Minerva, despite being 400 years old, was humming a light tune and writing on the scroll with a very cheerful expression.
It had been a long time since she felt the emotion of curiosity, so she couldn’t help it.
Since about two hundred years ago, her magic research, which she had been doing out of a sense of duty, had regained its vibrancy. It was only natural, considering that two unprecedented events had happened within just a few days.
One was regarding the Crystal Scroll, and the other was about Delta, the one who promised to find it for her. Both topics were highly stimulating her curiosity.
‘The more I think about it, the more amazing this kid is.’
Recalling Delta, who had made remarkable progress over the past few days, Minerva continued to write something on the scroll.
When she first confirmed him at Aurora’s Mansion, he was nothing but a guy with a pitiful amount of innate mana. It was almost certain that he would run out of mana after casting a couple of low-tier spells.
However, when she saw him again at the Imperial Palace, surprisingly, the total amount of his mana had increased several times over. Minerva was so shocked that at one point, she even doubted her own senses.
Considering the short interval between the date she brought him to her bedroom and when they arrived at the palace, it was indeed an unbelievable level of change.
Of course, the baseline amount of mana was still ridiculously low, so even if it had increased several times, it wasn’t a huge figure. But the fact that it showed such a rapid growth was what truly mattered.
‘If we’re talking about talent, he could certainly be nurtured into a magician… No, perhaps even more than that.’
Minerva, who had taught countless mages, knew that among them, there were definitely some who showed similar or even steeper upward trends compared to Delta.
But those achievements were made with the Mage Tower’s generous support. There had never been a case like Delta’s, where such growth occurred without any assistance or effort.
Magic is developed gradually by acquiring vast amounts of knowledge. Is it even possible to reach enlightenment at some point without undergoing such a process?
As far as Minerva knew, that was absolutely impossible.
She seriously began to contemplate whether she should bring Delta into the Mage Tower to nurture him as a magician. If he wanted, she was even willing to establish a master-apprentice relationship with him.
It was an unprecedented level of privilege throughout the empire’s several hundred years of history, but considering the potential she glimpsed in Delta, it was certainly worth the investment.
Above all, hadn’t she promised to tell him the location of the dungeon where the Crystal Scroll was hidden?
The moment that claim was proven true, all mages in the empire would not only reject Delta but would undoubtedly beg him for blessings, praying to receive some favor themselves.
“…Hmm?”
After finishing her sentence and reaching for a new scroll, Minerva frowned as she detected an unusual flow of mana nearby.
Her bedroom, protected by dozens of layers of defensive spells she herself had cast, was indeed a stronghold against most forms of magic. Yet still sensing the flow of mana meant…
“How surprising. You managed to drag that heavy body all the way here. I wonder what wind blew you in?”
Without even turning around, Minerva spoke.
Just a moment later, a swirling black energy began to gather in the air. The thick, unpleasant flow made her face scrunch up in discomfort.
It was similar to teleportation magic but was fundamentally different. A massive circle formed as the black torrent swirled. Minerva set down her pen and turned halfway around to look back.
Emerging from the swirling black wave was a figure. Upon seeing it with her own eyes, Minerva’s face twisted even more.
Walking out from the black torrent was a woman.
Her height was nearly three heads shorter than Minerva. Considering that Minerva herself was extremely tall even compared to men, this woman was exceptionally short.
In contrast, her chest was ridiculously large. While Minerva herself was above average, this woman boasted a weighty chest that was far larger. It was even bigger than her head.
Especially given her overwhelmingly short stature, her already large chest appeared even bigger. Each step she took made her chest sway up and down wildly.
Her waist, already slender, seemed even thinner compared to the two hefty lumps above. Moreover, her chubby thighs only added to the effect.
Dressed only in what seemed like minimal clothing, with an outfit that nearly exposed her chest, combined with her curvy figure, created a great synergy.
Minerva, ignoring the woman’s seemingly ordinary outfit, glared at her with a hard face.
“Ah, hello, Minerva-nim…”
With a timid voice, the woman’s nervous demeanor did not match her intimidatingly large chest that looked like it might rip through her clothes at any moment.
Fluffy hair, a mix of purple and green hues, swayed behind her, and her black eyes rolled around, peeking out from under bangs that hung close to her eyes.
“I believe you came all the way here because of something important. If that’s not the case, I might have to get rather angry, since you’ve interrupted my lovely time.”
A staff floated into Minerva’s right hand. Tap, the tip lightly touched the ground. Blue mana began to rise, and her white pupil and black pupil locked sight with each other.
“Answer me, Nix. What brings you here?”
‘Finally done.’
With a worn-out expression, I was walking through the corridors of the Imperial Palace.
Meeting the ordinary members of the Silver Dawn Knights at their station was fine up to that point. That was good enough, but once they learned I was a newbie, all their interest suddenly shifted to me.
Since all four Knight Commanders were far from emotional, I expected them to be somewhat delighted to reunite, even if it wasn’t a tearful embrace, but after just a few polite exchanges, it was over.
Thanks to that, during the remaining time, I was left to suffer all alone.
Besides, it seemed the Knight Commanders were oblivious to the keen attention their fellow members had directed towards me. In fact, they wore expressions that looked rather pleased.
Eventually, I was bombarded with a barrage of questions, taking hits after hits, and it was nearly an hour later before I finally managed to escape.
It was a real pain in the neck. It would have been much easier to spar with ordinary knights for 20 rounds. At least that wouldn’t drain my mental energy.
‘As expected, I should just revert the Silver Dawn Knights back to their original form, right?’
The endings of the Golden Dusk Knights and the Silver Dawn Knights were decisions that the player could make.
You could either revert the Silver Dawn Knights to their original positions or incorporate the Dusk Knights into the Dawn Knights, or even seat yourself in the position of the Knight Commander.
Originally, I aimed for the emperor’s direct knight position, but it seemed like Kaiquilia’s unusual interest in me was making me ponder a bit. I found myself questioning whether I could endure the pressure of that attention.
‘Well, that’s something I can think about later.’
I simply abandoned the thought. There was no need to worry about such things right now. I could just figure out methods as the story progressed.
Thinking about the future right now was pointless. I had already twisted the story of Brightest Darkness 4 too much compared to what I knew.
I didn’t even know what Kaiquilia might do to me at the upcoming audience. How could I think about future matters on top of that? It was preposterous.
“Are you here?”
Someone stopped me as I was about to head back to my room. I turned to see a maid whose overall aura was similar to Lana’s but with an even more emotionless expression.
She had already been serving us since yesterday, but I just couldn’t get accustomed to it. She seemed far more robotic than Lana, making me feel uneasy just watching her.
With movements so stiff, it wouldn’t be strange to label her as something possessing a human shell. I thought that this was the standard needed to perform duties in the Imperial Palace.
“What is it?”
“Her Majesty the Empress is looking for you. You must prepare for an immediate audience.”
“…Just me?”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
Upon hearing that, a sense of alarm rang out in my intuition. The person who had unceremoniously pulled my head through their legs in front of a crowd in the Central Hall was Kaiquilia.
She was someone who could casually perform such acts in the presence of others, yet here she was, issuing a command for me to have an audience with her alone?
It felt very wrong.
Very, very wrong.
“Understood. Where should I go?”
I sighed inwardly as I asked. Regardless of my feelings about it, Her Majesty the Empress had summoned me, and ignoring that wasn’t an option.
The unfeeling gaze that seemed devoid of any emotion was directed at me.
“To the Empress’s bedroom.”
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