Chapter 70

The first day's tour of the Holy Capital had a few minor upheavals, but the students seemed quite satisfied. We were to stay at the royal castle for the night, and in the room with an unusually high ceiling, Ail and the others talked about the cityscape and the food they had eaten.

Shenli seemed quite nervous, as this was the royal castle of her own country, but the other students didn't seem to be as affected.

"Of course, staying in a castle is nerve-wracking. I'm a bit nervous too, so I understand."

"…Are you nervous?"

"Nothing changes with Aoi-san…"

At the sound of my muttering, Strass and Eliza immediately looked at me with puzzled expressions.

With a wry smile, I stood up from my chair.

"I'm human too. I'll take a walk to calm down."

After saying that to the two of them, I left the guest room. Two soldiers were standing outside the room and noticed when I opened the door, looking at me.

"Where are you going?"

"I want to breathe the outside air."

"Then, please follow me. I'll show you the way."

One of the soldiers started walking in front of me, as if to guide me. I would have preferred to walk alone if they had just told me where to go, but it seemed difficult to walk freely within the royal castle.

Thinking this, I reluctantly accepted the guidance.

Walking down the unnecessarily spacious corridor, I opened a large double door on the ground floor of the castle. I found myself in what appeared to be a lush courtyard. There was a fountain in the center, and the green hedges formed low walls.

It was exactly the kind of courtyard you'd expect to find in a noble's residence.

In the courtyard, a young woman in a beautiful dress was walking near the fountain, her pure white attire reminiscent of a wedding dress, her wavy blonde hair swaying. She looked to be in her late teens. Two soldiers in silver armor and a woman who seemed to be a maid were standing nearby.

As I observed the scene, the woman in the dress turned to notice me.

"Princess Rose"

The soldier who was guiding me immediately whispered her name and knelt on the spot. She seemed to be a member of the royal family.

I straightened my posture and bowed. Then, Princess Rose furrowed her brow slightly.

"…Who are you?"

She asked in a low voice, so I raised my head to answer.

"I teach at the Varted Kingdom's Magic Academy. My name is Aoi Konominato."

Upon hearing my title and name, Rose began to observe me with interest.

"…So, you're from the Varted Kingdom, the Fidic Academy? You must be quite talented. You look so young."

While muttering this, Rose walked towards me. The soldier who had been kneeling in front of me suddenly looked flustered and raised his head.

"Princess Rose, Aoi-sama is one of the few senior instructors at the Fidic Academy, and she has been invited here to further enhance the magical standards of the Mapleleaf Holy Empire…"

The soldier started explaining as if to protect me, but his attitude changed the moment he met Rose's eyes. He quickly became tongue-tied and ended up bowing his head again.

Rose narrowed her eyes as if finding it uninteresting and sniffed lightly.

"…A senior instructor. I believe one of our own mages is also a senior instructor. Well, it doesn't matter. More importantly…"

Rose muttered something to herself as she walked towards me.

Then, she looked down at the kneeling soldier.

"You. What were you trying to say to me? Because I'm a guest, you were going to tell me to kneel?"

"N-no, that's not it…!"

Rose asked questions as if scolding the man, not hiding her irritation. The man just trembled.

Feeling sorry for him and wondering if there was anything I could do, Rose suddenly began to chant. After a brief incantation, she pointed her hand at the man's head.

"…Know your place. Ice Sculpture."

Rose cast a spell, and the area around the trembling, kneeling man began to freeze. Seeing this, I immediately countered with a spell.

"Fire Circle."

As I muttered the words, red lines ran around the man, forming a small circle. From there, a very thin wall of flame was emitted like a laser beam, and the ice melted immediately.

Rose seemed to have used a spell to encase the target in a block of ice, but the man was unharmed.

As the man looked around in shock, Rose raised her head and looked at me with an expressionless face.

"…Was that a non-verbal spell? Or a magical tool equivalent to the royal family's treasures?"

"It was a non-verbal spell."

I answered while meeting her gaze. Then, Rose tilted her head slightly and raised the corners of her mouth.

"…I see. Non-verbal… non-verbal, huh."

After repeating the same word as if mulling it over, Rose turned her back to me.

"…That was interesting. You must definitely visit the Holy Capital's academy."

With that, Rose quietly walked away.