Saikyou Mahoushi no Inton Keikaku (LN) - Volume 4 - Chapter 21

Twenty-First Chapter 

Rulers Conference 

That should just about do it for training during the vacation, Alus nodded to himself in his laboratory. He’d reserved the training grounds for a whole month for Tesfia’s and Alice’s sake. 

Since Loki, Alice and Tesfia had already been picked for the upcoming tournament, they were given priority to use a corner of the grounds. If there was any opposition, that would have to be worked out, but there’d likely be none. 

That was because the students who weren’t chosen for the tournament would benefit from the Second Magical Institute winning as well. It was an unwritten rule that the winning nation would establish new units that would show preferential treatment to the graduates of the institutes that contributed to a tournament win. 

Moreover, another benefit for the students was that the restriction would be lifted on accepting provisional duties. 

Provisional duties were commissioned by the Institute for second-year and third-year students. They were essentially interns with the military, but they also received payment, so it was a chance to earn some money. 

Through this system, students were able to accept requests around the nation, though most were centered on maintaining public order. 

They resolved complaints lodged against the security forces, patrolled cities, cleaned buildings, and the like. In short, it was like a part-time job. The use of magic was, of course, permitted as well. 

While they were military-related duties, they were all simple in nature. When restrictions were lifted, they were allowed to take on more difficult missions. 

Since that also included assisting on the defensive lines, it was the perfect opportunity for the upperclassmen to get the higher-ups to remember their faces. Because of that, almost nobody would complain about the three girls reserving part of the training grounds. In a sense, the whole Institute came together on this. 

Having successfully made the arrangements, Alus immediately moved on to give the three their training instructions. In essence, it was live combat training centered around Loki. At the training grounds, there was no need to worry about injuries either. 

In order to make her able to freely use her Icicle Sword, the task Alus gave to Tesfia was to enchant her katana with the spell, from manifestation to sculpting. 

To Alus, Icicle Sword was all flash and no substance. While it was powerful, it was useless in battle against another person if all she could do was shoot it out. 

As for why she was being made to improve on Icicle Sword, that was because it was simply too unusable for a spell passed down in the Fable family. 

Moreover, after analyzing its properties and composition, Alus concluded that it had the potential to evolve much further. Frankly, being able to use it in a free manner was more important in actual combat than just being able to shoot it out. More specifically, it would be a lot more useful if Tesfia could easily control the sword of ice as it floated in the air. 

Additionally, there was no need to make it so stupidly large. She’d be able to adapt better if she could make several swords of normal size instead. 

Of course, Alus would not accept something as unrefined as firing it off immediately after creating it. 

Regardless, this was something that had to be walked through in small steps. Even this step would probably be rather difficult for Tesfia, but nothing would start if she didn’t give it a shot. 

As for Alice, she would be sparring with Loki while trying to incorporate Shiylereis into her tactics. It was a task to improve her strength when it came to martial arts. The only way to train the ability to smoothly cast a spell was through experience. 

She was also given the task of grasping and maintaining a set of spatial coordinates through attribute-less magic. That was the process of stopping the materialization of a spell halfway through and activating it at another location. 

When Alus first explained it to her, Alice could only look at him with confusion as her mind blanked out. But if you were to ask Alus, it was among the easier things to do. He’d given her a fair degree of hints, and she’d have to learn the rest by feel. In terms of technique, however, it was pretty basic. 

Considering the spells Alice had used so far, she’d likely never had to use that kind of strategic construction. The way to judge whether she was successful at it would be to put a device that reacts to mana some distance away from Alice and see if it could detect her mana. 

Finally, as for Loki, Alus had hesitated over what task to give her. 

At first, he’d considered having her learn Force, the lightning-attribute body-enhancement spell. It was a spell where the user wore an electric current, raising their reaction speed and forcibly improving their physical abilities. 

Though it put a lot of strain on the body, and the user’s sensitivity to pain was dulled, it wasn’t unheard of for someone to recklessly push themselves past their limits and not even notice how beaten up they were. Considering Loki’s personality, Alus seriously had to think about it. 

Force was a spell that everyone who could use the lightning attribute had heard of at least once, but it was a double-edged sword. That was why Alus left the decision of learning Force or not up to Loki. 

That said, it wasn’t a spell just anyone with the lightning affinity could use. It required delicate technique in converting mana. Since Loki could use detection magic, she should be able to handle it. 

That was the general schedule for the summer vacation, but once it was determined, Alus himself was nowhere to be seen. 

Where was he, and what was he doing? 

For that, we’ll have to go back in time several days...

Alus was putting work into the creation of the AWR well into the night, making adjustments to the formula that would be engraved. At the same time, he was also looking to create new spells. 

Loki couldn’t help but let out yet another yawn for the night, and when Alus glanced her way, he decided it was about time to wrap it up. 

Suddenly, a knock echoed out, signaling the arrival of a guest. 

It was problematic considering the time. However, the knock didn’t come from the door, but rather the window behind Alus, so this was more than just problematic. 

Loki immediately prepared for battle, and by instinct she reached down towards her waist. But having changed into her sleepwear, she wasn’t equipped with her knife AWRs. 

Alus raised a hand to stop her, and said “Come in” in a serious tone. He’d seen her enter the grounds, and expected that she would come here. 

“Please excuse my late intrusion, Sir Alus,” she said, as she entered. It was a young woman wearing a maid outfit. 

Her brown hair was rolled up in a simple fashion, exposing her white nape. Her forelocks stretched down all the way to her chest and hung over her ample bosom. She was the very model image of a maid, and not just by looks alone either. Her atmosphere and gentle attitude was all suitably appropriate for a servant. As long as you disregarded the fact that she’d entered through the window, that is. 

“It’s been a while, Ms. Rinne.” 

“Yes. A year, I believe.” 

“—!! Could you be that Rinne Kimmel?!” 

“... Yes.” 

Loki had raised her voice in surprise, and the young woman answered her with a smile. 

It was no wonder Loki had heard of her. She was a renowned user of detection magic, and with her Spotter rank at No. 2, she was called Alpha’s Eye. 

Her demeanor exuded elegance, but her expression was unmoving. She had an almost doll-like atmosphere similar to Loki. Her gentle eyes and facial features gave her a composed and graceful look. 

But what stood out most was the ever-present smile on her face. Depending on the situation, it almost looked sarcastic. And since her expression didn’t give any hints, it was impossible to know what she was thinking. 

Rinne herself had a mild personality, but she certainly wasn’t emotionless. Her current atmosphere stemmed from an experience in the past. However, as a modest maid, she almost never spoke of it. It was something like an occupational disease for Rinne, who served as both a bodyguard and maid for a certain person. 

“Is this about that thing again?” Alus quietly asked. 

“Yes. Can you please accompany me this time? Lady Lettie is on a mission, so I have been told that I have to bring you with me, Sir Alus.” 

Lady Lettie, of course, referred to Lettie Kultunca, the No. 7th-ranked Magicmaster. Alus figured that her mission must have dragged on for longer than expected, which was why Rinne was here so late at night. 

“Well, I might end up participating in the tournament as well, so I was going to accompany you anyway this time if I was called for it.” 

“That is good to hear.” Rinne held her slim hands in front of her chest, as her expression changed for the first time since coming here. 

Her face blossomed with a big smile. “Then, let us go right away,” she said, taking his hand. 

“Eh... Eh?!” Loki let out an astonished voice. 

Figuring that he’d need to explain things, Alus said, “Can you wait a minute, Ms. Rinne? I have to make some preparations.” 

“Of course. To think I got a little carried away, how embarrassing. After all, this is the first time you’ve ever accepted. And I wasn’t sure what would happen when I heard that Lady Lettie couldn’t make it.” 

Alice might mischievously stick out her tongue at this point, but it was hard to imagine this maid behaving like that. 

That said, while she might be a servant, she showed glimpses of the kind of adorableness that calmed people down. 

“So I’m leaving the rest to you, Loki.” 

“Do you think I will accept that?!” 

Hearing the answer he expected, Alus exchanged looks with Rinne, who nodded back to him. It appeared that they still had a little leeway. 

“Every year, before the Seven Nations Friendship Magical Tournament, the rulers of each nation gather at a conference where all kinds of things are officially decided. And the rules are that the rulers may only bring one person to accompany them. The norm is to bring the nation’s highest-ranking Magicmaster, but I’ve refused every year and pushed that onto Lettie. But this time I might end up participating too, and Lettie’s out on a mission, so I have no choice but to go.” 

Because it happened every year, Alus and Rinne were acquainted. The person accompanying the ruler was in essence treated as a guard of honor, but really, they were just a decoration. Single Digit Magicmasters accompanying the ruler were a form of demonstration of that nation’s power. 

“By ruler... you mean Lady Cicelnia?” 

“That’s right.” 

The use of the term ‘ruler’ was the same in all the nations. ‘Ruler’ was used by the nations to replace the words that originally specified someone as being the highest level of royal or imperial lineage, as the number of nations of the world shrunk to a mere seven. 

As the current ruler, Cicelnia stood at the top of the nation. There were high hopes for her in the future, and she’d made her public debut quite some time ago. 

The commonly used name of Princess Cicelnia il Arlzeit, as well as her outstanding beauty, were known to all Alpha citizens. 

Officially, she was the 15th Queen. While she was Queen, her circumstances were somewhat peculiar. That was because the Governor-General was the highest authority in matters concerning the military and security. 

That meant that the ruler was at the top as far as the nation’s government, but she didn’t have much say in the military’s actions, or about the Outer World where humanity’s greatest threat rampaged around. The regular citizens aside, Magicmasters weren’t overly familiar with her. 

That said, when it came to matters of ceremony between the nations, the ruler held the right to decide, so there was no doubt that she was the highest authority when it came to internal affairs and diplomacy. Furthermore, the details of international events were typically decided at the rulers conferences. 

Incidentally, Cicelnia also enjoyed an overwhelmingly high amount of support from the citizens. She was an idol of sorts, but Alus recognized her as someone sharp and able, not just a figurehead. 

Since the ruler also had the authority to appoint the Governor-General, it was rumored that Berwick’s appointment was the result of Cicelnia’s machinations. 

However, Alus hadn’t directly confirmed that with Berwick, nor had he found any decisive evidence that Cicelnia had done anything, so it was a very feeble rumor. He wouldn’t go so far as to say that it was a rumor that had spiraled out of control, but that probably wasn’t far off. 

In reality, the ruler’s authority didn’t stretch so far as the ability to give the Governor-General orders. The best the ruler could hope for was to gain an understanding of military information and the state of affairs through the Governor-General’s reports. 

But the ruler of Alpha traditionally kept a personal elite force under their command. 

According to the rumors, they were all experts in anti-personnel combat to protect the ruler from external enemies, but in this modern age when magic prospered, Magicmasters could comfortably fulfill that role. 

The elite force did little with Magicmasters able to guard the ruler, so it was more of an obsolete custom, which was why the elite force that served under Cicelnia was just for show, with only one person actually serving as her bodyguard and close aide. 

That was none other than Rinne Kimmel. 

“There you have it. So look after those two while I’m gone for a couple of days. Just follow the training menu.” 

“Then please take me with you.” 

Seeing Alus’ troubled look, Rinne gave him a helping hand. In a soft voice, she called out to Loki as if admonishing a selfish child. “I’m sorry, Ms. Loki. The conference location is a secret.” 

“I-I see.” 

Loki’s shoulders dropped. Again... I’m being left behind again. 

It couldn’t be helped, and Alus felt a painful reluctance in leaving Loki here. “Loki, your detection radius is still not able to cover the 2 kilometer range needed for it to be useful. Once you can do that, I wouldn’t mind bringing you with me anywhere, but you can’t come this time.” 

“I understand...” 

Alus scratched his head at the weak response that was so different from what he was used to. 

Behind him, Rinne raised her eyebrows, but nobody noticed. Anywhere, is it? Well, as far as Sir Alus is concerned, national secrets don’t seem to matter, she thought to herself, feeling a chill run down her spine. 

“Right, then why don’t I take you with me the next time I head over to Folen?” 

“Really?!” 

Alus couldn’t help but think that Loki looked like a puppy wagging its tail when she so suddenly cheered up. Seeing her sparkling eyes, he couldn’t bring himself to question if something like that was fine with her. He was sure that she would’ve wanted to meet the head of state. I don’t get it. 

At any rate, he’d made it up to Loki. With that, he was free to catch his breath and get to his preparations, when he realized that he didn’t have any clothes suitable for a guard of honor. He did have his military uniform, but that felt a little too strict. And what was that about carrying weapons again? 

“Ms. Rinne, there was no point in bringing an AWR, was there?” 

“That’s correct. Weapons are to be left outside of the meeting place.” 

“Then I won’t need it.” In the end, his preparations amounted to changing out of his casual, around-the-house clothing into outerwear. 

“Sir Alus, when will you be back?” Loki asked. 

“I’m not sure, this is my first time going.” 

“It’s only expected to take a day. Even if discussions take longer, I believe it would only be two, three days at most.” 

“You heard her.” 

Loki elegantly bowed in understanding to Alus in a fashion that matched Rinne’s own, and she was a little proud of that. 

With that, Alus and Rinne were finally off. Unusually enough, they left through the window. Since the glass had been broken in the previous attack, it had been modified so that it could be opened in case something happened again. 

That said, it wasn’t exactly meant to be used as a normal exit, and Alus couldn’t help but smile wryly. I guess I’m not one to talk. 

Once they were outside the Institute grounds, Alus asked Rinne, who was ahead of him, “The venue is the same place it is every year, isn’t it?” 

“Yes, it is in a certain building in the vicinity of Babel.” 

“So how are we getting there?” It was quite some distance to Babel from here. Moreover, if they headed there directly they’d run across a lake on the way. Normally the transfer gate just before the lake was used to travel beyond it. 

“I haven’t really decided, but would it not be faster to run there?” Rinne answered in a calm voice without even turning around. 

“Don’t you think your treatment is too rough around the edges?” 

He couldn’t see her expression from behind her, but he received a slightly panicked answer. 

“T-That’s not true! It’s just that Lady Lettie is a very lively person, so that is what she does every time. Normally, we would bring out a magic car, but... it slipped my mind.” 

“Well, it’s all right.” 

“We will head for the transfer gate, but we won’t go directly to the venue from there. We’ll input the secret coordinates before transporting.” 

“I see. So that’s why you’ve been making sure that we’re not being followed, right?” As they cut through the wind, Alus could feel he was being watched by someone. But he didn’t feel any hostility or bloodlust in their stare, so it wasn’t hard for him to guess at the truth. 

“That’s right. But I didn’t think you would notice the Eye of Providence.” 

“It was just a coincidence,” Alus said—but in reality, he was surprised and very interested. 

The Eye of Providence was something he knew of by name. But it was less magic and more of a special ability. It was a power you were born with, a type of Magic Eye. According to some books, it gave its wielder an extensive field of view covering a vast range. 

In other words, Rinne was seeing the scenery around her through thousands of eyes in her mind. 

If the information in the book Alus had read was to be believed, Rinne should be able to see for several kilometers without any gaps. Knowing that, almost nobody could escape her detection. 

People with Magic Eyes were rare, and there were only two other people in recorded history who’d had the Eye of Providence. 

As they were on their way to a secret location, there was no one more reliable to have on your side. 

But just because you had a special ability didn’t mean that you could make use of it. There was also the well-known fact that Magic Eye users risked having their sense of self collapse if they slipped up. 

Controlling the Magic Eye when it first manifested was a difficult task, since the ability would be constantly activated at its maximum potential. At times it could warp the user’s perception of reality or have a negative influence on their brain, leading to the user losing their mind. 

As Alus thought of this, he tried to restrain his curiosity and urge to research it in more depth. I guess that wouldn’t work with her. 

Even Alus could see the consequences of his actions if he were to use the ruler’s aide for research. Yet he couldn’t take his mind off of it. After all, it was something similar to his own special ability. 

He researched a lot of topics in parallel, but there was one in particular that he was stuck on without any progress—but now he could see a glimpse of a breakthrough. 

“Could you let me see your eye while it’s in use?” 

“... Ah, of course... If you wish,” Rinne answered, with a degree of hesitation. 

Man fearing the unknown was something that never changed. 

There were stories of victims of Magic Eye users when it ran out of control, so the public tended to reject those who wielded them. 

Also, there were people who spouted baseless rumors that it was because their blood was mixed in with Fiends’ blood. As such, those with special abilities rarely had happy childhoods. 

Fortunately, the Eye of Providence didn’t do any actual damage. But that still didn’t change the fact that it was an abnormal sense, and there were those who had crushed their own eye because of the suffering they went through. 

Rinne stopped running, and Alus felt guilty that he was delaying them out of his own personal interest. He hurried to stand in front of her, knowing that she was also showing him her eye because she knew he was a researcher. 

“...” Alus took a close look at Rinne’s eye. A pale blue light was coming out from around her pupil. A strange magic formula also floated on top of her eyeball. “I’ve never seen a formula like this before. I wonder what its construction is...” 

“... Uhm, Sir Alus?” 

Rinne’s somewhat embarrassed voice brought Alus back to his senses. He moved his face away from hers and apologized. 

I’ve heard that when it first manifests, it expends mana automatically. Unlike Rinne, there was no embarrassment in Alus’ expression as he thought about that. His spirit of inquiry as a researcher came first and foremost. 

For the time being, Alus thought about the details of the knowledge he’d gleaned from observing her eye. “Thank you very much. Shall we keep going?” 

With that, the two started running again, moving through the wind. 

In the end, Alus couldn’t gather his thoughts until they arrived at the transfer gate. It had been a process of coming up with theories and rejecting them, without reaching any conclusions. Ultimately, he didn’t have enough clues. 

At the moment, thinking about it any further would just be running in circles, so he pushed his investigation into the Magic Eye to the back of his mind. 

In front of a large transfer gate, Rinne held her hand over the attached panel. It indicated that it was loading, and then that the process was complete. Their surroundings warped, and morphed as if everything around them was being rebuilt. 

When the changeover was complete, the two had the lake at their backs as they stood on top of a hill in an area full of hills. 

In front of them stood the grand, white Tower of Babel. 

Even the smallest part of it was several hundred meters in diameter. And the largest part was almost five kilometers. 

At first, it had been a smaller structure; but it had been reinforced and made thicker to serve as the barrier that fended off the Fiends. 

“This way please, Sir Alus.” 

Turning in the direction of her voice, Alus saw Rinne standing by a carriage that was waiting for them. 

The coachman was already present, and deeply bowed to Alus. He appeared to be well into his years, but didn’t look like a Magicmaster. However, the way he carried himself made it seem like he was no normal coachman. 

“This is one of the caretakers of the facility where the conference is held.” 

The carriage had two horses pulling it. It was a very quaint sight in this day and age when magic cars existed, but this was a ceremonial custom for the rulers conference. 

After that, they spent some time inside the shaking carriage. 

Along the road were magic lamps, evenly spaced, that lit the road even in the darkness. Moreover, there didn’t appear to be any forested areas for as far as the eye could see. 

Instead, they were driving along the outer circumference of Babel, through a monotonous grassy plain. 

The giant circular wall enclosing Babel had seven lines extending out from the tower to mark the borders of the seven nations. It was easy to picture it as a cake cut into seven pieces with a candle sticking up in the middle. 

Next to the outer wall of Babel, you could easily traverse through several nations after a few minutes of carriage travel. 

However, the nations had come to an agreement that the area directly surrounding Babel was neutral territory that didn’t belong to any one nation. 

Finally, the carriage slowed down, and Alus could see the venue for the rulers conference for the first time. 

It was an old fortress that had a very refined atmosphere. Its scale looked diminished because of Babel being in the background, but the fortress could easily accommodate 300 people and had over 50 rooms. 

The castle walls had been raised in ancient times when humans warred against one another, and it was quite clearly not a fortress made with fighting Fiends in mind. 

It was the same white color as the Tower of Babel, with three spires soaring up into the air. From here, it looked like a trident threatening to pierce the skies. According to Rinne, the rulers conference was held on the top floor. 

In the end, they arrived just as the sun was starting to rise in the distance. 

It appeared their journey had taken much longer than expected, and Alus thought what a pain all this was, as he held his hand up to cover the sun on the horizon, squinting. 

He decided to rest in the room he was guided to by a staff member. Considering when he’d left the Institute, he wanted to take a nap for the few hours remaining before the conference began.

Alus woke up around nine, so he’d gotten around four or five hours of sleep. 

The reason he awoke was because the fortress had suddenly gotten busy. Perhaps because they’d woken up early, the rulers decided that they might as well hold the conference earlier. 

Finishing his preparations, Alus pulled a black suit from the closet. With him being assigned as a guard of honor, he wasn’t expected to adhere to formal attire. 

Alus in particular had inherited the Governor-General’s dislike of pompous outfits. It was an accommodation granted to him for being at the top of all Magicmasters. 

He put on a white shirt, and then the suit jacket. It felt stiff, so he pulled at the collar to loosen it a little. 

It’s like I’m a butler, he thought to himself, as he undid the top button of the shirt. 

Rinne had told him the program ahead of time in the carriage. As long as there weren’t any objections to the content, the rulers would stamp their individual seals and the opening of the Seven Nations Friendship Magical Tournament would be officially accepted. 

Alus felt it was a waste of time, but he acknowledged that this was important too, as long as he himself wasn’t involved. 

As the rulers rarely gathered if not for situations like this, the conference was also an opportunity for humanity to reaffirm that they were working together to fight against their common enemy. 

However—that was just on the surface. From what Alus heard from Rinne, it was really a place for politics, and they were constantly evaluating one another. 

Incidentally, once Rinne had guided Alus to the castle, she turned back around, being required to return to Alpha’s ruler, Cicelnia. 

Once Alus stepped out of his room, his eyes met with one of the servants. 

“Good morning, Sir Alus.” 

His name was known. There must be a list of guests, as expected of an important conference. 

“Good morning. Are you guys serving breakfast?” 

“But of course,” the servant said, and began to walk, guiding Alus to the dining room. 

Alus was currently in a nook of the third floor of the fortress. They moved past several rooms in the hallway until they reached the big staircase, going down one floor and past the double doors to their right, until they reached their destination. 

Entering through the doors, Alus scanned his surroundings. The room could probably fit around a hundred people. There were still plenty of empty seats, but it appeared that the kitchen at the opposite end of the room was hard at work, as the delicious smell of food wafted through the air. 

That said, at a closer look, the dining room wasn’t completely empty. A single person sat in the middle of the room, eating all by their lonesome. 

Alus glanced at the young man. Around him were large tables with chairs around them. Thinking of how wearisome it would be to eat dinner around here, Alus followed after the servant guiding him. 

And when the servant pulled back a chair for Alus to sit behind the young man... Alus unexpectedly noticed that the young man’s back reminded him of an acquaintance of his. 

“... Is that you, Jean?” 

When he asked this, the young man put the spoon with soup in it he was about to eat back into his bowl. 

The soup had a translucent golden color, with an appetizing smell arising as its surface was disturbed. There was also a large basket with assorted breads from which steam was rising, revealing they were freshly baked. The smell of butter dominated the table, and from an onlooker’s perspective it looked like Alus had been drawn in by the aromas of the food. 

And then the young man called Jean slowly turned around, a cheerful smile on his face. “How unusual to see you here, Alus.” 

He had blond hair in a casual style, a medium build, and appeared to be in his mid-teens. His full name was Jean Rumbulls. This was the rank No. 3 Magicmaster from the neighboring country of Rusalca. 

At first glance, anyone would assume he was a cheerful and openhearted young man with a good nature. Aside from Lettie, he was the only other Single Digit that Alus was acquainted with. 

He and Jean had been sent out once on a joint operation, and had known each other since then. Alus didn’t really consider the two of them to be friends, but Jean had a strangely affable side to him. He was the sociable type, even speaking to Alus who was difficult to approach. 

Jean was a bit older, but he talked to Alus like they were friends of the same age, and even among the quirky Singles he had a friendly, almost childishly innocent atmosphere to him. 

Alus didn’t particularly hate the guy. If anything, he didn’t mind the cheerful and frank side of him that let him casually call out to even surly Alus himself. 

Likewise, he didn’t hate Lettie Kultunca, Alpha’s other Single Digit Magicmaster, who had a similar atmosphere to her. But in her case, she acted like an older sister, always messing with him, which he found a little irritating. 

As Alus thought about that, Jean asked him, “Where’s Ms. Lettie?” 

“She’s on a mission. It concerns a strategic point for the Vanalis recovery plan, so the top brass probably didn’t want to let her go.” 

“Hmm, I see.” 

Alus then told the servant, who’d been waiting for him to finish speaking to Jean, that he’d be sitting with him. To which the servant pulled back a chair at the table with a smile. Alus also ordered the same food that Jean ordered. 

“I hear that Rusalca will be sending in a force to that area soon, too. Once it’s recovered, there will probably be another joint operation to lay the groundwork,” Jean noted. 

If Rusalca and Alpha were to carry out the recovery plan together, the Fiends there wouldn’t be a problem for long. 

The real issue was the stakes the two nations would have in it. There would be no shortage of disputes that could occur over who would get the territorial rights to what area. 

“Then they should have done so from the start,” Alus said bluntly. 

Jean showed a somewhat fed-up expression himself, letting out a heavy sigh. “Our military would be smarter if they could be up front like that...” 

In neither nation was the situation fully under control. In that regard, Berwick was skillfully keeping things organized in Alpha. 

“But it’s still unusual to see you here. Even if Ms. Lettie is on a mission, they could have just sent a Double.” 

“That would have worked too, but I’ll be participating this time.” 

“Huh? Participating in what?” 

“The Friendship Magical Tournament. I’m a student right now.” 

“Seriously?” 

“Seriously.” 

Jean let out a roar of laughter. “That’s got to be cheating,” he said, slapping his forehead. 

“Well, I wouldn’t care if I didn’t have to participate either. But the top brass have their own circumstances and won’t let it happen. Besides, didn’t you participate when you were a student too?” 

“No, well... wait, I did.” 

It was common for any excellent Magicmaster to have participated in the tournament when they were institute students, so Jean was at a loss for words. “But it’s not like you have to participate this year...” he finally said. 

Hearing that, Alus recalled something Berwick had said about Rusalca’s Governor-General bragging that they had some promising students this time around. That piqued his interest a little, and he decided to ask Jean about it. 

“You have some people who are competent this year?” 

“You could say that. They’re Triples by rank alone, but they should be able to get on in the Outer World just fine.” 

“That’s impressive.” 

“You don’t think that at all, do you?” 

Alus had thrown out some empty praise, but Jean easily saw through it. If anything, almost any words the current rank No. 1 might say might come off as sarcastic. “Of course. Someone from Rusalca isn’t likely to be of any use to me, not even in a joint operation.” 

“You’re the same as always,” Jean laughed, without any concern. He continued, with a smile that had no hostility behind it, “However, we will still win this year. You can try as hard as you like, but in the end this is a tournament and you’re only one person.” 

“We’ll see about that. I’ve got a reward on the line.” 

“Wha—?! You’ve been bought off?” 

“This is just another mission,” Alus said with a composed expression. To him, the tournament was just another job. 

Recalling how merciless and expressionless Alus looked during missions, Jean smiled wryly as he brought his hands together in front of his face. “Sheesh, can you at least take it easy on our Magicmasters?” 

Jean was wary of the ‘accidents’ that happened every so often during the tournaments. As this was a live combat tournament, the occasional, rare tragedy was known to strike when the difference in ability between two participants was too big, or when a powerful spell hit a vital spot. 

They were events when valuable potential was unfortunately snuffed out. And it was especially easy to imagine it happening with a mere student going up against the current rank No. 1. 

“I know that. What do you take me for?” 

“I’m relieved to hear it. Oh, but you don’t have to hold back against the people from other nations,” Jean said with a mischievous smile. 

His statement could very well be seen as treasonous, attempting to disturb the unity between nations. Since Jean always had a cheerful atmosphere to him, Alus couldn’t tell if he was joking or being serious. 

“Anyways, joking aside...” 

Oh, so it was just a joke, Alus nodded to himself. Well, he didn’t particularly care what happened to the novice Magicmasters of other nations, but he had no reason to earn himself the grudges of those nations either. 

Thinking about it, though Jean rarely showed it, he was a sincere and serious person inside. At the very least, he wasn’t the type to say something so unscrupulous and mean it. 

Suddenly Jean looked away, confirming there was nobody around to eavesdrop before moving closer to Alus. “Did you hear... about Balmes?” he whispered, cautious of any prying eyes. 

Balmes was a well-known name. It was a mid-sized nation to the north of Alpha. However, Alus was currently a student, and he shook his head at Jean’s question. 

When he did so, Jean brought his face even closer. “It seems they’re going to force a large-scale recovery operation. It’ll be led by, uhm... what was their name? Balmes’ Magicmaster.” 

“Gileada?” Alus suggested. 

Jean was likely speaking of Balmes’ only Single Digit Magicmaster. Alus had only seen their name written down, but it was supposed to be a woman named Gileada. 

Hearing about the large-scale operation, Alus recalled what Budna had said about AWRs in Alpha, as well as materials from the Outer World flowing to other countries. Movements on the national level required a large amount of preparation. But Alus pushed that aside for now and focused on his discussion with Jean. 

“No, Ms. Gileada is ranked at about 20 now,” Jean said. 

It was only natural that he wouldn’t remember. Rank No. 9 was a turbulent rank that often changed hands. Moreover, the lower half of the Singles weren’t all that much stronger than the top of the Doubles. 

There were also rumors that Balmes’ Magicmasters were forcibly lifted up to have a Magicmaster in the Singles, because of how many of them had been in the lower ranks of the Single Digits. No smoke without fire, as they say. 

At any rate, the No. 9 rank was overwhelmingly often held by a Magicmaster from Balmes. 

“Right! It’s someone called Duncal now,” Jean said. 

“Hmm. And, what about them?” 

“That large-scale operation will be led with Duncal at the front, and Balmes is mobilizing all of their Magicmasters. But rumor has it that they’re still having a hard time.” 

Alus shrugged at what Jean had to tell him. “That’s a common thing, isn’t it? Isn’t it just that their abilities don’t live up to the rank of a Single?” 

Jean agreed, as he lightly snorted. “I bet. But even then, they’ve at least got to have the abilities of a Double.” 

Even if they were being forcibly put into the rank of the Singles, they should have considerable abilities. If Balmes were to push someone trivial into the honored seat of a Single Digit for the sake of the nation’s ego, they would only lose face eventually. 

Alus shrugged again, and said with a sarcastic smile, “If the people from Balmes are here today, why don’t we ask them? Though they probably wouldn’t tell.” 

“True.” Jean was more informed on the international situation than Alus was. That was a clear difference between Alus and the other Magicmasters. 

Alus honestly believed that he’d be fine on his own regardless of what happened to humanity. That’s why he didn’t bother with interfering with other nations’ business, but the other Magicmasters were different. 

As with Jean, they had to fight for humanity’s sake. They couldn’t take the stance of not caring what happened to the other nations. That’s why Jean was earnestly gathering information. 

If even a single nation let Fiends past the barrier, Babel, the key to maintaining the human realm, would be threatened. If that happened, humanity would have nowhere to run. 

But even under that kind of situation, nations couldn’t abandon their selfish motives to work together. They couldn’t trust other nations under a state of emergency. As such, they couldn’t show any weakness, and many considered nations truly working together to be nothing but an empty ideal. 

“Incidentally, Jean, I heard that magic book type AWRs are getting popular in Rusalca.” 

“Ah, those...” Jean’s cheek twitched slightly. His own AWR was a unique weapon called Rage Balls, which consisted of multiple special small balls that made up a single AWR. 

As such, it was Rusalca’s other Single Digit Magicmaster who used a magic book AWR, a woman named Hispida Orfeen. 

“Ms. Hispida is obsessed with money, after all,” Jean said. 

That’s where things clicked for Alus. A Single’s endorsement was perfect for a commercial brand. By turning the type of AWR a first-rate Magicmaster used into a brand, they’d be able to set a trend and their business would be booming. 

Alus thought it was a good trick, but he didn’t think she would be using it herself. 

However, it was a double-edged sword that might end up harming the nation. Like Budna had said, magic book AWRs weren’t something that just anyone could pick up and use. The nation could end up paying dearly for its Magicmasters falling for a trend and using these AWRs while ignoring the compatibility factor. He secretly sympathized with Jean’s struggles. 

After finishing breakfast, Alus and Jean left the dining room as they continued their small talk, though the topics brought up probably wouldn’t be referred to as such by others, and settled down in a corner of the waiting room. 

Alus enjoyed himself so much that he even forgot about the time, for the first time in a while. He still didn’t care about the other nations, but by keeping up to date on the state of affairs he could avoid any potential sparks raining down on him. 

Of course, he understood the importance of the information. While it was idle talk between two Single Digit Magicmasters, its contents exceeded the scope of what you’d hear in public, especially when it touched on the motives behind political movements. 

They didn’t stop their conversation until they saw the servants hurriedly moving outside. 

“I guess it’s about time,” Jean said, looking at the elaborate crystal clock behind Alus. 

“Isn’t it a little early?” 

“No, your ruler and my ruler are special.” Jean tiredly shrugged his shoulders for some reason, and got up from his seat. 

Alus followed suit. Jean had more experience with these conferences, so he figured it would be wise to follow Jean’s lead since it was his first time here. 

Alus and Jean leaned against the wall in front of the grand doors by the entrance hall, staring at the servants flying out of the doors. 

Two carriages had just arrived. In the next moment, the servants lined up on each side of the entrance to welcome the guests. 

At the same time, the carriages’ doors opened, and two elegant figures stepped down onto the walkway that had been prepared for them. 

One was a person Alus knew. This was probably the third time they’d met. 

They’d met for the first time at an award ceremony, but had only spoken at the celebration afterward, and even then it was just a simple greeting. He remembered both of them feeling the other out at the time. 

Alus’ impression was that this person was different from other rulers that he found imbecilic. At the same time, he had categorized her as someone disagreeable. 

That person was now elegantly walking with Rinne on her right, who held up a parasol for her. 

Her name was Cicelnia il Arlzeit. She had turned 20 just the other day, and it had only been three years since she’d become the ruler. 

Her bluish-black hair reached all the way down to her knees, and that, alongside her almost translucent skin, left a strong impression. She wore a pure white dress, her milky-white legs peeking out from the dress even more beautiful than her outfit. 

Like all important state officials, she wore a thin veil covering her face; but once removed, it would surely reveal equally beautiful facial features. 

At any rate, she gave off a graceful impression to anyone who saw her. Moreover, her breasts were sufficiently large enough to give her perfect proportions. Her almost mystical beauty that garnered massive support from the citizens was ever present today as well. 

However, as for the words that escaped her beautiful lips... “Oh, what a nuisance. How depressing. Can I ask you to not parade such a vulgar smell around me, Ms. Lithia?” Cicelnia said to the equally elegant woman to her left. 

Said woman gracefully replied in kind, “There is no need to be so envious, Ms. Cicelnia. Wearing a noble fragrance is only the minimum amount of care one should take in their appearance. Though, I can say I do understand your jealousy of the finest quality of herbs that can be gathered in Rusalca.” 

The woman who responded with such dripping sarcasm was Rusalca’s ruler, Lithia Touff Infratta. She was the same age as Cicelnia. 

Hearing this, Cicelnia furrowed her brows beneath her veil. 

“If you like, I can even let you have a bottle. You don’t enjoy such luxuries in Alpha, do you? Certainly not in such a nation that stinks of iron, where even its royal castle is covered in oil, right, Ms. Cicelnia?” 

Lithia’s curled and sparkling golden hair hung above her bountiful chest as if to decorate it. She was hiding her face behind a veil like Cicelnia, but beneath it she had unyielding sky-blue eyes and even facial features, which combined with her golden hair gave her an almost fantastical impression. As the ruler of Rusalca, with her alluring beauty she was known as the Fairy by her citizens. It was as if she’d come straight out of a fairy tale. 

“Why would I want one? Such a thick smell that covers up your own natural musk is only proof that you have no confidence as a woman. That uncouth and obscene stink fits a promiscuous woman who’s constantly in heat like you.” 

“...! Who are you calling a promiscuous woman?! Ms. Cicelnia, can you not be so jealous of me just because you are not so well endowed?” 

Unlike Cicelnia’s tight dress, Rusalca’s ruler wore an extravagant dress decorated in lace. The only thing they had in common was the veil all important people wore. 

Cicelnia’s eyebrows visibly twitched under the veil once more. “It is not that I am not endowed, it is simply that I am slim, Ms. Lithia. Perhaps the reason you are so lacking in vocabulary is that the inadequate Rusalcan food is all going to your vulgar chest instead of to your brain? I feel for you, not having anything other than those lumps of fat to show.” 

The two continued to exchange sharp words for their entire walk up to the front doors. 

Alus stared at the two rulers, dumbfounded. To think that it wasn’t just the Governors-General but even the rulers that were on such bad terms... 

When Alus turned back to Jean, the blond young man was no longer at his side. Looking around, he saw Jean ahead of him, approaching the two rulers with slumped shoulders. 

“My ladies, can you leave it at that? There are surrounding eyes to think about,” Jean implored, indicating the servants with a look. 

But as expected of professionals, neither Rinne nor the servants had even the slightest change in expression, as if nothing had happened, though there were some who cast their eyes down. 

Jean’s words were effective in keeping the peace, and seeing how the two rulers were momentarily at a loss for words, he used this opportunity to smooth things over. “It has been a while, Lady Cicelnia.” 

“Indeed, Jean Rumbulls. I see you are as sincere today as always.” 

“Jean, there is no need to lower your head to that crude woman.” 

Cicelnia’s cheek twitched at Lithia’s sharp words. 

Jean pretended not to notice, as he continued, “Lady Lithia, there is someone I wish to introduce to you.” He then turned to glance towards Alus, who was still leaning against the wall. 

However, before Lithia could settle her eyes on Alus, Cicelnia forcibly sped up her walking speed, trying to maintain her elegant appearance as she ran up to him. 

“You are finally here, Alus.” 

“Hello... it has been a while, Lady Cicelnia.” 

“I’ve already forgotten about that. More importantly, people have been talking behind my back because you never show up. Like how Alpha’s No. 1 never comes to the conference because he’s a fake that’s been propped up.” A sigh caused the veil to flutter. 

“Then why not just let them talk?” 

“I cannot let them look down on Alpha. It is necessary for these kinds of events, in order to keep certain someones from getting full of themselves and taking advantage of us.” 

Her words seemed almost laced with venom. When standing next to each other like this, there was almost no difference in height between Alus and Cicelnia. She was rather tall for a woman. 

Alus felt like Cicelnia’s eyes were peering at him from behind her veil. 

“Why do we not move further on inside, Alus?” 

“—Wait a moment!” Lithia, walking next to Jean, raised her voice. 

Hearing his ruler’s irritated tone of voice, Jean swiftly stepped in between them and tried to peacefully mediate between the rulers. “Lady Cicelnia, I would like to introduce Alus to my nation’s ruler. May I?” Jean said with a perfect smile. 

“Jean Rumbulls... Is that something you need permission from me for?” 

Perhaps because she’d already taken a few steps up the stairs, when Cicelnia turned around it was as if she was applying pressure to everyone as she looked down on them. She most definitely did not speak in a friendly tone. 

Instead, she spoke out sarcastically as if to tell Lithia that she had no obligation to introduce the two. 

“Then...” 

“Oh please, make it quick.” 

Jean’s smile remained ever present, despite Cicelnia’s displeased voice. 

Thinking that he should repay the favor for the information Jean had given him before, Alus stepped up to help. However, he couldn’t do something as disrespectful as introducing himself from above Lithia. 

At the same time, he felt that he needed to put the ruler in check. 

But not Lithia—rather, his own ruler. 

For better or worse, he couldn’t get a read on Cicelnia. Even the exchange around Alus’ introduction seemed to have a degree of calculation behind it. 

She spoke as if Alus was her protégé, using his worth to exert her own authority over the two Rusalcans. From Alus’ point of view, that was no way to build up a good relationship, even if she was a ruler. Forcing an appropriate distance would be necessary. 

Alus first came down the steps to Lithia’s level, and then he kneeled. 

“—!!” Everyone reacted with shock. 

“It is a pleasure to meet you, Lady Lithia Touff Infratta. My name is Alus Reigin.” 

“And it is a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Alus. I am sorry for making the strongest Magicmaster kneel. Nobody here can force a Single to do so.” Lithia had a somewhat troubled expression, but she still smiled and held her hand out. 

Alus reached out with his hand, and took her hand in his own. He caught a glimpse of her face behind the veil, and found it surprisingly childlike. Then, whispering in a quiet voice, he said, “I’m aware you might find it uncomfortable, but I ask you to please overlook the rudeness from before on my behalf.” 

Lithia immediately understood that he was talking about Cicelnia. She glanced up towards Cicelnia who was still standing on the stairs, and replied in a composed voice, “Of course. I can overlook something that small for your sake.” Her expression behind her veil was likely filled with superiority. 

It was impossible to see what kind of expression Cicelnia had, but her body seemed frozen in place from the shock. 

A Single kneeling to his own ruler was one thing, but to the ruler of another nation was something completely different. It was a sign of the highest respect, and it was especially astonishing for those who knew what kind of person Alus was. 

In reality, Alus had kneeled to Cicelnia before during the two award ceremonies, but never since then. In fact, he’d stopped showing up for the ceremonies after the second one in a sign of disrespect. 

“Alus, that’s enough. Let us go,” Cicelnia managed to squeeze out, but her expression remained hidden by the veil. 

Alus lowered his head to Lithia one more time, and followed after Cicelnia. 

This entire little act was Alus’ own way of putting Cicelnia in check, so he wouldn’t solely be a card for her to play in her game of politics. He also expected that having Lithia recognize the same thing would be helpful at some point. 

Whether Lithia was aware of Alus’ intention or not, she called out to his back, “Mr. Alus, you should come over to Rusalca some time. There are plenty of things there that do not exist in Alpha. I am sure you would like it.” 

“I understand. I will look forward to visiting sometime.” 

Meanwhile, Jean wordlessly shrugged at Alus’ unexpected behavior. 

While Cicelnia’s expression couldn’t be seen behind her veil, watching her attendant Rinne’s expression, it was possible to guess what kind of feelings were whirling inside of her. Alus had no way of knowing, but Rinne had let out a frustrated tongue click, and had been grinding her teeth. 

Some moments later... 

“Jean, is that really the man who stands at the top of the Magicmasters?” 

“If you speak to him carelessly, you will have your legs swept out from under you, Lady Lithia. Our army only suffered so few casualties during that excursion because Alus was there.” 

“So that’s how it was.” 

Lithia and Jean looked up the stairs. Alus and Cicelnia had already disappeared into the fortress. 

Alus, why’d you have to do that... well, I’m sure there was no ill will meant toward us. Probably. Jean didn’t think too much deeper into it. But he couldn’t help but be bothered by how Alus had treated Rusalca’s ruler in front of his own. 

It would be overly shallow to assume that Alus was planning to move to Rusalca. Which meant that perhaps that had been courtesy he showed to Lithia as an individual. 

However... knowing Alus’ personality, Jean scoffed at that idea. That can’t have been it. 

So maybe it was to spite Cicelnia. Everything added up if that was the cause, but the reason remained unknown. Well, knowing their personalities, maybe they’d quarreled ahead of time. Perhaps Lady Cicelnia misjudged how to handle him. 

Jean knew very well that Alus didn’t act according to his age and appearance. However, he decided to forget about politics as he’d already found something else to look forward to. After all, this was the first time the Singles from the other nations would see the top-ranked Magicmaster. 

Lithia, staring at Jean’s profile, must have guessed what he was thinking, as she had a pleased smile as well. “I see. It is his debut, after all. It would not be strange if anything were to happen.” 

“... Yes, but we should watch out so that somebody doesn’t stir up trouble for themselves,” Jean replied, but he looked as though he were waiting for the entertainment to begin. 

* * * 

Inside a room suitable for a ruler. 

Unlike the room Alus had rested in, careful consideration had been put into the furnishings in this room. That much could be gleaned from just the canopy bed within. 

The utmost efforts had been put into the extravagance of the room, but Alus felt like he’d get sick at the mere thought of spending more than a day in it. 

Right now, a heavy atmosphere dominated the room. The reason, of course, was Alus. 

Cicelnia sat on a luxurious sofa, her legs crossed, with a marble table in front of her. Next to her was Rinne, who gracefully restrained herself to keep from angering the beast any further. 

“Now you have done it.” 

“Done what?” Alus sat down on the sofa facing them, and tilted his head on purpose. 

“There is no way you are not aware of it. I know. I know this very well.” 

Cicelnia ripped off the veil covering her face. Her feathered eyebrows could be seen below her neatly trimmed bangs. She had long curled eyelashes and golden eyes that drew you in. Neither sculptors nor painters would be able to perfectly replicate her beauty. 

Alus had no interest in her, but if he was asked who the most beautiful woman he knew was, he’d have no choice but to say Cicelnia’s name. 

The ruler herself seemed quite upset, but she made the pretty picture even then. She had a sullen look, pouting with rounded cheeks, which gave her an adorable impression on top of her beauty. 

Alus said, “This will be my first meeting with the other nations’ Singles, so some distance would be suitable.” 

“Let me be the leader, will you?” Cicelnia said. 

Alus’ actions from before were a check to ensure that Cicelnia wouldn’t use him, and it was also meant as a threat, saying that he wouldn’t mind moving to another nation. 

And he’d used Lithia to accomplish it. As Rusalca had strength on par with Alpha, the threat came off as even more realistic. And Cicelnia’s and Lithia’s poor relationship also worked in his favor. 

It was clear that Cicelnia believed Alus would obey her as he was one of Alpha’s Magicmasters. That’s what Alus didn’t like. 

Alus suspected that she was looking for political dominance, though it was pointless to worry over it. She might have that kind of side to her, but she wouldn’t show her true colors that easily. 

While she might not be looking to become the leader of the seven nations, she did want to have the most influence of all the rulers. It was practically a given for those in her position. And for that reason she needed to make effective use of the No. 1 Magicmaster. 

However, her opponent wasn’t about to become her pawn that easily. 

Not only had her intentions been crushed, but she’d lost face, so she spat out words of irritation. “Alus, you are Alpha’s Magicmaster, so work in ways that benefit Alpha.” 

“...” 

“As I’m sure you’re aware, you transferring to another nation will never be accepted.” 

“...” 

“You only need to listen to what I say. Alus, with your strength, we will be able to put the other nations in our debt. To start, perhaps retaking a remote region would... be... a... good...” 

In that instant, the atmosphere in the room froze over. 

Changing from heavy to overpowering with bloodlust mixed in. 

That wasn’t something you directed towards a ruler. And it was of course coming from the insolent boy sitting across the table. 

Within a fraction of a second, Rinne experienced herself dying, despite serving as the ruler’s bodyguard and being well-versed in military arts. 

With her forehead covered in sweat, Rinne placed herself in front of Cicelnia. An act worthy of praise. 

As for Cicelnia, who wasn’t even a Magicmaster... she held her hand against her chest and struggled to breathe. Her beautiful glossy lips moved as if she was starving for oxygen. 

While she was a sharp ruler, she was in her position because of her royal bloodline, and didn’t have much resistance against this kind of thing. 

Alus knew her charisma wasn’t solely due to her blood. However— 

“Don’t misunderstand.” His cold voice tore through the frozen atmosphere. And his words pelted Cicelnia’s ears as if they were icicles. “Alpha doesn’t matter to me. I’m only here because I owe Berwick. In that sense, I guess you can say that you appointing him as Governor-General was a good move... but don’t think that gives you the right to order me around.” 

With her body trembling, Cicelnia was unable to answer. Her face pale, she cast her eyes down, staring at the marble table’s design. 

“But I don’t think Berwick would be amused to hear that you looked down on other nations either...” 

“Sir Alus!!” Finally, Rinne somehow managed to raise her voice. 

Alus glanced over to Cicelnia, and held back on his bloodlust. Emitting bloodlust was something he’d picked up while working behind the scenes. It was completely different from what normal Magicmasters could do. 

Magicmasters sometimes deliberately leaked some mana as a means to intimidate or as a show of force. But Alus’ bloodlust made his opponents experience death, to the point of even hallucinating it. 

“Anyways, I apologize for being rude... but well, now that you’ve experienced this once you should be fine facing the other Singles,” Alus said emotionlessly to Cicelnia, who just barely managed to avoid crumbling into the sofa. 

Rinne took deep breaths and then posed a question. The fact that it took several seconds couldn’t be helped. “What do you mean? Lady Cicelnia faces the Singles every year.” 

“I’ll be here this time. And we can’t have her wetting herself in front of the other nations’ rulers.” 

“Wet? ...!” 

Realizing what he meant, Rinne held her tongue. 

Alus’ words were only a shot in the dark and given as an example... it was a blunder unbecoming of a lady, but looking at Cicelnia blushing in shame made it clear that it was the truth. 

“W-Who... who are you saying would do something like that?” Cicelnia ground out. 

“Hmm, so you don’t hold the seat of ruler for nothing.” 

Cicelnia’s unyielding eyes stared willfully at Alus’ cold eyes. She violently ruffled up her bangs stuck to the beads of sweat on her forehead with a puffed-out breath, as she continued to roughly breathe in silence. 

But a fearless smile had already returned to her lips, despite it being only from pride. The feeling was also accompanied by shame as she felt the sensation of her wet thighs. 

“What are you going to do? Sentence me to death for lèse-majesté? I don’t care.” 

“If I do that, you really will defect to another nation.” 

To think she could still keep up with the retorts after all that... Alus’ evaluation of her force of will went up. She really couldn’t be underestimated. 

Alus had held back on his bloodlust so that she wouldn’t faint. But he had intended to beat that haughty attitude out of her so that she wouldn’t be able to act so brashly against Singles. He’d underestimated her, thinking she wouldn’t have the courage to pursue the matter, but in reflecting on his actions he felt he’d gone a little too far. 

At the same time— 

“Sir Alus, I won’t hesitate next time,” Rinne said. 

Of course, she didn’t think she’d be able to do something against him if he was serious. But she still had her duties as a bodyguard. She’d said it to keep him in check, but its effect was questionable at best. 

Moreover, the upcoming conference was concerning as well. As it would be the first time Alus was attending, he would garner attention whether he liked it or not because of his rank. 

It was more than possible that the other nations’ Singles would make light of him because of his young age and try to meddle with him. In reality, Alus was almost convinced that would happen, which was why he did something as reckless as testing Cicelnia ahead of time. 

Things would be so easy if every Single was like Jean, Alus thought; but after closely considering it, he had a very curious side to him. 

That could bring about its own set of problems.

Some time passed. 

Alus had been waiting for the two women to recover. After a few minutes, Rinne was back to normal, but Cicelnia still had some ways to go. 

She spent over ten minutes drinking water and resting her body until her breathing finally settled down. During that time she’d glance over in Alus’ direction and sigh meaningfully. 

“... Seeing how bad you look makes even me feel a little guilty.” 

“Whose fault do you think that is? Experience that guilt to its fullest extent! ...If you are even capable of feeling guilt, that is.” It seemed she had at least recovered enough to hurl abuse. 

The next moment, she slumped over the table as if she’d gotten sick of it all. She let out a soft sigh as she pressed her face against the cold marble. After whispering a quiet, “I am changing,” she raised her head and then stood up as if fully recovered. “I let out a lot of perspiration because of a certain someone, so I am changing clothes. Rinne, preparations!” 

“O-Of course!” 

Dignity returned to Cicelnia’s voice, which echoed throughout the room. 

The two women disappeared into the inner rooms, while Alus was kicked out. 

Once in the dressing room, Cicelnia let out a heavy sigh as she entrusted her body to Rinne. 

Rinne smiled wryly in response. “He really went and did it. That’s the kind of person Sir Alus is.” 

“I know that! He only came this time because Lettie is on a mission, right?” 

“Well, Sir Alus is participating in the Friendship Magical Tournament as well. If not for that, he might not have shown up as usual.” 

In that case, Cicelnia would’ve had to bring a Double Digit Magicmaster. That was something she’d rather avoid. Being Alpha’s ruler, the Magicmaster she brought with her needed to serve as a symbol for Alpha’s strength. 

If that Magicmaster was overpowered by the Magicmasters of other nations, Alpha would lose all of its dignity. 

Just imagining it made Cicelnia grimace. As she did, the strap holding up her dress was removed, and it fell to the ground without a sound. 

Without showing any concern over her body being exposed, Cicelnia took a step forward and completely stripped out of the rest of her clothing. 

Rinne wordlessly put her hands on Cicelnia’s underwear to change them as usual, but... as she touched it she stopped. 

She had spotted a damp spot in the white fabric. “Uhm, Lady Cicelnia... did you really...?” Of course, there was no way that she would be fine after being exposed to that kind of bloodlust. 

Yet Cicelnia put on a brave face, and Rinne glanced up at her. As she did, Cicelnia, unable to bear the shame, turned her head away and nodded once. 

Having seen an unexpectedly vulnerable side of her master, Rinne kept quiet out of consideration for her feelings. 

However, Rinne was supposed to have experienced the same thing, so her master asked her with a suspicious expression, “Rinne, what about you?” 

“Eh? I-I didn’t really...” Rinne shook her head, but her master wouldn’t accept it, as her expression turned impish. 

“You did too... right?” Cicelnia asked with a big smile, as she grabbed hold of Rinne’s well-shaped breasts. 

“... Yes.” Rinne didn’t have it in her to keep shaking her head if the ruler insisted otherwise. 

“Then let us go shower together,” Cicelnia said, sadistically ordering her loyal subordinate, as if shaking off the unpleasant memories from before. 

* * * 

The rulers conference was taking place in the grand conference room on the fifth and top floor of the fortress. 

The three were together up until the fourth floor, but as a servant Rinne wasn’t allowed beyond that. Only the ruler and their guard of honor were allowed; in other words, only Cicelnia and Alus passed through the scanners manned by servants. This was a normal procedure to ensure that no AWRs or weapons were brought in. 

After they went through without any issues, Rinne saw the two off with a straightened posture. “I will be awaiting you here.” 

“Yes, I will see you later,” Cicelnia said. 

Alus walked one step behind Cicelnia. She wore a very similar dress to when she arrived that was open in the back, and the veil covered her face once more. The veil was a supposed necessity for the rulers conference. From what Alus heard, it was meant to keep any prejudice due to age or position at a minimum. 

While she looked as if she’d recovered, upon closer examination, Cicelnia’s steps seemed somewhat unsteady. 

I guess I went overboard with the threat. 

Seeing her slightly stiff back, Alus recognized that he was at fault and decided to give her a helping hand if needed. 

That was a decision he made after feeling the abnormal atmosphere coming from the grand conference room. It was an overwhelmingly dense flow of mana that he couldn’t help but sense even with the doors closed. 

Because of the incident between Alus and Cicelnia, they were the last to arrive. Inside were the rulers and the notorious Magicmasters accompanying them. 

Even Alus felt a little sympathy for Cicelnia who had to walk ahead of him due to her position. The closer they got, the shorter her steps became and Alus almost caught up to her. 

“Lady Cicelnia? Would you like me to go ahead?” 

“I-I am fine. Just so you know... it is your fault that we are late.” Cicelnia turned around to reveal a twitching smile, and then took a deep breath. 

Alus walked up to her side and grabbed hold of the heavy door’s handle. “Then let’s go,” he said, and opened the door. 

As he did so, something practically gushed out. 

It was the aura of rivalry and force, or rather a torrent of chaotic mana evaluating them. It blew at them like a gale from the depths of the room. 

Inside the room were six rulers seated at a round table. And behind each of them was a Magicmaster standing at attention. Like Cicelnia, the other rulers also hid their faces behind veils. 

The first thing that caught Alus’ eye was the dome of mana structured around the six rulers. A Mana Canceler, huh. It was high-ranking magic that would easily shut down any wayward spell. 

He didn’t know who had cast it, but it was clear they hadn’t used an AWR, so they weren’t a Single for nothing. I wonder if it’s also meant to keep any leaking mana from reaching the rulers too. 

As he thought this, the eyes of the room focused on them, putting on pressure. However, they weren’t staring at Cicelnia, but rather at the boy behind her, Alus himself. 

Alus easily brushed off that pressure and glanced over the room. 

And the moment his eyes crossed with a brawny man, said man barged forward towards him. 

The presence around the giant man was clearly from a high-ranking Magicmaster. As proof that he wasn’t coming up to give Alus a friendly handshake, he was putting out immense pressure. 

Cicelnia’s body trembled. The man was staring straight at Alus, not paying any attention to Cicelnia, but the pressure still made her feel like her small body would be blown away. 

Seeing how she managed to keep standing, Alus gave her a passing grade and put his hand on her back. Then... the mana he poured into her had a warmth to it, and it flowed through her stiff body. 

“...!” 

Feeling this, Cicelnia rapidly calmed down and focused on that warm and gentle power. He wasn’t using a spell. It was the first time she’d experienced mana itself flowing into her. 

Her own mana reacted to Alus’ mana, and after some minor repulsion and shifting she could more vividly feel her own mana. Though it differed from person to person, sensing the mana flowing in your body was very effective in increasing focus and calming down. 

Cicelnia never would’ve imagined a weapon used against Fiends would have this kind of use as well. Thinking about it calmly she’d only been caught up in this, and she was able to recover enough presence of mind to not bring shame to her status. She glanced over at Alus for a moment. 

Aside from the surprise, Alus could feel some gratitude coming from her, but he had something more important to do... 

He took a step forward, standing in front of Cicelnia. 

A loud voice without any restraint came from the giant man. “It’s your first appearance here and you’re the last to arrive. Here I was thinking you didn’t understand the rules of adults... but to think you really were just a brat!” 

We’re not that late... so this is one of those things, Alus thought to himself, having realized the man’s true intentions. 

Perhaps the other rulers had conspired to arrive ahead of time so that they could await Cicelnia and Alus. 

Alus searched his memories for the giant man speaking in an unnatural-sounding tone of voice and recalled the name of the rank No. 8 Magicmaster, Galgnis Theotort. 

The man looked a little older, but he should still be only 30. As for what nation he belonged to... Alus pulled out the data he had on the man inside his head and compared it to the person in front of him. 

But still, the scars on the man’s bulging muscles, unusual to see on a Magicmaster, stood out. There were countless scars all over him, from hands to arms to his face. 

He had swept-back hair, an angular face, sharp eyes and an aggressive atmosphere, giving him the impression of a wild beast. 

Impressive. Deciding to appraise the man’s strength before recalling the nation he belonged to, Alus found himself respecting his well-trained muscles that wouldn’t lose out to magic. 

But that was all. He found nothing else impressive about the man before him. 

It appeared Galgnis was the only Magicmaster here that was being openly hostile. The rest of the lineup was letting out mana as a show of their nation’s force, but there was no hostility or enmity in it. 

“What has the world come to if someone like this is No. 1? I bet you only got the position from playing with the results. Alpha sure has lost its touch,” Galgnis said in a condescending tone, having moved on from appraising Alus. 

And then, of all things—he went on to boast about how he’d be able to rise up in the rankings by defeating Alus. 

Feeling how much of a pain this was, Alus glanced over towards Jean, who remained stationary with a bitter expression. He seemed to be cautious of doing anything that might impact Rusalca’s political position. 

Lithia also sent worried looks their way, but she was in the same position. 

The rest were likewise silently watching over the situation. They probably had their own thoughts on the matter, but figured that this was a good chance to see the No. 1 Magicmaster’s abilities first hand. 

But if nobody was going to interfere, that also meant that nobody would complain if Alus did something about it himself. 

Now then, Alus thought to himself, as he considered his options. 

He’d already abandoned the idea of resolving things peacefully, and was deliberating over what was the best way to deal with the man and make him reconsider his attitude. He didn’t care about being looked down on himself, but having Alpha taken lightly would be problematic in the future. Especially with the Friendship Magical Tournament just around the corner. 

Can’t say I like it, but in the end things will go like the princess expected, he thought, glancing over to Cicelnia behind him. 

She was acting unfazed, but Alus noticed her slender fingers were holding on to his sleeve. 

It was a pain, but dealing with this situation meant showing Alpha’s strength to the other rulers, which was also the role she had asked him to play before. 

Faced with the giant of a man he’d have to crank his head upwards to see, Alus tapped his foot against the floor with a fed-up expression. 

Seeing that, Galgnis put on a confident smile. He then moved on to do something to provoke Alus and even the nation of Alpha. 

The moment he pushed his massive mana past Alus and towards Cicelnia behind him— 

The sound of the ground being hit twice, followed by a sharp swishing sound like a whip tearing through the air, rang out. 

“Ack?!” 

Galgnis’ massive frame collapsed as he fell to a knee before Alus. With that, they were finally on the same eye level. 

Without a moment’s delay, Alus wrapped his arm around Galgnis’ neck and grabbed the shoulder on the opposite side. Nobody in the room had perceived this fluid motion. 

He then brought his mouth next to Galgnis’ ear and coldly spoke. His voice was low, but his enunciation was clear enough to ensure everyone in the room could properly hear him. 

“Put away this disgusting mana right now, or I’ll have no problem killing you on the spot.” 

His somewhat serious bloodlust mixed in with his words probably made everyone feel like the temperature in the room dropped by a few degrees. 

But Galgnis himself seemed slow on the uptake, as he instead shivered with rage, making even more mana flow out of his massive frame. 

“I thought I told you to put it away. Can’t you even do something like that? Geez, what a handful.” 

Maintaining his posture, Alus unleashed his other type of mana for an instant. 

It happened in the blink of an eye, and by the time anyone noticed, the mana filling the room had disappeared without a trace. Including the Mana Canceler protecting the rulers. 

“—!!” 

“Wha—?!” 

Everyone was astonished by what had just happened, and they all stared at the boy who acted like nothing was wrong. 

That included Jean as well, but that couldn’t be helped. Alus hadn’t shown him this power before either. 

He had unleashed Gra Eater, his special ability that devoured mana. And it had devoured everything in a moment. 

That should be more than enough of a show of force, Alus thought. An unexplainable phenomenon invited fear. And it would keep anyone from acting too rashly. 

Alus removed his arm from Galgnis and patted his shoulder. “There won’t be another time, got it?” 

He then took Cicelnia by her hand and guided her to the empty seat near Galgnis who was still frozen in shock. She still wasn’t all there, but she came to her senses when she sat down. 

Unsure if that had been a sufficient show of force or not, she still had a satisfied look on her face, with ambition burning in her eyes. The way she elegantly readjusted how she sat in her chair, and took the initiative to show off, indicated that she wouldn’t go down without a fight. 

After seating Cicelnia, Alus took a step back, which happened to be right near Galgnis who was still down on one knee. 

“Hah?!” That was when Galgnis snapped back to reality and swung out with an enchanted backhanded blow. 

The arm tore through the air but Alus showed no signs of dodging or taking defensive measures. 

“—!!” 

The room fell silent like it had frozen over for an instant. 

However— 

“Galgnis, you shouldn’t go any further than that.” 

“Don’t you think you’re being a little too rude in front of the rulers?” 

“How unsightly, old man.” 

Jean grabbed hold of Galgnis’ head and pushed it to the floor, while the rank No. 2 Magicmaster Vajet Olagram stepped on his left arm, and the rank No. 4 Magicmaster Fanon Trooper restrained his enchanted right arm with magic and swung up her heel, poised over him as if to stomp down on his body. 

Restrained by this group of three, Galgnis couldn’t move a muscle. 

From a Magicmaster’s point of view, it was clear that his previous action was a reflex born out of fear. That was why he’d used a sloppy attack consisting of simply infusing mana into his fist. Having been shown the difference in their abilities, an attack like that would be like pricking an elephant with a sewing needle. It was suicidal. It was by no means an attack thrown out due to hostility. 

You could even say Galgnis had already lost his will to fight before attacking. That’s why Alus didn’t even bother dealing with it, there was no need to. But that was something only first-rate Magicmasters could tell. 

“Stop that, Galgnis!” 

Interpreting Galgnis’ action as hostile, a man in the prime of his life stood from his seat across the table to keep him from losing his life. While his face was hidden behind his veil, judging from his voice he was probably around the same age as Berwick. 

This was the ruler of Halcapdia, a nation to the west neighboring Rusalca. 

“S-Sorry... I lost control of myself.” As the restrained Galgnis meekly replied to the ruler, the three Magicmasters let go of him. 

Alus once more slowly looked over the room, confirming the people he saw. Aside from Jean and Galgnis, he stared at each and every new face. 

First was the No. 2 Magicmaster from the eastern nation of Iblis, Vajet Olagram. He was tall and slender and had even facial features, making him a good-looking man. His long navy blue hair was neatly arranged behind his head, and he had sharp eyes peeking out from behind his bangs. 

He was 26 years old. He didn’t have his AWR with him now, but he was known to use a long sword. 

The next was Fanon Trooper, rank No. 4 Magicmaster from Clevideet, the nation neighboring Alpha on the opposite side of Rusalca. She was the third female Single. At 19 years old, she was the second youngest after Alus. 

She had light purple hair tied back on the sides. At 150cm she was on the small side. She looked young for her age, and Alus had worried that she might come at him as well. The reason for that was that he’d heard some negative things about her, but it appeared that she was more logical than that. 

Fanon was infamous for being a clean-freak, and he’d heard stories about how she’d crushed the balls of a subordinate who touched her when stained with a Fiend’s blood. 

He’d also heard tales that she’d had the squad captain shield her against Fiends while she changed out of dirty clothing, of course while ensuring that a barrier was firmly cast around her. 

In other words, the Mana Canceler around the rulers was probably Fanon’s doing. 

As an expert in defensive magic, she was known by the alias of Iron Wall. She was the reason why Clevideet, and not Alpha or Rusalca, was known as the sturdiest of the seven nations. 

Moreover, despite her specialization in defense, she actively went out on missions in the Outer World, a usually unthinkable trait for someone skilled in defensive magic. She was a fighter at heart. And it was probably that personality of hers that brought her all the way up to Single status. 

As a fellow male, Alus could tell what Fanon had raised her heel to crush while Galgnis was restrained. He also didn’t overlook her almost ecstatic and sadistic look as she held her heel above him. That’s why he resolved himself to never have anything to do with her. 

Having eventually stood up, with all eyes on him, Galgnis took a knee in front of Cicelnia. “Please forgive my rudeness, Lady Cicelnia il Arlzeit.” In this situation, an apology wouldn’t be directed to Alus who served as a guard of honor. 

“I am just pleased that neither side was hurt.” 

After Cicelnia spoke to him, Galgnis deeply apologized to the rulers of the other nations. He then returned to his original position, keeping his eyes cast down as he showed his gratitude. 

Like his information said, Galgnis appeared to be a very aggressive man, though he didn’t exceed Alus’ expectations, so there was no problem. 

Of course, like he’d said, he would only forgive Galgnis this once. 

Finally, Alus turned his glance toward one more Single. A person who showed no concern whatsoever over what had just happened. 

He did react, in the sense that he didn’t make any moves, but he seemed wholly unconcerned by the entire ordeal, even if Galgnis were to die... That indifference and cold-heartedness was similar to Alus in a way. 

This was the rank No. 5 Magicmaster hailing from the northern nation of Hydrange, Kurokel Ifertas. 

He was leaning against the wall on his lonesome, reading a book. He was around Jean’s age. More specifically, he was 23 years old, with a slim build, and wearing black-rimmed glasses, giving off a composed impression. 

Kurokel had ashen bangs hanging over his eyes, and the rest of his hair was slightly messy. Appearance-wise, he looked like the kind of guy who would dislike fighting the most. 

As Hydrange was on the opposite end of Babel from Alpha information from there was scarce, but like Balmes it had little territory and not much to show for their battle against Fiends. That was likely because Kurokel didn’t go on missions in the Outer World. 

Alus’ first impression of him was that he was less of a fighter and more of an eccentric, frail scholar. Thinking they could perhaps exchange research notes, he glanced at the book he was holding. 

Ah, no good. It’s a novel. 

It looked like a big epic one. But when he saw that all of the leaders had gathered, he closed the book and positioned himself behind Hydrange’s ruler to fulfill his guard duty. 

That was about all that stood out about him, Alus thought, as he looked back to Cicelnia. 

“I am sorry about that, Lady Cicelnia.” 

“There is no need to worry, I am fine.” 

Alus saw Halcapdia’s ruler apologizing to Cicelnia once more over not being able to stop Galgnis from running amok. 

“I really am fine. Instead, you should be speaking to him.” 

As Cicelnia looked Alus’ way, Halcapdia’s ruler turned to Alus. “I am sorry about that, Sir Alus. Please allow me to apologize by...” 

The richer someone was, the more likely they were to resolve troubles with money. Alus inwardly shrugged at that nobility-like way of thinking, but he couldn’t ignore him when he was being generous. Disregarding a ruler’s goodwill wasn’t a good look. 

That’s why he came up with a different way to resolve things that didn’t rely on money, and raised his hand to stop the ruler. “There’s no need for that. Instead, would you please allow me to say something?” 

The rulers looked at each other, but there were no objections. Representing them, Halcapdia’s ruler gave Alus their consent by nodding. 

“Well then, there’s a Magicmaster I don’t know here, would you mind introducing him?” Alus asked, as he looked over towards Balmes’ ruler, and the others followed suit. Everyone present had actually been wondering the same thing. 

Standing behind Balmes’ ruler was a dull-looking older man. 

Ever since the incident with Galgnis began, he’d been trembling in fear, with cold sweat running down his forehead. 

He wasn’t a good match for this place, shrinking back to the point of almost disappearing. His very being seemingly exuded weakness. 

It was to the point that you almost felt bad for the guy. As the discussion shifted to him, his face turned pale and he twitched just from Alus’ words alone. 

If Alus truly had any consideration for the man, it might have been best to simply let him be. But if he was a Single, Alus at least wanted to know his name. 

Perhaps to wipe off sweat, Balmes’ ruler brought a handkerchief beneath his veil in a fluster. 

Seeing as how things weren’t going anywhere, Alus brought up a familiar name. “Would he perhaps be Mr. Duncal?” 

Answering him wasn’t Balmes’ overweight ruler, but the man himself. “N-No... I am Bebet Ijous. I just recently reached the rank of No. 74. A rank someone as inexperienced as me is not worthy of... being able to come face to face with you Singles this time is an h-honor...” he stuttered, introducing himself in a trembling voice. 

Following up was Balmes’ ruler. “Sir Duncal is currently out on a mission, so he is serving as his replacement.” 

Oh yeah, I think Jean said something about that. But in that case, they could have just brought Gileada who was ranked No. 20. She was a former Single too, Alus thought to himself. But if she wasn’t here, Gileada might be participating in that mission as well. 

He still had his doubts, but sticking his nose into other nations’ business was overstepping his boundaries. At any rate, if he wasn’t a Single then there was no need to hear any further details about him, so Alus lost interest in him. 

However, no matter how much he stood out here, not being able to even introduce himself properly only sullied his nation’s dignity. Bebet, most likely in his late 30s, looked really pitiful. Considering how timid he looked, he would probably wet himself before Cicelnia did if something were to happen. 

Balmes’ ruler sighed in exasperation at Bebet’s disgraceful behavior, but that was all. Perhaps he wasn’t too concerned with reputation. 

Bebet must have been overwhelmed by Galgnis’ dense mana that he released during the incident, and that Magicmaster had been easily forced onto his knees by Alus. At rank No. 74, he must have been made well aware of the difference in ability and how out of place he was. 

If he was going to be that nervous, then he should have been inside of the Mana Canceler alongside the rulers, Alus thought, like it had nothing to do with him. But he soon reconsidered, seeing as how that would’ve been far more disgraceful. If a Magicmaster representing that nation’s strength were to do that, any dignity they had would be all but lost. 

“Will that suffice, Sir Alus?” 

“Yes, thank you very much,” Alus answered Balmes’ ruler, and put an end to the topic. 

He then directed his attention towards Cicelnia. From his position behind and slightly to the side, he could see the edges of her lips curl up into a smile. 

Alus didn’t know what she was thinking. Was there really something that interesting in what they just talked about? He didn’t have a clue. Besides, they were in completely different positions. What they experienced and saw was equally different. 

“Now then, we are all busy, so let us get right to it, shall we?” Halcapdia’s ruler said, and signaled the start of the conference. 

“Well, there is no need to be in such a rush. It is not often that we all assemble.” 

“Not to mention that Sir Alus is here this time, so why not take it a little slower?” 

Trying not to lose the initiative, the other rulers spoke out. 

But Lithia’s voice was not among them. Jean whispered something in her ear, and she remained silent instead. 

“Everyone, I do not believe remarks with those kinds of intentions are suitable for this place,” Cicelnia said with a big smile, tapping the table and calling the rulers to attention. 

Seeing Alus standing expressionlessly behind her, nobody else spoke out. There were some with bitter looks, but that was all. This time, it was Alpha that came out on top. 

With the room falling silent, Cicelnia made her proclamation first. “The nation of Alpha approves the opening of the 40th annual Seven Nations Friendship Magical Tournament.” Pressing the seal only rulers were allowed to use on a thick parchment, she then placed the parchment on the table. 

Cicelnia rotated the turntable and stopped the parchment in front of the next ruler. 

It was customary to raise any objections before stamping the parchment with the ruler’s seal. And when an objection was raised, a discussion would be held about the issue. Because of that, these conferences sometimes lasted as long as three days. 

Rusalca’s Lithia followed suit and consented to the tournament by stamping the parchment with her seal. 

As she did so, she suddenly spoke up as if recalling something. “Speaking of which, I recall hearing that Sir Alus will be participating this year.” 

“—!!” 

A silent astonishment visibly spread through not just the rulers, but the Magicmasters as well. Though it was much more noticeable in the rulers. 

In contrast, Cicelnia acted like that had nothing to do with this. “Alus enrolled in the Institute this year, so that is just his given right, is it not?” 

“Nobody has said anything about disallowing his participation, Ms. Cicelnia. But as a Magicmaster with the title of Single, I was merely worrying over the unlikely case that something might happen to the other students participating,” Lithia said. 

Those words made the rulers remember the difference in ability and the chance of accidents happening during the matches. They wanted to avoid losing future combat potential over unexpected accidents. 

Only Alus could give the most accurate answer for Lithia’s worry. “In that regard, I wish that you would trust in my abilities as a Magicmaster with said title. I can guarantee that there won’t be any such unlikely cases.” 

“...! Oh no, I was not doubting your abilities, Sir Alus!” 

Then what, Alus wanted to say, but held his tongue. Perhaps him giving her a direct answer came as unexpected, since Lithia hurriedly corrected herself. 

Alus smiled. “But I can understand that you would worry.” 

Hearing that, the other rulers gave looks of relief. Whether that was because they were spared experiencing Alus’ anger a second time, or if they were happy to know their students would be safe during the tournament was uncertain. 

After that, the parchment was smoothly sent from ruler to ruler. 

Until it reached a sudden stop at Balmes’ ruler. 

Everyone looked his way with suspicion. 

After hesitating for a moment, he spoke up. “I have a proposal to make... how about we loosen the restrictions this year?” 

Balmes’ ruler observed everyone’s reactions as he made his suggestion. His outward expression looked composed as he checked their responses, but in reality he was putting on a brave front to keep anyone from realizing that he was in great fear when he made his proposal. 

There had been previous suggestions for altering the tournament’s established rules in the past, but most were resolved almost immediately, and things had proceeded smoothly since Cicelnia had become a ruler. 

“Loosen them how, specifically?” the ruler closest to Balmes’ ruler inquired. 

“Well, more specifically, I do not think it would even be considered a restriction. I am simply suggesting that we officially permit the recruiting of students.” 

“—!!” 

He’d carefully omitted ‘of other nations’ but clear unrest spread through the rest of the rulers. 

Inviting students of other nations that caught the ruler’s eye during the tournament was frowned upon. The individual’s wishes were respected as much as possible, but in those cases the nations concerned had a political discussion between them behind the scenes. 

This suggestion was to bring these kinds of movements more into the open. Balmes was actually the nation that had the most apprehensions about its survival. Doubles aside, when it came to Singles there were rumors that they were falsifying results to bring them up, and they were lacking serious firepower. That was why all rulers present understood that Balmes wanted to secure promising students. 

They could understand his motivation, but when it came to risking the loss of their novice Magicmasters it was a different story. 

They didn’t want to just have enough to replenish their military, but also leave room for growth in the future, and having another nation steal that from them would affect that nation’s future power. Nobody present would approve of this suggestion, even if it was to equalize the military strength amongst all nations so that they could protect humanity as one. 

The problem was whether this suggestion had been brought up after witnessing Alus’ display of force, or if it had been thought of before. 

Or rather, either way it was problematic. Especially for Alpha. 

“I cannot permit that.” 

Cicelnia, of course, was the first to speak up. At the same time she sent a sharp glance in Lithia’s direction, and then somewhat anxiously looked over towards Alus. 

From Cicelnia’s point of view, this situation was brought on by Lithia mentioning Alus’ appearance in the tournament. In the worst case, she might have been working together with Balmes’ ruler to make this happen. 

It was also clear that she was bothered by what could be described as an excessive showing of respect for Lithia at the stairs. 

To Alus, it was nothing but a means to strike back at his selfish ruler, but to Cicelnia the threat of his moving to a different nation felt strangely real, despite Alus not having any intention of doing something like that. 

As a student participating in the tournament, Alus was a potential target for recruitment. If Balmes’ ruler made this suggestion to strike at that chance... Cicelnia shuddered at the thought. 

“Balmes has few Magicmasters of its own. At this rate, we might be unable to respond to an emergency,” Balmes’ ruler said, making an emotional appeal. 

Exposing his own nation’s weakness was shameful, but the state of his nation was clear to all, and if it would be possible to replenish the nation’s Magicmasters by abandoning his pride he wasn’t against doing so. Among the rulers, he seemed less interested in keeping up appearances. That was why, even if he might be underestimated, he could be quite the utilitarian. 

Cicelnia’s eyes restlessly ran around the room. This is bad. 

Nobody else immediately raised any objections. If anything, they seemed to be taking his proposal into consideration. 

The suggestion came with the risk of a nation losing its own personnel. Normally that kind of suggestion wouldn’t proceed so smoothly, but it seemed Alus’ overwhelming display, which Cicelnia had been happy to see, was working against her. 

At this rate, Balmes’ ruler’s proposal would be considered seriously. Whether there were objections or not, it would be decided by majority vote after a discussion. 

Cicelnia imagined the immeasurable loss of having Alus move to a different nation. Indeed, risking losing the greatest Magicmaster was nothing but a massive demerit. She knew that Alus was responsible for the majority of the military gains that made Alpha the powerful nation that it was. She was the one who had presided over the award ceremonies, after all. 

In fact, even if all of Alpha’s other students were stolen by other nations, as long as Alus remained that would be worth it. 

Aside from Cicelnia, Balmes’ ruler noted the silence and continued with a smile, “It appears everyone feels that it is worthy of consideration. Then shall we hold a vote about it?” 

“Please wait a moment. I am not sure what to think of how a nation would survive if it so easily relies on other nations’ forces to bolster its own. While it might work for a while, will a nation truly be able to defend itself into the future using that kind of method? In the case of an invasion by a high-classed Fiend, you could just ask for the assistance of another nation. Of course, Alpha would not hesitate to offer its help if that happens.” 

Cicelnia expected she would receive a rebuttal, but she couldn’t stop herself from trying. The potential consequences were far too severe for her to wait and see the results. It was conceivable that Alpha would return to becoming a weak nation. 

Despite having the rank No. 7, Lettie, Alus was just worth that much, and Alpha losing its status would also destroy Cicelnia’s ambitions. 

“Lady Cicelnia’s opinion does make for a good point, but we must look to the reality that is the present before the future. We are in a position where we must take hands and protect humanity... having just a single nation’s borders breached will put Babel at risk. Even if we request aid from other nations in case of an emergency, do you believe the Fiends would simply wait for reinforcements to arrive?” Balmes’ ruler asked of the room. 

“...! Then at least allow me to make another suggestion...” Cicelnia felt flustered inside, but remained calm and smiled as she plainly spoke to the rulers. “I propose that we select the participants for the demonstration from the competitors.” 

A slight unrest filled the room. It was customary for active-duty Magicmasters to hold a martial arts performance during the tournament, which was what Cicelnia referred to when she said ‘demonstration.’ It was also a show of force by each of the nations. Her roundabout way of referring to it was her way of putting up a bit of resistance. 

“That is a wonderful idea. Most of all, it will encourage the competitors. This year will be more exciting than ever.” Balmes’ ruler, who’d brought up loosening the restrictions, took the initiative to give his endorsement. Of course, he already knew which competitor Cicelnia was thinking of for Alpha’s demonstration. 

That made his endorsement all the more strange, but there was still the possibility that Balmes’ ruler’s suggestion wasn’t aimed at stealing away Alus. 

Either way, this wasn’t even a suggestion. Cicelnia was merely informing the others that she would have him participate in the demonstration. It was the active-duty Magicmasters’ job to make the tournament even more exciting. 

Alus coldly watched over this exchange. To him it was nothing but a farce. 

He wasn’t planning on leaving Alpha until he repaid his debt to Berwick, no matter what profitable terms were dangled in front of him. 

He might consider it, if he were told that he’d never have to fight Fiends or internal enemies again—but what nation would want a Magicmaster like that? 

However, there was no way Cicelnia or the other rulers would know what Alus was thinking. Even if he were to mention it, nobody would believe him in a place like this. No matter how many times he’d try to tell Cicelnia not to worry about it, she would still have her doubts. 

Perhaps because the other nations aside from Alpha shared a common interest, or maybe because Alus’ show of force had been more impressive than expected, the situation turned against Cicelnia. 

Balmes’ ruler said, “Then once more, let us hold a vote. Those in agreement raise their hands.” 

The result was five for, and two against. Surprisingly enough, Rusalca’s Lithia was the other to vote against it. Even though it was her bringing up Alus’ participation that caused the vote. Cicelnia was sure that she would vote for it as well, but it seemed that Lithia hadn’t expected this to happen either. 

Thinking back on it, Lithia had brought it up after stamping the parchment with her seal, so she shouldn’t have had any objections. In other words, Rusalca and Balmes weren’t working together. 

But the result was already determined. To Cicelnia it was the worst possible one. She bit her lip in silent anger beneath her veil. 

“I would like to thank all of the nations’ rulers for taking Balmes’ distress into consideration.” 

A new parchment, including the article permitting the recruitment of tournament participants, was written down and Balmes’ ruler calmly stamped his seal on it. 

Obeying the majority vote, Cicelnia stamped it with a trembling hand and so did Lithia in quiet resignation. 

“With this, the conference comes to its end,” Balmes’ ruler said, getting up from his seat. The other rulers followed suit one after another, leaving only Rusalca’s and Alpha’s rulers at the table. 

“Ms. Lithia, just how are you going to make up for this?” With nowhere else to point her chagrin, Cicelnia directed it towards Lithia. 

“I did not think it would come to that.” Lithia’s shoulders drooped, and the two rulers let out heavy sighs. “I doubt anyone would be able to recruit Sir Alus anyways. But to be honest, if Jean was not on friendly terms with him, leaving me in the dark about his personality, I would have voted for it.” 

“—!” 

Lithia gave Cicelnia a slightly spiteful smile, then glanced to the side. 

“I don’t suppose you would come over to us, would you, Alus?” 

“Not right now at least,” Alus casually answered Jean’s question. 

“Which means... Lady Lithia.” 

“I know. We have excellent Magicmasters that we cannot afford to have plucked from us this year too.” Lithia sighed once more. “Take some countermeasures for it, at least,” she said to Jean, giving him some instructions. 

Rusalca’s attitude aside, Cicelnia had a hard time trusting Alus’ denial about moving to another nation, especially since Alus had replied with a ‘Not right now.’ 

Losing a Triple Digit or a student was one thing, but losing a Single Digit was unheard of, and Cicelnia seemed to be thinking that it wasn’t impossible. In reality, behind her bitter expression she was desperately thinking up plans to keep him from being stolen away. For the time being, she would meet with Berwick first thing upon her return. 

“Do you understand, Alus?” 

From her tone of voice, the threat at the stairs had been very effective as there was no high-handed nuance in her words. If anything, she was pleading with him. 

And as if to prove that, she continued, “Do not leave Alpha. Please.” She said this in a small voice, with a worried look beneath her veil. The unexpectedly timid tone came as a surprise to even Cicelnia herself. 

Lithia was startled to see this. While the relationship between ruler and Single was different in each nation, the ruler was typically on top. Moreover, she had a rivalry, alongside a sense of solidarity, with Alpha’s ruler so she was well aware of how unyielding she could be. 

But in this regard, Alus was simply too special. Only a handful of people within Alpha knew the reason behind Alus’ seemingly infinite strength, and how so many of Alpha’s achievements had been performed solely at his hands. 

To all appearances, he was just a boy, but right now he was at the center of a whirlpool of politics concerning the seven rulers leading humanity into the future. However, it was questionable if Alus was aware of this. 

“I don’t have any intention to,” Alus said, shrugging his shoulders at Cicelnia’s worries, but because of her position she couldn’t take him at his word. 

Even if he wasn’t telling the truth he wouldn’t be punished. If he was punished he really might leave Alpha. 

“That aside, while Balmes’ Single might be ever changing I was under the impression that they had quite a few Doubles at their disposal,” Jean almost casually voiced this opinion as he tilted his head. 

Lithia spoke up in response. “That might be true, but they also have a lower number of Magicmasters compared to the other nations. Without the overwhelming power of a Single, a lack of Magicmasters is something to be concerned about... But I honestly did not think they were in such a pressing situation. Though there have been talks about sending a relief team over to Balmes in Rusalca, too.” 

There were voices of concern over Balmes’ national strength in other nations as well. It had practically been used as an excuse during the conference, but even a single nation being unable to maintain the frontline against the Fiends would be a painful blow for humanity. 

“Well, there is no helping it now. I will be returning to Alpha as soon as possible. What about you?” 

“We will need to hold a discussion over in Rusalca as well. It might not require immediate measures, but we will need to move in a way that will avoid suspicion.” 

With the restrictions on recruiting students officially loosened, any overly forcible attempts to prevent that would cause discord between the nations. Any careless moves would risk getting them ostracized, so caution was required. 

Despite that, Cicelnia was determined to do whatever it took to keep hold of Alus. 

“Then, I will take my leave here. We will meet next at the Friendship Magical Tournament, Ms. Lithia.” 

“Indeed, but Rusalca will be the winner.” 

Cicelnia’s only answer was a fearless smile. She left the room, taking Alus with her. 

The two rulers were supposed to be on bad terms, but right now they spoke like old friends. Perhaps it was because they were both female rulers close in age and personality that made that happen. 

The other rulers were long gone, and nobody else was in the hallway as Cicelnia increased her pace. Dinner was also on the schedule, but she would be canceling and returning home with Rinne. 

By the time the two were outside it was already past noon. 

Waiting for them were two carriages. One was large and luxurious, most likely prepared for Alus and Cicelnia. It was clear at first glance that it was for a ruler or nobility. 

Rinne immediately noted her master’s poor mood and questioned Alus with a glance, but he shrugged his shoulders with a sigh as if to say ask her yourself. 

Once Cicelnia and Rinne were inside, Alus decided to close the door. 

“What are you doing? Hurry up and get in,” Cicelnia said suspiciously. Normally, not just anyone could ride in the same carriage as a ruler, but Alus was a Single and had come here for her sake to begin with. 

But Alus shook his head. “No, I have some business to attend to.” 

“...!” A clearly displeased expression could be seen through the gaps in Cicelnia’s veil. One moment later... “Alus, I know that I can’t order you around, but what benefits could there be in your angering me any further? Or is that just your hobby?” 

Alus was well aware that his staying behind would only invite further suspicion, especially after what had happened. But at the same time, that didn’t mean much to him. “You can interpret it however you like.” He felt like she didn’t have any right to put her nose into his business. 

Unexpectedly enough, her answer came in the ill-mannered form of kicking her leg out of the carriage. At this rate, her leg might get squished in the door. 

Since continuing this any longer would only waste more time, Alus gave her a brief explanation. “It’s a bit of personal business. I have to talk to Jean about something. He’s still here so I figured I’d talk to him while I could.” 

“That will not do! If you are going to talk with someone from another nation, then please do so where I can see you. Lithia said she would be returning right away as well, so it shouldn’t take long. We will wait here until then. Got that, Rinne?” 

“... Then I guess I’ll bring Jean over here. And if you want to get back as soon as possible, then don’t butt in.” 

Just as Alus finished saying this, Lithia and Jean appeared from the fortress entrance. It looked like the second carriage was for Rusalca. With Cicelnia and Rinne watching over him, Alus headed towards them. 

“Jean, do you have a moment?” 

“What is it, Alus?” 

Jean wore an amicable expression, but seeing the luxurious carriage that Cicelnia was in and how she appeared to be observing them, his face turned confused. 

Leaving him aside for a moment, Alus called out to Lithia. “Lady Lithia, may I borrow Jean for a moment?” 

“I do not mind, but...” Lithia suspiciously looked over at Cicelnia’s carriage. 

“It seems she’s worried that you might buy me off.” 

“Hmm, it seems you have your own troubles, Sir Alus. If you ever get sick of her jealousy you are always welcome to come to Rusalca. We will give you a friendly reception.” Having realized the situation, Lithia gave Alus a bewitching smile as she made her offer, and he could only answer with a wry smile. 

I guess it can’t be helped, Alus thought, scratching his head. He’d been a little careless. If he brought Jean with him, he would of course come in contact with Cicelnia. If he wanted to maintain fairness then he should speak with him where Lithia could see them as well. 

In the end, after some discussion, Lithia gave in, and it was decided that everyone would enter Cicelnia’s carriage to speak. 

Unfortunately for Rinne, she was left outside on detection duty to keep anyone from eavesdropping on their conversation. This was also in part because the carriage was designed to carry four at most. 

“So, what did you want to talk about, Alus?” Jean asked right off the bat. 

“I’ll keep it short. Around when did Balmes’ large-scale extermination start?” 

“I’ve only heard it secondhand myself so I don’t know all the details, but counting from the start of the mission it should have been at least two months.” 

“It’s been that long? Have they really been actively carrying out their operation for that long?” 

“... Yeah, thinking about it—it has gone on for pretty long. Well, they’ve been sending out their precious forces, so maybe they’re being very careful.” 

It wasn’t like Alus couldn’t understand that. They’d deployed many of their Magicmasters and even the rank No. 9, Duncal, was leading them. 

But there was something that bothered him. According to Budna, AWRs and other arms began flowing out of the nation about a month ago. If it was related to Balmes’ preparations then it should have been happening before their operation began. It would be unnatural for such quantities to move after the operation had started. It was possible that it had nothing to do with Balmes, but it looked shady. 

“Is Gileada taking part too? Do you know?” 

“No idea. But that No. 74 was here, so since she wasn’t at the conference she’s probably taking part.” 

Trying to put the pieces together, Alus fell into silent contemplation for a moment. 

Cicelnia looked like she wanted to say something, as Lithia silently listened in. Just when Alus realized he shouldn’t be keeping them here any longer, Rinne lightly knocked on the carriage door. 

“Sir Alus, four of the fortress’ servants are approaching.” 

“Got it. Jean, one last thing... are Duncal’s abilities worthy of a Single? How would you compare Gileada to Duncal?” Alus had only seen written information on Gileada. If the Single and Double had traded places like Jean said, then Gileada had given up her seat as a Single in less than half a year. Moreover, Alus knew nothing about Duncal. 

“Sorry, but I don’t know anything about Duncal other than his name. But I don’t think there’s much difference between him and Ms. Gileada. So I suppose he’d be a little lacking, perhaps two steps behind Galgnis at No. 8. But I would think he’s closer to the No. 9 rank.” 

“I see, got it. Thanks.” 

After a short pause, Alus said to Lithia, “Lady Lithia, I’m sorry for taking your time.” 

“I am fine. But was that all?” 

“Yes, it’s not very interesting, so I’ll leave it at this. And if you’ll have me, I’ll prepare a more sensible topic if I find myself in Rusalca.” 

Jean stepped out of the carriage first and extended his hand to a smiling Lithia, leaving a frozen Cicelnia behind. 

“Things will be busy during the tournament, but once it’s over I will send a letter of invitation.” 

“I’m looking forward to it,” Alus said, trying his best to maintain his diplomatic face despite being close to his limit. 

Once the two were outside, Rinne came back in and the carriage took off before long. 

“You call that private business... I did the right thing to listen in,” Cicelnia said. 

“It’s definitely private business. I have no intention of reporting what I heard from Jean to anyone.” 

Military matters and the Outer World were entrusted to the Governor-General, so from Cicelnia’s position as ruler without any Magicmaster experience, she couldn’t fully grasp the meaning behind Alus’ and Jean’s conversation. Though she could more or less guess the situation from their expressions and tones of voice. 

Alus had confirmed whether Duncal and Gileada, Balmes’ strongest Magicmasters, were part of the operation. And after getting an answer, his attitude changed a little. The greatest Magicmaster might be suspecting that something abnormal was going on. 

Once she had this thought, Cicelnia delved deeper into her speculations. What if something was behind the proposal that Balmes’ ruler made during the conference...? 

If her assumption was correct, then there must have been something inexplicable going on with Balmes’ elimination operation. 

Cicelnia suddenly realized something, and brought her face closer to Alus to ask him. She’d gotten rid of the annoying veil after the conference was over and Lithia had exited the carriage. “... Is it true that you are not planning to report this to anyone?” 

“Yes.” 

“... Then that is fine.” 

She sounded a bit shaky, but she had a bright expression now as if a ray of hope had shone down on her worries. 

That was thanks to a change in her point of view. Alus wasn’t forcing her to keep an eye on him. Instead, he was showing her that he wasn’t going to move to a different nation. 

When she realized this, the edges of her lips curled up, and she asked him another question in a better mood. “As for Rusalca... Are you really planning on going to a nation like that?” This was about the invitation that Lithia had mentioned. 

“It’s a good opportunity, after all. Besides, Alpha’s AWR technology is reaching its growth limit, and I’ve had an interest in Rusalca since before then.” 

“...!” 

Alus wasn’t all that against the idea, even if he had to behave like a diplomat during the visit. When it came to AWR technology, he had the curiosity of a passionate scholar. 

In reality, most AWRs he worked on were unique, involving a lot of new ideas and inventions. He knew from experience that the technology could be adopted for regular Magicmasters as well, depending on the circumstances. He had stirred up the technological world before, and it had become the foundation for further progress. 

For example, the principle behind his permanent mana generation device had been applied to Alpha’s streetlights. 

In that sense, Alus’ research coming to a standstill was one of the underlying causes for Alpha’s stagnant magic technology. 

Meanwhile, after falling silent for a moment due to Alus’ bold answer, Cicelnia wanted to stop him from visiting Rusalca. 

However, after everything that had happened and after witnessing his discussion with Jean, she knew that he had made a few concessions, and she was running out of ways to restrain his actions. As a result, the only thing that left her lips were sighs. After looking at Alus once more, she shrugged and unhappily gazed out the carriage window. 

Thinking about it, he couldn’t be tied down by anyone. He wouldn’t permit it. That was the kind of person he was. 

If he were to be tied down by any uncomfortable restraints, he might remove them himself and run off somewhere... 

The outside scenery flew past. When she realized it, Alus had closed his eyes. Surprisingly enough, despite supposedly being her bodyguard, he was apparently taking a nap before her eyes. 

The Friendship Magical Tournament is beginning, but you are as free-spirited as always... It is just as I heard from Berwick. 

A person who wanted to be free might not be suitable as a Magicmaster. Cicelnia couldn’t see him being concerned over his duty and responsibilities as a Magicmaster. 

However... 

That was why Cicelnia felt something similar in Alus to herself. 

Ever since the awards ceremony where they first met, she’d felt that he was a fellow unfortunate soul carrying an inescapable fate. 

Hers was a fate due to her royal bloodline. And his was a fate due to his power that made anyone give way... 

Cicelnia accepted her fate, spreading her wings to the extent permitted to her while wishing to be able to fly free. 

But Alus exceeded the human-set limits that bound Cicelnia, and was held down by the huge chains of fate born as a result of his absolute power. 

Yet he continued to struggle against it. 

To him, the tiny garden that humanity lived in was far too small. 

Cicelnia’s anger changed to exasperation as she sighed time and time again. Anyone would lower their head in respect before someone with that beauty and authority. But she felt like Alus would never kneel before her because he himself wished to do so. 

However, there was something this unyielding noble was happy about. Even though he didn’t show any interest in me, he went out of his way to let me hear that information, so maybe he feels a little bad about things. 

A more normal Single would be one thing, but Alus probably didn’t care about Balmes’ situation. At the very least, he wasn’t the kind of person to be gripped by a sense of justice and offer to save them. And he had no reason to go out of his way to tell Cicelnia about it. 

So Alus had shown enough loyalty to let her hear his discussion, to help alleviate her worry that he would go to another nation. He was bothered about something, and wordlessly conveyed that. It was even possible that it was meant as an apology for the incident at the stairs. 

Before she knew it, the grief in her mind had eased considerably. 

The carriage continued on, leaving the ups and downs of the conference behind it. 

Carrying hope and chaos to a new destination, the carriage moved across the desolate land that featured nothing but a giant white tower looming in the background.