1

“So Rubelmel. How exactly do you intend to be useful to me?”

Darius leaned forward with his hands clasped and questioned the female sorcerer Rubelmel sitting before him.

Rubelmel belonged to the infamous Next-Era Luminaries. Naturally, Darius knew the name of that group—and the skill and mastery of their magic.

That was why Darius wondered. He understood she had a benefit in asking for his cooperation. However, why choose him? In magic ability he would likely only hold her back. Moreover, although the eldest son of the Sobi House, Darius possessed almost no authority. With his father Zoin’s evaluation of him nearly at zero, he held no value even as a hostage.

Militarily and politically, there seemed plenty of others who could replace Darius.

Even Darius, skillfully led along by her, could at least think that far.

“Darius-sama, do you know who we recognize as both our goal and our natural enemy?”

“Goal?”

Darius asked back, not expecting a question in return.

“Yes. We do love magic, but we do not gather together merely to idle around meaninglessly with fellow enthusiasts.”

Of course not. Including Rubelmel, the Next-Era Luminaries were infamous criminals within the Santia Kingdom, responsible for many incidents. They were not some casual group playing with magic.

“The goal was governance of politics and the nation solely by those capable of using magic—mages, wasn’t it? As for your enemy… the king or some royal, perhaps?”

“The goal is more or less that. The enemy is the person who interferes with that goal. For example, someone who spread cunning knowledge to magicless monkeys. The Eternal Witch who scattered copies of the Original Canon and gave useless knowledge to the monkeys.”

Hearing that, Darius understood.

In the Santia Kingdom, a gap existed between those who could use magic and those who could not. Yet it had not become an absolute divide because magical knowledge spread through copies. Ordinary people gained benefits through technological development and improved daily life. At the same time, they could create magic tools using that knowledge.

In other words, even ordinary people unable to use magic could imitate it in limited form through magic tools.

Meanwhile, only those with aptitude could open and read the Original Canon. The letters themselves produced powerful mana and acted like poison.

Without the copies, ordinary people could not obtain knowledge themselves. That would lead directly to an absolute divide between mages and non-mages, eventually leading from superiority to eugenics and exclusion.

From one extreme perspective, that was exactly the kind of group the Next-Era Luminaries were.

“I understand why you hate them. But what does that have to do with me?”

“There is a heavily locked room within the Sorcery Academy.”

“A room?”

“It is a library storing important books. One original volume of the Original Canon is kept there.”

Darius had not known the Original Canon was stored in the Sorcery Academy. His father Zoin probably knew, but judging from his silence—

“Who manages that library? Not some minor figure like the headmaster, right?”

“You’re perceptive, Darius-sama… the Eternal Witch.”

“The Eternal Witch!? …But I see. Yes, someone of that scale, or Father would have already acted.”

Darius exhaled and picked up a glass of water, wetting his dry throat.

“The library managed by the Eternal Witch—the Forbidden Archive. My objective is to steal the Original Canon from it.”

“!? Are you insane!? The opponent is the Eternal Witch, isn’t it? Even you, skilled in magic, should realize your power doesn’t reach her feet!”

His throat hurt slightly from raising his voice again.

However, Rubelmel was not pessimistic.

“In ability, that is true. But the witch is not always in the Forbidden Archive. In fact, she is hardly ever there.”

Rubelmel stood, took a pitcher from the shelf, and poured water into the empty glass.

“How would you know that? Do you know the witch?”

She sat back down and poured water into Darius’s glass as well.

“No. But it comes from a reliable source. I believe it to be correct.”

Her eyes showed unwavering faith in the information she held.

Seeing that gaze, Darius felt questioning the source of her confidence would not lead to understanding.

“…Fine, I’ll believe it too. So, the place is the Sorcery Academy—and me.”

“I want Darius-sama to prepare in my stead. A short visit might pass as minor suspicion, but if I wander the academy for long, it will become a problem.”

Rubelmel took out a small fragment and showed it to Darius.

It sparkled in the light.

“A mana crystal. I want you to scatter these around the academy.”

Darius knew of mana crystals.

But he could not understand how such a tiny fragment with little mana would help someone capable of magic like Rubelmel.

Seeing his suspicion, Rubelmel smiled.

“We will infiltrate the Forbidden Archive and steal the Original Canon. You would want to eliminate external interference, wouldn’t you?”

If she wanted him to scatter them, he still didn’t understand why, but he could at least do that much.

For Darius, this was no trouble. He only needed to walk around the academy and scatter the fragments as if taking a stroll.

“I understand the cooperation you seek. What benefit do I gain in return?”

Darius would not accept her request one-sidedly. The benefit he would gain justified listening to it.

Without presenting it, the deal would be void.

“Yes. The stolen Original Canon—its new custodian will—”

The night deepened.