I Kidnapped the Hero's Women-Chapter 232: Academic Conference (3)

"Ah, Aslan! I... I just wanted to thank you for calling my name when you finished the presentation. It was a little embarrassing, but thank you..."

"Hehehe! I’m not really sure what you’re talking about, but it was fun anyway!"

As soon as Aslan stepped out of the conference hall, the children rushed over to him, as if they had been waiting.

Each of them shared their thoughts.

Charlotte’s feedback seemed more like the impression of watching a magic show...

But whatever, it was fine.

The reactions from the distinguished scholars were not much different, so Aslan decided to treat it as if he had just put on a black magic show and called it a day.

"Uh... Count Vermont..."

"...?"

At that moment, Yuria appeared from behind, fidgeting with her feet, looking like she had something to say.

When Aslan approached, Yuria, seeming to gather some courage, clenched her fist and looked up at him.

"I realized something after seeing this. I want to become a black mage. Could you help me...?"

"No."

"Thank... huh?"

[The Evil God, 'Kali,' scolds you for being so harsh to our healer.]

Aslan reflexively refused before even thinking about it when he heard Yuria’s bombshell statement.

No way. She wanted to become a black mage?

That was absurd.

How could the hero’s job be black magic?

It was a story-breaking level of mess—no, it was a world collapse.

It was a skill tree I could not accept.

Right now, the relationships with the evil gods like Kali and Laura weren’t bad, but if there were a final boss in this game, it was possible the evil gods could end up as the final bosses.

If Yuria, the one who should defeat that worst crisis, ended up as a black mage, infected by an evil god, the world would surely come to an end.

"Why not?"

"I don’t have a reason. If you want to become a black mage, you should wait until your contract with Vermont Security expires. But, if you choose to walk the path of black magic, you’ll have to completely sever ties with me and the Vermont family."

"Oh, I see! I won’t be a black mage then. I won’t bring it up again..."

When Aslan gave his warning, Yuria quickly backed down.

She had said it half-joking, half-seriously, but she hadn’t expected to be rejected so harshly.

Did he dislike the idea of me becoming a black mage that much?

Is it because he doesn’t want any other powerful black mages in the world, aside from himself?

'No. Aslan Vermont probably didn’t reject me for that reason...'

Although slightly disappointed, Yuria pouted her lips, yet after thinking about Aslan’s character, she concluded that this was probably a choice made for her own good.

But did he really need to be so unkind about it?

She could easily infer that the reason was hard to explain, but she would later come to realize that Aslan’s choice had been the right one.

Still, it couldn’t help but feel a little upsetting.

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'This is probably something that resembles that dark, grumpy man...'

Pretending to be indifferent.

Pretending to be cold.

Pretending not to care.

But in the end, he made choices that were for her good, just like that dark, grumpy man...

Even though the two of them were completely opposite, Yuria thought it was a bit strange.

"Hehehe. Count Vermont. That was an impressive presentation."

"Thank you, Your Highness."

"Merilda! Did you understand all that!?"

"Of course. I’m studying barrier magic, so I naturally understood everything about Count Vermont's presentation and paper."

"Whoa...!"

At that moment, Merilda approached with a proud expression, and Charlotte gaped in awe.

I had thought only Yuria and Charlotte could understand something so difficult and complicated.

But Merilda understood it too!?

Was I the only one who was stupid?

A sudden sense of crisis overwhelmed me.

"Then teach me! What is this anti-mana? How does it relate to magic? What does it do? Huh? Huh?"

"Heh, heh... That’s something I’ll explain later! It’ll take quite a bit of time!"

"Okay! I’ll come to your villa tomorrow!"

"Uh... I don’t think I’ll be at the villa then. I’m returning to Ester soon."

"Then I’ll go to Ester!"

"...Ah."

Charlotte kept aggressively asking questions, and Merilda, fanning herself with her fan, answered in a trembling voice.

Looking at them, Yuria couldn’t help but laugh awkwardly.

It seemed like Merilda hadn’t understood the paper either.

"By the way, Yuria?"

"Yes. Did you call for me, Your Highness?"

"I distinctly remember being promised an invitation to the Imperial Magic Academy, but I haven’t heard anything about it yet?"

"Sorry, Your Highness. I’ve been so preoccupied lately that I haven’t been able to follow up. I’ll definitely prepare a tour program for you..."

"No! If I’m with Yuria, I don’t need anything else. Since we’re here at the Imperial Magic Academy, would it be alright if you guide me around?"

"Ah, well..."

Merilda approached Yuria, crossing her arms.

Yuria, now embarrassed, looked around for help, and Charlotte immediately raised her hand.

"Our previous tour ended up a little unfinished, so let’s do it again..."

"Ah! I have this strange urge to just tour the campus with Yuria alone!"

"Sh-S-Charlotte. I think we should step back."

With Yuria’s sharp observation, Charlotte backed off.

Yuria kept sending helpless glances for assistance, but only got ignored.

Unable to escape, Yuria found herself reluctantly being dragged by Merilda.

This won’t do.

Back in the city, I pretended to be a man to win Merilda’s favor, but now... I can’t keep up this secret anymore...!

In the end, Yuria decided to confess the truth.

"U-Um, Your Highness, I think there’s been a misunderstanding. I’m not actually a man."

"I know that, of course."

"...Huh?"

Yuria thought she was making a big confession, but the response wasn’t what she expected, and she ended up feeling more embarrassed.

"Did you think I misunderstood Yuria as a man? Hahaha! Of course not! I like Yuria because she’s Yuria, not because she’s a man."

"..."

"Alright! The sun is setting, so let’s hurry!"

"Yes, Your Highness..."

Merilda giggled and clung even closer to Yuria.

Yuria, feeling uncomfortable, didn’t know how to react.

I just like watching cute girls getting along, but I never wanted to be caught up in it myself...!

How did this happen?

As I had expected, after the academic conference, the price of neodymium skyrocketed.

It was a rare mineral, but now it had found a useful application, so this was only natural.

Of course, the main reason it was rare was that it had never been actively mined until now due to its lack of use.

Once the facilities to mine the neodymium in Vermont's exclusive mine are completed, mining will begin right away.

Once neodymium is supplied in large quantities, the market will stabilize, so there’s no need to worry too much.

But the legislation on regulating the distribution of neodymium will eventually have to be discussed with the Emperor’s sister...

Just imagining it gives me a headache.

Talking to the Emperor’s sister is enjoyable, but discussing work is anything but.

Whenever I start talking, the Emperor’s sister always has this expression like, "Oh, this guy again?"

And each time, I feel like I might be kidnapped by the government, and my life expectancy keeps decreasing.

"If the Emperor’s sister calls me to discuss the legislation, I’ll have to bring the kids along..."

Of course, there was a countermeasure.

If I take Charlotte and Yuria with me, the Emperor’s sister’s attitude will change instantly, and she’ll become much more cooperative.

At this point, even Sylvia could help, which would double the effect.

"Hey! Take this! Whirlwind slashing attack! Strike fast and hard!"

Just as I looked outside, Charlotte and a younger-looking Sylvia were sparring with swords.

Not long ago, there had been a physical difference between them that limited their sparring, but now, since they were of equal build, Sylvia responded as if it were a real battle.

At first glance, it seemed like Sylvia was just barely keeping up with Charlotte, but her face clearly showed a sense of ease.

Charlotte may have learned to use her aura, but it seemed she was still not on the level of a swordmaster.

Not long ago, Sylvia had been inferior to Charlotte in pure strength, but now, it was clear that Sylvia was dominating Charlotte in skill.

"And now, I’ll strike with all my strength—ah?!"

"...?"

At that moment, when Charlotte swung her super-powerful sword, the blade disappeared.

It didn’t just seem to disappear, it actually vanished.

Charlotte stared, dumbfounded, at the hilt of her sword and the separated blade for a long time.

"The super-powerful sword is... dead...!"

She plopped down with a stunned look, as if she had lost her country.