The counseling room was silent. Sylvia seemed to be crying, but she made no sound, and I merely watched.
The teacups no one had touched. The ice within them melted and sloshed softly. The angle of the sunlight spilling in from outside the window slowly tilted.
“I dislike people who cry.”
“I’m not crying.”
At that moment, Sylvia lifted her head. Her eyes were damp, but just as she said, no tears fell.
“I was moved by your praise.”
“......”
“Professor Deculein is famous for never praising anyone.”
Sylvia’s voice and expression did not change at all as she made that excuse. I took out the handkerchief from inside my coat.
“But I was praised.”
“Wipe them.”
“......”
Sylvia held the handkerchief in both hands. Her eyes were transparent, like jewels glistening with moisture.
Just then, the twenty minutes allotted for counseling came to an end.
“I’ll go.”
Glancing at the clock, Sylvia rose from her seat.
She folded the handkerchief neatly and put it in her pocket, gave an exceedingly polite bow, then left the counseling room.
Watching that small back, I said,
“Take today’s advice to heart.”
Sylvia came to an abrupt stop.
With her back still turned, she only nodded before leaving.
─Goodbye~
Allen’s voice drifted in from outside. The office door opened and closed.
“......Is she underestimating herself?”
Sylvia is a mage who shines on her own.
By next year, she would be more than qualified for appointment as a full professor, so spending time under another professor was clearly a waste. Not only for me, but for this entire world.
Epherene, however, is different. She is suited to the magic I am researching, and so she can grow further under me.
“Professor!”
Just then, Allen poked his head in from outside the counseling room door.
“In ten minutes, it’s Debutant Epherene! Please rest comfortably!”
*
Epherene, always on foot, was always dressed in a robe and backpack.
The blue robe symbolizing a Debutant. A large bag bought for 30 elne.
Since the most important standard to her was cost-effectiveness, from a distance it looked crude, as if she were carrying a huge brick on her back, and today in particular it was so heavy that it clanked with every step.
Clank— clank— the modest cat doll attached to the bottom of her bag tickled the back of her robe.
“Ah, my shoulders......”
When she reached the elevator, she set it down on the floor to rest for a bit.
Ding─
However, the elevator soon reached the first floor, and Epherene, hoisting the bag onto her back again, flinched in surprise.
Sylvia was inside.
Since they were both Debutants, there was nothing strange about it, but the problem was the atmosphere.
“......”
Sylvia stared fixedly at Epherene. A gloomy anger pierced the air. Her narrowed gaze was full of feelings like, How dare you─ where do you get the nerve─
Epherene hesitantly asked back.
“What? Why are you doing that again?”
“......”
Inwardly, she waited for ‘that line.’
“Parachute.”
But Sylvia muttered something else and brushed past her.
“......That just leaves a bad taste for no reason. What does she mean, parachute?”
If she was going to say something, she should have said what she always did. Ominous.
My fortune for this week was already bad, so what’s with her too? Should I get another tarot reading?
Epherene pressed the button for the 77th floor and eased that unpleasant feeling by looking into the mirror and muttering, ‘Impudent Epherene—’
Ding─
And so she arrived at Deculein’s office.
“Debutant Epherene. Welcome~”
“Yes’m.”
Following Assistant Professor Allen’s guidance, she entered the counseling room.
“......?”
However, Head Professor Deculein sat with his eyes closed in an upright posture, as if meditating. Epherene simply stared blankly at him.
To wake him casually, Deculein was far too distant and filled with thorns for her.
“Professor! Debutant Epherene is here.”
Thanks to the assistant professor’s words, Deculein opened his eyes.
Deculein looked at Epherene and gave a slight nod.
“Sit.”
“Yes.”
As soon as Epherene sat down, she took off her backpack. Then she spoke energetically.
“Today, I do have career counseling, but I would also like to ask about matters related to the Solda promotion exam.”
“Solda.”
“Yes.”
She rummaged through her bag and took out documents. Like Sylvia, she had made various preparations to challenge the Solda exam as soon as the first semester ended.
“These are documents proving that I have diligently participated in departmental classes so far.”
In truth, for Epherene, this was her eighth attempt.
At first, she had sought out new professors, but their recommendations had little effect, and tenured professors like Relin despised and neglected Epherene.
She had only been scolded for no reason and driven out.
“Here, in the Pyeongmatamdong club, I also uncovered signs of the ‘Ash Baron’ attack, and there are materials on various civilian volunteer activities besides that......”
Deculein watched indifferently.
Epherene was as vigorous as a child at an oratory contest. Since her opponent was Deculein, who was more difficult than any professor, this was Epherene’s own way of trying to get rid of her anxiety and tension.
“My grades are all in the A+ range as of the midterm, but if I maintain them until the end of finals......”
As she spoke, she kept taking out documents. The materials Epherene had prepared piled up on the desk like a neat little mountain.
“Also, from the Magic Tower—”
“That is enough.”
Deculein, who had been listening silently, cut her off. Epherene froze in place while standing.
“Take them back.”
“......”
For a moment, Epherene’s expression stiffened. She bit her lower lip lightly, but without showing it, she spoke again.
“I have checked all the clauses for the Solda exam as well. If you could just read a little—”
“There is no need to read them.”
“......Ah.”
The breath that slipped through Epherene’s teeth was slightly rough.
But she was not surprised. She had expected it to some extent.
“Yes.”
Epherene began rummaging again, putting the documents back into her backpack. Watching her, Deculein said,
“If you maintain your grades in the final exam, the Solda qualification will be granted to you on its own.”
“......Yes?”
Epherene’s sullen eyes widened. Her face was as pure as a child’s.
“If your grades place you within the top three overall, there is no reason not to give a professor’s recommendation.”
The meaning of those words was clear. If she did well on the finals, he would recommend her for the Solda exam.
“Ah, yes. Thank you. I’ll work hard.”
Epherene scratched the back of her neck.
“......IfIpasstheexamI’llapplytoyouProfessor.”
Then, perhaps feeling needlessly embarrassed, she poured out the sentence in one breath.
Deculein answered indifferently.
“I will not stop you. The hardship will be yours to bear.”
“Yes.”
Epherene smiled inwardly.
You’ll be taking in a tiger cub, though. I wonder if you’ll be able to stay that calm one or two years from now. I’ll be the one who swiftly, swiftly, strides right past you......
That day on the Floating Island, Epherene had acknowledged Deculein as a ‘genius of effort,’ but her challenging mindset remained unchanged.
“Then I’ll be going now.”
However, just as she was about to leave.
“Wait.”
At that single word, her entire body stiffened. It was Deculein’s unique pressure.
At times like this, thoughts such as, Did he hear what I was thinking— Did I do something wrong— came to mind.
“You still have not used the check.”
“......”
Epherene flinched. With her head creaking, she asked as if to herself,
“If I don’t use it, are you going to take it away......?”
“I will not. It was not something I gave you, but a reward given on behalf of the Magic Tower.”
“Ah...... Actually, there still isn’t anything I want, so I was going to use it later when I really needed it...... Like insurance.”
Deculein nodded silently. It meant she could leave, and Epherene hesitantly bowed her head before exiting the counseling room.
“Debutant Epherene. Goodbye~”
“Ah, yes. You too, Assistant Professor.”
After greeting Allen, she closed the office door.
Afterward, she leaned against the wall for a moment and let out a sigh.
“Haa...... It really is strange.”
Deculein’s space itself had an alien quality to its air.
Merely being together with him made it feel as though some sort of pressure was weighing down on her shoulders. One minute felt like ten, and the fatigue that touched both body and mind was on a different level.
See? My heart is still pounding.
“And I can’t tell what he’s thinking either.”
She truly could not understand what lay in Deculein’s heart.
He had undoubtedly stolen her father’s achievements, and her father had killed himself as a disgraced mage known as a ‘thirty-year-old Solda.’
At the Hadekain MT, Epherene had asked him about the inside story directly, but Deculein had not told her, nor had he denied it.
If he had firmly denied it instead, at least it would have been refreshing.
“Is it all supposed to be my burden?”
Even so, Deculein was, at least in this Magic Tower, the professor who cared the least about social status.
Seeing as he was fair even to me, who declared that I would reveal his disgrace, well.
“Let’s just study......”
Epherene hoisted the brick-like bag onto her back again and trudged away.
* * *
......The leaders, politicians, and entrepreneurs of various nations across the continent say this.
There are no dreams in the Ashes. There is no hope. There is no life. There is nothing at all. Everything accomplished there is nothing but ash.
Al Los knows it is bullshit.
There is life in the Ashes. There is hope. There are children.
......Of course, it is not exactly a good environment to raise a child.
That does not mean Al Los holds any sort of love for her homeland in the Ashes.
She is, at her core, a person of immense ambition. It is simply that, for an orphan from a remote kingdom, success is a tale from a distant world, an insurmountable barrier, and so the place she chose as her second-best option was the Ashes.
The unofficial greatest puppeteer on the continent, Al Los’s dolls are scattered throughout the Empire.
Al Los’s dolls are connected to her own soul and behave like living people, but not a single one among them resembles Al Los’s true appearance.
That was because, for Al Los, her appearance was a complex.
Because she was far too beautiful, countless worthless flies had swarmed around her.
“Welcome.”
However, today, Al Los visited the [Black Crane Hotel] in her true form for the first time in a long while.
The Black Crane was a prime-grade hotel that had recently appeared in the Imperial Capital. Its accommodation fees were among the most expensive in the capital, but to Al Los, who had many errors in her daily life, it more than satisfied her.
“I made a reservation.”
“Yes. Lady Solette. Confirmed.”
The employees of this hotel treated customers as if they were nobles, and that was precisely the point Al Los particularly loved.
There were plenty of people who fawned over her, but unless one was a real noble, being treated like nobility was difficult.
In this way, Al Los was unexpectedly the type to care about empty formalities. She simply did not show any of it on the outside.
“Here is the key to the 37th floor.”
Al Los had reserved the 37th floor under the alias Solette. The Black Crane’s highest floor was the penthouse on the 50th floor, but she had not yet accumulated that level of mileage or social prestige.
“For the meal, I would like foie gras with rapherin.”
“Yes.”
Al Los took the key she had reserved and got into the elevator.
Reflected in the mirror of the splendid elevator, she was wearing a suit. Apart from the slenderness of her waist, it was perfect men’s attire.
“......”
Al Los habitually fiddled with her necklace. She did not know when or how she had received it, but to her, it was a symbol of luck.
Soon, she arrived at her room on the 37th floor, sat down in a chair, and took out a tablet.
It was an object similar to the Magic Tower’s Wizaboard, a device used to communicate with the ‘Altar,’ with whom she was currently cooperating.
─Deculein has interpreted the runic language, but destroyed the organized copy.
─The runic language. The place we desire lies within that runic language. The language of God. It is in Deculein’s head.
─Deculein must be captured alive. We will set the price at thirty million elne.
News from the Floating Island that Deculein had interpreted the runic language.
As soon as the Altar heard that information, they placed a bounty of thirty million elne on Deculein’s kidnapping.
“......He knew me.”
Al Los thought of Deculein, who had called her Al Los.
“Until now, he was an ordinary, base villain.”
The Deculein of late and the Deculein of the past were clearly different. At least according to the information grasped by the ‘Office’ that Al Los had founded and operated.
“......He is worth keeping an eye on. If only because he knows me.”
Whatever the case, Deculein was a sufficiently threatening figure, but he was not the reason Al Los had visited the Empire today.
She had no intention of taking part in Deculein’s kidnapping ‘for now’ either. She was the sort of person who only joined fights where victory was certain.
Tossing the tablet aside, she looked at a certain pamphlet.
[Heilich Relic Auction]
“Homeren’s Fragment Ring.”
A treasure I had found after so long, one that suited my tastes perfectly.
I had earned money all this time for treasures like this, so now it was time to invest in a gift for myself with an easy heart……
* * *
Meanwhile, after finishing all the consultations.
I looked at the [System Shop] in my office.
──[ Lv. 2 System Shop ]──
■ 1. Adventurer’s Wind……
……
■ 5. Qualitative Enhancement of Mana (Stage 2)
: The character’s innate mana is qualitatively enhanced.
: Slight increase to mana output and efficiency.
: 20 won
────────────
“……There’s no need to wait any longer.”
Thanks to my recent efforts, I had gathered enough currency. The time had come.
I might as well do it now. This week was packed with various schedules, so I had no idea when I would have time again.
Having made up my mind, I touched [Qualitative Enhancement of Mana (Stage 2)] in the air.
[ ‘Qualitative Enhancement of Mana (Stage 2)’ will be applied. ]
[ You can now contain mana in a purer state. ]
The system appeared. I watched it quietly, waiting for the pain that would soon arrive.
Stage 1 had only brought a moderate warmth, so this time would probably be about the same…… just as I thought that.
“……!”
It felt as if my ribs were being torn apart, and dark red blood spurted from my mouth. I clutched my chest and gasped for breath.
───!
My heart convulsed.
“……Kh.”
Fortunately, the pain itself lasted only an instant, but the dirtied desk bothered me. With 「Telekinesis」, I gathered every drop of blood and burned it away at high heat.
Knock, knock—
Professor. Professor Luina has come to see you—
Just then, Allen spoke along with a knock.
“Tell her to come in.”
—Yes!
The door opened, and Luina entered.
“Yes, boss. It’s me……?”
However, after taking only a few steps, she flinched to a stop and suddenly began sniffing.
“What is it?”
“Sniff, sniff— sniff, sniff—”
“……”
“Sniff, sniff—”
“Have you become a dog while I wasn’t looking?”
“No…… no, I haven’t. A dog? That’s harsh, boss.”
Luina approached me, then stiffened with another flinch. Then she stared intently at my lips.
“……”
I lifted a handkerchief and wiped my mouth. A little blood came away. My brow furrowed on its own. To think I had shown such a filthy sight.
“State your business.”
“H-Here, here you are. Boss.”
Luina awkwardly stepped closer and held out the documents.
“It’s the proposal for the research I’m planning to start this time……”
It seemed this was my first task as the Magic Tower’s Chief Planning Officer. I accepted her documents.
“Th-Then, I’ll, I’ll be going now. Good work.”
Yet Luina made no appeal whatsoever regarding her proposal and, before I could say anything, fled outside as if running away.
……Does she assume it will be approved, of course?
The sight of her accepting Yukline’s protection was not particularly bad. I examined Luina’s proposal.
“Hmm.”
As expected, from the eyes of 「Great Magnate」, Luina’s work lacked nothing, so without looking any further, I stamped it ‘Approved.’
Bang—!
* * *
Wednesday, 3 p.m.
Before the final exam, Deculein’s last class.
“Now, now, please line up properly!”
Assistant Professor Allen first divided the 150 debutants by series. The Harmony series, said to depend on innate talent, had the fewest with 11 people, while the Support series had the most with 35.
“Stand.”
Today’s classroom was an open field. Professor Deculein spoke before the 150 students.
“This is the final class of the semester, so there is nothing more to teach. Today, I will examine your application of your series and point out what you lack. Come forward five at a time.”
The first group was five from the Support series.
“Any spell will do. Show me the one you are most confident in.”
Deculein observed each spell the Support-series debutants cast.
“……Yurozan. 「Wind Armor」. A good application.”
“「Verdant Earth」. Turning an area into an attribute field is useful in subjugating monsters.”
Deculein knew every spell they cast.
If that were all, one might think it was only natural because he was a professor.
“「Crystallization」 is broadly classified under the Support series, but the magic circle also contains some characteristics of the Harmony series. You overlooked that point. That is the reason for your failure.”
“Ah…… yes!”
Deculein even identified the nature of spells that failed to manifest, and on top of that, added advice so the spell could be formed correctly.
“I-I’ll try again!”
The debutant Perit, accepting the professor’s words, succeeded on the next attempt.
“Good. The next five……”
……Deculein was capable of observing another person’s magic circle with the 「Naked Eye」. In addition, his mind was filled with magic circles he had absorbed through 「Comprehension」 over the past half year.
The ‘magical knowledge’ that had been shallow at first had now become as vast as the sea.
Of course, that knowledge was different from ‘Memorize.’ Knowing every spell did not mean he could cast them all.
Memorize was a kind of ‘habituation,’ in which the body remembered the spell and manifested it without incantation or formula.
But Deculein manifested every spell other than 「Telekinesis」, which was engraved directly into his own body, based entirely on ‘theory.’
Therefore, Deculein’s magic and knowledge were constant.
Because they were constant, they did not waver.
Because they did not waver, they could become a firm ‘standard,’ and were suited to teaching others……
To the debutants, who knew nothing of this fact, Deculein was practically an encyclopedia of magic.
His eye, nearly divine in its precision, was simply astonishing.
“Epherene.”
“Yes.”
And finally, it was Epherene’s turn.
“Here I go.”
Epherene prepared the most complex spell she could present. Swish— swish, swish— a Complex-series spell, its circuits mixed, twisted, and concealed in all directions.
Just by looking, it wouldn’t be easy to identify the spell, even for you, Deculein……
Deculein stared at Epherene’s magic circle for about thirty seconds.
“「Soprano」. A spell with no real use to you, and only high in difficulty.”
“Huh!”
A special spell combining the pure elements ‘wind’ and ‘sound,’ 「Soprano」.
Its effect was quite subtle. It merely changed every sound in an area into a high register, a soprano.
It was a kind of stepping-stone spell leading to 「Silence」—a spell learned before a specific spell in order to become accustomed to its structure through something slightly easier.
However, 「Soprano」 interfered with the sound of space, so it was needlessly complex. It was not famous, either.
Right now, the other debutants were going, What’s a soprano? Isn’t that vocal music?
“Epherene. Were you trying to play a joke? Or was it vanity? One penalty point.”
“No! I’ll do it again, anything but a penalty point!”
But Deculein recognized it at once, and Epherene hurriedly displayed a proper spell.
Rumble, rumble, rumble…… The ground beneath her feet heaved, and the surface she stood on deformed like a crater. Deculein nodded.
“「Mountain Range’s Wrath」. It is a spell with some difficulty, but its scale is far too small.”
“Yes. Actually, that bothered me a little too.”
“If you wish to increase the scale, it is simple. Increase the size of the magic circle. I will summarize the details later.”
“Ah. Yes. Then, um…… does that mean I don’t get a penalty point……?”
“No.”
“Aaagh!”
Deculein ignored Epherene and moved one step to the side.
“Next.”
Next was Sylvia. Sylvia, who had been glaring only at Epherene since earlier, belatedly straightened her posture when Deculein approached.
“Sylvia.”
“……Yes.”
She quietly closed her eyes and manifested her magic.