out. So they all ended up having some tea. In fact, they were getting more and more relaxed, and it looked like nobody was going home.

At the moment, they were talking about the test that was coming up. Gloom hung in the air, but Alus wasn’t particularly worried about losing credits. Sisty owed him, and Alus would easily pass a test if he got a little serious. As such, he was immune to a typical student’s worries, but that didn’t apply to everyone else.

“The test is important, but you have the Tenbram too, right, Fia? Isn’t that more important?” Alice asked, seemingly more worried than the person in question.

Everyone had known someone would bring up this topic eventually. Depending on the outcome, Tesfia might end up leaving the Institute, so it was on everyone’s mind to some degree. However, no amount of thinking would lift the fog of anxiety. The endless seeds of worry had no end in sight.

“Alice, don’t worry so much. You’ll just end up exhausting yourself. Besides, if your test is too bad, you might end up repeating a year. Start by focusing on what’s next and do your best,” said Alus.

Alice listened to that, her eyes cast down while she played with her cup. “Y-Yeah...”

“It’s okay, Alice. No matter what’s coming we just have to overcome it. I’m more worried about the test,” Tesfia said and playfully leaned against Alice.

“Ah...!” Some of the tea in Alice’s cup spilled over thanks to Tesfia’s nudge.

“Ah, sorry.”

“Oh, Fia. You didn’t get any on your clothes, did you, Lilisha? There’s no stains, are there?” asked Alice.

“Thank you, but I’m fine. Some drops fell on my hand,” said Tesfia as Alice stood up and used a napkin to wipe Tesfia’s hand and the top of the table. “Aha ha, I guess I overdid it,” she said with remorse and bowed to Lilisha with an affectionate smile.

“You didn’t get burned, did you?” asked Alice.

“I’m fine, there’s no need to exaggerate. There’s nothing to worry about. Still...” Lilisha let out a heavy sigh.

Tesfia and Alice looked puzzled, and Lilisha had been looking for an opportunity to speak up, but she made it seem like a hassle. “Oh fine, this is still not confirmed, but I’ll tell you this.”

Alus started paying attention as well. After all, Lilisha had already begun working for Aferka under the direct control of the ruler. She had talked about uniting the five families, but it was safe to assume that the reborn Aferka had already been functioning before Lilisha was appointed as commander.

And there was the matter of the strange impatience that Alus had sensed from Cicelnia. She seemed in such a hurry to gain power that she needed to forcibly get Alus involved. Perhaps that was why she had to incorporate Aferka in such a way too.

Although it’s probably too late to think about that now, thought Alus.

Alus had learned one main thing from this incident that tied directly to his research. The main focus of his research was what Magicmasters should be. This included how to increase the overall level of Magicmasters, how to improve the health of the Magicmaster world, and how they worked in regard to political issues. All of these issues were currently becoming clear.

Whenever something came up, Cicelnia and the Governor-General relied on him, and his very presence defined the nation of Alpha. And the reason for that was his overwhelming power and the overall quality of Magicmasters in general.

Even though the fundamental problem of a lack of personnel was unresolvable, Alus felt that the quality of Alpha’s Magicmasters was too low. He thought of it like the human body: if the blood vessels at the end of the body were thin and frail, the strain on the heart to pump the blood became bigger. Him being caught up in this latest incident was a great example of that.

Cicelnia had easily seen Rayleigh’s revolt coming, but Alus was the only one who could stop him. Lettie was left to deal with the Outer World completely on her own, and her explosions would no doubt cause further harm. Moreover, Alus felt that if they tried to force her into doing something she wasn’t good at, they would run the risk of losing a precious Single Digit Magicmaster.

At any rate, it was clear that Cicelnia had taken the risk of restructuring Aferka because she needed their power. That was why she couldn’t help but wish that Alus was hers.

Alus returned to reality as Lilisha started to explain in a hushed tone: “The Frusevan family will be the referee for the Tenbram. It seems Alus specifically wants me in the role, and I think I can do something about that. But that is only if the Tenbram is actually held.”

“What does that mean?” asked Alus.

“You know that Womruina was backing Aferka, right?” asked Lilisha.

Rayleigh’s attempt on Cicelnia had been part of a planned coup. The plan had been for Womruina to take her place. Alus had heard of the secret connection between Womruina and Aferka from Cicelnia, and Lilisha was now backing her up.

But according to Rayleigh, that had simply been an alignment of interests, and they’d only received simple support. The agreement had been that Aferka would be allowed to continue to exist if the position of ruler was given to Womruina. But that had been as much as Rayleigh had known. Perhaps it was the fact that they couldn’t trust one another that allowed them to make a secret agreement.

“We’re looking into them right now, and they’re preeetty shady,” said Lilisha. “I have something of a background in intelligence-gathering myself. Well, anyways, all sorts of proof came to light. Frankly, it isn’t really the time for Tenbram.”

“So it’s that bad,” replied Alus, thinking of the dirty trick regarding the engagement with Tesfia. It was the kind of thing they could pull. Lilisha was going to get very busy.

She continued in an exhausted tone, “Yes, they’ve gone too far, even for former royalty. They’re rotten to the core. Have you heard about Ambrosia?”

Only Alus reacted to that name. Not even Loki had heard of it. Tesfia and Alice asked questions, having not heard the name before.

“What’s that, some food?”

“Is it the name of some flower?”

“It’s an illegal drug,” Alus explained. “When it comes to drugs, there’s a lot of Chemical Boost on the market.”

Lilisha continued by explaining further, “It’s a highly addictive drug for Magicmasters. To put it bluntly, it’s a high-performing mana stimulant. Because of that, it has some nasty side effects.”

“That was banned at the Seven Nations Friendship Magical Tournament, wasn’t it? It’s some sort of doping, right?” Tesfia correctly asserted.

It was, in fact, similar to doping in sports. In the past, Loki had used a forbidden core to replenish mana and used a spell too great for her. In a broad sense, this was the same.

“Chemical Boost is certainly a form of doping. It’s an illegal drug in pill form. And at a student level, there is a notable difference in performance between those who use it and those who don’t. It’s highly addictive, but people can handle using it once. However, it puts a lot of strain on the mana-generating organ, so continued use will lead to major organ damage,” said Alus, speaking with knowledge of the detestable drug.

While it was a sweet temptation to those who had been unable to continue to polish themselves through hard work, it was foolish to risk your body and future for the sake of a tournament at the student level.

“I’ve heard it’s a problem in other nations too.” But that was all Alus knew. He wasn’t part of the intelligence department, and he didn’t have a grasp of all of the different illegal drugs in circulation.

Lilisha nodded and continued after him. “It can be manufactured for cheap, and an inferior version comes in powder form. Even individuals can easily make it if they feel like it. Not that the recipe is that easy to get a hold of. Well, when it comes to Chemical Boost, things are going back and forth. Even if dealers are disposed of steadily, with the security forces and civil police only doing the occasional bust, there’s no end to them.”

When they took down one production base, another would appear elsewhere in its place, so the situation showed no signs of changing.

Seeing where the conversation was going, Loki interjected, “So Ambrosia is a high-end version of Chemical Boost, then? And now dark rumors around it have risen to the point of becoming impossible to ignore, right? If I may ask, how effective is it?”

Alus answered the question. “As far as I know, it is at least ten times as strong as Chemical Boost.”

Tesfia said nothing, but Alice exclaimed, “Ten times?!”

It wasn’t just Loki who was surprised about that; Tesfia and Alice looked equally shocked.

“Of course, that means that the mana-generating organ is being abused, and the damage to the body is on a higher level than just doping. But I honestly can’t imagine how much power it can bring out,” said Alus.

“Yes, the damage from the side effects can be severe. Sensory organs will even start failing. I haven’t seen anyone directly affected by the side effects, but after analyzing the Ambrosia we seized, even the ingredients we’ve figured out are known to be extremely harmful. So it’s a term you won’t hear unless you’re in that type of investigation,” said Lilisha.

Alus didn’t overlook Lilisha’s ambiguous statement. “Isn’t Ambrosia just a concentrated form of Chemical Boost?”

Lilisha closed her mouth to moisten her lips for a moment, a deep anxiety in her eyes. “No, it’s not. That might have been the case before. But the Ambrosia we’ve seen is a completely different breed. What we seized might just be a trial product. There’s a lot of things we don’t know about it, even after looking at its list of ingredients.”

That was strange. They’d analyzed it enough to create a list of ingredients, yet they didn’t understand the key details.

“Even though we’ve analyzed the ingredients, some of them we can’t identify. Well, I’m not a specialist, so I can’t say that ‘ingredients’ is the right term,” said Lilisha.

“I see,” Alus said with interest. He’d heard what he wanted to hear and had no intention of meddling with her new job.

Lilisha furrowed her brows. “More importantly...” she said to return them to their original topic, “Seedy evidence like that came up around Aile, or rather the Womruina family.”

“Is that for certain?” asked Alus.

“Yes, but considering their status, the military can’t get involved,” explained Lilisha. “And it’d be difficult for the security forces or civilian police to make a move. Our investigation has only just begun too. Considering the background that has allowed the family to survive until today, they’re obviously not clean, but the cover-up is very elaborate.”

It seemed Womruina’s poisonous fangs had bitten Alpha deeper than anyone had imagined. Aile’s confident behavior and arrogant attitude was backed up by that tremendous power. But now that the ruler knew they had been supporting Aferka, not even the great noble family could be at peace.

As if she knew exactly what Alus was thinking, Lilisha spoke up. “However, I’m sure that there is a commotion in Womruina right now.” She planted her elbows on the table and wagged her fingers as she snickered and continued. “That’s why the date for the Tenbram still hasn’t been announced. At the very least, it won’t happen soon.”

Obvious relief washed over Tesfia when she heard that. She’d been resolved to face it, but she wanted to avoid it if she could. Above all, the fact that the Womruina family was having difficulties made her feel satisfied. But her cheer and attempt to high-five Alice seemed to take it a little too far.

“That means that there’s no need to buy time to get some leeway. I just hope you can master your new spell before the time runs out,” Alus muttered.

Tesfia excitedly proclaimed, “Now I can focus on my training.”

Whatever the case...

“If you could crush them, or at least stir things up, that would be a huge help to me,” said Tesfia.

“If only it were that easy. A cornered rat will fight back. And that family is home to something worse than rats. They are fallen royalty. Lions dirty with black blood.” Lilisha finished off the last of her tea and said her thanks. “Anyways, there’s no problem as long as their focus isn’t here.”

“She’s right, Sir Alus. There’s no need to go through the trouble of sticking your neck out any further. You can finally catch your breath!” Loki happily exclaimed, but her ulterior motives were clear. She was being unnaturally pushy about Alus taking this chance to recuperate both mentally and physically.

However, Alus ignored her intentions, and the edges of his lips curled up. “You’re right. Now I can get through the research that’s been piling up. I’m going to get busy.”

The faces of the people around the table were aghast at Alus’s enthusiasm.