······After returning to the lord’s residence, Yeriel took out the diary she had kept as a child.
An old memory, wrapped in filthy dust inside a worn drawer.
─Today, I wasn’t scolded when I ate breakfast. Maybe that’s why Brother spoke to me, too. I felt good all day.
─I dropped my knife while eating dinner. Brother looked at me like I was pathetic. I was sad because it was my fault. From now on, even if Brother doesn’t scold me, I should make sure I do better on my own.
─Starting tomorrow, I’ll do well at the things I couldn’t do yesterday. I’ll try my best.
─Brother hates it when I cry, and I shouldn’t cry, but I ended up crying. Why can’t I hold back my tears······.
“······Idiot.”
Unable to read any further, she closed the diary.
Why had I been so weak back then? What in the world made me act like such a fool?
Yeriel let out a sigh and looked at the gloves placed at the corner of her desk. They were luxury goods Deculein had supposedly given her as a gift.
“Gift, my ass.”
Yeriel muttered a curse.
The past when she had craved love no longer even felt like a memory. The child whose world shook at every word you spoke was already dead.
All of it was nothing but pain she wanted to forget.
“I’m not falling for it, you bastard.”
Yeriel grabbed the gloves and was about to fling them away.
“······Shit.”
But she couldn’t bring herself to move her arm.
It was the first time.
She had never even received a simple happy birthday, so it was the first gift of her entire life.
Of course, that bastard had probably said it in passing······.
Yeriel put the gloves into the drawer.
“I just won’t use them anyway.”
Muttering that, she nodded.
* * *
9 p.m.
Many people had gathered in the forest behind the hotel [ Hadekain Romance ]. It was the first night event of the three-day, two-night retreat: watching the magic fireworks.
Louder and louder─!
With cheers, sparkling strands of magic shot up into the sky.
Bang─ Boom─ Babababang─!
The magic exploded in midair, beautifully embroidering the ceiling of the night.
Woooow······.
So pretty······.
A dark yet bright night.
Pure exclamations filled the air. Among the crowd watching the fireworks were the three children from the Archipelago—Carlos, Leo, and Yuria.
“As expected of Sylvia. Flawless and perfect.”
And the professors of the Department of Magic scored the fireworks made by each wizard team. The fireworks created by Sylvia’s team received full marks from all seven professors.
“Ephi. Are you ready?”
“Yeah.”
The last turn belonged to Epherene’s team. They had brought fireworks with formulas inscribed in advance. Epherene, who served as team leader, shouted loudly.
“We used destruction magic and harmony magic to—”
“Just launch them.”
“······Yes.”
The professors were indifferent. Crestfallen, Epherene gathered mana into her bracelet.
The surging mana seeped into the pile of fireworks, then shot straight upward.
Fweeeeeeeeng─!
The magic reached the sky with a tremendous roar and exploded.
Paaaaang─!
Just as Epherene had explained, the feast of destruction and harmony formed a beautiful curtain like an aurora.
It was a result that could hold its own against Sylvia’s team, but the professors’ reactions were decidedly unfavorable.
“It is pretty, but it’s too loud. My ears hurt. I give it 6 points.”
Professor Siare of the Department of Destruction gave 6 points.
“4 points.”
Letran of the Department of Spirits gave 4 points.
“No, why?!”
When no explanation was given, Julia widened her eyes and asked back. The professors only glared at her silently. Julia pouted and stepped back.
“It’s okay.”
Epherene comforted Julia.
She had expected it to some extent anyway. The professors disliked the commoner club itself, the “Common Magic Research Club.”
······But then.
“10 points. The ratio of destruction magic and harmony magic was balanced.”
It was a sudden perfect score.
A low, deep voice and a clean, concise evaluation.
······Deculein.
Startled, Julia asked back.
“What?! 10 points?!”
When Deculein nodded, the professors began watching one another’s reactions. Relin, who was next, praised it and gave 10 points, and the rest of the professors all gave 10 points as well.
Only Siare and Letran, who had given 6 and 4 points, broke out in cold sweat. They misunderstood this as Deculein’s “new method of screwing people over.”
“We will announce the results of the magic fireworks contest! In 1st place, with 70 points, Sylvia’s team; in 2nd place, with 60 points, Julia’s team; in 3rd place, with 58 points, Beck’s team······.”
Thanks to that, Epherene’s team placed second. The club members laughed and congratulated one another, but Epherene looked at Deculein with complicated feelings.
“······.”
He gave no one his gaze and left for somewhere else.
─What the hell is that, seriously?
─This is ridiculous.
─Hey, see? Deculein only favors her, I’m telling you. He burned Senior Drent’s thesis, though.
─Exactly. That incident at the beginning of the semester should’ve gotten her punished, but she got off because of Deculein. There are even rumors he gave her private lessons.
─Whoa. Are the two of them really like that?
─······No way. She’s cute enough, but I don’t think Professor Deculein has that kind of taste.
The whispers of a group of noble-born wizards, backbiting in a way that was not noble at all.
Epherene was angry, but she said nothing.
“Ephi, look at this! It’s the second-place prize!”
Just then, Julia brought over the second-place prize. It was whiskey.
Epherene snatched the mouth of the bottle. She popped the cap off and gulped down a mouthful.
“Gasp! Ephi, what’s wrong?”
“Wait here. I’m going somewhere for a bit.”
As soon as Epherene returned the whiskey to Julia, she immediately took off running. She sprinted at full speed. She remembered which direction he had gone.
There had been countless questions she had never dared ask all this time. There were maddeningly many things she wanted to know.
Today was merely the trigger.
“Haa, haa, haa······.”
······Had she run for about thirty minutes?
At last, Epherene found Deculein on a bench by a dim roadside. Beside him was a horse.
Gulp─ she swallowed.
He seemed not to care about her at all, but she hesitantly approached and sat on the bench opposite him.
“······Professor.”
Deculein did not answer. Epherene continued regardless.
“I know this is rude, but there is something I would like to ask you regarding the thesis conference.”
Only then did Deculein tilt his head slightly.
“Are you talking about Drent?”
“Yes.”
At that thesis conference, Epherene had felt something out of place.
The 「Protective Fireball」 and the formula Drent had presented. The suspicion had only grown thicker with each passing day.
“The contents of that thesis······.”
“They are similar to your assignment. No, almost identical. Did you only just realize that?”
Deculein muttered as if she were pathetic.
“Uh······.”
Epherene stared blankly with her mouth open.
But, of course, though she had not expected him to state it so plainly, perhaps it was something she had already known.
Before long, her face grew sorrowful, and she lowered her gaze.
“······.”
Those noble bastards who knew nothing called it Deculein’s favoritism toward me, called it affection.
Could these things truly be called favoritism?
If so, then why?
Just why?
“······Why.”
Epherene looked at the stones scattered across the road.
The wind blowing from the west brushed over her robe. Wahahahaha─ laughter from the wizards sounded from not far away.
“The disciplinary hearing, the club, and now this thesis too······”
······Just one thing.
The most important thing she had never managed to ask him until now.
“Is it because of my father? Because you feel indebted to him?”
Epherene mustered her courage and spoke. Then she proudly raised her head.
Deculein.
The professor she hated most was looking at her.
Those blue eyes that made her body tremble simply by meeting them······.
“Find out for yourself.”
“······.”
“Do not throw a tantrum. You are not a child.”
Deculein cut her off coldly and rose from his seat.
In an instant, the tension snapped. It felt as if all the strength drained from her body.
However, anger soon filled that emptiness.
Epherene clenched her fists tightly.
“······I was going to do that anyway!”
That shout made Deculein look back at her.
Epherene did not avoid his gaze. The fire in her heart did not freeze.
“I will apply. To serve under you, Professor.”
“······.”
“There, I’ll uncover what happened! Why my father killed himself, why he had no choice but to do it!”
Deculein merely looked at her. There was not even the slightest change in his expressionless face.
“Also, Professor, you once said this. That I was an uncut gem.”
Someday, she might regret these words.
Perhaps it was nothing but the shout of a half-baked fool full of childish bravado.
“You said that because I was an uncut gem, I shouldn’t waste my own talent.”
Tears had already gathered in her wide-open eyes, and her tightly pressed lips trembled.
“So I will definitely surpass you, Professor. In a place where you can watch, I will become greater than youuuuu—!”
Having poured out all her long-buried emotions, Epherene panted for breath. Annoyed by the tears that had flowed without her realizing it, she wiped them away roughly with the hem of her robe.
“······.”
The night air slowly drifting in cooled her heat.
Beneath the starry sky, Deculein merely stood there. At his silence, Epherene suddenly grew frightened. Only belatedly did she realize what she had done.
However, he······.
“That is a good mindset.”
He did not try to break her will.
He did not look down on her, nor did he mock her.
“Challenge me endlessly.”
Rather, he respected her, and simply said this.
“Whatever lies at the end, you will be able to make it your laurel wreath.”
Deculein mounted his horse.
Epherene stood blankly and watched his back. The red horse carrying him quickly grew distant.
“······Fine.”
Epherene nodded with a hollow laugh.
As you said, I will challenge you endlessly.
So you too should stand in a place loftier than anyone else. I hope you stand somewhere far higher than you are now.
At the peak where you can climb no higher, I hope you are defeated by no one else but me.
Until then, I will······.
“Ah!”
A dull pain struck her scapula.
Epherene rubbed her shoulder and looked at the ground. A thrown stone was rolling there.
“What is this now······.”
When she looked up at a nearby tree, a hawk was glaring at her.
Did that thing throw it? She had the absurd thought, but it turned out to be a reasonable one. The pebble gripped in the hawk’s talon came flying—whiz.
That hawk had definitely thrown it.
“What are you— Ah, stop throwing— Ah, no, that bird—”
* * *
I arrived at the entrance of Crevasse Gorge. Red Hare’s performance was so excellent that one hour had been enough.
“There is no gas mask that fits you, so this is as far as you go today. Return to the stable. And come back again at noon.”
I sent Red Hare back. I did not know whether it would obey the order, but in its neighing—Heeheeheeng!—and movements, there was not the slightest sign of fatigue.
“······A death variable, is it.”
Standing still, I recalled the incident just now.
Epherene’s declaration today was, of course, not a death variable. However, it was somewhat bewildering.
Epherene is coming under my command?
It is not bad. The only unclear part is whether this will become a knife at my throat, or a knife worn at my waist.
Not only was it that sudden, but I still did not know “exactly” what Deculein had done to Epherene’s father.
He may truly have committed a sin worthy of death, or it may have been something that deserved only a moderate scolding.
I want to know, but for now, I cannot······.
[ Independent Quest: Traverse ]
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Just then, a system message appeared.
In the distance, Charlotte’s party was approaching. Covered in dust, they let out sighs of relief when they saw me.
“······?”
However, their party consisted only of Maho, Charlotte, and Ron. The other one, “Gether,” was nowhere to be seen.
“Only the three of you?”
I asked Charlotte. Charlotte did not answer.
Did Gether die on the way here?
A pity.
From behind Charlotte’s back, Maho poked her head out.
“Hello~ Professor Deculein. You are the professor, right? The kind gentleman who’s going to help us. I heard so much from Sir Charlotte······”
Maho spoke with a bright, bashful smile. I was glad to see her pouring out words the moment we met.
Her face was exactly as I had designed it, and her personality was exactly as I had seen in the game.
“Yes. It is a pleasure to meet you. I am Deculein von Grahan Yukline, senior professor of the Imperial University Magic Tower.”
“Wow, a senior professor, that’s amazing, amazing. You must be so good at magic······.”
I answered with a smile and looked at Charlotte. Charlotte’s expression was not very good.
“Take this. It’s a note I received from the adventuring party.”
Charlotte held out a sheet of paper.
[ Approximately 37 assassins and a ‘Diannant’ are pursuing you. ]
Diannant. The moment I saw that word, I frowned. An instinctive disgust surged up within me.
“Has the Leoc royal family fallen so far?”
“······Apparently so.”
A Diannant is a subspecies, half ghost and half demon.
Its appearance is similar to a human’s, and it possesses human-level intelligence and speaks like a human, but inside, it is no different from a demon.
However, the reason a Diannant is even more revolting than a demon is because it is the ‘product of a contract.’
A spell from the 「Demon Summoning」 branch used by the black mages of the ‘Ashes.’
A creature that can only be summoned by mixing an intact human body with things like a demon’s horns, and one difficult to kill both physically and magically.
“······Will you be all right?”
Charlotte asked.
“Of course I will.”
My chances of victory are more than sufficient.
To begin with, once we enter the crevasse, my ‘mana quality’ will rise to [ Grade 4 ], my mana recovery speed will overwhelm my mana consumption, and the power and output of all my spells will be amplified.
On top of that, the opponent is a demonic Diannant, so I can tear it apart thoroughly.
“Princess Maho.”
“Yes? Yes, yes?”
I set my briefcase down on the road. The case opened, and fifteen blades of Wood Steel rose into the air.
Maho’s eyes widened.
“From now on, this steel will guard you.”
“Wooow.”
Charlotte muttered, ‘A magic perfect for escorting, huh—’ and took out a mining gas mask.
“Don’t you need one? I happen to have four.”
“I do not.”
I shook my head.
* * *
The group entered the ‘Crevasse Canyon.’
The entrance of the canyon was no different from any other mountain path. It was somewhat narrow and harsh, but that was all.
“Professor Deculein, I think you’re a really kind person.”
“You mean me?”
However, more than that peace, Charlotte was surprised by Deculein’s unexpected attitude.
“Of course, of course~ The other nobles of the Empire seemed to hate me. They kept ignoring me and scolding me······ so it made me sad, but you’re different, Professor.”
“Pay no mind to such people.”
He treated Maho with the utmost respect. Every word he spoke was steeped in etiquette, and his actions were filled with dignity.
“The baser a person is, the more they try to elevate themselves by looking down on others.”
“Huh? Ah······ Am I base?”
“No. I am referring to the Empire’s half-baked nobles. Princess Maho is, of course, a precious person, but that preciousness is not embodied by bloodline alone. Your Highness possesses the qualities befitting it.”
“Wow······ No one has ever said that to me before······.”
Charlotte, feeling somehow uncomfortable, cut in between them.
“Hey. That’s enough.”
You’ll end up seducing her at this rate.
“······.”
Deculein nodded and walked on in silence.
His steps as he guided them through the canyon were unhesitating. As if he had come and gone several times before, he did not lose his way in the slightest.
The deeper they advanced into the canyon, the more the forest and vegetation took on a violet hue.
The air stung, but thanks to the mining gas masks they had prepared in advance, they had no trouble breathing. Even so, Deculein remained bare-faced.
Is that the ‘Exorcist Yukline’ I’ve only heard about?
“—!”
A monkey flew in from somewhere. Ron hurriedly swung his sword, but one of the blades circling the group pierced the monkey first.
Kerelek─!
It was the strange steel Deculein commanded.
“Wow!”
Maho exclaimed in admiration. Deculein, still gazing only ahead, said,
“The radius is being thoroughly protected, so there is no need to worry. It should take roughly four hours of walking to reach Yuren’s border.”
At that, Charlotte bit her lip as if troubled.
“Four hours is too long.”
“It cannot be helped. If we run, there is a risk of being poisoned by demonic energy.”
“And the Diannant’s pursuit?”
“There is no need to worry. I will kill it.”
“······You?”
“Yes.”
Charlotte shook her head. If such a situation came, she intended to sacrifice herself.
“No. I—”
“Shut up.”
“······What?”
Deculein’s voice changed in an instant.
Flutterrrrr──!
Suddenly, a swarm of bats appeared. There were hundreds of them, but Deculein’s treasured blades moved gracefully and pierced them all.
Steel whirled like a storm.
The bat swarm died without even daring to intrude into that domain.
“Amazing, amazing! What kind of magic is this? Professor, Professor, I also—”
Maho spoke to Deculein’s back. Deculein answered in a low voice.
“Your Highness.”
“Yes, yes!”
“For a moment, please close that mouth of yours.”
“Ah, yes, yes.”
Startled, Maho made a gesture of zipping her mouth shut. Then she moved only her lips soundlessly. My mouth is shut~ I’m listening well~
Whee──
“······?!”
A whistle sounded from not far away. Charlotte gripped her sword. At the same time, a drifting demonic presence approached as if to stab them in the back.
Deculein’s steps came to a halt. Charlotte looked at him.
“······Hey.”
His blue eyes were already suffused with phosphorescence. His terrifyingly distorted face seemed to be barely holding back his fury.
Charlotte was frightened for no reason.
Wheeee── wheeee──
The whistling was gradually drawing closer.
Tatadadadada······.
Light footsteps approached, treading on the ground.
Swaaaa······.
The sound of branches being deliberately shaken.
Charlotte held Maho in her arms and wrapped herself in protective aura.
“I will say this in advance.”
Deculein warned calmly.
“The moment you come closer, your limbs will be disassembled.”
The group beyond did not retreat. Rather, as if mocking Deculein, many of them revealed themselves, and at that very moment.
───!
The rupture of steel tore through the air. No human could perceive the speed of that 「Psychokinesis」, which revolved dozens of times in a single second.
The whole area was devastated as if a bombardment had fallen.
The canyon was overturned by the waves raised by speed alone, the undergrowth was smashed apart, and all manner of rubbish shot up into the air.
······Here, rubbish meant a mass of blood, flesh, and organs.