episode_0028

There was no time to hesitate after confirming Ena’s appearance.

Asel immediately told Plum he would go with her, and after recovering from her confusion, she began to move. Asel followed behind her.

The Academy’s main building was located in the center of the city. Since it was still vacation, not many students remained inside, but some students living in the dormitory were still present. The female students sitting on a bench, talking softly, tilted their heads when they saw Plum rushing towards them.

“Assistant Professor Plum? Where are you going in such a hurry? More importantly, do you know what that lightning strike just now was?”

“I’ll talk about it later!”

Plum thus dismissed their questions and rushed into the Academy building. Assistant professors and assistant students preparing for the semester greeted her, but instead of answering, she made it very clear she was busy and went up to the upper floors of the building. Thanks to this, their expressions became awkward.

There was nothing Plum could do. Although she had never met Ena directly, she had often heard rumors about her nature.

A monster who frequented Demon Extermination Wars and Labyrinth Explorations as if it were routine, greatly increasing the power of her magic at the cost of her morality and humanity. A cold-blooded person who had no hesitation in killing and showed no affection to anyone. A superhuman who prioritized violence over dialogue.

The Dean always spoke of Ena that way, and Plum’s perception of Ena naturally changed negatively.

“No…!”

Such a person was in the same place as the Dean. While Friede was a powerful mage, he was not at a level to compete with Ena. Before he could do anything, he would be roasted whole and roll on the floor. That alone had to be stopped.

“Dean!”

Having reached the top floor already, Plum did not hesitate and immediately threw open the Dean’s office door and rushed inside.

“Escape quickly! I’ll take care of this pla… I?”

Plum first shouted that, but then trailed off as she confirmed the scene inside the Dean’s office.

“…?”

An uninvited guest was present, as expected. A girl, whom she had never seen before, wearing only a pristine white shirt and black skirt, was sipping tea and glancing sideways at Plum. Seeing her pure white hair and blue eyes, she was probably Ena. She was beautiful like a doll, but similarly had a cold impression like a doll.

Across from her, the Dean was sitting in a meek posture, sweating profusely. He didn’t appear injured, but an air of discomfort was showing through his smiling face.

In the corner, Fernan was lying face down on the floor with his head buried.

By any measure, it was a scene of abuse of power. It was not a positive situation, but compared to the murder she had expected, it was a much better sight. However, it took some time for her to accurately grasp this situation and think of a way to resolve it.

“Who?”

Ena asked Plum, who was lost in thought. Plum’s thoughts were forcibly interrupted. She answered with a startled expression.

“Yes, yes! Pl-Plum! I’m an Assistant Professor in the Magic Department and I assist the Dean!”

“Is that so?”

Ena replied with an indifferent attitude and placed the teacup she was holding on the table. Then, she spoke in a cold voice to the trembling Fernan.

“If you tremble one more time, I’ll cram the lightning directly into your head.”

Then Fernan’s trembling stopped as if by magic. He remained still in a fixed posture, lying face down in that spot, but then saw Asel’s face, who had followed Plum inside, and his lips moved silently. His voice wasn’t heard, but Asel could clearly tell what his mouth was saying.

[Save me.]

Asel’s face furrowed.

“Asel.”

Following Fernan, Ena looked at Asel and spoke. Asel turned his head towards her.

“Master.”

“Yeah. Have you been well?”

“I’ve been well. More importantly, what brings Master here…?”

He knew, but asked out of politeness. Fortunately, Ena got up from her seat without any suspicion and answered.

“They said you fainted? I came because I was worried.”

“Worried? After acting like you were going to execute me and Fernan just now?”

Ena lightly ignored Friede’s words and approached Asel.

“Are you hurt anywhere?”

“Ah, I’m fine. There are no after-effects either.”

“Magic exhaustion is not a symptom you can just laugh off easily.”

Ena brushed off Asel’s playful remarks and began to slowly touch his body.

She massaged his arm, sending magic into his body, and swept over his entire upper body with her fingers once. It was a process to check if his core or body was strained. Physical contact was necessary to check the condition of another mage.

“……”

Asel knew this, but he could not help but feel quite awkward by her touch. If they were alone, maybe, but doing this in a place with so many eyes watching felt a bit conspicuous, which was also true. Friede alone was looking at them with eyes as if seeing a ghost, and Plum was covering her mouth with both hands, her pupils trembling slightly.

“Uh, Master?”

“Hmm? Why?”

“…It’s nothing. Please tell me when you’re done checking.”

Asel was about to say that it might be better to stop, but seeing Ena’s innocent eyes, he gave up with a wry smile.

‘She’s checking out of good will, so if I tell her to stop, Master will also become embarrassed.’

In the end, the physical check finished about 10 minutes later. Ena nodded with satisfaction and took her hand off Asel’s body. With a slightly reddened face, she said.

“You seem fine. Everything is alright.”

“That’s a relief.”

“Indeed, it is a relief.”

Friede spoke in a sincere voice. But Ena didn’t care at all about her. Instead, she picked up a cookie and looked at Friede.

“Is it fun?”

“…No, why are you speaking so frighteningly?”

“Since Asel seems alright, I’ll withdraw for now. But keep one thing in mind. If something like this happens again on the Academy’s level, it won’t end simply. Either you die, or the Academy is shut down. One of the two. Keep it in mind.”

“…Aren’t you being too protective?”

“What?”

“I said I understand.”

Friede smiled faintly and said that. Ena clicked her tongue and got up from her seat.

“You get up now too.”

“Yes.”

Fernan sprang up. Seeing the clear red mark remaining on his forehead, it seemed he had been lying face down for quite a while. Asel looked at him with a sympathetic gaze, and at the same time as Ena tapped his shoulder, he stood up.

“Let’s go.”

“Where are we going?”

“Home.”

There was no time to answer. Ena and Asel instantly became a streak of lightning and disappeared from the Dean’s office. The recoil of their movement greatly shook the inside of the Dean’s office, but whether that happened or not, Friede sighed with relief and leaned back against the backrest.

“Survived today too…”

“You’re acting as if you went to war.”

Fernan muttered softly and dusted off the dirt on his clothes. Friede spoke to him.

“Shut up. In the first place, if you had just done it moderately, this wouldn’t have happened, would it? What kind of professor uses mental image opening on test participants anyway? Didn’t I clearly tell you to do it just enough to be able to rank the test results appropriately? You’re seriously crazy. Your salary is cut.”

“What?! Where’s such a law?! I just did as I was told! And if you’re going to give something, please give me a suspension instead! So I can at least rest!”

“There are still many places to use you for that. Let’s do well for half a year at a cheap price.”

“Old elves don’t know human hearts!”

“You’re still young.”

“Is 700 years old young? Then young and firm elves were all newborns!”

“Goo goo ga ga.”

“Damn it.”

Plum shook her head, listening to the comic dialogue of the two people who together were over 740 years old.

*

Asel could not yet use the magic that turned his body into lightning. But with Ena’s assistance, the story was different. If she cast the spell instead of Asel, and Asel projected his magic, it was possible to activate the magic, although with about half the power. It was vicarious chanting commonly done between master and disciple mages using the same type of magic.

Thanks to this, the path from the Academy to Weiheim was very comfortable. There was no need to take a carriage, and no need to sleep outdoors. However, because the speed was slower than Ena moving alone, the need arose to stop by villages and spend the night at inns occasionally.

Today was the second night. The second night since leaving the Academy. Asel rested his chin on the hostel window and looked out.

Shupen, a village small in scale for a city, but continuing cheap tourism based on its large lake.

Perhaps because its reputation as a tourist spot was high, many people were moving around within a short distance. Guards equipped with chainmail armor were also seen occasionally, and merchants who had set up stalls and were continuing to solicit customers were also seen.

Perhaps because it was a room booked for an expensive price, the entire village could be clearly seen from inside the room. Asel watched the night sky reflected in the lake with a faint smile. He quite liked an environment where he could quietly immerse himself in contemplation like this.

“I finished washing.”

As he was doing that, Ena, who had been in the bath, came out shaking her head. She put on the shirt and pants she had casually folded and removed all the moisture from her body with magic. Then she approached Asel’s side and poked her head out slightly over the window.

“What were you watching?”

“I was watching the constellations reflected in the lake a bit.”

“Do you like constellations?”

“Yes. I quite like them. Sometimes I watched them alone.”

“Hmm… really?”

Ena said that, pursing her lips, and then sat right next to Asel.

“Then will you teach me too? About constellations.”

“Is that alright?”

“Yeah. It’s something my disciple likes, so I should show some interest too.”

Asel laughed out loud at Ena’s words and pointed at the sky with his finger. He wasn’t an expert on constellations, so he didn’t know much, but it was enough to explain simply. What the name of the brightest star is, and what the brightest constellation is at this time. Asel told her in a low voice next to Ena, wearing a smile.

Just as the explanation was almost finished, Ena carefully opened her mouth.

“Hey… Asel.”

“Yes?”

“Since things are like this, shall we look at them together outside?”

“Uh… isn’t it a bit late for that? To arrive early tomorrow, we should start sleeping soon.”

The current time was 11 PM. To arrive in Weiheim before tomorrow evening, they had to go to bed by at least midnight. It’s not like Ena wouldn’t know that fact. Asel thought to himself why she made such a suggestion.

“…Right?”

A slightly disappointed look was mixed in Ena’s expression. Asel found the answer in that expression.

The New Year’s festival they had looked around together in Weiheim. It seemed that the memory of that time remained as a good memory. So, she probably wanted to act together when they could walk around without any worries like now.

It was also something Asel wanted. While going to Weiheim quickly was good, memories with Ena were more important than that. Unless she had business in Weiheim, there was no need to rush. Thinking that way, Asel grabbed Ena’s hand as she was about to get up.

“Asel?”

She turned her head and looked at Asel’s face. Asel smiled gently, took her hand, and stood up.

“But personally, even if it’s a little late, I want to walk with Master today. If Master is okay with it, I’d like to look around the lake together, is that alright?”

“…You noticed.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Pretending not to know.”

Ena smiled wryly and flicked her finger with the hand that wasn’t holding his. Then two robes hanging on the hanger landed precisely on her and Asel’s shoulders. At the same time as that, Ena opened the already open window even wider and threw herself towards where the lake was.

Crackling!!

Ena’s body became a streak of lightning, splitting the night sky. Because they were holding hands, Asel also moved with her. The two people who reached the front of the lake in an instant looked at each other and smiled.

Entry of outsiders is restricted at night at the lake. Thanks to that, there were only the two of them at the lake.

The lake surface, full of moonlight and starling, became a painting in itself. A cloudless night sky illuminated the ground, and creatures in the lake wriggled, causing ripples on the water surface. Asel and Ena slowly watched that scene, walking on the surface of the lake. If you lay a simple barrier beneath your feet and grant it physical force, walking on water was not difficult at all.

The further they went towards the center, the brighter it became. As if standing under stage lights, the moonlight brightly illuminated the very center of the lake. Standing in the center, the two people gazed at the sky reflected on the water surface.

“It’s pretty.”

Ena muttered. Asel smiled and looked back at her.

“Master, do you perhaps remember what you said last time?”

“…? What?”

“When I asked if there were no pretty spells in lightning magic, didn’t you say there aren’t any, so make them yourself?”

“Ah, that. I remember. Why?”

Ena tilted her head and asked. Instead of answering, Asel brought his palm above the water surface and pulled up his magic.

[Lightning Flower Resonance]

Crackling!!

The lightning that bloomed from Asel’s grasp ran rapidly in all directions. Instead of going down into the water, the lightning that advanced straight on the water surface condensed in one place each and soon changed its appearance like small flowers. Seeing that appearance, Ena’s eyes widened.

“This is…”

“It’s a magic that has no practicality in real combat yet, and at most only blooms lightning flowers that merely electrocute you if touched. Not only does it take a long time to cast, but there are many aspects lacking for use in combat. But still…”

Asel trailed off and looked around.

The bloomed flowers continuously scatter electricity and rotate. Then, when they meet other flowers, they shine even brighter and disappear. As if flower petals were scattering, electricity sped through the air, dyeing the entire lake in bright blue light. Standing in the center, Asel smiled gently while looking at Ena.

“Isn’t it good to look at?”

“…Yeah, it is.”

Ena muttered that and picked up one of the flowers rotating right below her. Perhaps because she was also a lightning mage, far from electrocuting her, Ena continued speaking while watching the flowers slowly bloom.

“It’s pretty. Very.”

Ena smiled gently and said. Asel also smiled back and looked at the lightning flowers floating on the water.

Time passed like that, and by the time the two returned to the hostel, the sun had already risen.