Margrave’s Bastard Son was The Emperor [EN]: Chapter 880

The department heads and Arena gathered in the conference room, but no one could easily speak. The experience had been so shocking that they seemed at a loss for words.

Arena sighed deeply and asked quietly,

“…That was insane, right?”

It was already bewildering that he was a five-year-old mage from a noble family, but his magical power was beyond imagination.

As Arena began to speak, the mages started chattering loudly, as if they had been waiting for the opportunity.

“Such power without a magic circle… I saw it with my own eyes, but I can’t believe it. Should we try it again?”

“Try what? If you’re going to say useless things, just shut up.”

“Life is so unfair. Some people struggle in the back alleys and barely make it into the Imperial Palace, while others are born into noble families and have this much power at five years old.”

“…And he’s cute too.”

“…Yeah. He was cute.”

“Ugh. This is annoying.”

Arena looked dumbfounded at the conversation that suddenly concluded with ‘cute.’ *Are they really out of their minds?* She banged on the table as if to snap them out of it, and the mages shook their heads and cleared their throats.

“He’s definitely a mage who will be recorded in history.”

“No objections.”

Magical power was closely tied to the soul, so there was a clear limit to how much it could grow through training. There could be technical advancements, such as researching magic circles and using magic stones, but it was difficult to bring about changes in the magical power itself. In other words, Ian Hadel was a complete genius.

Arena sighed, resting her forehead on her hand, and the department heads tried to comfort her.

“Minister, don’t worry too much. He’s just a five-year-old kid, after all. He wouldn’t ask you to give up your position, would he?”

“That’s right. You’re still stronger than him, Minister.”

“What are you talking about? Are you guys crazy!”

Arena threw the report with a *thwack*! The mages raised their arms to block it and replied,

“Ugh! Why are you doing this!”

“Well, aren’t you worried about your position as Minister?”

“We don’t know what Ian Hadel’s personality is like, but he might get some crazy idea and challenge you to a fight.”

Even if there were other factors, the top qualification for the Minister of the Magic Department was ‘power.’ Having witnessed Ian Hadel’s power with their own eyes, they couldn’t help but think about the next Minister.

“Please, if you’ve eaten expensive meals, use your brains. Do you think I’m worried about my position as Minister right now? Imperial Palace work isn’t child’s play, and what can a five-year-old do? What I’m worried about isn’t that, but—”

Arena looked at each of the department heads and sighed softly.

“Don’t you get it?”

“…Get what?”

“Ian Hadel. He doesn’t have parents, and he’s going to be living in the Magic Department from the young age of five. And he’s a genius among geniuses. The fate of Bariel, no, the entire Gaia, depends on how he grows up!”

The department heads blinked at her almost screaming outburst. It was clear that they still didn’t fully grasp the seriousness of the situation.

“When Ian Hadel is judged by history, our Magic Department, no, damn it—! Me! Arena will also be judged. On how we took responsibility for and taught Ian Hadel during his childhood!”

“Come on, surely not.”

“Surely? Does it seem like ‘surely’ after seeing that spectacle earlier?”

“……”

If Ian Hadel’s growth was insignificant, it would be the fault of the Magic Department, which was in charge of him from a young age. And if he grew up to be a person with a flawed character and became a major threat to Bariel or Gaia, all the blame would fall on the Magic Department.

“If a grown man had such power, it wouldn’t be this burdensome. But he’s only five years old… at such a young age, called the golden age of character formation, living in the Magic Department, no, this dog-like Imperial Palace life……”

As Arena muttered seriously, the mages began to accept it little by little.

That’s right. She was right. Even those who were called saints often had their personalities ruined after entering the Imperial Palace. How would a five-year-old child fare? Frankly, they weren’t sure if they could handle Ian Hadel when he became an adult.

“Treat him well.”

Arena muttered fiercely, her eyes gleaming.

“His development as a mage is up to Ian Hadel himself, so let’s leave that aside. But if his personality goes wrong, it’s definitely the Magic Department’s fault. We have to treat him well. We have to raise him properly—”

She frowned as if she couldn’t believe she was saying these words. But what could she do? Accurately assessing the situation was a very important issue.

“We have to raise him properly.”

“Yes, Minister!”

“That’s right. Now that I think about it, it would be a real disaster if he grew up to be a piece of trash with that power.”

“What about his living arrangements? It would be best to keep him as far away from the Imperial Palace as possible.”

It was standard for mages to live outside the Imperial Palace and commute to work. There were many mages who practically lived in the Magic Department due to various night shifts and overtime, but still.

“But there’s no precedent for reducing work hours without a special reason. Ah, it’s the first time a five-year-old has joined the department, though. We don’t know how the Imperial Family and other departments will react.”

“If they know how amazing Ian’s talent is, they’ll try to exploit him in many ways.”

Arena pondered deeply, then nodded as if she had made a decision.

“…School.”

“Yes?”

“We’ll send him to school to minimize his work hours at the Imperial Palace.”

If he spent most of his time at school, there would be a justification, and no one else would be able to object. She pointed to a section of the ‘Special Protection Law for Magic Users’ with her fingertip and explained.

“Here, it states that the purpose of the law is to guarantee the basic rights of magic users, right? Within basic rights, there are social rights, and one of the things that social rights pursue is the ‘right to education.’ If anyone objects to the kid wanting to study, I’ll report them all.”

*Or you guys can raise him yourselves?* Arena frowned as if she wouldn’t back down. Even though no one had objected yet.

“Yes, that’s good. If he goes to school, he’ll learn social skills, so he’ll learn a lot in many ways. And our workload will decrease a bit too. But which school should we send him to?”

“There’s only one, isn’t there?”

“Hmm. Is it that place after all?”

The mage muttered, resting his chin on his hand. The only special education school in Bariel established by the Imperial Palace, the so-called ‘Central Energes Academy.’ It was an institution that gathered geniuses who showed talent in research and invention, young warriors who had early manifested swordsmanship talents, and other ability users for education. For Ian, a mage, that was the only place to go.

“But has there ever been a case of a mage enrolling there?”

“I don’t know. There might be if we look.”

“I don’t think there would be……”

“Is that important?”

“Well, not really.”

The mage scratched his head at Arena’s question. After all, teaching magic was something the Magic Department could handle. Ian just needed to go to school, play well with his friends, receive basic education, and grow up properly.

Arena snapped her fingers, satisfied that the direction was roughly set.

“Okay. Oh, wait! Who is Ian Hadel’s guardian right now?”

“Well, we haven’t received any information about that. Romandro wrote ‘Magic Department’ on the form.”

“Is that guy crazy?”

Arena paused, seeing the words ‘Magic Department’ written in the guardian section. Even if he didn’t have parents, he should have at least one or two relatives, right?

‘Hmm.’

But the fact that no one had written anything down seemed to indicate that there was some kind of situation.

She gestured as if asking for a pen and drew a line through the words ‘Magic Department.’

“For the time being, tell Romandro to take charge of Ian. From finding a house in the center to preparing for enrollment and everything else. Got it?”

“Yes, I’ll pass it on.”

“Good. And lastly, I’m warning you.”

*Thump.*

Arena slammed her hand on the table roughly and declared solemnly. It was the conclusion to end the meeting.

“Treat Ian Hadel well. Don’t let him go astray.”

“Understood.”

“Good. Let’s go.”

Now that things were roughly settled, all that was left was to inform Ian Hadel and Romandro. Arena and the mages who came out sensed a chaotic atmosphere.

“Hey.”

“Ah, Minister! You’ve arrived?”

“What’s all the noise about? Where’s Ian Hadel?”

No matter how much she looked, Ian was nowhere to be seen. The mages smiled awkwardly and replied,

“He went to do his initiation ceremony.”

“Wh-what did you say?”

“Initiation ceremony……”

Since he had become the youngest member of the Magic Department, shouldn’t he have an initiation ceremony? Even if he was a five-year-old child, tradition was tradition.

Arena and the department heads turned pale. She stammered and asked again,

“…S-surely it’s not ‘that initiation ceremony,’ is it?”

“Y-yes, it is?”

“You crazy bastards!”

“Uwaaa! Calm down, please calm down!”

“How could you do that to a child! I told you to take care of him properly, without any problems! Uwaaa! This damn Imperial Palace!”

“Yes? What do you mean—”

“Stop it right now and bring him back! If he gets scared, you’ll all be writing incident reports today! And you’ll all get a pay cut!”

“Yeeees?!”

The mages were startled by the sudden scolding and ran towards the direction Ian Hadel had gone. *No, wasn’t this a basic initiation ceremony that even new employees did, not just mages?* When they asked Ian, he said he would do it himself!

“Ian Hadeeeel!”

“Stop for a moment!”

*Thwack!*

The mages chased after him in a hurry. Ian, who was walking alone, turned around in surprise. His eyes widened, and he stood there awkwardly.

“Isn’t this the way?”

“Yes, it is, but—”

The initiation ceremony was very simple. He just had to take some fruit, go to the backyard, throw it, and come back. But why were they acting like this?

The mages sighed in relief. *Thank goodness. They hadn’t met yet……*

*Whoosh!*

At that moment, a huge shadow loomed over Ian.

The mages waved their hands frantically, shouting that it wasn’t allowed. Arena, who had arrived late, was shocked and instructed Ian.

“Close your eyes, Ian Hadel!”

*Or you’ll fall over in surprise!*

But Ian slowly raised his head and looked up at the sky. A body as big as a carriage, intense red scales, and fully spread wings……

“Ah.”

…It’s a dragon!

Ian took a step back in surprise.

In fact, the fruit was a snack for the dragon, and most newcomers were startled and fell down when they first encountered this huge creature.

But it was okay because, although it was a dragon, it was a gentle, pet-like creature of the Magic Department, so there was no danger.

Until now.

-*Whoooosh!*

“……!”

“……!”

The dragon was fiercely spewing flames. The mages paused at the sudden situation. There were only two reasons why a dragon would uncontrollably breathe fire.

*It felt a threat to its life, or……*

-*Kyuuuuuu!*

…It was too happy.

*Thwack!*

‘Kyu’ ran towards Ian and rubbed its head against him with all its might. The child was knocked backward, but it didn’t care. The dragon kept purring, unable to hide its joy. The ground trembled from the tail wagging from side to side.

-*Kyuuuuu!*

Ian carefully offered the fruit while sitting on his bottom. But Kyu, as if uninterested, kept licking the child.

The child looked back at the mages with a troubled expression, holding the fruit in both hands.

“Um……”

*It’s an initiation ceremony, but… my clothes are all wet. Please help me-* his eyes seemed to say.