“C-Commander!”
Keiras turned toward the familiar voice with a startled expression.
An elderly Mage stood behind him.
As Keiras had just said, the elderly Mage was the Commander of the Imperial Mage Corps.
The Commander looked deeply displeased.
“You are a member of the Imperial Mage Corps, yet you do not bother to visit your commander?”
“Ha ha, of course I do! You know how fond I am of you, Commander.”
“Did you not just say that you intended to collect your mission brief and then go see your master without even stopping by my office?”
Although he pretended otherwise, Keiras flinched inwardly.
He had already told Weira that he planned to visit his master after receiving his mission brief.
“Oh, surely not. Naturally, I intended to visit you after collecting the mission brief.”
“Enough. Follow me. You can collect the mission brief later.”
“Ugh, understood.”
When the Commander of the Imperial Mage Corps ordered him to follow, Keiras groaned inwardly.
‘Ugh, now the Old Hag will complain that I didn’t visit her first…….’
Keiras occupied a rather awkward position.
Because his abilities were so exceptional, both his master and the Commander were extremely fond of him.
Being favored by two accomplished Archmages was not a bad thing.
The problem was the rivalry between them.
His master was his master, so he had to obey her.
The Commander was his commander, so he had to obey him as well.
Whenever Keiras visited the Capital, the two would subtly compete over whom he had gone to see first.
Since he had known his master longer, he usually visited her before anyone else. This time, however, the Commander had personally come to collect him, leaving Keiras no opportunity to do so.
In the end, he had no choice but to follow the Commander to the Commander’s Office.
The moment they arrived, the Commander sat behind his desk while Keiras remained standing beside the sofa intended for visitors.
“I am your superior. Why do you never come to see me first whenever you visit the Capital?”
“Ha ha. I’ve known my master longer, after all.”
“Your master barely taught you magic, constantly wanders off to parts unknown, and refuses to side with the Empire. Are you saying that she is more important than the commander who established your position here?”
“Oh, come now. Why are you acting like this? Both of you are equally important to me.”
“Enough. Sit down first.”
“Understood.”
Thinking that he could finally take a seat, Keiras immediately settled onto the sofa.
The Commander stared at him with a dissatisfied expression.
“Tell me honestly.”
“Yes?”
“If I had not personally come to collect you, were you not planning to see only your master and then flee, just as you did last time?”
“Oh, come now. The matter was extremely urgent last time, so I had no choice but to move as quickly as possible.”
In truth, it had not been particularly urgent.
Keiras had merely wanted to leave as soon as possible because he found the Capital deeply uncomfortable.
Of course, the reasons did not matter to the Commander.
When Keiras claimed that the matter had been too important for him to stop by, the Commander’s eyebrow twitched.
“And yet you still had time to visit your master?”
‘Ah, how did this old man find out about that?’
Then again, it would have been stranger if he had not known.
The Imperial Mage Corps also served as an intelligence-gathering organization within the Imperial Capital.
It secretly employed a Thieves’ Guild as its hands and feet, but the Imperial Mage Corps fulfilled the same role openly.
After all, Mages needed to possess keen minds, which made them exceptionally capable intelligence gatherers.
Keiras knew that as well.
He was a member of the Imperial Mage Corps himself.
There was no point in becoming angry and accusing them of investigating his activities.
‘If I did that, he’d probably ask whether I dared defy my elderly commander and smack me over the head with his staff again.’
Keiras knew exactly how to placate the Commander.
Sitting on the sofa, he called out to him with an aggrieved expression.
“Really, Commander!”
“What is it, you brat?”
“Have you been lonely lately?”
“What?”
The Commander glared at him after being abruptly asked whether he was lonely.
Keiras responded shamelessly despite the look.
“No, if that isn’t the case, why are you so disappointed that I didn’t come and greet you? There are plenty of other members who can greet you.”
“You brat, I am looking after you because you must succeed the Vice Commander and eventually take my position as well. What is wrong with that?”
“You still haven’t given up on that?”
The Commander regarded Keiras as a talent capable of succeeding not only the Vice Commander but eventually the Commander himself.
It was only natural.
Keiras had been the youngest 4th-Class Mage in history.
Furthermore, although the Commander did not particularly care for her, Keiras’s master was an Archmage of the same rank as himself.
The disciple of an Archmage and the youngest 4th-Class Mage.
There was more than enough reason to consider him an exceptional talent.
However, whenever the subject arose, Keiras stubbornly rejected it.
At his question, the Commander responded as though the very notion of giving up was absurd.
“How could I give up? There is no one else with potential equal to yours. Do you think I am the only person who wants this? You know that His Majesty desires it as well.”
The Commander was not the only one who regarded Keiras as an invaluable talent.
The Emperor, the Sun of the Empire, coveted him as well.
Keiras had already been summoned for an audience with the Emperor regarding that very matter.
Keiras had certainly believed that he had handled the conversation well.
The Commander knew about it too.
“Oh, I already explained the situation properly to His Majesty.”
“What utter nonsense. Do you think His Majesty is someone who would be swayed by your silver tongue? He merely allowed the matter to pass because you were not going to become Vice Commander immediately.”
“Ugh.”
The Commander was correct.
The Emperor had said that there was no need to decide anything immediately because both the Commander and the Vice Commander were still hale and healthy.
Keiras had understood the Emperor’s intentions, but he had continued insisting that the position would be too difficult for him, no matter how much they discussed it.
The Emperor had simply concluded by saying they would speak again later.
That was why Keiras did not want to remain in the Capital for long.
He feared being caught by either the Emperor or the Commander and forced to endure this conversation again.
In the end, however, the Commander had caught him.
In any case, the Commander spoke while watching the visibly troubled Keiras.
“You are not even raising a disciple, and you have nothing else to occupy your time, do you? Then act like an Imperial Mage and devote yourself to the work of the Corps.”
‘A disciple…….’
The Commander’s words immediately brought Aiman to Keiras’s mind.
He briefly considered telling the Commander about him, but quickly decided against it.
Revealing that he had taken a disciple would probably create even more trouble.
‘I’ll have to reveal it eventually anyway…….’
There were two reasons he would eventually have to report the existence of Aiman, the disciple he had accepted.
First, Aiman was a Mage.
That meant it was only proper to report him to the Empire.
Doing so would also be best for Aiman.
Once Aiman was formally registered as a Mage of the Empire, he would receive numerous benefits.
The problem was that once people learned he was Keiras’s disciple, Aiman would also be subjected to endless attention and inconvenience.
Keiras wanted to delay revealing it for a while.
Second, even if Keiras did not reveal it himself, the truth would eventually become known.
He had told Lord Jenkins that Aiman had become his disciple before taking the boy away.
Would Lord Jenkins truly refrain from telling other nobles about it?
There was no possibility of that.
Moreover, rumors traveled faster than anything else in the world.
The news would spread quickly.
‘Even so, Aiman has things he needs to accomplish first. I should give him some time.’
Aiman was ten years old.
Keiras only needed to report him before he turned twelve.
There was no reason to make either himself or his disciple suffer unnecessary trouble in advance.
The moment he reached that conclusion, an excuse occurred to Keiras.
“Ah! That was actually one of the reasons I intended to visit you, Commander.”
“Hmm? You had a reason for wanting to see me?”
“Yes.”
“What is it?”
“I’m thinking about investing in a business venture.”
It was one of the reasons Keiras had come to the Capital.
Visiting the Imperial Mage Corps to receive his new mission brief and meeting his master were both important.
However, his most important objective was to publicize the Hanji Aiman had created.
From Keiras’s perspective, helping his disciple succeed could be considered an investment.
If the business prospered, Aiman would naturally treat his master well in return.
Of course, now that he thought about it, it also made an excellent excuse for why he had no time to consider becoming Vice Commander of the Imperial Mage Corps.
It was certainly better than revealing that he had taken a disciple.
The moment Keiras mentioned it, however, the Commander growled in a low voice.
“Investing in a business instead of running one yourself? What kind of madness is this now?”
At the Commander’s harsh words, Keiras pretended to be wounded.
“What? Madness? That’s too much. One of your own members is trying to accomplish something, yet instead of supporting me……”
“You are a madman. Are you not?”
“No, why are you suddenly calling me mad?”
First madness, and now a madman.
Keiras could not understand why the Commander was reacting so violently.
The Commander revealed the reason.
“Now that you have reached the 5th Class, you should be devoting yourself even more diligently to reaching the ranks of the Archmages. Yet what did you say? You want to invest in a business? Are you in your right mind?”
“……You noticed?”
The Commander had been speaking so relentlessly that Keiras had assumed the old man had not even paid attention to his Mana Circles.
Contrary to his expectations, the Commander had known from the very beginning that Keiras had reached the 5th Class.
In fact, that was how he had known Keiras had arrived.
The Commander had been working in his office when he suddenly sensed someone other than the Vice Commander walking around with five Mana Circles.
That was why he had gone to the Imperial Mission Administration Office.
When he discovered Keiras there, the Commander became certain of one thing.
There truly was no one other than Keiras suitable to become the next Vice Commander.
Yet it seemed the brat had intended to conceal the fact that he had reached the 5th Class.
The Commander snorted in disbelief.
“Have you forgotten who this old man standing before you is?”
“Why, you are the esteemed and magnificent Commander of the Imperial Mage Corps whom I respect so deeply.”
“Not that.”
“One of the ten greatest Archmages on the continent?”
“Precisely. Did you truly believe you could conceal a mere five circles’ worth of mana from an Archmage?”
“Ha ha. Nothing escapes your eyes, Commander.”
“Was that why you were avoiding me?”
“What?”
“You knew I would pressure you even more strongly to accept the position of Vice Commander once I discovered you had reached the 5th Class. Was that why you intended to flee without seeing me? Were you planning to tell only your master?”
The Commander subtly mentioned Keiras’s master once again, revealing his disappointment.
Seeing that made Keiras feel somewhat guilty.
Although he already had a master, the Commander had also cared for him ever since he joined the Imperial Mage Corps.
The problem was that the Commander cared for him too much, making it burdensome.
In any case, now that the Commander knew he had become a 5th-Class Mage, Keiras attempted to placate him.
“Oh, surely you don’t think I would do that. Naturally, I intended to report something this important to you as well.”
“Just not today.”
The brief remark struck with the precision of an awl.
What further excuse could Keiras possibly make?
He abandoned his attempt to escape the situation through clever words.
“……You really are perceptive.”
“Are you finally admitting it?”
“No matter what I say, you refuse to believe me. Since you’ve already decided what answer you want, I might as well give it to you. It’s an ADJA.”
Keiras clicked his tongue as he spoke, but the Commander tilted his head.
“ADJA? What is that?”
“Ah…….”
Only then did Keiras realize that he had used the wrong expression.
The Commander continued questioning him regardless.
“I asked what ADJA means.”
“It’s…… an abbreviation for ‘The Answer’s Decided, so Just Answer.’”
“You are supposed to be an Imperial Mage. Where did you pick up such bizarre language?”
Bizarre abbreviated language.
Keiras answered the question only in his mind.
‘From my disciple, actually…….’