Oh, I see how it is...
“Um, what does he mean?” the girl whispered to me.
And I bet you don’t want me to answer her, right? I glanced over at Headmaster Uther, who shot us both a grin.
“Sumire, welcome to Lykeion Magic Academy. We welcome you, reincarnator from another world!”
The girl gave him a blank stare, mouth agape. “Huh?”
Apparently, the girl I’d found in the Last Dungeon was a true rarity—a wanderer from another world. “Reincarnator” was the umbrella term for anyone who hailed from a world separate from ours. Apparently, they often received excessively powerful blessings during the transportation process, which meant it was common for them to reincarnate as special beings here. This was my first time meeting one. In fact, most of the people in the courthouse had likely never set eyes on a reincarnator until now.
“Heh heh heh, it’s been too long since our last visitor from another world. I look forward to chatting with her.”
Judging by his words, Sumire wasn’t the first reincarnator Headmaster Uther had met. That made sense. Though no one knew his actual age, rumors had it that he’d been the headmaster of Lykeion Magic Academy for the past two hundred years. I couldn’t even imagine how many things he’d seen and experienced in that time.
“Please, hold on a moment! The first person who attempted to rescue her was an explorer from the Blue Sea Union! Doesn’t that mean we have the right to her?” the juror from the Union exclaimed.
Uh, didn’t you say you wanted to treat her as a guinea pig or weapon earlier? The girl named Sumire hid behind me, looking anxious.
The headmaster rubbed his chin. “Hmm, the first people to discover Sumire tried to assault her. Or are you talking about the ones who shot arrows at her? Yes, you’re right that those explorers hailed from the Blue Sea Union, but can we really say their purpose was to ‘rescue’ her?”
“W-Well, that’s...”
“And if you wish to take her in, you will have to pay for both the damages resulting from the fire she started and the restoration efforts to follow. Could you remind me how much all that costs?” He’d aimed the question at the secretary next to him.
“We haven’t finished with our calculations, but we believe costs will exceed five billion gold.”
“F-Five billion?!” the juror squeaked.
“We’ve asked all the higher-ranking mages in the dungeon city to help with the restoration efforts. That’s the cost if we wish to pay them a fair wage,” the secretary explained.
“So? What do you think?” the headmaster asked.
“N-Never mind,” the juror from the Union sighed, letting his shoulders slump.
The next person to complain was the juror from the Holy Alliance. “King Uther! What about her crime as a Dungeon Destroyer?! She damaged God’s holy creation. Her punishment must be severe!”
“Oh? Have you forgotten? ‘We must care for wanderers from other worlds.’ Isn’t that what the scriptures from the Holy God say?”
“Y-Yes, but...”
“She’s not the evil demon you fear she is. She’s an Ifrit, as I said—a member of an ancient race. Not only that, but she’s just arrived in this world, and what happened was an unfortunate accident caused by her ignorance. Fortunately, none of the explorers died or received any injuries. Shouldn’t we listen to the scriptures and approach this matter with more magnanimous hearts?”
“V-Very well.” The juror from the Holy Alliance stepped down as well.
“No one died or received injuries?” Sumire murmured from next to me.
“Is something the matter?” I asked, and she shook her head.
“N-No! It’s nothing!”
Was she worried about something?
“Your Majesty, Eugene Santafield is an imperial citizen. If he was the one who rescued her from the dungeon, then the empire has an obligation to help her, does it not?” asked the teacher from the empire, who’d remained silent this entire time.
An imperial citizen must always strive for the empire’s prosperity. That must have been the ethos motivating his statement. In the beginning, he hadn’t seemed terribly interested in the proceedings, but after learning that the girl was both an otherworlder and an Ifrit, he must have realized that he had to do something.
Headmaster Uther stroked his beard as he pondered the juror’s words. “Fair point. In that case, I appoint Eugene as Sumire’s guardian. The academy will shoulder the cost of repairing the fire damage. As for what happens to Sumire from now on, I would like for her to decide for herself. Is that all right with you?”
“It is; I agree with your decision,” the teacher replied, making no attempt to gainsay the headmaster.
In the dungeon city, King Uther’s word was law. None would dare go against it. In other words, both Sumire’s fate and my own were already decided.
Me? Her guardian? I glanced over at Sumire and realized she was watching me as well. Without meaning to, I met her large eyes, which were regarding me with worry.
“All right, you heard me, Eugene,” said Headmaster Uther. “I’m leaving her in your care. Don’t look so worried! You can come to me any time you run into trouble.”
“Uh, sure,” I said with a nod. The situation just continued to develop without any input from either of us.
I looked once more at the girl beside me, and my heart skipped a beat. Considering all that had happened, I’d never gotten a good look at her. Now that I did, I realized she was very cute. She had big eyes, peach-colored lips, and shiny flaxen hair. The skin visible through the slits in her robes was smooth and pale. I’d thought this when I first met her in the dungeon, but... She’s a really beautiful girl.
Was that because she was a reincarnator from another world? Or because she was one of the Ifrits, a unique race? Or perhaps she herself was special? No, stop thinking about such trivial matters. First, I have to get to know her better.
“I guess we’ll be seeing a lot of each other. I’m Eugene Santafield,” I said, extending a hand.
“I’m, um, Sumire. I’ll be in your care.” She slowly and nervously reached out to hold it.
And that was how the task of caring for Miss Sumire, the Ifrit and reincarnator from another world, fell into my lap.