Volume 4 - CH 15

Two days after that fiasco.

Me and Ifa were in the carriage returning to Rodnea.

“Um, Ifa ……”

“What …… What is it Seika-kun ……?”

Ifa glanced at me but refused to make eye contact.

It’s been like this since the day before yesterday.

I ask in a subtly cautious voice.

“Ah, that … what do you want?”

“What, so suddenly?”

Perhaps because the flow of conversation was too abrupt, Ifa turned to me as if surprised.

I say with trepidation.

“I was wondering if you’re mad about that ……”

“’Huh …… I’m not mad about anything. Why?”

“No, you see, I ruined a great matchmaking opportunity. ……”

“Seika-kun ……I told you yesterday, that I had no intention of entering the palace. I’m glad you said that, Seika-kun. The prince was too persistent.”

“… Didn’t you care about him?”

“I did not! Why are you so suspicious?”

“Well, because …”

You’ve been hesitant.

“Ifa, you haven’t made eye contact with me since the day before yesterday, and you run away when I try to talk to you. ……”

“Oh, that’s it …”

Ifa looks away and says, blushing slightly.

“Um, because … Rize-san said that …”

“ What happened with that forest elf?”

“Nothing! Anyway, I’m not angry!”

“Is that so?”

“Yes!　And I agree with you about His Highness!　He made up his mind all by himself and did something incomprehensible. I don’t think he can be the next king like that, he will have to work harder.”

“No, you don’t have to be so harsh.”

“Se, Seika-kun said It first right？　why are you making me feel like I’m saying something worse?”

“Oh, is that so?　Well, his Highness is still young and can make some mistakes.”

That said, he’s certainly a little sloppy.

It can’t be helped even if it is said so.

However, on this dragon issue, it seemed manageable.

After receiving my investigation report, Her Majesty the Queen decided that the matter was indeed beyond Prince Cecilio’s control, and decided to intervene directly.

I’ve heard that she is quite outstanding and Is the one who will make the report on the Reich side. It would not be difficult to extract concessions from the imperial court.

I hope the prince will learn what politics is all about by watching the queen at work.

However, it looks like proto asta will be a bit busier from now on.

A naturalist from the empire who happened to be visiting the royal city of Asta expressed interest in this matter and said he would like to take his students to see the dragons in the near future.

The story will spread through the academic community, and there will be other scholars who will raise their hands to visit. The Governor cannot afford to do nothing if a high-profile visitor is coming to visit, and he will need to make all the necessary arrangements to enter the mountain. The prince will have to do a lot of unfamiliar work.

Well, I guess he won’t be looking for a queen for a while.

For the time being, forget about the palace harem and do your best in your official duties.

And that’s when I remember.

“Now that you mention it, you went to see the Inner Palace. What was it like? Did it  smell of perfume and have amazing features?”

“It used to be a regular harem, but now that the succession problem has been solved, it has become an educational institution. When I went to visit, the girls were taking a lecture on statistics.”

“Is that so. This’s the first time I’ve heard of such a harem.”

“Everyone was very serious, but it wasn’t formal at all. The teacher would ask interesting questions.”

“Interesting questions?”

“Yeah.”

Ifa explains.

“The teacher rolls the dice ten times and they all come up six. What is the probability that the next roll of the dice will come up with a six? Do you know, Seika?”

I smile wryly.

“Does that dice roll properly from 1 to 6 with an equal probability?”

“Well, that’s … can you answer that?”

“It’s like saying that’s the answer. Ninety-nine percent of the time, you’ll get a six. The probability of getting sixes ten times in a row is about one in 600,000,000.”

“Well, yeah, that’s the correct answer. Hey … How did you calculate the probability of getting a six ten times in  a row ?”

“Hmm?  That’s one sixth to the tenth power, right?　The tenth power of six, which is the denominator, can be found by multiplying the tenth power of two by the tenth power of three.”

“… How do you do that?”

“Usually, one hundred twenty-four multiplied by fifty-nine thousand ……”

I noticed here.

For the convenience of constructing formulas, I have memorized several of the powers of prime numbers…… I can’t tell you why, I’m just a weirdo who memorizes mysterious numbers for no good reason.

Let’s hurry up and knead the theory.

“Let’s see, let’s see. Multiply ……2 five times and you get thirty-two. Multiply these together and you get approximately 1000. This gives us two squared to the tenth power. Three is a bit of a pain, but …… three squared gives nine. Multiply by nine to get eighty-one. Multiply 81 by 81 and you probably get about 6500. This is three to the 8th power, so multiply by nine one more time and you get about 60,000. Now we have three to the tenth power. Finally, multiply 10000 and 60,000, and you get 600,000,000. It’s just a rough estimate, but it gives you a sense of the scale of the numbers.”

“Wow … amazing. That seems to be more accurate.”

“Is there any other way?”

“You know, I……”

I am impressed with Ifa”s method.

“That’s a little aggressive, but it’s less of a process.”

“But it was indeed forced. The fact that the numbers were close was just my intuition. …… Seika, you’re amazing,  you can do the calculations in no time at all.”

“Ah, haha,  ……, but from what I’ve heard, it sounds pretty high level.”

“I heard that a lot of people leave the palace harem and become bureaucrats. I heard that Rize-san used to be a student at the school, but her grades were at the bottom of the class. I guess it must be tough because people who can become royal magicians are flunking out of school.”

‘Hmmm ……. But how long ago was that? ……”

That person seems to be close to 100 years old. It may be eighty years ago.

I remember the great flow of power that Rize was wearing.

“By the way … can that person also see the spirits?”

It seems Rize herself said that it was the authority of the Forest Elves.

“So Ifa’s magic was the magic of the forest Elves.”

“Un. I never knew at all.”

“Did your parents never tell you about it?　About the fact that you have forest elf blood in your veins?”

‘No, never. Maybe my mother knew about it…….”

“I wonder if my father would know anything about it.”

No…… probably not.

That man isn’t interested in anything but his own research.

I was a little suspicious that he might have had some kind of agenda against me, but there was nothing to it.

I guess he just didn’t have anyone else to ask, or maybe, he sent me a letter to check up on me on the pretext of making a request.

“But I don’t feel it at all. I’m nothing like a forest elf. My mother died of an illness, so I don’t even know if I’ll live long.”

“’Hmm, but the forest elves are a good looking race, aren’t they?　Maybe it’s their blood that makes you so beautiful. Your mother was beautiful too.”

“Wa wa wa what!?”

“Well, then I’m glad I let the Pokontsu (TN: Basically clumsy) Prince have what was coming to him, I thought he was a better partner ……”

…… No well, Is there?　What better partner than a prince.

I felt like it was a waste, even though I had already ruined it.

“Hmm …… what kind of partner would Ifa like to marry?’

“Well, uh …”

Ifa says with a downcast look on her face and a muffled voice.

“I don’t care what his station is, I want someone who is …… smarter than me, stronger, kinder, and maybe a little bit more rustic.”

Hearing this, I chuckle.

“You’re asking a lot. You talk a big game, but compromise is important. Otherwise, you’ll have a hard time finding the right one.”

Ifa glanced at me.

Then she laughed and muttered.

“……That’s not true”

Volume Four, end.