"Please withdraw from Magias."
Amae-san was the one who snapped at that proposal with lightning speed.
"Why does Filie-chan have to drop out of school?"
Her tone was quiet, but even someone as dense as me could immediately tell there was a cold fury beneath her voice.
"Do you have any idea how hard Filie-chan worked to get into the Imperial Archmage Faculty?"
"I may not have seen it firsthand, but it is easy enough to imagine."
"Do you know how many hours she devotes every single day to her studies and magical training just to become a respectable medical mage?"
"It is precisely because I understand that I do not want Filie putting herself in danger."
Amae-san choked on her words for a moment.
Well, it was true... Even after that attack incident, not a single person in the Imperial Archmage Faculty had dropped out. To be honest, we were just excessively resolute—myself included. Normally speaking, it was insane.
If you die, it's game over.
Nothing balances out the value of a life.
"Amae-san, calm down a bit."
"Why? Back me up here, Bren-kun."
"Let's just hear him out first."
With Philie-san herself listening quietly right beside us, it felt wrong for the two of us to start squawking.
Still, I understood how Amae-san felt. Painfully so.
"There are other issues as well. Magias is undoubtedly the highest institution of learning, as acknowledged by all. However, I believe doubts remain regarding their evaluation criteria."
"Evaluation criteria?"
Still agitated, Amae-san furrowed her brows at Zectromeo-san's words.
"Within the Gleefia cultural sphere, the Temchan race is not given favorable treatment."
...Is that so?
I'd certainly heard that the winds blew harshly against Temcha in the past, given it was a defeated nation.
But the annexation happened over a century ago.
To begin with, Mercedes and Gerald, who were genuine high-ranking nobles of Gleefia, never showed the slightest hint of such prejudice toward Philie-san.
If anything, Gerald respected Philie-san, addressing her as "Doctor," and Mercedes was actually quite close with her in private.
As far as I knew, the way Philie-san was treated was equal. In fact, it was rather good.
I'd never once seen anyone show animosity toward her.
Was I simply oblivious, while the reality was entirely different?
Come to think of it, Mercedes really had mentioned something like that. That Wilhelm had hurled some petty, abusive remarks at Philie-san about Temcha or whatever.
Damn it... This was one realm we, as mere students, couldn't fully grasp yet.
Tell me the answer, Professor Blanchard.
"Filie-chan is not treated like that at Magias just because she's of the Temchan race. I myself have never once thought of such a thing either."
While I struggled to find an answer, Amae-san retorted firmly beside me.
Nice! Tell him, Amae-san!
"As a parent, I am glad that a person of such fine character is Filie's friend. However, this is a matter of societal structure."
"Mgh..."
Amae-san was left speechless once again.
"In reality, the Temchan race tends to be ostracized by Gleefian society. This is not an emotional argument; it is a fact. It was the same for me. I once sought to pursue the path of magic, but merely because I was from Temcha, I was kept away from the Archmages. Those from Temcha carry a massive handicap in societal competition. The seeds of discrimination still remain."
Before I knew it, Amae-san had clamped her mouth shut.
Her usual sleepy-looking little face was flushed with the frustration of being unable to talk back.
Amidst all this, Philie-san alone remained expressionless, simply listening in silence.
"Filie, you must remember experiencing something like that yourself, yes?"
"That... is..."
"However, if you quit Magias and return to Temcha, you will be freed from such foolish constraints. If you are going to quit, the sooner the better."
So the constraints of being targeted by various factions as a hidden noble were separate from the constraints of being of the Temchan race, huh.
Sounds kinda complicated.
From that point on, however, Zectromeo-san spoke with a distinct passion unlike anything before.
"Naturally, I will take full responsibility for your withdrawal. First, I will provide you with the finest research environment in the country. I will arrange instructors active on the front lines of both magic and medicine. I will provide abundant living expenses as well. If you wish to work at a hospital, I can secure a fitting post for you. And above all, within my reach, I can shelter you in a much safer manner."
I see.
So by just quitting Magias, she'd be handed the ultimate "winner at life" all-in-one package.
If all of it was true, it was an extraordinary offer.
I almost wanted to take the deal in her place.
"Return to the Temcha Region, Filie. This is by no means a bad deal for you."
"I... I don't know what to say... To spring this on me so suddenly..."
"I will speak honestly. I want to start over from scratch with you as a real family."
"I-I..."
"Please, Filie."
No matter how you looked at it, this was moving way too fast.
Just as I was about to step in and stop him, the one who stood up first was Celestia-san.
"Dear, that is enough!"
An angry shout echoed through the reception room.
If Philie-san ever got mad, it would probably look just like this.
"Don't go driving the conversation forward without even presenting proof that we are Filiestra-san's biological relatives!"
She had a point.
Still, proof of being biological relatives?
Celestia-san was saying that? You, of all people, who look identical to Filiestra-san?
"...You're right. I apologize. Please forget what I just said."
Speaking in a raspy voice, Zectromeo-san slumped his shoulders.
He looked completely dejected, with a face that practically screamed, "I messed up..."
"I apologize for my husband's rudeness. Please forgive us."
As Celestia-san bowed deeply, Philie-san flinched in distress.
"No, please..."
"You may forget about the meal I mentioned earlier as well. I am truly sorry, Filiestra-san. Even though you went through the trouble of visiting us, for it to turn out like this..."
"............"
Philie-san didn't say anything.
Perhaps she couldn't say anything.
In the end, Philie-san had devoted herself entirely to listening and had barely spoken for herself.
The conversation ground to a halt, leading naturally into our departure.
The lingering scent of untouched black tea drifted through the reception room, and Philie-san wore a melancholic expression the entire time.
◇
Stepping outside, snow was falling.
Snow in June.
It was an unfamiliar sight in the royal capital of Rakan, where the four seasons were distinct.
Well, it did snow quite a bit back in Decol, though.
Celestia-san was the only one who came to see us off at the back exit.
Perhaps the shock of his blunder had been too great, as Zectromeo-san had simply muttered a final "I'm sorry" before heading back to work.
After going through all that trouble to meet, was this truly where we parted ways?
With that heavy mood lingering in the air, just as we were about to walk away, Celestia-san spoke up hesitantly.
"Filiestra-san."
Philie-san stopped in her tracks.
Prompted by that, the rest of us turned around as well.
"Um, well... Would it be alright if I embraced you just once?"
With tears welling up in her eyes, Celestia-san's lips trembled.
After a moment of hesitation, Philie-san gave a tiny nod.
".........Yes."
The moment she received permission, Celestia-san wrapped Philie-san in a tight embrace.
Two identical silhouettes overlapped into one right before our eyes.
"I'm sorry, Filiestra-san. I'm so sorry for leaving you alone all this time. I've wanted to apologize for so, so long."
".........Celestia-san..."
"You don't have to believe me right away. It's fine if we can't see each other for a while. But just for now, please let me be your mother."
Because they were embracing, I couldn't see Philie-san's face.
All that could be heard were Celestia-san's sobs and sniffling.
"...I'm happy I was able to meet you too. About that meal... could you let me think about it after all?"
"Oh... But, are you sure...?"
"Yes. Because there are things I'd like to talk about more, too."
"Philie-san..."
"Will you tell me? About the two of you."
Philie-san's voice sounded somewhat tearful as well.
Right beside them, Amae-san also had tears welling in the corners of her eyes.
Despite how on guard both Amae-san and I had been, seeing the two of them side by side like this, you couldn't see them as anything other than mother and daughter.
"...They really do look alike."
To Amae-san's murmur, I gave a concise reply.
"Well, they did say they're mother and daughter."
"I might be weak to this kind of thing."
Agreed.
I might surprisingly have a soft spot for this kind of classic human drama myself.
Thinking that, I sniffled too.
◇
Returning to the orphanage after the long day, the first person to greet us was Parfure-san.
"Welcome home, Filie. Um, how were your parents...?"
Philie-san, who hadn't said a word the entire way back to the orphanage, finally opened her mouth.
"...I can't say everything just yet, but..."
She spoke quietly.
Spinning her words slowly, at a pace that seemed to confirm each one individually.
"I think I'm about to find out the truth."
"Really? Ah, thank goodness. I'm so glad, Filie. If it's painful, you don't have to tell me right away, so once you've sorted out your feelings, take your time and let me know later, okay?"
"Yeah, Big Sis."
Parfure-san embraced Philie-san.
As if confirming that warmth, Philie-san embraced her back.
And so, Philie-san successfully reunited with her parents, bringing about the most harmonious conclusion possible.
Many hardships likely awaited her in the future.
However, I believed she would surely overcome them.
Because Philie-san had an irreplaceable family.
And they all lived happily ever after.
Arc 2: Temcha Region Aunt Ablaze Arc - End
◇
...Or so I wished it had ended, but since there were still points bothering me, I decided to hash things out with Amae-san just in case.
First, a review.
Let's arrange this case in chronological order based on Zectromeo-san's testimony.
Seventeen years ago.
To be precise, seventeen years and eleven months ago.
Her biological father, Zectromeo-san, forged her family register to ensure Philie-san's safety and entrusted her to Director Magnolia.
At this time, the one who prepared Philie-san's fake birth record was Director Kreisel of St. Dravena Clinic.
Since he spilled his guts in a flash, we'll refer to him as Director Spill-Guts from here on.
Because the hospital he ran was on the verge of bankruptcy, Director Spill-Guts cooperated with the forgery in exchange for a donation.
Was preparing the fake parents' family registers also part of Löwenthal's groundwork?
Twelve years ago.
Celestia-san, claiming to be Philie-san's biological mother, attempted to make contact with Philie-san at the orphanage through a servant.
Unable to contain her desire to see her, she acted on her own in secret from her husband, but Director Magnolia turned her away.
However, a visitation record was left behind by an uninformed third party, which ultimately became the clue that later prompted Philie-san to search for her parents.
Time passed without incident after that, leading to the present day, the year 2026 of the Dragon King Calendar.
Director Magnolia passed away the previous year, in 2025.
While sorting through the deceased's belongings, Philie-san noticed suspicious points in the director's diary, questioned whether her parents had truly existed, and began her own investigation.
The rest is as we know it, huh.
However, there were too many suspicious points in this investigation.
The biggest discrepancy was that the investigation had gone too well.
Ever since the part with Director Spill-Guts, was it just my imagination that it felt like someone was nudging us to solve a puzzle?
"Honestly, all I thought was, 'Woooow, Bren-kun is sooo amazing.'"
Amae-san didn't seem to feel anything out of the ordinary in particular.
"And, 'Bren-kun is a cheat.'"
"Amae-san..."
"Just kidding, just kidding. Go on."
My sense of discomfort grew even stronger when we arrived at Löwenthal Central Hospital.
The response was, how should I put it, too fast.
They had probably given the name "Oswald" to the reception desk in advance as a password.
If Oswald had been working behind the scenes in various ways, it wouldn't be strange for them to be on guard.
In that case, though, they could have just turned us away.
Why go out of their way to guide us to a reception room and entertain us?
At what point did they determine that the person inquiring was their biological child, Philie-san?
"Aren't you overthinking it? In the first place, didn't we reach that hospital by investigating on our own? And using a pretty forceful method, too."
True.
We arrived at Löwenthal Central Hospital as a result of investigating through our own efforts. Amae-san's argument was reasonable.
Even so, there was an unease I just couldn't shake.
The breadcrumbs left behind were, well, too clean.
There was one more point that bothered me.
Director Kreisel's and that shady middle-aged lady's testimonies partially contradicted each other.
"Still, they basically match up, so isn't it possible the lady just misremembered?"
If we're talking about memories, the same goes for Spill-Guts.
In other words, two paths had existed in this investigation: the Spill-Guts route and the Middle-Aged Lady route.
As a result, we took the Spill-Guts route, which had higher social credibility.
However, we hadn't touched upon the Middle-Aged Lady route yet.
That meant we hadn't verified anything about Philie-san potentially having brown hair as an infant, nor the mysterious giant man who brought her in.
"But Philie-chan's mother actually showed up in person, so isn't that impossible to fake at this point?"
In that case, what about the possibility of impersonation through magic?
"...At least among the general public, there's no such magic. Magic that completely turns you into someone else, I mean... Even if it were magic, if you interacted on a family level, it would definitely be exposed, so wouldn't that be pointless?"
Indeed, the scale of the lie would be far too grand.
Since it would be exposed eventually, it didn't make much sense in the long run.
However, under limited conditions, there were a few things that could be done.
No, fundamentally speaking, there was still something Philie-san could do.
And a fairly simple method at that.
"What do you mean, something she can do?"
"That is..."
Honestly, it wasn't a very nice method.
If I proposed this, Amae-san and Philie-san would probably despise me.
Even so, this whole matter was something that would vastly alter the course of Philie-san's life.
As someone who accepted the request, I had a duty to perform work worthy of the contract.
Just as I was about to tell Amae-san the answer, the living room door slowly swung open.
Philie-san was standing there.
"Do you two have a moment?"
"What's up, Filie-chan?"
"I have... something I want to talk about..."
"Yeah, of course."
Seeing the resolute expression on Philie-san's face, Amae-san nodded gently as well.
"Take your time and tell us."