Theorad, the Star Instructor (4)
Bright sunlight fell across Rioveda Street on its high plateau. It looked as though the day ought to have been sweltering, but a cool wind moved through the district.
Merchants calling out their wares and students talking as they passed made a lively chorus.
The elf was walking down the main street at an unhurried pace when she caught Theorad's name in a conversation nearby. Her ears pricked up.
“I really should have applied for Viscount Theorad's special lecture. I'd give anything to hear it now, but I can't.”
“Everyone wants to go. The news has spread all across the country.”
“Couldn't they rent Baekju Hall in the welfare building? It has a huge crystal sphere. If they transmitted the lecture there as it happened, more students could attend.”
“You think they'd agree? Nobles are coming to the Mage Tower and complaining to the president because they can't get in. Some people would pay a fortune for a seat. Why would they want to share?”
The students had a point.
Ten days had passed since Theorad's first lecture, and talk of the magic he had displayed had spread beyond the Mage Tower to other parts of the Empire.
At first, many had dismissed the idea that someone could produce such advanced personal magic without an incantation or a wand. Then Brandal, the Mage Tower's president and an archmage, had publicly defended Theorad. The balance of opinion had shifted.
Rumors of a previously unknown genius called Theorad Deharem were now circulating everywhere. Plenty of people still had doubts, but few were willing to ridicule a man supported by one of the Empire's archmages.
The elf was delighted.
Just as planned.
With his reputation so firmly established, even the Emperor would have difficulty treating him carelessly. People would think twice before making an enemy of him. The higher Theorad's standing rose, the fewer needless disputes would reach him.
Then they could return to the mansion and live quietly together…
Quietly together?
The elf stopped herself, startled.
As if I want a peaceful life with Theorad! Absolutely not.
She was staying by his side only to see whether he kept his promise. It was surveillance, nothing more. Besides, Theorad was her toy. Naturally she had to look after what belonged to her.
Having settled on these explanations, she nodded to herself and resumed her walk toward the pudding shop.
At the counter, a stocky middle-aged man with thick forearms leaned out to greet her.
“Why, it's the elf! Back again? Where's the Viscount? You're on your own today?”
“…Master is giving a lecture.”
“Oh? I thought you'd go with him.”
“People from business and politics attend his lectures now. They don't like a maid standing in the classroom.”
“I see. Well, shall I get the usual two puddings ready?”
The elf considered this, then shook her head.
“Three, please. I'll eat one on the way.”
“Of course! Just a moment.”
As the shopkeeper disappeared inside, the elf went toward a bench to wait. Voices close by interrupted her.
“That's the elf who accompanies Viscount Theorad, isn't it?”
“Of course. You can see her pointed ears. Go on, give it to her.”
“All right…!”
Give her what?
The elf was tempted to tell them to go away. Instead she sighed and looked around.
Several female students in altered mage robes approached nervously. One held a letter sealed with a heart-shaped sticker. Their intentions could hardly have been clearer.
“E-excuse me…!”
“You want me to deliver a letter to Master?”
The student flinched. The elf had guessed before she could finish her request.
The elf was not concerned with the girl's embarrassment. She took the letter, glanced at it and sighed.
“Master has a fiancée. You know that, and you're still giving him a love letter?”
“It's only… I'm just a fan…”
“Do you think House Pelgaroin would see it that way?”
Fear crossed the student's face.
The mention of Ashley's family was as effective as the elf had expected. She handed the letter back.
“I'll pretend this never happened. Take it away and burn it. You don't want a single letter ruining your future, do you?”
“Th-thank you…”
The student withdrew, shoulders slumped. The elf felt no urge to console her. A student who set her sights on the elf's toy ought to know better.
She clicked her tongue, sat on the bench and thought about the stream of admirers who had begun appearing.
I don't understand.
She had instructed Theorad to behave arrogantly for more than the sake of fooling the Mage Tower's professors and Brandal. If he treated the students kindly, women might become attached to him. A reputation for being unpleasant ought to have prevented that.
Theorad had followed her instructions well. Most people in the tower now regarded him as cold and overbearing.
Yet women continued to swarm around him like bees finding honey.
Why?
As she considered the question, a memory came back: a time when Theorad had treated her with deliberate cruelty.
It was their conversation in the carriage.
“Talk back once more, and I'll fuck you like a dog. Know your place, inferior creature.”
He had gripped her hair beside her head, speaking from close enough that she could hear him breathe.
His tired, low voice; the narrowed light-brown eyes; the pressure of his fingers in her hair; the way he looked down on her as though she were an insect—all of it returned with uncomfortable clarity.
The elf blushed before she could stop herself. She bit her lower lip and fidgeted with her hands. Her heartbeat had become unsteady.
What an insolent toy…
Perhaps she understood the women drawn to his arrogant manner after all.
“…That concludes today's lecture.”
Thunderous applause filled the room.
Holding a wand, Theorad used telekinesis to gather up his magic papers.
Ordinarily he could scarcely manage that spell. But Brandal had given him an exceptionally expensive wand, praising his supposed mastery; with its assistance, Theorad could now perform simple telekinesis himself.
The audience, unaware of the truth, took his use of the wand as a public gesture of friendship toward the president. Theorad had little reason to correct them.
“If you didn't understand something, compare your notes with one another. I'll see you at the next lecture.”
With that brief farewell, Theorad left without looking back.
Some people admired what they took to be a genius's pride. In truth, he wanted to avoid being cornered by yet another group of high-ranking visitors.
He strode toward the elevator with as much dignity as he could muster, then raised Brandal's wand to call it by telekinesis. The spell still felt unfamiliar, but the wand compensated for his shortcomings.
Ding.
The doors opened.
Theorad stopped.
“Oh?”
“Ah!”
Standing inside was Pares, equally startled. Pares had been running errands for Chairman Weedra and hadn't expected to encounter Theorad on the way back.
It was a welcome surprise. The two had always been well disposed toward each other.
“Pares! How pleasant to meet you here.”
“And you, Viscount Theorad!”
They exchanged greetings, and Theorad stepped into the elevator with a warm smile.
Once the doors closed, he looked down at Pares.
“Which floor?”
“The forty-third. I'm staying with the chairman.”
“Not far from mine. I'm on the forty-fifth.”
“The forty-fifth? Isn't that the Royal Suite? I'm jealous…”
Theorad laughed softly at the unguarded admiration and set the elevator rising. Its movement was slow but smooth.
“By the way…”
Theorad glanced at Pares. Something in his serious expression made Pares instinctively draw back.
“Why didn't you contact me when you arrived at the Mage Tower? If I'd known you were here, I'd have invited you to dinner.”
“I wanted to see you! But I had no way of reaching you, and you're so famous now. Asking to meet privately seemed…”
“I see. My reputation took off quite without my intending it.”
That was no attempt at modesty.
He was busier than he wished, his lecture schedule was crowded, and people from all over the Empire—even members of the imperial family—kept requesting private audiences.
He invented reasons to decline, but some people simply refused to accept a refusal. Their repeated approaches were wearing him down.
He did not blame the elf. She was trying to help him, and her efforts had raised House Deharem's reputation immeasurably.
By now, news that Viscount Deharem was a great mage must have reached his estate. He could almost picture Beynon's gloomy face and Havid's delight.
I'm sure Ashley will be pleased, too.
He wanted to go home to the county and talk with them.
Realizing he had been silent for too long, Theorad cleared his throat.
“Anyway, when you can't reach me, send a message through Witch Note. I'll give you my ID.”
“Witch Note?”
Pares smiled in surprise.
“You use Witch Note too, Viscount?”
“Of course. I obtained formal permission through the president, so there are no legal difficulties.”
“That's impressive. What's your ID?”
Theorad hesitated. He had never changed the name he'd chosen when he first created the account. It was rather embarrassing.
“Hungry.”
“Pardon?”
“That's my ID. Hungry.”
“Your ID is Hungry? Ahaha! That's rather plain for someone like you—”
Pares broke off.
A memory had surfaced: an exchange of Witch Note messages with the Black Flame Witch.
▷ I told you not to make trouble.
▶ Who are you?
▷ I warned you in your room not to spread rumors.
▶ Oh.
The ID on those messages had been Hungry.
It can't be…
Pares swallowed and looked up at Theorad, suddenly frightened.
The Black Flame Witch?