Rie led us toward the Ophillius mansion.
As we arrived near the Ophillius mansion,
"Rudy."
Noticing Ian was somewhat far away, Rie called out to me.
"Hm?"
"Is it really okay to bring Ian along?"
"Why wouldn't it be?"
Rie narrowed her eyes and looked at me.
"You know the competition for the head of the family is ongoing. You could be letting Ian snatch away the merits you could earn here."
"Ah, if it's about that, I don't mind."
At my response, Rie tilted her head in confusion.
"What do you mean by that?"
"Exactly as I said. Anyway, let's go inside."
While we were talking, we had arrived at the Ophillius mansion.
A few soldiers were in front, and it was noisy inside as if an investigation was underway.
Rie ignored such people and walked into the mansion.
Though it was a bit audacious, I naturally followed her in.
Thud!
"Who are you? You cannot pass here without permission."
Then, a soldier thrust a spear in front of Rie.
Rie glared sharply at the soldier's action.
"Ah...!"
The soldier widened his eyes upon seeing Rie's face.
"My apologies! Princess... Please, go ahead. I'm very sorry!!"
Despite not saying much, the soldiers bowed their heads repeatedly at Rie.
The bowing soldier then looked back at us following Rie.
"May I ask... who are the people behind...?"
"Among them are Rudy Astria, the second son of the Astria family, and the commanders and deputy commanders of the Royal army. I've permitted their entrance, so it should be fine."
"Understood."
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64ce79d606107d003c23ea27", id: "pf-5140-1"})Following Rie's words, the soldier bowed his head.
"Let's go in."
"Can we really just walk in like this?"
I asked, feeling uneasy.
Though it wasn't a lie, was this approach really okay?
"I'm the main person in charge of this case, what problem could there be?"
"You're the main person in charge?"
"Even though I may look approachable, I'm the first princess. The princess who will soon become the emperor. I can certainly handle an incident of this scale."
She had a point.
Despite being a princess, Rie wasn't just a flower in a greenhouse.
She had experienced many incidents, had ample experience, and the capability to resolve them.
I wasn't sure about her current progress in magic training, but she was definitely competent to handle such an incident without issue.
"Sorry I underestimated you. You really are something."
"Hmm!"
Rie was pleased with my compliment and smiled.
Thus, we entered the mansion.
"Your Highness, it's an honor to meet you."
Then, the investigators inside bowed to Rie.
"Any progress in the investigation?"
"None. It's been at a standstill."
"Is that so? Then step aside. I've brought people who will investigate in your stead."
The investigator, looking bewildered, turned to look at us following Rie.
"Ah... those people..."
"Got it, now clear the way. Send the soldiers away."
"Understood."
The investigator, along with the soldiers who were inspecting the mansion, exited the premises.
The not-so-large Ophillius mansion felt quite empty once everyone involved in the investigation had left.
"It feels sparse for a duke's mansion."
Astina's comment was met with a nod from Rie.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64cc9e79c7059f003e4ad4b0", id: "pf-5109-1"})"I've heard from others that it has always been like this."
"Others, as in the servants?"
"Not just the servants, but also other visitors to the mansion, both."
Following Rie's response, Astina nodded and looked around.
"Hmm..."
Ian, after observing the surroundings, closed his eyes.
He was trying to sense the spatial domain.
Inspired by Ian, I followed suit, taking a deep breath and focusing.
Then, I delved into the spatial domain.
It wasn't certain whether spatial magic had been used to manipulate time.
However, it wasn't entirely impossible either.
If the spatial domain had been tampered with through time magic, traces of such interference could be detected.
I surveyed the space within the mansion.
The area around the living room showed no abnormalities.
I expanded my search to various locations: the kitchen, the library, and the bedrooms.
"...Ah."
During my search, I found it.
Scars left in the spatial domain.
Just as a severe wound on a human leaves a scar during the healing process, if the spatial domain had been distorted, it would leave behind scars.
These scars would disappear after a certain period, but they would remain for at least a month.
"Did Aryandor visit?"
Ian seemed to have also noticed the scars in the spatial domain.
"That seems most likely."
It was improbable for Minister Ophillius to have suddenly used time magic.
Even if Ian and I were absent, there was no reason to boldly utilize time magic like this.
If we were to return, this act would be immediately discovered.
Rie, observing our reactions, posed a question.
"Then, can this serve as evidence?"
"Moved somewhere using spatial magic... Something like that?"
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "663633fa8ebf7442f0652b33", id: "pf-8817-1"})"They moved?"
"If there's an impact on the spatial domain, it means the space itself was tampered with."
The conclusion was that a place was moved to using time magic.
This was all we could ascertain.
The specific location or the reason behind such a choice was unclear, but it was certain that Aryandor had been here.
Ian, upon confirming this, looked at me and Rie.
"So, what do we plan to do with this information?"
"We need to find them, of course."
"And if we find Minister Ophillius, what are the chances he's still alive?"
"Practically..."
None.
Minister Ophillius is essentially powerless.
He lacked any combat-related abilities.
Such a person wouldn't last a few seconds against Aryandor.
"Still, we need to search for him."
"Instead, Aryandor might use him to set a trap."
"But, there's still a chance that Minister Ophillius is alive, right?"
Though uncertain, there's a very slim chance.
If he really is a user of time magic... he might be able to hold on somehow.
"Are you saying he can hold on until we find him?"
I couldn't respond to that.
Quite some time has already passed.
Moreover, we currently have no evidence at all.
We don't know where Minister Ophillius is or what condition he's in.
Gathering such evidence, even a time wizard couldn't hold on.
They'd give up, both physically and mentally.
"We need to find him as quickly as possible." "How?"
The method to find Ophillius with the evidence we have now.
Such a method does not exist.
However, we didn't necessarily need our evidence to find him.
"We'll have to ask someone who knows where Aryandor is."
Ian furrowed his brows.
"A person who knows where Aryandor is? If there was such a person, we would have already used them."
"We didn't know where that person was at that time."
"So, you know now?"
"We still don't."
Ian snorted as if it was absurd.
"Are you trying to play a game with me?"
"No. I don't know where that person is, but..."
I smiled.
"I've found a way to summon that person."
The next day, a huge commotion erupted at Liberion Academy.
"The head of the Astria family has been decided!"
"No, why did Rudy suddenly give up?"
The reason was a special issue spread throughout the empire.
Rudy Astria, the second son of the Astria family, had declared he would give up the position of family head.
This news was quite shocking to the academy.
Just yesterday, there was news that Rudy had captured the rebel leadership.
Though Ian was involved in the capture, the credit was more heavily attributed to Rudy.
In such circumstances, Rudy gave up the position of family head.
All students couldn't shake the question from their minds.
"Is it because of Minister Ophillius?"
With the empire's two dukes absent, Rudy sacrificed himself because of this.
This was the most plausible speculation among the students.
As the students were exchanging all sorts of conjectures,
"...So you don't know either."
Cromwell was talking with Yuni, having called her.
Not only the students, but they too were confused by these rumors.
The professors were also puzzled about what was happening.
In the capital, he was striving to become the head of the family.
If he suddenly gave up like this, there must be some reason.
Still, since Yuni was in constant contact with Rudy among the current second-year students, they thought she might know something.
"Yes, I'm just as confused."
"Sigh... Alright. Are you having a hard time with the student council president duties?"
"It's tough every single day. I wish I could quit if possible. I wonder how Rudy managed to do this for a year. Is there no way to quit?"
"...No. You can go now. Take care."
"Yes."
Yuni left Cromwell's office, licking her lips in disappointment.
While everyone was making a fuss about Rudy, Yuni wasn't particularly interested.
It wasn't as if Rudy was forced to give up; he chose to do so on his own.
There must be a reason for it.
Rudy had made a promise to Yuni.
Not to be discouraged by Robert's death and to rise again.
Thus, this wasn't really giving up.
It must be a stepping stone for the next phase.
Yuni had no doubts about it.
More than these rumors, Yuni was more worried about having to go to the student council room and work again today.
"Maybe I should escape just for today... I want to take a break..."
Even as she thought this, Yuni's feet were heading towards the student council room.
Every day she grumbled and seemed like she might quit the next day, but surprisingly, she was earnestly committed to her work.
"I'm here..."
Yuni opened the door to the student council room with a drooping head and a listless voice.
"Yuni's here."
"Oh, you came?"
The student council room was in a noisy state.
"Why is it so noisy..."
Yuni, puzzled, lifted her head.
In front of her,
"Are you here?"
Rudy was sitting in the student council president's seat, smiling brightly.
