Chapter 219 - Movements of Other Nations
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Glenn spread several sheets of parchment across the large wooden desk in his office, held his head in his hands, and slumped forward.
The parchments bore the seals of important figures such as kings and councilors from various nations. The number of parchments was not ten or twenty. He had stacked several layers on top of one another because he could not spread all of them across the wide desk.
The letters and documents came in various writing styles, but when summarized, their contents converged on a single point. Having read through so many, Glenn understood that and that was precisely why he held his head in his hands.
"...This is troubling."
He murmured in a weak voice and turned his gaze to the document placed on top. The document stated that the sender wished to enroll their child in Fiddiq Academy. That alone would have been fine, but it also specifically requested that the child be allowed to take Aoi's lectures.
"...Enrolling students is all well and good, but by any measure, their purpose seems to extend beyond just magic."
After muttering that with a sigh, he shifted his eyes to other documents. Despite claiming they wanted to learn magic, the prospective transfer students ranged from eighteen to twenty years old, with some even twenty-two. A few already belonged to military mage corps at a young age. And all of the applicants were male.
Why did these sons of nobles suddenly clamor to enroll in Fiddiq Academy?
Though the stated reasons varied, their objective remained the same.
"Aoi, is it... She would clearly hate this."
Glenn muttered that and let out another deep sigh.
"Since when did Fiddiq Academy become a marriage market... What a bother."
He murmured that, but no one answered.
That day, my lectures ended in the morning, and with no afternoon plans, I spent a leisurely time sitting on a bench in the academy courtyard. Then Cote appeared, walking while reading a book in one hand. He noticed my presence, looked up from his book, and smiled gently.
"Instructor Aoi. Taking a break?"
When Cote asked me that, I nodded in response.
"Yes. That said, I do not have any particular plans this afternoon, so I thought I would just relax for a while..."
When I said that with a wry smile, Cote laughed out loud.
"That is rare. Even you have days like that, Instructor Aoi?"
He said that, sounding surprised. Certainly, I had recently felt that I had explored everything there was to explore within Wintervalley, the town where Fiddiq Academy was located. Up until now, I had visited unfamiliar places and shops, but lately I only went to my favorite spots.
Perhaps this was what they called falling into a rut. Given that situation, when I lacked the energy for research after lectures, I found myself spending more time alone.
"I have been taking it easier lately. Probably because my research has hit a dead end."
When I said that with a wry smile, Cote blinked in surprise.
"You, Instructor Aoi? I thought you had already reached the very depths of magic. In fact, I am almost relieved to learn that even you have things you cannot do."
Cote said that with a serious face, then laughed brightly. The depths of magic, indeed. That was far from the truth. Like walking through darkness, there was so much about magic that I did not understand. Just as I opened my mouth to say that, a loud male voice called out from afar.
"Hm!? Wh-what are you two doing... Oh, ohh. Both of you. What a coincidence!?"
It was Rox. With suspicious movements and words, Rox greeted us as if nothing was amiss and sat down beside me.
"...Did you want to join our conversation?"
When Cote asked that in an unusually low voice, Rox crossed his arms and glared back.
"Do not make me sound so lonely! I simply sat down because I was tired from walking!"
"...There was another bench right there, but you deliberately passed it to come here?"
"That bench does not appeal to me, that is all."
Rox answered Cote's straightforward question as if offended. Watching their exchange, I could not help but laugh.
"...See, she laughed at us."
"Do not lump me in with you. Clearly, only one of us was the target of that laugh, was it not?"
Because I laughed, the two began trading sharp barbs. As they did so, a large man's shadow appeared. He was a muscular man built like a wall. Amid his bushy hair peeked something like animal ears.
"Felter? Fancy meeting you here."
Rox looked up with his arms crossed and called his name, and Felter snorted and jerked his chin.
"...It is none of your business where I walk."
After muttering that gruffly, Felter looked at me and spoke.
"If Cote and Rox are talking with Aoi, then it must be about that rumor."
"That rumor?"
I tilted my head and asked back at Felter's words. When I heard "rumor," I thought of Langus—the first elven instructor—but he had little connection to the people here.
What rumor could it possibly be?
As I thought that, Rox furrowed his brows and spoke.
"Wait a moment, that topic is still—"
Rox tried to stop Felter in a flustered manner. Watching him, I had a bad feeling for some reason.
"It is all right. Please tell me."
When I interrupted Rox and answered that, everyone exchanged glances. Then Cote spoke as if representing the group.
"Well, the representatives of various nations are also in a bit of a predicament... It seems that many sons of nobles who wish to take your lectures, Instructor Aoi, are transferring into Fiddiq Academy. And apparently all of them are promising talents expected to become great mages in their respective countries..."
"Such people want to take my lectures? Ah, does that mean they found out that Langus became an instructor because of me? And then some strange rumor spread..."
In the past, baseless rumors had circulated about me being the academy witch or some such, so I thought something similar had happened again. But when I asked back, Cote silently shook his head left and right.
Then Rox took over the explanation.
"...No, that is not it. It means that when those greedy nobles learned that a mage named Aoi is a young, world-class mage on par with Headmaster Glenn, they became desperate to make her their sons' marriage partner."
Rox said that with a tone of disgust.
I tilted my head at those words and mulled them over in my mind to grasp their meaning. Marriage partner? Whose? Mine? What on earth was Rox talking about?
Question marks surfaced one after another. I could not make sense of it, and my thoughts would not come together.
As I stood there, Felter crossed his arms and looked down at me.
"...So, Aoi. Do you have any intention of marrying?"
To that question, I answered without thinking.
"Of course not."
When I declared that clearly, Felter let out a long breath. Cote and Rox also nodded or shook their heads with unreadable expressions.
"They are complete strangers. That is only natural."
"No, more fundamentally, she said she has no intention of marrying at all, did she not?"
"...Either way, now that we know Aoi has no intention of marrying, we can just chase off whatever scoundrels come knocking."
The three of them began whispering among themselves in odd exchanges.
"...I thought I heard the words 'chase off' just now."
"N-nothing at all!"
When I voiced my suspicion, Rox answered in a flustered manner.