episode_0053

Today, Master became strange. No, maybe it was from yesterday.

I couldn’t even pinpoint the exact moment I realized it, but at some point, Master stopped making eye contact. Her answers were always short as usual, but the emotions contained within them seemed not short at all, but rather complicated.

“Hmm, hmmph……”

For a child to survive in a slum, they have to constantly strive to please adults. Only by noticing their mood and maintaining the appropriate attitude could they grow up with their limbs intact.

In that respect, Asel was a master at discerning the emotions of others. Figuring out what emotion Ena was feeling as she suddenly cleared her throat meaninglessly was no work at all.

‘She seems confused.’

Confused out of the blue. It wasn’t an emotion someone who spends all day just reading would have. Something must have triggered it, rummaging through her mind, but since she wouldn’t answer if he asked, there was nothing he could do.

“Master.”

“Hyat!”

“……?”

“Kuh, kuhum! Why did you call?”

“……It’s nothing. I just called out.”

“Okay.”

Conversation was always like this. When Asel called Ena, she would let out a strange scream and drop the book she was holding. Ena’s high-pitched voice, which usually spoke softly, was so rare that it made even Asel flinch. He couldn’t help but think, ‘Could Master make such a sound?’

Sometimes, she wouldn’t even answer when he called her. Whenever that happened, if he looked at her, Ena was always staring blankly at the ceiling. It seemed like she was muttering something, moving her lips, but her voice was so quiet that Asel couldn’t hear it clearly.

If he tried to eavesdrop with magic, it wouldn’t be impossible, but Asel deliberately didn’t do so.

They say a wizard without curiosity is a corpse, but one should not extend that curiosity to someone else’s private life.

“……Hmm.”

Anyway.

Thus, the strange things about Ena were not just one or two. She couldn’t make eye contact and couldn’t continue a conversation for long. If he tried to force eye contact, she would quickly turn her head away, unable to keep her pupils still. Then she would blink as if she didn’t even know why she was doing that.

It seemed her mind was too complicated for normal communication to be possible.

That was the chance.

Asel planned to get a firm promise from Ena today that she would release him from confinement. It would be impossible with the usual Ena, but it wouldn’t be so difficult with her being confused.

From the moment he thought of it, the plan began. Asel cleared his throat once to turn Ena’s attention to himself, then carefully placed the book he was reading on the bed.

“……”

She acted like she wasn’t, but Asel noticed that all of Ena’s attention was focused on him. Perhaps she wasn’t good at peeking at others, as her sidelong glances at him were clearly felt. But Asel deliberately pretended not to notice her gaze and stared out the window with a wistful expression.

As he did so, he muttered.

“……I miss it.”

“……”

“Ah, I miss my friends. How long do I have to stay here?”

“……”

Would she bite? Or would she have no reaction?

Asel continued to look out the window, inwardly feeling anxious.

Just then, he heard a sound like a book being closed from behind him.

The moment he heard that, Asel smiled brightly inside.

He had a big catch.

“……Do you want to go out?”

Ena said with a slightly apologetic voice. Asel returned her gaze, wearing a wry smile.

“Ah, did you hear that? I apologize. I was just talking to myself.”

“No, it’s alright. It can happen.”

They were talking, but Ena still didn’t make eye contact with Asel. Usually, he would be disappointed, but now it was a reaction he couldn’t be more pleased with.

His heart ached a little at the thought of deceiving the one who had taken care of him his whole life, but he couldn’t stay cooped up here forever. It was a time when a decisive move was necessary.

But before Asel could speak, Ena spoke first. She fumbled in her pocket, took out a letter, and continued speaking.

“Don’t worry. You’ll be able to return to the academy soon.”

“Yes?”

This was an unexpected answer. He had assumed she was planning to keep him confined, having locked him away in the church without letting him budge, but it seemed that wasn’t the case.

But then, there would have been no reason to confine him here in the first place. Why was she so wary of him going outside?

Asel desperately racked his brain to figure out Ena’s intentions. But he couldn’t accurately grasp Ena’s meaning.

It was natural. The reason Ena had kept Asel in this quasi-confinement was simply because she wanted to spend time alone with her disciple, whom she had been separated from for a long time.

She herself might think it was to make it difficult for her to quickly escape if Vircia invaded, but the emotions and desires slowly growing deep within her were producing a completely different answer from her reason.

She wanted to have private conversations with Asel. She wanted to discuss magic side-by-side with Asel. As fellow lightning mages, she wanted to share her understanding of the spell formulas they each devised. Going even further, she wanted to feel his warmth, to touch each other’s skin and connect.

That was in the realm of the unconscious. A desire she didn’t even know about, born of instinct and craving. An obsession with her disciple, a protective and possessive desire that had been slowly growing within her since who knows when.

Only she herself had not yet realized it.

But as always, sweet moments pass quickly. Confused feelings, complicated emotions, all had to be pushed aside for now.

Ena reread the letter she had taken out, her expression hardening coldly.

The letter bore the clear seal of the Academy Headmaster. It was sent directly by Fride.

[Come to the west mountain of the academy in two days. There, the damage can be minimized.]

Unlike the large parchment, the content was short. But that was enough. Ena folded the letter again and closed her eyes.

“Temporary leave from the academy will probably start in two days. It will last for about a week, so stay here until then.”

“Temporary leave?”

“It’s the period it will take to publicize and resolve the incident you experienced this time. Don’t worry too much. I’ll take care of everything.”

Breaking and scorching things was something she had done so much that it was tedious. It was the first time the location was within the imperial territory, but since she had the headmaster’s approval, there was no hesitation. Of course, she would have to estimate the extent, but she wouldn’t need to worry about the aftermath of destruction before using magic.

Thinking that, Ena opened the eyes she had closed.

At the same time, her eyes met Asel’s, who was somehow already sitting in the chair opposite her. Asel leaned slightly forward and asked her.

“Did Master say that?”

“Uh, Huuuaaaaaah……!”

Surprised by the unexpected ambush, Ena flushed and got up from her seat.

She still needed more time to regain her sense of distance from Asel.

***

At the academy, there existed what were often called entrenched powers. This mainly referred to professors and administrative staff from high-ranking noble families. They harbored a deeper affection for the academy they worked at than one might think, and tended to regard it as their own honor.

In meetings, they always sought to raise the academy’s prestige rather than the students’, and tended to view those who offered opposing opinions with great disdain. In severe cases, they would relentlessly torment and drive people away from the academy or stifle their voice without hesitation.

Needless to say, they did not resort to extreme methods like assassination. Not because of conscience or morality, but because they feared the academy’s prestige might fall if a rumor spread that one of the administrative staff had been assassinated.

All of this was to fill their own pockets. The Lumina Academy, true to its reputation, treated those associated with it highly. This applied to students, as well as professors and staff. Simply working at the most prestigious academy on the continent was the same as having one’s abilities recognized.

And money naturally falls to those whose abilities are recognized. Whether it was salary or bribes. The amount flowing into their personal gain was unimaginably large. The reason they regarded the academy’s honor as their own honor was all due to this underlying cause.

They spoke as if they cared more about the academy than anyone else, yet they were the paradoxical ones who cared about the academy less than anyone else.

That was the academy’s entrenched power. It was also their doing that the freshman incident was prevented from being publicized this time.

“Let’s bury it quietly. We just need to silence a few people, including Saya. Their deaths are regrettable, but the living must live. There’s no need to incur losses by exposing the academy’s incompetence. Isn’t that right, Headmaster? From our position, needing to support families, it’s best that nothing that could damage the academy’s honor happens. Please consider us as much as you consider the students.”

When one of the entrenched powers said that, it was natural for the rest to keep quiet.

Of course, a few people got up, saying it was nonsense, but they were only a minority. And in this kind of public opinion battle, the majority always had the advantage.

Fride couldn’t do anything either. It wasn’t an academy she built alone. While her influence wasn’t weak, it wasn’t enough to contend with the majority of high-ranking nobles.

So, even if she unilaterally ignored their opinions, the situation would become quite tricky if they were uncooperative with upcoming midterms or other events.

In her heart, she wanted to pull up not only the entrenched powers but also their factions by the roots, but it was impossible at a time when recruitment wasn’t scheduled. She could only get rid of them after the midterms had passed and she had a proper justification.

“……Haa.”

The more she thought about it, the more furious she became.

If it weren’t for the responsibility of her position, she would have held swords in both hands and performed a sword dance like in the past, but it was truly ironic.

Still, where there is a downhill, there is also an uphill. There was no law that said she had to suffer alone until she died.

In that respect, receiving a letter from Asel reporting his survival, and shortly after, a letter from Ena saying she would break the academy, was nothing short of a godsend.

Normally, she would tear her hair out and struggle to stop Ena, but not this time.

Justification? More than enough. Her disciple was nearly killed, yet instead of compensation, they were scrambling to bury the incident. A judge would side with Ena even if she came and smashed everything.

Sense of crisis? This was also sufficient. If a great mage rampaging and randomly scattering lightning wasn’t dangerous, what was?

The situation perfectly aligned with the need to give the academy staff a wake-up call and provided a clear justification for her actions. As soon as Fride grasped this, she made a deal with Ena.

It’s okay to break the academy. But do it in a place where damage is minimized, and in return for retreating at the end, demand that the incident concerning your disciple be publicized, compensated, and apologized for. Then I will play along accordingly. And as a reward for fulfilling the request, I will grant you anything you desire!

She conveyed a letter to Ena with roughly that nuance, and surprisingly, Ena accepted.

Fride, who had secretly expected her to refuse her request, jumped up from her seat the moment her consent arrived and did a jig with Flum. Flum, thinking Fride had finally lost her mind, teared up and joined her.

A mage who was terrifying when an enemy but reliable when an ally. Fride, backed by Ena, a force equivalent to a thousand armies, had nothing more to fear.

The reason her hysterics had decreased recently was entirely because of this.

“Hahahaha.”

She let out a low laugh and stirred her teacup. She then placed the cookies and cake baked for refreshments on the table, opened the window overlooking the west mountain, and settled into the sofa.

Two days had passed since she informed Ena of the location and time to break things.

Today was the scheduled day.

Since entry to the west mountain had been strictly prohibited for several days now, there was no need to worry about casualties. Just in case, she had even used detection magic, so there was no need to be anxious that Ena might kill someone.

Everything was perfect.

The first collaboration between a several-hundred-year-old elf and a great mage. The moment Fride saw the white flash crossing the sky, she smiled brightly.

Kwaaaaaang!!

A sudden white lightning bolt fell as if to split the peak of the academy’s west mountain. Everyone walking around the academy’s gaze was momentarily fixed on that spot, and Fride tore off a cookie with excited eyes and ate it.

‘I’m supposed to go in about 30 minutes after Ena starts rampaging, so until then……’

I’ll just watch.

“Hahahaha.”

Watching the academy grounds, which she had cultivated for hundreds of years, being destroyed.

The sense of depravity gushing out was so strong it made her feel ecstatic.

Go eat dirt, you entrenched bastards.