"Headmaster, it's Negi. Axel-kun, Evangeline-san, and Chachamaru-san are with me. May we come in?"
"Eva too? Well, I suppose that's fine. Enter."
Following Konoemon's call, the four of us stepped into the Headmaster's office.
"Thank you for coming. Please, make yourselves comfortable," Konoemon said, gesturing toward the sofas.
Everyone sat down except for Chachamaru, who took her post behind Evangeline. Konoemon leaned back, a twinkle in his eye.
"Now then. Before we get to my business, I suspect Eva has something to say, given she's arrived with our two young teachers. If you're just looking for someone to play a round of Go or Shogi with, I'd be more than happy to oblige."
Eva let out a dry chuckle at the Headmaster's feigned ignorance. "Heh. You still haven't learned your lesson, even though I beat you every time? No… this is about the upcoming school trip."
"The school trip?" Konoemon raised an eyebrow. "But because of the 'Schooling Hell' curse, you're unable to leave the grounds..."
"Umu. In the past, that idiot Nagi's absurd mana and half-baked spell construction meant I was stuck in Mahora, even for official school events. But this year, the board has been reset. We have a few… irregular factors in play, wouldn't you say?"
Eva shot a side-long glance at Negi and me. Konoemon watched her, his expression turning slightly stern.
"The mock battle ended in Negi-kun's victory, did it not? Per our agreement, I would appreciate it if you gave up on pursuing his blood. I'm already taking heat from the other magic teachers for allowing that duel in the first place."
So, the mock battle really was Konoemon's unilateral decision. I suppose letting the son of a hero fight a vampire known as the 'Gospel of Dark'—even as a drill—was a bit much for the administration to swallow.
"Relax, old man. I'm not asking for enough blood to break the seal entirely. A tiny amount will suffice."
"...A tiny amount?"
"Indeed. It is the result of my research," Eva said with a smirk. "While I cannot lift the curse, I've found a way to patch the 'bug' for a few days, reverting the spell to its intended state."
"...Is that the truth?" Konoemon looked skeptical.
"It's a temporary fix. It only restores the curse to its 'normal' parameters for a short duration. But once the spell is functioning correctly, I am permitted to leave Mahora for school-sanctioned events—like a class trip."
"May I ask what kind of 'research' led to this?"
"Have you gone senile? I'm not about to lay my cards on the table. Let's just say it requires a bit of the boy's blood."
I kept a straight face, but I was mentally raising an eyebrow. Reverting the curse to its normal state was actually dependent on my blood—the source of that absurdly high-purity mana Eva had mentioned. Yet, she was framing it as if Negi's blood was the key. She'd told me to keep my constitution a secret; this was clearly her way of ensuring I remained her hidden trump card.
Or, more accurately, she wanted to make sure she was the only one with access to my blood for her own mana recovery.
"Hmm… I see…"
Konoemon closed his eyes, stroking his impressive beard in silence. After a few minutes of deliberation, he finally spoke.
"I understand your request, Eva. …But just to confirm, would you be satisfied if the trip destination was changed to, say, Hawaii?"
"What? The destination is already settled as Kyoto."
"About that. To be honest, the other party in Kyoto became quite uncooperative when they learned Negi-kun would be attending as a staff member."
"Oh? You mean the Kansai Magic Association?" Eva's anger vanished, replaced by a predatory grin.
"The Kansai Magic Association?" Negi asked, looking between them. "What's that?"
"Think of the Headmaster's group here as the Kanto Magic Association—Western-style mages who use Mahora as their base," Eva explained. "The Kansai Magic Association is their counterpart in the west, primarily made up of Onmyouji. They use Eastern spellcraft and, due to territorial disputes, the two groups don't get along. To put it bluntly: they hate each other. …I see. So, old man. You called the brat and Axel here because you have a plan?"
Konoemon nodded. "Precisely. I wish to end this petty squabble with the West and foster a better relationship. I want Negi-kun and Axel-kun to head to Kyoto as my special envoys."
"Envoys?" The word slipped out of my mouth before I could stop it.
"Is there a problem?" Konoemon asked.
"Several. Negi, I can understand—he's officially here for training. Though sending someone who isn't even a formal member of the Kanto Association as an envoy is a reach. But me? I'm a total wildcard. I'm a freelancer with no ties to your organization."
"You are correct, Axel-kun. That is why I am not asking you to act as an official envoy in name. Your role is simply to assist Negi-kun."
I saw the angle he was playing. As a Director of the Kanto Association, Konoemon couldn't officially appoint a man of unknown origin like me. But Negi had the "Springfield" name—the son of a legend. This mission was basically a way to pad Negi's resume and build his reputation. After all, Negi had "defeated" the Gospel of Dark last night. For all I knew, Konoemon had already cleared this with the Kansai side behind the scenes.
"Strike while the iron is hot, eh?" I muttered.
"Eh? Did you say something, Axel-kun?" Negi asked, tilting his head.
"Nothing. Headmaster, our contract was for me to back up Negi in emergencies. Do you consider this mission part of that 'emergency'?"
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