It seemed that the girl in the white robe, Felmenia, was just as surprised by this sudden outburst as Reiji was. She called to Titania in a fluster, and it was only then that she seemed to realize what she’d said. The princess then let go of his hand as she blushed a little.
“Goodness… You have my deepest apologies, Hero-sama. I of all people shouldn’t be acting so impertinently in a situation like this… Well, now then, I believe His Majesty the King will explain things in the audience chamber, so please give us your reply then.”
“U-Understood.”
Still caught in the vortex of confusion, Reiji somehow managed to collect himself and offer an acceptable answer. Felmenia then took a step forward towards him.
“H-Hero-sama, allow me to introduce myself once more. My name is Felmenia Stingray.”
“Ah, yes. It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance.”
“I believe we’ll be seeing a lot of each other from here on. It’s an honor to work with you. I’ll be in your hands as well.”
“What? Oh, yes, of course…”
Felmenia nonchalantly echoed the princess’s sentiment as she bowed, and Reiji replied politely despite not really grasping what was going on. Titania, however, cleared her throat in a rather forced fashion.
“Ahem, White Flame-dono…”
“M-My apologies. I’m getting ahead of myself.”
“Now then, please come this way, you all. I will personally show you to His Majesty.”
At Titania’s command, the soldiers once again fell into line and opened a path for Suimei and the others.
★
After following the soldiers down an unfamiliar and gloomy passage for a ways, the group emerged from the dimly lit stone hallway into a bright and dazzling marble passage with ornamental candlesticks dotted along the walls. Unlike where they’d been previously, this area was elaborately decorated and neatly kept. Here and there were works of art, paintings, and ornamental suits of armor that gave the place a truly splendid atmosphere. It was unlike anything they’d ever seen before.
But that was perhaps to be expected—this was another world. It truly seemed to be one of fantasy, swords, and sorcery. But from what he’d seen of it and its people so far, Suimei had already formed some rather strong opinions.
Apart from the unnamed soldiers who were escorting them, they’d met two young women—a princess and a court mage. Titania, perhaps because of the charming impression he’d made on her, was walking with Reiji and talking to him nonstop. She’d started by asking about the world he’d come from, and then moved on to asking about his age and his specialties. Her high spirits and incessant chatter made her look like a girl walking together with a boy she had fallen in love with. Suimei was a little jealous.
Mizuki was too, albeit for different reasons. It wasn’t like she was Reiji’s girlfriend, but out of all the girls he knew, she was definitely the closest thing. It was certainly what she wanted to be. And now a beautiful girl—a princess, no less—had suddenly jumped in the way and was vying for his attention. It didn’t really show on her face, but Mizuki was pretty down about it.
But then there was the second girl, Court Mage Felmenia.
“Do you need something?”
“No, nothing in particular.”
For a while now, Felmenia had been glancing back at Suimei, staring in particular at his abdomen. Suimei finally shot back with a question in a slightly sharp tone, but Felmenia simply turned back around like it was nothing and stayed that way. In his mind, Suimei let out a groan.
Was it a failure to keep my magicka on standby? From the looks of it, I’m guessing she saw through me and knows I can use magicka now…
It was one blunder after another for Suimei, it seemed. Right now, he just wanted to dig a hole to hide in, but he knew he’d never get away with that.
The existence of magicka and magicians was a secret in the world Suimei came from. It had to be. In the modern era where science was king, magicka was considered heresy. The zeitgeist made sure to stamp out anything that might stand to dethrone science, and that included magicka. But in this world, how were its users regarded? This girl who called herself a court mage was walking alongside a princess who was clearly her social superior, but it was hard to tell what her standing was otherwise.
Outright using magicka would be a quick and easy way to get the answers Suimei wanted, but it was a bad idea. He didn’t want to out himself to Reiji and Mizuki like that. And it was exactly because he wanted to keep them in the dark about his talents that his first priority now was finding a way to keep Felmenia from talking. He would have to think of some countermeasures.
“Here we are. This is the audience chamber. His Majesty awaits, so let us go forth.”
Titania indicated the door they’d arrived at. It looked large enough that even giants could pass through it, not to mention how extravagant and grandiose it was. One of the soldiers who had been attending them called out to another guard stationed at the door. The porter then muttered something, and before long, the door slowly began opening.
“Whoa!”
“Huh?!”
Reiji and Mizuki both gasped when they saw it. It was undoubtedly a surprise to them to see a door opening unassisted. The porter wasn’t touching it, and it certainly didn’t look like an automated door. Not having any idea what was afoot, Reiji asked Titania about it.
“H-How did it open?”
“…With magic? Was it to your liking?”
“Ah, I see, there’s magic here, huh?”
“‘Here?’”
“Magic doesn’t exist in our world, you see.”
“Is that true?!”
“Yes.”
“That must mean this is your first time seeing it, is it not?”
Seemingly pleased by how impressed Reiji sounded, Titania was grinning ear to ear. Felmenia, however, seemed to be panicking a little. She quickly began to assert herself to Reiji.
“I-I can accomplish such a mean feat with ease.”
“Really?”
“Despite how I may look, I am one of Astel’s proud court mages, after all.”
“Wow, Felmenia-san is also amazing, huh?”
“W-Well… Heehee…”
It was difficult to tell if Reiji was genuinely impressed or if he was just being polite, but Felmenia suddenly became bashful. Was she weak to flattery? Perhaps anyone would be if the summoned hero praised their skills. The disparity between her normally intense aura and the carefree smile on her face now was amusing, if not charming. On the other hand, Mizuki’s eyes were still sparkling at the sight of the enormous door opening.
“Amazing… So magic really does exist…”
It seemed she was quite interested in the bigger picture. But as a girl who loved fantasy novels, that much was expected. This was right up her alley.
Suimei was paying attention to the magic as well, but as a magician, he was naturally more invested in the details than Mizuki was. He hadn’t quite heard the chant that the porter had used, but he easily had a handle on the spell’s composition, the deployment of the formula, the manifestation of its power, and the activation effect.
Wind, right?
What opened the door was simple magic—a wind spell that consisted of three verses, which had physically pushed the door to open it. The porter’s control over the spell was splendidly fluent. He must have been an exemplary magician, but…