[ However, Epherene will receive demerits. ]
“······.”
Epherene stared blankly at that sentence.
For a moment, she even forgot the extremely fatal crisis currently unfolding. The number of her demerits floated up in the air.
-14 points.
If she received even one more demerit, she would be on cleaning duty every single day. And for the filthiest bathroom, at that.
If they piled up a little more and exceeded 25 points, her dormitory scholarship benefits would be revoked. The estimated loss would be a staggering 50,000 per semester······.
Epherene hurriedly picked up the chalk.
[ Epherene didn’t write “Deculein is an idiot.” ]
The reply arrived almost immediately.
[ Then who did ]
“······.”
After hesitating and agonizing for a while, she moved the chalk.
[ Sylviㅇ ]
“What’s going on?”
Sylvia approached. Epherene jolted like a carriage that had hit a stone.
“Huh? Uh, ah, th-this is!”
She hastily erased the letters with the sleeve of her robe and said,
“This blackboard seems to be connected to Professor Deculein! That’s what Epherene thinks!”
“······?”
Fortunately, Sylvia didn’t seem to have noticed her scheme. She opened her eyes wide and looked at the blackboard.
“What is it? And why the blackboard?”
“Ephie, what’s wrong?”
Lucia and Julia came over belatedly as well. The other mages had no room to pay attention to the blackboard.
────!
A massive impact shook the classroom once more. Epherene hurriedly sent a message.
[ This isn’t the time for that. We don’t know the barrier password, and the classroom is on the verge of being destroyed. ]
Then, a formula began to be written on the blackboard.
Tak─ tatak─ taktaktak─
The sound of neat, regular writing.
It was a password formula composed of circles and lines.
────!
At the resounding blow, the wall creaked. Damage had accumulated, and it was slowly crumpling like a plank.
Several mages had already fainted, and most were trembling in fear, but Epherene, Sylvia, and Lucia only stared at the blackboard.
────!
The sound had already rung out dozens of times.
Because of it, the wall was on the verge of collapsing.
[ Activate the formula. ]
The password formula was complete.
Sylvia moved first. She radiated mana and drew the formula on the classroom floor.
Goooooooo······.
An A-Class classroom, whose entire floor and ceiling were made of mana stone. As the password operating the crystal sphere, the source of its mana, was unlocked, the barrier opened.
Thud······.
The sound pounding on the walls died down, and the space transformed in an instant.
A peaceful meadow swallowed the darkness of ash.
Was this the majesty of an A-Class classroom, said to cost ten million elne just to construct?
“Phew······.”
Epherene flopped down and stroked her pounding chest.
“······.”
Sylvia also let out a faint breath and looked at the blackboard. Deculein’s words were being written there.
[ Do not panic. Calm yourselves, but focus on the situation. This is not a class, but actual combat. It is not a dream, but reality. ]
Then Lucia said,
“Ask when rescue is coming.”
Deculein replied before she could even ask.
[ Hundreds of debutants have been taken hostage, so entry from inside or outside is impossible. ]
[ The best course is for you to resolve this yourselves. ]
“What? What kind of irresponsible nonsense is that?”
At that moment, Sylvia’s sharp gaze came rushing at her. Lucia flinched in surprise and shrugged.
[ After analyzing the differing mana concentrations on each floor from the outside, the source of this incident is presumed to be the 23rd floor. ]
“Who’s on the 23rd floor?”
Epherene asked, looking around.
Lucia, who had been pondering with her arms crossed, answered.
“Hmm~ I don’t know. I heard an external visiting professor has an office there, but I’m not sure.”
······.
The 23rd floor, devoured by ash, had transformed in its entirety into a giant nest. At the center of the space, a huge cocoon pulsed, and the cobwebs stretching out in all directions seemed to be supplying nutrients to it.
─Listen······.
Ruina heard a dry voice, as if it might crumble, from within that cocoon.
─Complete erosion is necessary······.
Complete erosion meant devouring the brains of the debutants dominated by the ash. It would allow all their mana and nutrients to be absorbed, but there would be no possibility of them coming back to life.
─Complete erosion is necessary······.
“I refuse.”
That was why Ruina refused. Though she had allowed the ash to parasitize her, her most fundamental personality remained firm. Her beliefs and convictions held fast to her instincts.
─Complete erosion is necessary······.
Ruina opened her eyes. Her blackened pupils looked around the membrane of the cocoon. The world was dark, and mana was infinite.
─Complete erosion is······.
Thwack!
Ruina struck the cocoon with her fist. The noisy voice stopped, but her rage surged even more fiercely.
Within her distorted consciousness, the face of only one person came to mind.
She murmured that name.
“Deculein······.”
* * *
Three chocolates. Two large bottles of drinks. Two dried squid. One jelly. Five bags of snacks. Two packs of cream pies. One container of gum. Five tangerines.
Epherene laid out the food on a table in the grass.
If it were for five people, it would be quite a lot, but······.
“How many of us are there?”
No one answered. More than half of them were asleep.
“······.”
She understood. They had been tormented beyond belief.
Sylvia answered.
“51.”
51.
That number was a problem in itself, but the bigger problem was their appetite. The basal metabolic rate of mages, who carried mana in their bodies, was comparable to that of a robust farmer.
“······Hoo.”
Having no choice, Epherene sent a message with the chalk.
[ I don’t think we can hold out in here for long. We have far too little food. So I’m thinking of going to the underground store······. ]
The reply arrived almost immediately.
[ Check the tool cabinet at the back of the classroom. ]
Epherene turned around. Though the space had changed because of the barrier, the furnishings, including the tool cabinet, remained as they were.
She ran over and opened the door.
“Oh, ooh!”
There was a great deal of food inside, including frozen meat, water, and canned goods. If they ate sparingly, it was enough to last about two days.
Epherene muttered in admiration.
“How did that professor know this was here······.”
“He must’ve prepared it in advance, idiot. The Magic Tower can be a target at any time. Just make the food.”
Hmph! Lucia snorted and flicked Epherene’s hair aside. Epherene bit her lip and glared at her.
“What are you glaring at! Then should I do it? I don’t know how to cook, you know?”
“······You really can’t come to your senses even in a situation like this, can you?”
Just as the furious Epherene rolled up her sleeves—
[ Rest for now. We are seeking a method from the outside. ]
[ If fighting breaks out inside, I will assign demerits later according to eyewitness accounts. ]
“······.”
How did he know?
Having no choice, Epherene growled as she prepared the meal. She lit a fire with magic and grilled meat over it. She boiled soup and placed it on the table.
One by one, the mages who smelled the fragrant aroma began to wake from their sleep.
* * *
The Yukline mansion’s warehouse, where I arrived as soon as I left the Imperial Palace.
[ We ate. We’re resting now. ]
[ Since all the monsters are our classmates, we can’t really deal with them. And they say there’s an external visiting professor’s office on the 23rd floor. ]
“······Ruina.”
I stood, glaring at the blackboard.
Of course, the Baron of Ashes parasitizing Ruina was a major problem, but it was also questionable.
Ruina should certainly be a named individual with a mana grade reaching “3.”
“Is it because of the oath?”
Did the oath affect her mana grade?
Or had her mental strength weakened because of being tormented by me?
Whatever it was, the situation was not entirely bad. The “Baron of Ashes,” lacking in mana grade, would not be able to completely erode Ruina.
Knock, knock─
Just then, Roy entered.
“Master. Everyone has arrived.”
“Let them in.”
“Yes.”
Roy returned with the professors I had summoned.
I was about to receive them, but ended up frowning.
“······Chief Professor. We have come.”
The ones speaking solemnly were tenured professors such as Relin and Siare. The rising professors I had actually wanted, including Kelodan, were huddled behind them like tagalongs.
“This is ash gathered by the knights.”
Relin held out ash contained in a reagent bottle.
After analyzing and understanding this ash, I intended to create a “customized spell.” Since the Baron of Ashes had parasitized Ruina, ordinary methods would not be easy.
“If you require any assistance, please tell us at any time!”
Then numerous pieces of equipment were brought into the warehouse. Microscopes, tables, mana stones, related magic books, magical tools, and so on······ all of them items brought directly from the Floating Island.
I neatly arranged all of them with 「Psychokinesis」. Thud, thud, thud─ after moving a few times, the warehouse transformed in an instant into something like a Magic Tower laboratory.
I could not tolerate a dirty and inefficient environment.
“Ooh! Amazing! Whatever assistance you need, just say the word!”
“······It would be good to have help.”
I answered Relin’s words. Then Relin, too, took a solemn and determined breath.
“Yes. This is an unprecedented situation in which the Magic Tower has been attacked. We are already prepared to—”
“However.”
I pointed to the young professors blinking from behind the faculty.
“Only you three remain.”
Kelodan, the bespectacled one; Jennifer, an authority on harmony magic; and Grant, the former addict.
For reference, Allen seemed to be trapped inside the Magic Tower, but I was not worried at all.
“The rest of you may leave.”
“······Pardon?”
Too many boatmen send the boat up the mountain. Rather than allowing useless politics and ambition for fame to sap the motivation of the rising professors, it was far more efficient to exclude them entirely.
“Uh, Chief Professor? These people are still lacking in years of experience and are quite insufficient—”
“Mm. It seems I misspoke.”
I nodded, and Relin’s expression brightened.
“Would the tenured professors please observe the condition near the Magic Tower? It is a very important task, so I ask this of you. If something even greater happens, your help will be needed there.”
“······.”
I pushed out the tenured professors, who stood there with their mouths agape, using psychokinesis.
Then, I silently looked over the remaining personnel.
“Wh-what should we do?”
Kelodan asked cautiously.
“What else?”
I set dozens of magic books down on their desks. They were all books related to “puppetization.”
Thud, thud, thud, thud─! I spoke to them as they looked flustered at the mountain of magic books.
“Summarize only the key points.”
* * *
[ I am currently devising magic efficient against ash. ]
“Ah, damn it! He’s making magic? Does that even make sense?! How many weeks is that supposed to take!”
Lucia shouted irritably. Because of that, the atmosphere in the classroom sank gloomily once again.
“Ask him! How long are we supposed to wait—”
“Be quiet, Dorothy.”
“······!”
Lucia was greatly startled by Sylvia’s murmured words. She held her breath as though her heart had stopped, then ran over to Sylvia—dadadada—and shoved her face close.
─That name. I clearly told you not to say it. Why, all of a sudden······.
“Dorothy? Who is Dorothy? Who’s Dorothy?”
Behind Lucia, Epherene muttered innocently. Lucia clasped her hands together and rubbed them before Sylvia.
─Please, please······.
In truth, Lucia was an alias, and her original name was Dorothy.
Good heavens, Dorothy! It was such a rustic name that she had begged and begged her father until she had finally gotten it changed!
“If you stay quiet.”
“Of course. Of course.”
Sylvia pushed Lucia away and sprang to her feet.
“We’re going to help Professor Deculein from here.”
“H-help him? Yes~ Sounds good. I’ll do that~”
Dorothy—no, Lucia agreed before Sylvia could say anything further, and Epherene tilted her head.
What Sylvia said next was rather chilling.
“We’ll capture one debutant and dissect them.”
* * *
······Sophien, Ekater Auguste von Ziprein, asks.
Do you know what it feels like to die year after year?
Do you know the helplessness of drying up from an incurable illness no one on the entire continent even understands, of groping your way forward through darkness where you cannot see an inch ahead?
Do you know the pain of that disease devouring your body?
It was truly agony, as if her ribs were being bitten apart and an awl were being driven into the membrane of her lungs.
Do you know what it feels like to die over and over, only to be revived and endure the same agony from the very beginning?
Do you know of a curse so damnable?
I died dozens of times at the age of eight. There were days I waited a full year just to die, and days I couldn't endure it and cut my own throat.
But,
no matter how many times I died,
when I opened my eyes, it was always—
January 1st.
The eight-year-old child lies in a luxurious bed, gazing out the window. The Imperial Palace gardens are eternally spring.
The mind that contemplates the pristine spring ripens, yet the body remains unable to escape infancy.
That alien sensation. Like trash drifting in the ocean, a stagnation from which I cannot break free no matter how much I rot.
They say humans struggle desperately because they desire life.
Until the very moment death came, I wished for death instead. Even after dying, I earnestly wished to die and disappear.
Each time I regressed, the only joy was my younger sibling's face.
But even that adorable emotion eventually faded.
Enduring by looking at him had its limits too.
Beside me, there was always nothing but the reek of iron from knights, the stench of eunuchs, the smell of money from merchants, the odor of disinfectant from doctors, the scent of herbs from apothecaries.
I had no attachment to life, to such a hellish cycle.
There was no passion. No emotion.
It was impossible to have any.
I merely wished for this life, steeped in agony, to grow entirely numb.
I prayed to crumble without pain.
They say this continent is truly boundless, yet how unfortunate was I, living trapped within the absurdly cramped Imperial Palace and a body that would not grow.
No, how crippled am I, having become unable to even know unhappiness…?
…Having died and died like that, having killed everything inside me,
Deculain.
Do you know?
You wouldn't.
Since I too did not wish for such understanding, every night I prayed to and resented the one person who understood me.
To 'You' who bestowed upon me such a fate and shackles, watching my ennui and snickering from the unreachable heavens above, or from the underground at the ends of the earth where not even a sliver of sunlight reaches.
I offered my resolve.
God is dead.
I shall kill Him.
"I must have met Deculain when I was young…… Back then, he wasn't such a special person. Apart from his face, he wasn't someone particularly noticeable."
Of course, Sophien had overcome that terminal illness of old and survived in the end. There had been countless assassination and poisoning attempts since then, and Sophien had actually died several times, but overcame them all by dying.
Right, thanks to that, I learned this damnable regression follows a 'one-year cycle.'
If I die at nine, this life restarts from January 1st of the year I turned nine; if I die at ten, from January 1st of the year I turned ten.
'Your Majesty speaks as though death does not exist for you.'
Deculain had said that.
"As though death does not exist……"
Had it merely been a roundabout way of calling me reckless?
"No."
The nuance he gave off was clearly different, and Deculain had also said this:
'I see the world a little differently.'
He sees the world differently.
Did that 'differently' in his gaze include himself?
"Cayron."
"Yes."
Sophien called for Cayron.
"Yukrain must have been one of the houses that attended 'that day.'"
The terminal illness that had killed Sophien dozens of times was, in truth, poison. How hollow Sophien had felt upon learning the truth.
"Yes. All the Count houses of the continent were present at that occasion."
The culprit was likely one of the houses that attended the day Sophien ascended as successor.
Sophien had intended to root out and kill that culprit. Had been determined to tear them limb from limb and exterminate three generations of their kin.
But after obsessing over it for about three years, it felt pointless and was abandoned.
After all, for them, a single death is the end.
Kill them,
and after I die and regress,
kill them again even if they come back to life,
but for them, they only die once.
Compared to what was suffered, and compared to the effort expended, what was gained was scarcely worth it. No, this world itself was nothing but crumpled, cheap trash, so I cut my losses and stopped caring.
Even revenge was too bothersome.
"If you wish to satisfy your curiosity about Deculain, you have no choice but to learn magic."
Yet, there was joy in Cayron's voice as he said so. Sophien gritted teeth.
"Cayron. You truly are less than human. Just moments ago you concluded something was off with Deculain based on mere rumors."
Cayron bowed his head as if ashamed.
"……It was a misjudgment. Deculain, that man was honest today. Your Majesty, who can see into a person's heart, would know, would you not?"
Sophien looked at the desk. [Yukrain: Understanding Elemental Magic], left behind by Deculain. That hardcover, adorned with gold leaf and jewels, lay there together with a note.
'Please prepare through Chapter 1.'
Cayron said.
"Hurry and study, if you would."
"……Cayron."
Sophien glared at Cayron. Cayron replied without showing any expression.
"Yes."
"Fuck—off."
Sophien snarled and raised the middle finger.
Without a word, Cayron closed his eyes and smiled as if he hadn't seen it.
"I shall retire to my bedchamber. Today, do not let any matter into my room."
"Do take the book with you, at least."
"I told you to get lost."
Sophien went straight up to the inner chamber. The court mages and retainers were speaking of some 'Magic Tower incident,' but Sophien ignored them.
Thud—Lying down on the bed, Sophien looked up at the ceiling. Organized the jumbled thoughts rising in mind.
All those thoughts converged into a single emotion.
……Curiosity.
"Did they say Magic Tower incident……"
Suddenly, a certain retainer's words came to mind again.
Hmph.
Sophien scoffed and rose from the bed once more.