TBCOS 101

Chapter 101…

“Hmm, then….”

Ellie turned her head, wondering if there was any way around this, and her eyes met the innkeeper’s.

“…Oh.”

“……?”

“Oho….”

“??”

The innkeeper, who had been ladling food into the children’s bowls, rolled his eyes this way and that.

What is it—what on earth are you thinking?

“You’re planning to keep running this inn for a long time, right?”

Why did the casually smiling question sound so threatening?

“Yes, of course. Y-yeah… I have to work to make a living until the day I die.”

“Then while you’re running the inn, could you take on one more job?”

“Oh, a side job…?”

At the word side job, the innkeeper relaxed his shoulders.

He’d been nervous, thinking she might use tax evasion as an excuse to squeeze him dry.

“Yeah. When the kids bring information, you take it to the capital.”

“Eh? Me personally?”

“It’s important information, so of course!”

“Then I’d have to close the inn for a day….”

“To prepare for that, you could hire a few people and train them….”

Ellie casually slipped the issue of employing the kids into the conversation.

“And since our informants shouldn’t be starving, make sure they’re fed too. I’ll cover the cost.”

Meals for a fixed number of people—guaranteed for life!

The innkeeper’s calculations spun rapidly.

Even to him, seeing the kids starve was uncomfortable.

After all, he’d started selling food to make a living; this aligned with his original purpose.

And if Ellie paid the costs, there was little loss on his end.

In the long run, it was like raising trustworthy inn managers from a young age—retirement insurance, even.

“All right!”

The negotiation concluded dramatically.

“You guys, don’t starve anymore—come here!”

“Waaah!”

“We’ll work hard to gather information!”

“We’ll work hard at the jobs you give us too!”

With their livelihoods secured, the children cheered.

Ellie gained reliable informants.

No one lost; everyone was satisfied.

“Then where in the capital should we deliver the information the children gather? You’ll need to tell me which noble family’s young lady you are so we can find you.”

At last, it was time to reveal her true identity.

She hoped no one would think she’d deceived them.

Ellie took a deep breath and opened her mouth.

“I am—”

“BEANNNN!”

Crash!

Just as Ellie was about to announce who she was, Nillit burst in, flinging the inn door open as if to smash it.

I am… bean…?

The sentence ended up connecting strangely.

“…Bean?”

The innkeeper and the children blankly echoed Nillit’s way of addressing her.

“Ah—no….”

Flustered, Ellie looked at Nillit.

Bean aside, why is the Archmage here?

Nillit also scanned the inn before spotting Ellie.

“What? You look fine.”

Just like when she entered, Nillit charged like a storm straight up to Ellie’s face.

Ellie didn’t even have time to answer.

With a serious expression, Nillit inspected Ellie from head to toe.

“Your head? Your body? Your arms? Your legs?”

“Huh…?”

“Who dared lay a hand on a future talent of the Mage Tower?”

At Nillit’s ferocious barrage of questions, the innkeeper and children gaped once again.

“A future talent… of the Mage Tower?”

Nillit’s outfit—screaming I am a mage to anyone—lent credibility to her words.

Her bracelet, necklace, and earrings clinked as if shouting, That’s right!

“Thanks to Rilkia and Clearis, everything’s been taken care of. I’m fine now….”

Ellie was more surprised by Nillit’s appearance than by the nickname.

“But how did you get here?”

How did Nillit know where she was and fly over like this?

How did she know what had happened?

More than that—how did she even get here?

“You sent word that you’d been attacked and needed a new carriage and support.”

She was referring to the request for aid Rilkia had sent to the royal palace.

“Oh!”

But that message had been sent after everything was over—sent from the inn, even…?

Did Nillit rush over without knowing that?

Ellie tilted her head, puzzled by Nillit’s sudden appearance.

“There’s no rule saying there won’t be another attack just because there was one already. The future of the Mage Tower is my responsibility.”

“You came to protect me?”

“Who else would I come all this way to protect? Just say the word, Bean—I’ll burn them to a crisp…!”

Nillit growled, scanning the surroundings warily.

“There’s no one now!”

“Even if there’s no one now, there could be later!”

As if threatening them, Nillit conjured fire in her palm.

“Eek!”

“Waaah!”

Seeing that, the children and the innkeeper screamed as if they might faint.

Half shock, half terror.

Shock at seeing a mage’s magic up close—and fear that they might be roasted alive if things went wrong.

With Nillit radiating a terrifying aura, everyone slowly edged away from her.

When someone is screaming I’m a mage! with their whole body and threatening to burn everything, who would dare challenge her?

Without fighting, she’d already won.

“!”

Suddenly, Ellie realized something.

If I’d been able to threaten like that, I could’ve won before the factory burned down…!

A way to win without fighting.

That was intimidation.

Ellie’s eyes sparkled.

If I learn how to intimidate!

She could win without sacrifices.

This was a must-learn subject!

Another item was added to her curriculum.

“After checking your mana stability, we’ll start lessons right away.”

“Yeah!”

“I mean magic lessons.”

“Huh?”

Nillit emphasized magic in particular.

Does that mean she won’t teach me how to threaten?!

It seemed Nillit had read her mind.

Trying to hide her exposed thoughts, Ellie clasped her hands to her chest.

“Not math, not geography, not politics—magic.”

“…Huh?”

As Nillit ticked them off one by one, there was no “intimidation class.”

But then why suddenly mention math, geography, and politics?

There was a reason.

“Where’s my genius?!”

The door slammed open again with a thunderous shout.

This time, it was Rombaton.

“Oh—Professor?”

Why is Professor Rombaton here too?

Nillit had been at the palace, so she could’ve heard the news, but Rombaton had returned to the Academy—why here? How?

“Are you injured anywhere? Your head? Your body? Your arms? Your legs?”

“…I’m fine.”

Strangely enough, Rombaton asked in the exact same order as Nillit.

Apparently, the head was most important, then body, arms, and legs.

“Did you run all the way from the Academy, Professor?”

At the word Academy, the innkeeper and children’s mouths fell open again.

A mage of the Mage Tower and a scholar of the Academy—in the same place?!

A historic event was unfolding in this rural inn.

“I came to Nerendis to investigate something personally, and while I was at it, I thought I’d stop by the palace to see my lovely genius disciple’s face—and then I happened to hear the news.”

Lovely genius disciple?!

After the mage’s my genius, now the Academy scholar’s lovely genius disciple.

Just seeing two such legendary figures at once was enough to make the innkeeper’s consciousness waver.

And then came the title my genius from their mouths.

Just who are you, my lady?!

She wasn’t simply a well-bred noble girl.

At this point, she was clearly an untouchable, overwhelming existence.

“So I begged to join the group that was just setting out and ran here with them.”

“Oh—then did others come too?”

“Of course—”

At that moment, the inn door burst open yet again.

At this rate, one or two more times and it would shatter.