Ch.121Chapter 121 – The Man Who Catches the High Elf’s Eye

How strange.

I knocked on the Chancellor’s office door, but there was no response from inside.

—Knock knock.

I tried knocking on the Chancellor’s door again after waiting a moment.

“Is she not in?”

Despite knocking on the Chancellor’s door once more, there was still no sound.

It seems she might have stepped out for a moment…

‘Should I leave and come back later?’

The opening ceremony announcing the start of the festival will begin soon. Should I attend that briefly?

But I don’t know if the Chancellor will be in her office after the opening ceremony ends.

“Please come in.”

Just as I was turning to board the elevator to go down to the first floor of the Tower of Documents, I heard the Chancellor’s voice from beyond the door inviting me in.

I was about to step into the elevator, so I turned back and headed to the Chancellor’s office.

Opening the door and entering, I found the Chancellor sitting and enjoying a cup of tea.

“I heard you called for me.”

“That’s right. Come and sit down. I called you because I have something to discuss regarding the festival.”

I sat down on the guest sofa as the Chancellor suggested.

The Chancellor then rose from her seat, walked over, and sat down on her personal sofa.

“Have you finished the festival preparations well?”

“Thanks to your various considerations, Chancellor, I was able to complete the preparations smoothly.”

I conveyed my thoughts to the Chancellor without reservation.

In reality, thanks to the Chancellor’s various accommodations, I was able to prepare for my booth operation relatively easily compared to other students.

I even heard that after the explosion incident, she modified the security routes so that students on security duty would frequently pass by my booth.

So I was simply grateful to the Chancellor.

“Don’t mention it. I should help any student of Glesius Academy. While at the academy, all students are under my responsibility.”

Under her responsibility…

Indeed, our Chancellor is a person who combines character, ability, and beauty.

“The highlight of this festival will all go to Count Severio. No matter how hard the other booths prepare, everyone’s attention will be directed toward Count Severio.”

However, hearing the Chancellor’s words makes me feel a bit pressured, which is unavoidable.

I had fully anticipated that people’s interest would be focused on me during the festival preparations.

But now that the festival is about to begin, I do feel the pressure. Can I do well? What if I make a mistake and disappoint people?

Ah, of course, I’m not talking about making mistakes because my ability doesn’t work.

I was thinking about whether I might mishandle items and cause another explosion accident like before.

“I wonder if too much attention might be focused solely on me.”

“It’s fine. If the ‘Demon Sword Destroyer’ recognized by the Great Goddess Order doesn’t get attention, who will? Remember that everyone in the world is currently watching Count Severio.”

The Chancellor went on to say that most students were planning to gain various secondary benefits by riding on my popularity.

Hearing that, I felt as if a knot in my heart was loosening.

Actually, I was worried that if attention was focused on me, other students might suffer, but it turns out everyone was planning to take advantage of the crowds to gain reflected benefits.

As expected of the Gelebrio Empire’s finest educational institution—everyone’s quick thinking is truly impressive.

“Then I can operate my festival booth with peace of mind.”

“Yes. I hope you’ll show your full abilities properly this time, with peace of mind.”

With the Chancellor’s encouragement, I feel like I can really succeed this time.

I should enjoy the festival for about two days, and then focus on operating my booth for the remaining three days.

So, shall I enjoy the festival enthusiastically today and tomorrow?

◈◇◈◇◈◇◈◇◈◇◈

After Pathos left the Chancellor’s office, Regina only gestured toward the empty air after confirming that he had left the Tower of Documents.

Then, a bookshelf on one side of the Chancellor’s office split in half, revealing a passage.

“Phew, that was a close call.”

From inside emerged three High Elves who had come to see Regina.

Due to Pathos’s sudden visit, Regina had to hide the three people, which took some time.

This was because the information that the World Tree was dying should not yet be revealed to the world.

So, judging that Pathos should not know about this yet, Regina had hidden the three High Elves in the secret passage behind the bookshelf.

“That person who just left… who is he?”

Shreka showed interest in Pathos as soon as she emerged from the secret passage.

As the Grand Elder of the High Elves, she had sensed the scent of mana that remained in the place where Pathos had been.

“Count Pathos Severio. Have you heard of him?”

“Hmm, I’m sorry. We’re almost completely ignorant about news from the human world…”

Regina gave Pathos’s full name, but Shreka and the other High Elves seemed unfamiliar with it.

“Then do you know the nickname ‘Demon Sword Destroyer’?”

“Demon Sword Destroyer… Come to think of it, I did sense that something extraordinary happened recently. I felt the magical energy in the atmosphere increase slightly and then disappear suddenly.”

Living for a long time as a High Elf, Shreka referred to events from several months ago as “recent.”

Regina nodded at Shreka’s words.

“The person who just left is the one who became a count for destroying a demon sword. He’s also a transfer student at our Glesius Academy.”

“Is that so? How interesting. Glesius Academy accepting a transfer student. Of course, hearing that he destroyed a demon sword, I can see why he would qualify.”

Regina’s shoulders lifted slightly at Shreka’s high evaluation of Pathos.

“How should I put it… this Pathos person is quite fascinating.”

“In what way?”

“Do you know that each person has a different scent of mana?”

“Well… I’ve come to understand that somewhat since becoming an Archmage.”

Regina knew to some extent what Shreka meant by the “scent of mana.”

However, unlike elves who are naturally sensitive to mana from birth, Regina, born human, couldn’t sense the scent of mana as keenly even as an Archmage.

This was a fundamental difference between elves and humans that couldn’t be overcome through training.

“Generally, people with the qualities of an Archmage leave a very strong scent of mana. Conversely, those without talent for magic either leave no scent at all or only a faint one.”

Shreka then looked at the place where Pathos had been sitting.

“But… the place where this Pathos person sat has strangely no scent of mana at all.”

“What?”

Regina was surprised by Shreka’s words.

No scent of mana? Could that be true?

“In such cases, there are usually two possibilities. One is that they are a ‘twisted being’ completely rejected by mana.”

“But… he’s not a twisted being. If he were, he couldn’t have entered Glesius Academy in the first place. The defensive magic array here isn’t that lenient.”

“I know that too. That’s why I think this Pathos person is likely someone who ‘dominates’ mana.”

“‘Dominates’… mana?”

Regina was puzzled again by Shreka’s words.

Dominating mana? Is that possible?

When a mage uses magic, they project their will onto mana.

That’s why those with strong willpower have the qualities of a mage…

The concept of dominating mana was something even she, an Archmage, had never heard of.

“That’s right. In places where a being who dominates mana has passed, the scent of mana disappears for a long time. It means that even the scent of mana follows that person, showing how well they handle mana.”

“Dominating mana…”

Regina felt like the scattered puzzle pieces were finally coming together.

She felt like she was beginning to understand the secret behind Pathos’s formidable abilities.

“It’s fascinating though. To think that a being so loved by mana that they can dominate it exists among humans.”

“Is it that unusual?”

“Of course. Even we High Elves aren’t loved by mana to that extent. I’ve only heard about it until now, and this is my first time seeing it.”

Regina felt slightly uneasy at Shreka’s words.

Being loved by mana meant that those who could handle mana would likely be drawn to him.

“Hmm… apart from the issue with the World Tree, I’m becoming interested in that person. I have a feeling that he might know how to solve the problem…”

“…!”

Regina was startled by Shreka’s words.

Just by analyzing the scent of mana, she had figured out that Pathos could be the solution to this problem.

Regina’s eyes held an indescribable unease as she looked at Shreka.