Narke just smiled for a long moment, then nodded.
"That's right. What you said is correct."
"..."
If he said he wasn't a priest or a bishop, that narrowed the field considerably.
Seeing Leo and Elias's expressions change, Narke clapped his hands.
"Alright, the mood has gotten far too grim~"
"..."
"Let's take it slow. I wasn't planning on hiding it from you forever anyway."
"From us?"
Leo picked out the questionable part and asked again.
"Yes."
Narke nodded at Leo's question.
But he didn't delve deeply into that part.
"What you want to ask is this, right? Why would a mage from the Papal States hide his identity and come to the Empire's Second Academy?"
"Right."
It wasn't strange that he belonged to the Papal States, just from the divine power he used. Weren't there plenty of mages registered there around his age? More than enough. Especially among the higher ranks.
As times changed and the brain drain accelerated, the Papal States began seating mages in clerical positions at younger and younger ages to secure divine power. So him being a Papal States mage at seventeen wasn't the issue.
But why someone who should be working there had come to an imperial high school, and why he had come hiding his identity, remained questions.
"Let me ask one thing. You don't trust me, do you?"
"I do. But finding myself in an unexpected situation makes my trust feel a bit ambiguous."
Leo answered without taking his eyes off Narke's face.
"Yeah, I understand. To be honest, I wasn't trying to deceive you. It's closer to me, like Lucas, not being able to reveal who I am."
"Would revealing it put you in danger?"
Elias asked.
"Haha, no. Compared to Lucas, my problem isn't that serious. I just made a promise not to reveal my identity in exchange for coming here."
The situation of not being able to speak seemed similar, but the level of danger didn't appear to be the same. He must have promised the Papal States, but it didn't seem forced.
"I still don't know you well, but honestly, I like you guys. Even if you don't feel particularly close to me."
'...Hmm.'
Well, of course he could like us on his own.
With his Insight ability, Narke could immediately know a person's character, whether they were trustworthy or not. But the reverse wasn't true.
'I see one downside of Insight.'
The side that can know things even if they aren't told can find common ground with the other person's inner self and form intimacy, but the other person cannot. If Narke's words were true, an asymmetry in the relationship had already formed.
Leo frowned at Narke's words.
"...Honestly, I can't say we're super close yet; it hasn't even been two months, and we've only really faced each other properly during club meetings. Considering that, I think we've gotten familiar pretty quickly. Is there a need to judge the level of intimacy so soon?"
Perhaps because his classmate suddenly brought up something negative, Leo soothed him with the tone he used when doing class president duties. Elias, who had been listening with a blank face the whole time, agreed.
"Yeah, we just haven't had many points of contact yet. If you say things like that already, how are we supposed to get closer later? I like you too!"
"Haha, so that's how it comes across. I didn't mean it to sound pitiful; I hope I didn't make you worry unnecessarily."
Narke collected his thoughts and spoke again.
"Let me put it this way. You might find it a bit burdensome, but I trust you more than other friends. Not that the level of trust is perfect, though."
"Okay."
"But if I couldn't trust you more than others, I would have refused the dispatch order, right? I wouldn't have stuck my face into a case the whole nation is watching, risking my identity."
"You probably would have. I'm really grateful to you for that point."
Leo, who had been listening to Narke without reaction, nodded and spoke.
"Don't mention it. We planned from the start for one of us two to be deployed. Anyway, I took on this task believing you wouldn't tell anyone about my story. Even if you do, I won't blame you, but before you hear my story, I'd like you to know just that one thing."
Narke fell into thought for a moment, then opened his mouth.
"I was ordained as a cardinal five years ago."
"..."
Even though I had expected it, the atmosphere froze.
He had clearly answered earlier that he wasn't a bishop.
As far as I knew, to be ordained a cardinal, you had to be of bishop rank. Given how strongly he said he wasn't a bishop, it seemed the reality and system I knew were different.
There was the identity issue too; if he was going to hide it, why wear bishop's robes? But the visible rank was probably important for diplomatic reasons. Sending such high-level personnel and having them mistaken for a regular mage would be a waste in many ways.
Elias broke the silence and asked.
"A cardinal, of all things? You'd have been twelve then?"
"Correct. I was able to use divine power almost from birth."
"Wow, just born with it."
Narke laughed lightly and continued.
"Honestly, I was worried you might feel distant... but you guys aren't exactly normal either, so it's fine, right?"
"Eh~ just speak comfortably. We're all just humans here."
Elias waved his hand.
"The reason I came to the Empire's Second Academy... yeah, this is probably the biggest reason you were wary of me. I said earlier I could use divine power almost from birth, right? They delayed the ordination age as much as possible, so I reached that position at twelve, but it's not like I lived an ordinary life before that either."
'...'
Wait. There's one thing I can guess about why he came here.
I quietly asked.
"How long did you attend seminary?"
"About half a year before ordination. It was really just putting my name on paper because I was of age."
"Was there a reason you didn't attend longer?"
"Hmm... there were many reasons. The adults judged it would interfere with my work."
"What work kept you from even going to school?"
Elias tossed out a comment.
"Haha, speaking about it properly would violate regulations... You know what makes this world go round, right?"
"Magic power. From start to finish."
"Yeah, that's it."
Narke nodded and answered.
"..."
Everyone fell silent.
He had cut out a great deal of content, but thinking of the most plausible hypothesis, it sounded like he provided the divine power needed to maintain his family.
Given how he kept saying it was hard to reveal his identity, his situation was similar to mine, it seemed his very existence was classified.
Gradually, everyone seemed to guess why Narke had come here.
"Don't get too gloomy! Haha, it wasn't really hard for me! If I'd been born into a commoner family, maybe, but I wasn't. It wasn't something forced on me arbitrarily, and honestly, I was spoiled and grew up a bit naive."
Well, of course. When the family's wealth, power, and future depended on him, they must have treated him like a young master.
I silently waited for him to continue.
"But I wanted to experience it at least once. There are many people at the magic schools over there who have heard of me. If I was going to live the same life at school anyway, coming to a place where no one knows me is much more comfortable."
"...I'm sorry if I pressured you."
Leo apologized, his face darkening as he pressed his brow.
"No, I judged from the start that I could tell you guys, so it's fine."
"Suddenly I feel like trash for suspecting you briefly! Hahaha!"
Elias burst into hearty laughter.
Then he leaned back in his chair again and muttered.
"Honestly, even my uncle, who only thinks about exiling his nephew, didn't block me from school."
"Don't say things like that."
"Don't worry too much, Leo. This is your house, after all."
"..."
Elias ignored Leo's glaring eyes and brought up another topic.
"Luckily, the festival is coming up soon~ You got a role with tons of lines in the play too. You'll be able to properly enjoy school life before going back."
"Right."
"That's great. I don't know if I can play much because of my leg... but, wait. Can you attend university here in the Empire?"
"Hmm, as long as my affiliation isn't discovered, I think I can study here."
Narke smiled softly.
At that, Elias's eyes sparkled and he clapped his hands.
"Hey, let's clear our minds, guys~ Does anyone remember what we were just talking about?"
"I won't tell anyone."
"..."
I let out a dry laugh at Leo's bland reply.
In the classroom, someone would usually play along with Elias's nonsense at times like this, but here, no one was like that. At least Elias wasn't discouraged by any reaction, which was fortunate.
'Anyway...'
Unlike those two, this wasn't a situation for me to chatter idly.
Just hearing it, there was nothing strange.
It was true that someone could reach that position at that age, and it was true he had the qualifications for it.
It was also true that many families extracted magic power from strongly gifted children to accumulate wealth.
But if he truly wanted a proper school life, and if that absolutely required leaving the Papal States and coming to the Empire on exchange, then that story should have appeared in the novel too.
But I had never read a single word about Narke's story.
His words about wanting to live normally and coming here might be true. With that level of power, it's actually harder to live normally.
But there's no rule that only one cause exists for an event.
There was another factor that made him act differently from the novel.
'It's highly likely because a change occurred during that period that wasn't in the novel.'
As far as I knew, it was just me.
But it wasn't a change significant enough for rumors to reach the Papal States. It was just answering a few questions and using a bit of magic power in class.
Could he have heard news of me in about two weeks and hastily prepared for an exchange?
Viewed this way, my change didn't seem to be the reason he came here.
'But I can't end it here.'
I looked at him and opened the favorability window.
Narke Farnese
Favorability +7.5
His favorability was 7 from the first time we met.
How could he have such a value for someone he'd never met before?
As a similar example, there was Fia, but it wasn't strange at all for Fia to have a favorability of 10 from the start.
Fia believed I saved her on the first day and knew she could communicate with me that day. It made sense her favorability was high.
But why did Narke show 7 favorability toward me?
At first, I was too busy being wary of him as a stranger. If he had this much favorability, the possibility of him harming me dropped considerably, so I didn't dwell on this point for long.
While Narke was talking with Leo, our eyes met and he smiled.
I gave him a soft smile in return and sank back into thought.
But on this topic, it was worth considering why his favorability toward me was higher than others for some reason.
* * *
After that, we went back and forth between school topics and the Strauch topic until past midnight before we could sleep.
Since it would be hard to get answers when we were all together, I couldn't find out the real purpose of his exchange until I created a situation with just Narke and me.
More than anything, before investigating that, there was something I needed to focus on now.
When Sunday morning came, I received a call from the King and went to meet him.
As I entered the room, the King dismissed all the attendants and gave a simple greeting.
"We meet again."
"Yes, Your Majesty. It is an honor to see you."
I gave a suitably polite greeting and sat in the chair he indicated.
My identity was already exposed anyway, and wearing a mask in front of the King was improper etiquette, so I took off the mask and placed it on my lap.
He scrutinized my face with an intensity that would be burdensome, much like Elias had, then spoke.
"I've taken care of the windows in advance, so you need not worry."
"Yes, thank you."
He must have done something so it couldn't be seen from outside.
Then the King spoke again.
"From the Empire to the Papal States, the topic is Councilor Strauch. Did you see the newspapers during the break?"
"I did. It seems the reaction is significant because a Pleroma of that standing was exposed after a long time."
"Indeed. As such, I personally hold your courage in high regard."
He paused, lost in thought, then tilted his head and spoke again.
"No, should I say the Prince of the Principality of Anhalt, rather than 'you'?"
"..."
Again...
But contrary to his words, his face wasn't stiff.
Rather, he had an expression that seemed to leisurely await my reaction, and no particular ill will was visible.
Whenever descriptions of him appeared in the novel through Leo's dialogue, evaluations that he wasn't very easygoing often came up. I think I understand why.
First, let me say what I need to say.
"I apologize for not informing you until now. No matter how I say it, it doesn't make my actions not a crime, but my intention was never to deceive Your Majesty."
"Yes, I've heard everything."
"I know it's illegal. I will accept proper punishment."
"Then I become an accomplice who stamped a document knowing the identity was false."
He raised an eyebrow and gave a faint smile.
'Hmm.'
Yes. Fortunately, our intentions align.
My position has been conveyed well enough.
I remained silent to indicate understanding.
If I answered with denials or admissions of fault here, it would force the other to speak twice.
His intention was clear to anyone. Legally speaking, neither of us in this room had done anything right, so he was saying let's stop the principled talk here.
As expected, he immediately brought up another topic.
"I heard you are close friends with the Crown Prince. Are you getting along well with him?"
—-----------
T/N:
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