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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
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Arwen’s words might have seemed irresponsible, but they weren’t entirely meaningless.
The deed was done, he was riding a tiger, unable to dismount.
The momentum was building.
Whether Rudrick wanted it or not, his name had already spread like wildfire through the capital’s political circles.
The lover of the Second Princess Elena.
The new Court Mage.
The human who defeated a dragon, a feat unheard of since the age of myths.
Any one of those titles would have been enough to garner public attention, but having all three meant it was impossible for him to avoid the spotlight.
Even if, in reality, he was only the new Court Mage.
The public rarely distinguished between truth and gossip.
As long as the gossip was entertaining, its authenticity didn’t matter and that was precisely Rudrick’s current situation.
“…How did these rumors get so out of hand? Who’s spreading such ridiculous nonsense?”
He couldn’t bring himself to confront Eileen directly, so he grumbled under his breath, frowning.
He was already flustered by the unexpected scale of the appointment ceremony.
He couldn’t understand why so many nobles had gathered for what was supposed to be a simple formality.
But as Arwen had pointed out, complaining wouldn’t change anything.
“Sigh…”
Rudrick took a deep breath and peeked through the curtains at the back of the hall.
“Gulp.”
He quickly drew the curtains closed.
As befitting an Empire known for its grandeur, the Hall of the Sun could accommodate over a thousand people.
A quick glance had shown him that the vast hall was already packed with people.
“There you are, the star of the show. What do you think? We prepared everything as you requested, a simple and modest ceremony. Are you satisfied?”
“…This is a simple ceremony?”
“All thanks to you. We were able to prepare everything so quickly. According to the few remaining records, the previous Court Mage’s appointment ceremony had over fifty procedures. We’ve reduced it to fifteen this time.”
“Fifteen is considered a compromise…?”
Rudrick looked at Voltaire, the Palace Master, with a grimace.
His memory was hazy, but even school graduation and entrance ceremonies had only around ten procedures.
The fact that they had “reduced” it to fifteen felt excessive.
The thought of standing in front of that crowd for an extended period of time was daunting.
“It’s a good thing you wanted a simple ceremony. We wouldn’t have been able to prepare everything so quickly otherwise. If we had followed the precedent set by the previous ceremony, it would have taken at least six months to prepare.”
“It’s not like it’s the Empress’ coronation. Isn’t it a bit excessive to spend six months preparing for a mage’s appointment ceremony?”
“I understand your point, given that mages tend to be… free-spirited. But tradition and decorum must be upheld.”
Voltaire chuckled good-naturedly.
“Anyway, the ceremony will begin soon, so be prepared. I’m glad you approve of the arrangements.”
And with that, the Palace Master left.
Rudrick muttered under his breath as she left.
“…I don’t recall approving of anything.”
“Well, you didn’t specify, did you?”
“Arwen, are you trying to get in trouble?”
He glared at Arwen, who was clearly enjoying his discomfort, and adjusted his clothes nervously.
Moments later, another unexpected visitor arrived.
“That’s a relief.”
“What’s so relieving about this? Look at this crowd. It’s all because of that ridiculous rumor you spread.”
Rudrick grumbled at Eileen, who had just arrived.
In reality, Eileen was the one who had started this whole mess.
It would have been an internal matter if she hadn’t spread those rumors.
Because of her, the attention surrounding Rudrick had multiplied tenfold.
“How did casting one spell on a dragon turn into me defeating it in a fight? You weren’t even there, Eileen.”
“Let’s just focus on the positive.”
Eileen smiled sheepishly at Rudrick’s criticism and stepped closer to adjust his tie.
“The point is, you have everyone’s attention now, Rudrick. At least no one will be jealous of your sudden rise to fame.”
“…I don’t really care about that. But are you sure?”
“As you know, the Court Mage position isn’t hereditary. There were people who looked down on you for inheriting the position simply because you were his disciple… but they’re gone now.”
Eileen finished adjusting his tie and stepped back, her face flushed as she realized how close they were.
“At least, according to what I’ve heard, those fools have all disappeared. Defeating a dragon… It’s a feat worthy of the heroes of myths and legends.”
“…I feel like I’m being hailed as a dragon slayer.”
“If you’re a mage who can overcome a dragon’s magical resistance and successfully cast a spell on it, you’re practically a dragon slayer.”
“Well, no one’s actually asking me to go fight a dragon, so I guess it doesn’t really matter… Anyway, Eileen, your nose is bleeding.”
A trickle of blood ran down her nose.
“…How embarrassing.”
At this point, nosebleeds seemed to be Eileen’s trademark.
He thought she had gotten used to it by now, but perhaps being so close to him while fixing his tie had been too much for her.
Eileen dabbed at the blood with a handkerchief, muttering to herself,
“…This is absurd. How could I lose control of my own body?”
She seemed to be aware of how embarrassing it was, as her voice trailed off at the end.
“At least you realize it’s absurd. It’s a good thing you still have a sense of shame.”
“You’re being awfully smug for someone who just got lucky.”
“…What did you say?”
“If only I knew transformation magic…”
Unfortunately, Arwen, who was watching the whole thing, decided to chime in.
“Why don’t you just become a vampire? If you beg me, I might consider making you my familiar.”
“Your precious familiars would be mortified. To think that their True Ancestor is pretending to be a cat and fawning over a human.”
“…Are you done?”
“No, not yet.”
Sensing that their argument was about to escalate, Rudrick intervened.
“Both of you, stop it.”
“Hmph.”
“Tsk.”
They both turned away, clicking their tongues in unison.
It seemed like the rivalry between them wouldn’t disappear so easily, regardless of Rudrick’s decision.
He sighed, realizing that he had a long road ahead of him.
“Why do you have to fight every time you see each other? You should be greeting each other instead of bickering.”
“…You saw what happened. She started it.”
“How could we possibly be happy to see each other?”
They were acting like children, tattling on each other.
Rudrick felt a headache coming on, but he couldn’t blame them.
This was part of the package deal.
He sighed and decided to resort to drastic measures.
“If you two fight again in front of me, I’m going to make you sleep outside for a month, Arwen.”
“B-but…!”
“And you too, Eileen. One month of restricted access.”
“…!”
Both Arwen and Eileen fell silent.
Finally, he could have a proper conversation.
He glared at them, annoyed that he had to resort to threats.
“Anyway, Eileen, shouldn’t you be in the VIP section?”
“I checked outside before coming here. It seems everyone who’s coming is already here. I think the ceremony will begin soon.”
“…Anyway, this crowd is all because of that rumor you spread.”
“Isn’t it a good thing?”
“What’s so good about it?”
Eileen glanced around to make sure no one was listening before speaking.
“It’s practically your coronation. The more people, the better.”
“You do realize that if someone overhears you saying that, it could be construed as treason, right?”
“Don’t worry. No one’s stupid enough to say such a thing in public.”
Eileen replied with a strange expression, as if she were trying to suppress a laugh.
She felt a sense of accomplishment.
There were still many problems to be solved, but the miracle of regression had been worth it.
This timeline, at least so far, had been a smooth ride.
She had never imagined that she would witness Rudrick’s de facto coronation, less than a year after their regression.
Rudrick himself might not have realized it yet, but this appointment ceremony held a far greater significance than he thought.
Rudrick was the only human alive who possessed such magical abilities.
An ordinary mage, even at full power, couldn’t even scratch a dragon’s scales.
Even an Archmage wouldn’t be much different.
The crowd outside wasn’t simply there out of curiosity.
Eileen decided to keep this knowledge to herself, a secret she would cherish until the ceremony began.
Her face flushed with anticipation.
“You’ll understand soon enough.”
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