A week remained until Olivier’s birthday.
A week after that, Jared would have his Court Mage appointment ceremony.
The Wethered Kingdom was in a festive mood, anticipating the arrival of new Court Mages.
The public seemed eager to forget that, two months prior, treason had almost engulfed the nation from the shadows.
Court Mages, inherently the nation’s protectors, were always welcomed with open arms by the people. The previous appointments of Tres Brauer and Adelina Bischof had also been met with grand celebrations.
Jared and his peers, while feeling a bit awkward about the admiration, couldn’t hide their joy. To be a Court Mage meant not only being needed by the country but also being recognized by its people.
Dignitaries from foreign lands would be invited to the appointment ceremony: royalty, nobles, knights, and mages. Their intentions would vary: some nations would be assessing the new strength, others would be attending purely to celebrate, and some would be scheming to gain influence.
However, this was not something for the young men to concern themselves with. Diplomacy was best left to the diplomats.
Except for Jared, who rarely felt nervous except in front of his fiancée, and Pfeil, who viewed becoming a Court Mage as merely securing his livelihood, the generally-minded Laurentz felt an increasing pressure and stomach-churning anxiety with each passing day of public celebration.
To distract their troubled friend, Jared and the others were constantly visiting the Herring family.
If it were just this, it would likely remain a fond memory. However, troublesome matters often arrived hand-in-hand with celebrations.
Even now, many people were approaching the new Court Mages. They came from noble families to merchant houses, and even academy professors specializing in magic research proposed marriage, hoping their daughters could become consorts, which was a headache in itself.
There were also marriage proposals from abroad, but thanks to the kingdom and the Mage Association, these offers never reached the young men directly.
Still, these were the lesser of the troubles.
In worse cases, some nobles plotted to arrange marriages between the Court Mages themselves. Adelina was indignant, exclaiming, “Mind your own business! It’s not that I *can’t* get married, I simply *won’t*!” But at her late twenties, she was considered by society to be past her prime. Her standing meant that well-intentioned advice to settle down was mixed with less altruistic motives, making the situation all the more problematic.
Furthermore, as Jared was among the potential marriage candidates, rumors began to circulate among some circles suggesting that “it would be best to leave the woman past her prime to Jared Murphy.”
It was unlikely that even they themselves could have predicted that being engaged to Olivier Alway, practically the representative of women past their prime, would lead to such absurd situations.
Unbeknownst to them, their respective families were receiving marriage proposals for women of marriageable age who were considered past their prime, but that is another story.
Amidst this everyday life, Rio, a Dragon Girl, announced,
“I have someone I’d like to introduce to you all.”
This declaration marked the beginning of a new set of troubles.
Rio, a dragon with a longer lifespan than humans, and considerably older than Jared and the others, appeared to be in her late teens, and her words and actions matched her apparent age. If one were told she was still a child among dragons, they would readily accept it.
The sight of such a girl with a stiffened cheek, fidgeting shyly, was undeniably charming. It was more than enough to make one imagine she was about to introduce a lover to her family for the first time.
“No way… i-i-is it a lover!?”
Jared, who had been drinking tea after breakfast, couldn’t hide his shock and sputtered his tea as he exclaimed.
“…To lay hands on such a young child, depending on the circumstances, I would use any means necessary…”
Olivier, muttering something ominous, was not as composed as her fiancée.
Of course, they weren’t the only ones who had misunderstood.
“Wait here. I’ll go get my bow and arrows.”
Pfeil, rising from his seat to prepare his belongings, acted rashly.
“To think Rio, such a child, would have a lover. Hmph, from this age, I was already engaged in life-or-death battles, love was a world away from me. But it was all to meet the person fate intended for me—”
Rosa, in her shock, began recounting her own story.
“W-well, if I were inclined, I could easily find one or two men…”
“Um, Lady Emilia, I think bringing two would be a major incident.”
Emilia, regretting that Rio, whom she doted on like a younger sister, had found a lover, and Yeny, who pointed out the problematic nature of Emilia’s statement.
“Oh, then we must celebrate tonight!”
“…My Lady. No, Olivier, and Jared, everyone, instead of jumping to conclusions, let’s hear what Rio has to say. And you, Pfeil, please do not go get your weapons.”
Hannelore, in her own unhurried way, clapped her hands lightly. Trane, the only one who hadn’t made an odd assumption, sighed tiredly and admonished everyone.
“W-well, I am, technically, older than you lot.”
With a single statement, Rio’s bewildered family was brought to a standstill. Rio, with a strained smile, was about to object to her complete infantilization—but upon confirming her own childlike physique,
“Sure, I may be a child among dragons, but in terms of age, I’m older than you! Show some respect to your elders!”
She shouted her anger at her body, which never seemed to grow no matter how many years passed.
“More importantly, what Trane said! Listen to my story to the end! I don’t have a lover! …Why do I have to say something so pathetic out loud? The person I wanted to introduce is my older brother!”
