Chapter 5: Chapter 5: The Princess’s Visit
Lilian chattered away like a little lark, never stopping.
Arthur sat up with a helpless sigh and ran his hands through his messy, bird’s-nest hair.
"Stop, stop! Princess, you’re speaking too fast. I can’t even hear you."
Looking at the lively girl in front of him, a gentle smile sparkled in Arthur’s eyes.
For the past three years, everyone had mocked and isolated him because of his "Double-F Failure" condition.
But this silly little princess was the only one who came to chat with him every day and often brought him delicious pastries from the palace.
In this strange new world, Lilian was truly his first real friend.
"What’s this ’Royal Guardian Mage’ thing? Sounds like hard work. I have no interest."
Arthur yawned and flopped back down onto the bed.
"I just want to be a quiet nobody. I want to sleep in until I feel like waking up, and maybe study magic a little bit on the side."
Hearing this, Lilian’s eyes popped open even wider.
"But Arthur, you can’t be a nobody anymore!!"
She pointed her soft, white finger toward the window, where the noise was still faintly coming through.
"You are the man who created a 9th-Level Forbidden Spell!!"
"All the experts on the continent are hunting for you now!!"
"I heard that Cecilia, that super genius from the Holy Empire who is always so cold, is coming to be a transfer student. She is definitely coming for you!!"
"And don’t forget the Holy Saint of the Holy Light Church, the underground Mercenary Guild, and even the elves from the Shadow Forest..."
Lilian held up her fingers, counting them off one by one.
Suddenly, a mischievous glint flashed in her big green eyes.
"Arthur, tell me the truth. Do you have some even more powerful magic you haven’t shown us yet??"
Arthur looked up at the ceiling, and that lazy smile returned to his lips.
"Nope."
"Really, it was just something I thought up on the spot."
Arthur turned his head to look at Lilian. His eyes held an endless depth and confidence that was hard to describe.
...
Meanwhile, in the core Meditation Room of Lancelot Academy.
Elena Klein, known as the "Ice Rose of the Academy," stood before the Ice-Soul Mirror.
Her waist-length silver hair drifted slightly in the air. Her icy blue eyes shimmered with complex emotions.
She replayed the scene from the White Marble Square earlier today, where the black-haired boy had carelessly summoned that world-ending meteorite.
Her prized S-Rank affinity for ice magic had felt like a joke in the face of that power.
"Arthur Voss..."
Elena bit her soft, delicate lips, her pale fingers clutching each other tightly.
"Just how many secrets are you actually hiding??"
At the same time, deep beneath the capital city.
At the deepest corner of Shadow Street, inside an intelligence hub, even the air was thick with danger.
Isabella Moore, a half-elf with short, dark-purple hair, swirled a goblet of deep crimson wine. Under her bangs, her amber eyes burned with a wild, untamed fire.
"Interesting."
She looked at the new pile of documents on the table—every bit of info on Arthur Voss.
"Double-F Failure? Sudden enlightenment? A 9th-Level Forbidden Spell??"
Isabella stuck out her tongue and licked her luscious, inviting lips. Then, she flashed a breathtakingly beautiful smile full of aggression.
"Little guy, I’m getting more and more interested in you."
...
"Arthur, are you really not going to become the Royal Guardian Mage??"
Watching the lively Lilian jumping around, Arthur couldn’t help but find it amusing.
"Royal Guardian Mage? Forget it. I hate trouble the most."
Arthur leaned back against the headboard, crossed his arms, and spoke in a lazy tone.
"Well, you need a personal assistant, right??"
Lilian didn’t feel shy at all. She plopped right down onto Arthur’s creaky wooden bed.
As she sat, a faint scent of vanilla drifted into the air, pushing away the musty smell of the commoner’s dorm.
She propped her chin on her hands and leaned close to Arthur, just like a little girl begging for candy.
"Arthur, I’ve done some digging. Everyone out there is trying to link up with you to get favors."
"But I’m different! I’m here to stick to your leg!!" (idiom for "lean on your power/safety")
Lilian declared this with total confidence. Her big green eyes shone with a light that hid nothing.
"Stick to your leg??" Arthur raised an eyebrow. That phrase wasn’t common in this other world. Had he taught it to her by accident before?
"Yes! Just sticking close to the world’s greatest genius, being your best friend!!"
Lilian patted her still-flat chest with a crisp sound.
"From now on, if anyone dares to look down on you because you used to have Double-F talent, this Princess will bite them with her dog first!!"
Watching the Kingdom of Oran’s most spoiled little princess acting so fierce, Arthur’s smile grew even wider.
In this academy where the strong eat the weak and magic talent dictated status, Lilian was the only one who hadn’t mocked him for his "Double-F Failure" in the last three years.
Not only that, but she often slipped past the royal guards to sneak into this dilapidated dorm and bring him exquisite pastries.
Arthur had kept this pure friendship in his heart all along.
"Alright, stop grinding your teeth. Even if we did unleash a dog, your tiny body would be the first to stand in front of it and get hurt."
Arthur reached out and gently ruffled Lilian’s brilliant golden hair, just like one would pet a tiny, fluffy kitten.
"I knew you were the best, Arthur!!" Lilian closed her eyes in delight, looking just like a lazy Persian cat getting a head scratch.
While they were chatting, the hallway outside the dorm had already turned into a chaotic mess.
What used to be a quiet, empty district for commoners suddenly felt like the busiest market in the capital.
Huge numbers of footsteps pounded on the wooden floor outside, making a loud creaking sound.
Through the narrow crack in that thin wooden door, you could even see countless eyes full of curiosity, frenzy, and jealousy peeking inside.
"He’s definitely in this room!! I saw Princess Lilian go in with my own eyes!!"
"Oh my god, is this the room of Arthur Voss, the one who created a 9th-Level Forbidden Spell? Why does it look so cheap and old??"
"You think he’s really the Forbidden Mage who descended from the gods??"
"Who knows!! Maybe he just used some ancient illusion scroll during the Awakening Ceremony!!"
Although people outside were trying to whisper, their hushed talk was still crystal clear in this tiny room.
Then, a man’s voice filled with pure jealousy cut through the air, sounding extremely shrill and grating.
"My cousin is a senior wizard in the 6th grade, and he said that kind of world-destroying power could NEVER come from a Double-F Failure!!"
"That’s right!! It has to be cheating!! The breaking of the Awakening Stone was probably just an accident!!"
"If he really had that power, how could he have stayed a nobody and a waste for three whole years in the Academy??"
The noise outside grew louder and louder. The voices of doubt and denial began to take over.
After all, it was harder for those snobby magic geniuses to admit that a trash they had stepped on was now suddenly a god than it would be to kill them.
When Lilian heard all these words, the smile on her face instantly vanished.
"Damn it! These bastards! They’re just jealous because they don’t have the power themselves!"
The little princess jumped up instantly. She bunched up her pristine white princess skirt and stomped toward the door, fuming with anger, ready to march out and yell at them.
"I’ll use the full weight of the Royal Family to arrest all these gossiping jerks right now!"
"Stop it, Lilian."
Arthur’s calm voice drifted from behind, halting the princess’s movement before she could take a step.
He didn’t even glance at that wooden door. Instead, he slowly stood up from the bed, moving with deliberate ease.
"A mage’s focus is too precious to waste on arguing with a bunch of idiots."
Arthur walked to the center of the room. His long fingers sliced gently through the empty air.
No chanting.
No wave of a magic wand.
Not even a flicker of wild energy from the surrounding elements.
A strange rune, formed from pure silver-blue arcane energy, instantly took shape at the tip of Arthur’s finger.
It was a 2nd-Level spell from the D&D magic system... [Arcane Lock].
Arthur flicked his finger. The incredibly deep rune silently glided from his hand and sank straight into the old, creaky wooden door.
Hum.
A low, barely audible hum resonated, audible only to Arthur and Lilian.
Outside, a noble student who had been chattering and trying to peek through the crack suddenly felt a powerful, irresistible repulsive force blast against the door.
Bam!!
That boy was flung backward by a gentle yet firm force, slamming hard against the corridor wall.
