Chapter 23

“It happened long ago.”

Orpheon’s response to my question about Carian was as such. Of course, I didn’t fully trust it, so I immediately asked the spirit king sitting right next to me to verify.

“…Lurie.”

“Seems like he’s not lying.”

“Then what? How do you know about Carian?”

“I just observed for a bit. When you left me alone in the office.”

Eventually, Orpheon said that Carian had dealt with some shady humans plotting something fishy. Since they were insignificant nuisances, he hadn’t felt the need to tell me.

“Should I report every single one of his hobbies?”

“Hobbies… …you’re actually kinda right though…”

I had a rough idea who they were. Probably charlatans trying to mess with Iris.

Looks like they got caught by Carian for some reason and were dealt with swiftly without putting up much of a fight. Since they were harmless, Carian must’ve thought it was fine to handle them himself.

‘It’s lucky somehow, but still…’

I originally planned to resolve Iris’ bindings first before dealing with the rest gradually, but thanks to Carian stepping in, I saved myself the trouble. Though whether he’ll take care of the remaining ones is still uncertain.

Anyway, considering the previous train attack incident and these recent charlatans…

They really have terrible timing when it comes to making their moves.

‘After all, who could’ve predicted Orpheon would show up…’

Pure coincidence. From their perspective, it was just an extremely unlucky string of events.

With Orpheon around now, any schemes those charlatans come up with will surely fail. Not that the lizard cares about being some great hero or anything – he just doesn’t like anything tarnishing his reputation.

If Orpheon was there and the charlatans’ terrorism still succeeded, that would mean their skills surpass even ancient dragons. Given how sensitive Orpheon is about this kind of thing (while pretending he isn’t), he probably wouldn’t just sit idly by.

Of course, I don’t feel any sympathy for the charlatans. If they try to do things they shouldn’t, it’s only natural for heaven to punish them.

“Alright, can we send this ice kid back now?”

An irritated expression. High-level barriers already surrounded Orpheon.

However, since I still had questions for Orpheon…

“By the way, what was going on with Lilian?”

Instead of dismissing Lurie, I asked why Lilian had growled at Orpheon.

Eventually, the answer came.

“I played with her.”

“F-, fought?!”

“I said I played with her. Was I supposed to just leave those brats wailing about losing their teacher?”

“…Brats ‘plural’?”

“Ah.”

The awkward face that followed. Though it didn’t bother me even a little.

Asking exactly what happened was just part of the routine. When I questioned Orpheon about the worst-case scenarios I could imagine, I only received affirmative responses.

“Seriously, on the day the legacy magic activated?”

-Nod.

“All four of them?”

-Nod.

“At your lair?”

-Nod.

“Wait, Lilian was saying something about recovery earlier. Did you go all out?”

“Against the brats.”

“…This is giving me a headache…”

“Still, it was somewhat entertaining. It’s been quite a while since I’ve seen blood.”

At this point, it’s miraculous that the students are even alive after what happened just hours after I disappeared.

Given that Orpheon mentioned seeing blood, it seems they fought fiercely. And since they dared to challenge Orpheon without fear, they probably went after others who might hold clues besides him too.

In other words, my study is probably already filled with letters from all over the continent by now. Just thinking about the apologies I’ll have to write in the future makes me feel overwhelmed.

“Reckless brats…”

“Well, they’re still alive, aren’t they?”

“Haha… Yeah, being alive is good… …sigh…”

I regretted not kicking Carian harder. I should’ve nagged Lilian more instead of just letting her go.

“Alright then, send this ice kid back now. There’s nothing else to say.”

“…Got it…”

After bidding farewell to Lurie, I slumped onto the sofa. My head started hurting from learning things I didn’t really need to know.

*

White hair flowing down from the sofa. Small hands pressing against a forehead. Groaning sounds coming out every ten seconds or so.

“I’m gonna die, seriously…”

The ancient dragon was watching a girl sprawled out helplessly on the sofa. To be honest, it was quite amusing.

-Tap.

-Tap tap.

“Young lady, lying around like that won’t do.”

“You seem to enjoy this…”

“Alice would be disappointed if she saw you like this.”

“Like you know anything…”

When I gently poked her soft cheek, she just flailed her arm around. A stranger witnessing this scene would probably think it’s the strangest thing ever.

A young girl who still looks quite childish is not only lying around casually in front of an ancient dragon, but also ignoring its words and gestures.

Such an unrealistic scene that it’s hard to even imagine under normal circumstances.

Anyone else would’ve turned into ashes without getting a chance to apologize.

But the girl remained unharmed because her true identity was a close friend of the ancient dragon.

‘…She resembles someone.’

Whether it’s mere coincidence or a fleeting illusion…

“…What are you staring at…?”

The image of the girl on the sofa reminded Orpheon of another girl he parted ways with over 700 years ago. The same light blue eyes especially brought back memories.

‘Ah, whatever. Eat me if you want. I’m going to die anyway, so why should I care about your opinion?’

‘Rather bold for a sacrifice, isn’t she?’

This current scene evoked memories of a certain girl Orpheon used to know. The emotions he once felt towards that elegant face have long dried up, leaving behind only the faint traces of a riverbed that once flowed.

Of course, upon closer inspection, these two were fundamentally different people. One wasn’t even originally a girl to begin with.

Simply put, both provided Orpheon with a unique form of entertainment.

Just that one similarity was enough to make him recall the past.

– As we express our deepest gratitude to all the distinguished guests who have graced us with their presence today, please witness the remarkable achievements of our students…

“Please bear with it, Elder. It’ll be over soon.”

“I’ve heard that seven times already.”

On the day of the Ascension Ceremony, Letter sat properly in the seat next to the new professor.

Because if any commotion involving the ancient dragon occurred, she’d have to write the explanation reports.

Just like before, when their eyes briefly met, Orpheon would pretend to give in and let things slide. Contrary to what she thought, he seemed slightly more lenient than before.

Even though she only realized once that the girl in her memories resembled the one sitting next to her, she found herself unconsciously overlapping the two images.

Of course, this didn’t bring up any feelings of longing or attachment.

– And now, I officially declare the opening of the Ascension Ceremony!

After the lengthy speech finally ended, Professor Letter, responsible for supervising the mana design subject, spoke.

Please stay with Duben while I’m gone…

“Why should I?”

“Because you’re the Elder. But when the tournament starts later, you can walk around with me.”

Seeing Duben heading to the academy after Isabel’s request, Letter added that he should wait a little longer.

Soon after, a small shadow approached Isabel, who was talking with her real father Duben.

“The Elder will be watching too. Do your best!”

“…Okay!”

Smiling slightly at Isabel’s determined response, Letter disappeared into the crowded campus. Her destination was the tall tower.

The first event of the Ascension Ceremony, as previously announced, involved solving tasks given by each subject’s professors in sequence. Though the mana design task, originally scheduled as the first, was moved to last, everything proceeded smoothly so far.

However, when the supervisor’s deep voice declared the start of the test, and time passed with top students quickly clearing other tasks…

-Creepy vibes.

“I, I don’t like the feeling of this…”

Menacing energy emanating from the tower entrance held the students’ ankles captive. Still, they couldn’t retreat and eventually entered the towering structure.

-Rustle.

-Rustle.

-…SPLASH!

“M-Magma Turtle?!”

“What is that thing? Is it…real?!”

At the very entrance, the sight of the monster shook the students’ composure. Just as they hesitated at the sight of the monstrous figure ahead…

Silently, Letter’s figure appeared in the empty air to give her only advice for this first and last time.

“Before you attempt the challenge, rest assured that there will be no danger to your lives. So, don’t be afraid and…”

Try every possible method.

With her usual calm expression, Letter disappeared completely before the students could ask any questions.

And within ten minutes…

“Hey, the ice is breaking! Run!!”

“Mommyyyyyyyy!!!”

“T-The floor is melting! It’s really melting!!”

Cries erupted from the students who had devised and attempted various strategies. This year was completely different from last year’s simple quiz-based challenges.

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