Lovellian turned his head to him with a proud smile and asked, “How is he?”
“...Hm…,” the Blue Tower Master fumbled for a reply.
Lovellian confessed, “I’ve also often heard that I was a prodigy ever since I was a child, but even I wasn’t able to use magic as well as he does when I was only two months into practicing magic.”
Lovellian wasn’t the only one that this applied to. All of the Tower Masters had been called geniuses since a young age, and they all held pride in their overflowing passion and talent for magic.
However, none of them had been able to control their magic as well as Eugene did when they were at his age and experience level.
“...I think we need to hold a discussion,” the Green Tower Master murmured.
The Blue Tower Master just nodded without further argument, “I guess we do. Sir Eugene, would you be willing to wait outside for a few minutes?”
“Yes, sir,” Eugene obediently replied.
“It won’t take that long. Although you’re not allowed to go to any of the other floors… since there are a lot of interesting sights on the first floor, please spend some time taking a look around.”
Eugene bowed his head and left the room.
Right afterward, the Blue Tower Master turned towards Lovellian and asked, “Red Tower Master, are you sure that you haven’t given him any guidance whatsoever?”
“Haven’t I already said it so many times? I haven’t given Eugene any sort of guidance,” denied Lovellian.
“Then I just can’t understand it. If what you’re saying is true, that means Eugene Lionheart reached such a level just through self-study, without anyone else guiding him.”
“He diligently read all sorts of books,” Lovellian added.
“That just makes it even harder to understand. I have no intention of denigrating the quality of the magic books possessed by the Red Tower of Magic, but didn’t you say that the only magic books that Eugene Lionheart read were the introductory texts on magic?” Shaking his head, the Blue Tower Master continued speaking, “Having only studied such introductory books on magic… could he really have reached such an understanding of magic?”
“He is a Lionheart, after all,” the one who spoke up this time was Honein, the Crown Prince of Aroth. He stared at the door that Eugene had closed behind him as he left with shining eyes and continued, “Someone from the Lionheart clan of the Kiehl Empire. A descendant of the Great Vermouth. Everyone on the continent knows just how superb their ‘bloodline’ is, right?”
“...Hm…,” came murmurs of agreement.
“But Crown Prince, isn’t Eugene Lionheart just an adopted child who hasn’t inherited the blood of the direct line?” one of the panel members argued.
“That might be the case, but isn’t his surname still Lionheart? Even though he comes from a distant collateral line, Eugene Lioheart’s genius is truly indisputable. At least, that’s how it appears to me.” As he took off his glasses, Honein turned towards the others and asked, “What do you all think? I feel like we have met an indescribable genius in Eugene Lionheart. I believe that he deserves to enter Akron.”
“....But he’s far too young,” the Guild Head, who had been listening silently, suddenly spoke up. “I can’t help but acknowledge Eugene Lionheart’s genius, but setting his ingenuity aside, he’s too young, and his level of magic is still too low.”
“For now, it is,” the Black Tower Master, Balzac, interjected. “But that’s why I believe that now, more than ever, is an important time for him. If Eugene enters Akron now, his magic will be able to develop rapidly.”
“But the main question is whether there is even any need to provide him with such a convenience,” the Green Tower Master said as he shook his head. “The younger he is, the more reason why we shouldn’t rush him into anything. Since we also need to consider Akron’s prestige, as long as the Red Tower Master guides him personally for the next few years… there shouldn’t be any problem with waiting for him to reach a level that makes it impossible for anyone to object before allowing him free entry into Akron.”
“I don’t believe that there’s any need to procrastinate like that,” Honein argued with his arms crossed defensively. “With the talent that he’s shown us today, Eugene Lionheart will become an outstanding wizard even without any special guidance. Although I wonder if his magic formula could also be classified into Circles…. If I had to guess, then I believe that he’ll be able to cast spells at the Fourth Circle without too much trouble before he even becomes an adult.”
“At the very least—” the one who spoke up this time was the only woman on this panel, the White Tower Master. As she twisted strands of her curly hair between her fingers, she continued speaking, “—the spells that the Lionheart kid cast just now… although they were all First Circle spells, their power far exceeded that of the First Circle. You all felt that, right?”
“...Hm…,” came another hum of agreement.
The White Tower Master added, “Apart from the purity of his mana and the sophistication of his spell structures… what was particularly surprising was the cohesion of his mana. Although I would need to attempt it personally in order to confirm it, I believe that even a dispel at the level of a Fourth Circle wouldn’t be able to dispel that kid’s magic.”
“I would agree,” Lovellian nodded his head with a soft smile.
“...I think that it would be good to consider this as an investment,” after exchanging a look with Honein, the Chief of the Court Wizards had broken his silence. “He’s a seventeen-year-old with outstanding talent who was adopted into the Lionheart’s main family. Although he’s young, and his skills aren’t quite up there, isn’t he overflowing with potential? In any case, if his age and skills were enough, there would be no questions about allowing him to enter Akron, so why don’t we issue the entrance permit in advance so that we can build a friendly relationship with him.”
One of the others objected, “Is there a need for that? We already have quite the amicable relationship with the Lionheart clan anyways.”
The Chief argued, “I believe that it would be a worthwhile investment to be owed a personal favor from Eugene Lionheart, not just the Lionheart clan.”
“...But even if that’s the case, it’s not like he’ll be able to become the Patriarch, no?” the Green Tower Master murmured with a slight frown.
At this, Balzac shrugged his shoulders with a grin and said, “Of course, that should be the case. Because no matter how amazing his skills are, Sir Eugene is still an adopted child. The Patriarch… will probably be one of the main family’s twins.”
“Cyan Lionheart?” someone recalled his name.
“Yes. By order of inheritance, Eward Lionheart should have the advantage, but due to the latest unfortunate incident…. Since his skills were also quite lacking, it seems that Eward will have no choice but to be pushed out of the race for succession.”
“Even if Eugene Lionheart is unable to become the Patriarch, his position in the main family will by no means be small. The Lionheart’s Second Madam seems to be well aware of this fact.”
“Instead, it is because he is unable to become the Patriarch that I believe it would be well worth it to invest in Eugene Lionheart,” as he made his argument, the Chief of the Court Wizards turned to look at the Tower Masters and the Guild Head with calm eyes. “Someday, Eugene Lionheart will have no choice but to leave the main estate. Should he wish to get married and have children, it is a rule of the Lionheart Clan that he must leave to become independent of the main family.”
“Are you saying that you want to invite him to Aroth at that point?” someone asked.
“Since he is sure to have the skills needed to qualify for an important position by that point, I don’t believe that there is anything wrong with making preparations in advance,” the Chief concluded. “Even if he doesn’t become independent, I think there will be enough value in having him owe us a favor. As long as he doesn’t become the Patriarch, he will have just as much freedom to act as always, and if he doesn’t forget Aroth’s kindness, he is sure to become a strong ally someday.”
Three people had expressed their disagreement with issuing Eugene an entry pass to Akron: the Blue Tower Master, the Green Tower Master, and the Head of the Wizard’s Guild. However, as the discussion progressed, they couldn’t help but be persuaded little by little.
That was just how extraordinary the genius that Eugene had shown them was. They couldn’t help but feel pure curiosity. Even though he had only been practicing magic for a few months, he was already that amazing, so if he were introduced to the astounding magic in Akron… just how far could he develop his own magic? If he wasn’t limited to self-study and received guidance in magic from a proper teacher….
“...I’ve heard that he also showed overwhelming results in the Bloodline Continuation Ceremony four years ago,” Balzac mentioned as he stared at the closed door to the room. “Even the Lionheart’s direct line was forced to recognize his talent. If he receives Aroth’s support on top of that… we might even be able to say that we contributed to the second coming of the Great Vermouth.”
“Haha…,” the Green Tower Master unconsciously released a chuckle at these words.
The second coming of the Great Vermouth? He felt amused that the one who said this was the Black Tower Master.
Eventually, the Green Tower Master commented, “...I can’t help but feel that you’re far too generous with your compliments. Balzac Ludbeth, are those words truly yours?”
“What do you mean by that?” Balzac asked.
“I’m talking about the Demon King of Incarceration who you’ve contracted yourself to. I only wanted to know whether his influence is coloring your words,” the Green Tower Master explained.
“Hahaha,” Balzac burst out laughing as he lowered his glasses. “The Demon King of Incarceration is far too busy with Helmuth’s affairs. Furthermore… if I was really trying to convey the will of the Demon King of Incarceration, I wouldn’t have made my argument in such a fashion. I would have pushed even harder and more forcefully.”
“Forcefully?” the Green Tower Master’s eyes cooled considerably.
It wasn’t just the Green Tower Master who showed such a reaction.
Balzac just let the hostility sent in his direction flow over him as he shrugged and said, “I’m sorry if my words sounded offensive, but the weight that the will of the Demon King has on me is far more absolute than anything else.”
“Don’t think that lets you off the hook,” the White Tower Master said with a snort as she got up. “In any case, it doesn’t feel like we’ll be able to achieve complete unanimity with our differing opinions. So instead, why don’t we leave it up to a majority vote? Because the longer that our argument goes on, the more bored that kid waiting outside will get.”
“That would be for the better,” Honein agreed with a smile. “I am in favor of issuing Eugene Lionheart with a permit to enter Akron.”
