The movements of the stars are within the providence of God... The movements of the stars are within the providence of God... The movements of the stars are within the providence of God.
The priest sat on a cold rock atop the mountain, muttering this over and over. He looked up at the night sky with his followers. Everyone tried to act composed, but a subtle tension hung in the air.
According to the astronomical records compiled by the Guides of the Lantern, a star shower was supposed to occur at a random time over the next three days.
‘Surely, he can’t be right…’
The time Isaac Upperhills had predicted was exactly 10:20. How could a mere human predict God’s whimsical movements down to the minute? This was blasphemy against God, the arrogance of a fool.
However. Thump, thump.
As the time drew near, the priest’s heart began to beat anxiously. He, too, had heard of Isaac Upperhills’s achievements. God is distant, but magic is near.
The doubt in the priest’s heart gradually grew. He stared intently at the vicinity of the Lyra constellation until his eyes hurt. Time passed, and at last, the fateful moment arrived.
10:20. Fortunately, nothing happened in the sky.
“Just as I thought… it was a lie.”
Just as the priest heaved a sigh of relief and was about to rise from his seat.
Flash.
“Huh…? Oh!”
With someone’s low gasp, a streak of light was drawn across the night sky. Beginning with that, it began to rain from the heavens. The priest stared blankly at the sky, his mouth agape.
It was beautiful. So beautiful it was infuriating. This was the second time he had seen a star shower with his own eyes.
The first had been at his baptism over a decade ago. The priest was proud of the moment he saw the Perseid meteor shower after staying up for several nights. It was because he had striven for nights on end with a pious heart to witness God’s miracle.
But in this meteor shower now, there was neither human effort nor a miracle of God. Today’s celestial event revealed the arrogance of a mage.
“Ah… ahh…”
Here and there, the followers collapsed weakly.
“It’s an illusion! Sorcery! This can’t be happening!”
Someone, out of his mind, began to scream.
“Do not shout…!”
The priest cried out urgently, but it was too late.
Swoosh!
A dagger flew in from the darkness.
Thwack!
It struck true, embedding itself in the arm of a follower holding a crossbow.
“Kuaaack!”
With the scream of the follower who had been standing guard, black shadows leaped out from behind the trees and rocks. They began to subdue the followers in an instant.
“Is it the Capital Guard…? Everyone, run!”
The priest instinctively threw himself in the opposite direction from where the guards had appeared. But an enemy was already there as well.
“Where are you running off to in such a hurry?”
A sly voice came from the bushes before him. The mercenary, Hans, sword in hand, blocked his path.
Whoosh~! Thwack!
The mercenary struck the priest with the flat of his sword.
Tumble, tumble. Thud.
The priest rolled helplessly across the rocky ground. A moment later, a cold blade touched the underside of his chin. The star shower reflected off the sharp edge of the blade.
The priest muttered.
“Oh God. Have you forsaken us…”
The priest looked up at the sky, his spirit broken. The star shower was still falling.
“Please make it stop…”
“Huh?”
“Make the star shower stop, oh God!”
“It’s no use. Mage sir said it’ll take a few more hours for the meteor shower to stop.”
“No, you demon!”
Drip.
The agitated priest’s neck was grazed by the blade, and blood trickled down. But he did not stop speaking.
“The movements of the heavens are all according to God’s will!”
At the priest’s words, Hans let out a smirk.
“Then I guess our Mage sir must be a god.”
“Okay. Meteor shower clear.”
One of the three prophecies had been successfully realized. The day after the meteor shower, I was grinning as I looked out the lab window. The remaining two were also perfect, according to my calculations.
How satisfying.
A short while later, Laura came in and began her report on the Guides of the Lantern.
“According to the interrogation, it has been confirmed that they were preparing for a second attack.”
“A second attack?”
“Yes. They were holding the residents of a mountain village hostage and forcing them to manufacture bombs. They have all been liberated now.”
“Hmm…”
A corner of my heart felt heavy. When you thought about it, those villagers had suffered because of me.
“Can our foundation provide support to cover the property damages and help them recover?”
“Yes. Understood.”
At my instruction, the corners of Laura’s lips faintly rose and fell.
“Did you just smile?”
“You must have seen wrong.”
“Ahem.”
Laura cleared her throat and continued her report.
“Their base of operations is presumed to be beyond the northern magical beast front.”
“That’s a really dangerous place.”
“There’s no better place to evade the Empire’s pursuit.”
I nodded.
‘That’s too far for me to go myself.’
In that case, the answer was simple. I could just ask Sir Valerius. Subjugating the enemies of the Empire was one of the main duties of a Great Mage, so he would take care of it properly.
However, at the strategy meeting held the next day, I heard something unexpected.
Valerius said.
“I would like the disciple of Doloren to accompany me on this tracking expedition.”
At Sir Valerius’s words, the gazes of everyone present turned to him. I, too, was taken aback.
‘Why does he want to take me?’
Did he need a graduate student slave to assist the Great Mage, like a knight and his squire? Valerius didn’t seem like that kind of person. He continued his explanation.
“You all saw it. Isaac’s performance during his master’s thesis defense. He cannot create an isolated system himself, but he can ‘corrode’ someone else’s. Which means…”
The Dean, sitting in front, picked up his sentence.
“It means that when your mana begins to run low, Isaac can take over and maintain your isolated system.”
“Exactly. If we do that, it will have the same effect as dispatching two Great Mages.”
Hearing that, I found myself nodding. I had almost misjudged Valerius. Certainly, if we did as Valerius said, the mission’s efficiency would increase exponentially.
But at that moment, the princess stepped forward.
“That is not possible.”
A clear statement of opposition. The princess continued.
“I intend to make Sir Upperhills the face of the Empire. I cannot send such a precious talent to the perilous north.”
The princess pointed to her own guard and said.
“Request the Imperial elite knight order instead. I will provide as much support as I can.”
“Your Highness. This plan must be carried out as covertly as possible. If the imperial family makes a move so openly, those rats will surely scurry into hiding.”
“I have some experience cutting down heretics myself.”
The veteran’s persuasion sent the princess into deep thought. Just then, Doloren, who had been listening quietly, raised her hand.
“Shouldn’t we hear the opinion of the person in question?”
“…I had forgotten something important.”
All eyes turned to me. It was burdensome.
‘What should I say?’
Normally, there would be no need for hesitation. I would have hidden behind the guards Her Highness provided. And I would have stayed in the capital, comfortably conducting my research.
But, was that really the best option? Suddenly, Anna’s face came to mind.
‘I’m just angry. Because of that person… the men almost died.’
This recent terror attack wasn’t aimed only at me. The Upperhills Workshop, and even the foundation’s construction site. Everything around me could become a target.
I might be able to protect the Upperhills Workshop and the foundation somehow, but I couldn’t protect every single person I knew at the Magic Tower. Valerius said to me.
“Join the tracking party, disciple of Doloren.”
Alright, I’ve made up my mind. There are no negotiations with terrorists.
“What the hell, let’s do it.”
Smirk. Valerius smiled.
The princess seemed surprised by my decision for a moment, but she soon took a step back.
“If that is your will… I shall support you.”
“Thank you, Your Highness.”
“However, I will not forgive you for returning in death. You must flee if it becomes dangerous.”
I glanced at Sir Valerius. He nodded silently. I replied to the princess.
“Yes, Your Highness. I will keep that in mind.”
“And, since things have turned out this way, you will need a stand-in while you are away.”
The princess took out a small magical device from her pocket and handed it to me.
“Oh.”
It was a royal disguise device. The one that used anti-aliasing technology.
“You can use this device to disguise someone.”
“Thank you, Your Highness.”
I accepted the magical device. Now, all the preparations were complete.
And so, my trip to the north was decided.
‘Will the foundation be nearing completion by the time I get back?’
After the last terror attack, Her Highness had provided additional support, so the construction schedule had been moved up a bit. I’d have to hear the details from Laura again, but I decided to leave it for now. She would handle it well on her own.
More than that, I was looking forward to the research project after my return. After catching some cultists in the north and coming back, I planned to test whether gravity magic was possible with classical mechanics alone. It would likely be the first research project I conducted in collaboration with Anna.
I gathered the candidates for my ‘stand-in,’ who would pretend to be me during my trip to the north, in my lab. Their reactions to seeing the disguise device were varied.
“Wow… I get to transform into Sir Isaac? That’s crazy.”
Callen covered his mouth, deeply moved.
He said.
“Could I… maybe walk around the city a bit in the disguise? With an escort, of course!”
“Oh, of course.”
Next, Gedrick asked.
“Then, while transformed as you, would it be possible to do things like, say, make a momentous decision?”
Professor Gedrick’s monocle trembled faintly. A twitch under the eye, was he low on magnesium?
“What kind of momentous decision are we talking about?”
“Taking charge of an ownerless school.”
‘…I’d rather you refrain from that, Acting school head.’
“Tsk. That was short-lived.”
Professor Gedrick was genuinely disappointed. On the other hand, Liam’s face was full of worry.
“This is all well and good… but are you familiar with the roads and living conditions in the north? There will be a lot to prepare.”
I answered honestly.
“I don’t know much. Wouldn’t Sir Valerius be knowledgeable?”
I looked at Sir Valerius, who was standing next to me.
“Why are you looking at me? I don’t know either.”
“The north is mostly a wasteland with nothing that could be called an underworld, so I’ve rarely been there.”
Liam’s worry deepened. He said to me.
“In that case, I think you’ll need an expert. Either a guide or someone familiar with the local situation.”
“Didn’t you say your parents supply lumber to the army, Liam? Wouldn’t you know something about the northern situation?”
“Are you planning to take my father? There must be a much better expert than him.”
Liam’s gaze turned to a corner of the room. Gwendolyn was there. Gwendolyn, oblivious to the fact that all eyes were on her, was muttering to herself.
“I’m going to turn into Sir Upperhills…? Me…? For real, me…?”
Only then did I remember.
“Come to think of it, Lady Gwendolyn. Wasn’t your father the former corps commander of the northern front?”
Startle.
Gwendolyn’s body flinched. A moment later, she spoke.
“Yes… he was.”
“Have you ever been to the north yourself, then?”
“Yes. I stayed there for a few years as a child, following my father.”
“Do you know anyone there?”
“The uncles who took care of me then… I mean, I still exchange letters with the officers.”
What a find. I approached her and asked seriously.
“Lady Gwendolyn. Would you be interested in going on a business trip with me?”
Gwendolyn’s eyes widened.
“What?”
“If I speak to the Dean, it can probably be processed as a business trip or paid leave.”
“Of course, in this case, you would lose the opportunity to try the royal disguise device…”
“I’ll go!”
“Pardon?”
Gwendolyn already seemed to have made up her mind.
“Please take me with you, Sir Upperhills.”
What’s this?
Was graduate school life that tough?