The Prelude (2)

To be frank, I do not purposefully turn a blind eye and deaf ear.

No, I am perhaps more attuned to my surroundings than most others.

As a mage, my profession necessitates remaining abreast of academic trends and research papers. I must also remain vigilant for any suspicious Demonic Tribe activities.

“So… regarding these shadows. Even if trivial, do you happen to know anything more?”

“About four years ago, I received an invitation to join a rather dubious group. However, after declining twice, the solicitations ceased.”

That would have been around when Freugne was fifteen years old.

What was I doing at that age? Simply studying, if I recall correctly. Yet she was simultaneously involved in a shadow cabal affair?

“But that was quite some time ago. Why mention it only now…?”

“At the time, I assumed it was merely an attempt to establish a minor cartel for financial gain.”

“How did you deduce that the group from four years ago is the same as the one currently arousing suspicion?”

“Similar occurrences befell those around me. Has anything of that nature happened to you as well?”

“Um… no, I haven’t heard anything like that.”

While Professor Magni had been aware earlier, I now understood why I alone had remained oblivious until recently.

Freugne’s intervention was the only plausible explanation. It seemed my obliviousness was not to blame after all.

“However, I have recently uncovered several indications that this is no mere group. Shall I provide an example? Where was I…”

“My apologies for the interruption – please, have some coffee. I also have cookies baked just yesterday.”

Just as the professor was about to divulge more, Freugne quietly entered the room.

“Freugne, you’ve grown so much.”

“Heheh, long time no see.”

Considering whom the professor had been discussing moments earlier, the timing was rather uncanny.

Observing the peculiar scene with a sense of bemusement, Professor Magni seemed to deem the subject inappropriate for Freugne’s presence, promptly steering the conversation towards more mundane matters.

“I hear you’ll be graduating next year. A busy time, no doubt.”

“Oh, you were aware?”

“Your father incessantly reminds me to remember, so forcefully at that.”

“Heheh……”

“So have you given any thought to your plans after graduation?”

“Well, if I can’t think of anything, I suppose I’ll just get married.”

“Come to think of it, you did mention baking these cookies yourself. Whoever marries you will be a truly fortunate man.”

“…! I certainly hope so?”

The digressive conversation only resumed as the professor prepared to depart.

Leaving the room, Professor Magni lowered his voice in a hushed aside:

“…In any case, be cautious. They may approach you soon as well.”

“I shall remain vigilant.”

The professor briefly studied my expression with a contemplative air before departing with a casual wave.

I promptly dismissed any lingering thoughts about what he might have been pondering. It was likely inconsequential.

Closing the door, I prepared to receive my next guest.

---

Professor Magni was an exceptionally capable individual.

A mage’s competence lies in analyzing provided information and deriving conclusions – a skill he excelled at.

Moreover, his renown enabled him to gather higher-quality intelligence than most within Londinium.

And from his well-informed perspective…

No matter how he examined the situation, his own disciple appeared to be involved in this shadow cabal.

“Could that too have been an act?”

The departing professor muttered quietly.

Ordinarily, the more extensive one’s trail, the likelier it is to be discovered.

Londinium, the Glasgow Kingdom, and realms beyond – with so many sectors under her influence, observers were bound to take notice eventually.

Of course, Freugne’s case was somewhat unique.

Her trail, formidable as it was, few possessed the temerity to tread upon a 10-meter anaconda’s tail so recklessly.

Any attempt at casual investigation would swiftly reveal potentially unpleasant consequences. So perhaps it would be more accurate to state her trail had been glimpsed rather than stepped upon.

Yet while none would dare tap-dance atop the serpent’s plump coils, observing its head from a safe distance remained feasible.

The organization Freugne currently presided over closely mirrored such a scenario.

“I wonder where our leader’s true intentions lie. Truthfully, I’d like to meet and converse with them directly.”

“As if I would know. I am unaware of their identity myself. And do not dare attempt to uncover it – you may only invite harm upon yourself.”

“But I am curious……”

“Even if you wished to discover their identity, it would prove exceedingly difficult. Best to simply abandon the endeavor.”

Indeed, there were scant clues to deduce the leader’s identity.

Hence, most members had relinquished that pursuit, with even the partially-informed like Carno perceiving Edan as a trusted lieutenant or prospective executive.

“Might Lord Norton be aware, perchance?”

“I cannot provide a definitive answer. However, there is one individual I suspect.”

“Could you perhaps offer a slight hint…?”

“And risk severe repercussions? There is a reason their identity remains undisclosed – a tacit instruction to feign ignorance.”

However, the select few privy to the innermost workings, like Lord Norton, had concluded that Edan himself was the leader.

The members Freugne had directly recruited were fundamentally rational and pragmatic individuals.

The very means of recruitment – money, prestige, power – necessitated a highly logical disposition. Coupled with the prudence to curtail curiosity that could only prove detrimental.

And such pragmatic individuals did not entertain the fanciful notion of an ordinary-seeming high school girl serving as the shadow cabal’s supreme leader.

Having learned of Edan’s near-fatal experience in Antrim, Lord Norton discreetly approached under the pretense of well-wishing and offering continued patronage, arranging transportation to a restaurant.

And the scene that greeted the nobleman, following Professor Magni’s audience, was this:

“You overheard the professor’s remark earlier, did you not?”

“I did.”

“Ah, the person marrying me will truly be a blessed individual.”

“……”

They were simply engaged in courtship.

As a rational man, the marquess could not possibly conclude that an “adopted daughter was attempting to devour her father.”

He would sooner believe the nefarious Edan had instilled an unhealthy dependence within the besotted Freugne.

Conversely, barring the select few deeply privy to the truth, like Sif and Ulr, this was the ultimate conclusion most would inevitably reach – unless one was an insider.

That an outsider like the professor could accumulate and deduce such insight spoke volumes about his prodigious capabilities.

Truthfully, Magni still struggled to fully accept this reality.

The Edan he remembered had indeed been an exceptionally capable mage, but hardly a born leader or someone prone to unorthodox conduct.

He had not struck the professor as one to engage in dubious activities.

Granted, there had been instances of seemingly aberrant speech or behavior, but those were exceptions within an otherwise unremarkable existence.

Yet if there was one aspect Magni could concede, it was this:

Edan was undoubtedly no ordinary human.

Whether innate magical prowess or an intrinsic quirk, Edan’s destiny diverged from the commonplace – especially during these tumultuous times.

Moreover, Magni himself had closely observed Edan from his early teens for over a decade – much as Edan had with Freugne.

Consequently, he possessed a reasonable familiarity with Edan’s mannerisms and reactions when being deceptive or evasive – the very basis for his newly cemented suspicions after their latest exchange.

‘How ought I to proceed?’

As a mentor, should his disciple veer onto an unseemly path, it behooved him to provide guidance.

Yet whenever he attempted to offer sincere counsel, something impeded those well-intentioned words from fully forming.

It was not trepidation about potential retaliation – he was too old to entertain such fears.

Pausing briefly in his tracks to ponder, the professor soon recognized the source of his hesitance.

An angel and demon manifested upon his shoulders, engaged in discourse:

‘Should parliament not maintain its independence? Implore him to desist, even now.’

‘No, that could imperil the unity we have forged to combat the Demonic Tribe.’

‘And how can you be certain an uninvolved parliament would not fare better?’

‘Given parliament’s track record of gridlock thus far…?’

Sensing the waning of its advantage, the demon addressed him with renewed urgency:

‘Awaken, Magni! We shall revert to that perpetually debating, deadlocked parliament engulfed in endless discourse. The recently enacted factory regulations and free education – mere phantasms only made possible through external intervention! Awaken, Magni! The improved labor conditions, reduced child labor fatalities – all can be undone! Awaken-‘

For he had yet to fully comprehend the error of his ways.

Shaking his head to dislodge the insidious demon, Magni resolved, for the present, to simply observe.

Allegations of collusion with the Demonic Tribe seemed unfounded, given their prior assault upon him. While the government exhibited a pro-Ceres Martop stance, it hardly suggested an overt attempt to seize control of the Kingdom.

Perhaps this path proved preferable after all.

The very parliament that would have dithered endlessly over budgets and economic minutiae had forged an unprecedented consensus regarding the looming war against the Demonic Tribe.

And true to that proclamation, a conscription decree soon followed:

[Mercenary Recruitment Notice]

[Basic Requirements]

• • Possessing a healthy physique

 

• • Imbued with the resolve to fight for humanity

 

• • Fundamental understanding of magic

[Preferred Qualifications]

• • Prior military service records (earned merits)

 

• • Proficiency in offensive magic (earned merits)

Accompanied by an announcement heavily implying imminent clashes with the Demonic Tribe.