Chapter 48 TDK Vol. 2 Chapter 3 Part 2

“Here is your tea.”

Martha, dressed in her maid uniform, placed a teacup in front of Odette. Behind her, Remy stood in attendance in her human form.

I had told them they could go to sleep first, but Martha insisted, “I couldn’t possibly be discourteous to a friend of Lord Yuuki’s.” As for Remy, her reason was, “Because I want to learn my duties quickly~.” So diligent.

“Thank you. I do apologize for the late hour… hmm?” Odette paused, tilting her head as she picked up the teacup. “You’re using quite fine tea leaves, I must say. And it has a wonderfully calming aroma.”

“It’s just some stuff we bought at the market,” I said.

“It’s more delicious than the tea at my estate. Which shop did you purchase it from?”

“I leave that sort of thing to Martha.”

“Would you be so kind as to tell me the name of the shop?” Odette asked, turning to Martha.

Martha looked slightly troubled. “It’s from a stall at the westernmost edge of the market. It’s a blend of cheap tea leaves and ‘Rudria leaves,’ a herb Lord Yuuki recommended, in an eight-to-two ratio. Since it is nighttime, I chose one with a sedative effect.”

“Thank you. I shall have to try that at my own home.” Odette nodded as if satisfied.

Incidentally, this was a blend I had developed in my past life for children who had trouble sleeping. Whenever Martha noticed I had snuck out of the house at night, she would brew this for me. It was her way of sending a message: Now that your work is done, please calm down and get some sleep. Even now, she was looking at me with unusually gentle eyes.

“Now then, if you’ll excuse us. Lord Yuuki, Lady Odette, please take your time.”

“Please… take your time,” Remy echoed.

With a bow, Martha and Remy moved to another room. It seemed they decided to excuse themselves, as the conversation was about to turn to matters concerning the Magic Guild.

“Have you read the letters, Yuuki?”

“Yeah. I read them while I was changing.”

The letters from the Magic Guild had been delivered to my quarters as well. I had skimmed through them while Martha helped me change clothes.

“The long and short of it is that Gael Wolfgang never intended to summon the specter, right?”

“Correct. He intended to interfere with the ‘Guardian Knight Selection Trial.’ To that end, he planned to control some undead and have them block our path.”

“But that’s not what happened.”

“Indeed. Someone tricked Gael Wolfgang and had him use an ‘Ancient Magic’ spell to summon the specter instead. The spell he was taught was one that connected his spirit to the undead.”

Apparently, some necromancers use that kind of magic. By linking their minds, the caster can control the undead like puppets.

“If he had been dealing with weak undead, he probably could have controlled them with that spell,” I mused.

“Which is likely why he didn’t notice the hidden trap.”

“So, the incantation and gestures for the ‘Ancient Magic’ included the components to summon the specter. That’s why Gael Wolfgang ended up summoning it and had his mind taken over.”

Someone had gone to a lot of trouble.

“What was the goal of the person who set the trap?”

“We do not know.” Odette shrugged. “The whereabouts of the person who taught Gael the ‘Ancient Magic’ are unknown. By the time the guards raided their home, the person had vanished. All they found was a name.”

“And that name is?”

“Dorothea Samuels. Apparently, she was a rogue mage, unaffiliated with the Magic Guild. They also found a letter in her home from Kachel Miegen, the baron’s former tutor.”

“So that person was involved in the incident with the tutor Kachel, too…”

“The royal family is currently preparing a warrant for her arrest. She will be caught eventually.”

“…I hope so.”

To be reincarnated only to get tangled up with the ‘Sanctuary Church Elysium Temple’ in this era, too, was the last thing I wanted. I had decided to live this life quietly, pretending to be a normal human.

“How are Jilvan and Gael doing?”

“The House of Wolfgang has closed its gates and is under voluntary confinement. As for the House of Kielce, it seems they intend to gloss over their crime by increasing their donations to the Magic Guild.”

Nobles really have it rough in their own way.

“The real problem is the other letter.” I pulled out the second parchment. “This says I’m to have a magic duel with Princess Salvia’s guardian knight.”

“That it does.”

“You mentioned it earlier, Odette. That Princess Salvia looks down on Iris—or to put it bluntly, sees her as an enemy. Is she trying to pick a fight?”

“I would rather not speak ill of the royal family, but… you are correct, Yuuki.” Odette heaved a long sigh. Then, as if to calm herself, she slowly sipped her tea. “Princess Salvia is a legitimate heir and the same age as Princess Iris. She has red hair and a somewhat mature air about her. She is also skilled in magic and is popular with the men. She often makes appearances in high society.”

“Sounds like a fine princess.”

“The problem is that her areas of expertise overlap with Iris’s.”

“Let me guess, Iris is more talented?”

Odette nodded at my words. I thought so. That was Alice for you. Her parents had been the greatest geniuses in Fira Village’s history. Alice, their child, had excelled at both magic and her studies from a young age. Princess Iris was the reincarnation of that Alice. If someone like that received a first-rate education from the royal family, an ordinary prince or princess wouldn’t stand a chance.

“Princess Salvia must have her pride as a legitimate heir,” Odette sighed again. “She cannot best Iris in either studies or magic. What’s more, Iris is so talented she has been entrusted with work from the Magic Guild. As a legitimate heir, she must not want to lose to the child of a concubine.”

“But as royalty, they can’t openly fight. So instead, she looks down on her and harasses her?”

“…As the daughter of a ducal house, I have no comment.”

“And as Iris’s best friend?”

“I don’t even want to speak of it.”

“Don’t tell me that because she can’t beat Iris in terms of ability, she’s trying to make their guardian knights fight instead…”

Odette didn’t answer. She just wore an awkward expression. So my guess was right.

“The royal palace really is a troublesome place.” I didn’t want to leave my Alice in a place like that. “Maybe it would be better if I spirited her away somewhere now.”

“If you did that, the Grossalia Barony would be in terrible trouble.”

“I’m kidding.”

“…You are joking, aren’t you?”

“…Of course.” It was obvious. I’d only do something like that after making sure it wouldn’t cause any trouble for the barony.

“Master~.”

As we were talking, Dick the bat flew to the window. “Niil just came from the princess’s villa~.”

“Niil did?”

“I have a message for you. I will relay it now~.”

Dick flew into the room and began to relay the message from Iris.

“…I’m so sorry, my Lord. Unbeknownst to me, plans were moving forward for a magic duel between you and my sister Salvia’s guardian knight. It has already reached His Majesty the King’s ears, and it seems I am powerless to stop it. Please, make up some reason and be absent from the duel. I will handle the rest. I’m used to this sort of thing.”

“—That is all~,” Dick finished.

“Alright, I get it. Let’s do this magic duel.”

“What in the world did that bat just say?!” Odette’s eyes went wide.

I relayed Dick’s words to her exactly as I’d heard them.

“May I confirm one thing?” Odette asked after hearing the message. “Does Iris think you will win? Or does she think you will lose?”

“I don’t think she’s worried about winning or losing.”

“Then why would she tell you to be absent?”

“Probably to keep me from doing anything reckless.” In my past life, I died protecting the villagers. Iris might still have some trauma from that. “She worries too much.”

“In your past lives, you were a guardian deity and a villager, correct? Just what kind of guardian deity makes his villagers worry about him…?”

“You want to hear about it?”

“No, I shall save that pleasure for after I can truly feel the reality of your past lives for myself.”

“It’s not a very interesting story, anyway.”

“More importantly, what will you do about the duel? What would you have me do?” Odette tapped her chest. “Please, tell me anything I can do to help. I will lend you my strength, for I am your friend!”

“…If only all nobles were like you, Odette.”

“What are you saying all of a sudden?!” Odette’s face turned bright red.

I was being completely serious, though. If every noble in this world were like Odette, the ‘Sanctuary Church Elysium Temple’ wouldn’t be scheming in the shadows, and the bloody ‘War of the Eight Kings’ would never have happened.

“Iris has found a good friend in this era. Please continue to look after her, Odette.”

“Why are you suddenly acting like her father?!”

“Well, in my past life, I was a father figure to all the villagers, and their guardian deity.”

“…Suddenly, your past lives are feeling much more real.”

“In that case, could I ask you to deliver a message to Iris?” I said to the surprised Odette. “I want you to tell her, ‘I’m getting help from Odette, so there’s no need to worry about the magic duel.’ Coming from you, it’ll be more convincing than if I said it.”

“Just how much trust do you two place in me…?”

“Speaking of trust, I’d like you to help me practice my ‘Ancient Magic.’ In exchange, I’ll teach you how to use your magic more efficiently.”

“…Eh?”

“During the trial, you used ‘Force of Earth,’ didn’t you? But you didn’t cast it repeatedly. Was that because you didn’t have enough mana left?”

“Y-Yes. That is correct. I used my strongest spell against the specter. Because of that, my mana…”

“So, I’ll teach you a more efficient way to use it. I’m used to coaching people on mana usage. If it goes well, you might be able to fire that spell off three times.”

“Three times?! That would be wonderful, but…” Odette hesitated for a moment. “Very well. It sounds enjoyable, so I shall accompany you.”

“Thanks. In return, I’ll lend you my strength whenever you need it.”

“…Are you sure?”

“I’m sure.”

“I understand. I shall believe those words.”

With a bashful look, Odette drained her teacup. I then walked her to her lodging next door, and we parted with a wave.

Several days passed without incident.

Odette and I continued to practice ‘Ancient Magic’ in a forest near the capital. Iris sent a message through Niil, informing us that she had been forbidden from going outside for a while. It was apparently a measure to prevent her from passing any unnecessary information to me before the investiture ceremony.

In the end, we never found out the name of Princess Salvia’s guardian knight. I tried contacting Rhodelia at the Grail Trading Company, but she reported that she couldn’t get any information either. The day after she relayed her apologies for being unhelpful via bat, she sent over a complete set of formal attire for the ceremony. She said she had it newly tailored for my big day. What was she, my mother?

Meanwhile, Dick continued to fly through the capital at night, building a ‘Bat Network’ and strengthening the security around our lodging and Iris’s western villa.

As we were doing all this, time flew by—

And in the blink of an eye, the day I was to be appointed as Iris’s guardian knight had arrived.