Chapter 37 - Fairies and Light Negotiations
"Let me make this clear. I have absolutely no plans to marry someone given only a few months to live, rush into a death trap, or get swept up in some sudden plot twist and die prematurely. I don't need any death flags."
"What's with that oddly specific example? Did you read some tragic romance novel?"
"There's no particular motif, so don't worry about it. ...Well, if I had to say one thing,"
—Please don't let me become a widower.
＊
A red carpet was laid out on the marble floor. Walking across it without a hint of fear was the Chief Court Mage.
This was the Audience Chamber.
He stopped before the throne, at a distance where his voice could barely reach.
The King looked tired as ever. The King, who should still have been young, gave a weak smile with just his mouth upon seeing Louis's face. His complexion was poor, but Louis did not have the luxury to worry about such a King. By the King's side stood the Mage Corps Commander, wearing the most difficult expression.
The King, Louis, and the Mage Corps Commander. And there was one more person in this room.
It was an infant wrapped in cloth—within the King's arms. Sleeping quietly. The young Prince of this country.
Having only one guard was few. Perhaps it was because they knew Louis's matter was 'something that could not be told to others.' Had they dismissed everyone else, exposing themselves to danger?
However, if anything unusual occurred, the Royal Guards outside the door would rush in, and by placing the Corps Commander, who held a higher rank than the Chief, they likely believed they were maintaining appearances.
Louis stared at the King and opened his mouth.
"Have you come to regret Fairy Tale now?"
It was disrespectful, offering no greeting to His Majesty.
The King restrained the Corps Commander, who tried to reprimand Louis.
"It doesn't matter anymore. I have no interest in when you began plotting such things. I have no hobby of digging up sloppy plans you made no effort to hide."
"Will you not at least hear my motive?"
"Do you want me to hear it?"
"...No, let's drop it."
The King laughed quietly, his voice softly incongruous with the setting. This fragile-looking King, upon closer inspection, had refined features. He accepted Louis's words calmly, his gentle expression unbroken.
Surely no one would consider him the 'culprit who let monsters attack his own country.'
The King offered a faint smile to the expressionless Louis.
Even if there was a temperature difference between the two, there was no wall.
Louis murmured,
"I trusted you, to some extent, for choosing a fairy as your partner, just as I did."
It was a gentle tone, like that used toward a long-time friend. It was a sign of Louis's affection, unknown even to Elenoa or Lumina.
But when he spoke again, his voice contained no emotion whatsoever.
"Let us make a deal."
Several years ago, Louis had approached this King with the same words for negotiation.
He was not aiming for that now, but to the King, it must have sounded ironic.
"There are three conditions I propose.
First, consider that trio dead and hand them over to me.
Second, permit the resignation of the twenty mages, including myself, listed in the documents submitted the other day.
Third, do not interfere with or lay a hand on those twenty regarding their employment, migration, or livelihoods."
Two of these insolent conditions directed at the King of a nation could be called irrational. Louis knew this, yet they were non-negotiable. The last one stemmed purely from distrust of the King.
The King listened silently.
"From me, I offer this."
Louis took out a small vial from beneath his black robe. It was something he had shown Ars before.
"It is Fairy Tale."
"Ugh...!"
The King started to rise from his seat with a clatter but stopped himself. It would not do for the infant he was holding to start fussing. Seeing that reaction, Louis casually thought, 'As expected of a parent.'
If Louis's reasoning was correct, that infant was the cause of the King's atrocious acts.
And from the reactions so far, he was convinced he was not mistaken. He was not in the mood to indulge in a long answer session like a detective in a mystery novel, so he refrained.
Louis watched the King, whose eyes had changed color upon seeing the vial, with a cold gaze.
—Did I hook you?
Fairy Tale. A drug that drives people mad.
Something that should have helped people—since when did it become entangled in a conspiracy akin to narcotics?
Louis continued.
"I have burned all documents related to this. Even if there are imitations in the world trying to copy it, this will be the only genuine one. I, Louis Stylus, Chief Court Mage and current head of House of Stylus, guarantee that this is undoubtedly a completed product of Rank SS."
The King glanced at the Mage Corps Commander beside him. The Corps Commander nodded with confusion, saying, "Probably."
—It is genuine, made by the magic user lineage, the House of Stylus.
No one was unaware of how valuable that drug was.
But if the King agreed to this, he would be letting go of this excellent mage.
"Louis, with those conditions..."
"Let me state clearly,"
To the indecisive King,
"This is my own form of concession."
The moment Louis declared this, the Mage Corps Commander moved instantly. He stood before the King. Sweating coldly, he glared down at Louis. In his hand, he gripped the Commander's staff, its tip pointed at Louis.
"Please step back, Your Majesty. That has already left our hands."
"You say strange things. I was never in your hands to begin with."
One bitter, the other with a smile—magic circulated between the two.
Frost formed at Louis's feet, and electricity crackled around the Corps Commander.
A hair's breadth from conflict. Perhaps sensing the ominous atmosphere, Royal Guards rushed in. But ignoring those around them, the two simply stared at each other.
"That is enough."
But with the King's single word, the tension filling the room dissipated.
"I will accept all conditions."
"If we back down now, we cannot set an example for our subjects! It is dangerous to let him go free; I strongly advise capturing him here!"
But in this room, there was no one who could defeat Louis. The Corps Commander knew this too, and his expression was stiff. Yet he pleaded regardless, but the King restrained him.
"Who will take care of a child throwing a tantrum?"
The Corps Commander's face froze. Louis merely observed the situation.
"In the end, I took that 'someone' away. ...Let him do as he pleases."
Narrowing his bewitching eyes that captivated women, Louis let out a "hehe." He looked satisfied.
The unofficial meeting ended.
The King received the genuine Fairy Tale.
And the resignation of Louis and the twenty mages was permitted.
＊
Recently, Louis had started returning home once during his short lunch break.
He was worried about Elenoa. But he did not tell her that, insisting, "I find it more relaxing at home," to make her accept it.
"...Oh?"
When he entered the bedroom, Elenoa had sat up.
She had a book in her hand, having read about halfway through.
"Is it alright for you to sit up?"
"Somehow, I feel good today."
She had thrown open the windows because it was sunny, but perhaps that had an effect. It was not good for her, who had been bedridden, to overexert herself, but her complexion was indeed better. Louis sat on the chair beside the bed.
It had not been long since the negotiation with the King, but his retirement from the Research Institute had been accepted, and he was currently in the midst of handing over duties. Thanks to having Ars assist and get used to it subtly from before, it would not take long.
It was just at the final stage now, but if the town's reconstruction was proceeding simultaneously, no amount of stamina would be enough. Both were in their final stages, and the only relief was that the hardest parts were long past.
Still, he did feel tired.
"You look tired. There, there, come rest on my lap?"
"No, I wonder if that composition is appropriate."
Louis thought that this 'former' parental figure was truly troublesome, as Elenoa could see through his fatigue if she tried.
She must have known he would refuse no matter how kindly she invited him, yet his wife smiled happily, making her irresistibly lovely. He felt the weakness of being in love.
If only she would shrink to fairy size, he could take her to work in a cage and check on her frequently in the Chief's completely safe private office.
Thinking this, Louis widened his eyes. "Huh?"
"...Fairy size."
"What's wrong?"
Just now, something. It caught his attention.
He tried to delve deeply into that intuition, but—no. This was not good.
It would only make her anxious, so he interrupted his thoughts at the last moment.
Louis was struggling to find a way to keep her from dying, but he had not found it yet. He had also decided in his heart never to show his irritation over this matter.
Elenoa stayed with Louis, not returning to the world of the book left open on the bedding. How should he—
"...Should we form a contract?"
"I don't mind, but?"
"You say it so easily..."
Elenoa tilted her head curiously at Louis, who gave a wry smile, thinking he should not agree so readily.
"You are a fairy. Do you not dislike contracts with humans?"
"But it's Louis."
This fairy often spoke words where it was unclear if she was aiming for them or just being naive.
Louis coughed deliberately and turned to Elenoa again.
"You are currently in an incomplete state as a fairy. Suppose my magic entered there not merely as nutrients, but for the purpose of a contract... frankly, for the purpose of magical erosion. You might experience pain like when those wings grew, day and night."
"I don't like that. ...Will my wings return if we contract?"
"As I said before, the possibility of your wings growing back even with a contract is low."
"Ugh... Then what's the merit of that?"
"I thought that as long as magic connects us, you might survive even without wings. Well, in any case, let's keep it as a last resort. Your body had grown accustomed to my magic over many years, so perhaps that is why it ended with just that... If you were a normal fairy, you might have died."
"...Did you confirm that?"
"No? It is just a hypothesis. You don't need to make such a scary face; I do not use fairies for experiments."
"That's true. ...By the way, just for reference, what does a contract involve? Do we mix blood?"
"That is common."
"So there are other ways? I think a verbal agreement would be simpler and better."
"To say that to a mage. Are you perhaps picking a fight?"
—How long ago had that conversation been?
In the season when leaves were lush and green, she had coughed up blood. She began having nightmares often at night. She spoke less. She stopped smiling. Her sleep time grew longer—it reached a point where he feared she would never wake up again.