The faint sound of a pen scratching was the only thing that could be heard in William Slachal's quiet study. He wrote quickly, reading and scanning records of transactions in his name, before approving and putting away the paper to be sent off later.
"Hah..." Smiling bitterly, William leaned back on his chair, stretching his hands and back from the constant pressure they were forced to do.
"..." William looked outside his luxurious window, feeling the weight of more work piling on him by the second.
"Argh! I'm a Crown Prince dammit! Why can't I be those loafers on the throne and get my title happily..." Suddenly shouting in anger, William stood up and dove into his bed.
For the past month, instead of being able to do fun things like visit that one Vivillian guy, he had been stuck dealing with all the news and backlash of what had happened in the magic exam.
There was a girl named Lizzy Youtech who had been appraised as a very rare lightning affinity mage, as long with a high mana capacity to boot. With such shock, all the kids during the test got too noisy, so William took the opportunity to cast a simple and calming light magic spell to take control of the situation.
Just as he predicted, the reaction was mostly positive in the news concerning this, and he got some more goodwill points for helping control the situation.
However, trouble was also easy to come by, as some nobles expressed dissatisfaction by the fact that William was able to cast magic during the exam, which was highly prohibited since the beginning of Einsvul.
Some wanted to urge the school to punish him, or used this as a chance to slander his name, so William had to go through the trouble of arranging interviews and keeping up his image, all the while answering tough questions outstandingly.
When asked if he had any special reason to help the girl Lizzy, William could only smile and say, "It's not about who this person was, it's about the willingness to help calm the rising situation at hand."
"Did you feel you were more qualified than the teachers at Einsvul, thus made you step in?"
"Haha, how could I? If they wanted to calm the room they could, but it was just that it was a quicker option for me to do it because of my affinity with light magic."
Question after question William was bombarded.
"..." William felt his face twitch just thinking about it. Nonetheless, it seems the interviews had worked since most of the ruckus had calmed down now.
Getting back to his study, William signed a few more pieces of paper, before reaching for the next.
"...Huh?" William touched the wooden desk, no unfinished paper in sight.
His eyes shone, as the realization sunk in.
"I'm free!"
—-
William made his way throughout the campus, basking in the scene of all the old history floating around. Behind him, Perukono walked silently, guarding his Master.
"You don't have to act so rigid here, you know." Without turning to look back, William spoke as he walked.
"You rarely are free from work, and this is your first free outing, some people may find the audacity to approach you." Perukono replied. For the past month, William walked around with business in his step, too intimidating to approach directly.
Now that his work was finally finished, it was like a boulder had been lifted off the all the passing student's shoulders when they saw the relaxed face of the Crown Prince.
"Perukono, you're studying magic and physical studies right?"
"Yes, how is magic studies with Darvillion?"
"You know him, he's a snide little fellow whose mouth is better off closed than open." William sent a little jab towards him, the three of them had met as kids, and basically grown up together after William had taken both Darvillion and Perukono in.
It was only after taking in Darvillion on his side though did many trouble slowly rise. His rude, blunt words as long with his family's history as a dark arts caster made him an easy weak spot in William's flawless armor.
After a while, William just told Darvillion to keep his snide mouth shut and not to draw too much attraction.
"Ah, any news of that Vivillian fellow or Lizzy Youtech?" Suddenly remembering what his purpose was for, he asked Perukono.
At this question, Perukono felt a little awkward as he spoke. "I'm not one to keep up much about rumors and such, so you may need to ask Darvillion later. But, I have heard rumors of Vivillian being an eccentric book loving...person who constantly hangs out at the library. There is no news of Lizzy Youtech other than the fact she is now known to feed the campus cats at night."
"Hm..that's not a lot to go off of. I was expecting my two hopeful talents to do something more interesting." William hummed to himself.
Because William enrolled in an advanced general magic studies course, he didn't have much news of Vivillian who was apart of magic development, and Lizzy who was apart of the specialization magic department.
Darvillion did occasionally take magic specialization classes, but it was unreliable to ask that fellow of anything he's heard, especially when he completely zones out while doing magic.
"I need an excuse to find either one of them and arrange a meeting." William muttered to himself, as he casually took a seat on a campus bench.
"Then I think the easiest would be going to the library and hoping to catch a 'coincidental' meeting with Vivillian Ambrosia." Perukono gave his thoughts, before adding.
"Lizzy Youtech despite being a magic major is still a lady despite her commoner status. It will cause rumors if you try to pursue both of them at the same time, so I think it would be safer to wait three years for the departments to merge together so to give a better excuse when talking to an unmarried commoner girl."
"...Huh, I wasn't expecting such a thorough analysis from you Perukono, good job." Smiling, William praised him.
"..." Perukono flushed. "It's the least I could do, you have been working very hard for the past month and all I could do is stand and take watch."
"Haha, my praise still stands, just be careful when beginning to analyze things. If you stray too far like I have, you will find your unique compassion and empathy begin to fade." William warned quietly, which Perukono nodded somberly.
"I understand."
"Good, I can't lose one of my ties toward my own humanity after all." Standing up, William beckoned Perukono to follow him.
"Let's go to the library, and meet the man of the rumors."
...
In the quiet library, only the sound of pages flipping could be heard.
In the center of it, a large row of tables of various different sizes along with comfy and plush chairs were being used by all the students.
On one of these many tables and chairs, sat a chestnut colored hair boy with gleaming emerald eyes. He focused intently on the book he was reading, the title being Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint.
However suddenly, someone sat next to Vivillian, unusually close.
"..." Whatever, it's rare for someone to sit next to him, usually they would just give dirty looks and avoid him. For now, he'll just ignore him and hope the person leaves him alone so he can read contently.
"Hey, excuse me."
All his expectations broke, as a small whisper reached his ear.
"..What."
Viv continued reading his book, not bothering to look at the stranger.
"Can you tell me where the first book to this series is?" The voice was tinged in amusement, as it whispered slightly louder.
"Ask the librarian." Frowning, Viv didn't bother giving the disturber any attention.
"Not even for me?"
A chuckle was heard, as the whisper turned into a soft voice. A voice that Vivillian had barely heard, but it had ingrained into his mind ever since the exams. Even if the voice was ever so soft, he can't forget such an iconic voice.
As fast as he could muster, Vivillian turned in his seat, instantly bowing his head respectfully.
"I apologize for not recognizing you, Your Highness." Raising his voice slightly above a whisper, Vivillian began to try and gather the attention of the other students in the library.
Even though he had no idea why such a prominent figure was here and talking to him, he knew he could minimize any bad consequences to his actions as long as he got the attention of a crowd.
William Slachal after all, was a boy whose image was his life.
"No need for too much formality, after all, it was me asking you a favor on where to find the first series of this book."
Smiling, the Crown Prince showed off his dazzling pearly teeth, the picture perfect image of a benevolent Prince.
Inside the mind of the smiling, picture perfect Prince however, William almost let out a laugh.
Trying to lessen any potential consequences with drawing attention, are you?
A smart and safe decision, however you should've known that your opponent is me, and I don't talk to talents for no good reason.
With just one sentence alone, William was able to formulate an excuse in his mind to arrange a more formal meeting with Vivillian.
"Ah, I'm afraid I wouldn't know, apologies." Vivillian shook his head, looking not at all apologetic.
"No no, I should be extending my apologies instead. I bothered you during your study session and interrupted your day, if you so desire, I can offer you some refreshing snacks that are guaranteed to clear and focus one's mind." William spoke elegantly, not sounding too humble to disgrace his family name, and not sounding too haughty of his status.
Giving a sense of freedom to his words was the key of achieving this delicate balance.
If Vivillian Ambrosia cannot understand my objective, then he is simply not the match I was looking for in my plan.
Anticipating Vivillian's response, William waited eagerly.