Home/The Seven-Year-Old Village Chief of Exile/ch 83

Chapter 83

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The Magical Engineering Academy.

An ivory tower of knowledge in the Devitate Empire.

'Its history is quite interesting.'

Back in Exilium Village, I was reading Clavis in One Volume in the library.

The Magical Engineering Academy was described in Part 2: The Empire.

To summarize, the academy was a factory-like research institute founded by 'eccentrics' who had been expelled from the Mage Tower.

At the time, the Mage Tower was highly conservative, with a strong bias that only traditional magic was valid.

The young mages rebelled against this.

'They tried to create a new discipline by combining traditional magic with civilian technology. That was the beginning of modern magical engineering.'

But the conservative Mage Tower disapproved of their efforts and eventually expelled them—permanently.

Then, a certain figure appeared and took the exiled mages to the northern border.

He provided them with land and buildings, and gave them full support.

That was the origin of the Magical Engineering Academy, and it marked the beginning of the era of magical engineering, later called 'The Outcasts' Creation.'

'The one who helped them was the Clavis.'

An ancestor about seven generations back.

'Anyway, the Clavis are involved in everything.'

Every time I read the book, I realized that the history of the Devitate Empire was essentially the history of the Clavis.

The book Clavis in One Volume, given to me by Bleached Demon, was divided into three parts.

Part 1: Theory, organized knowledge from various fields in an encyclopedic format. Part 2: The Empire, detailed the major organizations, noble registries, and imperial history of Devitate.

Part 3: Clavis, was thinner than the appendix.

Because Parts 1 and 2 themselves were the history of the Clavis, there was no need for a separate volume.

'Even just reading it, I can tell how great the Clavis were.'

The countless discoveries and knowledge described in Part 1 were all made by the Clavis or those they sponsored.

The Clavis were at the foundation of the various organizations listed in Part 2, and there wasn't a single noble family that hadn't received their help.

'At this rate, shouldn't the Clavis have been the Emperor?'

They had everything but the throne itself.

'I can sort of understand the Emperor's inferiority complex toward the Clavis.'

Of course, that doesn't excuse the crimes he's committed, but it does offer some context.

Enough to maybe give him anesthesia when I rip out his hip joint?

'If this is true, then...'

Since the Magical Engineering Academy was founded by the Clavis, if I play my cards right, I might gain an ally to check the imperial family.

"Finished reading?"

"Aunt Deiph."

As I came out with the book, Aunt Deiph, who was at the librarian's desk, spoke to me.

One of our village's famously quiet trio, her aptitude was 'Prophet Who Reads Fate,' and she'd been sent to exile on the absurd charge of distributing subversive materials.

"How's work? Do you like being a librarian?"

"I think I was framed just for this moment."

Aunt Deiph smiled sincerely, and the beauty mark at the corner of her mouth lifted slightly.

"There aren't many library users yet, so it's not too hard."

"You won't be saying that when the village grows."

"I hope that day comes soon."

Aunt Deiph carefully handed me a piece of paper.

On the white paper was a pencil drawing of me, focused on reading.

"Wow!"

An exclamation escaped me.

I quickly shut my mouth and looked around. Fortunately, I was the only one in the reading room today.

"Is this me?"

"You looked so lovely reading that I couldn't help but draw you."

"It's beautiful! I knew I was pretty, but this much...!"

"Ahaha."

"Thank you so much!"

"I should be the one thanking you."

I left the library with Aunt Deiph seeing me off.

"Poppy! Chuchu!"

As I came out, the dogs, who had been digging in the dirt nearby, ran over. I quickly showed them the drawing.

"Ta-da! Look at this! What do you think?"

The dogs' tails wagged faster at the sight of the drawing.

"Cool, right? I'm going to frame it."

"Woof!"

"Woof! Woof!"

"You want to be drawn too?"

After carefully rolling up the drawing and putting it in my subspace pocket, I hopped on my scooter. The dogs stood on either side of me.

As I pushed off and rode, Poppy and Chuchu matched my pace, their fur flying in the wind.

I said to the two dogs.

"The Grand Duchess of Stria and the Crown Prince are visiting Deste."

Perhaps it was my imagination, but Poppy's ears perked up more than usual.

"There are only two dukedoms in the Empire."

"Woof."

"Right, and one of them is our Duchess Poppy."

There was a dignified air in Poppy's gait.

"And Chuchu is the Duchess's only husband."

Chuchu's black tail also stood proudly.

"I don't really care about the Crown Prince. But for some reason, I just don't like that kid. Can't he just not come?"

"Woof woof!"

"Grrrr!"

At the mention of the Crown Prince, the dogs bared their fangs for the first time in a while.

Watching them with curiosity, I remembered.

'Right! I don't like the Crown Prince either!'

On the day I dreamed of my brother, the young me had said:

"But that insufferable one is coming too! I can't let him bully Edel again—I'll slap him the moment I see him! Grandpa said you have to crush them from the start!"

The 'insufferable one' was the Crown Prince.

Even now, with no memories of that time, I still didn't have a good feeling about him. It seemed I had no fond memories of the Crown Prince.

'As a twenty-five-year-old now, I can kind of understand how that kid must have felt.'

His birth mother died.

Then his father's mistress moved in and acted like his mother.

And there were even half-siblings.

'Of course, Crown Prince Edelros did nothing wrong, but the Crown Prince was just a kid too—he wouldn't have had the capacity to sort out his feelings.'

In the end, all the fault lies with the Emperor, but who would dare point fingers at the Empire's supreme ruler?

It must have been even harder for the Crown Prince.

'In the end, the innocent Crown Prince becomes the scapegoat.'

That's probably why the young me hated him.

I was young too, so I must have seen the Crown Prince's twisted attitude as simply mean.

"Hmm, anyway, how should I treat the Grand Duchess?"

I wondered if I could just leave everything to Aunt Prellia.

'Even if not for this occasion, as village chief, I should learn some etiquette and related knowledge, right?'

Lost in thought, I slowed my scooter slightly.

In that moment, Poppy and Chuchu surged ahead. Noticing I was lagging, they trotted back.

"......"

I stared at the two dogs.

'Right...'

They were nobles too.

---

That evening.

I told Verity about what had happened at the Deste mansion and how to prepare to host the Grand Duchess of Stria properly.

Ian and Libby were also present.

"She's going to be a big success no matter what she does."

Libby was full of admiration.

"Just make sure the Grand Duchess doesn't get wind of it."

Ian warned me earnestly.

And how did Verity respond?

He praised me outright.

"I'm not lying—I swear, thanks to you, I laugh my head off at least once a day. You're my bundle of joy."

"Another failed attempt at stealth. It's not like I can hide this talent anyway."

"But you know, I've thought you were absolutely hilarious twice now."

"Wow, twice?"

"Once was when you wanted to experience torture and asked me to twist your legs. That's a story that'll be told for ages."

"Ah."

I shut my mouth tightly.

"And the second time was just now. I'm looking forward to more hilarious moments in the future."

"Hmph."

I made a loud snorting sound.

How to prepare to host the Grand Duchess of Stria properly.

My suggestion was to observe Poppy and Chuchu's daily lives and prepare based on the Duke couple's preferences.

Of course, I had a reasonable explanation.

"Who do you think has the most delicate and finicky palate in our village? Poppy and Chuchu."

The Duke couple truly had noble tastes.

First, they wouldn't eat the same food twice within a week.

They always preferred lightly seasoned food, pursuing a balance of flavors. If a dish was too salty, too sweet, or too bland, they'd knock the bowl over.

They also preferred soft textures, so we had to be careful when cooking meat. That's why they favored sous-vide the most.

And if vegetables like zucchini had grill marks, they'd push them away with their noses as if to say, "You eat it."

But they didn't like it if it was too healthy, so we had to make it flavorful enough.

And the sauce had to be a refreshing taste using seasonal fruits.

"......"

At my explanation, Verity nodded endlessly, with an expression of amazement, like someone who'd had an epiphany.

"Indeed, those two have the palate of an eighty-year-old."

"Woof! Woof woof!"

"Grrr! Woof!"

Poppy and Chuchu, thoroughly annoyed, lunged at Verity.

I held back the two dogs, whose eyes were rolling white, and asked.

"Is the Grand Duchess of Stria around that age too?"

"She's younger than that. At most, in her sixties?"

"She's sixty-five."

Our gazes turned to Ian.

Startled by the sudden attention, Ian gave an awkward smile, then composed himself and shared a sad story.

"I mentioned before that I was in charge of Crown Prince Edelros's swordsmanship training, right?"

Once, their training sessions had overlapped with Crown Prince Pereus's.

He was about to step aside, but.

"I'd appreciate it if you did. I'm not in a good mood today."

"The Grand Duchess's sixty-third birthday must be sad again this year."

"In memory of my late mother."

The Grand Duchess's birthday.

It was the anniversary of her only daughter's death.

And the day the Grand Duchess had promised to visit the Deste Territory was that very anniversary.

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