ATTMLT 05

Chapter 05

Prodia, who had been listening to Irtis’s story, was quite surprised. Of course, she had heard rumors about him before—a genius mage of unknown origin who had suddenly appeared at the Magic Tower. But that was all. She had never imagined there was such a story behind him.

After finishing his tale, Irtis let out a low sigh. Prodia, who had been quietly listening, muttered,

“Why were you lying there unconscious with no memories…?”

“Probably got his pockets picked by some back-alley thugs. That kind of thing happens all the time in that world.”

“No way. Who in their right mind would mess with you?”

“Who knows? That was before I learned magic.”

Hmm, that could be possible.

Prodia asked,

“If you win the competition and get to meet your parents, what will you do?”

“Isn’t it obvious? I’ll ask them why they abandoned me. And then—”

A chilling killing intent filled Irtis’s eyes.

“I’ll gather them all together, even that old man, and kill them—”

Smack!

Suddenly, the sound of hands clapping rang out in front of him.

Startled, he looked up. It was Prodia, standing right before him.

“Sigh… I knew this would happen.”

“What? What was that for?”

“Mage? Do you know what the most important thing is when entering the consort selection— I mean, the prince consort competition?”

He answered as if it were obvious.

“Skill?”

“Nope.”

Prodia wagged her finger.

“It’s character.”

Character?

Irtis frowned. The most important thing in winning the competition is character? What nonsense.

He was about to argue, but Prodia was faster.

“You’re talking about killing your parents and your master—at this rate, you’ll get eliminated in the first round over a personality scandal. Do you want to get torn apart by public opinion before you come to your senses? Ugh, we’ve got a long way to go. Where do I even start with you?”

As her rapid-fire scolding poured out, Irtis felt his mind go blank.

Up until now, he had seen plenty of people who took a fighting stance against his killing intent…
—but never someone who attacked him with words.

His pupils trembled.

Prodia stared straight at him and said,

“Alright, Mage? Repeat after me.”

“?!”

“The reason I’m entering the consort competition is—”

“Th-the reason is?”

Before he knew it, Irtis was already following along.

Prodia continued smoothly,

“Because I’ve secretly been in love with the Princess!”

“Because I’ve secretly been in lo—hey, are you insane?!”

Irtis was shocked. He had almost parroted her words without thinking!

Me? Me?!

A sudden sense of fear crept over him.

This woman… might actually be scarier than mind-control mages.

Prodia said sternly,

“You came looking for a top-tier tutor, didn’t you? Then you have to trust what I say.”

“What exactly am I supposed to trust?!”

“There’s no narrative that works better than love.”

“?!?”

“Think about it. If the judges ask why you joined this competition, you’re not going to say, ‘To find my parents and get revenge,’ are you?”

“W-well, no.”

She had a point.

“Then what will you say? That you want to become the prince consort and seize the throne?”

“What are you talking about? I don’t care about something like that, even if they offered it to me.”

“If a powerful mage like you suddenly enters the competition, that’s exactly what people will assume—that you’re aiming to usurp the throne.”

Irtis fell silent. He hadn’t thought of it that way before. But it made sense.

Prodia asked again,

“So what’s the correct answer?”

“Well…”

Good question.

Even if it was an obvious lie, saying he joined because he liked the princess would sound much better.

Though it felt absurd, Irtis found himself strangely persuaded.

After a few minutes, he felt like he was being brainwashed.

So this is the power of a star instructor with a 99.99% success rate…

An hour later, Irtis had somehow completed a personal statement that felt like both truth and fiction.

It was a spectacular, amazing romantic epic of a mage driven mad by love—so dramatic it could bring tears to one’s eyes.

The real training for the consort selection competition began.

After carefully reviewing something, Prodia stood before Irtis again.

He asked,

“What were you just doing?”

“Oh, I checked your status window.”

Prodia smiled brightly.

“I was thinking about your stats.”

“What’s there to think about? You can just look at them right now.”

As he spoke, Irtis gathered mana into his palm.

Prodia shook her head.

“I’ve already seen enough earlier. Besides, I doubt you’ll get many chances to use offensive magic in this competition.”

“What?”

Irtis was taken aback.

“Why?”

“Well… this is just my guess, but…”

In truth, Prodia had been thinking about this a lot on her own.

The competition to choose the Empire’s prince consort was tied to the erasure of her karma. Could this really be a coincidence?

No.

There was no way. There had to be a reason the gods specifically chose this competition as a quest.

What could it be?

She thought about it day and night, and eventually reached a conclusion.

Her past life as a producer who made idol audition programs successful. The karma she accumulated from “evil editing.” The divine quest telling her to produce again.

Putting it all together, there was only one answer.

This competition will definitely include evaluation stages similar to the programs I used to produce!

And one fact perfectly supported her hypothesis.

When she checked Irtis’s stats again, most of them were related to magic.

But one stood out.

His singing ability.

When she clicked on it, unexpected information appeared.

Ding~!

[ Singing Ability (S)
Sings with a heavenly voice. ]

That’s when she became certain.

It wasn’t for chanting spells. He was a grand mage who didn’t even need incantations.

That stat existed for the stage.

Maybe that’s why the gods chose Irtis as a suitable candidate.

Prodia spoke,

“Mage, do you remember the participation requirements for this competition?”

“Something like, anyone healthy can join.”

“Yes, exactly. Which means they’re not considering backgrounds at all.”

Irtis nodded.

“That’s why even non-nobles showed up here earlier.”

That applied to him as well, someone of unknown origin.

Prodia continued,

“Not considering status is one thing. But there’s something else too.”

“Something else?”

What could it be?

As he struggled to find the answer, she said,

“They’re not considering race either.”

“…!”

Irtis’s eyes widened.

Why hadn’t he thought of that?

The requirements never mentioned “human.”

That meant—

“Dragons, demons, elves—any race could participate,” Prodia explained. “Which means there’s no way combat-based evaluations will be included.”

Irtis’s voice trembled.

“A normal human wouldn’t just lose… they’d die.”

“Exactly. So, Mage—”

Prodia said seriously,

“You won’t have many opportunities to win using your magic in this competition.”

“Hah… unbelievable.”

Irtis pressed a hand to his forehead.

He had planned to just crush everything and win.

For the first time, he realized this competition wouldn’t be easy.

Muttering, he said,

“Come to think of it… something’s off. The way you suddenly changed your attitude earlier was suspicious too.”

“Pardon?”

He turned to look at her.

“You already knew my magic wouldn’t be very useful in this competition. So why did you choose me?”

“!”

He stepped closer.

“At first, it seemed like you didn’t even like me.”

Before she knew it, he was right in front of her, his sharp gaze fixed on her.

Prodia stepped back—but hit the wall.

Irtis placed his arms on either side of her, trapping her between them.

“Tell me. Why did you pick me?”

Their eyes locked.

Why else?

Because you might be my karma jackpot.

And because the gods chose you.

Prodia lightly pushed against his chest.

“Why do you think?”

Her fingertips brushed against his firm muscles, but her expression didn’t change.

“You didn’t cause a scene and quietly got your number earlier, unlike the rumors. So I thought you’d listen well.”

Irtis’s face twisted.

“Now that I think about it…”

“More importantly, I realized something—you were right.”

“About what?”

“Out of all the applicants here, you’re the best.”

“You said my magic wouldn’t matter.”

“I didn’t mean that. I meant your face. You’re handsome.”

“W-what?!”

Irtis looked dumbfounded.

“That’s really the reason?”

“Yes. Looks are important.”

But his reaction was cold.

“You’re lying again.”

“I’m not. You really are handso—”

“You’re not reacting at all when you look at my face.”

Prodia flinched internally.

How did he notice that?

This guy’s instincts were terrifying.

Keeping a straight face, she said,

“That’s not true. I’m nervous because you’re handsome. Can’t you hear my heartbeat? Thump thump.”

“Yeah, right.”

Irtis grabbed her hand and placed it on his chest.

“!”

“You touched me earlier and didn’t even blush.”

It was true.

She didn’t feel anything even now.

But she replied smoothly,

“And what kind of logic is that?”

“Most people blush.”

He leaned in closer.

“Even without touching me, most people turn red just looking at my face.”

Wow. What an annoyingly confident guy.

Prodia frowned slightly.

Still… it wasn’t baseless. He was unrealistically good-looking.

It was just that her senses were numb to handsome men.

Especially compared to that god I saw when I died… okay, stop right there.

She couldn’t risk adding blasphemy to her karmic sins.

Prodia said,

“There are people who don’t blush. And looks really are important. Right after character.”

“…Really?”

“Yes. Being handsome is always thrilling. Why would the princess be any different?”

Irtis still looked doubtful.

Just then—

Knock knock.

Someone knocked on the reception room door.

Startled, the two quickly stepped apart.

Prodia cleared her throat.

“Ahem! What is it?”

“Miss, a letter has arrived from the Imperial Palace.”

“The Imperial Palace?”

“Yes. It’s an official notice regarding the consort selection competition.”

“!”

Prodia and Irtis exchanged glances at the same time.