“Pretty fancy room you got here. The ministry of magic is doing all right for itself, uh?”
Sieglinde takes me to the center of the capital. A reception room in the headquarters of the ministry of magic to be exact.
There must be at least ten reception rooms in this excessively wide corridor with a bright red carpet alone. I’m facing Sieglinde in the eighth reception room right now.
Apparently the others are all occupied, but what do they have to discuss so much?
This place is full of furnishings that are obviously high quality even at a glance, and there’s a portrait of an old man that looks like a big-shot on the wall. I have no idea who that is.
Ririi is sleeping peacefully on the sofa, and I don’t think she’ll be waking up any time soon.
This is called ‘the heart of the capital’, and it’s not only true in a physical sense, but also in a political sense. The capital prospers around the ministry of magic.
Looking at it from a bird’s-eye view, there’s a big building in the center, with roads stretching outwards from it. This building glitters as if it’s showing off its influence as the ministry of magic.
“It’s not. The ministry of magic isn’t a commercial organization.”
“You say that, but look at how fancy everything is. Look at how fluffy this sofa is. Not that I’m complaining, because Ririi looks very comfortable on it.”
I say as I walk to the sofa where Ririi is sleeping and press down on it. It’s a red sofa with cushions covering its entire surface, and my hand goes down without a sound like I’m pressing down on freshly baked bread.
Ririi groans in her sleep because this shifts her position a little.
In the meantime, while I look all around the room, Sieglinde is looking at me with cold eyes behind her glasses. It’s been ten years, but there isn’t even a hug to be found here. Her personality is just as straight-laced as before.
“Is she your real daughter?”
She asks while looking at Ririi. What a thing to ask.
“Of course not, I found her. Look at her ears.”
I took Ririi’s hat off when we entered the room, so I’m sure Sieglinde has noticed Ririi is an elf with pale blue hair and uniquely shaped ears.
…Actually, one of the reasons why I wanted to come to the capital was to introduce Ririi to Sieglinde.
Ririi is a rare high elf, maybe the last surviving one. I’m sure there’s going to be a time when I’m going to need the backing of a public organization. And knowing an official of the ministry of magic like Sieglinde is the perfect way to connect Ririi to it.
I sit down on a chair facing Sieglinde, and almost fall back because I sink down on it more than I expected, but I manage to hold.
“…Now that you mention it, you’re right, Sorry, I lost my composure a little.”
It looks like Sieglinde thinks Ririi is just an elf. She then looks away from her, like she lost interest.
“Her hair is different too. Don’t you get it?”
There’s no way Sieglinde doesn’t know about high elves.
Back in our school days, she owned her nickname of ‘magic bookworm’. If I wasn’t around, she would’ve graduated as the top student of our magic school, so there’s no way her inquisitive mind never came across descriptions of high elves.
“No way… No, but…”
She’s looking at me like she realized something. I nod slightly in return.
“Ririi is a high elf.”
“…!? Are you saying high elves are real!?”
Sieglinde jumps from her chair and runs to Ririi. She can’t sit still with a being she thought only appeared in literature suddenly right in front of her.
“Hey, don’t touch her. She’s napping.”
“How can you say that!? We need to take her to the research room right…”
“Calm down, you’re going to wake her. Just sit down. I have a lot to ask you about her.”
“Ask me…?”
I lower my tone of voice a little, and Sieglinde reluctantly sits back down while looking longingly at Ririi.
“First of all, the reason why I came back… I want to put Ririi through magic school.”
Ririi has never said anything like ‘I want to have friends’ or anything like that while living with me, but that’s probably because she doesn’t really understand that concept in the first place. Normally, a girl her age should be having fun every day with other kids around her age, instead of only knowing older people like Horo and Loretto.
I look at Ririi, who is traveling through dreamland with her cheek glued to the sofa and a happy look on her face.
I need to protect that smile. It’s not logical, I feel it on an instinctual level.
“…”
I don’t want her to feel lonely. I need to make up for how awful her life was before by making it as best as possible going forward.
If she goes to school, she’ll be with a lot of kids her age, and I’m sure she’ll make friends. Security is great too, so going to magic school in the capital would be perfect for her.
“…I see. There really isn’t a better magic school than the one here in the capital. You couldn’t ask for a better place for a high elf to get an education.”
“Exactly.”
I picked this place because it’s the safest place for her, and because I have clout here, but there really isn’t any point in disagreeing with her, so I just agree.
“I’m sure Ririi’s talents will blossom if she goes to the same magic school as us. Sieglinde, I want you to make sure Ririi gets into the magic school in the next school year.
If my memory serves me right, the entrance ceremony is in one month. That means all the paperwork for new students has been finalized ages ago. But I’m sure an official of the ministry of magic can work something out.
Sieglinde grabs her chin as she thinks. She’s probably thinking about the necessary procedures, groundwork, money, and who she’ll have to pressure.
“…I can probably make that work. Although begrudgingly.”
“Thanks. I actually have two more things to ask.”
“…What?”
She says while letting out a big sigh. But she’s not getting up.
“First, find me a place for me and Ririi. Money isn’t an issue, but I want it to be in a safe area. And… I want Ririi to be guarded.”
“…Guarded?”
Sieglinde scowls, as she didn’t expect something that serious.
“There are a few people who know the distinctive characteristics of high elves. Of course, I’m sure not a lot of people are going to look at Ririi and immediately assume she’s a high elf, but it could happen, and I don’t want her to get dragged into anything.
I need her to be guarded because I can’t be with her all the time. And you want to avoid information about the existence of a high elf being leaked into other countries, right?”
“I guess… I’ll look for someone good here in the ministry of magic.”
“No, I want to avoid your officials if that’s possible. Can’t it be someone from your private army?”
“…What do you mean?”
Sieglinde is staring at me with her piercing eyes, but I can’t back down, so I face her directly.
“I want to keep it between the two of us that Ririi is a high elf.”
“…Why? A high elf has the potential to help the ministry of magic develop even further.”
“I don’t want her to get involved with all the troubles and confusion of the ministry of magic. She’s just a kid.”
She accepts my words with a cold stare… But after another big sigh, she leans back on her chair.
“…You’ve always been nothing but trouble.”
“Sorry… But I intend to repay you.”
“Repay me?”
Sieglinde turns her eyes to me again.
“I can help you with your work. I’ll technically help the ministry of magic, but more specifically, help you personally.”
“…Hou…”
Someone who became the assistant of the chief of the ministry of magic so young must have a lot of problems under the surface that she can’t let others know about. Basically, I’m proposing that I fix whatever trouble she’s having.
First she looks at me with amazement in her eyes, but then she grins.
“Deal. We’ll take care of the house first. I’ll get you one right away, so just wait here.”
She says with a satisfied expression before leaving the reception room.
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