[260] The Truth Revealed (5)
That she—who had been headmistress of the Royal School of Magic ten years ago—would take a vice-principal position at a provincial school.
She wasn't the sort to lie to a correspondent standing before her, so it had to be true.
But why on earth? Why would she choose, in an instant, to tear down the career she'd spent her whole life building?
What on earth did this school have?
Alpheas had doubts too.
They'd recently smoothed over old grudges and grown friendlier, but she had been reluctant to accept the vice-principal role until the end.
"Olivia. You—"
"Just be quiet. We can talk about that later."
When Olivia looked at him as if exasperated, Alpheas shut his mouth at once.
Meanwhile Kilrain's pupils darted about. Cost‑benefit calculations ran through his head.
A petty misunderstanding had set this off. Or could it even be called a misunderstanding?
It was simply Olivia's whim.
But when a Rank‑2 archmage acted on a whim, you had no choice but to fall in line.
Kilrain hastily dropped to his knees and prostrated himself on the floor.
"I'm sorry! I didn't know my place and I made a terrible mistake. I should've notified you in advance, but I didn't realize Olivia felt that way and I—"
There was nothing he could do but beg.
When it was reasonable for her to crush someone, Olivia became the most frightening person alive.
Hundreds of her former students sat in leadership positions throughout society. If she so much as opened her mouth, she could block someone from even stepping foot in the teachers' council—she could see them erased from public life.
"I'll publish a correction right away. Please give me one last chance! I'll do whatever it takes to fix this."
Olivia sighed deeply.
If things could be fixed so easily, she wouldn't have let this impression spread in the first place.
The magazine had already been distributed; there was no way to recall every copy. Even if they could, they couldn't erase people's memories.
"Publishing a correction just blows the incident up bigger. Don't create needless controversy."
"Then what should I do?"
Kilrain raised his head with tears in his eyes.
The woman who'd entered with her chin high had become, within ten minutes, a wet‑behind‑the‑ears correspondent who'd never sat in the teachers' council before.
"Run a special series for two months. Shift attention to sensational topics—corruption at different schools, teachers' sexual misconduct, organ trafficking in the front lines of the magic community. I'll give you the sources. Under no circumstances may Shirone's or Dante's names appear in the magazine."
"Y-yes. I will do that."
"And… apologize to Shirone."
Kilrain, still kneeling, turned his head toward Shirone.
Shirone's face showed his conflicted feelings plainly.
He was angry, certainly, but seeing Kilrain—who'd fought to protect his place and then bowed—made him feel a pang of pity.
Perhaps because Kilrain was an adult. One mistake could end an adult's whole life.
"I'm sorry. If there's any compensation I can make, I'll do it—please, just one more chance…"
Shirone didn't want to hear it.
He wanted to shout that if Kilrain wasn't going to act like this, he shouldn't have stirred up trouble in the first place, but that would have been pointless.
He couldn't bear to look at an adult fifteen years his senior crawling on his knees and burying his head in the floor.
"Enough. Just go. It's already over. You can't undo it. But if you ever get the chance, I hope you'll apologize to my parents."
"Yes. I will visit them at once. I am truly sorry."
Olivia gave a bitter smile.
Any student might have reacted similarly, but Shirone was especially stubborn. A crafty child wouldn't have pushed Kilrain away like that.
'Well—he's the sort who's detached from vanity and greed.'
Those who had realized the Immortal Function tended to think metaphysically. They lacked thirst for the mundane, pursued ideals, and showed deep interest in worlds beyond imagination.
Whatever Shirone's disposition, Olivia didn't want to drive Kilrain away.
Even in a monarchical state, the press held real power, and she was shrewd.
Besides, Kilrain had a strong reputation among correspondents; keeping him close and guiding him was far more useful than training a new reporter.
"Kilrain, you're capable. Don't make a mistake like this again. When this is over, let's have a meal together."
"Thank you! It will never happen again!"
"All right, off you go."
Kilrain bobbed his head repeatedly and backed away.
With that, Alpheas and Shirone had little left to say.
They'd chosen the best course under the circumstances, and Kilrain had tasted the hell of disgrace—so their minds were somewhat eased.
Olivia turned to Shirone.
"I'm sorry. This is my fault. Though, strictly speaking, it's that old man's fault."
Alpheas covered his mouth awkwardly and cleared his throat.
Shirone forced a smile.
Nothing had been fully resolved, but Olivia and Alpheas were steady supports for someone with no one else to rely on.
Alpheas tried to comfort him.
"This will pass soon enough. Finals are coming—don't think about anything else and focus on the exams. Things will go back to normal."
"Yes, thank you. I'll be going now."
Shirone thanked them sincerely and left the headmistress's office.
Though the principals of the incident had all gone, tension still lingered in the room.
Olivia closed her eyes and thought. Then she looked at Alpheas and asked, "Do you really think so?"
Alpheas didn't answer.
For most serious matters, time was the cure. But Shirone's case was different.
Their worry wasn't that Shirone's origins were humble or that he didn't deserve to attend the Magic Academy.
"Only time will tell. Maybe—nothing will come of it."
"Perhaps. But—"
Olivia fell silent.
As Alpheas had said, talking more wouldn't change anything. All she could do was hope the terrifying bomb hidden in this incident would not surface.
@
Finals were over.
Last semester vacation began immediately after exams, but in the latter half there was one more event.
The graduation exam for the graduating class.
As the school's biggest festival, watched by every student, the campus buzzed with energy.
Shirone's final grades placed him sixth in Class Four.
Dante took first, followed by Sabina, Closer, Boyle, and Pandora.
Below Shirone were Iruki and Nade.
Shirone, who had greatly shored up the combat skills that had been his biggest weakness over the year, was satisfied. Iruki and Nade, shocked by their lagging theory exam scores, stood dazed for a while.
Including practical exam scores, Shirone's overall rank was an impressive third.
Dante was first overall, then Iruki.
In any case, since Shirone had beaten Dante earlier, many students—by a narrow margin—favored him as the top candidate for graduation.
But his reputation wasn't what it had been.
With his origins revealed, students who had once followed Shirone began to drift away, one by one.
Some even spat overt insults at him.
Shirone felt hurt each time, but he showed no sign of it.
Kilrain kept his promise and stopped running articles about the matter in Spirit magazine.
Olivia said he had gone to Shirone's parents and begged on his knees.
Everyone might fall into a pit once in their life, Shirone thought; this too would pass.
Maybe it would have.
But the single article in Spirit that had mentioned Shirone returned with a far greater backlash than anyone expected.
Fifteen days before the graduation exam, an incident shook the Magic Academy.
Clang! Clang!
Forty knights, fully armored, marched through the noble district of Tormia. They were soldiers escorting a single carriage.
The carriage, decked with gilded fittings, was so huge it could be lived in—people could eat, sleep, and stow supplies inside.
Prominent nobles didn't dare scowl at the parade of armed troops taking up the road.
So it was no wonder the guards at the school gates went pale.
When the carriage halted at the main gate, the school's security apparatus fell into chaos.
The chief of security came running in a fluster, read the letter handed by the lead knight, went paler than when he'd arrived, and raced for the headmistress's office.
"Headmistress! We have a serious situation!"
The chief burst in—he had knocked and immediately opened the door.
Olivia, who disliked rudeness, frowned.
But seeing the chief—nearly fifty and looking as if he might cry—she set aside her irritation.
"What is it?"
"Th‑there's someone here… No, please look at this!"
Instead of explaining, the chief laid the document on her desk.
Olivia picked it up and read it with curiosity rather than alarm.
"Haah…"
After lowering the paper, Olivia pinched her forehead and sighed.
"W-what should I do? Let them in?"
"Of course. How could we turn them away? Escort them in. I'll go out to meet them once I'm ready."
"Yes, ma'am!"
The chief ran off without even saluting.
Olivia followed for a moment, intending to scold him, but she could understand his state. His calves were probably numb and his mind blank with shock.
"In the end… it's happened."
Olivia propped her elbows on the desk and rested her chin on her hands.
What she'd feared had finally come, but she hadn't expected the visitor to be such a formidable presence.
'Well… they couldn't have stayed idle after reading that article.'
Perhaps this would actually be good for Shirone.
From a personality standpoint he might recoil, but for his future and life it could be closer to a blessing.
"Anyway… I should go out."
Olivia changed quickly and left the headmistress's office.
@
When the house‑sized carriage crossed the lawn, students stopped and stared.
The scale of the carriage was astonishing, but it was the sight of armed soldiers with full equipment entering the school that was unprecedented.
"What's going on? Why are knights inside the school?"
"Is there a war? Why bring knights to a school?"
Whispers rose, but the knights paid them no heed and kept marching.
Finally the carriage stopped in front of the central building.
The knights kept their hands on their sword hilts as if ready to draw at any sign of danger.
Word spread and students gathered by the dozens; soon a crowd of hundreds surrounded the carriage.
Still, the carriage remained motionless.
Alpheas, having received Olivia's message, came out to meet them first.
Yet even with the former headmistress present, the knights did not lower their guard.
"Headmistress, what's going on? Has something happened at the school?"
Alpheas couldn't tell the students anything.
He had doubted Olivia's message, but seeing it with his own eyes exceeded any expectation.
A golden lion statue had been carved on the roof of the gilded carriage.
There was only one nation on the continent that used the lion as its symbol.
Alpheas had only just arrived and hadn't heard the full story, but if they were here, the reason was obvious.
Shirone.
Kilrain's mistake had brought this about.
'No, should I even call this a mere situation? Maybe for Shirone—'
At that moment the carriage door flew open and an old man with piercing eyes descended. The knights cleared a path on either side as he walked with a stubborn look.
He walked unsteadily with age, but the malice on his face was not ordinary.
Stepping out of his escort, he surveyed the gathered students and, with a haughty, arrogant expression, drew a scroll from his cloak.
The scroll was of the finest paper, edged in gold.
"I am Ordos, administrative officer of the Kazra Kingdom, and I have come as the king's envoy!"