[V7C2] A Trusted Man
Translated by Jodas 7: To the NorthHütter ran as fast as he could, appearances be damned.
This was bad. Very bad. No matter how he thought of it, this was a ‘Don’t you think this reflects poorly on your oversight as an Instructor, you~? (By Director Hegelich)’ situation.
When it came to this, all he could do was apologize. His only option was to take the initiative, apologize, and try to play up his sincere intentions as an educator.
(Come onnnnn, hang in there, my legs!)
He ran up the stairs two steps at a time. His middle-aged ankle and hip joints creaked with every step. Painfully.
By the time the conference room came into view, the door was already opened, giving him a glimpse of a black-haired beauty in a man’s uniform.
Sevil’s thundering voice reverberated into the halls.
“A pleasure to make your acquaintance, Your Highness Prince Axel. I am Adelheid Sevil Lamea Krewing — The very Barbarian Sword Princess whose mother hails from the Grassland Nation of Torgai that you were scheduled to wed.”
He was too late! No, wait, he could still salvage this! Never give up! Fight on, Smoke Fox!
Hütter dove into the conference room and jumped in front of Sevil, hiding her behind his back.
“Ah~ Excuse me, excuse me! I’m very sorry for the disturbance!”
As Hütter spoke loudly, he felt numerous glares staring daggers at him. Director Hegelich’s stare in particular was terrifying. He could already see veins popping out from his temple.
First thing’s first, he had to check to see who was present, then assess who held power over whom.
With that in mind, he made sure to bow to Prince Axel, the guest, and Assistant Headmaster Miriam, the highest authority present.
“I am terribly sorry about all this. This is all due to my failure to keep an eye on my students. Please accept my humblest apologies!!”
After holding his bow for an even three seconds, he spun around to face Sevil.
Then, with the best ‘strict teacher face’ he could manage, he lectured her.
“Sevil, while you’re here, you’re an Apprentice Mage. I don’t care who you are or where you came from, so long as you’re my student, you will do as I say. Go back to class.”
…He hoped that those present would respond well to him acting like a proper teacher. Besides, at times like this, Sevil was surprisingly receptive to getting a stern talking-to.
As expected, Sevil seemed impressed as she looked at Hütter.
“Not bad, Mr. Hütter. I wish those sniveling palace tutors could learn a thing or two from you. I give you passing marks as a teacher of mine.”
“…How about let’s not stand here grading our teachers, okay? Come on now, back to class with you.”
Hütter waved his hand back and forth, gesturing for her to scurry off, to which Sevil shook her head.
“My apologies, but I have business with Prince Axel. I imagine you have something you’d like to say as well, don’t you?”
As she said ‘you,’ Sevil shifted her glance over towards the man with pale blond hair who stared towards them with a sharp glare through his glasses.
… No, he wasn’t staring at ‘them,’ his glare was directed solely at Sevil.
Hütter raced to connect the dots in his mind.
(So that’s the Prince Axel that Sevil was supposed to marry… He’s the reason Sevil launched her failed coup d’état and ran away.)
What interested him most was what Sevil had said earlier. She said ‘A pleasure to make your acquaintance, Your Highness Prince Axel.’ Which implied that Sevil and Axel hadn’t even met each other before.
It was not unusual in aristocratic society for two complete strangers to be betrothed to one another. However, what was more intriguing was Axel’s reaction.
(No matter how you look at it, he doesn’t seem favorable towards her… Actually, I think I’m starting to get a picture of what went on behind their engagement now…)
The question was: did Axel’s visit to the Wedge Tower have anything to do with Hütter’s mission?
(From what I heard at the meeting with the other Instructors this morning, apparently Monsters have occupied the Darwock Royal Palace…)
Hütter’s mission was simply ‘investigating the reason why the Wedge Tower cut off ties with the previous Emperor.’
Most likely, this matter with Axel had little if anything to do with that… But, since he hadn’t been able to make much progress in his original investigation so far, he would appreciate any information that could help keep his head attached to his neck.
Basically, if the Black Lion Emperor complained, he would say ‘I haven’t gotten anywhere with my mission, but here’s some information about Darwock and Prince Axel, so please give me more time, okay?♡’ to try and keep him happy.
(If possible, I would love to hear the discussion here, but… in the name of pleasing the upper echelons of the Wedge Tower, it would look much better if I convinced Sevil to leave the room. Now, how am I going to pull that off…)
As Hütter worried, Assistant Headmaster Miriam quietly announced:
“I do not mind, I will permit Apprentice Mage Sevil to sit in on this meeting. Instructor Hütter, as her Instructor, please take a seat alongside her.”
(Hell yeah! I’m in luck!)
Hütter secretly clenched his fist in celebration. Meanwhile, Prince Axel made a bitter face.
Well, that was only natural. From his perspective, he was probably thinking ‘Who the heck is this guy?’
Axel asked in a voice filled with doubt.
“…Is this individual someone to be trusted?”
He was on the money there. After all, he was looking at a con man… But, a Hütter whispered such things in his mind, Assistant Headmaster Miriam spoke decisively.
“The Dream Mage Caspar Hütter is a trustworthy individual.”
At Assistant Headmaster Miriam’s words, the atmosphere in the room shifted. The other Spiremasters and Directors all turned to Hütter with surprise evident in their eyes.
That said, Protection Office Director Böll, who knew Hütter, made a face that seemed to want to say ‘I expected nothing less from Mr. Hütter.’ Meanwhile, Old Man Kappel of the Management Office started to whistle, prompting Spiremaster Alto to elbow him in the side.
On the face of it, Hütter was ‘A Modern mage who was sent by the Mage Association.’ Of course it would be strange for such a person to earn Miriam’s trust.
The most surprised of anyone was Director Hegelich, whose eyes looked as if they were about to fall out of their sockets. His exaggerated reaction was actually quite reassuring.
As shocked eyes focused on him, Hütter fell into thought.
(Did Assistant Headmaster Miriam like those honey candies that much…?)
It was a good thing he stopped by a somewhat pricier store with good reviews, then. Thank you, honey candy!
Swearing to himself to keep those candies on him from now on, Hütter took a seat on the end of the conference table alongside Sevil.
The conference room was still in an uproar that showed no signs of settling down.
Nevertheless, Axel wasted no time to open his mouth.
“…Why are you here at the Wedge Tower, Your Highness Princess Adelheid? Could it be that you had foreseen the intrusion of Monsters into our Palace?”
In response to Axel’s low, deliberate words, Sevil tossed her black hair to the side, brimming with confidence.
Her gorgeous face smiled, no, sneered at him.
“It appears you misunderstand, my friend from the North. I am merely here to study magecraft.”
(Oh, thank goodness… She at least has enough common sense not to say ‘I ran away from home because I didn’t want to marry you.’)
The second he thought that, Sevil puffed out her chest and declared:
“After all, my brother was trying to force an engagement on me. I found it distasteful, so I left the household of my own accord.”
The air in the room became even more tense than before.
Sevil would not dare constrain her aura, while Axel stared daggers at her.
Anyone could tell at a glance that neither of them viewed the other favorably.
Axel’s fists trembled. An unconstrained anger shone through on his gaunt, exhausted face.
“How dare you say such things so lightly… When it is because of you running from the engagement that my father strayed from the path!”
Sevil’s shapely eyebrows shot up.
(…She must be offended by him accusing her of ‘running away.’)
Before Sevil could retort, Spiremaster Abel, a master of reading the room, cut in with a gentle question.
“Has something happened to His Majesty, King Valdemar?”
“My father… His Majesty, King Valdemar of Darwock has fallen into madness…”
Axel held his head in his hands and spoke with a voice so painful it sounded as if he was about to start vomiting blood.
“Having failed to welcome a Krewing into the family, His Majesty sought to create a new state religion. In doing so, he sold his soul to Monsters!”