An Otherworldly Scholar [LITRPG, ISEKAI]

I spent the morning in the Library, digging through piles of land grants.

Teleportation machines require hardware. A couple of small metal plates were enough to teleport a paper ball. However, the materials required to teleport living beings over large distances scaled exponentially, and they had to be installed with extreme precision.

If Byrne wanted to teleport Cadria, he needed to ensure his enchanted metal plates were undisturbed during the teleportation process.

The best way of keeping people away from a place was owning it.

About a third of the land surrounding Cadria was granted to the Imperial Library for development and research. The subdivision of that land was a contentious point among the Circles. Disputes over borders, water rights, and forest land lingered for years. Maps were drafted over maps. Petitions, redraws, grant drafts, and surveyors' reports pile over each other. It was surprising that the Circles weren't in a full-scale magical war in the corridors as I read the documents.

Byrne's blueprint was stored inside my brain, so I knew exactly the spots where he had to plant the enchanted plates to make the teleportation machine work.

I grunted as I put the next heavy pile of documents on the desk. The topographic work was subpar, and whoever kept the documents did a terrible job. There were recent documents buried in bins that were decades old, and others weren't even in the correct folders. My guess is that the work was deliberately sloppy to obscure who owned the land.

"I think Lady Evelisse is committing fraud," Jax said as he regulated his enchanted glasses to read the tiny lettering at the bottom of a document.

"How so?" Cass asked.

"The Nature Circle has been overwriting old 'forgotten' grants for a while now," he explained.

"I hate whoever is archiving these documents," Lenna interjected.

The help of Firana's study group made everything easier. At first, I had been wary, but their performance had been nothing but perfect. A simple request from Firana was enough to have them get on board as research assistants.

Of course, I didn't mention I wanted to discover if Byrne was collecting strategic positions to create a huge teleportation machine. They knew, however, that we were operating in a gray zone, but they didn't seem to care much about the legality of their task.

I had the Grand Archivist of the Artisans Circle—and a scroll with special permission to examine the documents—in my pocket, and the required bribes had been properly paid to the floor guards, so nobody was going to bother us.

The group seemed to have a worryingly strong no-questions-asked policy.

Byrne's teleportation machine required sixty-four metal plates made of the purest iron on the outskirts of the city, thirty-two inside the city, and one in the center of the circle. The modular style of Byrne's Runeweaving made the machine possible. Otherwise, there was no way such a huge enchantment could fit in a single slab of metal.

Right now, Ilya, Firana, Zaon, and Wolf should be checking the locations inside the city for anything strange.

"The Arcane Circle has been flipping their property a lot lately," Lena pointed out, handing me a map of northern Cadria. "At a loss, even."

Land located closer to the gates and roads was usually more desired by the Circles.

"Let me see that one," I said.

Lena showed me the location of the plot.

I closed my eyes and envisioned the teleportation machine blueprint. With that one piece of land, the Arcane Circle owned twenty-seven out of the thirty-two strategic spots. It was clear already that Byrne wanted to own the land required to build the teleportation machine. Some of his purchases went back only two months, so it was safe to assume his plan was still ongoing.

"Good job, guys," I said, putting down a report. "If Grand Archivist Evelisse tries to cross me, I have enough to put her in her place."

The Scholars exchanged knowing glances but didn't comment on my words.

Of course, it was a lie. I had no intention of getting revenge on Evelisse even if she pulled something against me—and I doubted she would. Since I stated my intention of revealing my teaching methods, she had been extremely accommodating with Talindra and me.

"I guess we have an hour before I have to go. Do you need my help with your homework?" I asked, summoning my Titles screen and turning it towards the Scholars.

"Damn! You are stacked… sir," Cass muttered.

"Where I come from, there are public libraries in almost every town. In some cases, you have to dodge information to remain sane," I shrugged.

Instead of talking about their research topics, the Scholars asked me about my home. I told them mostly about public education, college, taxes, and local politics. Indirect democracy was an alien concept for them. The mere idea of a few million Connecticuters voting simultaneously blew their minds.

It took a special kind of person to find bureaucracy interesting.

No wonder people believed Scholars were boring and lame.

In return, I learned a couple of things about Firana's friends. Jax's actual name was Jack, but he liked to stylize it. Cass was short for Ocasso, which was also his father's and grandfather's name. He hated it. Finally, Lena was Helena, because otherwise she would be the only one without a nickname. They were a part of a select group of novices who saw the Imperial Library only as a stepping stone for their life plans.

The three of them were highly competent, although unmotivated. Like Lip, they just wanted to earn their first distinction as novices and return to their hometowns. Lena aimed to become a chronicler for the local lord. Jax, as someone born in the Blacksmoke Mountains, was interested in metallurgy. Cass had already accepted a job as an accountant for the Greymarch Merchant Guild. He had sold his soul to Lip.

The conversation, however, only served to make me bitter.

A small voice inside my mind told me I had to protect that peace, while another told me it wasn't something a single guy could do.

Even if I got Byrne out of the picture, the Corruption Cycle wasn't going anywhere.

* * *

By dusk, in a room decorated with marble columns and chandeliers covered in multicolored glass, I stood side by side with Wolf as we received a medal of merit. An hour earlier, the Sniffers of a handful of noble houses had inspected us from head to toe like we were known criminals. Security at Cadria had been cranked up to eleven.

Evelisse clipped the medal to our chests, and the members of the royal family, the High Priest of the Church of the System, the Grand Archivists of the Library, and a hundred orbiting nobles applauded.

We weren't allowed time for speeches.

Just to spite Astur, we were wearing the colors of the Rosebud Fencing Academy instead of the Academy uniform. Our choice of clothing didn't go unnoticed, but Astur made sure to go around spreading the word that we were part of the Academy.

Nobody seemed to care about the reason we had to step up to fight corrupted monsters in the first place. The whole award ceremony was a facade to change the topic of conversation from the victims to the 'heroes'.

After receiving the medal, I retired from the spotlight and set camp near a tall window with a view of the artificial lake. Down below, boats lit with shiny Lightstones plow through the water. Word was that Prince Adrien, before being named as the successor, spent most of his time at Cadria in his boathouse.

I looked around, admiring the architecture.

Surprisingly, the royal palace was more tasteful than opulent. Rather than gold and gemstones, it was mainly decorated with stained glass, murals, mosaics, and clever light tricks. The architecture was completely different from the Academy. The rooms were tall, and the columns resembled trees with opening branches rather than plain, straight pillars.

An aide told me the decoration was meant to celebrate the fact that Radiant and Prismatic Knights were common classes among the royal family.

I exchanged greetings with a few guests.

There were even Imperial Knights who had returned from the frontlines. They told me the passage between Ebros and Tagabiria was complete, and all that was left was to stabilize certain areas. Surely, there would be an official announcement followed by the greatest feast Cadria had seen in decades.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

I could tell from afar that there were two types of Imperial Knights: those who took their position too seriously and those who were there for the rank and pay.

The main conversation in the room, however, was about Byrne's long-overdue teleportation machine. The news about him teleporting a couple of dozen Zealots ran like wildfire. After fifteen years on the royal payroll, the results finally began to show. Critics were forced to bite their tongues while his supporters seized the moment to boast about their vision.

A handful of disgruntled nobles complained about the victims of the selection exam, but their anger seemed to be directed at the anti-nobility movement rather than Astur and the Academy.

I sighed. Nothing was going my way. Astur was getting away with negligent homicide, while Byrne's fame made him hard to bring down without suffering from severe political repercussions—political repercussions I wanted to keep away from Farcrest and the Orphanage.

Who was going to believe me if I tried to explain that Byrne was a Runeweaver trying to teleport the whole city into a parallel dimension? I hadn't even found proof that Byrne wanted to teleport the Ebrosian people to Earth like he had told me. It was pretty clear he had been keeping me busy with runes and math to distract me from his true plans. I couldn't interpret my findings any other way.

None of his teleportation machines aimed at Earth.

None were made to teleport just people, but huge chunks of land.

We had plenty of chunks of land on Earth.

"Hey! Do you remember me?" A cute woman with curly white hair dressed in a modest silver dress approached me.

It was like seeing a female version of Prince Adrien.

"Lady Althea of Cadria, how could I forget the name of a member of the royal family?"

"Are you messing with me?" she asked, examining my face.

I was. Althea was the black sheep of her family, and I knew she'd appreciate some bantering, given the situation.

"I expected to see the king," I pointed out.

"The old man is excused from any non-essential ceremony. It is not easy to bear the Cursed Runeblade, even if Adrien has it most of the time now," Althea replied.

Baram's Cursed Runeblade was nothing but the anchor connecting Earth and Ebros. Although I didn't understand the precise mechanism to connect two planes of existence, I wasn't surprised by its secondary effects. Regardless of its form, it probably wasn't made with the idea of someone wielding it.

"I also expected to see Prince Adrien. Is he still on a trip?"

"You can hardly call the Farlands Campaign a trip," Althea replied.

My brain froze momentarily as [Foresight] displayed a recent memory.

"During the first selection exam, Evelisse said Prince Adrien is on a diplomatic trip to Karid land… and she's really been acting really suspicious, now that I think about it," I said, examining Althea's reaction.

The vein on her forehead grew, and she glanced across the room with a murderous glance. Despite no sound coming from her mouth, I could read her lips. That bitch. Althea then snatched a glass of strong sparkling wine from a tray and guzzled it down before she locked her eyes on mine.

"You are a Sage, right?" she asked.

"That I am."

"Silence Dome and Grand Illusion?"

"Silence Dome and Mirage."

She narrowed her eyes. "Mirage is a skill for outlaws."

"Says the one planning to sneak around."

After using my [Foresight] to peek into people's conversations, it was clear that nobody blamed Astur. If I wanted to make a change and prevent stupid selection exams in the future, I needed the only reasonable member of the royal family on my side. Prince Adrien.

"You think he's here?" I asked.

"I know he's here! The same thing happened when Cousin Ragna got worse," Althea whispered. "Help me, please. I know where the high-level guards are. I'll pay you a hundred gold coins' worth of jewelry."

A hundred gold coins was a Martial Instructor's yearly salary, but the true reward was getting to meet the Prince… though Althea's dress would look great on Elincia; perhaps I would need to make a counteroffer later.

"Okay, but we'll do it my way," I said, grabbing Althea's arm before she could shoot to the exit. "Tell me a joke."

Althea looked puzzled.

"A joke?"

I raised my eyebrows and used my [Teacher's Glance #4]. The 'you should know' look. The security was awfully strong, and if we were leaving the party early, I didn't want anybody to follow us. Neither Althea nor I had the authority to order that we not be disturbed, but Evelisse might.

"Your mother wants us to get along," I said.

"And if she thinks we are getting along, she will leave us alone!" Althea's face suddenly lit up. "I know a joke. What did the Greater Slime say to the Imperial Knight?"

Without Evelisse around to chastise her, Althea was a charming conversationalist. It wasn't hard to laugh at her jokes, more so if they were scathing towards famous nobles and the royal family. As expected, as soon as we hit it off, the guests started to give us space. Those who were not aware of Evelisse's matchmaking plans were quickly snatched away by low-ranking royals from her faction.

It was painfully obvious.

At one point in the night, Wolf looked at me across the room with a worried expression, but a wink was enough for him to understand—or I hoped so. From that point on, he made sure to always stand on the opposite side of the room, attracting conversation that way. There was a certain speculative discussion from the Imperial Knights that set Wolf as one of the strongest candidates to get a Prestige Class early.

Wolf wasn't one to let his praise go to his head, so I let them be.

Althea, although a good conversationalist, was awful at flirting. The number of times she had outright punched my shoulder was worrying. The strength of a Lv.2 Diplomat left much to be desired. If anything, it might seem like we were great friends.

"Your flirting skills are ass. Aren't you supposed to be a Diplomat?" I whispered, my hand covering my mouth. "Evelisse isn't going to buy it. She'd think we just want a way out of the party and will send Sniffers after us."

Althea seemed genuinely offended.

"If I go all out, you will fall for me."

"Test me. Give me a lip bite."

Althea bit her lip but looked like she was in pain, something between severe constipation and an arrow to the gut.

"Hair twirl?"

Althea clutched her hair like a gang of kidnappers was about to jump on her.

"Smoldering look?"

Althea squinted like she had lost her glasses.

"More desire?"

Her astigmatism seemingly got worse.

"More desire. Think you are a pilgrim lost in the Karid deep desert, and I'm a waterskin with fresh cold water."

Althea's face contorted as she tried to manifest the look. Her lips parted, her squint deepened, and a drop of sweat rolled down her temple. For a moment, I thought she was making fun of me, but when she kept the gesture, I knew it was her best effort.

I burst out laughing, one hand on my stomach, the other on Althea's shoulder, not to fall forward.

"That… wasn't great," I said once I regained control over my sides.

Althea's expression broke into a stubborn grin, refusing to admit defeat. "You were scared it worked. You had to laugh to break the spell."

Despite her words, her cheeks were radioactive-red.

Across the room, Evelisse looked at us with a victorious smile. She pretended not to notice us, but [Foresight] could easily see through her facade. There were almost a dozen royals and followers watching our movements.

I leaned against the wall and took a deep breath.

"Stand next to me and slowly come closer," I said, using a wine glass to cover my mouth.

Althea barely reached my shoulder, and she had to look up to meet my eyes. Although her glance was more defiant than seductive, anyone who knew Althea's personality might interpret it as a sign of interest. At least Evelisse seemed to believe so.

"Please, let me introduce you to an acting teacher. She isn't very expensive," I whispered.

Althea slapped my shoulder.

"This would be easier if you were at least minimally charming," she angrily whispered near my ear, her face still beet red.

Across the room, Evelisse was experiencing the rare bliss of having your dumbest pawn perform the most brilliant maneuver.

"Take my hand and drag me out of the party."

"What?"

"Just do it."

Althea nodded, but instead of grabbing my hand like a normal flirty girl, she grabbed my arm and walked to the entrance with the stiffness of a statue carved in marble. Anyone could've told something was wrong, but I hoped Evelisse's wishful thinking would cloud her common sense.

Althea dragged me through the corridors of the royal palace into the living quarters.

Evelisse's chambers were strategically positioned near the main branch of the royal family, and so were Althea's. A small detachment of royal soldiers equipped with heavy enchanted armor and tall halberds saw us head into the royal palace's sancta sanctorum without moving a finger to stop us. If I had to guess, they were already informed about Evelisse's matchmaking plans.

Once inside the inner chambers, the presence of guards disappeared.

"Take me to your room," I said.

"What? Why!"

"Because we must ensure nobody is following us."

Althea hesitated for a moment, but guided me into a common room with enough space and furniture to host a small party. The common room had five doors decorated with carved flowers. No sound came from any of the five doors. She put her enchanted key in the hole of the second door to the left, and without turning it, the hinges creaked.

Discarded party dresses covered every single square inch in the room.

"It's a bit messy," Althea excused herself.

I ignored her and spied through the half-open door. Then, I closed my eyes and sensed the mana currents. Unless Evelisse had sent a high-level spy, we were alone. I looked at the messy room and grabbed a gorgeous red dress with a high neck and a very thick, voluminous skirt.

"I think this dress would have suited you better, at the risk of using the colors of House Jorn," I said, while my mana sense surveyed the common room for intruders.

House Jorn's coat of arms was a red falcon catching a fish over a white field.

"I know, but I wanted to annoy my mother. Even I know that white and silver don't quite match together," she replied, brushing her hair back.

I wholeheartedly disagreed. Elincia looked great in white.

Regardless, I nodded, focusing on the half-open door.

"How are we entering Prince Adrien's chambers?" I asked.

Althea gave me a mischievous glance and opened a small safe box hidden beneath a rug under her desk.

"Adrien gave me a copy," she said, holding up a tiny enchanted key.