Chapter 133 – Hero Maniac

We talked about many things, and as the night grew deep, it was time to part ways.

“It was a… really, really good time.”

The Flame Empress, her eyes swollen from so much crying, smiled brightly.

“Yes. Me too.”

I wasn’t just giving a halfhearted answer, I meant it.

It couldn’t be helped, since every time I said something, she reacted so differently and intensely that I ended up speaking sincerely as well.

I almost ended up saying things I shouldn’t have.

If she had aimed for that, the Flame Empress would be a truly frightening person.

“Perhaps… the things I received from you are greater than what I gave you…”

“I only told you stories I picked up here and there, that’s all. It’s fine.”

“Don’t dismiss them as mere stories. Some of what you said matched the past I saw with my own abilities. That’s more than enough proof.”

“Well… I see. That’s a relief.”

The Flame Empress smiled, and so did I.

Then, she slipped her hand into her robe and pulled out five small pieces of paper, handing them to me.

“Should I sign these for you?”

The Flame Empress blinked twice, then burst out laughing.

“That would be nice, but these aren’t for that. Didn’t I give you wish tickets? To use them, you’ll have to meet me in person. These are for that.”

“These?”

I took the paper and wrapped my Mana around it.

It seemed… magically treated, but it was high-level magic I couldn’t recognize.

“Yes. If you tear one completely, I’ll know which one was torn and where. Then I can go to that place.”

“Oh…”

“You just have to meet me and tell me your wish.”

“You’re not going out of your way just to grant a simple wish, are you?”

At my question, the Flame Empress, for the first time, gave a smile befitting her age and reached out her hand.

But just for a moment, her hand, about to pat my head, hesitated and pulled back as she spoke.

“It’s fine. Eliaernes, you have more than enough right to summon me.”

Did she want to pat my head?

I’m… not really a fan of that.

Except when Mom does it, I actually dislike it, so I won’t push for it.

“What if you’re far away, Flame Empress?”

“It only takes seventeen hours to get from Gevihenum to the capital. But if it’s urgent, I’ll send my spiritual body instead.”

“Spiritual body… isn’t that a piece of your soul?”

“Yes. It’s a piece split from my soul.”

“What if something happens and you lose it?”

If she loses her spiritual body, her existence will be diminished.

That means her rank or circle will drop.

I don’t know exactly what the Flame Empress’s level is, but if she were to injure or lose her spiritual body, it would cause significant damage.

In the first place, splitting off a spiritual body means shaving away part of your soul, so if that’s destroyed, the pain is excruciating. I know that pain very well.

“I heard it hurts a lot…”

The Flame Empress chuckled and shook her head.

“Even if it’s just a spiritual body, it’s still mine. Unless someone is at the 7th rank, they wouldn’t even sense its presence. Even if they did, they couldn’t catch up to its speed.”

“You sound like you’ve done this a lot?”

“This is my first time.”

“…Okay. I’ll try to use it ahead of time so there’s no rush.”

“No need to feel burdened.”

“These papers feel so heavy for just being paper.”

I giggled and tore one of the five pure white sheets.

At that, the Flame Empress was startled.

“Huh?! Why, why did you tear one?”

“I’m going to use one now.”

“I see? Alright. Tell me your wish.”

The reason I asked to increase the number of wish tickets from two.

It ended up being five, but either way.

There was only one reason for asking for two.

“Flame Empress, you’re a mage, right?”

“Yes, I am.”

“You didn’t just learn fire magic, because of your willpower, all your magic takes on the element of fire, right?”

“Rather than taking on, it transforms into fire. But yes, that understanding is fine.”

“Alright. Then, my request, no, my wish.”

Wondering what would happen, I opened my mouth.

* * *

The last day of the weekend, Sunday.

A day when everyone lazily sleeps in.

Stella is busy.

Eliaernes had sent her a message early in the morning, telling her to come out to the capital’s plaza!

Why? All of a sudden? At this hour? On a weekend?

She even skipped her morning workout just to meet me?

Just in case, I messaged Yurasia and Pina to ask what they were doing in the morning and got replies that they’d be working out.

So, what about me?

I’m meeting Eliaernes…!

“Oh my god… Why? Why is she doing this?”

I’m happy, but anxious.

My heart feels soft and fluttery, but also heavy.

She’s not the type to do this.

Eliaernes is always prickly and violent.

And yet, she lied to the others just to meet me.

Why?

No, actually… maybe I shouldn’t think that way. Lately, she’s been… a bit softer and gentler.

Although, ‘lately’ is just ever since that night we spent in the same bed, but still.

Eliaernes has changed.

“…But she’s still not the type to do this.”

Thinking about it any further is pointless.

With that conclusion, Stella continued applying her makeup.

Of course, Stella’s head had come to a conclusion, but Stella’s indecisive heart had not.

Endless agony continued on.

For a whole hour.

Thinking her makeup turned out especially well today, she smiled with satisfaction. All that was left was perfume.

She’d already finished getting dressed before putting on makeup.

It would be fun to wear something light and see Eliaernes get flustered, but today she dressed quite neatly.

A white t-shirt and jeans.

She wore black underwear, just barely, just ever so slightly showing through.

Now, all that was left was the perfume.

‘…She doesn’t like strong scents.’

Naturally, she set down the perfume she used most often and picked up the new one Yurasia had gifted her.

It was described as smelling like freshly laundered clothes.

“Yeah… of what I have, this one is the most natural.”

Not that she had a lot, only two, but Stella didn’t care about that.

Spritz, spritz.

Not too strong. But not too faint, either.

She sprayed it evenly in a few spots.

Then, spraying it into the air, she dashed through the falling droplets.

Again, spritz! Dash, spritz! Dash, 

Doing it this way would be enough to make her hair smell nice, too.

Satisfied with her preparations, Stella put on the sneakers (one of her two pairs of shoes) that Eliaernes had bought for her and stepped outside her room.

The sky was clear, and the air was cool.

A spring breeze blew in, and the leaves trembled in its wake. The pleasant sound of swaying, saaah, was joined by the fluttering of butterfly wings.

“Heheh. Hehe…”

Smiling vacantly at the scene, Stella suddenly snapped back to her senses.

‘…Why do I like her?’

She didn’t know.

She’d definitely disliked Eliaernes, so how could her mood be so good from just one message asking her to come out?

“Hmm…”

A friend. Is it because we’re friends? Because it feels like I’m… monopolizing her?

Monopolizing… monopolizing. No, more than that… maybe it feels like it’s a special meeting, just the two of us in secret from everyone else?

Special.

‘A special… friend.’

That’s certainly possible.

Twice, no less. One was during the entrance exam labyrinth, but still, they’d gone through two labyrinths together.

In an enclosed space, just the two of them, matching steps, matching hearts, doing incredible things.

And that wasn’t all.

Eliaernes and Stella were connected by secrets that only the two of them knew.

Yes.

Eliaernes and I are special friends…!

My very first friend was Eliaernes.

And… my very first special friend is also her.

This is the first time I’m wandering around the capital with such a special friend, just the two of us.

‘…Hehe.’

Turning her happiness circuits up as she watched the butterflies fluttering through the air, Stella walked with a noticeably lighter step.

She left the academy, passed through the bustling capital, and arrived at the plaza.

Eliaernes wasn’t there yet.

It wasn’t because there were too many people.

With her hair color, her short stature, her delicate build, and her pretty… face, she should be the first person anyone would notice.

But she wasn’t here.

She simply hadn’t arrived yet.

That made sense, Stella had come out thirty minutes earlier than their agreed meeting time.

She was excited and looking forward to it; she hated making her come out on a day like this and having her wait, and the weather was so nice, with the warm sunlight and the scent of spring.

She came up with all sorts of reasons, but in the end, she justified it by saying she was just being diligent. With a faint smile, Stella sat down on a bench.

And then, at that moment, 

She felt the warmth she’d felt just the other day.

Not hot, but strangely warming.

It was definitely morning, but it felt brighter than morning.

And, an unfamiliar Mana.

It didn’t take long to recall where she’d felt this before.

The Flame Empress.

It was the presence of the Flame Empress.

She immediately stood up and looked around.

And then, 

“Good instincts.”

“Hrk?!”

A blunt, low voice, the Flame Empress’s voice.

It came from behind her. Stella gripped the emergency wand she’d hidden in her clothes and turned around.

Sure enough, the Flame Empress was standing there.

But her expression was different from the other day.

Somehow… flustered, excited, and unsettled.

“…F-Flame Empress?”

“Yes. I am the Flame Empress. And you are…”

The Flame Empress’s eyes narrowed.

“Stella Verheigen, correct?”

“…Y-Yes, that’s right.”

Verheigen. Verheigen.

Murmuring Stella’s last name, the Flame Empress gave a small nod and spoke.

“From today forward, I will be your teacher.”

Teacher? The Flame Empress? My teacher? Today? What?

Stella, unable to process the Flame Empress’s words all at once, blinked.

“…Excuse me?”

“From today, I will be the teacher of Stella Verheigen.”

“W-Why…? Why?”

Countless thoughts raced through Stella’s mind.

The first to come up was Akasha.

Was the Flame Empress, like the other demons, after Akasha even though she didn’t know what it was?

After all Eliaernes went through to save her, was she going to get kidnapped again already?

Even so.

No matter if it was the Flame Empress, she wasn’t about to let herself be taken quietly.

She prepared magic that would draw as much attention as possible.

Stella’s specialty was Silent Casting. Silent Casting allowed her to cast spells without her opponent noticing.

Among the spells she could use, she thought of the strongest one she could complete with Silent Casting.

Mana rapidly circulated through her purified blood vessels. Rings formed. Four in total. The fiercely spinning rings gathered Mana and created magic.

As Stella’s hand stretched toward the sky, 

“Magic? Hm… I’ll say this now, I didn’t come to harm you. Did Eliaernes not tell you?”

The Flame Empress snapped her fingers.

The four rings vanished.

Along with them, the magic disappeared.

“…E-Eliaernes…? What do you mean?”

There was no time to be shocked that her magic had been so easily dispelled. Why was Eliaernes’s name coming from the Flame Empress’s mouth?

That filled Stella’s mind.

“The reason I’m becoming your teacher is because of a contract from Eliaernes’s wish ticket.”

“Teacher…? Wish ticket…? Contract?”

“Hm, strange. Stella Verheigen. If you hadn’t heard anything, why did you come here?”

“Well, obviously…”

She recalled the message from Eliaernes she’d seen as soon as she woke up.

[Morning, by 9, come to the capital plaza, go,,,^^b]

There wasn’t even a mention of meeting.