The day after his engagement to Duchess Alway’s daughter was finalized, Jared’s daily life remained largely unchanged.
— Except for everyone else.
With no requests from the Mage Association, Jared visited the Royal Academy of the Wethered Kingdom and noticed a discomfort he felt within its walls.
“Why do I feel like I’m being stared at so unpleasantly?”
Jared was already well-known among the students, for better or worse. As the eldest son of a baronial family unable to inherit the family name, he was looked down upon. While exempted from classes in exchange for accepting requests from the Mage Association, he was perceived as favored, even for a magician.
Indeed, he was probably favored. The academy’s policy of nurturing budding talents should have meant that Jared’s prowess as an Earth Attribute Mage would be prioritized separately from other students. However, the academy had no teachers capable of instructing Jared. Even for a royal academy, the number of magicians was small, and many exceptional ones served in the Mage Corps or as retainers to nobles. Greater still were the Court Mages. Some magicians were freelancers, but they typically operated as adventurers. In short, individuals who were both teachers and magicians were not common.
Jared’s skill as a magician had already surpassed the general standard, to the extent that the Mage Association had selected him as a Court Mage Candidate. Among the academy’s five hundred students, only about fifty were magicians, and only a handful, like Jared, possessed comparable abilities. These students, too, accepted requests from the Mage Association and the academy in exchange for class exemptions.
It was obvious that the other students found this situation disagreeable. Therefore, it was not unusual for Jared to be the target of stares and whispers whenever he visited the academy. However, the gaze Jared felt this time was different from the usual.
It was a lingering, intensely unpleasant stare. While he was accustomed to being looked down upon, this felt as if another emotion was intertwined with it.
“Ah, thank goodness! You’re here! Murphy-kun!”
Jared, who was heading to class while enduring the stares, was called out to. He turned around to see a familiar young lady approaching him with hurried steps.
She was a spirited girl with short, neatly cut flaxen hair. Though petite and possessing a sweet, almost childlike appearance, she had a strong personality and was a member of the student council. Jared could proudly call her his friend—Crysta Oken.
“Crysta, it’s been a while. You seem flustered, did something happen?”
“Yes, it’s been a while—no, it’s all because of you, Murphy-kun!”
“Because of me?”
He tilted his head, having no idea what she was referring to. Crysta, in turn, let out a dramatic sigh and shot him a look of exasperation.
“You know, Murphy-kun, half the students at this Royal Academy of the Wethered Kingdom are nobles?”
“I know that without you telling me. But it’s also true that the number of noble children has been decreasing year by year. This is because people like you, who aren’t nobles, are studying hard and getting admitted. The academy also prefers commoners with talent they can nurture over the foolish sons of nobles. It’s a wonderful academy policy.”
Of course, Jared disliked calling everyone who wasn’t a noble, like Crysta, “commoners.” However, lacking other terms, he used it when distinguishing them from nobles.
“I’m grateful for the academy’s policy, and I really like you, Murphy-kun, for treating us without discrimination despite being a noble, but that’s not what’s important right now!”
“So, what happened? I’m tired of being subjected to those disgusting stares.”
“Well, that’s why I’m telling you, the cause of it is you, Murphy-kun.”
“Me? How?”
As he voiced his question, Crysta took a step closer and stretched up. She leaned close to Jared’s ear and began to speak in a low voice.
“You got engaged to Olivier Alway, didn’t you?”
“—Wh-wh-wh-wh-why, how do you know that?”
“Sigh. That’s why I told you. Half the students at this academy are nobles. You, a noble yourself, should know better than anyone how much nobles love gossip.”
“No way, it was just yesterday.”
“The ‘no way’ is precisely what’s happening, and that’s why the student council is in such a mess! Come on, listen closely to the voices around us.”
He did as she said and strained his ears. He listened to the voices of the students, which he had previously dismissed as mere noise.
Then, he heard voices like, “The eldest son who can’t inherit the family title got engaged?” “Who is that poor woman?” “It’s the famous Olivier-sama.” “What a joke, a woman known as the loosest noble in the country is perfect for a failure who can’t inherit the family title.” “That guy really played his cards well.” “Yeah, even if she has a bad personality and is promiscuous, she’s still the daughter of a Duke.” “If you can’t inherit the family title, you should cozy up to women.” “The magician is privileged, isn’t he?” These were all unpleasant remarks. There were also others, such as, “It’s predictable that Olivier-sama will abandon him again,” “Doesn’t she realize she’s a late bloomer?” “I heard she dislikes men?” “Well, if her looks are good, gender doesn’t matter,” “Oh, you’re quite active,” “Or perhaps she just wants to get pregnant by someone?” “Does that mean she wants to be a mother even if she doesn’t want to get married?” “I don’t think someone like her could be a mother,” and “Poor you, Master Murphy.” Utterly unpleasant.
He almost opened his mouth to retort, but Crysta grabbed Jared’s arm tightly.
“Don’t.”
“Don’t what?”
“It’s no use arguing with people who are speaking ill of you and Olivier-sama. If you do, it’ll just become more fodder for gossip and slander. Absolutely not.”
“Then should I just ignore them?”
“Yes, that’s right. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to make you feel bad by telling you to listen. But I wanted you to realize that the academy is abuzz with talk of your engagement to Olivier-sama.”
Jared knew that Crysta hadn’t intended to make him hear malicious words. Everyone was just talking freely based on rumors and speculation. And now that Jared, the subject of the rumors, had appeared, the attention intensified, and the gossip gained momentum.
Frankly, anger welled up within him. It would have been one thing if they were only talking about him, but it was infuriating that they were also speaking ill of Olivier, whose grandparents had told him the rumors were untrue.
Admittedly, Jared knew about the rumors surrounding Olivier and had found her to be indeed sharp-tongued when they spoke. He also had his reservations about the unreasonable demands she made.
Nevertheless, hearing strangers carelessly mock her as if she were mere gossip fodder made him feel disgusted.
“Let’s go. I forgot the teacher asked me to call you.”
“The teacher wants me? I thought I didn’t have any specific appointments.”
“I don’t know the details, but it seems someone from the Mage Association is here. Did you do something?”
“Ah, I might have an idea.”
It was probably about being a Court Mage Candidate. Although he had told his grandparents he would accept, he was impressed by how quickly the association had acted. More than that, the thought that he might actually be able to aim for being a Court Mage made his heart flutter, though he didn’t show it.
At the same time, he had concerns. Most Court Mages had to achieve some form of accomplishment. An achievement that would be recognized by everyone as befitting a Court Mage. Jared lacked such an achievement.
So, what should he do? He would have to establish accomplishments from now on. However, fortunately, there were no wars in modern times. Monster subjugation was the most he could hope for. Jared had defeated numerous magical beasts, but if asked if he had achieved anything, he would have to say no. While the quantity was high, the quality was not significant.
It would be great if he could defeat a dragon or a disaster-level magical beast, but the Wethered Kingdom had an alliance with dragons, and the appearance of a disaster-level magical beast would mean a national crisis.
He didn’t know what he could do to actively pursue his candidacy as a Court Mage. While he rejoiced at this sudden opportunity, he couldn’t help but feel a pang of anxiety about his uncertain future.
“What do you have an idea about?”
“I’ll explain later. For now, I just want to get out of here, so let’s go to the staff room.”
He cast a brief glance at the delighted students still gossiping, snorted softly, and turned away, starting to walk.
