I caught my breath.
It's awkward to say it myself, but this was an achievement without precedent in history.
A miracle, too.
But.
I had to stay cool-headed.
It wasn't the time to bounce around with joy.
-Let's prepare a paper at once. This overturns every existing theory concerning Ether. It's a new epoch. It must be preserved in a paper for all time!
Right. Meaning I must not get worked up and run wild the way he was.
'Why would I reveal this?'
-What? Naturally it must be made known to the world. An achievement this great!
'You really are a shut-in Archmage.'
-Why bring that up again all of a sudden!
Judging by how the skull-head flares up, he really is a shut-in.
Anyway.
'I told you, didn't I? There's a group targeting the continent's Three Great Houses.'
-You did. They were the ones water-torturing you when you first regressed.
'So if I go around flaunting that I'm a Magic Swordsman, they'll just leave me alone, right?'
-Ah, I suppose?
'This is why shut-in types show off and end up croaking.'
-Ahem, ahem!
'And only by hiding the fact that I'm a Magic Swordsman can I move in secret.'
-Move in secret?
'Officially I'm a martial artist, right?'
-That's right.
'So if I hide my face and do something as a mage, what's the chance anyone suspects me, a martial artist?'
-Zero percent....... Ah!
'Exactly. A perfect dual identity.'
-No, it's three.
'Hm?'
-You can use Dark Magic too, can't you?
True. There's Dark Magic as well.
It's dangerous, so I'd avoid using it if possible.
But when it's needed, I'd use it.
A triple identity.
There's no better weapon for poking at a force whose identity remains hidden.
'Anyway, so let's have no more nonsense about papers.'
-Even so, shouldn't we at least organize a paper for later?
That tenacity probably came from the mage's nature as a seeker of truth.
'Not now. Later, somewhere secure.'
-Yes.......
The skull-head's voice went sullen at once.
But I'm not the sort of considerate character to tend to Slave Number One's feelings.
Having roughly settled things, I opened the door of the cultivation chamber.
But.
"Hm?"
The moment I opened the door, someone was waiting for me.
It was Aizel, his face full of suspicion.
I knew instinctively.
-Looks like Aizel has caught on to something?
Probably so.
Aizel's body was originally mine.
So I knew it well.
How extremely sensitive that body was to magic power.
He'd probably sensed the magic power when I cast [Flame] as a test.
But that wouldn't lead him to think I had used magic.
As I'd just discussed with Velkarion, by current common sense it made no sense for me to use magic.
Which is why his face was so full of doubt.
There was no need to tell him about my condition.
The possibility of a Magic Swordsman's existence had to be kept absolutely silent.
And there was one more reason for that.
Just as that body was originally mine, this body of mine was originally his.
And I had eliminated the affliction that body had carried, and been reborn as a Magic Swordsman instead.
If he learned that?
The greatest factor that changes a person's attitude and behavior is greed.
Right now he'd think of it as merely his original body, but the body of a Magic Swordsman?
That was a matter that could summon enormous avarice.
So I'd keep it secret.
At times like this, there's a simple way to drive someone off.
"What? What is it?"
When I glared and spat that out sharply, timid Aizel quietly turned his eyes away.
"Move aside."
I pushed Aizel out of the way and stepped out of the cultivation chamber.
***
"Move!"
A shrill voice rang out.
It was the shout of Chloe Facial, of the direct bloodline of House Facial, one of the continent's Three Great Houses.
Chloe had her staff leveled as if ready to hurl a spell at any moment.
Ten knights, led by Hans Bantein, guarded her.
And across from them.
Some twenty armed knights blocked the road in formation.
The young man at the very front of those knights spoke loudly from horseback.
"I am Elric Ballonz, commander of the Ballonz Third Knight Order. For what reason does Lady Chloe of House Facial lead troops in trespass upon Ballonz County?"
Hans spoke to Chloe in a low voice.
"He is Count Ballonz's second son."
"Ngh!"
Chloe let out a groan in spite of herself.
Facial, Renhardt, and Aquren. The ones called the continent's Three Great Houses.
These three Houses were not subjects of the Emperor. They were Houses recognized as fully independent from the Empire.
Which is why they held no titles of nobility.
They were powerful forces that existed wholly as Houses in themselves.
If the relationship between the Three Great Houses and the Empire were defined in a word, it would be 'uncomfortable allies'.
Free passage between them was possible.
So long as it fell short of an army, they could travel with a certain amount of armed force.
In terms of standing, they were treated on a level equal to a Grand Duke of the Empire.
In practice, a fair number of interests were entangled within the Empire as well.
But precisely for that reason, they watched one another thoroughly.
Chloe, of House Facial's direct bloodline and a powerful mage, had been stirring up the Empire for over a fortnight.
The Empire's intelligence agency, the 'Imperial Security Bureau', had been watching her steadily from the moment she set foot on Imperial soil.
And it had finally decided to intervene.
The Ballonz Third Knight Order had stepped forward on the Bureau's orders.
And Chloe saw straight through the causal chain behind it.
Because it was unthinkable for a mere domain's knight order to obstruct House Facial's affairs when no particular trouble had been caused.
'What do I do?'
In truth, she had behaved with considerable arrogance.
She had gone around stirring up every corner of the Empire.
For the Imperial Security Bureau, it could no longer be overlooked.
That said, she didn't regret that series of actions.
It had all been done to find her brother.
Depending on the situation, she could have done worse still.
But how to resolve this problem now was another matter.
Chloe steadied her breathing and calmly sorted her thoughts.
However they blocked the way, they could not use force first.
Even if the Bureau stepped in directly, it could not lay hands on the Three Great Houses.
Much less could a mere count's knight order move rashly.
So the choice of how much time to take thinking and how to settle the situation lay entirely with Chloe.
She could sweep away the knight order before her right now.
She would have to bear considerable trouble in the aftermath and some real losses, but not to the point of being unable to act.
There simply was no need.
After deliberating for a long while, a good idea came into Chloe's head.
"Hans."
"Yes, Lady Chloe."
"Tell that knight commander that I request a private meeting."
"Yes!"
No sooner had she finished than Hans strode toward the opposing order.
And so a private meeting between the two was arranged.
"For what reason have you requested a private meeting?"
Elric Ballonz opened with a firm voice.
His eyes looked straight at Chloe.
Even when their eyes met, he did not look away.
'A personality brimming with confidence.'
That was Chloe's assessment.
Of course, Chloe did not avoid Elric's gaze either.
In all her life Chloe had never once avoided anything.
"Young Master Elric. No, Commander Elric."
"Yes, Lady Chloe."
"I have a favor to ask."
"A favor?"
Elric faltered.
She had torn through the Empire enough that the Bureau had sent word, and now suddenly a favor.
Paying no mind to Elric's doubt, Chloe continued.
"I am looking for someone."
"Who?"
Elric asked immediately.
He already knew from the Bureau's word that Chloe was searching for someone.
"Kalian Facial. My younger brother."
Elric's confident expression wavered for an instant.
'This is no ordinary matter, is it?'
Chloe Facial was a famous figure even across the continent.
Of House Facial's direct bloodline.
A genius mage who had reached the Fifth Circle at a mere nineteen.
The next Tower Master of the Northern Tower.
Such a person had been tearing through the Empire to find her younger brother.
If that brother were to be found as a corpse.
A terrible thing.
"I see."
Tension was plain in Elric's voice as he answered.
But even so he did not look away or shrink back.
"He took a train from Luber City and arrived here in Ballonz County. I have also learned that he headed toward Ballonia Lake."
Chloe paused.
"And now the Ballonz Third Knight Order stands in the way of my search for my brother."
"Hoo!"
Elric caught his breath briefly.
Chloe's pressure was not nothing to him, but he judged there was no need to be cowed in advance.
"Position and reality are separate matters, are they not? I would ask you to understand that there are parts we cannot help either."
"Which is why I intend to ask a favor."
"You mean for us to find your brother's whereabouts."
"That's right."
Had the Empire's people not blocked her path, she would have searched for her brother herself to the end.
But they had already stepped in, and physical force had been mobilized.
In that case it was better to use their strength instead.
Besides, in matters of the Ballonz domain, House Ballonz's intelligence would be a cut above.
Chloe went on.
"If House Ballonz does this for me, I will certainly see that a fitting reward follows."
Elric's eyes gleamed.
Perhaps a blessing in disguise.
This was House Facial, one of the continent's Three Great Houses.
A reward from such a place could be nothing small.
Elric rose quickly.
"I will report to the Count at once and move. While your brother is being searched for, how would it be for you to stay at the Count's house, my lady?"
Brief as the moment was, it was a winning move by Elric's own reckoning.
A proposal to effectively tie House Facial's people down at the Count's house.
But Chloe was not one to fall for such a shallow move.
"I'll decline. I have separate lodgings already secured."
Having asked a favor of House Ballonz did not make Chloe the sort to sit idle.
Even without making a scene, she had to persistently search for her brother's whereabouts.
Chloe rose from her seat first.
"You know where I'm staying, don't you? I'll ask for a report once a day."
In one stroke she established that hers was the position that received the other side's reports.
And without waiting for an answer, she turned and walked out.
"Hah!"
Elric could only let out a sigh.
But it wasn't the time to sit around.
Elric too rose hurriedly and moved out at the head of his knight order.
***
Five days had passed since I gained an Ether Ring and an Ether Core. Since I became a Magic Swordsman.
In that time I steadily trained in swordsmanship while teaching Aizel magic.
And.
FWOOSH!
At last a flame bloomed at Aizel's fingertips.
The First Circle spell [Flame].
"I-it worked! It worked!"
Aizel shouted in a voice full of joy.
"Haa, yes, good work. How many days did it take you just to manifest a First Circle spell?"
"You think it's easy for a swordsman to understand magic mechanisms?"
Aizel protested.
But.
"I managed it, though?"
Aizel's face went blank for a moment, then instantly bloomed with indignation.
Hey, are you crying?