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The charity ball, scheduled to be held for only one night to accommodate the busy schedules of the guests.
I didn't have to personally attend, but I did consider the possibility of something unexpected happening. I had finished all the major tasks, like colluding with the cult and executing the terrorist attack, but it would all be for nothing if I couldn't properly reap the rewards.
I had given the Headmistress a cheat sheet, and several staff members, including the Head of Academic Affairs, were assisting her. Moreover, the Headmistress herself was quite confident, so I simply assumed things would be fine.
As expected, the ball itself seemed to be going smoothly. I had been listening to the conversations between the Headmistress and the guests in real-time through the communication magic tool, and the donation collection was progressing well.
More importantly, the first prince was being quiet.
'I thought he would try to pull something.'
As the first prince, he was in a position where even great nobles and other nobles had to be wary of him. If the first prince openly opposed the Headmistress, other nobles wouldn't dare approach her easily.
But the first prince was actually being quiet. He wasn't trying to hinder the nobles, and he seemed to be more concerned about someone other than the Headmistress.
And I could guess who it was through the Headmistress and the Margrave.
'Crown Prince Zeke of the Delphia Kingdom.'
If the royal family was planning to deploy troops to the Delphia Kingdom due to the civil war, they couldn't help but be wary of the Crown Prince of that country. Especially if such an important figure came to this foreign nation in person.
Therefore, it seemed like they were monitoring every move of the Crown Prince. Naturally, I, who had met with Zeke, was also a target of surveillance, but it seemed like the Margrave was handling that.
…The only variable was that the Margrave was more concerned about me, or rather, the Headmistress, than Crown Prince Zeke. Thanks to that, I was able to hear everything, even the information about the troop deployment, which must have been a top secret of the royal family.
When I asked the Margrave about it,
──It's only natural to do this much for my brother-in-law. You're going to be my sister's husband soon, aren't you? Haha!
…so I just laughed it off. At first, I was dumbfounded by the absurd misunderstanding, but seeing how he was giving me all sorts of information, it seemed better this way.
Anyway, as we were talking, the Elven Archmage arrived, and the Headmistress, who suddenly appeared, knocked out the Margrave and the Elven Archmage and dragged me away after apologizing.
It all happened so suddenly that before I knew it, everything was over, and I was left alone in the office.
"Please, I'm begging you. You must have family too."
"I'm an orphan."
"I… I meant even those who are family in spirit. I'm not blood-related to Chloe either. You must have someone who is spiritually connected to you…"
"I don't."
"…Anyway, all I can do is ask."
Why did this person appear again? Weren't you dragged away by the Headmistress? And wasn't it the middle of the ball? Was it okay for a Rank 8 to suddenly disappear like that?
I was about to rest again, but he appeared without warning and dropped a bombshell on me. You might ask if it's okay for me to respond like this to a Rank 8, but I just answered honestly, what else could I do?
Besides, if I bring in the Headmistress, everything will be resolved. Although I might die before she arrives since he's a Rank 8, he'll also die eventually. I believe there's no one who would kill a mere Rank 1 and then die with them.
Anyway,
"So you're asking me to persuade Student Chloe to give up on her feelings for me, is that it?"
"Yes! That's exactly it!"
It was a bit annoying that he assumed I would naturally do it, but that wasn't the issue right now.
At first, I wondered what kind of idiotic request this was, but the more I listened, the more something felt off.
It was the same feeling I had when I met Julius before…
"I dare ask, but isn't Student Chloe your disciple and family, Archmage? Why are you asking someone like me instead of telling her yourself?"
"I thought you knew everything since you knew the old saying of our family, but it seems I was mistaken. It's not really 'our'… since I'm the only one left, but anyway, family is an untouchable existence for elves. We can't lay a hand on them, not even for discipline. That's why I, who was an outcast, am still alive."
"What do you mean…?"
"The elders called it familial love, but from my personal research, it's likely an instinct for the survival of our race. The number of elves is so small that it's embarrassing to even call us a race, and our reproductive rate isn't high, so we try not to harm any living member as much as possible."
Uh, how should I put it…
Seeing the Elven Archmage talk about his own race like that… I think I understand why the Headmistress was so put off by elves. And why this guy was an outcast.
"But you researched eyes…"
"You heard that from the Mad Dragon, didn't you? That's also true. Even I, as an elf, felt an instinctive aversion to studying the eyes of living kin."
"…Living?"
"Of course, I only studied the eyes of the deceased. The instincts of our race don't apply to corpses. Because of that, when I was young, I even wished for something to happen so that some of my family would die. Haha."
Was it because he was such an unusual elf that he became the last survivor of his race? The Archmage, whose pupils changed shape and color with every blink, laughed as if it were just a fond memory.
Of course, I laughed along. Laughing at unfunny stories is a survival tactic for social life. I was good at laughing even at the Headmistress's absurd jokes.
But more importantly, that's how it was.
'So, he's instinctively reluctant to directly intervene with Chloe, so he's trying to be as gentle as possible.'
It was absurd that his gentle method was for me, the object of Chloe's unrequited affection (?), to directly reject her, a method that would be a recipe for disaster for a human, but…
That crazy elf might take away Chloe's surname, declare her no longer family, and do something strange. It was dangerous to refuse him hastily.
But as expected of a crazy elf, it was a flawed plan from the start.
'Chloe likes me?'
Why? It wasn't because we watched some fireworks together at the festival, was it?
Besides that, all I did was order her around. If that made someone fall for me, I would already be madly in love with the Headmistress.
It would be foolish to deny it or get angry and question how that was possible.
More importantly, as I said before…
He was a bit dangerous, but… I smelled something similar to Julius from him.
The scent of a sucker.
"Of course I have to cooperate with you, Archmage."
"As expected, I knew I could trust you!"
"However…"
"Is there a problem?"
"As you know, Archmage, Student Chloe is quite stubborn. Even if I tell her to give up, she won't easily accept it. Even you, her parent, were rejected, weren't you?"
"Hmm, that's true."
"And although I'm not comparable to you, Archmage, I'm very busy as the Finance Director. It's quite difficult for me to make time to persuade Student Chloe. If I fail to do my work because of that, the Headmistress will be angry."
"…It would be a problem if the Mad Dragon, who has finally calmed down, rampages again."
At my rebuttal, the Elven Archmage also seemed to realize the various problems and fell into deep thought.
It would be even more problematic if he, being a crazy elf, came up with some strange idea in that state. I quickly spoke up.
I had convinced the Archmage, now it was time to lead him properly.
"In that sense… I think I'll need some money."
"Money? Not something else?"
"Money can save a lot of time. I can arrange a meeting with Student Chloe, add weight to her decision, and most importantly, appease the Headmistress's anger. And to be honest, it will help me accept parting with Student Chloe."
"...…"
"Archmage?"
"No, I understand. It must have been a difficult choice for you… Indeed, I know it's hard to give up something you care about without receiving anything in return. It was the same for me when I gouged out my dead sister's eyes."
I didn't think he understood at all, but…
The Elven Archmage, answering as if he understood everything, opened a black space in the air and rummaged through it with his hand.
"But I'm not very interested in human possessions. Even if I could give you something…"
"Even if…?"
"This is all I have. Will this be enough?"
Thud.
The Elven Archmage pulled out a shimmering sphere from thin air.
A milky white, perfectly round… Wait a minute.
Isn't this a pearl?
"Where did you get this?"
"It's a family heirloom. The roots of the World Tree reached the ocean, and this was harvested from there. The Empire seemed to like it very much."
"Is it alright to give this away, even if it's an heirloom?"
"Didn't I say earlier? I don't feel any attachment to the dead. Even with heirlooms, if the survivor uses them well, that's their value. So, will this be enough?"
It wasn't just enough. One might think, "Just a pearl?", but in this world, the ocean was a very dangerous place.
It was a cradle of monsters, always teeming with them, and those monsters sometimes came ashore. Naturally, pearls, which could only be harvested from the sea, were highly valuable due to their rarity.
Historically, after dominating the continent, the next place the hegemonic powers turned their attention to was the ocean, and things from the sea symbolized power and authority. Pearls were the epitome of that.
"In the Empire, one of these is worth the same weight in gold. I received magic tools in exchange for them… Is that right?"
"Hmm, that's correct."
'Those Empire bastards, taking advantage of an elf who doesn't know any better?'
What did they mean by the same weight in gold? They would need a cartload of gold to get this. They probably tricked him with a false price to slowly exploit him, as taking everything at once would be too obvious.
The Elven Archmage wasn't interested in human possessions anyway, and even if he found out, they could just cut their losses. The Elven Archmage, who received magic tools instead of gold, was also quite satisfied.
But things were different now.
"If you understand its value, you know my answer. Unfortunately, this won't be enough…"
"I see. I'll try my best to convince her, but can't you make an exception?"
"It can't be helped. Since it's your request, Archmage, I'll bear the loss."
"Thank you!"
If there was such a good sucker, shouldn't we exploit him together?
Even if he found out later and questioned me, I could just blame it all on the Empire. It's common sense that the Empire is the one who always does bad things, right? Or he could come all the way to our country and fight the Headmistress. Good luck beating our Headmistress.
More importantly, wouldn't it be enough if the Elven Archmage was satisfied? From his perspective, he could resolve Chloe's issue with a mere pearl.
All I had to do was make Chloe give up on her non-existent feelings for me. You're going back to your country after the ball anyway, right? What are you going to do if I just say I'm trying my best?
'With the donations that will come in, the royal family will try to appease the Headmistress with artifacts because of the military issue, and there are also those pearls…'
Goodness, how much was all this? Forget being on the verge of bankruptcy, I felt like I was going to burst from all this wealth. Even with a rough calculation, this level of financial stability was something I had only seen in the early days of the academy.
…I was suddenly curious. How did the Headmistress earn such a fortune? Was that even possible, even for a Rank 8?
'Especially with that financial sense of hers?'
What method did she use? Did she destroy a country and loot its treasury or something?
Putting aside those useless thoughts, I immediately shook hands with the Elven Archmage. The Archmage, no, the Sucker Mage, seemed truly touched.
"I can't give you the name Piste, but I'll think of you as close as family!"
"Thank you for your words."
Adam Piste declined the offer. Wasn't Adam Keynes good enough? It was a name I put effort into creating.
But the crazy elf had a look as if he had a great idea.
What was it now?
"Since things have come to this, how about learning magic? I'm offering this because I'm so grateful."
"Archmage, of course I know you're great, but I'm only a Rank 1…"
"I know that very well. But I have a method."
"Excuse me?"
"It's enough if you accept the 'eyes.'"
The Elven Archmage, saying so…
…had a truly bright smile on his face.
Two, four, eight, sixteen.
His pupils continued to multiply, eventually filling his entire eye like a mosaic.
As if observing the dozens of me reflected in his dozens of eyes, he said,
"Tell me whenever you've made up your mind."
"...…"
"Even if you can't become family, you can at least escape your current Rank 1 status."
"You know this isn't an opportunity that comes often."
"Think carefully, and make your decision."