Refusing such an order was tantamount to suicide. We had to accept them. However, the letter specifically asked for Alicia. Now, she begged me to come. The situation had done a complete 180-degree reversal from the previous ball.
"Lady Eli! You wouldn't leave me alone to go to the castle, right? I am sorry for calling you a bothersome child before! Don't leave me to meet with royals alone!"
"Oh, my Alicia. How could I leave my precious friend to them alone? Of course, I would go with my precious little sister. Here! Give me your head."
"We are the same age though… ugh… Older sister Elidranthia. My benevolent benefactor. Please. Come with me to the capital."
I decided not to bully her too much. However, patting Alicia's head felt fantastic. I felt like an older and more dependable sister. The fact that she finally knew her place filled me with bliss. After spending more time rubbing her head and accepting her on my chest (she had to kneel for that), we then proceeded to the castle.
"Greetings, Lady Elidranthia and Miss Alicia. I am King Andre Seraphim, the king of Althemer Empire. This is Prime Minister Johan Seraphim, the prime minister of our empire and also my dear cousin. I apologize for such a hasty meeting, Lady Elidranthia and Alicia. I heard you have been very good to Prince Ludwin and Charlotte. Now, I have heard about the interesting debate our children have had with you. May we share the details?" The king introduced himself. Since this was a secret meeting, only six people attended: Me, Alicia, Prince Ludwin, Princess Charlotte, King Andre, and Minister Johann.
"Ahh, I see why Prince Ludwin and Princess Charlotte seemed way too competent for that talk. They were regurgitating the king and minister's words!" I thought. It was apparent by how they seated themselves. Prince Ludwin seemed closer to Minister Johan, while Princess Charlotte seemed closer to her dad.
"Father, Eli and Alicia have presented an alternative to our predicament..." Ludwin then presented the alternative. Minister Johann then looked at us inquisitively.
Ludwin's solution consisted of noting every mage in the empire, then listing them as the kingdom's personnel. This way, the empire could 'persuade' mages to live in a certain area, ensuring that every region had a sufficient mage of every elemental. This might be difficult since people are not cows to be displaced at will. But the main objective is the list of mages in the kingdom. This should be easy. In fact, the kingdom already had those lists, though incomplete.
Then, using those lists, he also proposed to do a periodic check on them by the justiciar, then lowering the fee on justiciar's service. The king and minister didn't like it, but he didn't outright reject it. If there were more mages, feystone would become cheaper. It might even cover the cost of lowering justiciar's price. But mages were wealthier than civilians. Why would they need to subsidize justiciar for mages? But direct access to help was indeed necessary. This is where my plan came in. We could simply hold a magic tool to ask for help. It was like a birdie alarm every girl had to deter lolicons.
"Were these your own words? Or did someone prompt you?" The king asked Alicia.
"It was my own words from my experience, Your Highness. When everyone knew I was a mage, my friends kept teasing me and spoke of jealousy for having such an easy life. Then my father died from the bandits hired by a debt collector to kidnap me."
"Why do they want to kidnap you?" The king asked further.
"Maybe for filling feystones? Alicia's mana was even larger than mine," I replied.
"I see. Will this satisfy the mage tower?" The king asked.
"Alicia presented a unique case. However, her words couldn't be dismissed so easily. Our intelligence has revealed some disturbing facts about the organization that kidnaps mages and forces them to fill feystones," Minister Johan said as he held his chin contemplatively.
"Those fifteen mages wanted to leave this country to the south, right?"
"Yes. They have made their preparation and will depart in a month." Hearing the minister's words, Prince Ludwin gritted his teeth. "They felt unsafe here."
"This is unacceptable! We should execute them immediately. Elidranthia and Alicia were right. Mages need more security than others. Just because we are mages doesn't mean we are invulnerable!" Princess Charlotte and Prince Ludwin shouted. "Those fifteen were low-level mages. But they still provide mana for this country."
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"The bandits are already dead, Your Highness. Sadly, the intelligence agent killed them in a scuffle." After hearing their report, I began to wonder. Was it me they were talking about? When I killed those bandits in that big building? The number fit. I wanted to shout that it was me! However, this report should be confidential. I could only remain silent.
"I see. I will make the law after I consult with the other ministers. However, this will prove to be difficult. This law proves that we are not neutral toward mages and civilians."
"Well, I also need to consult with the mage tower. The higher echelon was adamant about replacing several ministers with mages from their guild."
"Are they planning a rebellion?" The king asked.
"Not yet. They were looking to gain a diplomatic advantage. They didn't like Duke Luca's way of doing things."
"Huh? Not Duke Bron? Duke Luca was neutral in the mage and anti-mage faction, right?"
"I was surprised, too. Maybe they had some spy feeding them information or maybe they didn't like nobles under Duke Luca. His way of doing commerce was questionable, after all. I will inquire about it."
"Ah, they also hired 'that' huh?"
"Yes. Of course. Who doesn't?" Johan shrugged his shoulder.
"Should we gather from the source, or should we ask them politely?"
"I believe asking them politely was better. Using 'that' would be expensive, after all."
"Huh? What are you talking about, father? Uncle?"
"Nevermind that, Ludwin,"
"So? What about our suggestion?"
"It will be accepted after I survey the mages in the mage tower," Minister Johan said.
"It will be made after confirmation that the mages and the Ministry of Nobles will end their dispute," the king said. He also smiled, "Thank you, Ludwin. You might have saved this kingdom. And you too, Lady Elidranthia and Alicia."
"Your words were more than enough, Your Majesty," Alicia said, and I followed her lead. My lack of etiquette was showing again.
"Yes!" Charlotte and Ludwin held hands and said goodbye to us. Before we left, the king gave us a plethora of cakes and cookies, which Alicia gladly received.
"I see. Mages wanted to rebel and put Ludwin as puppets, huh? There was a discourse in the royal family about that. Thank you for your info."
"Hey, R25B. Whose side are we on?"
"Reaper guild does not take sides. We follow where the money goes."
"Whose side are you on then?"
"... I lived in this kingdom. I would be troubled if there was a civil war," he replied. His words made me feel at peace.
"Does R4 side with the kingdom, too?"
"I don't know. He was shrouded in mystery. Ah! I also need you to infiltrate a noble house. Could you do it?"
"Why?"
"Using your info, I have pinpointed several nobles we need to keep an eye on."
"Roger. I will be heading out now." I said while buying new cocoa juice. I then slipped in a sleeping pill and gave it to Alicia in our dorm. Sorry, Alicia. But you need to sleep now. I have something to do.
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"So, how does the survey go?" I asked Johan for the survey. With the suggestion of my children and the new noble, Elidranthia, I proposed a new law to my cabinet. It was not received well, but they ultimately agreed if the justiciar extended the protection to commoners, too. We could reason that it was not favoritism to mages but extended protection to all civilians. Ultimately, all agreed except the finance minister.
"70% agree with the newly proposed law. Your Highness. Quite a high number. But, the other 30% was... problematic."
"Who disagrees? I too have received complaints about the rising cost."
"Yes. The moderate faction and pro-civilians agree. But mage elitists disagree. It was the same as usual. They believe they should be the ruling class. Oh, by the way, 20% of mages who wished to migrate will cancel their migration if this law is passed." The prime minister was all smiles. I too feel the weight has lessened somewhat. With war looming at Shadowstep County, our feystone supply took a hit. If civil war happened here, this country would never recover.
"We shall proceed then. I am surprised my children are such competent and caring individuals."
"I apologize for our earlier dispute. This shows that we are too distant from commoner mages. This law was made due to Alicia's suggestion."
"Maybe we could recruit Alicia to be our advisor in the future? She represents the commoner mages who are hated by nobles, ridiculed by noble mages, and leeched off by normal commoners. I heard she ranked second overall in the special curriculum."
"I will try. However, she seems very attached to Elidranthia. People who have faced life and death together rarely part, my liege."
"What a shame. We need more loyal mages like her. Ludwin, Charlotte, try to befriend Elidranthia and Alicia. Okay?"
"Yes, father!" Ludwin nodded.
"Ugh! I want to befriend them on my own! Don't give orders! It makes me look like I have ulterior motives for befriending them!" Charlotte, my pure girl, complained.
"We are royals. Our moves must all be calculated. Besides, it's not like we're trying to befriend Elidranthia to stab her in the back. I genuinely want to befriend Shadowstep and their county. It is vital for our kingdom for all nobles to be cordial to each other," Ludwin said. As expected of my son. I hope he will become an excellent prime minister one day, just like Johan is to me now.
"Now, onto 'that.'"
"Yes. The reapers. I will issue a commission to investigate some of my underlings. Which members are currently hostile to us?"
"Baron Kharn seems like a greedy man. I will take a look at whether he has made dealings with foreign countries," Johann said.
"Eh? But Safira's family has been for us for hundreds of years," Charlotte said.
"Her family might have been dissatisfied with being a baron since 200 years ago," the king said.
"But we couldn't simply promote them when they have committed many small transgressions. They got lucky with Safira. But then, they sold her off to some dukes. No wonder they stayed baron," Ludwin said.