Chapter 69

From the old capital Proasta to the new capital Asta, it took less than half a day by carriage.

It was so close that Eifa felt somewhat let down.

It was hard to understand why the capital had been moved... but surely, there must have been various reasons, such as location, expansion potential, and the ease of laying down imperial-style roads.

The capital Asta was a sophisticated city.

Given its relatively new history and planned construction, the streets and buildings were rationally laid out.

While not as grand as the imperial capital, it was sufficiently urban for Eifa.

However, they had not come for sightseeing.

After a brief look at the cityscape, Rize and Eifa headed straight for the harem.

The harem was a separate building within the Astiria royal castle.

It was much larger than Eifa had imagined.

How many women lived inside?

As she thought this, Eifa followed Rize into the building.

"…Um"

"What is it?"

Eifa asked Rize, who had replied briefly.

"Is this… the harem?"

"Of course it is."

"Then, what are everyone here doing right now?"

"You'll see."

Rize said matter-of-factly.

"They are attending lectures."

In one of the rooms inside the harem, it was like a lecture hall in a school.

Desks were arranged in tiers, and well-dressed young girls were seated at them.

At the front, a lectern was placed, and a female teacher was explaining something while writing equations on a blackboard with a piece of chalk.

The lecture seemed to be about statistics.

"Apparently, when Astiria was an independent nation, this place was a regular harem. That is, a garden of women where the king's wives and mistresses lived, a place of love and intrigue."

Eifa looked up at Rize, who had started speaking quietly.

"But things changed after it became a vassal state of the empire. To put it simply, the succession issue was resolved. Women and adopted children were recognized as legitimate heirs to the throne."

"…So, there were no queens in the past?"

"That's right. They weren't recognized by the royal statutes. Women couldn't even inherit property."

"Is that so…"

"But it was different in the empire. In ancient times, when they were in fierce conflict with the demon race, the number of men decreased so much that many families faced the danger of extinction. Therefore, they recognized women's inheritance rights. When Astiria was made a vassal state, the empire did not tolerate this discrepancy, probably judging it as an obstacle to expanding its economic sphere. Under the supremacy of imperial law, women's inheritance rights were also recognized in our country."

Rize continued.

"And this extended to the right of succession to the throne. Queens could rule. Later, following the imperial royal statutes, the right of adopted children to succeed to the throne was also recognized, completely resolving the succession issue. As a result, the harem became unnecessary."

"Hmm… I see."

Eifa understood the meaning.

If only men could inherit the throne, the royal line would be cut off if no prince was born. To avoid this at all costs, a harem with many women was necessary.

However, if queens were recognized, the probability of having an heir would double.

Moreover, if adopted children were also acceptable, there would be no need to worry about succession.

Naturally, the harem would become unnecessary.

"But… why is it like this now?"

"The queens of Astiria have traditionally been deeply involved in state affairs. The harem has always had many excellent teachers. Even after the first queen ascended the throne, influential people continued to send their daughters to the harem for education. With the possibility of inheriting property, more people wanted to entrust their homes to capable daughters."

Rize continued.

"And so it became this. The current harem is like a girls' school. Many of its graduates go on to work in government, so it can also be considered a training ground for female officials."

"So… Prince Cecilio didn't have any special feelings for me?"

"No."

Rize smiled and said.

"Most of the queens have come from here. In that sense, it is still a harem. Some people even enter with that goal in mind… You were undoubtedly chosen by the young prince."

"R-really…?"

When she said this, Eifa was still confused.

But…

It felt brighter and more open than she had expected—like a good place.

"---Well, let's move on. First, let's get you all familiar with the concept of statistics."

Eifa looked back to the front, and the gentle female teacher was holding up a die.

"Here's a question. I rolled this die, and it came up six ten times in a row! Now, what is the probability that it will come up six again? ---Cornelia."

"Yes."

A strikingly beautiful blonde girl with a noble air stood up and answered confidently.

"One in six."

"Thank you."

The female teacher smiled and said.

"Is there anyone else who has a different answer? No one? Then, how about you, the visitor in the back?"

All eyes in the lecture hall turned to Eifa, who was surprised and exclaimed.

"Eh, me…?"

She instinctively looked at Rize, who was just smiling amusedly.

Reluctantly, Eifa answered, looking down.

"…I think it will come up six again."

At that moment, the lecture hall erupted in laughter.

"You should avoid gambling if you can."

The girl called Cornelia said in a teasing voice.

"Do you know about independent events? No matter what has come up in the past, it has no bearing on what will come up next."

Eifa, feeling a bit indignant, retorted.

"…The probability of getting six ten times in a row is about one in sixty million."

"…What?"

"Rather, why do you think this could happen naturally?"

Eifa looked at the female teacher and said.

"Your die… is it weighted… or maybe all sides are six?"

"Brilliant! That's exactly right!"

The female teacher exclaimed with evident delight.

She then passed the die to the students at the back. From where Eifa was, she couldn't see clearly, but the students who held it looked surprised, confirming that it was indeed a loaded die with all sides showing six.

"If this were an arithmetic lecture, Cornelia's answer would have been correct. But this is a statistics lecture, where we explore probabilities that no one knows. We don't consider bias as mere chance; we recognize it as a trend. We discard preconceptions and calculate probabilities based on actual results. That is—"

****

When the lecture ended, a crowd gathered around Eifa.

"Hey, where are you from?" "Is it true you're from the magic academy?" "Can you use magic!?" "What's the empire like?" "Did you meet Prince Cecilio?" "When are you moving into the harem? My room has an empty spot right now!"

"Ahh, ahh…"

Eifa was flustered by the barrage of questions.

"…Everyone, the guest seems to be in distress."

A voice of exasperation rang out, and the crowd fell silent.

The people parted, and the blonde girl from earlier stood there.

The girl spoke to the stunned Eifa.

"I have one question for you."

"Eh, y-yes. W-what is it…?"

"…You don't need to be so formal. You were doing mental calculations for six to the power of ten just now. How did you do that?"

"Well… I didn't really calculate it properly."

Eifa explained hesitantly.

"Multiplying six three times gives 216, so I considered it as 200 and multiplied it three times to get 8 million. This is after multiplying six nine times, so I multiplied by six one more time to get 48 million. It should be a bit more… probably around 60 million. I wasn't very confident…"

The crowd murmured.

The blonde girl sighed and said.

"I did the calculation just now, and it's almost correct. That's quite an impressive way of thinking… What's your name?"

"Eifa…"

"No family name, I see."

The noble girl continued without condescension.

"Being here despite your low status means you must be very talented. What prompted you to come to Astiria's harem from the empire?"

"Well, I… Prince Cecilio asked me to come…"

The crowd let out a cheer.

The blonde girl, looking slightly surprised, said.

"Queen candidate… That makes sense. I see why you are both talented and cute."

Then, she extended her hand.

"Cornelia Est Latosa."

And she smiled.

"While my goal is to inherit the family name, I look forward to competing with you here."

"Y-yes, thank you…"

Eifa shook her hand, feeling a bit guilty.

****

"It was an interesting place, wasn't it?"

On the way to the inn where they were staying.

Rize, walking beside her, said unexpectedly.

"At least, it's nothing like a harem."

"…Yes."

Eifa also had a good impression.

The atmosphere was somewhat similar to the magic academy.

However, everyone seemed more serious about their future than the academy students.

"Because of places like this, there is a trend in this country for women to become civil servants. The young prince didn't want to involve you in any conflict for that reason."

Rize sighed and said.

"I also thought the same way when I was enrolled there. If my grades hadn't been at the bottom and I hadn't been forced to become a royal mage, I would probably still think that way."

"…Ahaha, what's that about?"

Eifa laughed softly.

Then, Rize began to speak slowly.

"The current Astiria king… the young prince's mother, the queen, is an excellent ruler. She is wise, decisive, and beloved by the people. She is a remarkable person. The succession is still far off, but… the young prince must be anxious. He must be wondering if he can act like that queen."

"…"

"It's also why he is eager to achieve something with the dragon issue. He might even think that if he can't solve it, he doesn't deserve to be king. And… regarding the search for a queen, he seems to be anxious about finding a suitable person."

Rize said.

"He is a young man. He is immature. But… he is not a bad person. I can vouch for that, having known him since he was an infant."

"…"

"Could you… support the young prince with your strength?"

"…That…"

A request she would have refused outright in the past.

But now—her words were caught on something and wouldn't come out.