Chapter 547.1

Weena Rhyn led us to what appeared to be her office. Fran then sat on a sofa in one corner of the room and faced Weena Rhyn.

「I'd like to introduce myself again. I'm Weena Rhyn. I'm the Director of the Academy of Magic」

「B-ranked adventurer, Fran. And this is Urushi」

『My name is Master, and I'm an intelligence weapon』

「Master? Is that your name?」

『Yeah』

「I've been called President, Headmaster, or Director too. So, I know how you feel」

Just as I expected, Weena Rhyn's reaction towards me was a little weak. Well, it's not like I don't like it when people aren't surprised when they find out about me, but she's much calmer than the people who have seen or know who I am.

But I soon found out why.

「This is the first time in a thousand years since I've seen an intelligence weapon capable of having a proper conversation」

『You know any other intelligence weapons besides me?』

「Well, I've lived a long life after all. I know more than what I can hold in one hand. You're the second sword that I've seen that is capable of having a proper conversation. Most intelligence weapons have gone mad after all...」

What a surprise, it seemed that she had met an Intelligence Weapon many times before. I guess that was why she wasn't terribly surprised to know about me.

But still, the mad intelligence weapon, Fanatics, also said that when a person's consciousness was in the body of a sword, there's a good chance they'll go mad. I feel like I want to meet the other intelligence weapons, but I also feel scared at the same time...

However, I could tell that the Intelligence Weapons were not new to her. Rather, it seemed that Weena Rhyn's interest was in Urushi.

Urushi, who was sitting next to Fran in his small form, was stared at by Weena Rhyn. Well, Urushi felt nervous when he was being looked at.

「What's wrong with Urushi?」

「Eh? Well, this is the first time I've seen this species. It's been a long time since I've seen a magic beast that was completely new to me, you know? Well, forget about that, there's something you want to know more than that, right?」

「Are you sure it's fine to leave Zelos Reed to Colt?」

「It's fine. I've used my skill to seal off the evil spirits within him and bind his actions, and the spirit here is watching over him too」

Just as I thought, it seems that the reason why Zelos Reed's evil spirit was suppressed was as a result of something Weena Rhyn had done. On top of that, he seemed to be bound by a kind of slave contract. Moreover, she had a spirit watching over him.

「I didn't limit his ability to talk properly, but his strange quietness has shown that he's obeying me. Well, when you attacked him, he didn't fight back, right? That's because fighting is not allowed in the academy」

Indeed, Zelos Reed did nothing more than put out his hand to block our attack. After our first attack failed, there must have been plenty of opportunities for him to counterattack.

『In the first place, why is Zelos Reed here?』

「It all started the day before yesterday」

Weena Rhyn has received word that a dangerous criminal was hiding in the Self-governing region. He was not well known in this country, but there was a bounty on his head in other countries.

It was said that adventurers had already set out to capture him, but had been repelled many times. Even if there were no deaths, his power was considered to be overwhelming.

So, this time, Weena Rhyn herself went out to catch him. Because of her flashiness and numerous heroic stories, people tend to think that Weena Rhyn was always ready to respond to any situation, but she said that if there was an incident outside of the Academy that could be handled by someone other than her, then she would leave it to them.

「Otherwise, the younger generation will not grow up. And I don't have time to deal with every little incident, you know?」

Conversely, Weena Rhyn would only respond if it was a much more serious incident.

Weena Rhyn then used her magic and other means to find Zelos Reed and captured him after a battle. But she also learned that Zelos Reed had a companion.

「A kid named Romio?」

「Yes, Romio Magnolia, I've decided to take him under my protection」

So, he was still bringing him around after all this time, huh?

I've heard that Weena Rhyn likes children, and I could understand her decision to protect Romio. If it were Amanda, who likes children too, she would have also done the same.

However, Fran was still confused.

「Is there a reason why I shouldn't kill Zelos Reed yet?」

「That's the problem... There's a connection between Romio and him that's close to a master-slave contract. And a nasty one at that, where if one of them gets hurt, the other one will get hurt too」

「Zelos Reed did that?」

「I think it's the opposite. Romio might be the one who unconsciously made a deal, I guess it's kind of a curse possessed by Magnolia's bloodline...」

『How is that possible? He's just a little kid, right? And what this all about Magnolia's bloodline?』

I know he's from a noble bloodline, but what's so special about his family?

「A long time ago, there was a special family on the continent of Gordisia that guarded the seal of the pieces of the Evil God. Magnolia, Wisteria, and Camellia. The people of those three families had a special bloodline that could communicate with the Evil Gods and control their power. They have taken advantage of that characteristic to perform a ritual to appease the Evil Gods... However, the Dragonmen destroyed and stole the pieces from them」

The pieces of the Evil God that Trismegistus used to create the giant magic beasts must have been the pieces that those three houses were guarding.

「And this child, Romio, was a descendant of that Magnolia Family. Moreover, his blood was pretty strong that I even thought he was a reincarnation of his ancestor」

Could it be that it was because of that blood that Murellia and Zelos Reed were strangely obsessed with Romio? No, I'm sure it was.

「Anyway, as long as that contract was still in place, killing him will only get Romio killed too」

And apparently, that was not all.

It seems that Romio's young body had been contaminated with evil from spending so much time with Zelos Reed. After all, there's a phenomenon of intoxication by being exposed to strong evil, and it seems that Romio's condition was even worse than that.

It was life-threatening if it was not cured, but because of the contract, it was dangerous to keep them apart for a long period of time.

So, in the end, to protect and treat Romio at the academy, it was necessary to have Zelos Reed close to him.

「So I decided to use my power to significantly suppress Zelos Reed's power and keep them in the academy until Romio is healed... I'm going to treat him as a temporary employee. I'll also explain to you why I doing something like this」

「Nn」

「First of all, this Academy of Magic is protected by a powerful guardian spirit and its dependent spirits. So, there must be hundreds of spirits guarding and watching over the academy」

『Could it be, the mysterious attack that first blocked Fran's attack was...』

「The High Ranking one was in charge of watching over Zelos Reed. And in your case, it was just trying to stop an outsider from committing violence in the academy rather than protecting Zelos Reed」

So that's why I couldn't see it! Moreover, if it was a High-Ranking spirit, it must be quite strong. And wasn't it quite dangerous if it could attack stealthy from anywhere?

But it seems, Fran managed to look at it faintly. No, maybe it was just a faint feeling, huh? Perhaps because of our stay in that inn, Fran got the ability to sense spirits.

『Fran, did you see the spirit?』

「...I only felt something strange」

「Ara? Maybe Fran has a talent as a spirit user」

「Really?」

「I'm just saying it's possible. For example, how about this?」

Weena Rhyn then pointed her fingertips lightly at the ceiling. All I could see was a slight movement of magic, but I don't know what's happening.

However, Fran could definitely see something.

「It looks hazy」

「Hmm, you can only roughly see it, huh? But it seems you can feel it」

Maybe Fran really has a talent as a spirit user, huh? I'd really like to see her use it.

「How to be able to see them?」

「Hmm... Let's see... All I can say is that you need to be in contact with spirits and be aware of them at all times. Some people say that you need to have a pure heart, but to be more precise, some spirits like people who have a pure heart. In the first place, many spirits don't care whether we are good or bad」

「Is that so?」

「Yes. Think about it. Do you think that spirits would care about the values, crimes, and laws that the peoples have set for themselves? The same goes for the guardian spirits of this academy. Their defense ethics have nothing to do with right or wrong. First and foremost is the safety of those involved in the academy as specified in the contract. Next is the people's safety, which is its high priority. No matter what the reason, the guardian spirits will not tolerate any hostile acts」

Moreover, the defense system was not limited to the spirit's surveillance network.

「And I, myself, am part of that defense system」

「?」

Weena Rhyn then explained further to Fran and Urushi who looked confused.

「To put it simply, the guardian spirits will determine if someone is an enemy, and I will be the one to impose sanctions. That's how it works. That's also the reason why I attacked Fran earlier」