She Professed Herself The Pupil Of The Wiseman

Chapter 15 - 14: Discussion

「What is the meaning of this?」

Looking at how her hand passed through the black box, Mira's face drew near while closing and opening her hand.

「As you can see. Even when this game became a reality, the former rules still apply. This vanity case is not transferable so I can't give it to you. The same goes for soul-bound items like your master key; you can't even steal them.」

「Do you mean that the only way is to get a vanity case myself?」

「Exactly. And you should know that it's impossible with billing items.」

「What a disaster…」

After the brief conversation, Mira fell down on the sofa. An emotion resembling resignation took control of her head and she finally began to think at full power what excuse to make for her current state.

「Shouldn't there be any exceptions?」

Only lifting her face, Mira clung to the last ray of hope.

「I haven't heard about any during these last 30 years.」

「No way…」

This answer which was backed by a historical basis had utterly shattered her remaining hope. Turning herself on the sofa, Mira closed her eyes retreating into the world of delusions dreaming of her past magnificent appearance.

「I'd like to help with this but I'm out of options here.」

「Do you really think like that? In your heart, you must be laughing about me, right?

The view of Mira rolling on the sofa full of negative thoughts made her look like a sulking child.

「Oh no, of course not. It's not like you forgot about this country in those two days, have you? Protected by you all, this country was able to stand equal to others. But now, the wisemen that supported this country have gone missing, did you know that?」

He was talking about Arkite Kingdom's greatest incident where all the wisemen have disappeared within a year since Danbulf's disappearance.

「Yes, I heard about it from Graia. It's like everybody vanished at the same time. However, I also heard that Luminaria returned twenty years ago, so I stopped by the towers.」

「Ah, so that's why you were at the towers? Well, if you know that much then I'll jump straight to the point, what do you think would happen to this country without the strongest shield that you guys were?」

「I see…」

Leveraging the support of the nine wisemen, the Arkite Kingdom never once partook in any aggressive wars, thus avoiding conflict with foreign countries. With rich and fertile lands, there was no need to steal lands of others and the kingdom could focus on defense, thanks to which it also became possible to establish trade with other countries.

However, the country lost those pillars.

The public announcement was made twenty years ago when Luminaria returned. Even if she was one of the Nine Wisemen, supporting the whole country by herself was beyond her powers.

As a result, the other countries who wished to claim the profitable lands have increased their campaigns. While there was no full-fledged war, frequent skirmishes gradually exhausted the country.

That was the present situation of the Arkite Kingdom. Even if it was just one, the return of one of the Nine Wisemen would have granted the country an immeasurable influence. Even more so if it was the 『One Man Army Danbulf』 who singlehandedly suppressed the neighboring country's chivalric order of five thousand knights.

「This is my opinion as the king, but you are this country's hero. The influence of your existence alone is tremendous, but we can't grandly spread the news that you turned into a loli, can we.….」

「W… well.」

「While I understand that you are the same person so your skill did not change, the impression is completely different. It might not have been a problem if you originally have such an appearance, but the image of you carved in this country's history is that of a majestic veteran mage whose appearance was well suited for the title of wiseman.」

「That's right. Even now I can proudly say that it was the supreme masterpiece.」

Hearing Solomon praise her image of a perfect man, Mira's mood improved, she affirmed what he said and looked at Solomon happily.

「And what will happen to the image if it was known that he turned into a girl like this?」

Mira imagined it as she was told, a case when a respected person who called himself Danbulf turned into a girl of such tender age.

「…Feels unreliable.」

Murmuring that, Mira understood the position in which she had placed herself.

「You said it. I would be really glad to announce that Danbulf has returned to the country but I can't show your current appearance to the public. People don't know about the existence of vanity cases.」

「How about making an announcement without showing me?」

「That will be difficult. It's a hero's return after thirty years, the country would have to host a grand party to celebrate and it wouldn't work without the main guest. And when things calm down, other countries would definitely send spies.」

According to Solomon, a party and celebration would be an inevitable course of events if Danbulf returned after thirty years. Spies seeking to confirm the truth would also come, and if they found out that Danbulf was not there, Arkite would lose trust.

However, from the moment Solomon met Mira, he had no intention of announcing Danbulf's return. There was a more important issue, to relay it, Solomon approached the sofa Mira was lying on.

As he stood by her side, hidden behind Solomon's smile was a serious look in his eyes, Mira corrected her sitting posture and looked up suspiciously.

「And here I have a proposal for you.」

「So, what is it?」

「I want to announce you as the pupil of Dunbalf after you get a nationally acclaimed achievement.」

Solomon's proposal was for Mira to earn enough achievement. Prematurely announcing that the girl was Danbulf himself would likely generate confusion in the people. Even if they believed in the unlikely story, she wouldn't have that much influence due to her appearance.

Additionally, immediately appointing the position of a wiseman to Danbulf's disciple would put her in a tough spot instead as she was nothing more than a girl without any accomplishments despite being a hero's disciple.

If the highest-level title was granted on a whim, what would the rest who worked hard for that title think about it?

But it was another matter altogether if she piled up great achievements for the country.

「I can't say that it will work for sure, but I think it's worth a try. Rather, I want you to do it.」

「Well, I understood your point. So, what exactly do you want me to do?」

When Mira asked this, Solomon took a deep breath and crossed his arms. Then with a serious attitude, he made a slightly troubled expression.

「Danbulf… No, I'll call you Mira from now on to prevent any leaks.」

「Fine, feel free to call me as you like.」

「So, Mira. The thing I want to ask you to do is to find everyone.」

「Who do you mean by everyone?」

Mira put a finger on her chin and asked him to explain. What exactly did he mean by 'everyone'? Mira couldn't understand that at first but based on the context she eventually made the connection. She furrowed her eyebrows and made a really aggravated expression upon reaching the answer.

「Aren't Luminaria and I the only wisemen in this world?」

「Nope, if anything — you are the last one.」

「What?」

「I believe I just told you how the friend list works, right? Try to look at it yourself.」

Mira operated the bracelet and displayed the hidden window in response to that. Upon opening the friend list, she found the names of her past friends with whom she was close to. Obviously, the names of Solomon and Luminaria were displayed in white. And once she found the names she was looking for, she made a very languid expression as she stared at them displayed in white.

「Everyone is online.」

「It seems that way.」

「Then why are they not here?」

「If I knew that, I wouldn't have begged you for that.」

「That's a difficult task. I have no idea where to look for them. Towers aside, they're not the type of people to stay in one place.」

「I agree that it takes time. But if it's possible, I'd like to find half of them within this year.」

Half of them within this year. Without any ideas as to why Solomon placed such a limit, Mira asked a question.

「Finding half of them within this year sounds like quite the hurry. Without any leads,

「Very well, I'll undertake it.」

Hearing that, Solomon broadly smiled 「Thank you. 」