Several days passed, and in the blink of an eye, the final day of the school festival arrived.
Basking in the morning light, I gave a thoughtful nod.
"So, Connie still hasn't finished her work?"
"No. She said she needs 'just a little longer,'" Sylpha answered as she brought in my breakfast.
Apparently, Sylpha had heard the status of the project when she went to deliver breakfast to Connie a short while ago.
"Honestly, I wonder how long she intends to keep saying 'just a little longer.' It is quite a predicament."
"But it really does seem like she's almost there. She said she'd be ready to go as soon as the final checks are over," Ren of the Poison Moth added, stepping in to support Connie and blunt Sylpha's grumbling.
She was certainly keeping me in suspense. However, all I could do was wait. I decided to do so patiently.
And so, today as well, I spent my time walking around the school festival. This was my tenth lap around the grounds, yet I hadn't grown bored. Every time I looked, I found something new.
Oh, starting a new attraction at this late stage? They were certainly challengers. And over there, they seemed to have made improvements based on customer feedback. It felt as though the festival was far from over.
"...Still, now that it's the final day, the crowds have thinned out quite a bit."
Compared to the previous days, the flow of people had visibly decreased. It made it easier for me to walk around, but the students seemed somewhat restless. Well, after five days of this, I suppose it couldn't be helped. Though, rather than just being distracted, they seemed to be in a state of nervous anticipation.
"They're looking for partners, I bet. Look, over there."
Following the direction Ren of the Poison Moth pointed, I saw a male student desperately pleading with a female student. He appeared to have been rejected, however, as he hung his head in dejection.
Seeing this, Sylpha shook her head in exasperation.
"How foolish. In events of this nature, one's daily conduct and behind-the-scenes groundwork are everything. Can they not understand that it is already too late to panic now? Honestly, it is beyond unsightly."
What was this all about? What on earth were they talking about?
"Are you serious about not knowin', Master Lloyd? What those two are talkin' about is the dance party held on the final day of the festival."
"For several days now, male students have been inviting female students all over the place. Sylpha-tan and Ren-tan were also invited by a great many men... Naturally, every single one of them was flatly rejected. Hmph, a fitting reward for such filthy vermin."
Grimo and Jiriel kindly explained the situation. I had been so uninterested that I hadn't noticed at all. Well, it wasn't like I was participating, so there was no need to remember it anyway.
"...Ahem. By the way, Master Lloyd, have you decided on a partner for tonight?"
"Eh?"
Sylpha’s sudden question caused a silly sound to escape my mouth. Wait, did I have to participate too?
When I asked that with my eyes, Sylpha nodded as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
"It is hosted by Birgitte. Naturally, Master Lloyd will be expected to attend as well."
"Master Albert was forced to join in, too. Though he didn't seem to mind it all that much."
Come to think of it, I felt like Birgitte had mentioned something. I was reading a book at the time, so I just let it slide, but thinking back, that must have been what she meant. I hadn't been listening at all.
What a pain. What should I do? As I groaned, Sylpha cleared her throat.
"It would appear that Master Lloyd has not yet considered a partner. If it would please you, would you care to go with me?"
Seeing Sylpha gracefully extend her hand, Ren of the Poison Moth panicked.
"Sylpha-san?! Didn't you say that the boy is supposed to be the one to do the inviting?!"
"Hmph. That is a foolish rule with no binding force. I see no reason to go out of my way to follow it."
"Th-Then, I want to go with Lloyd, too..."
"You may do as you like. After all, Master Lloyd is the one who decides."
"Ugh... I-I see. That's true..."
Faced with Sylpha’s composed expression, Ren of the Poison Moth pondered for a moment before looking up at me with determination.
"Um! Lloyd, if you'd like... would you... that is, would you dance with me?!"
As Ren of the Poison Moth spoke with upturned eyes and flushed cheeks, I replied:
"Uuugh..."
"What a horrible reaction!"
Ren of the Poison Moth cried out, seemingly shocked by my response. It wasn't that I couldn't dance; Sylpha had drilled that kind of etiquette into me until I was sick of it. But if I was with Sylpha or Ren of the Poison Moth at a dance party where many students were participating, even I would end up standing out.
Sylpha went without saying, but lately, Ren of the Poison Moth had also become an eye-catching beauty. I, for one, did not wish to stand out. If it were a slightly more plain girl, I wouldn't have minded dancing, but... well, it was a hassle to invite someone else now. I suppose I had no choice but to give up.
◇
Then, in the evening, just before the dance party, I was crowded by everyone and made to change into my formal clothes. My hair was held in place with wax, and when I stepped out wearing a crisp, stiff child's suit, a chorus of admiration went up.
"Heh! Suits ya pretty well, don't it, Lloyd!"
"Yes, it looks good. With this, you won't bring shame to us no matter where you go. No, rather than being a shame, you've always been a brother I'm proud of."
Birgitte and Albert, both in formal attire, looked at me and nodded with satisfaction. They said that, but I didn't think it suited me at all. Looking in the mirror, it definitely felt like the clothes were wearing me. On the other hand, the two of them looked very accustomed to such things. They truly were a prince and princess. That was a feat I could never pull off.
"It suits you very well. As expected of Master Lloyd."
"Mm-hm, you look really cool, Lloyd!"
Sylpha and Ren of the Poison Moth heaped praise on me, but by all appearances, those two looked much better in their dresses. The fabric was thin, and the back was wide open—goodness, they looked like they were going to catch a cold in those outfits.
"Mm-hm, everyone's lookin' good. Now if only the venue were a bit more decent..."
Birgitte looked down out the window and let out a sigh of disappointment. The school courtyard, which served as the dance party venue, only had some handmade decorations; it couldn't even begin to compare to the royal castle where we usually held events.
"It can't be helped, Big Sister Birgitte. We have to be satisfied just with having secured this much space."
"I s'pose, but still... Hm? By the way, whatever happened to Connie? I ain't seen her lately."
"Connie-chan is—"
Albert began explaining the situation to Birgitte. At any rate, it seemed that Connie’s magic tool construction hadn't made it in time after all. And she had said it was "just a little longer," too. That was a shame.
"Well, there's no problem if I just have her show it to me later, but... hm?"
As I was thinking that, I saw a female student in overalls running into the party venue. It was Connie. She was looking around, likely searching for us.
"Hey, Connie!"
"Ah! Lloyd-kun. Sorry to keep you waiting, I finished it!"
As she waved her arms vigorously, Connie held a ball-sized magic tool in her arms. Ooh, so that was the rumored magic tool. It was finally complete. I had been waiting for this.
I jumped down from the window and landed using Levitation.
"Good work, Connie."
"Yeah, I'm glad I made it in time somehow. I'm going to try it out right away, so take a look!"
"Right. Let's do it. Let's do it now."
Needless to say, my eyes were glued to the magic tool. I wondered what kind of thing it was. I was so excited.
"How do you use it? Or rather, what kind of thing is it in the first place?"
"Don't rush me. I'm going to gather some people first... Hey! Everyone!"
Connie called out to the students nearby. I didn't quite understand, but I decided to help too.
"I’d like to borrow your help for a moment."
"Um, would you mind helping us out a bit?"
As the two of us called out to everyone, over a dozen people gathered in no time.
"Good grief, what on earth is going on?"
"Man, it's been a while, Glasses Girl."
Among them were Noah and Gazel. Connie cleared her throat once and then looked around at everyone.
"Thank you all for gathering. This magic tool activates by using a massive amount of mana as fuel—it requires a truly, incredibly large amount of mana. So, please lend me your strength."
Connie bowed her head. Ever since she entered the academy, she had been continuing her research into absorbing mana in order to eliminate the magic disorder in her village. I suppose this was the culmination of all that.
"I don't mind. Seems pretty interesting."
"What should I do?"
As Noah and the others nodded, those around them also began to raise their hands, one after another. A line formed in an instant. Let's see, I should participate as well.
"Now, please place your hand here."
"Hmm, like this?"
As Noah, at the head of the line, held his hand over the magic tool, the meter attached to the front moved with a jerk. It reached about ten percent. Seeing that, Connie let out a sound of admiration.
"Ooh, that's amazing, Noah-san! To be able to pour in this much mana all at once! As expected of the Top Student of the Magic Department. Clap clap clap."
Prompted by Connie’s applause, the others also began to clap.
"Heh, not bad, brother. Al-right, I'm gonna pour in even more mana!"
Gazel was also fired up in front of me. It seemed he still viewed his brother as a rival. Cracking his knuckles, he stood before the magic tool and poured in his mana with a burst of spirit.
"HRAAAAAAAAH!"
Roaring, with veins popping on his temples and beads of sweat forming, Gazel poured in his mana, but the meter only moved about as much as Noah’s had.
"Huff, huff... Look, brother! I'm higher than you, ya bastard!"
"No, there's hardly a difference..."
Noah looked exasperated, but the students who followed after were lucky to even reach ten percent of what those two had managed. There was simply no comparison. They truly were the descendants of William.
As I was thinking that, my turn came around.
"Next is Lloyd-kun, huh. Let's see what you've got."
"Heheh, good luck, Lloyd!"
The two of them patted me on the back, but... this was bad. If I poured in mana in a place with this many people, my mana capacity would be exposed.
"Oh, oh? Things are lookin' pretty lively, ain't they?"
"Everyone seems to be having fun."
Before I knew it, Albert and the others had come down as well. My only choice here was to suppress my mana to the absolute limit and slip through... but if I did that, the gauge on this magic tool wouldn't fill up. Currently, it was at about a quarter, which was far from full. If I held back here, there wouldn't be enough mana, and the magic tool likely wouldn't activate.
That would be bad. Since the magic tool was finally complete, I wanted to see it in action right away. I had been kept waiting long enough as it was. I absolutely had to see it.
Guh, what should I do... As I worried, I noticed a figure standing beside me.
"If you aren't going to do it, would you mind if I went ahead?"
The woman who stepped forward with a voice that tickled the nose was a beauty with long, flowing violet hair. At her beauty, the men present let out gasps of admiration.
"I just need to hold my hand here?"
"Yes, and then the mana will be poured in automatically... Waah?! Wh-What is this mana capacity?!"
When the woman poured in her mana, the gauge surged upward, reaching nearly seventy percent. Cheers erupted once more at mana that surpassed even Noah’s.
"That's some insane mana you got there, lady. Didn't it increase by like thirty percent of the total?"
"Hmm, regardless, you are neither a student nor staff, are you? A beauty such as yourself is not someone one would forget after seeing once."
"Fufu, you are quite the flatterer."
The woman returned a smile while surrounded by everyone. I didn't know who she was, but this was my chance to hide what I was doing.
Sneak, sneak, sneak, sneak... Phew, there we go. Having finished my task, I placed a hand on Connie’s shoulder.
"But it's a good thing, Connie. Now that the gauge is at max, you'll be able to run the magic tool."
"Eh? But it was only at about seventy percent... Ah!"
Connie checked while rubbing her eyes. The gauge before her was now completely full.
"A-Are? That's strange... I could have sworn just a moment ago..."
"I was watching, and it was moving little by little. My, my, that older sister's mana really is something. Ahaha."
Needless to say, I had secretly poured in my mana. Phew, that was a close one, but it looked like I managed to deceive them while still being able to activate the magic tool. I should be grateful to that woman.
As I was thinking that, I noticed Grimo and Jiriel were trembling.
"She's suppressing it considerably, but that mana wavelength... there is no doubt, she is not human."
"That woman is the last of the Four Heavenly Kings of the Demon Army, Sheraha of the Azure. But what's with that outfit? Is she plannin' on attendin' the dance party or somethin'? Just what the heck is she up to?"
Ho, one of the Four Heavenly Kings of the Demon Army, eh? No wonder I felt something strange. She was likely suppressing her mana and mimicking a human. However, just like the ones who attacked before, was she plotting something? Well, there was no point in worrying about it.
I'd like to ask her, but Sheraha was currently surrounded by students and being bombarded with invitations to dance. I'd try calling out to her once things had calmed down and the people had cleared out. More importantly, I had something else that should take priority.
"Hey, Connie, you can run the magic tool now, right? Let's start it up quickly."
Needless to say, this was the magic tool Connie had been adjusting until the very last second. It had to have a considerable amount of mana stored in it. I wondered what would happen. I was so excited.
"Ah, right. —Well then, everyone, thank you for your cooperation. Thanks to you, the mana is all charged up. Now then, activating magic tool 'Illusion Projector'—"
Connie pressed the switch, and the magic tool known as the Illusion Projector began to emit light. The light raced through the air in erratic trajectories, as if drawing something in the sky.
"Is that... a castle?" Sylpha murmured.
It certainly was a castle. It looked like a magnificent, ornate castle straight out of a fairy tale was being completed.
"The Illusion Projector is a magic tool that releases stored mana and materializes it. Since it's originally mana, it'll disappear in a day, but it can even create a huge castle like this."
"Heh, this is amazing."
When I touched the completed castle, it was definitely there. Mana is fundamentally difficult to materialize. If it's a phenomenon like fire or water, it's not that hard, but when it comes to things like actual weaponry or buildings that require delicate designs, the difficulty skyrockets.
The castle created by Connie’s Illusion Projector appeared to be as sturdy and precise as the real thing. The students were frolicking about, touching the castle and climbing onto it.
"This is incredible! It's an actual castle!"
"To think it doesn't even budge with this many people on it, what incredible magic density... no, is it changing the structure itself?"
Noah and the others also seemed impressed. It was likely created by bundling together compressed mana to form fibers, and then weaving those together. Of course, it's not as easy as it sounds. The fiberization of mana itself is one thing, but producing this much mass requires indispensable, high-level control abilities.
The length of the spell formula for this castle alone must have been enormous; to have done it in just a few days was nothing short of brilliant.
"You're really something, Connie. I've never seen technology like this before. I can see why you kept it so well-hidden."
"Yeah, were you surprised?"
"Yeah, very much so."
In response to my answer, Connie thought for a moment before speaking.
"To tell you the truth, the reason I made the castle was because I heard that Lloyd-kun and the others would be attending the dance party. See, this academy is a bit lacking as a place for royalty like Lloyd-kun and the others to dance, right?"
Come to think of it, Birgitte and Albert were lamenting about dancing in a courtyard like this. Since royalty and nobility value their prestige, they care about the venue when it comes to dancing.
"So, um, I decided to make a castle because I wanted to provide a stage befitting Lloyd-kun and the others. It took time to put together because it was a complex spell formula, but I'm glad I made it in time. I owe Lloyd-kun a debt that I can't repay with just this, but I'd be happy if it made you even a little bit glad."
Connie wore a somewhat bashful smile. Personally, I didn't mind the original venue at all. Even so, being able to see a castle like this made of mana was truly moving.
"My, my, this is the first time I've seen Lloyd with such a dazzling expression toward a girl. Could this be what they call youth? Fufu, the growth of a cute younger brother is a wonderful thing."
"Good grief, to think that Lloyd would take an interest in a girl. Connie doesn't seem to mind it either, so it kinda makes me want to cheer 'em on a bit. Nihehe."
"Ah, Master Lloyd, Sylpha is overjoyed. The fact that you have developed an interest in women means that I, too, have at least some small chance. And if that is the case, I, Sylpha Langris, have not trained in a way that would see me lose to any ordinary woman. Fufu, fufufufufu...!"
"Sylpha-san, you're crying tears of blood... it's scary..."
Albert and the others were muttering something, but I was too busy observing the structure of the mana castle to pay them any mind.
I see, I see, so fiberization of mana can be done at such a low cost. By bundling them together, even thin threads can become strong. And then she’s using earth-attribute magic spell formulas to fill in the gaps. To generate such a massive structure through the accumulation of small ingenuities was quite a feat. Mm-hm.