The principal's office, situated in the main hall.
An enormous room where stars glittered across the whole vault of the ceiling and the bookshelves opened out row upon row.
The outer second floor had been hollowed away here, which made the space feel especially high and especially wide, as though the starry sky had come down low and could be touched by putting out a hand.
"So there's an agent of the Church of the Apocalypse inside the academy..."
Griffent Schutt, principal of Dilan United Magic Academy, sat in a high-backed chair with the letter pinched between his fingers, frowning in thought.
He was an old man white of hair and white of beard, his face a mass of wrinkles, dressed in a deep-purple robe of stars.
A venerable old scholar who had studied the magic of the night sky, lived more than a thousand years, and held the principal's post for a full three hundred!
"This information of yours is extremely important and extremely useful. We will begin a covert search at once.
Before that is done, I would ask you not to tell anyone else in the academy, lest we startle the agent."
Standing on the other side of the broad desk, Philia gave a small nod with all the bearing of royalty. "I understand."
The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse might have truly descended on this world only three years ago, but the church that worshipped Them was ancient in the extreme — tens of thousands of years old at the least.
When Connie was small, the Church of the Apocalypse had already been moving quietly all over the world!
But the Church of the Apocalypse of that era could not obtain the Four Horsemen's direct favor, which is to say Their gift of power, and in strength it differed little from any other wicked organisation — only it was better hidden.
With the Four Horsemen's descent, the Church of the Apocalypse gradually opened up its movements, no longer lurking, loosing an apocalyptic malice on the world without restraint!
The important business concluded, what followed was rather easier going.
Griffent produced a kindly smile. "Princess Philia, over this coming month, if it is possible, I would ask you to attend the great majority of the classes.
Haha — with Madam Connie's instruction and the Soren blood running in your veins, I do not doubt your ability, nor do I much think you need those general-knowledge courses.
It is only that, just as you want the certificate for the name behind it, you need to appear in front of your fellow students often. That will, to a degree, make the identity hold firm and keep it from seeming foreign."
Faced with Griffent's detailed advice, Philia kept smiling and nodded lightly.
"I understand."
"Good, that is good..."
Griffent laughed at length and stroked his beard.
This blue-haired girl might be noble beyond measure, but she really was a reasonable sort!
He had in fact been worried the whole time that Philia would have all manner of notions that ran against academy regulations, which would have made his own position as principal difficult.
"There is, however, one request. I wonder whether the principal might grant it?"
"Please speak."
"I would like my guard to attend classes alongside me, in the capacity of an auditing student."
Griffent fell to musing again.
A few seconds later the old man nodded slightly. "I can understand that. It is permitted."
The crown princess's safety was absolutely paramount!
With an agent of the Church of the Apocalypse hidden inside the academy now, a close guard — a measure "against accidents" — became a "necessary measure."
At the same time, Griffent had heard something of that black-haired boy named Casper.
A swordsman who did not excel in mana fell far short of Dilan United Magic Academy's standard, granted... but the crown princess's recommendation, plus the extraordinarily rare label of dual-class, was enough for the principal to grant him the standing of an auditing student.
"Then may your classes over the coming month be a pleasure."
***
Outside the marble corridor of the main hall.
Casper stood at his ease beyond the door with a hand on his hilt, his posture thoroughly relaxed.
But when a faint sweet-and-sour milky fragrance reached the tip of his nose, Casper's whole spirit came to attention and he straightened up, cutting rather a valiant figure of a guard.
Look closely, though, and you could see the boy was awkward from head to foot.
Wh-what was this!
Casper repeated it to himself over and over.
That maid outfit Lady Philia had changed Komachi Yua into — did it come with a scent sachet?
In the carriage, and while they were walking, that scent had gone off on the wind and dispersed without being too noticeable.
But standing still here now, Casper found it very difficult indeed to ignore!
"Master?"
Komachi Yua, off to one side behind him, tilted her head slightly and spoke in curiosity.
What's got into him?
Wasn't he standing there loose and easy a moment ago? Why has he suddenly gone as stiff as that?
Mm... as the protagonist, Casper must have his reasons for doing it...
Casper had meant on reflex to shoot back that he was certainly not her master, but he remembered the identity they had just agreed on and had to swallow the line, giving a small nod instead.
"It's nothing... only that Lady Philia's been in there a long while, and I'm a little worried."
In fact he was not worried in the slightest.
Connie had already used an arcane veil to hide herself and was protecting Philia from concealment.
Casper only felt strange about Komachi Yua calling him master.
He did not object to the title of master — rather the opposite, it thoroughly excited him.
It was only that at present Casper still regarded Komachi Yua as a witch who had come over to their side, and her master as that former Calamity Plague High Priest, Morag Gideon, whose whereabouts were a mystery.
"Master really is very kind and gentle."
Komachi Yua returned the line graciously.
In fact the line had not a scrap of nutrition in it; it was pure praise-showering!
But praise-showering was in itself an easy way to earn goodwill, and on the matter of sticking to the protagonist she had already opted for a several-pronged approach.
Friendship or love might work better on an existence positioned the way the protagonist was, but as a former villain, she would find friendship very hard to grow at present.
As for love...
Komachi Yua considered that her own soul was male, so falling for Casper was out of the question.
Sticking to the protagonist was purely for the sake of staying alive, and of a slightly brighter future~
Mm-hm, though if she could make Casper fall for her, it might all be a great deal simpler~
At the thought, Komachi Yua could not help giving her cute cheeks a little hum, and paired with the whole elaborate maid outfit, it made her look cuter still.
If Casper had turned round at that instant and seen the sight, there was every chance his heart would have moved — but he had no reason to turn round, so of course he did not see it.
Seeing that Casper had given no response to her praise-showering, Komachi Yua began to pull a small face.
Eh? Not the slightest reaction?
This Casper — he isn't a tsundere too, is he?
Might the front of his face be holding back a laugh right now?
Just as Komachi Yua was preparing to say something more, brisk footsteps rang out along the marble corridor ahead.
"Hahahahaha! An unfamiliar face, in front of the principal's own door!
It isn't the enrolment period, and the only transfer student at the moment is Philia Soren——
So then, you must be that dual-class swordsman, Casper Valentine?"
With that, the figure came fully out of the corridor's shadow.
This was a girl with long white hair worn loose, two flesh-coloured horns at her brow, dressed in a loose short martial robe.
She pressed a hand to the hilt of the tachi at her waist and laughed out loud!
"My name is Tokugawa Yuka, and I'm an oni swordswoman!
I've been hearing your name a great deal lately. Me, I'd very much like a match with you!"