“Within the last few days, did you take some sort of action against Suimei-dono?”
“...”
Silence. Thus, a hit. But he had expected that much. This wasn’t news to him.
“Was it a verbal warning?”
This time, Felmenia shook her head.
“Did you use force?”
“...”
Another hit, though it was likely no more than overawing him as a punishment. Felmenia should have known full well not to do anything more than that. He didn’t think it was possible, but he still had to ask.
“At the time, did you injure Suimei-dono?”
The king was worried he may have phrased that a little strongly, but...
Felmenia adamantly shook her head. With that, one more question came to mind.
“...Wait, did you try to injure him?”
“...”
In response to Felmenia’s silence, the king was also stunned into silence for a time. This was far too surprising. Not the fact that Felmenia had actually used force, but that she, despite being considered the most prominent mage in the entire country, had failed to injure Suimei when that’s what she’d had the express intent of doing. That was what shocked him. Just what did it mean? Had the boy who was not given the divine protection from the hero summoning, a mere mage who had no strength imparted on him by the Goddess or the Elements, truly walked away unscathed from an encounter with the White Flame?
While listening to the sound of his own gulping, the king resolved himself and asked one more question.
“Then let me ask you this, Felmenia. Were you defeated?”
“...”
Affirmative silence. There was nothing more to doubt. Felmenia had acted on her own, disobeying the king’s order and confronting Suimei, and as a result, she had tasted a crushing defeat.
“And at that time, Suimei-dono took hold of some kind of weakness of yours. And because of that, you are unable to say anything to me. Is that correct?”
“...”
A hit. As expected, Felmenia couldn’t speak freely on the matter because of some sort of weakness, despite the fact that she could not be seen or heard by the one exploiting that weakness at the moment. The king had his doubts as to why she was honoring whatever arrangement she had with Suimei, but...
Felmenia, and also the one who laid her low, Suimei, were both people walking the dark, winding path of magic. For the king who had only dabbled in the magic arts, it was difficult for him to comprehend what kind of agreement the two of them may have come to.
“Hic... Hic... Your Majesty, my deepest apologies... In addition to going against your orders, I am being disloyal only to protect myself. I, Felmenia Stingray, shall accept any... any punishment that you deem appro... appropriate...”
“It is fine. You have already received your punishment from Suimei-dono, have you not? There is no point in lashing the dead. I have no punishment to bestow on you.”
“Your Majesty...”
Repenting for her mistakes, Felmenia’s tears flowed freely and she became excessively despondent. For her to be in such low spirits was likely because her fight against Suimei had been that devastating. In that case, the king could see that she’d already been punished enough. If the situation had rendered her so humbled, her self-conceit and pride were likely no longer an issue, and that was a relief to him, honestly. But it wasn’t all good news. One worry quickly replaced another.
“Felmenia. I cannot leave this matter unaddressed. After this, I am thinking of summoning Suimei-dono to the audience chamber.”
“Your Majesty, calling Suimei-dono here... But why...?”
As Felmenia raised her head in bewilderment, the king answered her without holding anything back.
“Is it not obvious? Since I cannot hear it from you, I shall ask Suimei-dono. Besides, there is the matter of the summoning as well as your weakness. I ought to diffuse any potential discord between that man and us.”
“You mustn’t, Your Majesty! Suimei-dono is not that kind of halfhea—GUAAAAAAAAH!”
When she tried to object, Felmenia was strangely afflicted. Suddenly, right in the middle of her sentence, a shriek came from her mouth and she was grasping at a terrible pain in her chest.
“Felmenia?! What happened?! Felmenia!”
At this strange, sudden occurrence, the king reflexively rose to his feet. Felmenia’s fit was that alarming. But the pain that rendered her writhing on the ground did not seem to last for long. In a few moments, her screaming stopped and she righted her posture.
“Hahh, hahh... I apologize for showing such a disgraceful display before... Hrm, ahem...”
“Just what is the matter? Is it some sort of sickness?”
“No...”
She denied that much, but the king knew this was no coincidence. A veritable fountain of cold sweat was running down her beautiful, wise face. She was as pale as a corpse. It was only reasonable to assume the cause was illness, but the king had never heard of her suffering from any such thing.
The king reviewed the events in his head. Moments ago, Felmenia had been on the floor grasping at her chest, seemingly at her heart. And she was afflicted with this pain suddenly. Objecting to the king’s idea, she had started to say something about Suimei, the very boy she’d refused to talk about otherwise. It was moments after mentioning his name that she began screaming. Following that logic...
“Could it be that pain is the weakness...?”
“...”
“Is it magic?”
“...”
Felmenia would not answer. No, because of her weakness, she likely could not answer. The king could only barely see her downcast face, but it was a vortex of bitter feelings. It was part self-condemnation and part remorse. Seeing her in that state, the king had nothing more to ask of her.
“Understood, Felmenia. You may leave everything to me.”
“Your Majesty?”
“As I said before, I shall call Suimei-dono here.”
“B-But...!”
“It is fine. I shall take all responsibility. You shall—”
And from there, King Almadious sent a messenger to retrieve the magician who had cursed one of his mages.
★
Night had fallen since the king concluded his business with Felmenia. He sat in the audience chamber of Castle Camellia, and was eventually greeted by the sound of the door opening. The one who entered was none other than Suimei Yakagi. He was a good friend of Reiji’s, and according to Felmenia, a mage from the other world.
At first glance, this young man looked completely plain. He bowed at the door, and then approached the king with an unhurried gait. The atmosphere around him was just the same as it had been the first time he visited the audience chamber, but he was dressed differently this time. His new monochrome outfit gave him a certain sense of refinement. Perhaps because he was not used to such situations, Suimei knelt down before the king in a somewhat clumsy manner.
“At your messenger’s request, I have come to see Your Majesty.”
“I must apologize for summoning you so late into the night. Forgive me for saying so after you have already been so courteous, but today it will only be the two of us here. Please be at ease.”
“...”
“Would that be alright, Suimei-dono?”
“...Yes, Your Majesty.”
After a long pause, Suimei consented and raised his face. His expression was still a little stiff. Seeing him like that, the king deferred moving on to the main topic and inquired about his clothing instead.
“I am unfamiliar with that outfit. Just what is it?”
“It’s clothing that I brought from my home world. It was inside the bag that I had on hand, and part of the few personal belongings I was able to bring here.”
“It has a different sense of refinement from the clothing the hero wears.”
“In our world, this clothing would be part of what is considered to be full dress. It’s more appropriate for a
place like this.”
Hearing Suimei’s words, the king passed his gaze over Suimei’s outfit again. The black cloth had not one wrinkle in it. The piece of cloth fastened around his neck that hung down like a sword was a nice contrast on top of the stark white shirt he wore underneath it. And paired together with the black trousers he was wearing, the whole ensemble had an indescribable sense of refinement.
“I see. It suits you well.”
“Thank you very much, Your Majesty.”
As Suimei responded, though still kneeling, he deftly smoothed down his coat, straightened his sleeves, and corrected his posture. In that brief moment, it seemed as though the awkwardness had vanished. But Suimei suddenly bowed down his head when he seemed to recall something.
“Though it is quite overdue, You Majesty, I apologize for making such an unsightly scene the other day.”
Suimei humbly offered an apology for what had happened on the day they met. When Suimei had heard he could not return home straight from the king’s mouth, though it was a completely natural reaction, Suimei had completely lost sight of himself.
The moment he’d heard those words, he rudely stood up and started shouting. “Don’t fuck with me. I can’t believe it. If you can’t return us, then you shouldn’t have summoned us.” Something to that effect. He’d completely unloaded on the king. His insolent behavior had offended and enraged the audience who witnessed it, but such was the situation. With the king’s mediation, everything had calmed down since, but he never thought that he would receive an apology after the fact.
“...Ah, yes, that. It’s quite fine. Your feelings were justified. After arbitrarily summoning you three to this world, we made things worse and said that you could not return. Truly, there is no reason you should have to apologize. I would have you raise your head.”
“Then...”
As the king frankly declared that no offense had been taken at his outburst, Suimei obliged and once more raised his head. From his expression, the king could see that regardless of who was at fault during the commotion on that day, Suimei was concerned about it. There was still a sense of awkwardness about him. But with that out of the way, Suimei cut to the chase.
“You said that you had something to discuss with me, Your Majesty?”
“Indeed. There is something that I must know, Suimei-dono.”
“...Your Majesty?”
What the king heard now was a troubled voice. Was this bewildered face and furrowed brow a glimpse into who this young man really was?
“It is about Felmenia, Suimei-dono. There is something that I would like to hear from you.”
“Felmenia-san, is it...? If I remember correctly, I have heard she is the one who has been instructing Reiji and Mizuki in magic. But what of her, Your Majesty?”
“She has told me before that she has seen you outside of your room and loitering around the castle.”
As Suimei shamelessly claimed that Felmenia was someone he was only casually acquainted with, the king confronted him with what he’d heard about his behavior. Suimei then smiled with a weak and bitter expression like he’d been embarrassed somehow.
“Ah, ahaha... I was under the impression that I was free to look around the inside of the castle, so I have been taking walks to keep myself occupied. Have I caused some sort of inconvenience?”
“No, that’s not a problem. It was my intention that you should be able to do that, after all. You have committed no offense in that regard.”
“Then is something else the matter, Your Majesty?”
“You don’t know?”
“...”
Suimei wore a bewildered expression to hide his inner thoughts. The king had brought up Felmenia, but Suimei had said nothing. In fact, he was playing dumb precisely because he knew what the king was really getting at.
In a way, this was an extension of the tension between them from their first encounter. Being summoned was likely enough to put anyone on edge. If the king were Suimei, he could only imagine he would have taken some measures himself. Specifically, using force as a threat. The king had no means of controlling a mage who could defeat Felmenia. That much was simple.
However, for Suimei to be so powerful and not have acted on it all this time, he seemed to be implicitly telling the king that he would like to end things peacefully with everyone pretending that they were none the wiser. “If you keep quiet, I won’t do anything, so just don’t touch on it.” Something like that. The king knew the hornets’ nest he was potentially poking, but he had to get to the heart of the matter.
“What, exactly, did you do to Felmenia?”
“I do not understand, Your Majesty.”
“Suimei-dono, there is no way that you do not know what I speak of, is there not? Speak hon—”
And just then, the moment he tried to say more, terror and goosebumps ran down Almadious’s back. Just what kind of expression was this boy hiding under the hair that covered his face? Through the small gap in Suimei’s bangs, the king could see a deep crimson glow. It inspired an indescribable dread in him. And then...
“With all due respect, Your Majesty, are you sure you want to ask that question?”
Almadious felt like had lost his voice. Like it had been stolen. Suimei reproached the king in a sharp tone that made him seem like a completely different person. As a little test of the king’s resolve, Suimei had silenced him for a moment and taken his breath away. However...
“...S-Suimei-dono. Yes, I wish to have an answer.”
Seeing that the king would still speak of it after that, Suimei ceased kneeling and abruptly stood up. He then swung his arm backwards, and a coat appeared over his shoulders with a flutter from nowhere. The king had no idea what he’d done, but, if he had to guess, it was likely magic. It was the magic Suimei used that the mages here could barely comprehend.
As for Suimei himself, there was no sign of the awkwardness and stiffness from before. His gentle gaze had turned sharp, and his eyes were alive with a deep crimson glow that could pierce darkness. His expression was tinged with the pride that the king had seen from mages countless times before.
If there had been a proper audience in the chamber, people would be whispering about Suimei’s insolence again. But this time there was no one to comment on his behavior. While the king was captivated seeing this mage-like attitude from Suimei for the first time, Suimei spoke as if letting out a sigh.
“Good grief. I haven’t heard anything about that woman eating it, so how do you know that much?”
“As expected, you...”
“Yeah, it’s exactly that. When I was first summoned here, that woman found out I was a magician, and the result of somehow or other sealing her mouth took on that kinda shape. But seeing as how she can’t talk about it now, how is it that Your Majesty is so informed about what I’ve done?”
“I asked her about it. If she could not speak of it, I told her to remain silent.”
After the king concisely explained what had happened, Suimei spoke quietly as though he’d come to some kind of understanding.
“I see. I didn’t consider that. Certainly the covenant that binds that woman only forbids her from speaking.”
In stark contrast to his gentle voice as he recalled that, Suimei shot a sharp glance the king’s way.
“However, why have you called me here? I’m the man who holds that woman’s life in my hand. If you understand that much, I do believe that you fully grasp the dangers of summoning me without a single guard present.”
He was right. The king understood just how dangerous it was to call Suimei here privately. Yet even knowing full well how dangerous it was, he’d summoned him without preparing any sort of countermeasures. Suimei’s question was only natural. However, the king had his reasons.
“That is certainly a concern. However, both you and the hero are guests that I have called to this world. No matter what happens, that remains unchanged. To have pushed our problems forcefully on those of you from a different wor
ld with a different set of principles was my sin, and I will accept that much.”
That’s why the king refused to bare his fangs against them, no matter the reason. The moment he did that, he would become nothing more than a beast who concealed his true nature behind a mask of kindness. It would be too much to his own convenience. As if carefully scrutinizing what the king had said, Suimei remained silent.
“...”
“Suimei-dono. After summoning you to this unfamiliar place and shutting my eyes to the misconduct of my subordinates, it is presumptuous of me to ask more of you, but would you please speak of it to me?”
“Why do you want to hear it so badly? Even if I say nothing, my silence won’t harm Your Majesty, will it?”
“That certainly may be the true. But if I look the other way and she were to lose her life by some chance, my regret would be endless.”
“Even over that kind of conceited woman?”
“That is right. She is my retainer, and I must protect her.”
Suimei let out a sigh as he replied.
“As long as she doesn’t talk, there is no threat to her life. That is absolute. I also don’t want to needlessly take the life of another. That should conclude our talk, right?”
“No, not yet.”
“I don’t believe there is anything else for us to talk about, is there?”
Suimei questioned the king with a dubious expression. But even if their real business had been settled, the king still had things that he wanted to learn.
“Suimei-dono, I know nothing about you. As the one responsible for summoning you here, I would like to learn. I would like to hear just who you are, and what you plan to do from here on out. I want to have a frank conversation with you. If possible, I would like to completely clear the air between us.”
Yes, that was the king’s true intention without any pretense. Certainly, the previous matter would be settled as long as Felmenia and the king kept their mouths shut. They were the only two who knew about Suimei. And their silence would buy peace. If they stayed quiet, they could return to their everyday lives without any problems.
The Magic in this Other World is Too Far Behind! Volume 1 Page 17
