episode_0060

When I woke up, a very different day greeted me. As soon as I woke up, my roommate asked me what I was seeing. When I went out into the familiar hallway and arrived on the first floor of the dormitory, other students preparing to go to school were also looking at me and saying things like that. Of course, I didn’t change my appearance because I wanted to, but it seemed like rumors were already starting to circulate among students that I had disguised myself and entered the school.

And as if to prove it, while I was eating breakfast at the restaurant, Sharon sat down with a smile and spoke to me.

“You’re famous since morning.”

“… … I don’t know why it’s like that.”

“A wizard who was thought to be an ordinary commoner turns out to have disappeared and entered the academy. This alone was a big incident, but the magician caught a spy of the Demon King’s army, confronted an executive of the Demon King’s army, and survived. Of course it deserves to be rumored, right?”

“Aaron didn’t start the rumor this time either, right? Seeing as the rumor spreads so quickly this morning… … I don’t think there’s anyone else but that girl.”

“But Aaron must have heard about this only in the morning, and don’t you think rumors spread quite quickly? Then he must be one of the seniors.”

“Among your seniors, is there anyone who would do something strange like this? … ”

There isn’t anything in particular, but neither Erika nor Isabelle are people who would spread such rumors, so the one with the highest possibility is Chloe… … Senior Arkadin? But I don’t doubt the two seniors that much either.

Eating with all the eyes on me was harder than I thought, so I sighed and put the bread in my mouth and looked at Sharon.

“Go first.”

“You’ll be more noticeable if you walk alone, why don’t you go together?”

“It’s the same whether I get caught up in various rumors because I’m with you, or I get caught up in rumors alone. Still, I’m not the type of person who wants to harm others.”

“I don’t care. Rumors like this are normal, and if you have received a title from the Academy, this is not something to worry about.”

“It’s nice that nobles have so much leisure, but I can’t do that.”

Sharon laughed out loud at my words, roughly stuffed the bread in front of her into her mouth, then stood up and smiled.

“Shall we go together?”

“… … You’re such a strange person too.”

And as I slowly walked to the classroom with Sharon, the rumor kept tickling my ears. He was originally the son of a noble family, but his family fell and he became a commoner. He was the illegitimate son of a nobleman. He deliberately hid his appearance because he did not want others to know his true identity.

Amid these stories and stories, when we entered the classroom, many students were already seated, and Sharon and I carefully sat in the corner seats and just looked ahead. Rumors were being heard here too.

Wherever I went, there were only rumors, and wherever I went, there were only strange words. Even though I tried to ignore the question of who started the rumor, I couldn’t ignore it. Even if I just listened to the morning lecture and went to eat during lunch, the afternoon lecture was also natural.

It was just a noisy and unpleasant day. I’m sure Aunt Toa will ask me when I get to work. Is it true that Isabel senior felt these emotions without any hesitation? Senior Isabel is a person with a lot of leisure, so this would not have been a problem.

It wasn’t as comfortable a situation as I thought.

After the lecture, I met Ceresria on the way to the academy’s main gate to go to work. Where are you going, or are you waiting for me?

“Astan.”

And when she looked at me, she smiled at me and said hello, and I bowed my head slightly to receive her greeting.

“Where are you going?”

“I have some business to do in Ignolia for a moment. I need to talk to the Blue Rose Knights since the Academy has requested the Knights’ withdrawal. Does Astan go to work?”

“What… … As always, yes.”

Ceresria smiled at my answer and motioned for me to come with her, and I slowly started walking with her to the main gate of the academy.

“You’ve been caught up in quite a big rumor, but you look tired.”

“This is especially true because it is a rumor and there is no reason to care.”

“That’s right, I’ve been hearing rumors from people too. I doubt it, but I also think the rumors that Astan is the child of a fallen noble family or that he is an illegitimate child are quite credible… … Hiding it doesn’t make sense. Because Astan is not that type of person.”

“If I were an illegitimate child, wouldn’t the information have leaked out somewhere? Above all, deceiving the princess of a country is almost impossible.”

“But wasn’t it fun?”

As I looked at Ceresria saying that, she covered her mouth, let out a laugh, and took a step toward me.

“It is possible that an ordinary commoner is mistaken for a nobleman because Astan’s elegance is so outstanding.”

“Don’t you think that it’s not your dignity but your dirty personality?”

“Well, he turned down all competitions and spoke harshly to his opponents, so he might have been thought of as a nobleman.”

And as I looked into the eyes of Ceresria, who was slowly approaching me, it felt like those red eyes were digging into me, and I swallowed slowly.

“What do you want to say?”

“Let’s compete. I’m curious. Aren’t you curious about the skills that he had against the executives of the Demon King’s army? And he is a wizard who had an audience with Denatus… … It’s hard to find someone like that even if you search the entire continent, but there’s someone like that next to me… … ”

With those words, Celestria placed her hand on the child’s shoulder. As I looked at the hand that was slowly rising, I felt as if something was climbing up my back. I tried to carefully move my feet back, but my body could not move easily.

“Wouldn’t it be exciting as a wizard, knowing that such a strong wizard is the same age as me, is next to me, and can catch me if I just stretch out my hand.”

“I will lose.”

“Even if you lose, you can still have fun with me. I’m curious, how strong will the person who has an audience with Denatus become, and can I become that too? How strong did the wizard who couldn’t even use ice magic in the back of the tavern become?”

And then her face came into view. The red eyes looking at me were slowly turning scarlet. With scarlet eyes and red lips, someone could mistake him for a vampire. Could it be that there is such a being among my ancestors? A feeling of fear slowly creeping up my back, and just as I was about to tell myself to run away, I heard a voice in my ear.

“There is no rule prohibiting dating among the academy’s rules, but if you are going to engage in affectionate behavior in front of your seniors, you have the right to stop them.”

I was startled by the voice and looked to the side to see senior Erica looking at us.

“And above all, as a teacher, I have the authority to stop my student from dating without training.”

“Good night, senior Erica.”

Celestria smiled as she said those words to Erika-senpai, and Erika-senpai tapped her shoulder with the cane she was holding.

“They say the Knights of Araelia are leaving. Where is our princess going?”

“Still, I’m heading to Ignolia for a while because of that.”

“What is Astan…? … They must be going to work, but it’s amazing, I never really thought that these two would be this close.”

“Is there a special reason why people become close to each other? If you are of the same mind, that is enough.”

“That’s true, but I don’t think my snow princess is like that.”

During that conversation, I looked at the two and slowly opened my mouth.

“I will go first because I have to go to work.”

“Okay, Ceresria, you don’t have anything to talk about with me anyway, so just hurry up and go. Just remember that if you mess with my student, I won’t stay silent.”

“Is there anyone who would dare to surpass the Frost Queen?”

And Ceresria began to move towards Ignolia first with a smile, and I bowed my head towards my senior.

“Astan.”

“Yes, senior.”

“The use of magic is prohibited for the time being. You are currently in a situation where it is difficult to control your magical power, so you don’t know what kind of situation will unfold. You can’t harm people around you while using magic, right? So, magic is prohibited until the magic power can be adjusted. Do you understand?”

“Yep.”

“Then go and come to the place where you usually practice before breakfast tomorrow. Because I have something to experiment with tomorrow.”

“Yep.”

I greeted my senior again and then walked towards Ignolia.

On the road to Ignolia, Ceresria was still waiting for me at the border crossing between Ignolia and the Academy.

“I guess the conversation is over now?”

“What are you doing when you’re not there?”

“Because I have a lot of time, and I’m not a person who goes to work like others.”

“You were waiting to tease me.”

“That’s true, but are you busy this holiday? If you’re not busy, there’s a place I’d like you to go with for a while.”

“I will listen and answer where it is.”

At those words, Ceresria smiled at me and opened her mouth.

“I want you to go to Araelia’s palace with me.”