Chapter 1217

Kishiar stepped forward without hesitation and bowed his head in greeting.

“I’m with the Dispatched Mana Survey Corps. I’ve been stationed outside for a long time and only recently returned to the capital.”

“Mana Survey Corps, huh.”

Yuder had never heard of such a division before, but just from the name, he could guess what kind of work it entailed.

The Imperial Mana Institute was originally created to study the distribution of mana throughout the Empire. This must be its replacement after the disbandment.

The Deputy Head fell silent, as if weighing something. Yuder quietly kept his gaze to the ground, careful not to meet her eyes.

“A team dispatched to the North was due to return about now. But what are you doing here? Your unit’s work doesn’t involve the records archive, does it?”

“We were writing a report, and our senior told us we needed to refer to some old documents. He ordered us to retrieve them immediately, so the recruit and I came here. Since it involved old files, we assumed this archive would be the right place... Were we mistaken?”

It was a flawlessly clueless mage-like response. The Deputy Head sighed, her brow furrowing.

“It depends on when the document in question was created. Anything from within the past five years isn’t kept here—it would be in the upper-level Administrative Records Room. Only documents older than five years, and deemed worth preserving, are transferred to this archive. Didn’t you know that?”

“My apologies.”

“Forget it.”

Shaking her head, the Deputy Head began walking past them. Just when they thought she was leaving and began to let their guard down, she suddenly stopped and turned back.

“...No, the more I think about it, the more it bothers me.”

...Hmm?

“Who’s the senior who failed to teach you the difference between the administrative and archive rooms?”

“...Pardon?”

Kishiar echoed back.

“In our Court Mage Office, unlike those barbaric Pearl Tower types, we don’t treat juniors like servants just because they’re new. Everyone here serves the Imperial Family as equals. It hasn’t been long since I personally issued a warning that anyone who forgets this would be severely punished. And now I witness something like this before my very eyes. I’m not pleased. I’ll keep your names out of it—so be honest. Who was it?”

The corner of Kishiar’s lips shifted ever so slightly beneath his hood.

Yuder could sense a faint trace of embarrassment from him—but nothing like frustration or discomfort. The emotion was unexpectedly gentle.

So that’s what Helrem’s daughter is like. I’d wondered.

Despite it being a fabricated story to cover their intrusion, she was genuinely taking it to heart and speaking up for junior mages. Someone like this... no wonder she never rose to the position of Department Head in the previous life, nor caught Yuder’s attention. She was sincere—too earnest to play the political game.

To deceive someone so honestly concerned felt wrong. Kishiar seemed to agree.

Letting out a small sigh and smiling faintly, Kishiar raised his hood slightly to reveal his face. The moment their eyes met, the Deputy Head gasped.

“...Duke Peleta?”

“My apologies, Ennel.”

Kishiar offered an honest apology.

“What in the world are you doing here?”

“There’s a record I absolutely needed to find today, so I slipped in. Didn’t expect to run into you, though.”

“And what would you have done if you got caught? Why didn’t you file a formal request...”

“There’s information I’m seeking tied to how a certain old case was handled. If I went through official channels, it likely would’ve been denied or delayed for too long.”

The Deputy Head seemed to agree with that—she didn’t argue. Instead, she glanced around with an exasperated expression and pressed a hand to her forehead.

“Goodness. Thank heavens no other mages are nearby. If you’d been discovered, it would’ve caused chaos!”

From her tone, it was clear they’d known each other for some time. Thankfully, she didn’t seem about to throw them out.

She seems quite exasperated... A bit like Oesten, really.

“I was confident I wouldn’t be caught. And here we are, aren’t we? But seeing how much you worry for new mages, I didn’t want to deceive you further.”

A bold answer—but one too sincere to resent. The Deputy Head sighed and ran a hand through her sharply cut hair.

“Who’s the one behind you? Doesn’t look like Sir Zuckerman.”

“My aide. He accompanied me for security.”

“Aide... hmm.”

Her eyes turned to Yuder.

“...Ah. I think I know who you are. I’ve heard of you through letters from my mother. There’ve been quite a few rumors...”

“Oh? Helrem mentioned my aide in her letters? Now I’m really curious what she said.”

“This isn’t the time for such talk. Tell me exactly what record you came for. You can’t just vaguely say it’s an old case.”

“Don’t worry. It’s nothing dangerous.”

Kishiar gave Yuder a brief glance before replying nonchalantly.

“I’m looking for documents related to the Imperial Mana Institute. More precisely, the last case they handled before disbandment.”

The Deputy Head froze, clearly not expecting that answer. After a moment, she spoke again, her expression troubled.

“...Did something happen to my mother? Is that why you’re looking for it?”

“No. I swear there’s no need to worry about Helrem. As I said, I recently came across an old case by chance—that’s all.”

“I don’t understand.”

“Of course not. I can’t explain everything here. I’d appreciate it if you just pretended we never met. Once I’ve reviewed the records, I’ll leave without anyone knowing.”

“But—”

Just as she was about to say something, a distant voice called out, “Deputy Head!” Someone was apparently coming to find her, noticing how long she’d been gone.

Kishiar pulled his hood back down at once. The Deputy Head resumed her usual expression and replied firmly.

“...In any case, I have sworn loyalty to those who carry the Sun, following in my mother’s footsteps. If you’re looking for Imperial Mana Institute records, you’ll find them in Terminated Case Storage Room 3, first shelf.”

“Much appreciated.”

“Make sure no one sees you.”

“Don’t worry. Have you ever heard of me getting caught returning from one of these excursions?”

“...Just because your health has recovered doesn’t mean you should be doing such reckless things.”

With a weary sigh, the Deputy Head turned and strode away. Once her presence was completely gone, they made their way to the location she had indicated.

“Good thing she’s willing to pretend not to know.”

“Ennel’s the mage who’s been preparing my medicine for years now.”

Kishiar smiled faintly.

“She’s been around ever since she joined the Court Mage Office after Helrem. We’ve known each other a long time. This kind of favor is well within reason. It’s not like I came to steal the Court’s secrets.”

Before long, Kishiar found the item they were searching for among a pile of dusty files. The box labeled Imperial Mana Institute stood out clearly.

“Good. Just a moment.”

While Kishiar sifted through the contents quickly, Yuder kept watch. There wasn’t a long wait. The sound of papers being rapidly flipped echoed a few times, and then Kishiar stood up, brushing his hands off.

“Done.”

“You read them all?”

“Yeah. Stuffed it into my head for now—I’ll transcribe it once we’re back.”

Even a magical duplication artifact wouldn’t have been faster. Kishiar committed the entirety of the records to memory with ease and stepped outside.

Before leaving, they entered the janitor’s passage once more and left their robes there. Just like that, they looked exactly the same as they had coming in.

“Shall we?”

“Yes.”

They left the palace and boarded the carriage. Through the window, they could see the streets buzzing more than usual, people visibly stirred.

Likely due to the day’s events surrounding the Room of Truth. But to Yuder, that was already far from the most important matter.

Still, I’ll have to ask Kiole what happened to him.

Back at the Cavalry base, a welcome figure was waiting.

“You were looking for me, apparently.”

“Inon.”