episode_0034

After Syniria left the cafe, I was about to get up, but Helena, who hadn’t approached me until then, kept insisting on staying as if she would be annoyingly attached, so it was a bit difficult to come back to the dormitory.

‘Even though she hasn’t shown interest in me, there must be a reason why she hasn’t approached me until now.’

It is certain that it is related to what Helena said she had to deal with.

It’s a shame that Claire didn’t receive Helena’s sponsorship, but as she started working part-time at the dessert cafe newly opened by the Ardent Academy, things are going as planned.

I just wish Claire had been a little happier from the beginning.

The problem is that Helena’s intervention could twist the course of events.

In the game, I set traps in unexpected places, and now that it has become reality, that move could be fatal.

Deciding that identifying what Helena did and its purpose is a top priority, I arrived at the dormitory and quickly prepared to shower for classes the next day when a sharp warning came through my extrasensory perception.

As I expanded my extrasensory detection range quickly, I felt Syniria’s Black Moon organization members who had not been visible since raiding the academy’s secret warehouse were monitoring me.

‘Weren’t they all killed by Iris?’

Considering that 16 individuals have entered my detection range, it must be a unit dispatched to me.

Activating my extrasensory perception to the maximum and focusing on 16 targets, detailed information soon came in.

Among them, there was one familiar face.

Although he was wearing a mask, with a mane like a lion, no memorization in his pocket while carrying out assassination and espionage missions, only knuckles, it was clearly Lyca, the leader of the Black Moon 4th Unit of Syniria.

‘I don’t see any gestures similar to the 7 I detected before.’

Perhaps the previous unit that was monitoring me suffered heavy losses or something similar, prompting them to deploy a new unit or personnel to resume surveillance duties.

‘But after being exposed to Iris like that, they’re coming back?’

Since the fact that Iris is a Grand Magus has not been revealed externally yet, considering that she might have realized it after the last incident, and she seemed to be paying considerable attention to security since the intrusion, it doesn’t seem likely that they could enter so easily.

While the anxiety that had plagued me about when the Black Moon members would come knocking unexpectedly had been resolved, the concern now is that they could target Claire or other students at any time.

Regarding this issue, it may be necessary to talk to Iris or even consider negotiations with Syniria.

‘Why can’t anything be easy…’

To vent my frustrations, I took a hot bath for a while and lay down on the bed, feeling overwhelmed by frustration.

For now, it seems best to tell Iris about the fact that the 4th Unit of the Black Moon is monitoring me.

I will try to gather at least some resources and buy some time, but it will be impossible for most other students.

If it’s Iris, she will either drive them away or at least prepare measures to protect the students.

Helena seems to have carefully planned something without my knowledge, but if I quickly find out and resolve it, it shouldn’t hinder the progress of future scenarios.

I’m not particularly inclined, but if I need to stick around for a while to find out what plans she’s making, I might have to.

At this point, thinking about what Helena might be planning to trap me with, I fell asleep.

*

Today, I had an introductory magic class in the morning, so I arrived 10 minutes early as usual.

Since the entrance ceremony, Claire’s seat by the window where we used to sit together still didn’t show Claire.

“Surely she’s avoiding me.”

Originally, she was a diligent student who arrived well before class to review and prepare.

I couldn’t understand why she was avoiding me, so I sat down with a complicated heart. As the door opened, I briefly met eyes with Claire.

It hurt a bit to see her pretending not to see me and moving as far away as possible to sit quietly.

And it didn’t take long for the voice of the person I didn’t want but needed right now to be heard next to me.

“Good morning, Yukal! I want to sit next to you, is that okay?”

Surely Claire must have heard it too, but when I turned my gaze towards her, I saw Claire just quietly reading her textbook without any reaction.

Honestly, even though it’s uncomfortable to involve Helena in understanding the situation, there seems to be no sharper solution than subtly figuring out what’s going on from the sidelines.

“…Please do as you wish, Helena Yeongae.”

Helena smiled at my words and sat down next to me.

“By the way, Yukal, please speak to me as comfortably as you do to Rachel. I’ve known you longer than Rachel has, so it’s unfair that you don’t treat me the same way!”

“I’ll consider it. I find myself hesitating to speak to Helena Yeongae in that way.”

If understanding the situation and interfering with the main scenario causes problems, then it’s best to either confront her beforehand or simply leave her alone to flow naturally.

Before Helena could start talking unnecessarily, fortunately, Professor Segan arrived and we could move on.

“Now that the class has started, everyone should be quiet. Today, we will determine each individual’s affinity for elements. Generally, the four elements of wind, water, fire, and earth represent pure elements. Is there a student who can answer this?”

“Wind, water, fire, and earth are the four major elements representing pure elements.”

Once again, James, perennially ranked third in the School of Magic, answered without hesitation to score points with Professor Segan.

“Good, James. From now on, I will distribute paper coated with special magic. When you infuse your magic into it, the characteristics of the element you are most compatible with will manifest. I don’t think all students here will go towards pure elemental magic. They might choose magical engineering, theory, or other branches of magic. Still, as a magician, it is important to discover the attribute that suits you best.”

As James continued to answer questions, it seemed like even Professor Segan had memorized James’ name.

Grabbing the paper handed over from the front, I was also curious.

I had never learned magic as Yukal, and I didn’t know which attribute I specialized in.

Next to me, when Helena infused magic, the paper completely froze and turned into a block of ice.

“Considering his personality, this seems right. It’s not just a simple manifestation of characteristics on the paper; it’s completely frozen. His talent in magic seems to be intact.”

I discreetly glanced at Claire, but there were no noticeable changes in the paper, yet it felt stronger somehow.

James had all four elemental characteristics fully manifested in the four sections of his paper.

He has affinity for all attributes, so he is versatile, but James is disappointed because his output is weak.

Take a deep breath slowly and infuse magic… Surprisingly, nothing happened.

“Huh? I thought something would appear no matter what.”

Once again, pulling out as much magic as possible and capturing it on paper, a faint flame rose from the end of the paper, slightly burning it before extinguishing.

I really have no talent for real magic. Dizzy at the thought that even if I study magic all year round, I might not learn a single spell if this doesn’t work.

“Yukal has an affinity for fire. It’s completely opposite to me…”

“If I can’t control magic properly, Lady Helena could block it for me, so isn’t that a good perspective?”

How could we get along? Still, Helena, who roughly packaged it and said it was good, continued to act like that.

After finishing morning classes including Introduction to Magic, we went to the campus cafeteria for lunch, but Helena seemed to have no intention of leaving me alone, sticking with me until we finished lunch.

“She kept sticking around, and I don’t know anything strange about it. Should I keep doing this?”

She still showed interest in me and stuck to me as if she had more to make up for than before.

As I debated whether to take Helena, who wanted to go with me to the swordsmanship training ground, to see it or not, a familiar voice came.

“Yukal, if you have a moment, would you like to spar with me?”