I looked up at Hildegarde while I was sitting and packing my things.Thick blond hair with the ends rolled like a bread bun. A tall height and a figure whose presence showed even through the uniform.Her impression looked more mature than Elena’s, who had good style as well.Their personalities were completely different, though.As I slipped my books into my bag, I asked,“What, suddenly acting like you know me.”It wasn’t exactly pleasant having someone who’d treated me like a dog or a chicken all this time suddenly come up and talk to me.Of course, given Union’s curriculum, which was something like a college’s lectures, it was only natural there were plenty of students whose faces I knew and nothing more.When I answered coldly, Hildegarde shrugged.“It’s a matter of necessity. Anyway, will you be able to defeat Meyer McDowell in the Competition Battle?”‘Meyer?’Could it be Hildegarde wanted me to win?I tilted my head.“Aren’t you part of the Noble Alliance?”I’d thought they’d banded together to smack down my arrogance.At that, Hildegarde snorted and shot back,“Heh, don’t tell me you don’t know Meyer and I are on bad terms? No way you caused that much havoc in social circles and still don’t know that. I heard you lost your memory, but I guess it really is true.”‘…Come to think of it.’According to the in-game setting, the McDowell ducal house and the Astraia ducal house did not get along particularly well.For the sake of their respective interests, they begrudgingly stuck together, but just because they belonged to the Noble Alliance didn’t mean they shared the same will and intentions.The rift between the two houses went back to the early days of the establishment of the Seven Mage Towers.‘If I remember right, it was because of competition between the towers for control of the Empire’s national industry.’Rather than developing many technologies evenly, the emperor had judged it better to focus on a single specialized technology, and declared he would choose one tower and back it as the state’s core industry.The Cassandra imperial family’s Mir Tower was already being treated the best, so it was excluded, and the remaining six towers ended up competing among themselves.Of them, Magi-Engineering’s McDowell and astronomy’s Astraia, which had the strongest power, came into conflict.McDowell was developing Magi-Engineering, which combined magic and engineering, while Astraia was developing a technology that artificially granted “blessings” by borrowing the power of the constellations.The overall advancement of human technology, or the strengthening of certain humans.In the end, the Emperor of Cassandra chose the former, and the prestige of the McDowell house and Meister Tower, chosen as the state industry, was greatly enhanced.After that, they even received the ducal title and autonomy.It was only natural that the Astraia ducal house harbored hostility toward them.If the situation had been reversed, the continent’s history might have changed drastically.Rather than technology centered on Magi-Engineering, it would have become a world led by “ability users” similar to Gate and Hunter types.Of course, that was only the grudge between houses; whether Hildegarde and Meyer had any personal feelings between them, I couldn’t say.Once I finished thinking, I opened my mouth.“So what, you’re asking me to beat Meyer to a pulp for you or something?”“…Listen to you talk. Still, that’s not entirely wrong. I can give you a little help during your Competition Battle match with Meyer as well.”“Help, huh. Let’s hear it.”I folded my arms arrogantly and gave a little nod, as if to tell her to go ahead and say her piece.I already had a way to beat Meyer, but I might as well hear what she was proposing.I was curious both about why Hildegarde had approached me and what this “help” of hers was.“Of course, I’m not helping you for free. Give and take. That’s only natural, isn’t it?”“…I don’t really have anything to give you, though.”“There are a few favors I want to ask regarding the summer training camp. You’re on the organizer’s side, aren’t you? Nothing grand—just asking you to show small kindnesses with things like group assignments.”“Mm, that much I can do.”For that, it was within my authority.Sounded like Hildegarde didn’t want to be separated from her followers even at the summer training camp.If the groups were badly put together, her crowd could get split apart and end up moving around separately because of room allocations.‘What a cute request.’She wasn’t a kid.Well, age-wise she still was a kid.In this world, though, she was treated as a full-fledged adult.Now that I knew why Hildegarde had approached me, I decided to pry a little deeper.“A way to beat Meyer… are you saying you can break through his Magic Armor?”“I don’t know about ‘break through,’ but I can lend you an artifact that will let you lead the battle a bit more favorably. So, how about my proposal? Will you accept it?”Shaaak-.Hildegarde flicked open the fan in her hand and raised it to hide her mouth.Before that, I asked the name of the artifact she was going to lend me.“What’s the artifact called? I need to know what it’s used for if I’m going to decide whether to cooperate or not.”“Hmm.”Hildegarde thought briefly, then apparently decided that revealing at least the name was fine, and spoke.“It’s Riasong’s Dagger.”“……”Riasong’s Dagger, huh…As far as I knew, that artifact had a unique effect that temporarily dispelled magic on whatever it stabbed.It didn’t work on people, and its area was too narrow to be useful for things like dispelling barriers, but in specific situations it was handy.‘Like, for example, Meyer’s Magic Armor.’If I stabbed his Magic Armor with Riasong’s Dagger, the effects engraved on the armor’s surface, such as magic nullification, would be temporarily disabled.In that window, I would just have to subdue Meyer… that seemed to be the strategy.I slowly nodded.“Not bad.”“Seems like you know what ability Riasong’s Dagger has?”“Of course I do.”“Then my proposal…”Hildegarde’s face flushed slightly, as if she were looking forward to my answer.With a bright smile, I spoke to her.“I refuse.”***After all my classes for the day ended.For the first time in a while, I strolled along Traum Street’s nighttime roads with Ciel.The European-style street was packed with lively crowds. Students moved around in groups of twos and threes.“Ah.”A few people flinched slightly when they spotted me walking confidently down the street, but there was no longer any “miracle of Moses” where the crowd split left and right like the Red Sea.It was a clear sign that my reputation had improved compared to before.“Where are you going this time?”Ciel, her hands full of shopping bags, asked.She had already swept through several shops and conquered their desserts.I considered taking one or two of the shopping bags from her, but the more I thought about it, the more it felt like the wrong direction of help, so I gave up.I tugged at my uniform sleeve and said,“I’m thinking of having clothes made. One set of uniform, one set of casual wear.”“Are you planning to order magical clothing?”“Yeah, it’s about time I got at least one.”Magical clothing was a type of artifact—clothing that had been processed with magic, just like the name implied.Union’s uniforms were one such example.They had a coating spell that kept foreign substances from sticking easily, and while faint, spells that gave resistance to blades and sharp objects were also applied.Thanks to that, the clothes rarely wore out or got torn by scrapes.They hadn’t done a thing against Demer’s claws, though.His hand had turned my uniform into a rag, so I might as well prepare a new uniform and, while I was at it, also have clothes made for everyday wear.I had money on hand, and since I’d just been promoted to [Intermediate Alchemy], my options for fabric had broadened.If I had a good set made now, I could wear it for a long time until I reached [Advanced Alchemy], so the timing was quite good.Of course, for it to last that long, it would need good fabric and an excellent tailor’s touch.“Let’s go to Altair’s Tailor Shop.”***Traum 3rd Avenue.There were many clothing shops in Union, but Altair’s Tailor Shop was one of the standouts.A hidden gem of a place that only those in the know knew.Ding-.When I opened the door of the modest shop and went inside, a gentle interior greeted us. At the same time—“Welcome!”A cheerful voice rang out.I raised my hand to acknowledge the boy’s greeting and looked over the interior.Classic furniture, and in front of it, various handsome suits on display.Soft lighting spread through the dim space, adding to its charm.The boy looked up at me with bright, clear eyes and asked,“Did you happen to make a reservation?”“Yes, under Loen.”“Yessir.”He carefully checked his notebook and soon smiled.“Got it. Please wait just a moment. Grandpa! A customer’s here!”“Is that so?”A short while later.With shuffling footsteps, an old man appeared from behind the counter.A gaunt-looking old man whose appearance didn’t really match such an elegant tailor shop.Tailor Altair.He adjusted his gold-rimmed glasses and wetted his fingers, flipping through the notebook.“Let’s see here… you said Loen, right?”“That’s right.”“Mm, come on in, ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ then.”While Ciel stayed outside playing with the kid, I followed him into a small consultation room attached to the inside of the tailor shop.“So, you’re trying to have a suit made?”“Yes. I’d like something that doesn’t feel too stiff, something I can wear comfortably on a daily basis.”“Got it. Something like the feel of your uniform should do, I suppose?”“That’ll be more than enough.”Altair scribbled something in his notebook as he kept the questions coming.“Judging by the look of you, this isn’t going to be ordinary clothing. You want magical clothing, don’t you?”“Yes, I’ve written down the details separately.”“Good, good. That makes things faster.”Altair carefully looked over the request form I handed him, then clicked his tongue.“Oh my, you going off to war or something?”“Something… like that.”Competition Battle season was approaching.To raise my ranking into the top 100, I’d have to face combat weapons head-on with only my own body as a shield—of course it was war.What I’d commissioned from him was clothing with physical resistance and blade resistance, along with acceleration magic and counter magic.Normally, it was nearly impossible to imbue this level of magic into clothing, but depending on the fabric and materials, it was partially possible.It was a necessary measure to raise my win rate even a little.Altair asked,“With all that, the cost of the materials alone won’t be easy. Will you be alright?”“Of course. About how long will production take?”“If the materials are there, I can finish it within a week. But the fabric you’re asking for isn’t in my shop…”“The materials will arrive in front of the shop tomorrow morning.”The sooner the magical clothing was finished, the better.I had already asked Alfredo to secure the materials, and I’d just gotten word yesterday that he’d acquired them.They’d be delivered through Gretel sometime tomorrow.“Oh-ho, really? Then I can have it done in no time.”Altair’s eyes moved over my body from behind his glasses as he jotted something down in his notebook.There was no need to take separate measurements or go through a fitting process.Altair had the ability to perfectly measure a person’s physique, as well as their body’s range of motion and movement, just by running his gaze over them once.Watching his eyes dart about, I cautiously spoke up.“And I’d like to purchase a few items to go with the suit as well.”“Name them. Tie? Fedora? What do you want?”Instead of a detailed explanation, I pulled a black business card from my breast pocket and handed it to Altair.“A gentleman’s requirements aren’t fulfilled by just a fine suit and a sharp outfit, after all.”And at that moment.The light in Altair’s previously gaunt eyes changed.Shaaah-.At the same time, an unusual aura poured out from him.“Well, well. I’ve really been neglecting an important guest Alfredo sent my way.”“Think nothing of it.”As I smiled leisurely, Altair pressed a button under the desk and opened a hidden passage.Clank-.One wall sank back to reveal a secret room.Pointing inward, he said,“Let’s go inside and talk further.”

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.