Sanctuary 'Sewol'.
According to Ideunik, a community that had established itself at the very bottom of Myeolji, essentially worthless.
"......Worthless, you say?"
Ipeulin sat at the tea table there, facing Ideunik.
"Haaaahm. Yeah."
Ideunik yawned and nodded.
"Well, it's true that it was initially founded by desert seeds like Demakan and Mureukan."
Demakan and Mureukan. A base established for humanity's protection, founded together in a meeting of minds when the two still resided in the mortal world.
Here, Ideunik and Rohakan received Demakan's teachings.
"So what? Right now, no one even knows where those two are or what they're doing."
Demakan was already an archmage who had transcended humanity, in fact closer to an 'aberrant species,' and while Mureukan had not reached that realm, he was a being far beyond any standard.
However, they no longer involved themselves in the affairs of the mortal world.
Therefore, this 'Sewol' was as good as abandoned.
"More importantly. What did you do to Dekyullein?"
Ideunik asked with interest. Ipeulin's shoulders flinched.
"......The rumors have already reached here?"
"Yeah. Even that knight Yulli knows about it."
As he spoke, he pointed to Yulli.
For reference, Sir Yulli is currently asleep. Embracing his sword tightly, leaning against the tree of Sewol.
As if dead.
"But I don't know the details. So you tell me."
Ideunik snickered.
"No, well, if you're asking about something like that......"
Ipeulin pouted sullenly, but soon spoke of the things she had committed at the personnel committee.
The things she had done to utterly crush his 'face,' which Dekyullein hated losing more than anything else in the world.
"......That's why the nickname Plagiarist Professor Dekyullein is going around now. Are you satisfied?"
"......."
Having heard everything, Ideunik's mouth hung blankly open.
Ipeulin smacked her lips and spoke.
"It's over. It's finished. Next time we meet, we won't even be on greeting terms. The Professor will loathe me......"
"But why did you do such a thing?"
"......My research is harmful to the Professor. If the Floating Island brands my research and magic as heresy, it would be no use making frantic excuses then about how we weren't on good terms."
To avoid causing any unnecessary harm to Dekyullein, Ipeulin had chosen the 'most certain way to be hated.'
Even if it meant severing all ties with him.
"Yeah. With that guy's personality, this might really be the end for you two."
"......."
Ipeulin lowered her head and bit her lip.
"He's not the type to let it slide after hearing that his paper stole and plagiarized someone else's ideas. But, is that true?"
"......."
She kept silent at that question. Instead, she looked back at Yulli.
"Is Sir Knight alright?"
"No. He's not alright. It's a body that won't last long. Sleep is at least the way to maintain his body."
"......There's really no way?"
"Yeah. A year at most. But if he lives as a sleepyhead, maybe three? Who knows. If he sleeps twenty-two to twenty-three hours out of twenty-four, maybe thirty years?"
Ideunik spoke about human life as if it were a joke.
Ipeulin shook her head.
"......Then, why did you call me here?"
"What do you think. You got kicked out too. I called you to recruit you."
"Recruit me?"
"Yeah. We're planning to stop Sopien and Dekyullein first."
"......Stop them from what?"
Sssshhhh—
Ideunik poured black tea into the teacup.
"They will now march on the desert. To annihilate the Jeokgwe. To smash Myeolji."
"Ah...... I know that. Everyone knows. The entire continent."
"Yeah. But, what do you think about the Jeokgwe?"
The Jeokgwe.
Ipeulin's thoughts on them were not that profound. Of course, she didn't hate them madly like the Empire's nobles......
"A pitiful race...... I think that's about it."
"That's very good. Unlike those Empire bigwigs who go crazy at the mere mention of the Jeokgwe."
"......But why the Jeokgwe all of a sudden?"
"Because the massacre of the Jeokgwe is exactly what the 'God' wants. To be precise, God wants war. Ipeulin. You met a God too, right?"
"Yes. Kwei."
"That God's name is Kwei? Anyway, I met him too."
Ipeulin's eyes went wide.
"He told me. That he would recreate the continent."
Clack. Ideunik sipped from his teacup, furrowing his brow.
"But, can he annihilate all of humanity on this continent and recreate it alone? No. Absolutely impossible. And if he could do it alone, he would have done so already."
At that moment, a word surfaced in Ipeulin's mind.
"......Through war?"
"That's right. Correct. God intends to start a war and destroy the continent's foundations from the ground up. That way, his will can be carried out more easily."
Ideunik looked at Allen behind Ipeulin.
"That's why we're closely cooperating with the Jeokgwe. We're trying to save them."
"......Eek?"
Ipeulin's jaw dropped.
Civilians who simply hid three Jeokgwe children were sentenced to death, yet he says save them?
Ideunik smirked.
"Run if you want to run. If you get caught, it's the death penalty."
"......."
At those words, Ipeulin pondered for a moment.
No, at first she had definitely intended to refuse.
She was a mage, not a political activist, to begin with. Right now, she had no interest in anything other than magic.
But, suddenly.
A memory of a certain day came to mind.
"......Right. Mr. Ideunik. I once tried to join the Imperial Royal Guard."
At that, Ideunik raised his eyebrows.
"Oh yeah? Did you join?"
"No. The Professor stopped me then. Tearing up the application to the Royal Guard while saying this."
The words he spoke that day still remained in her heart.
And so, belatedly, they pained her heart now.
"He said he is a mage who kills people, but I am not. That I am not a mage who kills people. So become a mage who saves people."
"......."
"Could that perhaps have been...... him asking me to stop him?"
Having said that, it really seemed to be the truth.
Of course, now he would treat me like disgusting filth no matter what becomes of me.
"Hahat......"
Just as Ipeulin, needlessly immersed in sentiment, formed a bitter smile.
Ideunik spoke bluntly.
"If you hang it on your ear, it's an earring; if you hang it on your nose, it's a nose ring. You interpreting it however you please is a rather ugly sight."
"What?"
Ipeulin frowned.
"Anyway. There are plenty of supplies here for now, so if you have research to do, feel free to do it here. When you leave, go through that friend."
Ideunik's finger pointing at Allen.
"......Ah~ right. Assistant Professor Allen. Come to think of it, we still have something to talk about, don't we?"
Ipeulin glared at him with narrowed eyes, and Allen, knowing his guilt, scratched the back of his neck with a bitter smile.
* * *
A peaceful morning on a certain day with clear sunlight.
"Again."
The Yukrain mansion.
"Again. Move your mana properly."
This annex was one I used as a training room, but now I was teaching another brat here.
"I'm telling you to look at your own body directly with your own eyes."
"......Yes."
Ria was staring at the 'circuit diagram' of her body.
The circuit diagram was literally a circuit diagram. A kind of human body map that displayed the movements of mana strands circulating within her body in real time.
A high-grade artifact imbued with the [Hand of Midas], and at stage four at that.
"Can't you see it?"
"......I can see it."
However, Ria seemed utterly unable to grasp the knack. Even while looking at the circuit diagram, she couldn't move her mana properly. The flow of mana kept going astray.
The 'roads' were already paved in her body, yet she couldn't actually utilize them.
"Are you blind?"
I was frustrated by that.
Enough to get angry.
"Are you a blind person who can't even see a picture?"
"A...... no."
"Are you a retarded idiot who can't think? Do you lack a brain?"
"......."
"If not, then I'm telling you to look at your body directly and move your mana. Don't just stand there like a cripple."
I pushed her shoulder with [Telekinesis]. In that instant, the brat's concentration broke. She let out a short groan and clutched her shoulder.
From a mere single interruption, the mana that had been circulating through her body's circuits scattered in an instant.
"......Ah. Sorry, I'm sorry."
"You're unbelievable."
Ria was flustered, but I waved my hand.
"Get lost. Make it so your mana can circulate through your body at least once by tomorrow. Or you're expelled."
"......Yes."
I added a word to the dejected brat as if in contempt.
"This talent is wasted on the likes of you. Don't squander it meaninglessly."
"......I'm sorry."
The brat bit her lip where no one could see, then bowed her waist once and went outside.
Thud.
Whether it was a timid act of defiance, the sound of the annex door closing was louder than last night.
"......Is this all after two weeks."
Two weeks.
The time since Ipeulin left me, and I took in Ria.
Ria's rate of development wasn't bad.
Rather, it was outstanding.
She had somehow accomplished the 'Circuit Opening' that required tremendous pain and endurance, and now was at the next step.
"However, this is not enough."
Even if it weren't insufficient, I planned to drive her like a beast of burden.
Only as much as she could handle.
Right up until the moment before death.
"......Potential."
If Ria truly was Yuara's easter egg, she must have been born with some important role.
I intended to scrape together all of her remaining potential and force it to bloom.
─Professor? Can you hear me. Today is Wednesday. My body is gradually stiffening.
Just then, the voice of Sopien rang from the crystal ball.
A roundabout way of telling me to come quickly.
I answered her.
"......I shall depart."
.......
The guest room of the Yukrain mansion was luxurious. Whether it was a magical phonograph or if the mansion had its own orchestra, classical melodies flowed softly every day at noon, and a warm breeze and sunlight caressed one's face through the window gaps.
"Why! Why doesn't it work! Why won't it work!"
A young, yet sharp voice echoed through that peaceful room.
"It worked when I practiced yesterday!"
Thud thud thud—!
Ria shouted, banging on the 'circuit diagram' on her desk.
"No, it worked yesterday!"
It had worked yesterday. She had definitely succeeded. But today, she had returned to square one.
"Shit!"
She shouted loudly, filled with anger.
"Damn it!"
The eyes of Dekyullein that had glared at her moments ago, the abusive language bordering on personal attacks, the pain from the [Telekinesis] that struck her upper arm.
The humiliation and shame that had burned her face red.
"Shiiiiit!"
Recalling all of that, Ria moved her mana again.
But it didn't work again this time, and the mana inside her body quickly escaped her control, flowing however it pleased.
"Shit! Shit! Shit!"
Blood flowed from Ria's eyes as she cursed. A nosebleed flowed too. Blood flowed from her mouth as well.
The blood vessels inside her body had burst.
"Ah."
Thus, Ria had recently suffered tremendous abuse from Dekyullein.
Creating new roads for mana within the body was that harsh a task, and concentrating her mana on those roads also required tremendous effort.
"......Somehow, this feels like when I was coding."
She wiped the flowing blood and muttered blankly.
Indeed, exactly like when she was coding, she felt a stubborn, pointless defiance, talking to herself, pushing herself to the limit......
"......What? A retard? Brainless?"
The abusive words of her boss that occasionally resurfaced were exactly the same.
'You can't even do that? What the hell have you learned all this time, you damn cripple? Hey, do I look easy to you? Are you doing this shit on purpose because you think I'm a fucking joke? If it pisses you off, then quit,' etc......
They made her blood boil every time she heard them, back then and now, but giving up wasn't her nature.
Rather, it only filled her with the desire to surpass those expectations like mad, going beyond merely meeting them.
"Knock knock~"
A knock at the door that suddenly lightened the mood.
Ria turned that way.
"......Hey. Are you okay?"
It was Yeriel, who had entered her room before she knew it. She raised her chin while looking at her.
Ria answered.
"Yes. I'm fine."
"No. You don't look fine. Your dark circles are insane right now."
"I haven't slept, so of course not. I'll be fine after some sleep."
In truth, what Yeriel saw in Ria right now wasn't just dark circles.
Her eyes, which had been round on the first day she arrived, somehow grew sharper and more pointed as time went on, until they looked quite keen, and every nerve in her body seemed focused solely on training.
In other words, she looked like someone who had gone beyond concentration and sunk into obsession.
“Take it easy, will you?”
“Yes. I’m fine.”
“……Right, well. Keep at it.”
“Yes.”
Lia bobbed her head roughly, not listening at all. Then she went back to staring at the “circuit diagram,” and Yeriel closed the door from inside the room.
Thud—!
Pretending to have gone outside, she observed the girl from within.
“……Damn it! Daaaamn it!”
The sight of her trembling and shouting was cute, and yet—
“Damn it! Why won’t it work! Heh, hihihi, let’s try. Yeah, again. Like back when I used to code. If there’s an error, start over from the beginning. Start with the error check. Hihi, this is fun. Ah, so fun…….”
When she started grinning and muttering strange things, it was a little frightening, so Yeriel quietly opened the door again and this time truly went outside.
* * *
“The divine language of the final year is roughly coming together.”
The Imperial Palace.
As the teaching mage visiting Sophien, I was analyzing the divine language with her.
“We have interpreted three more revelations.”
The voice came from behind me. That was because Sophien had pressed her back against mine.
We were seated on the same sofa, facing opposite directions.
“……By the way, Professor.”
She called to me.
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“Mm.”
Then, as though shifting her body, she rested her chin on my shoulder.
“Are you all right? Your disciple struck you quite hard in the back of the head.”
“I am all right.”
I answered briefly.
“I have known his nature for some time.”
“…….”
Sophien wordlessly slipped her arms around my side. She embraced me from behind.
Her pleasant scent and red hair tickled my ear and cheek.
“Deculein, the Plagiarist Professor. Are you all right with that nickname, then?”
“…….”
I thought it over carefully, then shook my head.
“That does make me angry. Who said such a thing?”
“Who knows.”
“It was surely one of your retainers.”
“Mm. Who knows.”
Sophien laughed softly and placed her hand on my cheek. Applying a little force, she made me look straight at her face.
Sophien said,
“Professor. We shall now march into the desert and annihilate every last one of those Jeokgwe bastards.”
“Yes. The continent is aware of Your Majesty’s will.”
“However, We are more curious about your will than the continent’s.”
She tapped her nose against mine. Rubbing the tips of our noses together as if acting coy, she asked,
“Do you follow Our will?”
I looked directly into her eyes.
Red irises, deep as wine. My reflection held within them was frighteningly composed.
“Perhaps not.”
“What?”
Sophien furrowed her brow. Her irises curved sharply. An aura rippled coldly around her body.
I said,
“I act out of loyalty. If Your Majesty’s will would in truth bring harm to Your Majesty, then I would risk death to refuse it.”
“…….”
At that, Sophien closed her mouth. She gazed steadily into my eyes, watching the tremble of my pupils as if she would not let even the smallest emotion slip by.
Then, suddenly, she said,
“Professor.”
“Yes.”
“May We place Our lips upon yours?”
At that peculiar request, I narrowed my eyes.
However, Sophien calmly added, as though it were nothing at all.
“It is simple curiosity. Mm. Merely a simple act, nothing more. Do not think too deeply on it. If you wish to refuse, then refuse…….”