The sunset had sunk to the horizon and the evening sky was beginning to fade into the colors of the night. The faint remnants of the setting sun cast a silhouette of a slender man on the roof of the boys' dormitory of Serendia Academy.
*sneeze*
Louis Miller was sitting there, quivering in the blowing north wind, blowing his nose.
He, who came to the school festival to support Monica Everett the [Silent Witch] was now in the middle of guarding the second prince on her behalf.
Just as he had predicted, the assassin from the chess tournament has reappeared at the school after the latter used a body manipulation spell to disguise himself as a student of the school.
Realizing in the nick of time, Monica engaged the assassins in battle. In the end, the assailant made her inhale poison, resulting in her being unable to move for the time being.
Although Monica's familiar seemed to have gone to her rescue on his own, there was not much he could do as a familiar. So Louis had no choice but to send Lynn to help Monica.
If it were possible, he would like to pursue the assassins, but since the second prince was safe, he changed his priority to provide protection for [Silent Witch].
They couldn't afford to lose a talent like her in a place like this.
That is how much Louis Miller values the talent of Monica Everett the [Silent Witch].
"Sir Louis, I have returned."
A beautiful woman in a maid's uniform softly landed on the roof. Her appearance without a cloak gave off a sense of frigidity, but as a high-ranking wind spirit, Lynn did not feel any cold.
After dispelling his mana sensing, Louis erected a barrier to block wind and cold air, took out a small bottle of liquor from his pocket, and gulped down the contents. There's no better way to warm up a cold body quickly than with strong liquor.
Letting out a breath that reeked of alcohol, Louis turned his eyes to Lynn.
"How's Monica's condition?"
"She is suffering from a minor illness. She said she would continue to attend the evening ball after this."
"In that case, I may as well be going now. I've made Rosalie waiting in the carriage already."
While security is necessary even at a ball, honestly speaking, not many people would dare to try to kill the second prince at a ball. The fact that all the students were gathered in one place makes the security much tighter, making a crowded place unsuitable for assassination.
But I wonder what the purpose of the assassins was… If their goal was to assassinate the second prince, there were easier ways to do it.
The only thing they did was approach the second prince in disguise. Although he had used his mana sensing to search the entire school, there was no indication that anything had been tampered with at the school.
"Lynn, you're listening in on the conversation between the assassin and Monica, weren't you? Didn't the assassins say anything about their purpose?"
"Yes, they were talking about something. It was…"
Lynn nodded her head and replayed the conversation she had heard in an inexpressive voice.
"…' have you confirmed that matters?' ‘Yeah, I’ve confirmed it at a close range while pretending to be getting rid of a spider that latched on him. It’s the work of the traitor Arthur… That person’s prediction was right.'… that's all."
"Confirming at close range? The traitor Arthur?"
The name "Arthur" was commonly used by people from the Empire. Therefore, it would be reasonable to assume that the assassins were people affiliated with the Empire.
Then again, why would someone from the Empire have gone through the trouble for approaching the Second Prince?
And, who is the traitor Arthur?
Don't tell me…
One hypothesis ran through Louis' mind. It was too far-fetched and ridiculous to even consider. But if this were true… it would make sense given the fact that the [Star Oracle Witch] was no longer able to read the fate of the Second Prince.
Has His Majesty been dimly aware of this? …which is why he sent me here, to catch their tails?
However, this hypothesis was not something one could rashly inquire about to the king. If he's not careful, Louis' head will be sent flying for impudence.
Firstly, he needed to validate this hypothesis.
And to complete it, he must…
The question is whether or not there is a person named "Arthur" around the second prince. And perhaps that person will be the key in this situation.
If Louis' hypothesis is correct, this case will be a major event that will shake the whole kingdom.
Louis cupped his hand over his mouth, letting out ‘kukuku' voices.
"Sir Louis, your face looks like a villain plotting his evil scheme."
"Now that's rude, to even call me a villain. It's just, the thought of Duke Crockford's downfall just made me smile with delight."
If his assumption is proved to be true, Duke Crockford will be destroyed along with the Second Prince. He has no reason to show mercy, as he has no favorable feelings for them.
But I think it would be best to keep this a secret from that little girl… she's a little too easily moved by emotion.
There was no telling how Monica would react if she found out that the Second Prince would be doomed.
Therefore, it would be appropriate to keep this speculation under wraps until the last minute.
Serendia Academy will soon enter its winter break. The Second Prince will be returning to the palace during that period, and Monica's escort duties will come to halt.
While Monica takes a break, I may as well do some digging on the person named Artur.
＊ ＊ ＊
A few days later after the Serendia School Festival, while Louis was working on paperwork in his study at home, Lynn knocked on the door of his room.
"Excuse me for my intrusion."
With that, Lynn stepped into the room carrying a tray of tea sets in her hands, and an owl on her head.
Right, an own on her head.
As Louis positioned his shifting monocle and stared above Lynn's head, the latter placed the tea set on the side table in a very natural gesture.
"I've brought you some tea."
"What's that bird?"
"It landed on my head while I was cleaning the garden. I'm thinking of naming it and raising it for myself."
Though he wanted to retort, soon Louis noticed the anklet on the owl's leg.
It was an anklet bearing a crest in the shape of a star.
"Lynn, give up on keeping that owl at all. It's a familiar of Star Oracle Witch."
Attached to the anklet of the owl was a small tube to hold the letter. Taking a small rolled-up letter from the owl's anklet perched on Lynn's head, Louis unfolded it.
——According to the results of the star reading, there are signs of dragon damage in the near future, the Seven Sages should be prepared for emergencies.
Disasters caused by dragons, known as dragon damage, are not that uncommon in this country.
Whether it's a herd of small herbivorous dragons destroying fields or a large dragon attacking people or livestock, dragon damage is an everyday occurrence in the eastern part of the Ridill Kingdom.
But the fact that the [Star Oracle Witch] sent a message to warn him…
"A Wicked Dragon, or maybe a Cursed Dragon will appear…"
Among the dragons, there's a particular dragon that has intelligence and is harmful to people called Wicked Dragon, and a dragon, regardless of its intelligence, spreads some kind of "curse" in its surroundings called Cursed Dragon.
Both of these dragons are extremely dangerous. Disasters caused by Wicked Dragons and Cursed Dragons are of a different order of magnitude in terms of damage. One wrong move and the country could be destroyed.
"…looks like there will be no winter break for the Seven Sages."
Among the Seven Sages, the three with the highest combat abilities are Cannon Magician, Barrier Magician, and the least known Silent Witch. The remaining four are not really suited for combat. Because of it, the three combat-oriented individuals would be sent to fight.
I was hoping to spend the winter break with Rosalie…
As Louis sighed, Lynn grabbed the owl above her head with both hands and began to stare closely at it. The owl was completely frightened by this.
"… Lynn, please stop threatening other people's familiar."
"I'm not threatening it, I'm simply observing it. Does this owl speak human language?"
"…what?"
Louis wrinkled his brow and gave Lynn a small, mocking look.
"It's not a parrot. How can an owl speak human languages?"
"Doesn't a familiar have the ability to understand human language?"
It seems that Lynn didn't know much about familiars. To begin with, familiars are not something people see very often, so it's not surprising.
"Good grief…" Exhaling a sigh of exasperation, Louis crossed his legs and leaned his back against the back of the chair.
"Familiars may understand simple words, but they can't speak human language. They are somewhat smarter than normal animals, but in the end, they are still animals."
A familiar is an animal that has been given a share of mana through a master-servant relationship with a magician.
Therefore, they can only understand simple commands from a magician, but even then, what they can do is still limited to that of an animal. That is why whenever a person wants to send a message, it is necessary to attach a letter in its anklet. Compared to a contracted spirit, it may require less magical power, but the range of what it can do is far less.
After hearing Louis' explanation, Lynn fell silent, still holding onto the owl. This was rare for this self-paced spirit to be so confused about something. Lynn made a thoughtful gesture and then looked at Louis with eyes that were more emotionless than the owl.
"Then, can a familiar turn into a human being, read novels, or sing merrily saying ‘Yay, I'm the best!'?"
"How can there be such a familiar in the first place? You yourself know very well that it takes a lot of mana for a non-human to turn into a human. The only ones who can change into humans are spirits or higher beings."
Lynn stared at the owl with a blank expression and cocked her head.
"Then…?"
