✦ Chapter 93 – Not A Battle of Wits, But A Warm Celebration of Spirit (3) ✦
「Translator – Creator」
𒋝𒋝𒋝𒋝𒋝
The conversation, which had continued for a while, ended with Second Princess Hedera briefly asking after their well-being. Tether and Agnes were then sent down below.
Thus, Ezekiel and Hedera were left alone.
‘Honestly, Agnes can be so clueless sometimes.’
Ezekiel thought quietly to himself.
Agnes had somewhat irked Hedera, leaving a less than favorable atmosphere. However, it wasn’t entirely unexpected; Agnes had always been rigidly formal and strictly by the book.
Which, to put it simply, meant that she often lacked social awareness.
“Now, there’s only the Inspector left to inquire.”
“I will do my best to answer anything, Your Highness.”
“I heard you performed your duties while dressed in family attire during this outing.”
“………….”
This was an unexpected, and somewhat awkward, line of questioning.
He had anticipated a certain tension, given the circumstances, but he hadn’t expected her to be concerned about something like this.
‘Or perhaps… I should consider myself fortunate.’
Recalling the dynamics of the Imperial family, Ezekiel knew that this was a detail that wouldn’t have escaped the attention of the other princesses either. It was a relief, in a way, that Hedera was the only one who had brought it up.
“Could it be that you and your secretary—?”
“Tether urgently brought the clothes, and they were family garments left over from a previous relief distribution. We had no choice but to wear them.”
“Hmm.”
“We had to conceal our identities, so it was necessary.”
Ezekiel placed extra emphasis on the word ‘necessity,’ driving home the point that he’d had no other choice. It wasn’t technically a lie, which eased his conscience. And perhaps sensing his sincerity, Hedera nodded in understanding.
“Well… I suppose that could be the case.”
The tension in the air seemed to dissipate.
Was this aspect more concerning to her than the performance of the Imperial Magic Tower? Considering that even the Third Princess would have her eyes wide open, he resolved to be even more cautious in the future.
The misunderstanding, at least, seemed to be cleared.
However, Hedera wasn’t finished speaking.
“Inspector,” she began again.
“Yes, Your Highness?”
“Is it alright if I give you a simple task?”
“Of course, Your Highness. Anything.”
Hedera blinked slowly, a hint of amusement in her eyes.
“You don’t even ask what it is before agreeing. Such loyalty… my Inspector.”
“Because it is your command, Princess.”
“…I am truly grateful.”
Her voice softened slightly.
“It’s quite simple, really. All you have to do is speak. I’ll say a word, and you’ll respond with the first thing that comes to mind. Just a simple word association game.”
At a glance, it certainly didn’t seem like a difficult task.
But then, Hedera added cautiously, “If I may, might I employ Dragon Speech?”
“Of course, Your Highness. It should pose no problem.”
Although the thought of being controlled by Dragon Speech might be uncomfortable, he had no reason to feel guilty. Better to gain Hedera’s trust than raise unnecessary suspicion.
With a slow, deliberate movement, Hedera lowered her mask.
“My inspector, from now on, after hearing a word, you are to speak the first word that comes to mind.”
At the same time, the telltale pressure of Dragon Speech settled over him, a sensation both familiar and unsettling.
‘She’s gotten stronger.’
The power behind Hedera’s Dragon Speech was significantly greater than before. Clearly, Ezekiel wasn’t the only one who had grown stronger in the intervening years.
“Very well. Let’s begin.”
“Yes.”
Ezekiel nodded, bracing himself for whatever probing questions she might ask.
If a truly concerning question arose, he would try to resist the Dragon Speech as much as possible. That was the resolve—or something akin to it.
But…
…His worries proved unfounded.
Her questions, at least initially, were disarmingly mundane.
“Tether?”
“The Second Princess’s secretary.”
“Agnes?”
“My secretary.”
“The Imperial Magic Tower?”
“Work.”
“The First Princess?”
“Fear.”
“…Good. One last question,” Hedera said, her expression turning serious.
She took a deep breath, and Ezekiel felt a surge of apprehension. What could she possibly ask that would warrant this level of intensity?
Finally, Hedera spoke.
“Me. Hedera.”
Whoooosh—!
The pressure of her Dragon Speech intensified tenfold, squeezing him in a vice-like grip. He hadn’t expected her to amplify it to such a degree.
‘……………!’
Caught off guard, Ezekiel was powerless to resist. His mouth moved, uttering the first word that sprang into his mind.
“…Happiness?”
The moment the word left his lips, the atmosphere in the room shifted.
The coldness that had been present in Hedera’s eyes only moments ago vanished entirely, replaced by a warmth that made Ezekiel’s heart skip a beat.
“You see? I knew it. My Inspector.”
A genuine smile spread across Hedera’s face—a rare and breathtaking sight.
“…You’ve done well. My Inspector.”
• • • ₪ • • •
Downstairs, on a lower floor of the exchange meeting hall…
‘I managed to get through it somehow.’
As Ezekiel breathed a sigh of relief, thinking he had overcome the biggest hurdle of this outing, Agnes suddenly bowed her head in apology.
“Inspector, I’m sorry. I seem to have inadvertently disconcerted the Second Princess.”
“Don’t worry about it.”
“It was my first time in the presence of such an esteemed individual. I fear my inexperience reflected poorly on you, and for that, I am truly sorry.”
Ezekiel waved his hand dismissively, as if it were no big deal.
“I’m fine. If it really bothers you, you can make up for it by doing better the next time you face the Princess.”
A strange sense of dissonance settled over Agnes.
‘…Why am I apologizing to the Inspector again?’
The more she thought about it, the stranger it seemed.
Agnes had disconcerted the Second Princess, so it would be more appropriate to apologize to her, not Ezekiel.
No, she needed to think further back.
‘Why did I act that way in the first place?’
Agnes was a woman who strictly followed manuals.
She knew better than anyone what kind of status Hedera held and was well-versed in the proper etiquettes due to someone of her stature. She had a plethora of guidelines to follow.
Yet, she had just defied them all.
Erase oneself, follow the will, maintain decorum…. Agnes had flagrantly violated all of these.
She had failed to erase her own ego.
Why?
Agnes’s question was simply, why.
Why had she, who prized and loved following manuals above all else, violated them?
‘…Could it be because of the Inspector?’
The cause soon dawned on her. It was because of Ezekiel.
She, who lived her life strictly following the responses written in manuals, had for the first time, begun to act according to her own feelings. Her life had started to change.
Could the Inspector be the catalyst for this newfound spontaneity?
…Unfamiliar. It felt incredibly unfamiliar.
Regardless, setting aside these distracting thoughts, Agnes asked,
“Inspector, what should we do now?”
“Well… honestly, we can return immediately without any issue.”
“Pardon? But what about the rest of the exchange meeting? We haven’t even given our presentation yet.”
Agnes tilted her head, her brow furrowed in confusion.
“Isn’t it a bit odd to leave before participating? Then again, even if we did participate, it would be problematic. Aside from your recent accomplishment, the Imperial Magic Tower doesn’t have much to offer this year.”
She looked at Ezekiel expectantly, as if awaiting an explanation.
He, in turn, looked back at her with an equally puzzled expression.
“Where could you find a better presentation material than that?”
Ezekiel jerked his chin towards a darkened corner of the room.
There, impaled upon the end of his ice spear, hung the corpse of Teddy Devine. Beside her lay the purified demonic sword, pulsing faintly in the dim light.
“We’ll just present that.”
“Ah….”
…Come to think of it, he was right!
“I suppose that solves the issue of our presentation. So, are we to return to the Imperial Magic Tower immediately?”
“Agnes. What do you think we should do?”
“Well….”
Agnes spun her data cube between her fingers, her brow furrowed in thought.
“We’ve secured a significant victory and even managed to turn our lackluster presentation into an advantage. Logically, the most prudent course of action would be to return to the Imperial Magic Tower swiftly to avoid any unforeseen complications.”
“Oh, Agnes, you’re thinking too small!”
Ezekiel shook his head, a sly grin spreading across his face.
“Return, satisfied with just this? No way.”
“…………”
Agnes blinked, her expression carefully blank.
“…Are you saying there’s more to gain?”
“Absolutely.”
Ezekiel nodded, his eyes twinkling with mischief.
“Don’t tell me you’ve already forgotten about the forbidden magic?”
“Ah, the forbidden magic…!”
Agnes rarely showed such excitement. However, she still seemed puzzled as she continued to tilt her head in confusion.
“Um, Inspector.”
“Yes?”
“When you… acquired the spell from the Blue Magic Tower, wasn’t it through a duel?”
“Indeed. Though it wasn’t a duel we’d initiated.”
“Back then, everyone held the Imperial Magic Tower in low regard. There was no trust, only suspicion.” A thoughtful frown creased Agnes’s brow as she spun her data cube once more. “But things are different now, are they not?”
“I swear, my secretary can be so frustratingly obtuse sometimes.”
With a sigh of exasperation, Ezekiel reached out and pressed his ice-cold hand against the back of Agnes’s neck. She yelped in surprise, her body trembling slightly at the unexpected contact.
“What, what, what are you doing?”
“Magic, it’s not something you can only see in a fight, right?”
With that cryptic statement, Ezekiel strode confidently towards the center of the hall.
“Listen up, everyone!”
He slammed the end of his ice spear against the floor, the sound echoing through the stunned silence that followed.
“We will take a ten-minute recess, after which I expect to hear presentations from each of the towers. I advise you to use this time to prepare accordingly.”
“……….….”
…He can do that?
Had Agnes been overthinking things this entire time?
No. Impossible.
…It was simply that the Inspector had a knack for making even the most improbable feats seem effortless…. And he did it so effortlessly, too.
Agnes quietly observed the atmosphere of the other magic towers.
And she was astonished.
Their faces, troubled and tense, were expressions she had seen before.
It was the same expression she used to see on the faces of her fellow students back in the academy when confronted with a particularly daunting group project.
“…Incredible. Simply incredible.”
Words failed her.
It was the only appropriate response to the unfolding spectacle.