Disheartened after Layce’s interference, Kieran, the grandmaster, and the cardinal exited. This left only Yui, Bernard, Alexis, Filiel, and Gaius in the room.
“You said earlier that no organization would go out of its way to protect one specific young girl,” Bernard said to Yui.
“Yes, I did,” Yui replied.
“Well, if you were to work for the government, it certainly would be impossible to give you special treatment, even though you are the daughter of a count. But, if you married a member of the royal family, that would put you among royalty. Royalty have guards and round-the-clock protection. Very few fools would try to lay their hands on you.”
Yui felt a trace of Theodore in Bernard’s mischievous smile. Though she’d kept her cool earlier, she was greatly shaken by what he said. “R-Regarding that matter, I believe I’ve properly conveyed my refusal to the person in question...”
“I never said I gave up,” Filiel said nonchalantly, driving Yui further into a corner.
Yui wanted to loudly protest, but she couldn’t do anything in front of the king that might be seen as disrespectful to royalty. She just shot Filiel a reproachful look, begging him to shut up.
“Well then, I suppose Filiel will just have to work harder,” Bernard said.
“Yes, leave it to me, father.”
Yui couldn’t stand the warm looks everyone was giving her. The details of the complicated relationship between her and Filiel—he had proposed to her, but she had turned him down—had even made their way to the king. Filiel was a prince, so getting married would require Bernard’s consent, both as king and as his father. In that case, it was probably only natural that Bernard knew. But Yui still felt embarrassment welling up inside her.
“Um!” Yui felt herself blushing slightly, and she changed the topic. “The fact that I’m still here means that Your Majesty has some sort of business for me, yes?” She wanted to do what she could to move away from all the marriage talk.
There was a huge contrast between her current, shyer demeanor and the way she had confidently spoken with some of Garlant’s most powerful people just a short while ago. This made not only Bernard but even Alexis and Gaius want to burst into laughter.
“Hm, that’s right,” Bernard said. “Actually, we found an issue with the formula you gave me, and I wanted to ask you a question.”
“Was there a mistake in the data I provided?” Yui asked. “Everything should be correct.” Those who studied magic on their own, like Yui, often had idiosyncrasies in the magic formulas they created. Additionally, every time researchers wrote down their work on paper, they often recorded a part of it in code to prevent their results from being plagiarized. As such, they were the only ones who could understand it. However, when Yui had handed over all of her materials, she had fixed the formula so it would make sense to anyone. There shouldn’t have been an issue. She sifted through her memories, trying to remember whether she had overlooked something.
“No, there were no problems with the materials you gave us. The issue is finding a person who can use them.”
Yui didn’t understand what he meant, and she tilted her head, puzzled.
“I had someone in the army who is excellent at magical manipulation use the spell, but it didn’t go well,” Bernard explained. It had been the blue commander, who was reputed for his ability to manipulate magic, even in the royal palace.
After Yui had healed Alexis at the palace, the commander had learned of the spell she’d used to suppress one’s magic energy. He had tried to meet with her, but Layce had prevented him from getting close. Even after that, he had been patiently waiting for an opportunity, but by then, the king’s strict order not to speak of Yui had come down. For a man who was pretty much ruled by his thirst for knowledge, this had been unacceptable, and he’d raised quite a stink. Bernard had already been looking for someone with the skill necessary to cast the spell, so he’d told the blue commander about it to satisfy him.
However, even though the commander was one of the best at magical manipulation in the palace, he hadn’t been able to successfully cast the spell. Yui had cast it like it was nothing, so Bernard hadn’t expected the commander to struggle as much as he had. He and Alicia had been sorely disappointed when they’d learned of the commander’s failure; Alexis had been even more upset, since he hadn’t gotten the opportunity to be a subject of the spell due to his poor physical condition at the time.
“How were you able to acquire such a knack for magical manipulation?” Bernard asked Yui. “If possible, I’d like to know your secret.”
Yui didn’t know what to say. She couldn’t really explain it. “I’m a Liefe, so might it be because I’ve focused my studies on magical control from a young age in order to handle nonelemental magic,” she suggested. She had been truly young when she’d begun to study and use magic. Normally, people first learned magic when they entered elementary school, but Yui had started training to use difficult-to-handle magic at a much earlier age. Perhaps this was why she could use magic at such an advanced level. After all, young children had a greater propensity for learning new things.
“If that were true, it should’ve been possible for Filiel,” Bernard said. “My father strictly instructed him in magical control from a very young age—practically since Filiel could speak in complete sentences. But even he couldn’t cast the spell.”
Bernard was right—if age were all that mattered, then Filiel, who had begun training to control his magic earlier than anyone, would’ve been second to none. His early start had been necessary; he had broken things around him simply by crying, getting angry, or exhibiting other outbursts of emotion. Filiel’s attempt to use Yui’s spell had ended in failure, and he’d gotten pretty much the same result as the blue commander.
Unfortunately, Yui was unable to offer them any more insight. She had a feeling for how to do it, but it was incredibly hard to put into words. “I wish I could be of service, but it’s an intuitive thing, so it’s difficult to explain... My apologies for not being of any help.” She could only frown and apologize.
Bernard looked disappointed too. “Hm, is that so? Then, could you create a magic item imbued with the spell’s effect instead? The blue commander is training intensively in hopes of one day being able to cast the spell, but I don’t know when he’ll be able to do it.”
For the second time, Yui apologized. “I’m very sorry, Your Majesty. I cannot create the magic item.”
“Why not?!” Bernard exclaimed. He hadn’t expected Yui to refuse, so he spoke somewhat intensely. When she’d been at the palace, Yui had concerned herself with Filiel the entire time, and in the end, she had even released her precious magic formula to Bernard. The king had thought that Yui would cooperate this time too if it meant helping Filiel. “I see. Is it money you want? I’ll prepare a suitable payment, of course.”
He seemed to be thinking that Yui had refused because she was after money. She quickly corrected his assumption. “No, not at all. You see, I’m still only a first-year...”
“And what about it?” Bernard asked, not understanding.
With an awkward smile, Alexis, who was standing next to Bernard, bailed him out. “Father, students have to be in their second year, take the necessary electives, and then get permission before they can create magic items. She’s still in her first year, so she couldn’t create one even if she wanted to.”
“Ah... I see. Now that you mention it, that’s right. I jumped to conclusions, sorry.”
“No, not at all,” Yui said. Bernard’s respectful apology for his own ignorance made a good impression on her. However, she thought like a commoner in many ways, and she felt completely undeserving of his apology. Yui could feel a stomachache coming on.
Danger went hand in hand with magic item creation, and there was always the possibility of disaster, like a magic explosion. One had to first pass an exam, be assessed on knowledge and magical control, and then get a license in order to create magic items. There were two ways to obtain this license. The first was to attend a special technical school to study magic items. The other was to choose the magic item elective, starting in one’s second year at a magic academy, and obtain the necessary knowledge. Yui wasn’t in her second year, so she couldn’t take those classes. Additionally, in the beginning, the classes only involved study; it took years before students could actually create magic items. If someone tried to make one without permission, they’d be expelled from the academy as punishment. This might have seemed like a harsh rule, but when considering the danger of a magic explosion, it was as strict as it needed to be.
“I see, so you’re still a first-year...” Bernard gazed at Yui, deeply impressed. She had a wealth of knowledge, and she’d displayed unwavering courage in front of himself, the grandmaster, and the cardinal. Bernard had completely forgotten that she was much younger than either of his sons. “I guess there’s nothing else to be done. Then, when you can make magic items, will you be able to make the one I asked for?”
“Your wish is my command,” Yui replied without hesitation. Bernard was satisfied by her answer, and that was the end of their talk.
After leaving the room, Yui sighed deeply. “I’m exhausted...”