Chapter 150: The Knight Hates Balls (5)

Lately, Pendragon Kingdom had experienced many troublesome incidents.

During the Academy’s midterm exam, a large-scale ‘monster raid’ terrorism shook the capital. Then, not long after that, the ‘Tunnel Collapse Incident’ occurred at the largest fertilizer production site in the Southern Continent.

One of them was big enough to shake the whole kingdom, yet two of such incidents occurred simultaneously. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that this was an ominous omen for a crisis which was yet to come.

However, despite all that, there were no signs of trouble in the kingdom whatsoever; proof that both incidents ended up without a hitch.

[Learn about the ‘hero’ who stopped the kingdom’s terrorism.]

[The princess performs a miracle!]

[Prince Arren’s bravery cleans the Tunnel.]

And many more such articles spread around the country.

The reason why the kingdom wasn’t in much turmoil even though two major events occurred simultaneously was because the damage it suffered wasn’t significant. Of course, internally, the higher-ups held a lot of meetings every day that involved shouting and screaming, but the people were enjoying their daily lives peacefully.

Perhaps thanks to that well-maintained peace…

“As expected of Pendragon. Their reputation as the Overlord of the South is not for nothing.”

“I concur. I heard they have been attacked by so many incidents lately.”

“Hehe, you believe in such nonsense? Those rumors about a thousand-year-old monster appearing and a giant Mother Worm collapsing the Tunnel?”

“…Certainly, those rumors are rather hard to believe. While I can’t be sure about a thousand-year-old monster, a single Mother Worm is a huge enough headache.”

“Of course. In the West, a worm has to be killed the moment they get discovered. An adult worm is a nightmare that no one wants to deal with, after all.”

The two men, sitting in a fancy carriage, could have such a conversation.

The carriage—plated with gold, decorated with various fancy-looking jewels—seemed to be something that even gold couldn’t buy. It was pulled by 5 black horses at once—not normal horses, but horses which were as expensive as a castle each.

In other words, the carriage was a giant money sink.

But, its owner was a wealthy man from the Western Continent who could afford spending that much money; he was one of the 17 sultans who ruled the Western Continent.

“Is there anything else you need, Sultan?”

“Bring the wine I just bought from the street vendor and chill it.”

“Pardon me, but drinking such a thing might tarnish your—”

“Tsk.”

“…As you command.”

Salah al-Adil Mohammed.

Or Sultan Salah.

He was a sultan who owned the largest oasis in the Western Continent, a huge gold vein, a gold mine, and even a huge merchant caravan.

His young and handsome appearance matched his copper-colored skin, and he had just turned 27 this year. Having acquired the position of sultan in his twenties, he was a man with a charisma that was no less than his arrogance of youth. Anyone who laid their eyes on him could tell, ‘This person is a bigwig!’.

“The quality of wine from the South isn’t bad no matter where you buy it from. Even wine from a random stall will still be good.”

“The fact that even the common people can easily buy wine of this quality means that the distribution of logistics is smooth.”

“It is the achievement of the God of War. What a great man he was. I’m curious, just how did he establish this kind of logistics system? Perhaps if we fight the Pendragon the West will lose just because of this kind of logistics supply.”

“Hmm, is it okay to say such a thing in front of me?”

“Why not? Are you not also interested in conquering Pendragon, Mage?”

“Let’s stop here, Sultan. Even if you say it like that, I won’t fall for it.”

“Don’t worry, you can be honest with me.”

The sultan spoke in an affectionate tone, as if he was freely pouring all of his feelings. But, the man wasn’t fooled. If anything, this just made him raise his guard even more.

“I appreciate your kindness greatly, but if you keep saying things like that, our journey will end here.”

“Oh my, I dare not offend a mage, ahahaha!”

Moreover, he stood firm.

“…”

In normal circumstances, the man would have been angry at such a frivolous and arrogant attitude, but the man in front of him was the sultan. He had to be careful about showing his feelings to the ‘17 Lords’ or ‘King’ of the West, so he suppressed his anger.

If I offend him, I’ll be the only one who’ll lose out.

Since the sultan was the one who supplied the rare materials that only existed in the West to the Magic Tower, he had to be careful with his words in front of him.

…I hope that this uncomfortable journey will end soon.

The man’s name was Hyui de Beiron.

He was the man who was designated as the successor to the Magic Tower, the ivory tower of mages.

“Turning your gaze outside now? What a boring man.”

Hyui barely suppressed a sigh and turned his gaze outside; to the crowd that was welcoming them warmly.

However, despite the crowd’s enthusiastic welcome…

“…”

His gaze only held coldness in it.

“You can tell from a glance that he’s a magic freak.”

“Yes?”

“Look at those eyes. Those aren’t human’s. Probably a goblin or a gnoll in a human mask.”

“…Master, don’t you think that’s a little…racist?”

“Maybe, yes.”

“Y-You admitted to it more easily than I thought…”

“Because I know that when a magic freak is involved, I’ll lose my shit completely. This is why your role here is important, Female Bear.”

“My…role?”

“Yes, if I get so angry and rush in to tear that thing up, you need to stop me. It’s a really, really important role.”

“I-I don’t think I can even do that…”

Levy’s blue violet-like eyes were filled with confusion. She wanted nothing more than to fulfill her dear master’s requests, but…

…When it comes to things related to mages, your fighting ability seems to increase even more, Master.

As expected of a talented person with the potential to become the Mercenary Queen, Levy understood the man’s power well. However, she didn’t say anything, just scratching her cheek while keeping her mouth shut.

At the same time, she also made a guess that her master would make another big incident this time.

The sultan of the West, and the successor of the Empire’s Magic Tower.

It had been about 50 years since those two forces visited the South at the same time. It was because they had been reluctant to visit due to the power of the God of War, but after he was out of the picture, it seemed like they had finally shown their true colors.

Some nobles were obviously uncomfortable about this, while others…

-It’s just a coincidence. They aren’t showing their disrespect to us by visiting us at this time.

They insisted that there was a clear reason for their visit.

Which was none other than…

“Would you like to greet them immediately, Miss Irene? Or would you rather wait until they personally visit you instead? Whichever it is, they said that they’ll accept it.”

“C-Can I just…not meet them at all…?”

This golden egg of a girl that could just turn into THE mage of the century representing the current era. They visited the kingdom to meet Irene Windler.

Diplomatically speaking, it would only be right for her to greet and welcome them, but…

“Hmm, if you say no, then I guess there’s nothing we can do.”

“??”

…I thought he called me here to his office to persuade me to meet them?

The dean gave up so easily, prompting Irene to blink her eyes in confusion, wondering what was going on.

“U-Um, S-Sir…? I know it’s strange for me to say this when I’m the one who said that I didn’t want to meet them, but… I-Is it okay for you to give up just like that? A-Aren’t they important guests from foreign countries…?”

[That’s right, if you pushed a little more, our Arin would agree to meet them! She’s that much of a pushover!]

‘Shut up!’

The ghost girl was right, even though Irene said she didn’t want to meet them, if the dean were to push it for a bit more, Irene would’ve gone along with it.

“You’re right. The successor of the Magic Tower and the sultan are definitely important guests of ours.”

The dean readily agreed with what the girl just said.

Both the Magic Tower and the sultan held powerful forces and authority in the Western Continent. If Pendragon dared to be rude to them, it would turn into a great diplomatic loss, and could easily create a bad atmosphere between their countries.

However…

“But, you aren’t just a common noble lady, you’re the ‘Princess of Galahad’. If the Princess of Galahad says no, what kind of lunatic would dare to force her?”

“…”

“I don’t know how to say this, but I also don’t want to turn His Excellency the Duke into an enemy. He’s an extremely terrifying person when he holds a grudge…”

The dean shook his body in an exaggerated manner, as if expressing goosebumps, while Irene could only stare at him dumbfoundedly.

“There’s something you are scared of, Dean, no, Prime Minister?”

Someone who’s still holding a great power even after retirement is scared of something?

“Former Prime Minister. Although, even if I’m still the Prime Minister, I still wouldn’t dare to offend him. I saw him in his younger days, and I know that it’s 100 times better to turn the sultan and the Magic Tower into enemies than to turn him into one.”

“…”

That was when Irene realized how much stronger than she expected the power of Galahad, the power she didn’t want to have anything to do with, was. Though she could only feel a fraction of it, she could feel the power of the family that sly old man had cultivated all this time.

As she felt that way, the Dean…

“In any case, Miss Irene, you should do whatever you want. If you want to meet them, let me know the time and place, and the Academy will try its best to accommodate you.”

“…You’re trying to pressure me aren’t you, Dean?”

“Hehehe. How can that be!”

“…”

…He’s similar to that sly old man.

Even though he said so, the pressure in his eyes was clearly apparent.

Maybe it’s time…

Irene decided to make a Buster Call.

“That’s the gist of it. What should I do, Instructor?”

“You’re asking me?”

“The only adult I can trust is you, Instructor.”

“Flattery.”

“I’m serious here, Instructor!”

In the end, feeling burdened by the events that were happening to her, Irene chose to consult with Lee Han.

The moment Lee Han heard it…

Perfect timing.

He was surprised, but it was somewhat welcoming news. For him, who already had business to settle with the Magic Tower, he’d welcome an easier way to approach them.

However…

“…Do whatever you want.”

“Huh?”

“You probably want to refuse this because you found the situation burdensome, but at the same time, you don’t want this matter to spread and disturb the other cadets, right?”

“U-Um…”

His answer shocked her. She felt as if he had seen right through her.

“Don’t worry, the damage they could do is minimal. If anything, those guys are the guests; they are the ones who should tread carefully, not you. Just don’t worry about it. Besides, you’d rather take a nap and eat dessert rather than meet those guys, no?”

“Ah!”

That remark accurately expressed what was on Irene’s mind, as if he had seen through it. If he told her to sign up for insurance or something right now, she would probably fall for it.

“Stop overreacting.”

This was a rare warm piece of advice from him; an advice that was devoid of his bias against mages. However, it was only natural. Though the chick was a mage, she was also one of his disciples.

She’s my disciple, not just a magic freak! She’s my disciple, not just a magic freak!

He had brainwashed himself.

Although he still felt some resistance, he accepted the fact that she was a disciple he’d need to teach. Because of that, he tried his best to avoid his biased views and spared no advice for her.

Anyone who knew of his hatred for mages would know just how much effort he put into giving that advice.

…However, his consideration turned out to be meaningless.

“Unfortunately, Miss Irene, they’re one step ahead of you… They are a little bit more cunning than we expected.”

“Levy?”

Levy, who interrupted their conversation, gave Irene a pitiful expression.

“This is the newspaper that just came out. Judging from the article, they’re pulling all the stops just to meet you, Miss Irene. It isn’t illegal, but it’s rather childish.”

“…Maybe I should consider calling that greasy old man.”

Irene made a disgusted expression, as if she had met a stalker, as she read the newspaper.

That was an understandable reaction though, after all…

[Hyui and Sultan expressed their desire to visit the Academy, which housed the buds of geniuses in Pendragon. They announced that they’d attend the Academy Ball on the full moon. The royal family also showed great generosity by-]

They came up with such a cunning way just to meet her.

“What did I tell you? They have no conscience.”

“…Yes.”

Lee Han made such a comment the moment he read the article. Meanwhile Levy, the only one who knew what he was trying to say, nodded her head in agreement without realizing it…

Huh? Wait…

“Ball, huh? Hmm, can teachers participate in that?”

“…Oh no.”

The possibility of her master tearing apart the successor of the Magic Tower crossed Levy’s mind, and in that instant, her face immediately turned pale.

Then, she remembered that he trusted her to be his brake to prevent him from losing control.