Clack—
The sound of my shoes cut off like an echo.
I stopped in the corridor of the Imperial Palace. It was because of the status window floating over my retina.
[Quest Complete: The Devil’s Mirror]
◆ Shop Currency +10
◆ Talent Acquired: Origin (起源) ─ Mirror
“······.”
The Devil’s Mirror, quest complete.
Shop currency and acquisition of a talent.
Unable to understand, I briefly rewound the time in my head.
While studying Mirror Magic and Glass Magic in the Magic Tower library, I had been summoned by Sophien, come to the Imperial Palace, played a game of chess as soon as I arrived······.
No matter how I thought about it, there was nothing special. On the other hand, the reward was enormous.
A magician’s three talents, perhaps as important as traits: Attribute (屬性), Origin (起源), and Artifact (奇物).
Of those, I had acquired “Origin.”
“Origin, is it.”
Originally, Deculein’s magical talent was the elemental “Attribute,” specifically earth and fire.
Of course, earth and fire were elements that broadly included mirrors, but this “Origin” carried a different implication.
To put it simply, I had come to possess a composite talent of “Origin—Mirror” and “Attribute—Earth·Fire.”
“However.”
I simply did not know the reason.
Why the quest had suddenly been resolved, and why, of all things, I had acquired the Origin called “Mirror.”
─Come out at once!
Just then, the corridor suddenly grew noisy. No, the entire Imperial Palace was boiling with activity.
Imperial knights who had appeared from somewhere ran down the hall, and the attendants moved in haste as well.
─Quickly! Everyone, this way······.
I slowly followed after them. The farther I walked, the more people there were.
Countless retainers and knights were pressed against the first-floor windows, watching the training ground.
“······Ah, Duke Yukline! Look at that beautiful sight!”
Someone who did not know why I was there pulled me along.
In the very next moment, I understood immediately.
“It has been nearly fifteen years. To think His Majesty would come out this morning and exercise······.”
Emperor Sophien was crossing swords with Keiron. Like everyone else, I stared at her in something of a daze.
“······Has the world changed?”
Words I merely murmured. Yet that sentence seeped back into my ears. Like a pebble thrown by a pond, it raised small ripples. It led to a certain thought.
Sophien’s sudden act of exercising in the morning.
If one added the fact of “Quest Complete” to this eccentricity—one that was by no means ordinary, and rather quite fitting as an omen of the world’s end.
“······.”
I silently withdrew. Leaving the retainers and knights behind, I walked down the corridor again. Retracing the path I had come from, I reached a place where there were few people.
A passage leading to the underground of the Imperial Palace.
I looked at the bare wooden door. I slowly approached and grasped the doorknob.
Rattle—
It only creaked and did not open.
“······.”
I placed my hand on the door. An unidentified sensation flowed in coldly.
“······Is it here?”
It was as if my intuition were speaking. As if my consciousness were telling me. That inside, there were memories I did not know, or memories I had forgotten, locked away.
Only, it was not yet the proper time.
“Very well.”
I nodded and turned away without regret. Suddenly, cheers of “Huoauaa—!” rang out.
The entire Imperial Palace was making a commotion as they watched Sophien’s swordsmanship.
Should I watch as well, or should I take Yulie with me? If not even that, then—
“Yulie.”
“······!”
Yulie, who had been hiding in the underground corridor pretending to be a knight statue, flinched.
“You······ knew?”
“Let us go watch His Majesty together. You are, in name at least, an instructional knight, so it may help with the next lesson.”
“······Yes.”
Yulie approached with her plate armor clanking. I walked with her.
Now, our farewell was not far off, but······.
At least on a grotesque day like today, it should be fine to be together.
* * *
······Ephi! Ephi!
A voice seeped into her hazy consciousness. Hands shook her body.
Epherene, who had been in a deep sleep, opened her eyes like a zombie. Through eyelids stuck tightly together and refusing to part, her friend Julia spoke.
“Did you hear?”
“Hear what······.”
“Sylvia!”
“······Sylvia?”
Huaaam— Epherene yawned and sat up. Julia spoke noisily.
“Yeah! She, she’s already become a Monarch!”
“······.”
Epherene’s mind was still foggy.
Graaa— After letting out a second yawn like a dinosaur, she asked back.
“Monarch?”
“Yeah! Monarch!”
“······You mean the mage rank?”
Then, with a third yawn—graaaang—she stretched.
“I’m telling you! The Monarch rank!”
“······Well, she’s the kind of person who could.”
“What do you mean, could! Ephi, she might suddenly come here as our professor!”
“No way~”
Epherene looked at the blackboard. The required major course, “Wide-Area Magic Against Monsters: Fire-Attribute Destruction Series,” had already ended.
“Still, if she’s already a Monarch······ I am a little jealous.”
Honestly, from Epherene’s perspective, she could not deny that she felt she was wasting some time. Most of the Solda-rank lectures were far too easy, and they were also material she already knew.
“Jealous, my foot! She just got there with her family’s backing! If she’d been a commoner, she never would’ve become a Monarch. It hasn’t even been six months since she got the Solda badge, and she’s a Monarch!”
“······True.”
Roughly agreeing with the indignant Julia, she got up.
“By the way, Ephi, why haven’t you been coming to our shop lately?”
Julia tilted her head, sounding rather disappointed. Her expensive earring artifact swayed.
Epherene sighed.
“Sigh~ I want to go too. But I have too much to study.”
She did not even have time to eat. To be precise, she had no time to go far from the Magic Tower.
For the next month, of course, one hundred percent understanding would be impossible, but still, she had to understand the paper Deculein had given her “to some extent.”
“We recently started a delivery service too.”
“······Really?”
That perked her ears up. Julia smiled brightly.
“Yeah. There’s usually a little extra charge, but since you’re a regular, the delivery fee is free for you.”
“······Reaally?”
Epherene licked her lips before she knew it. Slurp— She ran her tongue over them.
“Then today—”
*
After reserving a Roahawk delivery, Epherene went up to the seventy-seventh floor in a good mood.
[Head Professor: Deculein]
Fiddling with the documents she was to hand over to Professor Deculein, she knocked on the office door.
Knock, knock—
There was no response.
“Is he not here again today?”
Epherene muttered and pushed the doorknob. Srrrk— The door opened naturally. But there was no one inside.
Had he not locked up, or had he stepped out for a moment?
Epherene trudged in and placed the documents on Deculein’s desk.
“······Mm~ hmm-hmm~”
About to turn back, she furtively glanced around. Then she reached toward his desk drawer—
—What are you trying to do?
“Hrk!”
Startled, Epherene jerked her head in that direction.
A long mirror hanging on the wall. Inside it was Professor Deculein.
Instinctively, she looked at the other side of the mirror.
Professor Deculein was not there.
“?”
She looked at the mirror again.
Professor Deculein was inside it.
“······What? Why are you in the mirror······.”
But not outside it.
It was a situation that denied human perception and cognition. While Epherene stared blankly with her mouth open, Deculein slid— out of the mirror.
“Uh, uh?!”
“······.”
Deculein calmly approached and sat in his office chair. Frightened, Epherene stepped backward to avoid touching him.
Deculein spoke as if she were pathetic.
“What sort of magician is so surprised at seeing magic?”
“What······ kind of magic is that?”
“Mirror magic.”
Epherene looked at the mirror Deculein had just entered through. It did not seem like any special artifact.
“Epherene. You have been coming and going without permission quite often lately.”
“Ah, the door was open······ and they said those documents were important.”
“Three penalty points.”
“······You should lock the door.”
Deculein tore open the documents on the desk. Then he signed the document with a fountain pen.
Immediately afterward.
—Now!
A loud voice rang through the office. It was Adrienne’s young and piercing tone.
—Hello! This is Chairman Adrienne!
“What is this?”
Epherene glanced at the document Deculein had signed. Its title was [Confirmation of Candidacy for Next Chairman].
—As my term is now not long for this world! Finally, today! I shall announce the candidates for the next chairman!
“Epherene. Do you have time to spare?”
“N-No. I’m going.”
At Deculein’s rebuke, Epherene quickly left the office.
Adrienne’s voice reverberated loudly even through the corridor of the seventy-seventh floor.
—Candidate number 1! Head Professor Deculein! Candidate number 2! The head of the Dukan School, a high-ranking magician recognized by the Imperial Family, Ihelm!
Epherene pressed the elevator button. The Roahawk delivery would be arriving soon.
—My evaluation criterion as chairman is only performance! In addition, anonymous judges will also be evaluating! The announcement of my successor will be this winter, or perhaps spring! Not long left, right?!
Ding—!
The elevator arrived on the seventy-seventh floor. The moment Epherene saw the person inside, she frowned.
A tall, blond, oily man.
“Oh~?”
Candidate number 2, Ihelm. Unlike Epherene’s sullen face, he smiled in delight.
“Wow~ Leafy.”
“······.”
“Aren’t you getting in?”
Ihelm stuck his foot into the elevator doors as they were about to close. Thunk! The doors opened again.
Tsk— Epherene clicked her tongue and got into the elevator.
“What are you so dissatisfied about, Leafy? Did I do something wrong?”
“I clearly told you my name is Epherene, didn’t I?”
“That name is too desert-like. Isn’t Leafy warmer and nicer?”
“······.”
Epherene shut her mouth entirely.
Woooom— The elevator descended steeply. In that stillness, Ihelm spoke. His voice was low, as if sharing a secret.
“Leafy. Are you going to let Deculein become chairman?”
“······.”
“Then your father will be buried forever. He will never be recognized.”
“······Oh, seriously.”
Again with father, father, this bullshit.
Grinding her teeth, Epherene glared at Ihelm. He smirked and continued.
“Deculein’s thesis presentation isn’t far off. Do you really think that bastard will even spare a thought for your father, the original author and owner of that thesis? If anything, he’ll erase his very existence.”
“Oh, seriously! Why do you keep saying that kind of—!”
Epherene shrieked. Ihelm held out a sheet of paper to her.
“Take it.”
“What is it?”
“A witness application.”
“······What did you say?”
“I’m thinking of having you stand as a witness at the upcoming ‘hearing.’”
Epherene looked at the paper. It contained something like, [The candidate for chairman of this Magic Tower, ‘Ihelm,’ requests Solda ‘Epherene’ as a witness for the hearing······]
“No—”
“It doesn’t matter if you refuse, but know this. You are the only card I have to overtake Deculein.”
“······So what do you want me to do?”
Epherene answered bluntly and gripped the paper, about to tear it.
“In other words, if you don’t step forward, Deculein will certainly become chairman. Then that bastard will definitely bury your father.”
Her two hands flinched to a stop.
Ding—!
Just then, the elevator arrived.
“Leafy. Why do you think that Deculein bastard keeps you by his side? What do you think the reason is?”
“······.”
“Think. Use your head.”
Ihelm spoke while looking straight ahead through the wide-open elevator doors.
“Because he feels guilty about a subordinate who committed suicide under him? Because he pities you, that man’s daughter? Because of that paltry sympathy? No. Absolutely not.”
“······What are you trying to say?”
When she asked that, he tilted his head down and looked at her. His soft blond hair flowed like waves, and his crimson eyes drew a deep arc.
“I’m saying you’re Deculein’s ‘Achilles’ heel.’”
“······What nonsense.”
“What’s the best way to avoid getting stabbed in the chest by a dagger? You don’t give that dagger to someone else. You hold on to it yourself.”
“······.”
Epherene silently stepped out of the elevator. From behind her, Ihelm’s voice flowed in.
“That’s why he keeps you with him. So you can’t get any strange ideas. And if you do get strange ideas, so he can find out as quickly as possible.”
A deliveryman was looking around near the entrance of the Magic Tower. Ifrin hurried over to him.
“This is the Roahawk delivery, right? That’s mine. How much is it?”
“Three hundred elne.”
Ihelm stepped in as Ifrin rummaged through her wallet.
“Want me to buy it for you?”
“Oh, seriously. No, so just go.”
“Is that so? Well, still, don’t forget what I said. The witness application form. Make sure you keep it. It’s the only way you can cut down your father’s enemy with your own hands.”
Ihelm gave Ifrin a pat on the shoulder and left.
“······Here. Three hundred elne.”
Ifrin took three hundred elne from her wallet and handed it over.
“Yes. Enjoy your meal~”
Then she got back on the elevator.
—That’s why he’s keeping you around. So you can’t get any strange ideas. So if you do get any strange ideas, he can notice as quickly as possible.
Ihelm’s voice lingered in her ears.
Ifrin swallowed the sigh rising in her chest.
—If Deculein becomes chairman, your father will be buried forever. He’ll never be acknowledged.
She looked at the [ Witness Application Form ] in her hand.
It was already crumpled like a rag, but······.
—The witness application form. Make sure you keep it. It’s the only way you can cut down your father’s enemy with your own hands.
Unable to bring herself to tear it up, she put it in her pocket.
* * *
「Origin: Mirror」 was a reward more beautiful than expected.
An invincible technique like “Rainbow Reflection” was, of course, impossible, but I had gained the very phenomena of a mirror—such as “refraction” and “reflection”—as a talent.
Thanks to that, magical applications closer to feats of skill were also possible, such as entering and exiting mirrors like portals.
Of course, it was a talent I had only just obtained yesterday, so I had yet to grasp it in detail—
Knock, knock.
Someone knocked on the office door. I opened it with 「Psychokinesis」.
“Professor.”
It was Primienne. She had a box tucked under her arm.
“I have organized everything related to Cielia.”
Thud—! Primienne set the box on the office desk. It was full of reports.
Primienne picked out only one document from among them.
“This is the file related to Monarch Sylvia.”
“······Monarch.”
“Yes. Sylvia is now of the same rank as you, Professor. It is an achievement for creating an artificial island in the orbit of the Floating Island.”
Monarch Sylvia.
I pondered for a moment, then nodded. It was not as if I felt no jealousy at all.
“Please read it. In order from the top.”
Primienne sat in a chair. I lifted the file with 「Psychokinesis」. I read it carefully, sentence by sentence, without missing a single line.
“······.”
Thud— I closed the file. Primienne was watching with rigid eyes.
I asked,
“Is this true?”
“It is an inference on my part. However, I believe you would know the ‘truth’ better than I, Professor.”
“······.”
I looked at the file again. Among the thick stack of documents was a single letter scorched by fire.
That letter stabbed into my temple like an awl. It revived fragments of memories I had not known existed.
—Did you think it would be enough for only you to die? Did you think leaving like this would be the end?
······Two gloved hands were strangling someone’s neck.
—This is not some mere transaction. The life of a damned bitch like you has no value whatsoever.
Deculein raged like a madman. His face, veins bulging, was more than enough to be called demonic.
—I will kill your husband Giltheon, and that daughter you love so much, all of them.
He cried out as if screaming.
With all the evil of his true nature, he howled as though casting a curse.
—I will chew them all up and devour them!
“······Professor?”
I raised my head again. My eyes trembled at the sudden headache.
“Are you all right?”
Primienne looked at me with suspicion in her eyes. I waved my hand dismissively.
“I’m fine. Go back now.”
“No. Today is the day of the [ Sylvia Surveillance Team ] meeting.”
“······And?”
“We ask that you attend.”
Primienne placed her hand on the box she had brought.
“I have also granted your request. Therefore, it is your turn now, Professor.”