I Planned a Su*cide Mission and Got Kicked Out of the Party

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No member opposed Margaret’s proposal for a break. After all, as a noble elf lord with a status that outshined anyone here, there was no one who could justifiably reject it without reason.

Even if that weren’t the case, the atmosphere in the assembly suggested that a break would soon be necessary. It felt like a conclusion was about to be reached, only to return to the original discussion—everyone seemed to think a moment of respite would be beneficial.

The break granted was for 30 minutes. Inside the assembly waiting room, the three most powerful women on the continent were huddled together, quietly discussing matters.

Rose was the first to speak.

“The atmosphere isn’t great. If things continue like this, we’ll be lucky to get a decent outcome.”

Jeniss shrugged at Rose’s words. Surrounded by the two women she feared the most, the half-elf princess was clearly trying to hide her nervousness.

Jeniss hadn’t felt nervous during the ongoing discussions, but facing the heirs of both the Elf Kingdom and the Human Empire so closely made her hyper-aware of maintaining a steady voice.

“Um, I don’t think there’ll be any guilty verdict, right? Is the atmosphere bad?”

“You had no chance of being punished in the first place, kiddo,” Margaret calmly explained.

“The essence of the matter is how much of your honor you can restore. Honor is a very important issue, especially since you’ll be fighting alongside heroes,” she added.

“Wait a minute, fighting alongside who? Since when is that a given?”

Jeniss’s eyes widened in disbelief at this new information. Rose turned to Margaret, tilting her head in confusion.

“So that’s Walter’s stance on it?”

“It’s a serious… request to ensure you’re secured by any means.”

“Secured? Me?”

“Well, it seemed likely. You’re probably the one picked for the northern expedition.”

While Jeniss had somewhat anticipated this turn of events, she never thought she would receive such a notification as if being abducted. Margaret rolled her eyes and shrugged.

“The important thing is not that. The problem is the assembly’s atmosphere is shaping up in a way that goes, ‘The royal family is just brushing past this and protecting Harker.’ If this continues, the doubt will linger. In fact, there’s also a voice demanding more solid verification or an opportunity.”

“Anyway, it wouldn’t look good for this little kid to have scandal following her as she takes on a major role in the Empire, right? I can’t just let this slide with, ‘The royal family said she’s innocent, so it’s all good.'”

Rose succinctly summarized the current situation in the assembly.

The reason Rose called the meeting was primarily to firmly restore Jeniss’s honor. If Harker’s heir does not assert herself as a ‘reliable’ individual, the path ahead for Jeniss could be rocky even if the assembly passes today.

“By the way, what about Jeongjae? Didn’t you two have a bit of a moment earlier?”

Rose asked Margaret. At Rose’s words, Jeniss reacted just slightly, her sensitivity evident.

“A moment?”

“I mean, you two made eye contact, after all. He must have briefly stepped away. If I’m right, he’s likely come up with a solution, as there’s only one way to avoid this situation.”

“And what would that be, Margaret?”

“It’s to bestow upon this young lady a strong authority. We need to find a reason for the assembly not to touch her and a way to completely demonstrate her innocence.”

In other words, the intention was to create another reason for Jeniss Harker, as a half-elf, not to be questioned about her heritage, aside from the ‘royal family’s approval.’ After a moment of pondering, Rose wrinkled her brow but then seemed to come to a realization.

“This is getting complicated. What I’m saying is, that authority—”

“Reina Selm was a person from an era before I was even born.”

Margaret’s expression turned a bit bitter.

“But I know a lot about her story from various sources. She was a young and competent leader of the Magic Tower, but at the same time, she became a complicated figure who killed the first Demon King and fell into the path of evil. The energies of darkness in the Magic Tower’s jewel probably stem from her.”

“Then that jewel truly contains the power of darkness?”

“It’s an object that embodies both the most radiant light magic and the darkest dark magic. One cannot possess the power to foresee the future using only one type of magic. But there’s nothing more dangerous than using both magics simultaneously. The prophetic power of Reina’s jewel maintains a perilous balance between the looming threats of light and darkness—threats to its user.”

Rose’s expression hardened upon hearing Margaret’s words. The moment she heard about prophecy, she instinctively thought of someone very close to her.

“And so, if this jewel truly responds only to you, it’s because you are an exceptionally unique existence. You are a one-of-a-kind human, Jeniss Harker, born straddling the balance between powerful light mana and strong dark mana.”

“Yeah, I confirmed that too. I even have remarkable control over both types of mana. When I saw the scene of one hand with the flames of light and the other with dark fire shooting out… it was really…”

As Rose spoke, Jeniss shrugged off as if she didn’t consider it to be that impressive.

“Then the solution is clear. This young lady possesses the most powerful means to restore, no, to elevate her honor even higher.”

“Honestly, I still don’t quite grasp it.”

“Seize the Magic Tower, Harker. When Gwen appears holding that powerful staff, lift it high and claim it’s yours proudly. Then that staff will respond.”

“W-what?!”

Jeniss nearly choked, jumping to her feet. Margaret’s words were a shocking proposal for the 21-year-old to declare herself as the true Great Sage and owner of the Magic Tower over a ninety-year-old veteran.

But Rose merely nodded as if hearing a common sense statement, showing no extraordinary reaction.

“The owner of the Magic Tower… I see. The dark side of Reyna Selm isn’t well known. In fact, obtaining the position of Magic Tower Master, which has some independence from the royal family, would create the perfect justification for the assembly to never question this girl’s lineage. In essence, it would also give the assembly a stage to substantiate her position as a Great Sage.”

“But… what if the staff doesn’t respond? If I get humiliated completely… then… that would be a blasphemy I couldn’t ever justify, right?”

Jeniss’s face turned bright red with embarrassment, her stammering almost comedic. Margaret nodded with a kind smile.

“I swear on the name of the Eramenia royal family that such an event won’t occur. If it ever does, I swear that I, Margaret, will personally sweep the streets with my hair!”

“Then I’ll hold the broom. I swear the same thing.”

Jeniss briefly imagined the scene of the two greatest heroes in the world cleaning the streets of the system because of her. Especially with strands of the Elven Princess’s hair.

The thought was so absurdly unfunny that Jeniss shivered.

“Please don’t casually make vows like that without regard for the stakes…”

“It’s not like it will happen anyway. Everything aligns perfectly. It’s about time Reina’s spirit sought a new owner. Walter Hellhound foreseeing either you or Jeongjae seizing that jewel was a prediction that one of you would ascend to the position of the Great Sage.”

It seemed Margaret had also heard about why Walter was focusing on Jeniss before the assembly. Jeniss still wore a skeptical expression.

“Then the professor… the Baron would be more suitable. His skill, experience, and mana quantity are all on another level…”

“If he handles that staff, he would become the most powerful among us, but—”

Margaret’s voice carried a peculiar wistfulness.

“His heart is far too weak to accept his dark side. He must know it himself. The jewel might have considered embracing him for a moment, but ultimately rejected him, thinking he would mishandle it. But you— it showed you the truth about yourself and made you accept it. It’s already done. The red eyes chose you. If it hadn’t, it wouldn’t have revealed the nature embedded in your bloodline from the start.”

“Then… then does that mean you want me to obtain that staff, restore my honor, and join the northern expedition? Even with me by your side… is that okay for you?”

Margaret, pause before understanding the implication of Jeniss’s words, burst into laughter.

“That works out perfectly for me; it seems Walter Hellhound still doesn’t plan on taking Jeongjae with him. Do you know what that means?”

“So what you’re saying is…”

“If I bring you here and keep you close, there’s no way you won’t be stuck to his side as you advise him, right?”

“Wow, Margaret, that’s harsh. Even so, putting it out there like that…”

Rose had predicted Margaret would think this way, but she still reacted with a wince at the Elven Princess revealing her sinister intentions in front of Jeniss.

Margaret continued to speak, still smirking at Rose.

“Wouldn’t it be more disgusting to act all dignified while secretly harboring such thoughts, Rose?”

“Well, I can’t completely discount what you said, but still… You’ve lived twenty times longer than her? Could you act a bit more mature?”

“If you treated me like an elder first, I might seriously consider that offer. You’ve lived more than four times the average human lifespan and yet treat others as if they were born yesterday, which isn’t exactly right, you know?”

“It’s just that if I treat you too much like an elder, you’ll get mad.”

“Wouldn’t you get upset if I told you to look after your teeth and then took all the meat off your bones?”

“But you were trying to eat a raw bone yourself!”

“The fairy’s stomach is strong enough to handle that! It would have no problem eating raw meat, even!”

“Even so, raw venison is a bit much. You’re bursting everyone’s illusions about elves. Apologize for it right now!”

“Smashing those foolish illusions early on is the correct thing to do for the public good. Maybe it would be good to issue a pamphlet or something!”

As Jeniss silently watched the two squabble over such trivial topics, the two were about to let the conversation flow into banter rather than an argument when Jeongjae swung the waiting room door open with a bang.

“Did you all wait? I managed to resolve things! I think I barely made it back before the break ended…”

As Jeongjae burst into the waiting room, he stared in astonishment at Rose and Margaret glaring at each other. Tilting his head, he added, “If you were having a personal conversation, I could step out and let you finish.”

“No, Professor. You just arrived at the perfect moment. They were talking nonsense,” Jeniss replied.

“Oh, that’s what it was.”

Once Jeongjae grasped the situation from Jeniss’s words, he immediately understood the patterns of discussion that Rose and Margaret had developed over three years traveling with the Hero. Upon reflection, they were both high-ranking female warriors who wouldn’t exchange silly banter unless speaking to each other.

Jeongjae speculated that the shared traits might allow them to feel at ease with one another, giving rise to an unusual exchange of playful banter. They were, despite everything, not bad friends at all.

“Well, if it was just some meaningless conversation, I don’t mind. Since break time is almost over, you all should start getting ready!”