Boom───!
A tremor rang out as though a meteorite had crashed down. It was the impact of landing on the ground directly beneath the “Training Island.”
It was a landing violent enough to gouge out a crater, yet the culprit merely brushed the dust from her clothes—pat, pat—with utter indifference.
“......This is faster.”
Allen had jumped straight down from the Training Island to the ground. In other words, she had free-fallen from an altitude of 3,000 meters. While moderately controlling her speed.
─Explain. Why did you do that?
She had not even taken a few steps when a transmission came in. Allen placed a hand to her ear and asked back.
“Pardon?”
─I heard what happened yesterday.
“Ah~ that? It was part of the mission.”
─We never assigned you any such mission.
Allen smiled brightly.
As expected, these people really did not understand words well.
“Yes~ That is why I said ‘part.’ Part of the mission.”
─......
The other side fell silent for a moment. Allen checked whether her robe was clean.
If it was even a little dirty, the Professor would dislike it. For some reason, she felt as though his mysophobia had rubbed off on her.
─There is no need to harbor more emotion than necessary toward the target.
“......Pardon?”
It was a sudden remark. Allen tilted her head as though she did not understand, but soon gave a small smile.
“Ah~ no way. Don’t you know me? Until I heard you say that, I didn’t even know such a possibility existed.”
─......As you said, the extension is only three months, Ellie. Make sure you settle things properly in that time.
She did not reply. Ellie smiled brightly and cut off the transmission.
It was then.
“Huh? Over there! It’s the proctor─!”
Three children came running from the forest beyond, panting heavily. Each of them had a name tag on their chest that read “Carlos,” “Leo,” and “Lia.”
“Proctor. Are you the proctor?”
Among them, the girl named Lia asked. Ellie shook her head.
“No~ I’m not. But are you in the middle of some kind of exam?”
“Ah~ we’re taking the adventurer exam...... Ah! Run!”
The three children looked behind them, then flinched in shock and grabbed Allen’s hand to pull her away. Allen looked in that direction.
Boom─! Bang─! Boom─! Bang─!
A massive demonic beast was charging toward them.
Whether it was a bear or a deer, it had a body larger than a bear and deer antlers capable of cutting through steel. It was the eerie “Bearhorn.”
“If you’re not the proctor, hurry and evacu—”
“It’s all right. You go first.”
“Huh?”
“Go.”
Ellie spoke with a smile. The three children hesitated, then left.
Graaaaaah─!
The Bearhorn went berserk and charged.
“Hello. Goodbye.”
Smiling, Ellie drew her hand diagonally through the air.
That was all.
Slaaaaaash─!
The Bearhorn’s body split in two along the motion of her hand.
Blood gushed from the severed cross-section, and Ellie took one step into the spray of blood.
At that moment.
The scenery changed.
She had clearly been in the middle of the thicket, and yet—her next step landed in the middle of a village market.
“Two fish cakes for 1 elne! 1 elne!”
“Lots of medicinal herbs, lots of herbs~ Everyone, come take a look~”
“Plenty of magic materials! Buy them here, take them to the Floating Island, and resell them for profit!”
The merchants’ voices rang noisily. Ellie identified her location from the village name, “Rophon.”
“I’ll reach the capital in an hour.”
Ellie nodded in satisfaction. Since she would rest until her 「Stride」 recharged, she approached a street stall.
“Two fish cakes, please.”
“Yes, yes~ Here you are! Oh, by the way, what kind of magic was that just now? You suddenly appeared.”
“Ah~ you have good eyes. But it was nothing special.”
Ellie.
She could handle 「Space」. Not something as simple as spatial movement, but literally “handling space” itself.
She could transfer her own space somewhere else, but she could also transfer another person’s space anywhere she wished. The price, of course, was an enormous amount of mana.
Ellie often used this talent when killing living creatures, that is, when separating head and body.
Of course, if the opponent resisted with mana or magic, slightly rougher force would be needed. However, against opponents whose level was markedly lower than hers, she could disassemble their limbs with nothing more than the blink of an eye.
“......The fish cake is delicious!”
“Haha. Eat as much as you like. It’s cheap, two for 1 elne.”
“Yes~! I’ll have two more!”
Ellie grabbed two fish cake skewers at the same time.
* * *
After the exam ended, on a main road of the Floating Island.
Epherene trotted after Sylvia. Mayho was beside her as well.
“Miss Epherene~ Is it really okay for us to follow her like this~?”
Mayho asked worriedly. Epherene scratched the back of her neck and replied.
“We’re not following her. We’re just walking together.”
“Ah~ Is that so~?”
They were truly walking at a level that could be called side by side.
Sylvia could hear this conversation as well, and perhaps because she found it absurd, her ears perked up.
Just then, Sylvia stopped. It was a residential area somewhere on the Floating Island. Epherene casually looked up at the sky, then was startled.
In that sky, there was another residential area instead of the sky.
“W-What is that?!”
Epherene was shocked. A certain mage who had been taking a newspaper from his mailbox looked up at her. The two of them met eyes from above and below, and the mage snickered before going inside his house.
“In the residential districts of the Floating Island, a mage-engineering spatial partition technique is used to make use of space. You’re too stupid to know even that.”
It was Sylvia. She calmly inserted a key into the front door. Epherene and Mayho edged closer.
“Is this your house?”
“Yes.”
Epherene swallowed in envy.
Good heavens, she had a house on the Floating Island. This girl really was from another world.
“Aren’t houses here expensive?”
“Ten million elne.”
“Whoa. This tiny house is ten million elne?”
“Isn’t that too expensive~?”
Epherene and Mayho’s jaws dropped. Ten million elne was a sum large enough to buy a mansion even in the capital, but Sylvia’s house looked to be barely sixty-six square meters.
“The Floating Island is like that.”
“Ah, true...... Sylvia. Then are you not coming to the university anymore?”
“......”
Sylvia did not answer.
Feeling pointlessly disappointed, Epherene pouted and asked,
“Can I come visit sometimes?”
“......”
At that, Sylvia nodded faintly, very faintly, as though giving a small gesture with her chin. Epherene’s eyes widened.
“Huh? Just now, did you just nod?”
“Yes.”
Sylvia had thought quite a lot about Epherene until now, but in the end, she had decided. She would now make Epherene one of her “firewood” as well.
Having a rival was better than having none.
“I’ll probably have lots of reasons to come to the Floating Island now, so I’ll visit then.”
“Me too~ Me too~”
“......”
Mayho—or was it Mieho—suddenly butting in was a little irritating, but Sylvia nodded.
“Then, bye, Sylvia! See you later!”
“Goodbye~”
With the brightly smiling Mayho and Epherene as the last thing she saw, boom─!
She closed the front door.
Sylvia looked around the interior, where her belongings had already been perfectly arranged. Compared to the mansion in the capital, it was cramped, but that was actually better.
If it were too spacious when she was alone, she would feel lonely.
Sylvia first entered the bedroom. Bear-Panda and Speedy were waiting for her.
“I’m home.”
When she said that, flutter─ Speedy flew over, scattering its wings. Bear-Panda also fluttered its cape and jumped—hop.
Both were lives she had created using mana stones as a medium.
Sylvia held them in her arms and sat on the bed.
Tick-tock. Tick-tock.
“......”
Tick-tock. Tick-tock.
An empty room where only the clock moved.
Bored, Sylvia took out a sketchbook from beside her head. Scribble—scribble—she began to draw someone’s portrait with a pencil.
A sharp and coldly handsome man, impressive with his blue eyes.
It was Deculein.
* * *
After returning to the Yukline mansion for the first time in a while, I immersed myself in training and comprehension.
There was much to do.
I had to complete 「Intermediate Psychokinesis」 before it dragged on any longer, and I also had to practice handling 「Snowflake Stone」 to some extent now.
「 Snowflake Stone Comprehension: 23.1% 」
A mere 23.1% comprehension. There was still a long way to go, but fortunately, I could control the corner equivalent to twenty percent.
“......Not bad.”
The Snowflake Stone was as mysterious a metal as its reputation suggested.
Using 「Psychokinesis」, I condensed a corner of the Snowflake Stone into something like a ping-pong ball.
Unprocessed Snowflake Stone changed freely, like a rubber band. It spread out like a cloth, condensed like a ball, stretched out like thorns......
Its responsiveness to 「Psychokinesis」 was incomparable to any other metal.
Knock, knock—
A knock sounded just then.
Since I already knew who it was, I suppressed a laugh and opened the door with 「Psychokinesis」.
“Professor. Your snack.”
Julie. Having declared herself guilty for failing to find the way during the previous “Training Island raid incident,” she had been taking over a servant’s duties these days.
“Please enjoy.”
She set a tray with coffee and refreshments on my desk.
I shrugged.
“Julie. You don’t have to be so disheartened. What can you do about being directionally challenged?”
At that, Julie bit her lip slightly.
“Is your training going well?”
“I just finished.”
Eighty percent of the Snowflake Stone was stored in the safe, and the remaining twenty percent was in my inner pocket in the form of a sphere.
Julie said,
“The semester will begin soon.”
“Indeed. We’ll both become busy. You and I.”
Julie smiled bitterly and held out some documents.
“What is this now?”
“I analyzed the floating population near the Yukline mansion, and among them, I identified several individuals who regularly loiter at irregular times. In other words, this is a list of identities of those who showed ‘suspicious movements beyond the scope of an ordinary civilian.’”
I read the document. There were roughly thirty-three people, but in truth, this level of surveillance was only natural.
Not only the Altar, but the Imperial Family, eunuchs, and various other noble families all considered Yukline the most representative target of restraint.
“Julie.”
“Yes.”
“Thank you.”
Perhaps my words made her embarrassed, for Julie scratched the back of her neck and turned her eyes away, looking pointlessly at the bookshelf. The neatly arranged books were all related to medicinal ingredients.
As if she had noticed the meaning behind that, a gentle smile spread across Julie’s lips.
“No. Rather, I am the one who is grateful.”
These days, I was studying a way to heal Julie.
No, in truth, I already knew the best method.
It was just that my desire to stay with Julie struggled desperately, insisting that method alone was unacceptable.
“You may go back now.”
“Yes. Rest well.”
Julie bowed her head and went outside.
Alone again in the silent annex.
I sipped Julie’s coffee and looked up at the night sky.
Starlight glittered in the darkness, and the coffee was exceedingly bitter.
“......She made it herself.”
She could have simply ordered a servant to prepare coffee. How was I supposed to drink it when it was this bitter?
Shaking my head, I drank the coffee.
Every last drop, without leaving any behind.
* * *
Tiririri—tiririri—
Beyond the half-open curtains, sunlight from mid-August poured into the dormitory of the Imperial University.
Tiririri—tiririri—
An alarm was ringing in Room 201.
Tiririri—tiririri—
An absurdly noisy alarm.
“Uuuugh...... stop......”
Tiririri—tirik—
Epherene woke up groaning.
“Ah......”
Her hangover felt as though it were crushing her skull. It was because there had been far too many celebration parties lately.
Not only the members of the Plain Magic Research Club, including Julie, but even people from her hometown had come to visit.
“I’m dying......”
Epherene rose from the bed and trudged over to stand in front of the washbasin. Looking in the mirror, she turned on the tap—trickle.
“......Today is the interview.”
The day of Deculein’s assistant interview.
Before feeling nervous, Epherene first recalled the question she had still not resolved.
“Pendert.”
The word she muttered with a still-stiff tongue was pendant.
Epherene simply could not understand.
Why Deculein thought of her as “precious.” Why he carried around a pendant containing her photograph.
Whether, perhaps, there had been some incident regarding her father’s death that she did not know about.
“Or maybe......”
Epherene looked at herself reflected in the mirror.
“I suppose I am the type to be popular.”
Even now, reeking of alcohol, her looks weren’t the sort to lose out anywhere.
No, if anything, if she only dressed up, she would stand out more than anyone. This face of hers, of course, and the glamorous curves that even Julie had admired.
Her grandfather and grandmother had said this alone was practically the same as passing the civil service exam.
“That professor couldn’t possibly like me. Pfft.”
Even as she said it, the sheer absurdity made a hollow laugh slip out. Epherene chuckled as she warmed the water in the sink.
Then she took off her pajamas and scrubbed herself clean from head to toe with 「Fluid Manipulation」.
“Ah~ The semester’s starting soon. The good days are over~”
She pulled on a loose oversized tee, pants, a robe, and a backpack from her closet, then left the dormitory.
Maaam, maaam, maaam, maaam—! Maaam, maaam, maaam, maaam—!
The sound of cicadas in midsummer.
She crossed the sun-drenched campus and arrived at the Magic Tower.
“Solda Epherene, coming through.”
Now as a Solda rather than a Debutant, she stepped into the elevator and pressed the button for the 77th floor.
Ding—!
The corridor of the 77th floor.
Even though today was the interview day, the 77th floor was empty. Professor Louina’s floor had been bustling like mad.
“Ah! Solda Epherene! Over here!”
Allen, who had been sitting at a desk in the hallway waiting for the interview, waved.
Hehe. Solda Epherene. Not Debutant, but Solda…… Epherene approached him with a silly grin.
“Should I go in?”
“Yes! Miss Epherene, you’re the last one.”
“……”
Of course she would be.
Ahem. Epherene cleared her throat and knocked on the office door.
—Come in.
When she opened the door, Deculein was waiting. As always, he was impeccably composed.
Epherene strode over and sat down in front of him.
“Epherene.”
“Yes.”
Deculein asked in a cold voice.
“You applied for the assistant position first, correct?”
Of course, Allen served as both assistant and assistant professor, but there was no need for her to serve as an assistant under Deculein in particular.
It might actually be better for her career to live in the Magic Tower as an ordinary Solda mage, then work under Deculein after going through the “Deliberation Council.”
“Yes. That’s correct.”
However, Epherene did not want to waste time. She wanted to uncover the truth about Deculein and her father as soon as possible.
But then.
“Good. I value that resolve. You’re accepted.”
Thud—!
Deculein immediately stamped her application, and once the matter was decided in an instant, Epherene suddenly felt a jolt of fear.
“Just like that?”
“There were only two applicants.”
“……”
Deculein delivered those rather pitiful words in a cold, rigid tone.
Remembering that the Solda who had flocked to Louina numbered in the hundreds, Epherene nearly burst out laughing. Then she noticed an error in Deculein’s words.
“Huh? Wait, two applicants?”
“……‘Two’ applicants?”
Deculein furrowed his brow. Epherene hurriedly shook her head.
“Ah, no, that’s not what I meant. I was wondering who the other person was.”
“Drent.”
“Drent, as in……”
“The one who plagiarized your thesis. I heard he already apologized.”
“Yes. That’s right.”
Epherene had received a sincere apology from Drent. She had barely managed to stop him when he said he would even kneel.
But why, of all people, would that Drent apply to work under Deculein? Deculein had even burned his thesis.
Deculein spoke.
“Epherene.”
“Yes.”
“You will attend classes in the Magic Tower while working as a research assistant. You will receive a salary, and the research assignments before the semester begins have been entrusted to Allen, so collect them from him.”
“S-Salary! Yes! Yes, understood!”
“You may go.”
As Epherene stood, she glanced at Deculein. He was already absorbed in his documents.
No, he might only be pretending to be absorbed.
In truth, all his attention might be focused on her.
“I’ll be going.”
That made her uncomfortable, so Epherene fled as if running away.
As soon as she opened the door, Allen greeted her.
“Solda Epherene. Congratulations on being accepted as an assistant!”
“Huh? Ah, ahaha. Yes. Thank you.”
“Follow me. Let’s go to the research room.”
Allen smiled brightly and guided Epherene to the [ Assistant Research Room ].
The research room on the 77th floor was far larger and cleaner than the dormitory.
I could lie down on the floor and sleep right now…… As Epherene looked around in admiration, Allen spoke.
“This is your seat, Miss Epherene.”
Epherene looked that way. As expected of Deculein, it was an elegant chair and desk. She hung her backpack behind the chair.
“Now then, Miss Epherene. I’ll give you your research assignments.”
“Yes. Please.”
Thud—!
A thick book landed on the desk. Since it was a book she knew well, Epherene nodded calmly.
“「The Origin of the Earth Attribute」…… It’s quite difficult, but worth researching.”
“Yes~ That’s right~ And this too.”
But then.
Thud—!
Another book appeared.
Epherene was slightly flustered.
“There are two…… Isn’t 「Records of Luphalen」 a fairly high-level grimoire?”
“Yes~ That’s right~ And this too.”
Thud—!
A third book.
“Um, excuse me.”
“This too. This too, and this too.”
“W-Wait a second!”
Thud—! Thud—! Thud—!
Grimoires began piling up one after another.
“This too.”
“S-Stop!”
“This too.”
“Please stop! No!”
It was not four books. It was not five. It was not even six.
「Understanding Flames」,
「Record of Sea Exploration」,
「General Immersion in Attributes」,
「The Harmony of the Four Great Elements」,
「The Pillars of the Four Great Elements」,
「The Calculation of Wind」……
Thirteen in total.
“……”
“They’re all research assignments! The professor ordered you to fully master them before the semester begins!”
Deculein intended to raise Epherene as a specimen of the Four Great Elements for “carbon research,” and Epherene stared blankly with her mouth open.
“……Is he insane?”
“Hey! You mustn’t say such bad words! If you use profanity, you might never become an assistant professor. And please take this.”
Allen held out a small piece of paper to Epherene. Epherene, whose soul had already half left her body, slowly asked back.
“What…… is this now……?”
“Ah. Senior Professor Deculein is covering the full cost of the grimoires, but some of the books still have copyright terms that haven’t expired. Unlike the cost of the books themselves, you know the copyright fees have to be paid by the mage learning them, right?”
In other words, it was a receipt.
Epherene staggered as she looked at the price.
“……Ah.”
“It may look a little expensive now, but normally, these are high-quality magical texts you couldn’t buy even if you paid twenty times this price! ……Um, Miss Epherene? Miss Epherene? Ah, aah! Miss Epherene──!”
Five seconds later, she fainted.
* * *
……The dark and gloomy lord’s castle of Hadekain.
“He came again?”
While checking the account books and documents related to imperial support for [ Rohalak Prison ] and the revenue from the [ Underground Passage ], Yeriel furrowed her brow sharply.
“Yes. He said he had something to deliver…… Since he is someone from the imperial palace, we could not drive him out, so we gave him a guest room for now.”
In other words, that unwelcome guest Jolang had come yet again. Yeriel let out a sigh.
“What is he giving me? Tell him to leave it and go.”
“You know how he is. He does not listen.”
“Tsk……”
It was then.
Knock, knock—
There was a knock on the lord’s office door. The butler glared at the door and shook his head.
“Open it.”
“Yes.”
The butler opened the door. As expected, Jolang was outside.
“Good day, Miss Yeriel.”
He shamelessly smiled and sat down in front of Yeriel. Then he said to the butler,
“Please give us some privacy.”
“……”
The butler checked Yeriel’s face, then left. Jolang smiled brightly and placed an artifact necklace on the desk.
“Please accept it.”
“Honestly…… You really are arrogant. How do you plan to deal with the consequences later?”
“Once you see it, you will change your mind.”
Jolang was strangely confident. Yeriel looked back and forth between him and the necklace placed on the office desk.
This eunuch bastard who had suddenly shown his face in the lord’s office. What kind of trick was this rat-like wretch trying to pull?
“Go on. Once you look at that, I will leave immediately.”
Tsk—
Whatever it was, she had no choice if she wanted to make that bastard leave. She was also curious what kind of nonsense he was trying to pull, even though it would never work.
Yeriel clicked her tongue and picked up the necklace.