“Lars! Crysta!”
“Ah—Herring!”
Laurentz Herring sensed that another battle had broken out inside the school building, judging by the magic and the roar. He rushed over, only to find that the fight seemed to have already ended and to his relief, both of his friends were unharmed.
“Kirsi, you’re here too. Did you handle these two?”
“Ah, I did. Though, apparently, those two took down one of them by themselves. My apologies, it seems a Member of the Royal Mage Corps was attempting to apprehend the teacher. Well, I made them regret it.”
“You too… Still, it must have been the Vice Commander of the Royal Mage Corps who chased after Crysta and the others. You’re lucky to be unharmed.”
Looking around, there was no sign of Vice Commander Michaela. To be precise, only her lower body, which seemed to belong to her, remained.
A large hole had been blown in the corridor wall, and the sounds of commotion indicated that her upper body was somewhere beyond.
However, the question was, who defeated her?
“Yeah, Lars fought to protect me,” Crysta said.
“—Hoh? This foolish prince actually defeated the Vice Commander of the Royal Mage Corps? I thought he was still inexperienced in combat, but I was wrong.”
Kirsi spoke words of admiration, but her eyes were fixed on Crysta. Laurentz, however, did not notice this.
“Um, Teacher, he is a prince, so calling him foolish is— Well, I admit his usual behavior is borderline… but…”
Laurentz couldn’t fathom how Lars could have defeated the Vice Commander of the Royal Mage Corps. If he could fight and win, he wouldn’t have had the option to flee in the first place.
Still, as long as they were safe, such minor doubts no longer mattered.
“Herring is saying terrible things too,” Crysta said.
“Ugh… But that’s better than Jared, who still hasn’t realized he’s a prince. I hear he’s met not only the Princess but also the King and Queen. And when I heard he mistook them for merchants, I got a headache.”
“Haha, well, our beloved King is rather down-to-earth. The Queen, though a Noble, her family is also a merchant family. As for the Princess, it seems business is becoming her main occupation. —However, perhaps it is precisely because of people like them that fools like the ones in the Royal Mage Corps have rebelled,” Kirsi said.
“Even you, Kirsi, are saying such things. Even if—”
“Whoa, don’t finish that sentence. Some things are better left unsaid.”
Kirsi placed a finger to her lips and closed one eye, causing Laurentz to stop abruptly.
Crysta knew Kirsi was a Court Mage, but Laurentz, who had just appeared, did not. Therefore, Kirsi silenced him.
“Now, while it’s nice to celebrate your safety and have a pleasant chat, let’s finish this quickly.”
“I can hardly believe it, but Teacher—are you referring to Leonard Gallagher?”
“Of course, Laurentz. Leonard is undoubtedly the one who brought chaos to this academy. The members were incessantly chanting for the Commander, for the Commander’s ideals. It was almost like brainwashing, I suspect.”
Kirsi strode into the courtyard, the clicking of her heels echoing.
“Come with me, Laurentz. If you’ve been nominated as a Court Mage Candidate, you’re not going to whine about not being able to fight because of a shoulder injury, are you?”
“Of course not. I can still fight.”
“Good. Crysta, take the unconscious prince to the staff room. There are no teachers who can fight, but they are armed, so they will protect you.”
“Yes. But are you sure it’s okay to leave it to you and Kirsi-sensei?”
Crysta, cradling Lars, looked at Kirsi with a worried expression. Kirsi smiled reassuringly.
“Don’t worry, all the members have been dealt with. Some teachers have gone out for help. All that’s left is to eliminate the mastermind. I may not be good at fighting, but I am receiving a salary from the academy. I will fight for the students.”
Few people knew the details of Kirsi Santaala, the Second Seat of the Court Mages. Alongside the First Seat, she was a hidden existence. The First Seat’s name wasn’t even public. The Court Mages whose names and faces the public knew were only up to the Third Seat.
Given that Kirsi was the Second Seat, even if she claimed to be bad at fighting, her previous display of strength was reassuring. More importantly, she showed no hesitation in taking a life. Unlike Crysta, who had defeated Michaela in a fit of rage.
“Please be careful.”
Crysta did not want to say more than necessary, lest Kirsi’s true identity be revealed. If Kirsi wished to remain hidden, there was no need to expose her. While she was worried about her friend going into battle again, the presence of a Court Mage made her feel more confident sending her off.
“You take care too, Herring.”
“Of course. Look after Lars. And most importantly, Crysta, please evacuate to a safe place as soon as possible.”
With that, she watched the backs of the two heading towards the courtyard where the Royal Mage Corps still remained. Crysta felt an inexplicable sense of unease.
Until the mastermind behind the Royal Mage Corps’ unexpected rampage was identified, she couldn’t truly feel relieved.
She also questioned the decision to bring students into the conflict. While it might be feasible for someone with Jared’s or Laurentz’s power, would students who could merely use magic truly be effective? If they were relying on students with no combat experience or skill, mercenaries or adventurers hired with money would be far more useful.
Were they fixated on using only mages, or was there some other reason?
“Could it be—”
Her unease turned into a bad premonition. But there was nothing Crysta could do. She regretted her own inadequate position and bit her lip. the slight pain brought her back to her senses, and she headed towards the staff room for her unconscious friend.
