Four days had passed since the entrance examination results were announced.
During that time, Reina taught me the Serenia style, but there was no possibility of matching her training volume.
How could any human being swing a sword for an hour, rest for ten minutes, and repeat the cycle at least three times a day?
I had always known she was a training fanatic, but attempting to follow her routine made her seem even more extraordinary.
Fortunately, Reina understood that her regimen was excessive, so she allowed me to train at a comfortable pace.
While she practiced alone, I used the sound of her sword cutting through the air as background noise and cast spells to raise my skill proficiency.
After several days like that, the first weekend I experienced in this world arrived. I had applied for permission to leave the academy.
Since the semester had not yet begun, the request passed without difficulty. I was now traveling by carriage toward the outskirts of the imperial capital.
Origin, capital of the Azerum Empire.
The Empire occupied most of the continent, and its capital alone rivaled an ordinary country in size.
Iris Academy stood not far from the capital’s western boundary. Although I had left at around ten in the morning, I reached the outer Rihelen District near noon.
After leaving the carriage, I found a modest inn and headed toward my destination: the Rihelen branch of the Cosmo Trading Company.
As expected of one of the Empire’s Five Great Trading Companies, even its outer-capital branch occupied an imposing building.
Inside, a wide assortment of merchandise was displayed, from elegant tableware and Magic Tools to books of every kind.
Among them, a short-haired girl with pale pink hair was inspecting the establishment with a secretary at her side.
She was Ria Heilin, granddaughter of Cosmo Heilin—the head of the Cosmo Trading Company—and the company’s acting head.
Ria was highly capable, possessing the insight to penetrate the essence of a matter and the judgment to act upon it.
She was also greed incarnate, willing to commit any evil without hesitation if it meant obtaining what she desired.
To pass a major event in the middle of the story more easily, Drener needed to establish regular contact with her.
That bastard would never do it, so I had come in his place.
I also had several purchases to make.
The moment Ria saw my face, she froze.
She was probably thinking, Why is that scoundrel here?
The pause lasted only an instant. She quickly adopted a professional smile.
“Welcome, Lord Van Astraea.”
Her position as acting head clearly had not been handed to her for free. Had I not been watching carefully, I would never have noticed her reaction.
“What brings you here today?”
“I came to buy a few things.”
“We cannot leave an honored guest unattended. Please come upstairs. I will serve you personally.”
***
I was guided to a reception room.
Two sofas faced each other across a long table.
Not long after Ria and I sat opposite one another, her secretary served tea and withdrew.
Ria sipped with a relaxed smile, though her hand trembled almost imperceptibly.
She looked like a terrified hamster desperately pretending otherwise.
If I was the reason, I felt somewhat guilty.
“My goodness. I worked through the night, so I seem to have lost some strength in my hands.”
“It makes no difference to me.”
“Ahaha……”
She was probably nervous because my behavior was impossible to predict.
If I had heard Van’s reputation, I would not expect him to act normally either.
Even a scoundrel could not be treated carelessly when he was the child of a prestigious house. To Ria, the situation likely felt like a trap with no escape.
I had no intention of causing trouble.
“I want ten Magic Stones engraved with Explosion, ten engraved with Flash, and several weapons.”
Ria flinched.
“May I ask why you wish to purchase them?”
“The semester is about to begin, so I want to prepare. Did you ask because you expect me to cause an incident?”
“No, no. Of course not. I was merely curious.”
It was far too late to say that now.
Still, her suspicion was not entirely unreasonable.
My history was already spectacular. If something went wrong, she could even be accused of supplying a terrorist attack.
Her method of questioning was clumsy, perhaps because she was still young.
“It may mean little to you, but I have no intention of blowing up or attacking any location.”
Ria flinched again.
Why did she startle so easily?
“Thank you for your consideration.”
I waved dismissively.
“In any case, can you provide them?”
“Of course. What kinds of weapons do you require?”
“One sword and one bow. Respectable quality will be sufficient.”
Ria tilted her head slightly.
It must have seemed strange for the child of a magical house to request both a sword and a bow.
She did not question me. Instead, she summoned her secretary and whispered instructions.
A short while later, the secretary returned with several employees.
They placed a case of Magic Stones, a bow, and a sword upon the long table.
“Both weapons are well suited for actual combat and possess effects that assist their user.”
【Equipment】
【Name: Sword of Wind’s Blessing】
【Grade: Rare】
【Category: One-Handed Sword】
【Description: A sword completed after receiving the wind’s blessing. Grants its user a Basic Blessing of Wind.】
【Equipment】
【Name: Old Tree Bow】
【Grade: Rare】
【Category: Bow】
【Description: A bow crafted from an ancient tree. It possesses exceptional durability, while the mana within the old wood assists ranged attacks.】
Both were Rare-grade and carried broadly useful effects.
At this stage of the story, they were more than adequate.
“How much for everything?”
“Thirty gold coins.”
What?! Thirty gold coins? Why was it so expensive?
I had expected approximately fifteen, only half that amount.
Was she overcharging me?
Ria Heilin never hesitated to betray someone or lure them into a trap, but she always had a reason.
Perhaps the act earned her tremendous profit, expanded her influence, or served her revenge.
I was not a target of that revenge, and fifteen gold coins were pocket change to her.
So why had the price doubled if she was not cheating me……?
“……Are all the Magic Stones high-grade?”
“Yes. Every one is a high-grade stone that passed our company’s strict inspection.”
Of course.
Because I was a high-ranking noble, she had assumed I would naturally purchase only the best.
But they did not all need to be high-grade. It would be a waste of money.
“Replace every stone with a mid-grade one.”
“Pardon? If you are short on cash, we can record the purchase as a debt owed by House Astraea.”
“That won’t be necessary. Mid-grade stones are what I need.”
Ria tilted her head.
“May I ask why? You need not answer if the question is troublesome. My curiosity was merely piqued.”
“High-grade stones would be excessive. You don’t use an ox-slaughtering knife to catch a mouse.”
Ria nodded in understanding, then smiled.
“Then how about two high-grade stones of each type, just in case?”
“I have no intention of buying them.”
“Oh, that isn’t what I meant. Please accept them as a token of my goodwill. You answered questions that might have seemed rude without showing offense, and……”
Her professional smile disappeared. She closed her eyes briefly, then gave me the clear, innocent smile of a girl her age.
“I spend all my time meeting people far older than me. It has been so long since I met someone my own age that I find myself wanting to treat you well.”
What was this? Was she secretly a good person?
“But if my words have offended you, please accept my apology.”
“There’s no need to apologize.”
Why would anyone be offended by an offer of free high-grade Magic Stones? This was an incredible bargain.
“There is no reason to take offense when someone offers kindness.”
“Thank you.”
***
Night fell over the Rihelen District.
The sun had been gone for hours, and most buildings stood dark. The highest floor of the Cosmo Trading Company branch, however, remained brightly lit.
Seated there, Acting Company Head Ria Heilin reviewed documents late into the night.
She had learned the business from her grandfather, the company head, since childhood.
His own child had left home, so he hoped Ria would become his successor. She, in turn, wanted to fulfill his expectations.
For that reason, she began attending to company affairs before anyone else and left later than everyone.
Her passion was admirable, though far less welcome to the employees working beneath her.
After reviewing the final document, Ria rose and stretched.
‘How long has it been since I stood up……?’
Apart from personally inspecting merchandise acquired around noon, she had remained seated all day.
That reminded her of the honored guest she had met then.
She removed a carefully guarded notebook and opened it.
Its pages were packed with business ventures she had conceived, advice from her grandfather, and information about numerous individuals.
Ria flipped through it quickly and stopped at a page headed ‘Children and Successors of Prestigious Houses.’
She began reviewing the personal details recorded there, turning the pages one by one.
The Cosmo Trading Company was one of the Empire’s Five Great Trading Companies, but its influence lagged slightly behind the other four.
Each rival maintained close relations with one of the Four Great Powers. The Cosmo Trading Company, being a newer force, possessed no comparable patron.
It was considered new only beside organizations that had operated for more than a century. Cosmo itself had existed for several decades, and its net profits were slightly superior to those of its rivals.
Nevertheless, the presence or absence of a powerful backer determined the true extent of a company’s influence.
Forging a connection with the Four Great Powers was therefore the dearest wish of the Cosmo Trading Company—and of Ria herself.
She personally investigated prestigious families and worked to build relationships with those likely to lead one of the Four Great Powers in the future.
Her assignment to the Rihelen District, the district nearest Iris Academy, was part of that effort.
From here, she had watched for an opportunity to establish a branch within the academy. In fact, she planned to relocate there in one month.
True to its epithet, the Cradle of the Empire’s Rising Stars, Iris Academy gathered talented people from every corner of the realm.
If Ria discovered someone destined to join the imperial leadership and forged a bond early, the Cosmo Trading Company could rise rapidly.
But every publicly recognized prodigy already held close ties to another great company.
Building an equally strong relationship would require destroying one of those companies. Doing that required a powerful patron, trapping Cosmo in a dilemma.
Ria had wrestled with that problem for years.
Today, she had glimpsed a thread of hope.
Her fingers stopped at the page she had sought.
[Van Astraea]
The page was densely covered with his personal information.
Rumors branded him the Empire’s Greatest Scoundrel and claimed he possessed almost no magical talent. Ordinarily, he would not have been worth recording.
But he was still a direct descendant of House Astraea, so she had included him.
Ria read the entries carefully and began crossing them out.
‘The claim that he has no sense of money is false. He asked the price and used a poor excuse to purchase mid-grade Magic Stones, proving that he is economical.’
‘The reports of violent, insolent behavior are false. He showed no displeasure even when I made mistakes and questioned him repeatedly.’
One by one, she erased the information contradicted by their conversation.
Only ‘limited magical talent,’ ‘wanderlust,’ and trivial details such as preferred goods remained.
Discovering that the company had gathered almost nothing but false information could have been troubling.
Ria instead considered it an opportunity.
It was unreasonable to conclude that the investigation itself had simply failed.
Few organizations in the Azerum Empire could rival the Cosmo Trading Company’s information network, and there was no obvious reason for Van’s information to be concealed.
That left one conclusion.
Van Astraea was hiding something behind his public reputation.
Judging from their conversation at noon, however, he did not appear practiced at concealment.
In other words, someone else was hiding his information for him.
If House Astraea itself had arranged the deception, then Van might become a path through which Cosmo could expand its influence.
‘First, I’ll order another investigation. After observing the results, I’ll tell Grandfather……’
CRASH—!
The building suddenly erupted in noise. Ria’s nerves snapped taut.
She understood at once that this was no ordinary disturbance and drew her wand to prepare for combat.
‘The company is almost certainly under attack.’
Even without a patron, Cosmo remained one of the Five Great Trading Companies. Ria could not comprehend the mind of someone bold enough to attack it, but she had carefully prepared for such a possibility.
She moved to open the window and secure an escape route.
Her secretary shouted from the corridor.
“Acting Head, you must flee—!”
Ria hesitated for a fraction of a second.
An arrow pierced the door and buried itself in her arm.
“Ngh!”
Wood splintered. The door collapsed, revealing assassins wrapped from head to toe in dark crimson cloth.
“Deal with the others later. Kill the acting head first.”
Ria had no idea what was happening, but there was no need to understand it immediately.
She cast the Third-Circle wind spell 【Wind Spear】 at the assassins and leaped through the window.
Using the First-Circle wind spell 【Fall Delay】, she slowed her descent and landed safely.
She tried to flee at once.
An assassin she had failed to notice stepped from the darkness of the street, sword in hand.
“Acting Head Ria. You die here tonight.”
Her heart pounded as if it might burst, but she exhaled once and asked calmly,
“I could understand targeting the company head. To act this aggressively merely to kill his deputy—you must place very little value on your own life.”
“Ha. Why should I care what happens to me? You’re the bitch who’s about to die.”
Ria’s physical ability was too poor to escape, so she resolved to fight.
She had never received combat training, but she could cast most ordinary spells.
The problem was that the assassin moved far faster than she had expected—and Ria, unused to such situations, was afraid.
Just before the sword pierced her, she squeezed her eyes shut.
At that instant—
FSSSH—!
Flame caught with the sound of a burning fuse, and an explosion erupted before her.
BOOM!
The shockwave hurled Ria backward.
Before she could fall, someone caught her around the waist.
Wondering what had happened, she slowly opened her eyes.
A man dressed in black stood before her.
Van Astraea.