“······Hmph.”
Yusepin tapped her cheek with her fingers propped against her chin, eavesdropping on the conversation inside.
The situation was fascinating, and she had nearly sulked at the words, “Sister is being overbearing—”, but in the end, she’d simply laughed.
The price for using the head of the great noble House Yukrain was, at most, a smile once a month.
It made her skin crawl, but she found the honesty rather refreshing; however, Yulri could not even manage that much of an answer, so Yusepin could hardly endure the frustration.
If it were her, she would have already extracted several mines by now.
“Shall I watch a little longer······.”
She had intended to kill.
She had agonized over the method ever since long ago, from the day Yulri cried in secret, devising schemes and stratagems numbering in the hundreds and thousands.
Until now, she had waited for Yulri to say it herself, but Yulri was too kind a child to even imagine such words, so she had decided to wait no longer.
“So be it.”
But today, Deculain’s sincerity had been worth hearing.
Yusepin could distinguish the color of that voice. At least those words saying he would not marry Yulri had been unmistakably true.
So, let this one slide.
Let it be deferred for a moment.
“······Brother. What do you think of Deculain?”
Yusepin asked Zeit, who had been yawning at a table on the first floor.
Zeit twitched his eyebrows and asked in turn.
“How do you think?”
“I don’t know, Brother~ I simply follow Yulri’s will. What about you?”
“······.”
At that, Zeit’s expression turned vaguely stiff. He rubbed his temples a few times and swept his hair back.
“Yusepin. In chess, a King cannot move like a Queen. A King cannot move like a Knight, nor can a Knight move like a Pawn. If something you believed to be a Queen were suddenly exposed as a Knight, it would be quite disappointing.”
Zeit had not pushed for marriage with Deculain from the beginning, either.
“But Deculain is no mere piece. Deculain is the chessboard. Even if the chessboard has a few scratches, it does not mean pieces cannot stand upon it.”
“And so?”
Zeit gazed out the restaurant window. Within his pupils, the embers of war that had once blazed still stormed.
“Yusepin, I remember Father’s death.”
Zeit clenched his teeth. The terrifying aura that rose from him at that moment pressed down upon the area. The nobles in the restaurant, caught by an unknown affliction, coughed.
“Father was a man worth more than all those damned desk-jockeys of the Central combined. Yet those bastards treated a knight’s honor as less than a mere mana stone.”
Yusepin simply nodded.
Zeit at times like this was frightening, even to Yusepin.
“It’s the Center, Yusepin. Because it’s the Center. Out on the frontier, we’re in a state where there isn’t even a chessboard to participate in the game.”
Margrave Phairiden.
An ancient Count’s House defending the empire’s northwest, which leads to Myeolji.
They had lost their head to a defeat long ago.
“I will not repeat the past. Yulri must know that feeling as well.”
“Yes. I understand. I do too.”
Truthfully, Yusepin had taken their father’s death in stride.
Either way, Zeit was certain to be the next successor, and since there was simply no way for her to kill Zeit, she had abandoned the position of House head from afar.
Yusepin tended to quickly lose interest in things she could not have.
“······Those bastards who would not even be sated if torn to death. Someday I will tear their limbs and chew them to pieces to feed to the dogs······.”
Yusepin shook her head.
Though they were the same family, Zeit was truly brutal.
That was why she worried.
With Zeit like this, if you, Yulri, were to fly away freely······.
Then, Yulri, this big sister will be hoping.
If that day comes, I hope you have grown much stronger than Zeit.
Strong enough to subdue Zeit by force, and soar more splendidly than anyone.
Just then, Yulri came down to the first floor. Beside her was Deculain.
“Oho~ Professor Deculain. Have you finished your conversation?”
Zeit’s expression changed completely upon seeing Deculain.
The atmosphere between Yulri and Deculain was somewhat awkward. However, it was not as hostile as before.
“Haha. Hmm. Well, it seems the talk went somewhat well, does it not?”
“Yes.”
Deculain nodded as well.
If so, this much was enough. Zeit patted Yulri’s shoulder in satisfaction.
“Then, let us be off! For a drink.”
The four of them came out of the restaurant together.
Deculain deliberately walked slowly, so naturally, the three Phairidens took the lead.
“Was the food delicious, Yulri? We ate outside too~ The meat was tasty.”
“I do not know. And, Sister, please do not speak to me from now on.”
“Huh? Why? Why~? Don’t be so cruel, you’re making Sister sad.”
“Do you ask because you do not know?”
“Why. When did we fight again? I suppose we clashed opinions when choosing the dress?”
From afar, they looked like a harmonious family simply bickering with each other.
However, if you looked just a little closer······.
As expected, Charlie Chaplain’s adage was always right.
“I shall take my leave here. I have business at the Magic Tower.”
Deculain stopped at the crossroads and bowed with dignity.
“Hm? Why so soon. Have at least a drink.”
Zeit spoke thus, but Yusepin stopped him. In her whisper to Zeit, the word “memorial” was present. Yulri, who overheard those words, also looked at Deculain with somewhat strange eyes.
“Ah. I see. Farewell. I do hope there will be another occasion like this.”
“I hope so as well.”
Soon, Deculain turned in a different direction from them.
* * *
Early morning the next day.
*Bang—!*
The chair he tried to lightly levitate shot up violently. It looked as though it would embed itself in the roof, but upon controlling his Telekinesis, it soon landed gently, swaying as if in the wind.
“······I can’t get used to it.”
[ ‘Mana Quality Enhancement (Stage 1)’ is applied. ]
[ You can now hold mana with greater purity. ]
A qualitative enhancement of mana.
It meant the mana within his body had been more purely refined. That mana circulation had become smoother. That he could unleash superior output with the same amount of mana.
In that respect, the power of his Telekinesis, with magic circles memorized all over his body, had amplified by at least twenty-five percent or more, but having to adapt from scratch again was inconvenient.
“······Next routine.”
Anyway. It was time to memorize [Beginner Telekinesis] once more.
Right now, his Telekinesis was a mix of Basic and Beginner halves, but with just one more week of effort, he could expect that dramatic performance improvement as purely [Beginner]······
That was when.
*Whoosh—*
The door to the annex burst open suddenly.
“What.”
No, he had clearly told them not to enter without permission, so who would dare—
“What do you mean, ‘what.’ It’s me.”
It was Yeriel.
Yeriel looked at him, her eyes going wide as saucers, and twisted her lips as if dumbfounded.
“No······ Why don’t you put on some clothes? I heard you’ve been exercising lately, have you caught exhibitionism? Why are you bare-chested?”
In Yeriel’s hand as she said that was a sheet of parchment.
Its appearance alone was ominous, and immediately the system reacted.
[ Main Quest: Bercht’s Summons ]
“Take it. A summoning council has been called in Bercht. For the first time in fifteen years.”
He brought it over with Telekinesis and read.
The contents were nothing much. Just a notice that House Yukrain had been summoned, together with a postscript to look after one’s own safety.
“No, more importantly, were you tortured? Do you have a fatal illness? Why are you in such a state? You’re filthy.”
Yeriel scanned him with a furrowed face. As she said, his whole body was covered in wounds, and bloodstains had spread here and there.
“It’s nothing.”
He cleaned his body with Cleanse and asked.
“Did you come personally to deliver this parchment?”
“Killing two birds with one stone? I have business here too, so I’ll be here until tomorrow.”
Yeriel shrugged and answered as if grumbling. She seemed somehow bashful for no reason.
“Ah, right. You know the room I used when I entered the Academy? I’m sleeping there, so don’t even think of coming in.”
“Your words are curt.”
“······Spare me. Wow, you really fuss about tone. No, you care about it~ Boo-hoo, boo-hoo~”
Mocking him like that, Yeriel went outside.
“Give me food!”
Yeriel’s voice shouting at an attendant immediately followed.
“Tomorrow.”
Yeriel said she would stay from today until tomorrow······.
Today was his former fiancée’s memorial.
Surely, it could not be merely a coincidence.
* * *
[ Normal Magic Exploration Club: A club for the normal exploration of magic ]
Ifrin laughed as she looked at the plaque hanging in the club room. In Normal Magic Exploration Club, the “Normal” was a pun on “ordinary” and “commoner.”
“Ah, why do things like this make me laugh, pfft.”
Barely forcing down her wavering laughter, the door suddenly burst open.
“Startled!”
“Ah, Iffi! You’re here?! Come in!”
Julia grabbed her wrist and pulled her inside.
“Oh, Ifrin’s here. Hi.”
“Wanna play cards?”
The club’s total members were only seven, far fewer than expected, but Ifrin quite liked this tight-knit group.
“Iffi, what do you think? It’s spacious!”
Julia said, spinning in the center of the club room.
“Yeah. It really is.”
It was much more spacious than expected. Rather, it was about the size of the house she had lived in before.
“There’s a sofa too······.”
Ifrin trudged over and sat on the sofa.
It was soft.
She pressed down on it firmly with her hips.
It quickly returned to its original shape.
“Ooh.”
She pressed down again. It restored again.
She pressed down a bit harder. No problem at all.
Truly, the finest sofa she had ever sat on.
Checking the others’ eyes, Ifrin sneakily lay down horizontally on the sofa.
“Haaah—” And yawning, she asked.
“By the way, Julia. What did you write as the club’s purpose?”
“Hm? Ah~ ‘Practical Understanding and Exploration of Magic.’ If we do this well, we might even get to tour the Floating Island.”
The Floating Island of Mages.
The admission fee alone was a whopping ten thousand Elne, but it was an island any mage had to visit. The Promotion Exam was conducted there, after all.
“Without admission fees?”
Ifrin asked about the money first. Money, money, money, money, money. The hundred-thousand-Elne sponsorship was rapidly dwindling. Writing tools, and of course magic books, cost a fortune.
It was because she had eaten that Loahawk wild boar last week for no reason······. She thought he’d give a daughter’s-friend discount, but why was he so cold······.
“Of course it’s free.”
“Ooh! Ah, um. I see.”
I see.
If so, club activities were not as bad as she thought.
Perit spoke.
“But to do that, don’t we need the advising professor’s permission too?”
Ifrin pretended not to listen and perked her ears. Julia thought for a moment and answered.
“Hm······ If Ifrin asks, wouldn’t he allow it?”
“What? What do you mean. Why me.”
“Professor Deculain doesn’t think badly of you. There’s a rumor going around these days. That Deculain plays favorites with only Ifrin.”
Favoritism? Ifrin’s face crumpled at once.
Good heavens, to think such a dirty rumor existed.
“Are they crazy? Which bastards said that? Did they go mad studying for exams?”
“Then what is it? This club too, honestly, you were the one who asked for it.”
“······.”
Ifrin smacked her lips silently.
Why Deculain treated her so well.
Why he expected enough of her to be disappointed.
She had thought about it in quite some detail.
But it was too difficult a problem, and she could derive no reason except for the simplistic one of “pity.”
At least for now.
“What do you mean, what relation~”
“Ah, damn. What relation. It’s just······.”
Ifrin scratched the back of her neck.
To her, Deculain was a wall she absolutely had to overcome. The reason she had become a mage, and her highest-priority goal. She would always strive to surpass him with humility and modesty.
But saying it like that felt somehow lacking. So······.
“He’s my rival.”
*Pfft—* Snickers erupted here and there. Julia sprayed out the water she was drinking.
“Your gag is killer, Iffy.”
“It’s not a gag.”
“Ahaha. It’s funnier because your face is so serious.”
“Laugh or don’t.”
It was just as they were all laughing and chatting together.
Bang──!
Suddenly, the door flew open as if it had been smashed apart, and someone shaped like a jar came huffing in.
“You lot, what is this!”
It was Relin, the broad and fat professor from the Auxiliary Department.
“The Commoner Magic Research Club? What is this rootless nonsense—hey! What is this!”
Without offering any explanation, Relin started shouting at the top of his lungs. Startled by the bolt from the blue, the club members hid behind Epherene.
“I’m asking what the hell this kind of club is supposed to be!”
Epherene was nervous too, but she stepped forward with as much composure as she could muster.
After all, this was the backlash she had expected.
“We drafted a plan for establishing the club and received permission. It is an officially founded club.”
“What? Who in the world permitted a club like this! ……No, wait. Now that I look at you, you’re that half-wit who was being disciplined back then.”
Half-wit again. Again and again, half-wit. Was half-wit some kind of catchphrase among the Tower professors?
Epherene glared at Relin.
“Hah, look at this insolent brat. Daring to stare so boldly at a professor…… Hey! Lower your eyes!”
Relin’s face flushed bright red, and beyond the open door, in the hallway, the noble-born students of their year were snickering.
Those bastards must have tattled.
“Fine, if you’re so confident, then speak! To establish a club, the permission of at least one supervising professor is required. Say the name of that supervising professor!”
“……”
“I said, say it!”
At that browbeating, even Epherene bit her lower lip.
When she had founded the club, she had clearly said she would not bother him.
“Hah! Don’t tell me you forged it? If you forged it, expulsion will be certain, and even if you didn’t, you clearly defied me. I will say as much to the face of the professor who permitted this club’s establishment!”
Relin, of course, had decided that some professor with only a few years under his belt, ignorant of how the world worked, must have done something like this. That was why he asked again with such confidence.
“Now, speak! Who is it!”
“That……”
“Say it! I’m telling you to say it!”
The more Epherene faltered, the more savage Relin became, and more and more nobles gathered in the hallway, watching the “commoners who founded a commoner club” with amused eyes.
At that moment.
“Speak! Before I go find him myself and interrogate—”
“It was me.”
“What?! Where, what bastard……”
The instant he turned around, Relin’s body froze.
“……?”
Like someone struck by petrification, Relin stood there blankly, then merely tilted his head. For some reason, his expression was utterly innocent.
“Professor Relin. You called, so I came.”
Deculein.
Why, why was this Head Professor……?
“Uh…… yes?”
“Speak, Professor Relin.”
Deculein stepped right up to Relin and looked down at him.
The difference in height was ideal. If Relin had been a woman, and Deculein a man.
“Hurry and speak. Tell me what dissatisfies you so much.”
“……Ah. Professor Deculein, the Head Professor, this club……”
“Yes. I permitted it.”
“Ah, I, I see…… Why, why.”
“Do I need a reason to do what I wish? Should I have obtained your permission?”
Relin’s eyes rolled up, down, left, and right like a spinning top. Deculein twisted the corner of his mouth and said,
“Continue what you were saying.”
“Th-That is……”
Relin breathed roughly, desperately searching for a way out.
He spun his brain like mad, rolled his eyes around looking for something, anything, and finally—
“Is, is, isn’t this space far too cramped?!”
He pointed inside the clubroom and shouted.
“We are, after all, mages of the Empire’s Imperial University Magic Tower, and the supplies here, what, what are these! Isn’t it too narrow! And what is this furniture! ……I was indignant in that sort of sense. Ha ha ha.”
Having finished speaking, Relin exhaled heavily. Then he immediately smiled brightly and said,
“I will take responsibility and replace them with better ones.”
“As expected of Professor Relin. How kind of you.”
Deculein calmly nodded. Relin blustered with remarks like, Hahaha—how could I possibly be kind—
“Then I have a class, so I will be going now…… Hahahaha!”
Relin left with a hearty laugh, and even then, mages were still watching from the corridor of the Tower.
Deculein glared at them—or more precisely, at the group that had incited Relin. He even knew their names. Beck, Ishia, Jufern.
“Things like cockroaches always behave like cockroaches.”
A chilling and direct warning. They flinched, and then truly scurried away and hid like cockroaches.
After that, Deculein looked around at the members of the Commoner Magic Research Club. His gaze soon moved into the interior of the clubroom.
“It does look cheap.”
That was the end of it.
Deculein walked away down the corridor like a figure from some pictorial.
“……Whoa.”
Ferit’s legs gave out, and he collapsed onto the sofa. Just now, they had felt a chill.
So that was what a professor of the Tower was. Recently, people had been clamoring that Deculein was in crisis because he had no achievements to speak of, but that was all talk from people who knew nothing.
If they faced him directly even once, if they felt that pressure, they would know that those rumors of crisis were all bullshit.
“Is the Professor in a bad mood today? He’s way scarier than usual……”
“Shh.”
At Ferit’s words, Julia put her index finger to her lips. Then she whispered very quietly,
“Today is the anniversary of her death.”
“The anniversary?”
Ferit asked back in surprise. Epherene also silently widened her eyes. It was something she had known nothing about.
“Yeah. But you must never say it to Professor Deculein. They say that if you mention it even by mistake, you’ll never be able to open your eyes again. In other words, it’s taboo.”
Julia spoke with exaggerated menace.
“……Pfft.”
Ah, I find even this funny.
What do you mean, never be able to open your eyes again? Are you saying he’ll kill someone if they say one thing wrong?
Epherene, who had let out a hollow laugh, composed her expression.
“But if it’s the anniversary of someone’s death…… How strange. So that professor had someone he liked too.”
“……Huh?”
Julia tilted her head. It was understandable not to know about Deculein’s bereavement, but his relationship with his current fiancée, Yulie, should have been famous enough.
“So he was someone who knew how to like another person.”
Just as she murmured that voice, which sounded like either cynicism or a sigh—
“Hey, this is insane. This is crazy.”
Rondo, who had been staring into the Wizboard, widened his eyes in shock and clutched at his hair. Epherene and Julia looked at him as well.
“What is it?”
“Professor Deculein just dumped a bomb of assignments on us.”
“What? Where!”
Julia, Epherene, and Rondo. Since the three of them had enrolled in Deculein’s lecture, they gathered close together and looked at the Wizboard.
The assignments recorded on the Wizboard from Deculein, their contents were……
[ Research and describe magic formulae for pure elements combining three or more attributes ]
[ Research and describe theories according to the density and concentration of mana, and the fluctuation of elements ]
[ Research and describe the “quality of mana” ]
“Ah, wait, what is this……”
Epherene felt a shock so great it made her dizzy.