Episode 25: Graduation

Dawn. Raphael-nim’s mansion.

We returned here safely after many twists and turns.

According to Aran-seol, So-han followed So-un.

Therefore, only Aran-seol and I returned to the mansion.

I only went to get some information, but I ended up going through this.

I learned once again that I should be careful when I see any signs of trouble.

More than that, Raphael-nim’s mansion is eerily quiet.

“Where did our teacher-nim go when her lovely disciple was in big trouble?”

“I envy your shamelessness, Haru-a.”

“It’s okay, Aran-seol. You’re shameless enough too. Have confidence.”

“That wasn’t a compliment.”

I entered the mansion, listening to Aran-seol’s grumbling.

Just then, I ran into the head butler, who was hurrying somewhere.

“Ah, Haru-a-nim, I’m glad you’re safe.”

Actually, I died and came back.

Aran-seol glanced at me, but I didn’t respond to her gaze.

“Yes, I came back alive and well.”

“I see. It seems So-un-nim arrived in time.”

“More than that, where did teacher-nim go? I think I should quickly tell her that her lovely disciple has returned.”

“Raphael-nim went to the Grace Magic Tower.”

Grace Magic Tower.

As soon as I heard that, my eyes became subtle.

I had a bad feeling.

“…Is it because the Black Dawn is in the Grace Magic Tower?”

“You knew too, Haru-a-nim.”

The head butler sighed with difficulty.

“It seems Raphael-nim has found the culprit.”

I know why Raphael-nim rushed to the Grace Magic Tower.

In addition, the bad feeling grew even bigger.

The Black Dawn targeted the disciples and rushed into the Star Cluster Society.

They are disciples of famous powerhouses.

If they can kidnap them, it will be a great benefit to the Black Dawn.

However, most terrorists are extreme.

Would those greedy bastards have only committed one crime?

The Black Dawn didn’t invest a lot of manpower in kidnapping the disciples.

They just invested a precarious level of power that could really kidnap the disciples.

Then where did the remaining forces go?

My gaze reached the window.

Far away, dawn began to break.

Morning rises in Gladiion, the nation of humans.

Today’s morning might change a lot.

＊ ＊ ＊

Morning dawned.

I was almost wide awake until morning dawned.

Aran-seol was sitting next to me as well.

“You could have gone to sleep first.”

“Teacher-nim and So-han haven’t returned yet.”

That makes sense.

I almost mistook it for her not sleeping because she was thinking of me.

The head butler brought coffee and snacks in the middle.

Come to think of it, I hardly ate any food at the Star Cluster Society.

I took this opportunity to eat hard.

As I filled my stomach like that, it was almost lunchtime.

It was when I was starting to think that I should go to sleep.

“Raphael-nim has arrived!”

As soon as I heard the maid’s shout, I jumped out of my drowsiness.

When I went outside, I saw Raphael-nim walking wearily in the distance.

“Raphael-nim.”

When I called her name, Raphael-nim’s eyes met mine.

She looked at me with a face that had a lot to say, then tilted her head.

“Haru-a, you.”

Could it be that she heard the news that I died?

While I was pondering for a moment, Raphael-nim opened her lips.

“The seed has bloomed.”

The seed has bloomed.

After hearing those words, I belatedly checked my condition.

Deep inside my body.

I felt that the seed that had always been firmly in place had bloomed and sprouted.

At the same time, the magic power concentrated in the seed flowed out on a different scale than before.

Come to think of it, after I was resurrected, considering the time I spent with Aran-seol, the resurrection was faster than usual.

The situation was so complicated that I forgot, but maybe the seed had already broken at that time.

If I were to guess the cause, it would be because I had been spamming resurrection magic the most so far.

I resurrected at least a dozen people, so it seems it had an effect on the seed.

“Congratulations.”

Raphael-nim, who had been drooping until just now, raised the corners of her mouth and smiled.

“Now you’ve become a full-fledged Saint Magician.”

As she said, from the moment I broke the seed, I am recognized as a real Saint Magician, not an apprentice.

I finally took off the apprentice label.

“So, Haru-a.”

Raphael-nim looks at me and smiles.

“You’re expelled.”

Huh?

I stared at Raphael-nim with a dumbfounded face.

I don’t know what I just heard.

Aran-seol, who followed, also looked confused because she couldn’t understand the situation.

“Wait a minute. Teacher-nim?”

“Don’t call me teacher-nim anymore. And pack your bags and leave by today.”

Raphael-nim finished those words and turned around to pass by.

I already had an idea why she was doing this.

She would never do this without any reason.

“Is there any problem with the Black Dawn being involved in the Grace Magic Tower?”

Raphael-nim’s feet stopped abruptly.

“…Did you know?”

“I heard it at the Star Cluster Society.”

Rumors that there are members of the Black Dawn in the Grace Magic Tower.

Raphael-nim headed to the Grace Magic Tower because of this Black Dawn.

“Who is the Black Dawn hiding in the Grace Magic Tower that you’re doing this?”

Even so, I couldn’t understand why she was expelling me.

Raphael-nim hesitated as if she was reluctant to speak.

But she couldn’t come this far and not tell me.

And the words that came out of Raphael-nim’s mouth were shocking.

“…It’s my father.”

The father she’s talking about.

He was the master of the Grace Magic Tower.

The master of the Grace Magic Tower is a member of the Black Dawn.

I just saw the Lord of the Crimson Flame join hands with the Black Dawn.

There was nothing strange at this point, but it was absurd to me.

Why are those with such high positions joining hands with the Black Dawn?

I had a hunch.

It was a hunch that the Black Dawn’s purpose was not just terrorism.

These guys have something more.

They are aiming for something huge that even the world’s strongest would find fascinating.

In addition, I realized the problem surrounding Raphael-nim.

As long as the master of the Grace Magic Tower is a member of the Black Dawn, his daughter, Raphael-nim, cannot avoid investigation.

The imperial family will surely try to investigate her thoroughly.

Of course, I, who was her disciple, would also be included.

I am a transmigrator, and a No-Name at that.

The master of the Grace Magic Tower is a member of the Black Dawn, and his daughter took in a No-Name transmigrator as a disciple.

What would the imperial family think of her?

Or what would they think of my existence?

This world does not punish criminals through fair legal procedures like modern society.

If there is only suspicion, they can label you as a criminal and cut off your head at any time.

The imperial family hates the Black Dawn.

The tendency is even more severe as they have fought wars with them in the past.

So, if the other party is a transmigrator, the punishment is even more merciless.

Raphael-nim, who is the only one who can take my side, is labeled as an accomplice to the crime.

It would be faster for my head to be cut off before she could explain.

And I would be resurrected there with resurrection magic.

Damn it.

I imagined being buried in the dirt after having my head cut off several times, unable to die forever.

That was the one thing I wanted to avoid the most.

“…So that’s why you’re trying to expel me.”

If she cuts off the ties of the disciple, she can save my life.

But if she did that, Raphael-nim could be suspected instead.

She suddenly expelled a No-Name transmigrator disciple in this situation.

The imperial family will naturally suspect this and interrogate her.

“It’s okay, I have a lot of people I’m connected to. The imperial family won’t want to connect me and punish me.”

She said that, but I could feel how much hardship Raphael-nim would go through for a while.

No one who has been caught by the imperial family has ever returned alive.

That’s one of the things I learned while working as a pioneer for several months.

Raphael-nim will surely be thoroughly investigated.

Even so, she tried to save me, risking a situation where she could be suspected.

A sigh flows from my mouth.

Life is never easy.

“Teacher-nim, the word expulsion is sad, so let’s not use it even among ourselves.”

But from the moment I transmigrated, life was never easy.

“Let’s call it graduation.”

From apprentice Saint Magician to formal Saint Magician.

Thanks to Raphael-nim’s teachings, I have reached a level where I can at least put my name out there.

Above all, there is one piece of good news.

“And if the imperial family interrogates you about your disciple, say this.”

Raphael-nim will not be interrogated because she expelled me.

“At the Star Cluster Society, the disciple, Haru-a, died fighting against the Black Dawn.”

I died fighting against the Black Dawn at the Star Cluster Society.

Numerous witnesses who participated in the Star Cluster Society will testify to the same thing.

They clearly saw me melting in the flame beam shot by the Lord of the Crimson Flame.

Raphael-nim’s eyes widened because she didn’t know what that meant.

Aran-seol, who was behind her, could only let out a long breath.

Even if I don’t tell others, I have to tell Raphael-nim.

Because she is my teacher.

“My ability is resurrection magic.”

The disciple doesn’t have to worry about dying anywhere.

When I told her that fact, Raphael-nim’s eyes widened.

The reason why I could be a 1st grade Saint Magician.

The reason why I could be helpful to Ririran, the master of space magic.

From big reasons to small reasons.

All the questions about me in Raphael-nim’s head would have been resolved at the same time.

The people who know that I didn’t die are the head butler, Raphael-nim, Aran-seol, and Babiyen.

The head butler and Raphael-nim are obvious, and Aran-seol doesn’t need to talk about my death either.

I’m worried about Babiyen, but she also came back to life after dying.

Even if she goes somewhere and talks about my name, everyone will treat her like a madman.

Rather, she will be interrogated about how she came back alive.

I died at the Star Cluster Society that day.

With this, the imperial family will not be able to reach Raphael-nim or me for interrogation.

“Haru-a, what have you been doing?”

Raphael-nim, who hasn’t heard about the Star Cluster Society situation yet, looked embarrassed.

“There is a saying in Earth, ‘The disciple surpasses the teacher.'”

Instead of answering Raphael-nim’s words, I told her a four-character idiom.

“Someday, when my name is heard, the day will come when teacher-nim will be proud that she raised a disciple well.”

There was still a lot to learn from Raphael-nim, but I really learned a lot.

So I bowed to her.

It’s respect for the teacher.

“Thank you for everything.”

“…I’m sorry. I wanted to teach you more.”

Slight tears welled up in Raphael-nim’s eyes.

She took a breath and turned her head.

“I’ve learned enough. I’ll just study the rest with books. Above all, Saint Magicians are highly skilled personnel.”

I can make a living as a pioneer.

Although I can’t go around the Second World alone, it doesn’t mean I can’t make a living.

“Take good care of yourself until you hear from me.”

Raphael-nim won’t be able to come and see me in person in the future.

In addition, I won’t be able to send her a single letter.

Until the imperial family’s interrogation is over, the teacher and disciple can no longer continue their relationship.

So today was the last day for Raphael-nim and me.

The first teacher I had after falling into this other world.

I graduated from my teacher-nim’s side like that.