Chapter 19 : To The Academy – 3

Ophelia.

Aside from her title as the Archmage, she hadn’t made any particularly significant moves.

And that was understandable—considering what had happened after she became an Archmage, it was only natural.

Ophelia An Deinas.

The reason she never mentioned her family name, Deinas, was simple.

After she became an Archmage, countless forces had tried to recruit her into their ranks.

But when all their attempts failed, they eventually turned their attention to the Deinas family.

Before producing Ophelia, a once-in-a-generation genius, the Deinas family had been an unremarkable magical lineage.

Even with Ophelia in their midst, they did not flourish.

Thus, for those in power, the Deinas family became an easy target.

Manipulated from all sides, the family was eventually pushed to the brink of destruction.

But those who dared to lay hands on the Deinas family had overlooked one crucial fact.

Ophelia was an unparalleled genius, an Archmage.

And an Archmage was someone capable of wiping entire lands off the map with but a thought.

What followed became a gruesome testament to why mages were considered the most powerful beings on the battlefield.

It became a precedent for why this world revered those who studied magic.

The small nation that sought to expand its influence by recruiting an Archmage vanished from the map.

The once-prestigious noble house that tried to use its authority to borrow Ophelia’s strength crumbled, its name lost to history.

The territories that had joined in erasing Deinas, unable to withstand the surrounding pressure, were forced to live in silence for a long time.

And yet, despite her successful revenge, Ophelia was left with nothing.

All that remained for her was a title—Archmage—that was of little use to her,

And three lonely graves.

Thus, Ophelia no longer cared about anything.

Indeed, aside from researching magic or delving into the spirit arts, which piqued her interest, she took no action.

She didn’t even seek the aid of the Mage Tower.

Then, one day, Ophelia sent a recommendation letter to the Academy.

Regardless of who the recipient was, the mere fact that she had written a recommendation was enough to turn the entire Academy upside down.

“…Are you certain this is Ophelia’s seal?”

“Who would dare forge the seal of that Ophelia? Moreover, the magic imbued within the letter is undoubtedly hers.”

Zenon, the Academy’s chairman, stroked his stark white beard, his expression darkening.

To be honest, he had no reason to dislike Ophelia.

In fact, having had a brief conversation with her in the past, he held a certain level of goodwill toward her.

However, regardless of Zenon’s personal feelings, as the chairman of the Academy, this was not a good sign.

Even more so—

“The fact that the child was the heir of Kalbrandt is also certain?”

“Yes, it is.”

That made it even more significant—because the child of Kalbrandt, the one involved in that incident three years ago, now held a recommendation letter from Ophelia.

“…What exactly did Ophelia see in that child to grant them a recommendation?”

It was already widely known that Luen Phil Kalbrandt had the lowest mana sensitivity.

Of course, talent couldn’t be judged by mana sensitivity alone, but if an Archmage like Ophelia had seen potential in him, then wasn’t it undoubtedly magic?

Besides, the idea that Luen—who had never once held a sword—was some unparalleled genius in swordsmanship was even harder to believe.

With a deep sigh, Zenon pressed a hand to his forehead.

“I’m not sure… but for now, how should we handle the recommendation letter?”

It was that Ophelia who had written this letter, staking not only her name but also her honor on it.

Rejecting it simply because Luen lacked talent would pose a significant risk to the Academy.

But approving his admission wasn’t without its own set of problems.

The first issue was that the current head of the Kalbrandt family, Calcento Phil Kalbrandt, would never stand idly by.

The noble factions he had built would also not tolerate Luen’s admission.

No matter how much the Academy enjoyed the Empire’s full support, it was still an institution within the Empire.

If the Academy completely alienated the Empire’s nobility, its very operation could become difficult.

The second issue was that if Luen was admitted through special recommendation, only for it to be revealed that he had no talent, it wouldn’t just be Ophelia’s reputation that suffered.

The Academy itself would be disgraced for approving the recommendation.

“…What do you think?”

Zenon turned his gaze toward Rachel, who stood before him.

Since Rachel was a highly competent member of the admissions department, responsible for handling special recommendations, he was sure she would have thoughts on the matter.

Rachel gave a small nod before answering Zenon’s question.

“I believe we should accept Ophelia’s recommendation letter.”

“…Why?”

“Because it is the first and only recommendation letter Ophelia has ever given. That fact alone will naturally spread throughout society.”

“So, you’re saying we can minimize the risk?”

“I’m saying the risk of rejecting it is even greater.”

Rachel’s words were certainly reasonable.

The Academy wouldn’t be free of risks entirely, but accepting the recommendation would at least keep the risk to a minimum.

After a moment of contemplation, Zenon let out a deep breath and slowly spoke.

“Then, we’ll proceed with that decision for now.”

“…Understood.”

As Rachel nodded and left the room, Zenon watched his departing figure before exhaling deeply once again.

“Just what… are you thinking, Ophelia?”

Ophelia, who had resurfaced in society, and the sole heir of Kalbrandt.

The shockwave their involvement would cause was impossible to predict.

And where exactly would that shockwave lead?

[To Luen Phil Kalbrandt,
We sincerely welcome you to the Empire’s, and the continent’s, greatest academy—Selibrion Academy.
The entrance ceremony will be held on…]

After carefully reading the letter from the Academy, I tucked it inside my jacket and took a deep breath.

For the first time, I truly felt that everything was about to begin.

“…Did you get in?”

“Of course.”

Nia, who had been standing beside me on her tiptoes, lowered herself back down and asked.

Since there was quite a height difference between us, she probably couldn’t read the letter’s contents.

Well, I had expected as much, so it wasn’t particularly surprising.

“You sound awfully confident.”

“Ophelia wouldn’t have sent me here in the first place if she wasn’t certain.”

I knew very well the weight of Ophelia’s title as an Archmage.

The Academy would undoubtedly accept her recommendation.

Of course, since the recommended student was me, I had considered the possibility that they might hesitate.

But given that their reply arrived within a day, they must not have debated for very long.

“Hah, well, that woman is like that.”

Nia, sounding displeased, spoke sharply, making it clear she didn’t particularly like Ophelia.

I forced an awkward smile and decided to change the subject.

“I’m heading out for a bit. What about you, Nia?”

Normally, Nia would have wanted to come with me.

But ever since arriving in the Empire’s capital, she hadn’t been feeling well.

She had mentioned that the large crowds weakened her power,

And even from my perspective, she didn’t look too well.

“…I’ll come too.”

Even so, it seemed her condition wasn’t enough to dampen her resolve.

“Are you sure?”

“If I shapeshift, I’ll be fine.”

By shapeshifting, she meant taking the form of a cat.

She had told me that staying close to me made things a little easier,

But she still seemed uncomfortable walking around in human form.

“Alright, just don’t push yourself too hard.”

Ever since we reunited, Nia had been watching over me like a mother fretting over a reckless child.

I could tell that she was reluctant to let me go alone this time as well.

But there wasn’t much I could do to stop her.

“I’ve grown up quite a bit, you know.”

Even without Nia, other spirits would protect me, so the chances of anything dangerous happening were slim.

Still, Nia always seemed haunted by the thought that she wasn’t there when Calcento attacked Kalbrandt.

Anyway, after hearing Nia’s response, I nodded and started preparing to head out.

There was a lot to do before entering the Academy, so it was best to get moving quickly.