There is no such thing as the Prime Minister's Office. The question is whether it can be called the Prime Minister's Office.
　After all, most people would rather call it a king than a head of state.
　The location is said to be closest to the Tower of Babel, past the wealthy. Naturally, you can only transfer to the tower from the Transference Gate by using the coordinate code, so it's not a place that anyone can just walk through.
　An iron fence surrounds the perimeter for several kilometers, and it is located at the far end of the fence. The guards were units of the security forces, including several high-ranking magicians.
　A vast palace that was so majestic and gorgeous that it seemed to be an anachronism, even awe-inspiring.
　The great corridor supported by several huge pillars. The glittering light that leaks out of the corridor looks like a ball is being held every night.

　There are frescoes on the walls.
　Chandeliers hang from the ceiling at regular intervals. Portraits and over-decorated armor. A sword studded with jewels.
　There are also rumors that are unheard of when it comes to the extravagance of the palace. It is said that there is a huge treasury in the basement of this palace, which is unlike anything you've ever seen before.
　However, very few people know about it.
　It could be called a true royal palace.
　However, although it looks like something out of a dreamscape, in reality, it is a place that governs domestic and foreign affairs, giving it a somewhat bleak atmosphere.
　Even now, someone is rushing in at a trot. If he were to break a pot by mistake, the old man would be working for free for the rest of his life.
　No, he would not be blamed for that much.

　There is a good reason why he is in such a hurry.
　Normally, you would have had an audience with the Lord of the Royal Palace, Cicernia, in the audience room. But this time, he has been ordered to go to his office, so he turns down a long, self-explanatory corridor and ascends to the third floor, again at a trot. He is running frantically as if he were whipping his old body to announce the arrival of the person he has been assigned to.
　This was not his primary role, but he could not deny it when he was asked to do so.

　When he arrived, his gold embroidered clothes, appropriate for a high-ranking official, had changed color with sweat.
　In front of the door, there are strong-looking men in armor guarding the door. They exchanged a nodding glance at one of them and one of the guards knocked on behalf of an old man with arms like dead branches.
　A strange female voice comes from inside.
　There would be no one in this royal palace who did not know the owner of that voice. 'You are in the entourage of the former head of Cicernia, the Honourable Lynne Kimmel.

'Come in, Lady Huriba.

　The first old man huffed and puffed when his name was called in a voice that sounded like the ringing of a bell and sent the wind through his clothes, bowing so as not to expose his disgusting appearance in any way, and entered the room.
　The old man immediately cut to the chase. He had run so far because he didn't have time to spare.

'Master Sisernia, the Governor is here.

　The huge stacks of paper stacked on the long desk directly in front of you are all waiting to be stamped with the royal seal of approval.
　No, this head of state would probably have already finished the job.
　There was a slight scent of ink mixed in with the scent of citrus.

''Thank you, Huriba, I'm sorry, but could you please take the Governor with you?''
What?

　I don't know if my stamina will hold up to the fact that I have to go back and forth again. I was stunned with a depressed look on my face, wondering how long it had been since I had started to sweat.
　The Governor has already arrived at the Royal Palace. You'll have to hurry, since you're making him wait.

'Cicerunia, you're right, it's too much for the senator. And I don't think that's necessary.

　There are two elders who serve at the top of domestic and foreign affairs. The two are united by this man, Hooliba Suller, the head of the senate.
　Hooliba doesn't resent being called harsh. She even wanted to thank Linne for her help.
　But to say that there was no need to do so was trivial....

''Yes, I wonder how much.''
About two minutes to go.

　And the fact that he even guessed the exact time reminded Hooliva that it was.
　Lynne was a detecting magician, so much so that she was known as the Alpha's Eye.
　Two minutes to back that up, not that he had counted, but that was probably about it by experience.
　The head of the military department showed his face. With that, Linne laid out a teacup of tea on the table.

　Beric entered the room and bowed deeply as he came to the front of Cicernia.

'Thank you for accepting the summons, Beric. I could have gone to you.
That's going to cause a stir. More importantly, the fact that you called me here means that something has happened.

　Beric braces himself for the fact that there is an ex-president here.
　The only people here who don't know about it are Bellick and Huriba.
　And what's going on, of course, stems from the seven-nation meeting that came back the other day.

''It got a little bad. First of all, I'll tell you that the magical tournament has been decided. But this time, Balmes is going to relax the regulations... or should I say eliminate them.
What do you mean?
It has been decided that we will tacitly approve of recruiting students from other countries.
"...and...

　Would the astonishment be greater for Hooliva than for Bellick?

''Princess, that would reduce our Alpha's military strength... no, no, no, no, no, we're spending a lot of money on the academy.

　Hooliva was so upset that she didn't even realize that she had just called Cicernia a princess out of a long-standing habit.

'Lord Hooliva, I'm afraid there is something else that concerns Lady Cicernia more than that.

　As Hooliva, who had been juggling the state budget, she couldn't think of anything more important than that, and could only return a questioning glance to Beric.
　Then Beric paused for a breath and turned to Cicernia.

'You must be Ars,'
'Yes, that means he's a recruiter too. Ars said he doesn't intend to do that, but there's no telling how he'll turn out depending on what other countries offer. If any of this year's contestants go to another country, as long as he's there, Alpha will still have an advantage.

　If you can say that much, even Hooliba, as expected, can grasp the importance of the situation. I'm not sure how many thousands of wizards Ars is equivalent to the same level of achievement.
　I'm sure you'll be able to find a great deal more to say about it.
　But as long as he's human, it's not surprising that he might lose his life in the outside world at any moment. I understand that it is a terrible place called the outside world that does not last that long.
　If you think about it, I think it's more effective to have an array of them.
　However, the head of state and the governor in front of me do not assume that option in the slightest.

(Huh, does Ars have that much power, when I saw him before, he was only a child, but no, he still didn't look like a child. Is it that I could only see that much?)

　Of course, I'm not going to put my mouth in front of these two.

'It's unlikely that Ars will leave Alpha, but he can leave if he wants to. As you know, Master Cisernia, Ars has offered to leave once, so...'
That's why.
We are now buying valuable documents and other materials from other countries and using them as a chain.

　I opened my mouth, thinking that Beric would be no good. Most of what is in the Alpha should be knowledgeable. That's why you're in touch with the wisdom of other countries.
　If other countries start to use the same move, we won't stand a chance.

It will be difficult.

　In other words, Beric expects that he wants the reassurance of absolutes.

'I heard some interesting things there, so I called the Governor to ask him to prepare for that.
What is preparation?
It's about why Barmes has to lift the ban on recruiting.

　Cisernia recounted in detail what Ars had heard from Jean, and when he finished telling her the whole meeting without wrapping it up.

'I wonder if the Viceroy could pick an elite group of people on the Governor's side to probe Balmes.

　Cicernia wondered if he could rebut the deregulation before he was solicited. We have to be especially careful with Balmes. Other countries would be recruiting to Ars, too. But as long as they have a weakness against Barmes, they can nail it to other countries.

'You mean to say that you will enter Barmes illegally!　If they find out, there will be trouble.
'It's okay, Huriba. Balmes probably has quite a few mages to devote to defeating him, so if you're an elite few, you won't be noticed. Linne will help us with that too, right?
Yes, sir.

　Beric thought that the odds were good, if not certain. If they had spent more than a month in defeating them, it would be a big deal for a country as weak as Balmes.
　If you ask me, they haven't succeeded in defeating him yet.

Sisernia-sama, do you mean to tell me that you will take over the defeat in private?
Yeah, Ars would be fine, wouldn't he?
No problem, but taking it on is another matter, isn't it?
"....!　No?
'Perhaps. I don't know how Ars himself feels about it, but we'll have to catch him with something.
This isn't that valuable document you were referring to?
'A lot of these are out of the gate, and not something I can get my hands on too soon. I have also promised a transfer of ten old books.

　Beric shook his face from side to side and included regret that it wasn't something he could have done with the transmission.

(I should have kept it to at least two books.)

As for the missing pieces, well, you can search the treasure room. I'm sure we'll find something there.
Are you sure, Lady Cicerunia?
That depends.
On the condition that we compete in the tournament they probably expect us to win it.
Yes. It's time to start winning. Oh well.
So, even if we clear this one, it's going to be a lot harder to take it down.
Can't you do something with the money?
Then you should have no trouble.

　Cisernia also frowned as if she knew.
　Huriba, who had been listening to the two of them stunned, threw a natural question.

''Lord Ars is the magician of this country, right?　Then why don't we just order them around?

　A sigh escaped from everyone but Hooliva, from wherever.

'Ars doesn't have that kind of mission in mind. That's why I'm offering to retire. I ordered him to move because I was engaged until the years when I could retire. If I try to force him to do so, he'll be retired immediately, or at worst, he'll be sent to another country.　That said, it still doesn't make sense to do nothing at this point. That's why I'm letting them into the academy and retaining the possibility of having them work in an emergency. It's also the reason why we can get Letty out.
　Maybe it's not the best way to put it, but just being able to negotiate with things is enough to get us there.

　Hooliba said, "Huh?" and changed his mind about whether there is a possibility of treatment that is out of the ordinary. That's how highly regarded a boy named Ars is. I guess Houlihan doesn't understand, after all.
　I've always thought that wizards were proud to fight for the kingdom and for humanity, but that's not the case.

It's a very good idea to have a good idea of what to expect. As expected, with Linne-dono there should be no problem.
I'm sure you'll be comfortable with Lord Visayst.

　Lynne's eyes are highly valued by Bellick as well. With her, the success rate of intelligence will be much higher.
　Then Cisernia looks at Linne as if she has remembered something.

'Come to think of it, Linne. I heard that Ars was interested in your eyes.
'What!　Yeah, well, it's.... it's... it's... but...

　Lynne, who felt a little uneasy, could only nod her head in agreement with Cicernia, who gave her a big smile.

''It was the demon's eye, wasn't it? Certainly, Ars would be interested in it.''

　Beric raises his cheeks in affirmation.

'What do you mean by that...'

　No matter what the two of them ordered her to do, Linne had no veto power. Such an atmosphere of completeness surrounded her.

'Yeah, Ars will be fine. I'm sure he'll be fine.'
'Yes. Ars wouldn't do anything wrong. I'm sure.

　The person's bad smile made Linne more suspicious.

　♢ ♢ ♢

Huh!

　Ciel shouted indignantly inside the protective wall.
　That would explain some of her feelings if the world in front of her changed to a frozen world.
　If it weren't for this protective barrier, it would have been easy to be iced over to where Ciel and the others were.
　I wonder how cold it would be outside of this membrane.
　Just as I was thinking this, multiple lightning strikes were splitting the frozen ground, sending up white smoke.
　The speed at which you can catch them with your vision is a physical skill that is impossible for me to do.
　You can tell that Loki was holding back by looking at a battle like this.

　I'm not going to be the only one who can do that.
　Then a series of sharp ice pillars as tall as he or she was born from the tip of the blade and ran straight to Loki.

Ice Pillars!

　That's what Tesfia called out, her eyes shining with color.

''I wish I could do that~''

　Even though he was frustrated, he was still there, looking from the side at his own lineage magic that was served up one after another, and his heart was thrilled.



''You're speeding up for not seeing it with your eyes.

　Ars analyzes Loki's reaction speed to be avoided.
　Perhaps this is the result of the constant use of detection sonar, not just in the blind spot. It means that a split-second faster, it is catching the coordinates where the magic is exercised. The actual process of transferring and reconstructing magic power to the coordinates to materialize magic is followed. Of course there is no time lag.
　However, that was also a big part of it.
　Of course, if the other party is not as high-ranking as Ars, they would be too cautious.

　Because of this, Loki's magic power was constantly decreasing.

'For now, I'd better continue the battle and use my senses to get the timing to use sonar efficiently.
Yes!

　He replied pleasantly, breathing roughly and repeatedly.

'Well, so what's next?'

　Ars pointed with his index finger right above him.
　Naturally, Loki had noticed it, but he wasn't allowed to touch it.

　As if caught in the act, the three of them also look up directly above in unison.

''What's that!

　Seeing a magic that Ciel had never seen before, he turned to Tesfia of the same lineage for an explanation.

''Frozen Prison 《Despire Excute》!

　However, I notice that it is different in scale and quantity from the magic Tesfia herself knows. It's exactly like a suspended ceiling, but it should be less complete as magic. It is slightly inferior to the perfection of the Frozen Prison 《Despire Excute》 that he himself knows.

　Rather than a correction, the development after this made my mouth shut.

　The ceiling was crammed with giant icicles. That's exactly what happened.
　There was a horror that was worthy of the magical name attached to it, which means "ice prison, execution".

　When Ars swung his sword down, the icicle with its sharp tip pointing directly downward as if a thread was broken fell all at once.
　Loki returned fire with a blitz. Although he succeeded in destroying it somewhat, the dust covered the entire surface with a tremendous impact sound. The ice pillar, which had completed its role, shattered and dissipated.

　It's also a good idea to make some space for Ars to avoid a direct hit, and keep the power to a minimum.
　The three of them feared for Loki's safety, but they quickly confirmed that he was safe. That was because they heard the sound of metal clashing in the smoke.

　However, that soon stopped as well.
　As soon as they saw Loki's figure reclining against the wall through the smoke, the buzzer sounded to end the match.

''You're out of magic.''
I'm sorry.

　Loki grabbed the outstretched hand, turning his face down in embarrassment as he grabbed it.


'You're lying!　I've beaten Loki, the three-digit wizard!

　Ciel, who looks like he's about to rub his eyes, actually pinches his cheek.

'Do you understand why we're being trained by Al?'

　Alice said, a little proudly, but her expression was more than a little broken.
　It might as well be. If it wasn't for the Chancellor's mouthpiece, he wouldn't have been able to instruct me like this.

　Ciel doesn't have the slightest desire to search for what is implied in those words. Instead, he feels the emotion of wanting to be taught a little by Ars.

(Definitely makes him stronger.)

　Ciel was convinced, almost like a gut feeling, that it was a shortcut to making herself another step stronger.
　If it wasn't for the shock of the battle, she might have raised her fist and shouted without a second glance.
　'I've got a revelation,' she said.
　Well, it was an expectation and whether she would actually do it was another story. But it was also true that she felt that much certainty.

　So her single voice startled them both a bit.

'As I recall, if you're going to ask Ars-kun for guidance, you're going to talk to the Chancellor?

　I think I can kind of see why now.

Ciel, are you serious?

　The question is, can Tesfia take a direct approach to Sisti, the former single wizard who couldn't take a step forward?　That's what it's called.

'I mean it too. I don't feel like losing now.

　For what?　Instead, Ciel's fearless smile made her feel uneasy.
　She herself was confident that she could do whatever she wanted with her enthusiasm to speak for teaching. Maybe that's how straightforward her personality is.
　If she decides to do this, she stubbornly sticks to it. That's also connected to her diligence.

Then I'll be right back.

　And then he left the training ground. Seeing that he didn't even notice the protective barrier that had been untied at some point, if Ars hadn't untied it as soon as the match ended, they would have collided as promised.
　The first thing that jumped into Ciel's eyes as he left the compartment he was in was the strange gazes showered on him by many of the contestants.
　All of those eyes were uniformly "What the hell is going on inside?
　Was the teacher also an accident?　You look like you want to say that. However, the question remains, although I was able to dispel it from Ciel's appearance that came out.
　Thinking back, the sound of explosions, thunderstorms, and impact sounds and I can't count the number of things that come to mind. If I didn't know what was inside as well as they did, I would have turned the same eyes on the one who came out.

　Ciel is uncomfortable, but at the same time, he often feels a sense of superiority at having the opportunity to do so.
　However, what's going on inside?　It was obvious that he would be in a tight spot if he was called upon to do something, so Ciel ran impatiently with his hand over his mouth, trying to say, "I'm sorry," or something to that effect.