Chapter 65: Act 1 – The Burning City
The next day after running for a long time, it is always a struggle to get out of bed.
Could it be that I drank too much after a long time? Looking at how my hangover hasn’t gone away even after a day, I think I need to drink less in the future.
‘Is it because I’m getting older…?’
Gerard, soothing his uncomfortable stomach, barely made it to the Sephiro -02 Mana Power Plant, an artificial World Tree.
As usual, he scanned his employee ID against the enchanted magic stone, and the door to the laboratory opened.
“Oh, Colson-senpai, you’re here?”
Immediately, a warm-looking woman with pink hair approached him, acknowledging him.
It was Miriam.
“Miriam, you came early.”
“Hehe…”
She shyly rubbed the back of her neck.
The reason for her reaction was that she rarely came in this early. Miriam usually preferred to arrive right on time.
“I just felt like it today. Senpai, your expression doesn’t look good?”
“Uh, I drank quite a bit with a friend after a long time, and the hangover is strong. I drank two days ago.”
“Really? Who did you go with?”
“Just an old college mate. He’s a dwarf, so it was hard to keep up.”
At the mention of a drinking buddy being a dwarf, Miriam burst out laughing.
“Bwahaha! A dwarf? You drank with a dwarf? That’s a hangover to remember!”
“Haah… I could hold up when I was younger.”
As Gerard lamented, Miriam nodded in agreement.
“That’s for sure. I also… when I was younger…”
Then suddenly, Miriam shut her mouth.
Using the phrase ‘when I was younger’ already implies that she’s old.
She still considers herself young.
Perhaps, because about one-eighth of her blood is elf.
Pure elves live 2.5 times longer than humans, so if she calculates that back, she might still be in her mid-twenties.
Ignoring his silent underclassman, Gerard pressed his head as he sat in the position of the chief mage.
The chief mage usually oversees the general state of the World Tree while handling other paperwork.
He adjusted his glasses and accepted the papers that had piled up during his vacation from Miriam.
“Nothing happened while I was gone?”
“No, there were no incidents with the World Tree.”
“That’s a relief.”
If there had been another emergency due to unstable mana supply, his vacation might have been canceled, and he would have been called back.
As a chief mage, he couldn’t avoid working on holidays.
Gerard felt reluctant to jump right back into work after taking a long vacation.
So while he lazily shuffled through the papers, he absentmindedly looked up at the window where the branches of the World Tree were visible.
Miriam handed him a mug filled with sweet-smelling tea.
“It’s honey tea. This should help with the hangover.”
“…Ah, thank you.”
Miriam suddenly clapped as if remembering something and asked.
“Oh, right. Senpai, did you hear?”
“Hear what?”
“Sheahe’s Miracle Recipe, it’s said that the theory has been proven. They say Beriton is going to experiment on it soon?”
“Oh, so it’s finally been unraveled?”
The Miracle Recipe of Sheahe was one of the most complex spells among modern magical challenges.
Ignoring causality and manipulating probabilities, how can such a thing make sense?
However, this magic wasn’t dismissed as nonsense because traces of magic had been shown from the past that had a similar phenomenon.
Shiaehe, who came up with the concept of Miracle Recipe just from magical traces, was certainly a genius but ultimately died without proving it.
Yet now, that magic has finally been proven.
“Who ended up proving it?”
“Senpai, don’t be surprised.”
“It’s said that a student who participated in the Magic Competition solved it.”
“What? A student?”
How could a student solve magic that even renowned mages from around the world couldn’t?
What an astonishing talent that would be.
‘Talents do have their terrifying sides…’
After a millennium of class magic prevailing after being championed by the great mage Baal Nier, now the talent gap had somewhat narrowed.
“Who exactly proved it?”
“I heard even the Magic Tower is keeping it a secret. The student doesn’t want to gain fame.”
In the end, Miriam was passing along information she had heard.
The Magic Tower is a gathering of mages who delve into magical theory, while she and Gerard work in a lab that researches and processes those magical theories for practical applications.
They wouldn’t know about stories internally kept as secrets.
“Isn’t it exciting? To not want to gain fame and postpone the public reveal while still in school. Smart ones are always different!”
Gerard gave a wry smile at Miriam’s romantic expression.
‘To me, that just sounds crazy.’
A genius wasting away in the Academy while thinking they’d be just a kid, does that make sense?
Had He proven it, he would have graduated and obtained a degree from the Magic Academy.
…Did he want to go to school that much?
—–
Luke sat down, organizing books to put into his bag as he thought.
‘As expected, nothing special.’
However, Luke was not particularly disappointed by this.
The questions during the Magic Competition were boring in their simplicity, and expecting something special from an exam tailored for eleven-year-olds was somewhat problematic.
As he was preparing to leave, Mary Idle approached Luke, dragging Shirud along by her hand.
“Luke! Did you do well on the exam?”
“Well, I usually do. But why is Shirud acting like that?”
When Luke asked, Shirud looked at his hand, suddenly startled, and quickly let go of Mary’s hand.
His face was quite red.
“Ah, this was Mary dragging me here!”
“Hmm. I see. Hehe, you two seem to have gotten close.”
Seeing children getting along is quite a pleasant sight.
As Luke looked at Mary’s expression, she suddenly exclaimed, “Ah! Sorry!” as she uncrossed her arms and blushed.
What is she apologizing for?
“Um, Luke, the exam is over now. Would you like to go out and play together?”
“Oh, sorry, Mary. I already have plans.”
“Oh… I see.”
“You two have fun then, I’ll be off.”
“…Uh, okay…”
With a smile, Luke departed from the spot.
Mary suddenly felt she had made a mistake.
Luke normally wasn’t cold enough to just leave like that.
Could it be that he was jealous because they held hands?
It’s certainly a possibility.
With an apologetic expression, Mary looked at Shirud and whispered.
“I’m, I’m sorry. Luke doesn’t seem to like this.”
“What’s there to apologize for? He must have plans.”
“Y-yes, I guess?”
Shirud recalled the Luke he had seen thus far.
The things Luke said often needed to be taken literally.
“He must be right.”
———
As Shirud thought, Luke certainly had prior plans.
The meeting with Third was the very plan.
Luke had demanded more rigorous training from Third, who learned magic in exchange for donating blood each week.
Third’s circle was no less than Shirud’s, but if his presence seemed weak, it must be that he was neglecting it. Otherwise, there must be some other factor.
If there was another factor, Luke would take an interest in that, so Third had to devote himself to magic even more.
Thus, Luke could not avoid having a prior appointment with Third in order to mingle with the children.
Due to Third’s circumstances that prevented him from returning to the city, Luke had to go personally to teach, which took up time in transit. If he wanted to see Third, he would need to dedicate an entire day.
Third felt gratitude and guilt towards Luke.
His inability to competently manage his circle caused discomfort for Luke, who had to endure it.
Yet even for just a cup of blood, how generous of him.
Third recalled the previous conversation he had with Luke.
“When I regain my memory of the ‘facility,’ what will you do?”
“What will I do? Shouldn’t I at least pay my respects to the facility? Especially, the one in charge. I’d really like to meet them.”
“…I see. Do you have any plans?”
“I don’t have any special plans to share with you. Hmm, do you think a plan is needed?”
Luke’s expression conveyed his inability to grasp the need for a plan just to pay respects to a facility, prompting a small laugh from Third.
“True, you probably wouldn’t need a plan.”
Given his ability to confront all the circle mages alone with his magic, his magic power and casting speed, as well as his stealth and precision, it was not an exaggeration.
With such overwhelming might, small plans wouldn’t even be necessary.
He was curious about the day when he would indeed pay ‘respects’ to the ‘facility.’
‘We clearly agreed to meet here…’
As he strolled through the alley, he suddenly felt a killing intent directed at him.
He had always relied on his instincts.
Thanks to that, he had managed to stay alive until now.
As he turned into a nearby alley to hide, sure enough, the figure that had been tailing him was trying to follow him in.
In one step, as soon as he stepped into the alley, Third instantly grabbed the man’s neck and discharged electricity.
“…!”
The man’s eyes widened as if he couldn’t even breathe, convulsing.
He probably already couldn’t feel his limbs.
Dragging the man into the alley and throwing him to the ground, Third stepped on his chest, applying pressure, causing the man to cry out in a pitiful tone.
“Pl-please, don’t kill me! Why are you doing this to me?”
“Who sent you?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about!”
“I know everything; you’ve been tailing me since earlier.”
Pressing his foot harder into the man’s chest, a strained groan escaped his lips.
“Ugh…!”
“Speak, or should I kill you? From your methods, it doesn’t seem to be related to the facility or nobility, is it an assignment?”
At Third’s words, the man finally changed his expression and started to chuckle.
“…Heh, you catch on fast for a mutt.”
“…”
“If you knew, you’d move your foot. We were partners once. Aren’t you curious how much we’d earn if we took you? Why not surrender quietly?”
“What nonsense. Why would I?”
“That little kid you’ve been hanging out with lately.”
His momentum stopped.
“We’ve got her.”
“What…?”
“It’s true; our partners have already secured that kid. If you follow along willingly, she won’t come to harm. But if you resist…”
He made a malicious expression, and with a hiss of breath, he spoke between his clenched teeth.
“Crack.”
“…Where is that kid?”
“If I tell you that, the deal won’t…”
Before he could finish his sentence, a person came flying from another alley.
Humans do not have flying capabilities.
At least, not without the power of magic.
Yet this human was devoid of any magic, which meant…
Bam!
A bald man flew in from the alley, transferring all his kinetic energy to the wall, collapsing weakly to the ground.
For a moment, the startled man exclaimed in surprise.
“Crazy, Dixon! What the hell is happening?”
“Cough, save… me…”
With those words, the bald man seemed to faint from exhaustion.
Watching this unfold, Third chuckled.
“Is that your companion?”
“…”
“I see what’s happening.”
Did they think of Luke as just a kid and intended to take him hostage?
‘These idiots are completely foolish.’
Still in shock, Third gripped the man’s forehead and delivered a shock of electricity.
Such an inconsequential person likely knew very little.
Leaving behind the limp bodies, he headed toward the alley where the man had burst in from.
Inside the alley stood a girl, her expression calm, gazing at the fallen giants.
“Ah, Third. You’ve arrived. I have something to discuss.”
“Yes, what is it?”
“Are these guys really your friends?”
“Well… they were back in the day, but now they’re not.”
“Don’t hang out with such lowly friends from now on. Hmm, so you’ll be able to ‘handle’ this yourself, right?”
“Of course, Master.”
“Alright then, take care of it ‘cleanly.’ I’ll step aside. When you’re done with the ‘conversation,’ meet me at the café over there.”
“Understood. Just a moment, you have a bit of blood on your face…”
“Oh dear, thanks for letting me know. I made sure not to stain my clothes.”
Luke took out a handkerchief and lightly wiped the blood away before moving on.
Once Luke had disappeared from view, Third started to move.
“Cough… a-a monster…”
“Fools, realizing that now.”
As she said, it was time to ‘handle’ this ‘matter’ without any loose ends.
While having a bit of a ‘discussion’ too.
———
When the exam ended, the children were released back into a state of carefree bliss, but the teacher’s work was still not over.
Once the exam is finished, inevitably, papers are given out equal to the number of students.
Now, it was time to grade them.
Emma let out a sigh and neatly stacked the exam papers as she began to grade them one by one.
She had said that with the busy preparations for the International Magic Competition, it wouldn’t be necessary to take an exam, but Luke had insisted on taking it anyhow.
The reason was somewhat amusing; it seems Luke aimed for the ‘Outstanding Academic Achievement’ award given each year.
She knew he was working hard for early graduation, but it felt like he just liked getting awards.
Emma smiled slightly at that thought.
‘After all, no child dislikes praise.’
Winning awards is the highest form of praise a school can offer.
Perhaps Luke is thirsty for compliments.
Having gone through a tough life without parents for a long time at a young age, that would be understandable.
Of course, neither Serena, who had supported Luke’s enrollment, nor his guardian had disclosed any detailed stories, but the impressions gleaned from Luke’s demeanor and the atmosphere of his guardian could not be hidden.
Certainly, it wouldn’t be information one would just go around revealing.
As Emma held on to these thoughts, she began grading the papers.
The first paper she opened was the morality exam.
The difficulty level was simple enough that most questions could be answered using basic common sense, yet it was the most important subject for eleven-year-olds.
Question: Your friend is being bullied by a bad kid. What should you do?
( Tell the teacher. )
( Call the parents. )
( Persuade them to stop. )
As she marked the answers, she came across one answer written by a child that stated “I’ll join the bullying.”
Seeing the name, it was Bill.
He was always mischievous, but even during the test, he decided to joke around with his score.
Emma immediately drew a line through the question in red ink.
There was no way to give points for a wrong answer.
Continuing to grade the papers, she finally reached the one marked with the name Luke Irushi in a neat script.
“Hmm, let’s see what answer Luke wrote.”
( Subdue the bully and ask the victim what punishment they prefer. Depending on the severity, turn them over to the peacekeeping force. )
Somehow, it seemed very much like Luke, and it also seemed written in an old-fashioned hand that carried a certain persuasiveness, but still, he shouldn’t take matters into his own hands and confront the bully.
‘That’s dangerous.’
Emma marked Luke’s answer with a circle.
