Chapter 39 Rivals
In the central area of Rigved, there was a large square and a fountain. Unlike the main cities in other countries where thousands of soldiers could gather for parades, here, at best, around six carriages could pass through at a time. This waste of space was the ultimate luxury in Rigved. Lilith was looking out the window. This square could be considered to have the most expensive view in Rigved. Across from the fountain was the local branch of the Eternia Magic Society. In front of it were three carriages emblazoned with the Eternia crest parked.
The sight of those black carriages sparked Lilith’s ambition. Staying in the most expensive mansion in Rigved meant nothing to her. Throughout her teenage years, Lilith had been desperately working towards entering Eternia. Now, she was on the verge of finally reaping the rewards of her efforts. ‘Will I truly have the day when I can proudly ride one of those carriages?’ She closed her eyes briefly, imagining the thrill of that day. When she opened them again, the harsh reality was waiting to confront her.
“Haah.”
She couldn’t afford to delay the tasks at hand, indulging in dreams and fantasies.
Lilith’s desk was covered in letters that had flown in from the empire. She sat down at her desk once more. Due to the imperial embassy being right next door, she was constantly dealing with letters sent directly to her. Lilith opened each letter, read through them, and methodically began writing replies. Even though she found it irksome, she couldn’t just brush it off casually.
She knew her strengths.
Just by looking at the gender of the letter senders, she could tell. Nine out of ten were from men. Their letters were filled with empty chatter about the empire’s honor and magical achievements, superficially showing support for her admission to Eternia. Lilith knew all too well. If she were a man in her current position, she wouldn’t have received any of those supportive messages. In this manner, they invested efforts to soften her guard and build camaraderie, and ultimately, what these men were after was Lilith’s beauty and body.
Men were often such creatures. Trivial, boring, and distasteful.
Not once had any man taken Lilith’s heart or body, nor would they in the future. She just managed them by fueling their interest without letting it burn out, ensuring they continued to provide benefits her way. As Lilith put a period at the end of the response letter to the fifth prince, someone knocked on her office door.
Knock, knock.
“Please come in.”
It was the captain of the guards, the one who had been previously ordered to track down the masked man. He saluted Lilith respectfully and reported.
“We could not find any traces of the man wearing the mask.”
He swallowed nervously, tensed up. The artifact theft and the lackluster conclusion of the command emphasized by her had caused his anxiety.
Contrary to his expectation, Lilith responded calmly.
“All right. You may leave.”
“I apologize. If we deploy more soldiers to search…”
“That’s okay. He is not our enemy. If he decides to push away good fortune, what can I do?”
Lilith soothed the captain adequately and dismissed him. Her wounded pride had been healed long ago while drafting responses to letters. There was no need to react sensitively to this matter.
Whether that man was an existing student or a prospective student like her, they were destined to meet again in Eternia someday.
Regardless of how excellent he might be, the world wasn’t ruled by sword and magic alone. In the end, it’s politics that moves the world. Even the Emperor, a layman in both swordsmanship and magic, ruled the empire.
Lilith might not be prominent in magic, but she was confident that she would become the top ‘connection’ in Eternia. Thus, she could assure herself that someday, he would deeply regret ignoring her.
***
Ever since I caught the thieves, I had been followed. I took off the mask to make it impossible for them to identify me and completely covered myself, even obtaining a cloak. I transformed the wooden sword into the shape of a young tree, then bought a bunch of miscellaneous herbs and moved with them tied together. Luckily, by the time I reached the front of the magic society, there was no one following me anymore.
Seeing me in front of the society building, Silveryn seemed to be contemplating whether to scold me.
“Did I not direct you to ‘Filin’s Forge’? Did you perhaps go somewhere else?”
“No, I did go there.”
“Didn’t you accidentally enter the wrong place and get cheated?”
“…”
I handed her back the money pouch exactly as she had given it to me. Silveryn checked the heavy pouch and then, inquired.
“And the sword?”
I grasped the base of the sapling. Soon after, it morphed into the shape of the wooden sword.
Silveryn crossed her arms, looked at it, and nodded her head in silent approval.
“Ah, you chose a suitable one.”
“Due to circumstances, I had to change my appearance.”
“Is that so? Let’s head to the carriage quickly. There are too many watchful eyes in the square.”
I separated the bundle of herbs and placed it in the cart’s trunk, then boarded the carriage with Silveryn.
At her signal, the line of carriages began to move.
“We won’t be going far today, just staying in Rigved. And I’ve gathered various bits of information from Eternia officials at the society. Information that’ll benefit you.”
“Understood.”
“And we’ll be meeting a fellow prospective student at the place we’re staying tonight.”
“Is that person also from the combat division?”
“No, from the magic division. They live loudly, so don’t bother trying to engage in conversation much.”
It seemed like they had a vibrant personality, but why the advice against interacting too much?
“Is it not okay to get to know each other?”
“Hmm. They just simply don’t like people.”
“…?”
“Especially men even more so.”
Her last remark made me slightly tense.
We stopped the carriage not too far from the square.
Disembarking, we were greeted by a luxurious mansion.
On top of the mansion’s entrance was a golden sign with a wolf’s face. Judging from the craftsmanship, it appeared to be an annex used by a prominent house. Perhaps they heard the ruckus of the wheels, at the main entrance, a butler and a girl with long blond hair came out to welcome us.
Was this girl the one Silveryn had talked about?
The butler and the young woman bowed politely upon seeing Silveryn.
The girl with blond hair spoke.
“It’s an honor to meet you again, Professor.”
Silveryn responded indifferently.
“Yeah. It’s been a while. I’ll be in your care for now.”
The blonde girl looked at me briefly with an impassive gaze, making no further gesture.
Remembering Silveryn’s advice, I refrained from any significant gestures, too.
The butler led us in. Inside, the mansion wasn’t particularly spacious. Rooms were allocated to Silveryn and me, and the servants were told to share the remaining two rooms however they saw fit.
“Settle in and then come to my room.”
After speaking, Silveryn was the first to enter her room. Having little to unpack, I lay on the bed and waited. Despite being told it was a boisterous place, the mansion was so quiet that one could hear a pin drop.
Knock, knock.
Someone knocked and peeked inside my room door.
It was Liria.
“Silveryn is calling for you.”
“Understood.”
I stood up and walked to the corridor, then approached the door next to mine and knocked.
“Come in.”
Inside, Silveryn sat in a semi-transparent negligee at a tea table.
“Sit down.”
She casually crossed her legs and propped her chin onto her hand, looking quite languid.
As I sat down across from her, she pushed a piece of paper from the table towards me.
The paper listed numerous unfamiliar names.
Silveryn began to explain.
“The entrance exam isn’t conducted individually. Everyone gathers in one place, aiming towards the same goals for the test. It’s up to you whether you want to collaborate or compete with the others, but it’s good to know who you’re up against.”
“This is…”
“A list of kids entering Eternia via recommendations.”
“Am I allowed to know this?”
“It doesn’t matter. The information has already spread everywhere. It would be unfair if you were the only one left out.”
Hold on, has news about me also spread to everyone?
She continued to add details as she pointed to each name.
“Gaile Varianne is a girl who is somewhat familiar with me. She comes from the north. For her age, she’s worldly and there’s almost no weapon she can’t handle. Her sensibilities are just as sharp as yours, and she is also from the combat division.”
I am not good at remembering names even if I can remember faces. After hearing all this, I might still forget.
“You saw Lūna just now, didn’t you? She is this house’s owner.”
“…!”
The blond girl I had just seen was Lūna herself.
Given that she dislikes people, especially men, it might be difficult to get along with her in the future.
“Cecil Fontar is an enchanter, so she’s not a direct competitor for you. However, she might be useful to you later on, so try to get along with her even if you don’t feel like it.”
I am not someone who easily befriends others out of intention, I can only hope Cecil happens to like socializing with people and men.
“In reality, the other kids aren’t that important. There’s a special reason I called you over.”
She indicated with her index finger the last name on the list.
“It’s because of this kid. She got famous on the neighboring continent across the sea. A renowned Swordmaster’s prized disciple, to be exact.”
Admittedly, I didn’t quite know how prominent a Swordmaster was, having lived for a long time in a place nearly cut off from the outside world.
“It seems no one among the candidates for this intake can defeat this girl.”
“No one can… beat her?”
“That’s right. She’s the embodiment of competitiveness. It looks like she’s already clashed with the other promising kids, including Gaile, and defeated all of them. Doesn’t it sound exciting?”
“…”
I failed to see what seemed exciting about it.
Silveryn somehow had an inexplicably eager tone in her voice. Had she called me here not with the intention to warn or caution me, then?
The girl she pointed out was someone I had already encountered.
It happened a few hours ago, not too far from here at Filin’s Forge.
I closely watched the name.
Sion Izarel.
“She might turn out to be your rival.”
The source of this c𝐨ntent is freewe(b)nov𝒆l