There were a lot of familiars in Akron, but it was impossible for most of these familiars to even hold a proper conversation. They supervised their assigned tasks, as they had had been programmed to do, and were only capable of obeying the simple orders given by the wizards who visited their halls.
However, Mer was different. Even though she was a familiar created by using magic, she was so sophisticated that one could even believe that she was a real human being.
Mer herself held a great amount of pride in this fact. Therefore, Mer didn’t like to spend her free time doing the same things as other familiars did.
Although her body didn’t really need to eat or drink, she wanted to eat and drink like a real person. She wanted to be able to feel and express her emotions through casual conversations with others.
This Royal Library, Akron, was just like a boring prison to Mer. She was absolutely forbidden from going outside the doors of Akron, so she had spent her past few hundreds of years in a listless state….
When even she couldn’t take it any longer, she would shut off her link to Witch Craft; just like turning off the power to a device, it would shut down her consciousness. As a familiar, Mer couldn’t sleep, nor did she feel the need to sleep, but this suspension of consciousness was somewhat similar to sleep.
But it was only similar, it wasn’t really sleeping. She couldn’t even dream. In the end, this meant that there was no way for Mer to relieve her boredom.
‘It’s so boring,’ Mer thought to herself as she slumped on top of a desk, pouting.
Although she had already realized how boring this place was more than a hundred years ago, the last few months had been particularly boring and tortuous for Mer.
‘It’s all because of Sir Eugene,’ Mer complained.
She was thinking about Eugene Lionheart. He had only visited Sienna’s Hall for two years. Compared to the length of time that Mer had existed, this was an absurdly short period of time.
However, that short amount of time had been so much fun that it had reminded Mer of the time that she had spent with Sienna, her creator, a long time ago. Even though there had been several other wizards who had visited Sienna’s Hall before Eugene, Mer had never once found it enjoyable to talk to those old wizards who were old-fashioned and whose sense of humor had decayed as they aged.
Most of the wizards who visited this place were idiots who had spent most of their lives listening to the sound of people calling them geniuses, and they had thus fallen into the ‘illusion’ that they really were geniuses. In other words, they were engrossed in their own arrogance and self-love. 𝑖𝘦.𝘤𝑜𝘮
Such wizards held no respect for a familiar like Mer. This was an unavoidable issue. Most wizards treated their familiars as slaves that took care of cumbersome chores for them. Although it was forbidden by the laws of the continent to use humans or demi-humans as slaves, there was no problem with wizards using their familiars as slaves.
But Eugene was different.
He didn’t mind talking with Mer and had never disrespected Mer just because she was a familiar. Meanwhile, he had also been absorbed in learning.
Most of these condescending types of wizards weren’t able to understand Witch Craft, and in their despair, they would quickly leave Sienna’s Hall as if they were fleeing. However, Eugene had made his way to Sienna’s Hall every day for two whole years in order to understand Witch Craft, and had managed to learn it through his hard work and perseverance.
“I’m so bored I could just die,” Mer groaned as she kept pouting her lips and tapping on the desk. “There are not even any other wizards visiting.”
It had only been a few months since Eugene had left, but Mer couldn’t believe this fact. Although time didn’t really touch her, it still felt like at least a year had passed, so had it really been only a few months?
‘…No, a few months is still quite a long time for humans. If that much time has passed, shouldn’t he at least come and visit just once, even if it’s out of boredom….’
Zap!
Her tired mind was awakened by a sudden alarm. Mer raised her head and blinked in surprise for a few moments.
Soon, a bright smile spread across her lips. She picked up the large hat that she had placed beside her and got up from her seat.
After roughly straightening her frizzy hair with her hands, Mer plonked the hat down on top of her curls, but she didn’t like the look of her reflection in the window. Taking her hat back off, she quickly ran both hands through her hair.
She didn’t want to look too neat. She didn’t even want to look as if she’d been waiting to greet him when he got up. What she wanted was… a natural look. To look like she usually did. Focussed eagerly on his arrival, Mer quickly trotted over to stand in front of the elevator.
‘What should I say?’ Mer wondered. 𝘳𝘦.𝒸𝑜𝘮
‘Why have you come back? Just as I thought, you’ve realized it, haven’t you? Sir Eugene, your magic thesis was quite impressive, but it wasn’t perfect. Yep, but that’s only natural. After all, hasn’t it only been two years since you’ve started learning magic?
‘That’s why I told you, didn’t I, Sir Eugene? That you shouldn’t be in such a hurry to leave? Magic should be practiced with a calm mind. Well, the fact that you never even lend half an ear to other people’s advice was also mentioned several times in the fairy tale! If you really lived your past life like that, then you should change things now that you’ve been reincarnated.
‘That’s way too long!’
The elevator was on its way up. It would arrive in a few seconds from now. Mer straightened her back and puffed out her chest, then she placed both hands on her waist.
“Welcome to Sienna’s Hall!” Mer said with a wide smile, just like when they first met.
Right after she had gotten the words out, Mer felt the need to wince. Her voice had come out higher than she had expected. And it wasn’t just her voice, it felt like her smile was also a bit too wide. Mer immediately straightened her expression and took a few steps back.
Pretending to be surprised, Mer continued, “Oh my! Isn’t it Sir Eugene? You just left Aroth a few months ago, what are you doing back so soon?”
Once again, Mer felt regret as soon as these words were out. She was linked to Akron’s management systems. This meant that she was able to tell in real time when any wizard presented their entrance pass and entered Akron…
…And Eugene was probably also aware of this fact.
The moment that Eugene looked down at her and was about to say something, Mer burst out. “Akron’s management systems have been down for maintenance since this morning. As you may know, Sir Eugene, spells can be very delicate and to be checked periodically. Especially here, in Akron, since there are a lot of treasures that have drawn plenty of interest and might even tempt other countries, let alone individual wizards, to try running off with them.
“Oh, is that so?” Eugene reacted mildly.
“Yes, that’s right! Although the spells cast by Lady Sienna are so perfect that they don’t need to be overhauled even after a hundred years have passed, Akron’s management system was not created by Lady Sienna! Really now, it’s quite difficult for us, you know? Thankfully, there aren’t that many wizards visiting….”
‘A perfect save,’ Mer thought as she grinned cheekily.
“So anyway, Sir Eugene, may I ask why you’ve come here? Did you realize that you still need to do some more study after all?” Mer teased.
“Hm,” Eugene hummed as he calmly looked down at Mer’s upturned face.
She looked like Sienna had in her childhood. Unlike the ones in the portraits, this smile was full of playfulness. Eugene smirked and placed his hand on top of Mer’s head.
“…Wow… you really do cross the line so casually as soon as we meet,” Mer complained.
She really should shake his hand off, or at least that’s what she told herself, but Mer didn’t try to remove his hand immediately. Instead, she just grinned as she looked up at Eugene.
“Have you been well?” Eugene asked.
Me snorted in disgust. “Heheh. Why even ask if I’ve been well or not? It’s the same as always.”
“That just sounds like you’re not doing well to me,” Eugene responded.
“Not at all,” Mer insisted. “I would never say something like that. I’m just saying that things are… the same as usual? Without anyone coming to visit me, in the midst of this quiet tranquility… well… I can get in a bit of contemplation, do some cleaning, and reorder the magic books displayed on the bookshelves….”
Mer tried hard not to complain too much. As she continued speaking in a monotonous tone, Mer took hold of Eugene’s wrist, his hand still resting on her head.
After composing herself, Mer coughed. “Ahem. Well, for now, we shouldn’t just stay standing here, blocking the entrance. Aren’t you already familiar with everything here? Needless to say, the place where you always sit is still in the same state. Of course, there’s also the cushion that you left there.”
“I don’t think that I’ll need to sit in my usual place.”
“…Huh?”
Although Eugene had smiled as he said these words, Mer wasn’t smiling. Her eyes widened into circles as she stared at Eugene.
“…Why not?” Mer pleaded as her face crumpled into a frown. “No way. Did you really come all the way here just to say hello? Didn’t you come here because you wanted to continue practicing your magic?”
“Well, for things like magic training, I don’t really need to come here to do that, now do I?” Eugene said teasingly.
“How arrogant!” Mer shouted in a sharp tone as she pinched Eugene’s wrist. “I won’t tolerate such a remark from you, Sir Eugene! Are you really saying that you just want to practice your magic elsewhere instead of here? Do you know how many wizards have made it their lifelong wish to one day make it into Akron?”
“Truthfully speaking, that has nothing to do with me,” Eugene pointed out.
“Well… that’s—! That might be true, but—! In any case, no matter how talented you might be, it would be overwhelmingly more efficient to practice in Akron than to practice alone,” Mer fervently argued.
“Well, I guess that could be true,” Eugene shrugged.
“You… you’re really annoying,” Mer growled out with shaking shoulders as she twisted her pinching fingers. “Yes yes, I know that you are talented, Sir Eugene. But so what? Why did you even come here? Just to say hi? I refuse to accept your greetings. There’s no reason for it, if I had to say something, it’s just because— What? Huh? What are you doing? Why are you heading inside?”
While Mer was in the middle of her tirade, Eugene began walking into the Hall without shaking off Mer’s hand, which was still pinching his wrist.
While rattling out her questions, Mer followed behind Eugene, “Didn’t you say that you didn’t need to sit in your usual spot? So why are you heading inside?! See, in the end, you really are going to take a seat. So why act like you weren’t? Not like I was angry about that, or anything.”
“I won’t be sitting down,” Eugene repeated.
“Then why are you—” Mer suddenly stopped speaking. Her brows furrowed and she released Eugene’s hand before eventually saying, “…Trempel Vizardo is here.”
“What?” Eugene responded.
“Have you already forgotten him?” Mer reminded Eugene, “He’s the Commander of Aroth’s Court Wizards. An old guy who goes around sporting a handle-bar mustache that doesn’t really suit him.”
“No, I know who he is, but how do you know that he’s here?” Eugene clarified.
“How do I know…? What in the world are you talking about— Ah!” Mer yelped in surprise before quickly straightening her expression. “It looks like the overhaul of the management systems has been completed.”
“What great timing,” Eugene commented.
“…The world is just full of coincidences like that. Hm… what? It looks like Trempel Vizardo is on his way up to this Hall. Could it be because of you, Sir Eugene?” Mer speculated.
“That’s probably the case,” Eugene said with a smirk.
They had gotten here faster than he had expected. Well, he should have figured they’d be early, since he had flown in a no-fly zone…. The guards were primarily responsible for managing the capital’s security, but in the end, the highest levels of the guard reported to the Court Wizards Division.
“Lord Eugene!”
The cry was issued as soon as the elevator doors opened. Trempel walked out of the doors with his arms held wide open.
“If you were coming to Aroth, it would have been nice if you had contacted us in advance!”
Truthfully speaking, Trempel was a bit annoyed — both by the fact that Eugene had broken the law by flying in the sky above the capital city and by the fact that he, the Commander of the Court Wizards Division, had to personally take action for such a trivial issue. However, it couldn’t be helped.
If the offending party had been just a common wizard, then he could have just been dealt with according to the law. But he wasn’t a common wizard, now was he? Trempel had a lot of interest in Eugene and hoped to somehow persuade him to join the Court Wizards. As for Eugene flying without permission? Something like that could be given a bit of leeway. If Eugene requested it, Trempel was even thinking of granting him the right to fly freely through Aroth’s skies.
“Aren’t you here to punish me?” Eugene asked.
“Hm? Um… haha! What should I say? Flying in the sky over the capital, well, it might be an issue if the average wizard were to do it, but… it’s fine if it’s you, Lord Eugene,” Trempel said obsequiously.
“If that’s the case, then it’s my luck.” Eugene casually accepted the absolution.
“Haha! Please don’t worry about it too much. Well, Lord Eugene is still young, aren’t you? It looks like you just couldn’t resist acting your age, haha! Flying where forbidden is a light offense, so it can easily be overlooked. So, does that mean Lord Eugene is now a rule-floater?” Trempel laughed heartily as he delivered his pun.
Unable to hold it in, Mer revealed a disgusted expression.
Eugene’s body shivered in disgust as he turned his head to look Trempel in the face. His handle-bar mustache really didn’t suit him…. Although he was surely older than he appeared, Trempel had the face of a man in his middle age with the wrinkles to match.
‘Are you crazy?’
Eugene recalled when he had made a similar joke. The words that Ciel had spat out back then as her face twisted into a scowl echoed inside of his head.
‘That’s right, so this is how Ciel must have felt back then….’ Eugene now felt regret for uttering such words at that time.
“…Yeah, I guess so,” Eugene still tried to respond politely as he turned his head back around.
Trempel was also displeased by such a dry reaction from Eugene. He was the Commander of the Court Wizards. His position was the highest that a battle wizard could reach in Aroth. In some ways, this meant that he had even higher authority than a Tower Master. Such a person had personally come to visit Eugene and even made a joke as a sign of friendship, but instead….
‘Even though I can get the Court Wizards to laugh so hard that they have to clutch their stomachs just by opening my mouth,’ Trempel complained internally. “…Ahem…. By the way, Lord Eugene, may I ask why you have come to Akron?”
“I’ve come here on an errand,” Eugene replied.
“What do you mean, an errand? Oh, ahah! It’s rather famously known that you were obsessed with Witch Craft while you were studying in Aroth, Lord Eugene…. Haha! As expected, Lord Eugene, you truly are a wizard at heart. Being reminded of such a great spell every time you close your eyes, you couldn’t stand to be away any longer, could you?” Trempel said with an understanding smile as he walked over to Eugene. “If that’s the case, how about you just live in Aroth permanently? Oh, ahem. I’ve also heard the news about you, Lord Eugene. They say that you returned from Samar leading over a hundred elves with you? While I’ve heard that the forest at the Lionheart clan’s main estate is quite spacious and beautiful, strictly speaking, it doesn’t really belong to you, now does it, Lord Eugene.”
“Yes, well….” Eugene tried to stay non-committal.
“You also happen to be an adult now, so… until when do you plan on staying at the main estate where so many eyes will be on you? Lord Eugene, if you so desire, I can find a luxurious mansion for you in the capital. As for the elves you picked from the forest, there’s a forest belonging to the Royal Palace that they can… live… in…. Uh… what exactly are you doing?” Trempel asked, his eyes widening as he stared at Eugene.
Eugene had circled around Witch Craft, which was in the center of the hall, and was now standing in front of Akasha, which was hung on the wall.
Trempel realized something and burst into laughter, “…Ahaha! So that was the case! Lord Eugene, you don’t have your own staff yet, right? I remember when I first visited Sienna’s Hall in Akron. That… was the first time I had seen such an amazing and beautiful staff. Just like you, I was fascinated… the wand that I had been using was no longer pleasing to the eye, so I really went to a lot of trouble to get a staff made from a fairy tree’s wood….”
At his age, Eugene still had a cute side to him. Trempel walked over to Eugene with an amused smile.
“It’s extremely difficult to obtain and even when it’s available, there’s no guarantee that you’ll be able to obtain it. But if Lord Eugene were to join the Court Wizards…,” Trempel trailed off suggestively.
Without giving any reply, Eugene stretched a hand out towards Akasha. Trempel didn’t feel any need to stop him from doing so. In this hall, there were no rules forbidding guests from holding Akasha directly. This was because there was no point in doing so. Akasha did not recognize anyone other than the Wise Sienna as its master.
“…Sir Eugene?” Unlike Trempel, Mer was standing right next to Eugene. She felt like there was something different going on from the smile that was on Eugen’s face. “…What are you doing right now?”
“What do you think? You can tell just by looking,” Eugene snickered as he continued to reach out to Akasha. “Just like last time, I want to try holding it.”
“…Hold on,” Mer said, her face turning white.
Eugene’s mana was moving. It wasn’t just a simple infusion of mana either, his mana was moving as if it was performing some kind of technique. What this meant was clear. Eugene was trying to use some kind of magic.
Trempel’s smile instantly disappeared. It was forbidden to use magic in Akron. This was a strong taboo that couldn’t be compared to the one banning flying over the capital city.
The tomes that were being kept in Akron were the greatest spells in Aroth, no, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that they were the greatest spells in the history of magic. Therefore, they needed to be carefully protected.
As such, no one could be allowed to use magic in Akron. Whether it was the Commander of the Court Wizards, a Tower Master, or even Aroth’s royal family.
“Lord Eugene!” Trempel let out a roar.
This taboo was currently being violated right in front of his eyes. Mer quickly reached out her hand and grabbed Eugene’s collar.
“Wh-what do you think you’re doing?!” Mer demanded. “You should be well aware, Sir Eugene! Using magic in Akron is—”
“I know,” Eugene said with a nod as he pulled Akasha closer. “However, without using magic, I won’t be able to take this with me, so what else can I do?”
Mer couldn’t say anything in response to these words.
Fwooosh!
The Dragonheart embedded into the tip of Akash burst into light.