I went to the reception room, wondering how to chase away the new imperial language teacher.

However, strangely enough, there was no imperial language teacher, and only Dietrich Rotten was sitting alone in the reception room.

I looked around.

“Where’s the imperial language teacher?”

“Hey! It’s me?!”

What is this, a dog meowing?

“You?”

“Wow, your laugh is really unpleasant! You think I want to teach some goldfish poop kid?”

“Can’t you speak nicely?”

As I approached swiftly and pulled back my leg as if to kick him, Dietrich quickly covered his legs.

Not a chance. The crown of your head!

Thwack!

[Pressure -1]

Dietrich grabbed his head and trembled.

“Ughh. What does she eat to hit so well? I must be crazy. Making suspicious contracts with someone like this.”

“That’s cheap considering you owe me your life.”

Hmph, I snorted and sat down opposite him.

“So, how did you end up becoming a teacher?”

Dietrich sighed deeply and told me about his conversation with the Young Marquis.

After hearing everything, I said, “In summary, you were abandoned by the Young Marquis and lied about becoming a double agent out of spite?”

“Spite? That hurts my feelings. Wouldn’t it be good for you too if I bring you information about the Young Marquis?”

“How would I know if you’ll get any good information?”

“Oh, really? You’ll regret it.”

My eyes narrowed at Dietrich’s unpleasant smile.

‘Seems like he found out something.’

I had a guess.

After the grand conference ended, I heard the conversation between the Young Marquis and the chairman.

“I will look for an appropriate festival date.”

“Ah, for that, if we call a high priest…”

“Would that be enough? If I ask, the High Cardinal himself would come.”

I already knew who the High Cardinal he mentioned was.

The High Cardinal was someone who assisted one of the four guardians appearing in <Marino>.

Specifically, the Saint.

The Saint was the only guardian who could raise Noah to become the Pope.

In other words, an incredible talent who could awaken Noah’s holy power and help it grow significantly. A holy power master instructor.

But he is currently missing.

The High Cardinal must be trying to find the Saint before this fact gets exposed.

“Hey, hey. What are you doing? You should focus on me.”

“Ah.”

While I was thinking about the Saint’s holy appearance from the game, I looked up to see a grasshopper with a sullen expression.

My face automatically scrunched up in disgust.

“You look like a bug.”

“Why are you suddenly being crazy!”

Dietrich shouted in disbelief and tried hard to suppress his anger.

“Anyway, you need information about what the Young Marquis is preparing, right? Continuously if possible. Right?”

Though I hate to admit it, he was right. Being able to know the Young Marquis’s next move in advance would be an enormous merit.

“…Fine. Then what do you want in return for being a double agent?”

“Ha, you’re straightforward.”

Dietrich grinned as if pleased that we understood each other well.

“I was worried you might try to use the contract to make me work for you.”

“According to the contract, I have to guarantee your freedom and safety, so there’s nothing I can do. Too bad.”

“Well anyway, what I’m asking for is simple.”

The smile gradually disappeared from Dietrich’s face.

“You… you know I can’t read properly, right?”

“……”

“But when you used that highest-grade potion on me then, I could suddenly see the letters again.”

This flow isn’t good.

“Before that too, after meeting you at the general store, I could see the letters.”

Dietrich’s eyes trembled as he looked at me.

It was a gaze full of doubt, even while believing his own thoughts were crazy.

And undisguisable desperation.

“Answer me, direct descendant.”

“……”

“Can you… fix me?”

I swallowed a sigh internally. This was an expected problem.

‘Of all things, he wants that as payment.’

I had thought since using my ability on Dietrich that it would be exposed someday.

But bestowing my ability when I want to and paying it as compensation for a deal were completely different matters.

‘Plus, if someone keeps receiving my ability, the time limit disappears. It becomes their permanent ability.’

The buff maid and Lynen continue to increase their abilities with my help. The more I use my ability on them, the better.

But for Dietrich, it works to reduce pressure.

When the pressure reaches 0, he won’t need me anymore.

From then on, I would have to pay something new in exchange for information.

Therefore, there was a big risk of the power dynamic reversing, with things like hush money.

So my ability must not be involved in this deal.

“What nonsense I’m hearing.”

“Huh?”

“How could I possibly fix you?”

“Well, m-magic…”

“Are you mocking me knowing that I’m magically incompatible?”

As I sneered while showing clear displeasure, Dietrich became flustered.

“But at the grand conference, your magic grade came out as gold. They said it was higher than the Archmage’s level.”

“Simply having magic and using it are different issues. In reality, I’m still magically incompatible.”

“……”

“Moreover, if I could use magic, wouldn’t I have helped myself first?”

Dietrich frowned in confusion.

Yes, confused? So name different terms.

‘I need to reduce how often I use my ability on Dietrich.’

If I had known this would happen, I shouldn’t have hit him earlier.

I clicked my tongue internally and returned to the main point.

“Anyway, since the Young Marquis sent you, I’ll accept you as a teacher. But only if Noah approves of you.”

“Why does the kid’s opinion matter?”

“It matters the most.”

Because Noah, not I, is the one who will be taking the lessons.

“Keep quiet and do a practice lesson first. I’ll step out for a moment.”

During that time, I need to think about what I can give in exchange for information.

‘But what if Noah is scared of Dietrich?’

However, that was an unnecessary worry.

Because as soon as Noah came when called and saw Dietrich, he criticized:

“Bad bell pepper head.”

“What? Are you talking to me, goldfish poop?”

Good. I can leave them alone.

* * *

Dietrich’s mind was complicated.

‘Was it really not because of Calliphe? Did I bark up the wrong tree?’

No matter how much he thought about it, he couldn’t find an answer.

Sighing, Dietrich decided to at least pretend to give a lesson.

“Hey, goldfish poop.”

“I’m not goldfish poop.”

“What was it? Right. Try writing what I dictate. You know dictation, right?”

“……”

If he couldn’t write the letters himself, he could just get by with speaking.

Dietrich admired his own cunning while calling out random sentences.

“Baron Rotten is a great handsome man, write it.”

“……”

“Huh? What’s with that look?”

Noah sighed through his nose and scribbled down some letters.

“Calliphe Offensa is no match for Baron Rotten, write it.”

“No.”

“What’s this? Look at how short you’re being with your teacher. End your sentences with ‘danakka’, okay?”

“No.”

“Are you doing this on purpose?”

After a brief battle of wills, the dictation ended.

“Cheeky kid. Just like someone else.”

Dietrich grumbled as he snatched Noah’s notebook. It was for grading.

‘I can’t see it anyway, so I’ll just say it’s all correct.’

As he was about to draw a big circle.

“Hmm…?”

The child’s crooked letters were faintly but properly visible.

‘What’s this? I can see the letters again!’

They had been briefly visible after the banquet incident before becoming invisible again.

Dietrich’s dark brown eyes flickered towards Noah.

‘Could it be because of this kid?’

Come to think of it, this kid was at the general store too. Could this little one be the cause?

Or could there be another reason…

‘…D*mn it, no! Let’s just look at what’s certain!’

In the second case when his dyslexia improved, it wasn’t this kid but Calliphe who was there. That was an undeniable fact.

Just now too, he had met with Calliphe and.

‘But like Calliphe said, if she could use magic, why would she use it on me? There’s no reason to.’

Then, Dietrich suddenly remembered what Calliphe had said.

‘Right, if she knew how to use magic, she would have. But… what if she doesn’t know?’

Calliphe, who possessed magical power one level higher than the Archmage.

With that level of magical power, it wouldn’t be strange to use magic without even knowing it.

In fact, there were occasionally mages who used magic without knowing and only realized it later.

If so.

‘Calliphe definitely doesn’t know she can use magic!’

Which means Calliphe Offensa is showing signs of awakening as an incredible mage!

Dietrich’s eyes bulged as if he had discovered a gold mine.

‘C-crazy. I’ve caught an incredible thread! To think Calliphe was a golden lifeline!’

Dietrich’s heart pounded.

He quickly decided on a course of action.

‘It wouldn’t do any good for others to know this fact.’

He should pretend not to know about Calliphe’s ability. Pretend not to know while treating her really well.

Even to the point of licking her feet if necessary!