As expected.

Beaming, I clapped my hands.

“That’s wonderful!”

“It’s all thanks to the hint you gave me, Miss Rubian.”

Yuliope lowered his voice as he went on.

“Thank you so much for listening to me all this time and helping me.”

“Oh, please, it’s not like I did anything!”

In truth, I’d done a whole lot!

Still, I ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) modestly kept my power hidden and waved both hands, insisting it was nothing.

Then a thought suddenly struck me, and I jerked my head up.

“Professor! Then can I go to the Rare Books Archive whenever I want now? It’s not a restricted area anymore?”

“Hm? The Rare Books Archive was always a restricted area. Basic authorization is still required.”

“Huh? Really?”

Ah. Well, I guess that made sense.

That lock had looked incredibly old.

This is just my guess... but somehow, I feel like whoever installed that magic circle on the stele probably made that lock too.

That was the vague impression I had.

Yuliope smiled and patted my head.

“Still, if you tell me you want to go, I’ll let you in anytime. Though tomorrow is the last day anyway.”

“Wow, thank you. I’ll behave and just look around so I don’t do anything that harms your salary, Professor!”

“What a thoughtful student you are.”

Looking deeply moved, Yuliope suddenly scooped me right up in his arms.

“Ah, but new restorers will be arriving tomorrow. So it would be best if you made the most of today.”

“Ah, okay.”

Restorers... so he hired them.

I nodded.

“Professor, work hard on the restoration!”

“I will! Though it looks like getting off work is impossible yet again!”

“Hahaha!”

Under the clear autumn sky, Yuliope’s laughter rang out loud and bright.

*****

On the third day after Rubian left for camp.

The North, Zelox.

“......”

With a weary expression, Morris stared into the lobby of the annex.

Just looking at the mountain of brightly colored gift boxes stacked nearly to the ceiling was enough to make his mind go blank.

“Sword~ bow~ shoes~ clothes~ hairpin~”

Balrok wandered between the boxes with unconcealed delight on his face.

“...Your Grace. What exactly are you doing?”

When Morris asked in a dubious tone, the old man, who had been humming to himself, whipped around. His skin was darkly tanned, as if he’d had one hell of a summer.

“I’m going to the capital.”

“What? All of a sudden?”

“Isn’t that Leviathan brat suddenly off on some business? I was already about to go blind from missing our little one, so this works out perfectly!”

Morris spotted a wooden crate tossed carelessly near the entrance. It was filled to the brim with acceleration magic tools. It seemed Leviathan had sent some ahead.

“Even if I leave right now, I’ll only just barely make it by the last day! We have to hurry!”

“So you’re packing for a trip to the capital right now? What about Lady Rosetta?”

“Mhm. Rose told me to go get some capital air and graciously yielded the chance to me! She says she’ll guard the house.”

...Somehow, that didn’t sound right.

Morris had a suspicious feeling about that, but chose not to point it out.

“Our little squirt must be dying to see her grandpa. I’ll hurry there, hop lightly over the Academy wall, and just pop in to show her my face.”

“Or—you could follow the proper visitation procedure instead of doing that. Your Grace, have you ever heard the word ‘dignity’?”

“What’s that?”

“It’s something Your Grace is supposed to maintain. Surprising, I know. And...”

Morris wiped the sweat from his forehead and sucked in a deep breath. Then he opened fire.

“How are you planning to carry all this? Even twenty horses couldn’t haul it all. I’ll make you a very generous concession—take exactly five things. Five. Please... have some dignity!”

“What? Five? Are you joking?”

“Have you ever once seen me joke?”

“No!”

“Hm? And what’s this now? A sword, a bow... good grief, why are you packing these? Are you going to war...? The young lady practically faints if they’re even brought near her!”

“They’re children’s ones! And our Ruby needs them to catch bugs. Heroically!”

What in the world are you talking about? Morris let out a long sigh.

At this point, there was only one tactic left.

“If Miss Rubian finds out you were late because you were packing baggage... what do you think she’ll say?”

Freeze.

As if by magic, the old Duke’s shoulders locked.

“Isn’t it possible our young lady would rather see her grandfather’s face than a pile of presents?”

“That’s... true, isn’t it? The real me is more precious, after all.”

Watching the corners of Balrok’s mouth twitch upward, Morris could only stare in disbelief. No, he knew the young lady was precious and adorable, but... weren’t the symptoms getting worse by the day?

As though he’d made up his mind, Balrok kicked the boxes away one after another.

“Fine! Clear it all out! Now that I think about it, I can just raid the shops in the capital! We leave at once. Coachman! Move!”

“No, why are we taking it that far now of all times? Wait a moment! I’m not even done preparing—”

Whoosh.

The old Duke vanished in a gust.

“Haha. Honestly, what an extreme man.”

Left alone, Morris smiled gently as he carefully wiped his forehead. Then he flung the handkerchief straight onto the floor.

“Ah, seriously! I want to go home from work!”

No—forget that.

He wanted to retire.

In any case, the carriage carrying the old Duke tore through the streets of Zelox as though it had grown wings.

As always, it was an insane rampage, and as always, the people saw Balrok off with calm faces.

“Open the gate!”

The gatekeeper jumped at the sight of the old Duke’s party charging forward in a cloud of dust, but, just as habitually, threw the gates open.

Then Balrok, sitting inside the carriage, waved a hand.

“Wait! Stop!”

Screeeech. The procession halted.

“What is it, Your Grace?”

One of the escort knights approached, and Balrok lifted his eyes lazily.

“Is Obron here?”

“Yes, he is.”

“Tell him to dispatch more knights to this wall. Autumn is always when this place causes the most trouble.”

“Ah, yes. Understood!”

The knight started to step back in a hurry, then tilted his head.

“But, Your Grace... intrusions by magical beasts have noticeably decreased lately. Even when they try to attack the wall, the moment they come within a certain range, they quickly lose strength and die.”

With a look of belated realization, he continued,

“That barrier from the stationed mage, or whatever it is, must be pretty impressive.”

“So that means you can slack off?”

“Ah—no, sir! I only meant you could travel with peace of mind!”

“Hmph. Let your guard down and it’ll cost you. If I come back and find even one scratch on that wall, we’re all taking a nice walk through the northern mountains together. Understood?”

“Y-yes, sir!”

Hearing the stiff reply, Balrok lowered the window without hesitation. The carriage surged forward again.

Inside the jolting carriage, Balrok asked Morris,

“...Do mages usually just throw up barriers like that?”

“Who knows? I’ve never once cared enough about what those bastards are capable of to wonder. Your Grace hasn’t either, has he?”

“That’s true.”

Balrok muttered under his breath.

Even in his youth, he’d never had much interest in abilities as slippery and irritating as magic, so he had nothing more to add.

The stationed mage who had moved residence to the North had offered to reinforce the walls against magical beast attacks.

Leviathan had reportedly been uneasy about letting some mage lay hands on the wall, but Rubian had seemed to want it for some reason, and after agonizing over it, he’d allowed it.

If Ruby wants it, we do it.

That tiny little thing had apparently hesitated and mumbled that magical beasts scared her—how could he not listen?

In fact, maybe she’d wanted to say it much sooner and had only been holding herself back the whole time. For some reason, that thought made his chest ache.

When she went to the wall before, she must have been frightened then too, when that magical beast suddenly appeared...

His thoughts drifted back to that mouthy little brat Khalid showing up.

Hm?

Balrok tilted his head.

But was our little squirt actually frightened back then?

The longer he lived with her, the more things he came to realize only afterward. Things he hadn’t noticed then, but suddenly understood now when he looked back.

When Rubian truly feared something—when it was something she genuinely wanted to avoid—she had a way of curling in on herself.

But what had she been like that time?

“No way!”

“My child! Don’t raise your head!”

Hadn’t she hesitated far less about staring beyond the wall...? Almost as if she’d sensed the magical beast’s presence. More than that, almost as if she’d been a little familiar with it.

“Tch. What nonsense.”

Balrok shook his head hard.

“Your Grace?”

“Go faster! If we don’t make it before our little squirt’s observation day, you’d better be ready for the consequences!”

He deliberately shouted the order and stretched his legs out with exaggerated force.

“I’m sleeping!”

Grrr, snore.

He could feel Morris letting out a dumbfounded breath beside him. Balrok ignored it and stubbornly kept his eyes shut.

What child gets used to magical beasts?

Rubian might have had a difficult upbringing, but surely she hadn’t been raised in an environment where dark creatures or magical beasts could become familiar to her.

Not unless she had been raised by that lunatic from the Magic Kingdom.

Damn it.

Balrok swallowed the curse.

Just thinking about that filthy mage bastard somehow soured his mood even further.

The carriage left the North as fast as Balrok’s temper.