In the near future, the Sorcerer Archduke would raise an army. His first act upon starting the war would be to strike the empire’s Five Great Houses of Magic.
According to Renia, his main objective had been their secret tomes rather than their destruction.
The unique spell formulas passed down through those houses were all advanced magic far beyond human understanding. The Sorcerer Archduke’s true goal had been to use those five formulas as nourishment to break through the barrier of the Ninth Tier.
To him, the world’s ruin and chaos had merely been incidental consequences.
The power struggles among the Five Great Houses of Magic had played a major role in allowing him to conquer the world single-handedly.
Though the five houses stood as equals under the emperor’s protection, their relationships could hardly be called close.
Apparently, many even suspected that the disappearance of the Benheim family head’s pendant was some underhanded scheme devised by another great house of magic or by dark mages.
“Rot in there for the rest of your life, you filthy thief. Stealing our heirloom wasn’t enough? You dared to attack Lady Renia, too.”
Even the jailer treated me like a traitor guilty of high treason.
No matter how much I protested my innocence, he wouldn’t listen.
In the end, I found myself confined to a solitary cell beneath the Benheim Magic Tower, with nothing to listen to but water dripping from the ceiling.
“Well, what now?”
Sitting alone in the cell, I heaved a sigh.
“I can’t even get out.”
The bars seemed to be inscribed with a spell.
I had a vague idea of what kind of magic it was, too. It resembled the spell Renia had used on the ropes binding captured enemy soldiers.
Understanding its structure meant I could interfere with it.
I raised a hand and tried to dismantle the spell engraved on the bars, but without a mana core, that was still beyond this body.
Even after hours of effort, I had managed only the tiniest distortion.
Still, it wasn’t impossible. If I kept wearing away the strokes over time, I could dismantle it completely.
The problem was that I had no time to waste.
“Tsk.”
Perhaps asking for Renia at our first meeting had been foolish.
After all, what father would hand over his daughter to some layabout of unknown origins?
“…Was I too direct?”
“Yes. Far too direct.”
I raised my head at the unexpected answer. Benheim’s Chief Steward, Allet, stood just outside the bars.
His gaze rested on the spot I had been touching earlier.
Had he noticed that I had tampered with the spell?
Allet studied the bars for a while, then cleared his throat and spoke.
“His Lordship cherishes his children dearly. Before he is a great mage, he is a loving father. After uttering such outrageous words before him, it would hardly be surprising if you spent the rest of your life in prison.”
His voice was cold, but I focused on the meaning behind his words.
“You haven’t come all this way merely to mock me, I presume. If you intended to imprison me for life, you wouldn’t have said that.”
“Indeed. In consideration of your service in recovering the heirloom and saving Lady Renia, His Lordship has graciously decided to forget your earlier joke.”
“It wasn’t a joke. I was serious.”
“Haha. You certainly have a talent for jokes.”
Allet laughed, but his eyes weren’t smiling.
I quietly shut my mouth. Only then did he get to the point.
“Benheim does not break its promises. His Lordship promised to accept you as a member of the household. From now on, you will live as an outer mage of Benheim.”
That must have been why Allet had begun addressing me politely.
“An outer mage…. Is that something like a guest retainer?”
“You will stand closer to the family than a guest retainer. However, until you can fulfill your duties as a mage, you will reside in an annex.”
“An annex?”
“Yes. For the time being, you will have to practice magic on your own. But there is no need to worry. We will assign you a servant versed in magic, who will help you get started.”
I nodded.
As I was now, I was hardly a Benheim mage—just some nobody without even a mana core. Were they planning to exile me to an annex and have me learn the basics?
“Well, that’s fine, too.”
Whatever label they attached to me, I had become a mage of Benheim.
Compared with my life before the regression, I couldn’t have asked for a better start.
“Then I suppose living in the annex will give me opportunities to meet the family.”
I thought of Renia.
The situation earlier had been too serious for much conversation, despite our reunion. What should I say when I saw her again?
As I considered that, Chief Steward Allet frowned.
“A word of advice. You would do well not to strike up conversations with members of the family. No, keep contact to an absolute minimum. Until you can hold your own as a mage, at least.”
“Why?”
“The direct descendants are not fond of associating with mages from outside the family. Even the collateral branches receive such treatment. How much worse would it be for an outer mage? Many mages pass the examinations and enter Benheim every year, but few stay the course.”
Was it elitism, or hostility toward newcomers?
Unlike members of the collateral branches, who carried at least some Benheim blood, I was a complete stranger. They probably also suspected me of stealing the family head’s artifact, so they could hardly look upon me favorably.
Allet’s advice was entirely sound.
However….
“That’s my decision.”
“…Were you not listening?”
“I was. You’re telling me not to act rashly until I can do the work of a proper mage.”
“Then….”
“I intend to become a mage worth at least ten others, rather than just one. So there’s no problem.”
At my seemingly baseless confidence, a crease formed between Allet’s brows.
Perhaps Stern had given him strict instructions. Instead of getting angry, Allet heaved a sigh and shook his head.
“Do as you please. However, I will not resolve any trouble that results.”
“Of course.”
Whatever else he might be, Chief Steward Allet was a mage of Benheim, too.
With a shameless smile, I held out my cuffed hands.
“On that note, when will you remove these?”
“Ah, dear me. In all the commotion, I forgot to pass on His Lordship’s words.”
The corners of Allet’s mouth rose.
It was the first smile he had shown me.
“His Lordship said that the criminal Reagan is to reflect upon his crimes in prison for one week.”
“…Fuck.”
That damned father-in-law of mine.
***
“What did he say?”
“Nothing much, but he seemed considerably displeased.”
“I imagine so. A boy in the prime of his youth, told to rot in prison for an entire week.”
After hearing Chief Steward Allet’s report, Stern, the head of House Benheim, took a drink with a bitter smile.
Allet hesitated before speaking.
“If I may offer my humble opinion, the boy seems rebellious by nature. I question whether accepting someone like him into our household was truly the right decision.”
Stern nodded.
Indeed, even he had been furious when Reagan had brazenly asked for his daughter earlier. Had he not exercised extraordinary self-control, it would hardly have been surprising if he had unleashed an offensive spell on the spot.
“Allet, everything that boy said was true.”
Stern touched the monocle resting on the table.
Though it looked ordinary, it was an artifact. It contained a detection spell that distinguished truth from lies.
He had worn it when meeting Reagan, just in case.
“It was unquestionably the truth.”
Everything the boy of unknown origins had said was true.
There hadn’t been a single lie.
A mysterious mage had given him the pendant, told him that it contained a rune, and instructed him to visit Benheim and return it.
That alone was astonishing, but the most decisive point was that Reagan had some idea of the rune’s identity.
“His knowledge of the final rune’s power is not something we can simply overlook. If the boy speaks of it elsewhere, his life will certainly be in danger. The same would be true of our house.”
A rune governing time.
Magic grand enough to overturn the world.
The final research project that would define Benheim’s thousand-year history.
Successive family heads had devoted their lives to the problem, yet none had found an answer.
And the greatest clue lay within the heirloom.
“Who do you suppose the mage who entrusted him with the pendant was?”
“This rune governs the power of time. Then there is only one possibility to consider, is there not?”
Stern tightened his grip on the pendant.
“A future successor, or perhaps an ancestor from the past, sought to offer us guidance. The antiquated attire suggests an ancestor, but knowing that Renia would be attacked today could point to a descendant from the future.”
“Then why did this person entrust the task to that boy instead of coming personally?”
“There must be a reason that cannot be spoken of. Ordinary men like us would surely fail to understand. But one thing is certain: whether in the past or the future, Benheim chose that boy. That makes him a benefactor.”
Allet nodded at Stern’s words. He, too, was a mage of considerable skill. Earlier, in the prison, he had glimpsed remarkable talent in the boy named Reagan.
‘He was unquestionably dismantling the spell inscribed on the bars.’
When he first realized that, Allet had been astonished.
A novice who hadn’t even begun using mana had discerned the structure of the spell on the bars and attempted to dismantle it. The fact that he had even partially succeeded made his talent nothing short of heaven-sent.
Moreover, though the boy seemed rude at first glance, he possessed insight far beyond his years.
But as Chief Steward, Allet had no choice but to place the family’s safety first. He spoke cautiously.
“My lord, today that boy killed the assailants who attacked Lady Renia with nothing but a sword.”
Allet had just received the Benheim guards’ report from their investigation of the scene.
The assassins hadn’t been particularly well trained, but they could use basic aura. The dark mages leading them had been of the Second and Third Tiers, one of each.
Their levels weren’t especially high, but they still represented considerable fighting strength.
“The guard captain leading the investigation told me that every strike pierced a vital point with precision. One blow apiece. The wounds were clean, with none of the usual signs of wasted movement.”
“…….”
“Lady Renia’s account was consistent with that.”
Reagan had killed every thug who attacked Renia.
An ordinary boy who hadn’t begun using mana had slaughtered five attackers with nothing but a cheap iron sword.
“Is that not clearly strange? The conveniently timed attack, the stolen pendant… I have an ominous feeling that everything is revolving around that boy.”
“Allet, what are you trying to say?”
“We cannot dismiss the possibility that Reagan is a spy for another house or for dark mages. With the recent change in Rusen’s family head, all sorts of disturbing rumors seem to be circulating. We should consider the attack on Lady Renia in light of that….”
“I know.”
Stern cut him off and nodded.
He, too, had detected the unsettling currents surrounding the House of Count Rusen, another of the great houses of magic.
“But Allet, Benheim exists to pursue magic to its very end. Correct?”
“Indeed.”
“There is no rule that only those of Benheim’s blood may stand at that end. Rather, we must remember our ancestors’ words. If exceptional talent exists beyond our family, we should welcome it without hesitation and let it nourish Benheim.”
Faced with such an unassailable argument, Allet bowed his head.
“However, your suspicions are reasonable, Allet. First, have the family’s elite track down those insolent bastards who attacked Renia.”
“Yes. The Rune Watch has already begun the pursuit.”
The Rune Watch was a unit composed solely of Benheim’s finest mages.
With them on the case, the perpetrators would soon be revealed.
Stern nodded and continued.
“In addition, assign a trained watcher to Reagan. We should maintain at least a minimum of caution.”
“As you command.”
After receiving his orders, Allet left the room. Alone, Stern silently gazed out the window and took another drink.
His thoughts remained tangled.
“Asking for my daughter….”
The boy, Reagan, had asked him to hand over his daughter.
Coincidentally, Stern had also thought of his daughter the moment he saw Reagan.
Renia Benheim.
Her bold, mischievous personality. Her innate rebelliousness. And, despite it all, her exceptional talent. The two had much in common.
Moreover, Renia now owed Reagan her life.
Stern had therefore sensed that, together, they would bring out the best in each other and advance Benheim’s magic another step. Having lived his entire life as a mage, he could tell.
However….
“I hope Renia doesn’t pick up his ways.”
As a father before he was a family head, he couldn’t help feeling somewhat uneasy.