Jude, who had been looking at me, smiled with an “I knew it” expression when I nodded to show that what he’d said was right.
“Glad to see my instincts haven’t dulled yet. If I’d gotten even one of those wrong, that would’ve been awkward.”
“I understand that you’re observant, senior. But why did you suddenly appear in front of us?”
“I told you, didn’t I? When I see people in trouble, I can’t help wanting to help.”
He looked back and forth between Hwaryeong, who still hadn’t lowered her guard, and me, who was watching him with suspicion, then pointed with his finger at the guide board behind us.
“You want to find the hidden places in the main building, right?”
“...”
“Don’t glare at me with such a scary face, beastfolk junior. It’s not like I was eavesdropping on you. I just happen to know why students come to the main building this early in the morning.”
“There aren’t that many possibilities,” Jude muttered, then beckoned us closer with his finger and approached.
As he came closer, Hwaryeong quickly stepped back to keep her distance, while Isil and I simply took two ordinary steps back.
“Now, look here. The place you’re in is the first-floor hall of the main building. The spot marked with a circle on this guide board is your current location.”
Despite our openly wary attitude toward him, he began explaining as if he really were someone trying to help people in trouble.
“Since you’re still first-years, you won’t be able to enter the third floor or above. If the professors find you, you’ll get penalty points, and in fact, before any professor finds you, the seniors will probably stop you.”
“...The seniors will stop me from going where I want to go?”
“Yeah.”
“Hah, absurd! No one can halt my steps. Only the strong may do such a thing.”
Hwaryeong took a step toward Jude, who had been pointing at the guide board as he explained, and let out a derisive laugh.
“If that is the law of you humans, then show me your strength. For only the strong can decide the law. If those so-called seniors are stronger than I am, I will obey without complaint.”
“...Juniors, is she always like this?”
At Jude’s dumbfounded expression, Isil, who was standing beside me, shook her head and answered in a small voice.
“...We only just met her too, so we don’t really know.”
“Oh dear.”
He raised a hand and placed it on the back of his head for a moment, looking at Hwaryeong with a troubled expression as he muttered, “This is unexpected.”
“The reason it’s been decided that you first-years can’t go above the third floor is because from the third floor onward, there are classrooms that make use of mystical spaces. It’s dangerous for those of you who haven’t learned knowledge about mysteries yet, so they block you in advance.”
“...Mystical spaces?”
“Ah, do beastfolk call them by a different name? In other words… they’re like secret realms.”
“Secret realms, you say?”
At Jude’s words, Hwaryeong’s tail perked up in surprise, and her eyes widened.
“You mean there are secret realms inside this building?”
“Yeah. Unlike you beastfolk, human aether sensitives can create secret realms, as long as they have enough budget and time.”
“...Secret realms are ancient spaces formed only when the flow of dragon veins accumulates over countless ages. Humans can artificially create such things?”
“They probably aren’t on the level of the secret realms on the Eastern Continent. They’re likely just imitations of secret realms. Even so, a secret realm is still a secret realm. If you enter one without any preparation, something more terrible than losing your life could happen.”
“For example, your soul might leave your body and end up trapped in a secret realm for hundreds of years,” Jude said with a smile, looking at us.
“So, try not to go above the third floor until you become second-years. Don’t let idle curiosity leave you in some horrible state where you can’t even die.”
“...Senior Jude, then the first and second floors are safe, right?”
“Hm? Right. Up to the second floor, it’s just an ordinary building. Ah… though I suppose a few places are a little dangerous. There are rooms with traps in them.”
Traps?
No, why would a school have something so bloody dangerous?
“Mm… still, the traps on the second floor are at a level someone as skilled as that beastfolk junior over there could break through easily. So don’t be too scared, noble junior.”
“No, rather than being scared, why does the school have such dangerous things?”
“Because this Academia always possesses precious items that those in power covet.”
“...Precious items they covet?”
“Yeah. Things like relics discovered in ruins. Academia is the best place to identify their uses and appraise them, you see. That’s why traps exist in storage spaces where large quantities of such relics are kept, to keep out riffraff.”
“There are surprisingly many thieves who try to infiltrate Academia after breaking through its fierce security,” Jude said with a smile, and I sank into thought as I looked at him.
Relics excavated from ruins.
Come to think of it, Bell said that when she first met my father, she had taken down bandits who were excavating some ruins, didn’t she?
And when they tried to explore the ruins after clearing the surrounding area, they were caught by the ruins’ teleportation array, causing the ruins to move somewhere else.
“It seems Academia has a lot of relics. As far as I know, relics are usually traded at extremely high prices.”
“Oh, you know about relics even though you’re still a first-year? Is it because you’re a noble, after all?”
“I haven’t seen real ones many times either. It was something only taken out on special occasions… What was it again? A flowerpot that could make any plant grow in a single day. It was received from the fairies.”
“Fairies?”
“Yes.”
As I searched my memory and described the old brown flowerpot that had been in my family, Jude approached me and said,
“Relics that come from fairies are extremely precious. Even the most powerful noble families can’t obtain them easily, because the supply is overwhelmingly limited. You need a special connection to get one. And you’re saying you saw such an item?”
“Ah, I haven’t introduced myself. I’m Jin Prach.”
“Jin… Prach? Don’t tell me, the Prach Margrave family that holds the access rights to the Haidin Mountains?”
“Yes.”
“Wow! I can’t believe it!”
Jude looked at me with an excited expression, the complete opposite of his calm demeanor from a moment ago.
If before he had looked like a relaxed and sly senior, now his gaze was that of an observer looking at an extremely interesting specimen.
I think Bell had that same expression too.
Could this person be a mage as well?
“Th-then, have you perhaps seen a fairy? I’ve only ever heard about them from books or rumors, so I don’t know the details. Are fairies really all beautiful? How do fairies treat humans? Or do they, like us humans, have physiological—”
“Wait, wait, wait. You’re too close. It’s uncomfortable.”
When I tried to push Jude away with my hand as he drew closer and closer in excitement, he flinched in surprise and pulled himself back.
“Ahem, sorry. I got too excited.”
“Please be careful next time. Having a grown man try to cling that close to me gives me chills.”
“Haha, don’t worry. I don’t have that sort of preference either. I like women too.”
As I let out a sigh and exhaled, Hwaryeong stepped in between Jude and me.
“You did not seem to harbor malice, so I did not stop your approach. But if you do such a thing again, know that I will punch you without question.”
“Haha, that’s rather frightening.”
“The Jin Prach here has exchanged greetings with me, the eldest daughter of the Hwa clan, so we are acquainted. The people of our Hwa clan never stand by when someone we know faces trouble. Keep that in mind.”
Hwaryeong glared at Jude with shining eyes, then stepped aside again.
Jude nodded two or three times at her with a look that said he would remember it, then turned back to me and spoke.
“Well, looks like you’ve made one good friend. People who treat others’ business as their own are quite rare.”
“I’m grateful for the connection. That aside, you got much more excited than I expected. Do you like fairies that much?”
“Ahem! I’m simply interested in things I haven’t experienced myself. If I had the seed to resonate with aether like you all do, I would have become a mage. It’s a pity.”
“Does that mean…”
“Yeah. Unfortunately, I’m someone who can’t become a mage like you. Instead, you could say I’ve been building up knowledge about relics. Relics can be used even by non-mages, as long as the conditions are met.”
Jude looked at me, Isil, and Hwaryeong in turn with a regretful expression.
“Ah, then you’re not part of the Mysticism Faculty.”
“The Mysticism Faculty? Uh, right, I’m not.”
“Then which faculty do you belong to? We still don’t know much about the other faculties.”
“Ah, that’s… well.”
“...?”
Unlike earlier, when he had answered whatever question I casually threw at him, Jude now dragged out his words and stalled for time, putting off his answer.
What is it?
“Ah! More importantly! I said I’d show you the secret place in the main building, didn’t I? We’re almost out of time, so shall we hurry there before that?”
“What? No, more importantly, which faculty are you—”
“Hurry up! I have circumstances, so I have to leave once morning passes!”
Jude moved in an exaggerated manner and quickly put distance between himself and us.
Then he waved from the other side of the hall, signaling his position as he urged us to come quickly.
“...What do you want to do?”
“Hmm. I expected as much from the moment he appeared, but he is not an ordinary human. We may fall into an unforeseen danger.”
“Well, he doesn’t seem malicious. And more than anything, I’m curious where he’ll lead us.”
For a short while, we looked at one another’s faces.
Then, after confirming that we were all thinking the same thing, we silently nodded at the same time.
And then we slowly began walking toward Jude, who was waving his hand.
It’s not like anything that serious will happen, right?