The Magic Academy's Physicist-Chapter 71: Big Picture vs. Big Picture

Mid-June. The marketplace wasn’t the only busy area.

There was a banquet taking place in the palace as well–a party where only the high society gathered and showers of champagne fell instead of rain.

A sofa in the center of the banquet hall. And on it sat a man who was sipping wine from a glass.

It was Klion Philut, the Second Prince.

With the Black Death situation now over and the Prince having finished the semester, it was natural for the palace to be holding celebrations into the night. Duke Jack Blanton, the host of the party, came up to Klion and bowed.

“Have you been enjoying yourself, Your Highness?”

“As you can see.”

Everytime that Duke Blanton came close, Klion was on edge due to the fact that the man no longer felt like an ally once he regained control of himself.

“Anyway, is it alright to stay here? It wouldn’t be bad to end the semester with your friends.”

“Jack, who do you think I am? Those lots are beneath me.”

“Haha, that is very true. Raising a glass of whiskey in a place where you can rub elbows with others is a hundred times more meaningful than some unsophisticated drinking party.”

Trickle–new brandy was poured into the glass shaped like an upside-down cone. It was a kind of red drink, its color like a Coke gone flat.

“It has a nice scent.”

“Yes, this is a new product, a variation of the drink Black Jack that was acquired from Viscount Eliyev’s brewery.”

Face flushed, Klion held a luxurious drink in one hand and a woman in the other, pretending to enjoy these pleasures.

Was it because Duke Blanton was nearby? He couldn’t focus at all on the beauty who was playing along with him.

“By the way, Your Highness.”

“What is it?”

“It feels as though you haven’t been looking me in the face properly during our recent conversations.”

It was then that Klion finally faced Duke Blanton.

Klion knew as well, that his eyes couldn’t help but waver whenever his gaze turned towards Blanton’s face.

Duke Blanton wore sunglasses all year round. The way he appeared in a trendy morning dress with a staff in hand exuded elegance. If someone who didn’t know him saw, they’d simply assume him to be an ordinary old gentleman.

But Blanton was rather robust in stature to be called an old gentleman. He looked to be covering up massive muscles beneath the garments enhancing his figure. If Klion were to be honest, he believed he’d lose if they were to have a fight.

Blanton continued in a softer-spoken voice.

“Have you done something you’re hiding from me, Your Highness?”

“No, what? What are you saying?”

Klion feigned ignorance, hiccuping.

Although he was no longer brainwashed, he still had to play the part of a miscreant because the monster before him could possibly eliminate him.

“What I mean is, haven’t you done something wrong?”

“What, exactly!”

He wished he could take it further. How nice would it be if he could say, “You dare question your Prince!” and command him to leave?

But Klion knew his place; there’d be no benefit to upsetting Blanton at this point.

When he didn’t say anything more, Blanton stroked his mustache and carried on.

“Well, 500 gold suddenly went missing from the first treasury. Is that not what you did?”

“Ah, is that so? I don’t know about that.”

“Then you mean that you didn’t make the withdrawal, Your Highness?”

“Why, did the Minister of Finance hound you?”

“They did. I was asked to investigate how this expense occurred considering the national treasury is suffering great losses from the plague situation.”

“I see, 500 isn’t a large amount so just have them write it off. Or the mint can print the money that was lost, no?”

“It’s as you say. I will pass that on, then.”

Blanton answered with a quirk of his mouth. It was only after he withdrew with a satisfied expression that Klion could calm his pounding heart.

Thunk.

Once Klion saw the Duke leaving and closing the doors behind him, he let out a big sigh from his lungs.

The man had gone along with his ignorant comment rather than stopping him.

At this rate, the Empire would meet its downfall at any moment, but there was nothing that he could do right now.

“Shall I fill your glass, Your Highness?”

“Please.”

Indeed, it wasn’t time yet.

Klion knocked back his drink with the thought of waiting until the opportunity came. It tasted awful.

**

After bidding goodbye to Klion, Blanton passed through the eastern corridors. This was the passageway that led to the building handed down for generations by the Imperial Family to the Grand Duke commanding the waters.

He snorted inwardly. It was funny no matter how he thought of it.

Blanton was heading towards his lavish personal office that the Emperor had bestowed upon him. In this 66 m2 room about the size of an average home, the Duke of waters did all his work.

This chapter is updated by freēwēbnovel.com.

“Are you back, Father?”

The voice of a delicate girl came from a sofa in a section of his office.

Rosemary, who had been playing with her turtle doll, greeted Duke Blanton as she ran over to him.

“Yes, have you been good?”

The door closed with a Thunk.

The large room had the curtains closed and soundproof wallpaper. Unless one screamed loudly, no conversations would leak from this room.

Rosemary tossed the black turtle doll somewhere by the sofa.

With every step she took, it seemed as if monochromatic paint was spilling into the bright atmosphere. Standing in front of Blanton, Rosemary airily asked with a low tone.

“So, for how long does he plan to act?”

Giggling, Rosemary took a step back in a movement like a dancer.

“It seems he will stay put until we stir up something, at least.”

“Like father, like son. Then again, he’s always been incompetent.”

“It looks to me that nothing matters to him besides saving his own life.”

“And that’s when they strike.”

Nothing wrong with being careful, Rosemary added as she began chuckling. Blanton, who had been knocking his teeth together, let out a thoughtful hum.

“We cannot lock up the Second Prince as well, since it would be better for us to have more puppets.... How shall we proceed, Quartus?”

“Why are you asking me?”

“Since you’re the tactical advisor of the Demon Army.”

“For when we’re in battle. Why should I have to brainstorm for the non-combat parts as well when it’s the Secundus sisters who devise the strategies in this kind of situation?”

Rosemary made a circle with her fingers. Inside the curvature closed by her thumb and finger, she could see the back of Duke Blanton’s head.

[Ultimate Innate Magic ─ Scope]

“But I guess it can’t be helped. I’ll keep marking the Second Prince somehow.”

“Thank you. But why are you suddenly targeting the back of my head?”

“Checking to see if you lost any hairs.”

“Hm, what use is it to observe my head with a skill that can see up to hundreds of kilometers?”

“It’s a joke. I mean that you should always watch your back.”

A joint for a spell. Rosemary grumbled that her body was too inefficient.

“I’m getting exhausted from having to stay here. Did you know that I have the most fun when I’m playing the violin?”

“Have you found out anything?”

“I did.”

When Rosemary opened her arms, the scenery at her fingertips expanded across the whole room. Her Innate Magic, Scope, could zoom in or out three-dimensionally as needed.

And that wasn’t all. It was also possible to replay some part of a past observation like it had been filmed.

What Rosemary was about to show Duke Blanton was something that had happened a few days ago in a hallway of Tilette Academy.

A tall elf and a Golden-Eyed girl were reflected in the telescope. Both of them were wearing robes bearing the emblem of Tilette Academy.

Rosemary zoomed in on the paper that the Golden-Eyed girl was holding.

[Q. Is there a monster that can see hundreds of kilometers away or not?]“This....”

“She knows of my existence.”

“Has she regained her memories?”

“That’s what it looks like.”

[Yes/No][Blink twice for yes, once for no.]The elf student blinked twice at the words written below and it didn’t go unnoticed by Rosemary.

“... Would that be a coincidence?”

“If we only looked at this, perhaps, but there are two more clear pieces of evidence. The first is that this elf gave a mind-control resistant scroll to the Second Prince, and the other would be that he went down to underground channels knowing that Quintus was there. He couldn’t have done either of those things if he didn’t know our plans.”

Duke Blanton’s brows twitched. If the elves knew all about their infiltration routes–or worse, what to do about them–then they were in trouble. At this rate, they might not be able to proceed with the large raid in the second semester.

“What should be done?”

Rosemary blinked her aqua blue eyes, then closed them for a moment and fell into contemplation.

She’d been watching everything within 400 km of this eastern palace, never missing a single day. Her focus had been on observing the private lives of key figures of Tilette Academy. Of course she was aware that Prince Klion and the elf were talking, and also learned quickly that Flare had been developed.

Some time passed. Once she finished thinking, the girl’s eyes no longer shone like aquamarines. Lemon-like yellow irises filled with all of Blanton’s face.

“Septimus, my guess is that Aether did regain her memories.”

“Then should we get in contact with her?”

“No, just because she remembers doesn’t mean she’s on our side. Why do you think she erased her memories and blended in with the humans in the first place? The fact that she developed Flare when it wasn’t necessary means she definitely hates us.”

“... Then how should we get her to come back?”

“Simple.”

Rosemary smiled at Blanton’s question and moved her lips.

“She just needs to feel even more betrayed by humans. Then she’ll return.”