Chapter 37: Magic Conference Festival (2)
"What?"
At the sudden remark, Sid's face turned red.
As if sensing something, Reiya stopped her younger brother.
After all, this was also saying that the two of them would become family.
"A-No, Reireu... You shouldn't say such things so carelessly. Sid is uncomfortable..."
"Geez, Noona! There's no legal issue with marrying an adopted son! I'll take care of everything, so you just lie back and eat rice cakes..."
"Hyaaak! Haaaak!!!"
Her face bright red, Reiya waved her hands frantically.
Screaming strange cries and waving her arms like that, she truly looked flustered.
At her hand-waving, pushing motions, Reireu stood up from the grass.
He had played similar pranks a few times before, but they were gradually becoming more blatant.
"How about it, hyung-nim? Will you come to our house?"
"No, I mean... Like Reiya said, you shouldn't say such things so lightly. I can't be rude to your family for no reason. If things get awkward between us..."
"Psh. It's because our family looks small, right? It's just not well known, but our 'Wayne' family is amazing too. Right, Noona?"
"Pffft..."
Watching her younger sibling with his nose in the air, Reiya hung her head.
The brief commotion drew the attention of those around them, and the embarrassment was the noona's alone.
Reireu, usually clever and taciturn, became quite the prankster whenever Sid was involved.
Sid waved his hand off and picked up the sandwich.
"Forget it. I have someone like a father. And even after graduating, I want to travel freely."
"Hmm, that's a shame. Mother is coming to this Magic Conference too..."
"She's coming to the Magic Conference?"
At these words, Sid's eyes turned.
Judging by Reiya's nod, it didn't seem to be a lie.
If she could participate in the Magic Conference, they must be a noble family that could employ a personal mage...
It wasn't as if commoners who were busy securing even one meal a day could participate in such a festival, after all.
Looking at the emptied bread basket, Reireu smiled brightly.
A good hyung he had met at the academy.
He looked determined to make this hyung part of his family no matter what.
"Hyung-nim, if you see Mother, you'll change your mind too! I guarantee it!"
* * *
The long-awaited Magic Conference began ten days later.
The Magic Conference was held at a distance requiring more than ten hours by carriage from the Academy.
If not for the giant airship the nobles had sent, the three hundred students would have suffered greatly just getting there.
'Hmm.'
In the awkward banquet hall, Sid looked around.
The orange lights and boring classical music made his head spin.
Moreover, with nearly three hundred students alone, plus the nobles who had flocked to see them, the place was like a marketplace.
'Literally filled with customers who had come to see the merchandise.'
Sid fidgeted with the awkward tuxedo and swallowed.
It was clothing borrowed from Ruereu, and the choking feeling around his neck felt strange.
Furthermore, each student had pinned a flower of a different color, which was the highlight of the banquet.
The flower on Sid's tuxedo was blue.
Red meant 'a noble's child who needs no guardian,' and yellow meant 'willing to take on a guardian.'
But in the case of this blue one, it was special.
It meant 'already secured a guardian.'
No matter how much he looked around, there were no students wearing blue flowers yet, so unwanted attention gathered on him.
'Why did they make me wear something like this...'
This was the flower Reireu had pinned on him before leaving.
From the start of the banquet, the siblings wearing red flowers had gone out to find their mother.
Like the siblings, students wearing red flowers were busy either scattering to find their families or enjoying themselves in a corner of the banquet hall.
Most of the students chatting idly and sipping drinks were wearing these red flowers.
On the contrary, students wearing yellow flowers were busy earnestly persuading guardians who would take them in.
They had no time to spare, exaggerating their abilities or fawning over the nobles, and near such students were nobles holding champagne glasses.
'Hah.'
Sid frowned, looking at their smiles.
Their expressions were twisted with greed and arrogance.
If only the Wayne siblings would return so he could at least open his mouth to speak...
He was a bit lonely, since he was neither gathered with his own kind like the red flowers nor talking with nobles like the yellow flowers.
Then, a man caught his eye.
"You see my son here? He's only five and already cast a Fire Ball! He's going to be a great mage someday. You bet he will! Kekeke!"
"Naturally! He's the Count's son, so how could he not!"
A man with thick sideburns and a large nose.
The man raised his glass, boasting of his son.
And beside him, yellow flowers were lined up, clapping.
Just then, a man in black clothes approached his side.
"Count-nim. I've found a decent student. Apparently studied ice magic at fourteen, roughly approaching the 3rd Circle..."
"Good enough! Tell him to get in line here!"
"Yes, understood."
At the man's gesture, another yellow flower stood at the back of the line.
It seemed everyone gathered there was entering under that man.
'Hah. This place is really awful.'
Sid's opinion of the nobles' electioneering, which he had only heard of, plummeted completely.
The canvassing their children had shown was nothing compared to this.
Nobles who did nothing but boast of themselves while gathering students like objects.
What would Eirena have said had she seen this?
But students who couldn't stand alone needed even this kind of help.
"Is the seat uncomfortable? Your expression hasn't been good since earlier."
"Ah... Teacher."
Ruereu, wearing a black vest, happened to approach.
The man wearing a golden watch chain handsomely smiled, holding a cocktail glass.
At the end of the banquet hall, leaning on a cool terrace, the two watched the banquet.
The bright banquet hall was filled with nobles speaking loudly and students fawning, while the garden behind them was calm with the quiet sound of crickets.
Ruereu smiled at Sid.
"You think poorly of this sort of thing, don't you?"
"Not everyone can receive scholarships. Some friends must be desperate."
"Huhu. I'm glad you think that way. If you hated it too much, the Headmaster and I would have no excuse."
Sid also smiled awkwardly.
He briefly raised his head to look at the night sky, and the stars outside the window were shining.
Everyone who enrolled in the Academy must have wanted to shine like those stars...
He couldn't blame students who, unable to shine on their own, found ways to survive.
Ruereu pointed to the blue flower on his chest and continued speaking.
"That blue flower. Did you pin it because you're tired? They'd approach you all the same even if you wore a red one."
"Ah, this? Reireu pinned it on me before leaving. He said it was a claim or something... Still, the blue flower seems to be the quietest."
"That's right. There are nobles who want to befriend those with red flowers too."
As Ruereu said, some nobles chose red flowers.
They brought their children to talk with red flowers, creating a pleasant atmosphere.
Perhaps they knew each other, as cheerful conversation went back and forth.
"At your age, I thought all of this was disgusting."
"Huh?"
His gaze fell on the quietly parted lips.
Between the splendid banquet hall lights and the lonely garden.
Ruereu smiled bitterly.
He looked like an ambiguous person who couldn't fit into either side.
"Do you know what Circle mage I am? Even roughly."
"Uh... Probably 5th Circle? Around that, right? I think so."
"Oh, you got it? Amazing."
The way Sid guessed Ruereu's Circle was simple.
He had seen it directly before.
Of course, he hadn't opened his mouth to boast of his Circle.
Soon, Ruereu's story continued.
"I reached the 4th Circle when I was your age."
"Really?"
At the story of a 'true genius,' Sid's mouth fell open.
How many mages achieved the 4th Circle at fifteen?
Reireu, who was twelve now, might be able to, but most students only approached the 4th Circle by graduation.
Of course, 'approaching' wasn't the same as 'achieving.'
So one could tell how much of a genius Ruereu was.
But this wasn't self-praise.
It was the self-mocking inner thoughts of a man who 'had been' a genius.
"I achieved the 5th Circle at twenty. But after that, there was no growth. When I was young, I was called a genius who rivaled Reireu, but at this age, I'm just average. My junior Ri is also at the 5th Circle, you know? And he's still growing?"
"Um... Reaching the 5th Circle at your age is amazing, isn't it, Teacher?"
"Huhu, I'm terrified of remaining in this place forever."
The man smiled with an expression he had never shown before.
The cocktail glass he had already emptied three times spoke to the depth of his true feelings.
He turned from the terrace he had been leaning against and looked at the garden.
His face, which had been illuminated in orange, was dyed in the blue night.
"Honestly, I'm only telling you this. Whenever I see kids growing like Reireu or you, I feel jealous."
"Huh?"
"Puhut! Puhaha!"
Ruereu laughed loudly.
His reddened nose bridge.
The frustrated feelings he hadn't been able to speak of until now were revealed.
"I'm stagnant while you guys are growing. Especially you. Every time I see you, I'm happy, yet I feel anxious that I'm being caught up to. That doesn't mean I want to become a bad person. I just wanted to become a charismatic person like Headmaster Eirena. But I'm standing still while you all approach. As if you'll take my place someday."
"Um... Teacher? I think you're quite drunk. Are you okay?"
"Hah... If Ri were here, he would have stopped me before it got to this point. Sorry. I think I got carried away talking. Anyway, please pretend you don't know about this."
Ruereu brushed back his curly hair.
Exhaling a drunken breath, he smiled.
"So don't despise your untalented friends. They need ways to survive too. You don't know it when you're a genius, but not everyone can succeed. Hah, I should go get some sleep. Have a good time!"
Ruereu placed his emptied glass on the terrace.
A single olive remained alone, without a drop of alcohol.
It seemed to show his loneliness.
He patted Sid's shoulder and disappeared into the middle of the banquet hall.
Sid was relieved to see him walking straight without staggering.
'Untalented friends...'
Ruereu's parting words lingered in his ears.
Come to think of it, there had been a boy throwing punches at a thick tree.
A boy who had said he would do anything if he could use magic.
He might have forgotten such feelings all this time.
Moreover, at the sincerity of Ruereu, whom he had believed to be the best teacher, the boy's heart welled up with emotion.
Himself, leaning on the terrace away from the banquet hall, badmouthing his peers.
That moment became bitter.
Then, a familiar voice rang out.
"Ah, found you! Hyung-nim! You were here!"
"Reireu!"
It was Reireu, returning two hours after the banquet had started.
The boy, wearing a black tuxedo and flicking back his hair, ran over grinning.
Behind him was Reiya, dressed in a black dress.
Her hair braided into one and prettily placed over her chest.
It really suited her aura.
Moreover, the freckles etched like stars upon her white skin seemed to say that she was the true protagonist, at least for today.
"Uh... you're he--!"
The moment he raised his hand, distracted by such a Reiya.
From behind her appeared a woman wearing the same dress as her.
"This friend?"
"Yes! This is the hyung-nim Noona and I talked about! Hyung-nim, this is our mother! Please greet her!"
"Ah, hello!"
Distracted by Reiya, he hadn't even seen the mother standing beside her.
Then, after lowering his head at Reireu's introduction and raising it, there was a woman smiling like a goddess.
'She's tall...'
Was she well over 170 centimeters?
She was taller than not only Reiya but also Sid by a great deal.
Moreover, a figure rivaling Eirena's was revealed over her dress.
Rather, her plump and full-bodied appearance doubled her charm.
If Reiya grew up, would she become like this?
'Purple pupils... perfume scent... fragrance...'
Though he kept his mouth closed, various pieces of information flooded in.
An ageless appearance and black hair like silk.
She had black hair like the siblings, but her pupils held a deep purple hue.
Soon, a mysterious body scent mixed with perfume and fragrance wafted out.
A strange sensation that made his heart pound.
It wasn't simply feeling her charm as a woman; it was something immense, yet strangely nostalgic.
The woman smiled and extended a white hand.
When he soon took her hand and greeted her, a stronger fragrance stimulated the tip of his nose.
"I'm Isabella Wayne. Our children have been quite rude, haven't they?"
- To be continued in Chapter 38 -