Chapter 47 - Liza's Arrival

Two months had passed since then.

I had planned to research and develop the ‘Null Element’ magic. However, Emilia disrupted my plans. She turned my afternoons into a time where I memorized the names of various people. What’s more, she would pile a large stack of papers in front of me and tell me to read each one. There were times when I tried to run away, but Emilia always anticipated that and sealed off my escape routes.

Though most of the documents were boring, some captured my attention. For instance, there were reports from Liza and the others’ fathers detailing their movements in preparation for the invasion.

It seemed that Liza and the others had informed their parents about the invasion I declared to their children when we were still at school. At first, their parents were skeptical, but Liza and the others were so insistent that they investigated the relic that had protected the country since its founding. This relic was the reason why humans had been able to prosper in this world, where we were the weakest race. That’s why they investigated the relic instead of the borders.

In the past, humans were a wandering race with no home. As the weakest race, we had no choice but to live that way. One day, our ancestors discovered an unknown relic. This relic suddenly shone and created a veil that encompassed a large area. At first, they were terrified because something unknown had happened.

So they fled from the relic. They ran and ran until they reached the outer edges of the veil. When they arrived, they were shocked by what they saw.

Elves, Dwarves, and Dragons were fighting at the outskirts of the veil. Moreover, when those races saw our ancestors, they decided to include them in the crossfire. However, because of the veil, their attacks didn’t reach them.

Seeing this, our ancestors became grateful to the veil created by the relic and decided to settle in the place where they found it. A thousand years had passed since then, and humans had prospered and established a kingdom within the veil.

*Cough*

I got a little sidetracked. Let’s get back.

The results of their investigation greatly shocked them. They discovered that the relic had mysteriously started to degenerate. As a result, they realized that the threat of an invasion by the other races was real. Currently…

“Lumina-sama, the kidnapping of Duke Mearess’s daughter was successful.”

“Eh?”

While I sipped on a cup of tea and pondered recent events, Emilia suddenly arrived with shocking news.

“Did they actually do it?”

“Yes, they did, Lumina-sama.”

“W-why?”

“You’re asking why? It’s because you convinced them that this country is in danger. So they quickly moved to secure a position in the Royal Court.”

I panicked and stood up from the chair where I was drinking my tea. By the way, I was drinking tea in the sky as usual.

“Nonono, I never wanted to secure a position in the Royal Court.”

“It’s not a want, Lumina-sama. It’s a need.”

“…”

“Lumina-sama, you wanted to do something about the invasion, right?”

I nodded in response to Emilia’s question.

“Then you need to have a position in the Royal Court. Once you have a position there, your faction will have a foothold. With a foothold, you will be able to influence the country. And once you can influence the country, you’ll be able to address the invasion.”

“I-is that so?”

“Yes.”

Emilia puffed her chest out with pride as she answered me.

“I’m pretty sure this wasn’t taught in class, Emilia. So where did you learn this?”

“Fufu… I learned this from the experts, Lumina-sama.”

Though I wanted to ask who those experts were, I decided to ignore it. I went back to my seat and drank another cup of tea.

I then gazed at Emilia and probed her, “There’s still more, right?”

“Yes… this time, it concerns the coup d’état that Gen. Mayers planned.”

I fell off my seat when I heard the words ‘coup d’état’.

“What?”

“Sadly, the Karmerot house discovered Gen. Mayers’ scheme, so he wasn’t successful. As punishment, he was sent to the borders by the kingdom.”

“I-I see… Phew, I thought they were going to be executed because of their plans. However, if they are at the borders, that would make things more convenient for us.”

Emilia crossed her arms and then clapped her hands.

“I see, if they’re at the borders, they’ll be able to react more quickly! So, that’s why Gen. Mayers readily accepted his banishment by the king.”

“T-the king?”

“By the way, Lumina-sama… I’ve been wondering for a while, but what are you doing?”

Emilia pointed at the twelve funnels that were flying in the sky.

“… Changing the topic, huh?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Lumina-sama.”

“Well, I can always ask you about the king’s involvement later in the afternoon. Cough* Emilia, those funnels are my countermeasures against high-level spells.”

“…?”

Emilia tilted her head to the side with a puzzled expression. I drank another cup of tea before raising my index finger at her and starting my explanation.

“Remember our duel with that person back at the academy?”

“Yes.”

“I got this idea from the balls I made back then. By using these funnels, I’m able to intercept their control of their magic without getting hurt!”

Normally, objects that underwent an ethereal shift could intercept a spell’s control if the spell’s main attribute matched the base element of the ethereal weapon. However, when I was dueling someone with a lightning element, I couldn’t create a suitable weapon to intercept his spell.

I decided to take a reckless gamble. Since both the lightning he used and the ethereal weapon I used were made of mana, it should be possible to intercept it. I quickly covered my body in mana before his lightning hit me. Despite the intense pain, I managed to intercept control of his magic.

The twelve funnels I made today were designed to help me avoid such a painful experience in the future.

“I see. Then why are they deflecting fireballs?”

“I’m practicing how to use them.”

Emilia looked amused and then shifted her gaze back to me.

“I’m really glad you stopped researching body enhancement magic and focusing on increasing the light attribute’s healing speed, Lumina-sama.”

“I wanted to continue it, though…”

Emilia sharpened her gaze and said, “On the first week of your research into body enhancement magic, how many small animals died?”

“…30.”

“How many survived?”

“… none.”

“Then why is your little brother afraid of you, Lumina-sama?”

“Ahhh! Okay, okay! I understand… I promise I won’t do it!”

I raised my voice and my arms to stop Emilia’s pursuit.

“But why can’t I research light magic?”

“Do you really need to ask?”

“…. Nevermind.”

In the case of light magic, I used my knowledge of cells and biology to increase the healing speed of my experimental subjects. However, the result was the same as with body enhancement magic—all of them died, with not one surviving. Furthermore, when I dissected their bodies, I found cancerous tumors in various parts. These tumors seemed to be the cause of their deaths.

By the way, my little brother also saw me dissecting the bodies. As a result, he became even more afraid of me. My mother told me to stop conducting experiments near the house. Not wanting my brother to be further scared, I agreed to my mother’s request and decided to conduct research in the sky.

“Wanna join me in my practice, Emilia?”

“Yes!”

I then taught Emilia how to make and control the funnels. Because it was somewhat complex, she struggled to understand it.

******

After an hour, I noticed a small caravan of coaches approaching our house from the sky. The coaches were mostly blue and bore the insignia of a serpent.

“Hey, Emilia…”

“Hmm?”

I called Emilia’s name to shift her focus from the funnels to me.

“What’s that?”

I pointed at the long line of coaches.

“Ah, it seems Liza has arrived, Lumina-sama.”

“Liza?”

…

“Ahh, Liza! I see, so she has finally decided to visit!”

“You’re only half-right, Lumina-sama.”

“Hm?”

Before Emilia could reply, she noticed that my cup was empty and stood up from her seat.

“Liza isn’t visiting; she’s moving in.”

“Eh?”

“It’s because she’s your servant, Lumina-sama. Also, Mary and Victoria will arrive later. As for Achil and the other two boys, they’ll be staying at the borders along with Gen. Mayers.”

I quickly slammed my palms on the table and said, “Wait, you said it's because she’s my servant, right?”

“Yes.”

“T-then that means the other 194 will…”

“Don’t worry about that, Lumina-sama. Their parents are strictly educating them at home so they’ll be able to support you once they become the heads of their households.”

“… right~ but that still doesn’t explain why they’re moving in…”

Emilia knitted her brows and replied, “I also asked them that, Lumina-sama. But they said it was related to their households, so I couldn’t pry too deeply.”

“I see…”

I then stood up from my seat and descended back to my home.

“Then let’s quickly get back and meet them.”

“Please wait a moment.”

While Emilia arranged the tea sets, I watched the long line of coaches with excitement. Liza,

whom I hadn’t seen for two months, was finally arriving.