Chapter 7. The Girl with the Demonic Eye
As soon as he escaped the commotion and stepped out onto the wide open avenue, his tension dissipated.
Binaeril struggled to steady his trembling legs.
His legs were trembling, his eyelids were heavy, and every corner of his body felt like it was creaking.
In short, he was in no condition to attend class.
In any case, he was already so late that avoiding tardiness was impossible. Binaeril decided to just take the day off and rest well.
—I showed him what for, so he won't act up again, right?
"What kind of talk is that…."
Having answered Veritas out loud without thinking, Binaeril glanced at Rike beside him and replied inwardly.
'You call that talk?'
He had flown a full meter and crashed into the bare ground; it would be fortunate if he hadn't broken anything.
If it was a serious injury, that would be a problem too.
Given Gillieon's personality, he wouldn't keep quiet and let things go. He would probably kick up a fuss all over town trying to eat Binaeril alive.
—Are you worried about him right now?
'I'm not worried about him; I'm worried about my life.'
The thought of a waking Gillieon poking around everywhere already made a headache come rushing in.
—You're too soft. An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. If you draw your sword, you should be prepared to cut.
'What nonsense. It was just a kids' fight.'
—Instilling an appropriate level of fear is one of the best strategies for survival.
Veritas was not someone reasoning worked on.
"Um…."
'Oh, my fate…….'
While Binaeril's mind was elsewhere, Rike called out to him again in a louder voice.
"This hurts."
Rike pointed at her own wrist.
He was still tightly gripping the wrist he had grabbed while fleeing.
"Ah, sorry. I was lost in thought."
When he let go, he noticed a bracelet-like red mark left on her wrist.
"Are you hurt anywhere?"
Rike nodded.
"I'm fine. But how did you do that?"
"Do what?"
"Just now, like this…."
Rike searched for the right descriptor.
"…You sent a person flying."
"W-well, you know? He just flew off on his own, screaming~?"
It was a poor excuse. Binaeril mimicked Gillieon with foolish gestures.
Of course, Rike was not convinced by such words.
"Did you throw him with force?"
"No, how could I do that?"
Only the warriors of Babaroana, said to be born with the strength of giants, could toss a person around with their bare hands.
He tried to smooth over the situation with an awkward smile, but no matter how hard he racked his brain, nothing came to mind besides poor excuses.
"Could it be… did you use magic?"
"Huh?"
"It wasn't magic?"
"No, no. I didn't even chant an incantation."
In truth, Binaeril himself didn't exactly understand what he had done. However, the possibility that it was magic was very high.
At her gaze staring intently at him while tilting her head, Binaeril broke into a cold sweat.
He had no thought other than wanting to leave quickly.
"Miss Rike!"
From afar, another female student was running toward them, calling her name.
"Oh, looks like your friend is coming. Then I'll be going!"
Not missing the opportunity, Binaeril left a hasty farewell and quickly fled to the dormitory.
"Sylvia."
"You said you were on your way, so why are you here? I've been looking for you. Oh my, your wrist! Are you hurt?"
Sylvia snatched Rike's red, swollen wrist and made a fuss.
"Who did this! Was it that guy who just ran past? Him? I'll give him a piece of my mind!"
"Sylvia… it hurts. Let go. And he was the one who helped me."
"He helped you?"
Rike briefly explained what had just happened. Naturally, omitting the names of the parties involved.
"He pushed you, Miss Rike? Who? What kind of guy?"
"…I won't tell you."
If she told Sylvia, things would clearly escalate. Seeing Rike pouting like a sullen puppy, Sylvia gave up on pressing further.
"More importantly, Sylvia."
"Have you heard of a mage who uses magic without any incantation?"
Rike had clearly seen it.
The intense wave of mana spreading from the unnaturally outstretched tips of Binaeril's fingers.
He might be able to fool others, but deceiving her was impossible.
Because she was born with the talent to see mana directly with her own two eyes, unlike other mages who faintly sensed it with their five senses.
Her master called this astonishing talent the "Demonic Eye" (魔眼).
"Isn't that the kind of thing that only appears in childish songs?"
"You think so too?"
Rike was silent for a moment. Had she seen wrong?
Rike thought of the boy who had been holding her wrist until just now.
Though her wrist was red and swollen, to Rike's eyes, something else was visible.
The clear traces of mana left on top of the red marks. As expected, her eyes had not been wrong.
Soon, as if having made up her mind about something, she spoke.
"Sylvia, could you contact the professor for me? I have something to ask."
Sylvia was slightly taken aback. It was a face full of curiosity, rarely seen in the usually timid girl.
The professor Rike spoke of was her supervising professor, one of the elder professors of the Magic Tower whose title rivaled that of a Sage.
Sylvia steeled herself to contact Professor Angelo Julio.
"…Yes, Your Highness."
"I told you not to call me that."
"Ah, my apologies. Miss Rike."
Binaeril returned to his room and crammed his tired body onto the bed.
The fluffy texture of the sheets pleasantly sank into his skin.
He nearly fell asleep just like that, but he couldn't yet.
Because questions remained.
"What was that earlier?"
—What do you mean?
"Don't play dumb. That magic. Did you do it?"
—Ahh.
Veritas hesitated. At times like this, Binaeril felt the urge to grab the old book and crumple it up.
"Haaaah."
Using superhuman patience, he reached out, but the aching muscle pain made him pull his arm back.
The old book lying just out of reach made a strange sound as if mocking him.
—I don't know either. What was it?
"Don't lie. I've seen something similar before."
Binaeril recalled what had happened in the hidden corridor of the Great Library.
Magic that let him fly through the sky without any incantation, share senses, appear and disappear mysteriously.
The possessor of such power was only one being. Only that fluttering book.
—You're misunderstanding. What I showed you wasn't magic.
"I didn't ask whether it was magic or not. Was it your doing?"
—Hmm, well.
The fellow circled through the air as if teasing him, occasionally emanating a leathery scent.
—How did you do it? Think back.
"How? I didn't do anything. I was just thinking about how to respond if he used magic."
—And?
"I thought of a method. When I thought of a method, the mana inside my body seemed to move in accordance with it."
—So?
"Naturally, I opened my palm to clear a path…."
—And you sent Gillieon Baemes flying.
Exactly as Veritas said.
—In the process you described, what exactly could I have intervened in?
He too realized that Veritas's words were correct.
"Was that magic?"
Veritas wiggled its spine. From experience, Binaeril knew that was the equivalent of nodding.
—Binaeril, what is magic?
Veritas posed the question. It was a question Binaeril had already heard before.
"The belief that turns imagination into reality… right?"
Binaeril remembered that answer.
—Correct. If you remember that, shouldn't you understand why the magic activated?
Binaeril recalled the moment he sent Gillieon flying.
The imagination suited to the situation, sufficient willpower to realize it, and belief. But critically, one thing had been missing.
"But I didn't chant any spells at all?"
—Who said that stuff is necessary?
"You mean I used magic without an incantation? Wait, aren't spells a necessary element of magic?"
"But then why has the Magic Tower created so many incantations? Why can't others cast magic without incantations?"
—That's merely a safety device. You could call it a final authorization mechanism for casting magic.
—And who says there are no mages who know how to use magic without incantations?
Lying sprawled out, Binaeril examined his open palm. A stinging sensation still remained.
Even if told to do it again, he had no idea how to go about it.
If Veritas's words were true, was he a human with that safety device removed?
Lost in thought, Binaeril realized this was not necessarily a good thing.
"Veritas, hold on. Does that mean from now on, if I merely imagine something, magic might fly out wildly like this?"
—That might be possible. If you cannot control your own imagination and willpower.
Binaeril felt goosebumps rising all over his body.
It felt like holding a blade that swung about wildly.
"But… why am I… so tired……"
Limit came to Binaeril, who had been barely holding on to consciousness. He could no longer fight off the overwhelming sleepiness.
As Binaeril sank into sleep, Veritas's words reached his ears intermittently.
—That's the price. Your body can't fully control that power yet. Goodness, to think you figured out the method on your own when I hadn't even taught you.
Binaeril, already drifting to sleep, couldn't properly understand Veritas's words.
He was sucked into a deep sleep like a dream.
On the upper floor of the research building, within a room adorned with an elegant nameplate, a monocled gentleman with white, tousled hair was organizing documents.
He was one of the heads of Elfenbein and the oldest active professor among the mages.
Unlike warriors who lose their prime as their bodies age, it is commonly said that the skill of the race known as mages is proportional to their years.
Professor Angelo Julio was a living witness who proved those words.
Knock knock.
At the visit from a guest after a long time, the old mage couldn't hide his joy.
"Hello, my disciple?"
"Hello, Master."
The visitor was his one and only disciple.
"It's been a while since we met in the research lab. I wish you would visit this old master aging in his den more often."
"Please don't say that. You're still in good health."
At the light joke exchanged between them, the white-haired old mage and the short golden-haired prospective mage smiled at each other willingly.
"Indeed. I am in good health. I have no plans to retire until a golden brooch is pinned on the Princess's chest."
The golden brooch was the symbol of a formal mage who had passed the Scala exam.
Was that remark a sense of responsibility for the disciple he had taken in his twilight years, or the mindset of a loyal retainer who would assist the princess to the utmost of his ability?
Rike decided to believe it was the former.
"Please lower your speech. Once I leave the palace, I am merely a student."
"I use honorifics not only for the Princess but for all students."
"If you treat me so meticulously, how could my feet carry me here if I feel so burdened?"
"Oh my, goodness."
Professor Julio raised both hands as if surrendering and playfully jested.
"My apologies. So, what brings you to this shabby place?"
"If the headmaster's office of Elfenbein is shabby, then the royal palaces of the homeland must be considered impoverished. I came today because I have a question to ask."
Professor Julio pulled up his slipped monocle.
Rike was someone who clearly distinguished between public and private matters.
To the extent that she would avoid meeting her master unless it was truly necessary.
Professor Julio understood given her position, but on the other hand, he also felt disappointed.
For such a girl to drag heavy feet all the way to the top of the research building, what kind of question could it be?
It didn't seem like something to be taken lightly.
"I know this question may sound foolish… but, I… um…."
"Student Rike, don't worry and ask comfortably."
"What are the essential elements of magic?"
This was far too basic a question. Still, Professor Julio explained kindly.
"Imagination to conceive of magic, willpower to realize it, and an incantation to serve as the medium for mana, correct?"
"If even one of these is missing, does magic not occur?"
"Of course. If you don't imagine it, it won't exist in the first place; if you lack willpower, it will remain mere fantasy; if it is not manifested through incantation, it will remain a delusion."
This was the basics among basics, learned in one's junior years.
Headmaster Julio thought his gifted disciple wouldn't have come just to ask such questions.
"What are you curious about?"
Rike hesitated for a moment. She wore an expression of worry that she might be asking a childish question.
"Master, do you know of a mage who does not use incantations?"