Stomp-
I stopped in the corridor of the Imperial Palace, reading the status window that suddenly popped up.
[Quest Complete: Devil’s Mirror]
◆ Store Currency + 10
◆ Talent Acquisition: Origin ─ Mirror
“…”
Devil’s Mirror, quest completed. Acquired store currency and talents. I didn’t understand, so I turned back time in my head for a moment. While studying mirror and glass magic in the library, I got a call from Sophien and went to the Imperial Palace, played chess and…
No matter how much I thought about it, there wasn’t much that happened. On the other hand, the rewards were enormous. The three talents, perhaps as important as traits, were attributes, origins, and items. Among them, I learned an origin.
“The origin.”
Deculein’s magical talents were in elemental attributes, specifically earth and fire. Of course, earth and fire were elements that broadly contained the concept of mirrors, but this origin held different implications. Simply put, I had the combined talents of the origin – mirror, and attribute – earth-fire.
“But.”
I still didn’t know why the quest was suddenly resolved or how I had learned the origin of the mirror.
─Come out!
Then the hallway suddenly grew noisy. No, the whole Imperial Palace was a mess. The knights of the Imperial Palace appeared from nowhere, sprinting through the hall, and the servants moved quickly.
─Come on! Everyone come here…
I followed them slowly. The further I walked, the more people I passed by. Countless servants and knights were clinging to the windows on the first floor, watching the sports ground.
“…Oh, Yukline Lord! Look at this beautiful scene!”
Someone grabbed me. The very next moment, I immediately understood.
“It’s been almost 15 years, but Her Majesty is exercising this morning…”
Emperor Sophien was practicing the sword with Keiron. I, like everyone else, looked at her a bit blankly.
“…Has the world changed?”
Someone mumbled those words, but the sentence seeped into my ears and replayed again. Like a stone thrown into a pond, it created small ripples. And those ripples led to some thoughts.
Sophien’s impulsive behavior and desire for morning exercise. If the fact of the quest completion were added to this eccentricity that served as a harbinger of the world’s destruction…
“…”
I backed away without a word. Leaving the servants and knights behind, I continued down the hallway, turning back the way I came until I arrived in a space with few people to be seen. I now stood before the passage leading to the basement of the Imperial Palace. I approached the wooden door slowly and grabbed the doorknob.
Rattle—
It creaked but didn’t open.
“…”
I put my hand on the door. An unfamiliar feeling flowed coldly from it.
“…Is it here?”
It was as if my intuition was telling me what consciousness failed to convey. There were hidden memories inside that I didn’t know or had forgotten. But, not just yet, it wasn’t the right time.
“Okay.”
I nodded and turned around without hesitation. All of a sudden, a shout of ‘Whoa!’ echoed outside. The whole palace was making a commotion while watching Sophien. Should I take a look, or should I take Julie with me, or…
“Julie.”
“…!”
Julie, pretending to be a statue of a knight in the basement hallway, began to shake.
“Did you… know?”
“Let’s go see Her Majesty together. You are also a teaching knight, so I hope it will be helpful for your next lesson.”
“…Yes.”
Julie approached, wearing plate armor. I walked with her. Now, our parting wasn’t far away, but…
As long as it was a bizarre day like this one, we could be together.
* * *
“…Ifi! Ifi!”
A voice permeated her hazy consciousness, and a hand shook her body. Epherene, who was sleeping, opened her eyes with a zombie-like groan. Her friend Julia was saying something she could only half-hear.
“Did you hear that?”
“What…”
“Sylvia!”
“…Sylvia?”
Epherene sat up as she yawned. Julia continued noisily.
“Yeah! I heard she has already become a Monarch!”
“…”
Epherene was still dizzy. She yawned a second time.
“Monarch?”
“Yeah! Monarch!”
“…Are you talking about the wizard rank?”
She stretched out with a third yawn.
“That’s right! Monarch rank!”
“…Well, it’s understandable with her level.”
“Understandable?! Ifi, she could suddenly become our professor.”
“No way~.”
Epherene looked at the blackboard. The lecture required for the major ‘Wide Area Magic Against Monsters: Fire Attribute Destruction Series’ had already been completed.
“But if she’s already the Monarch rank… I’m jealous.”
To be honest, Epherene felt like she was wasting her time. Most Solda lectures were too easy to learn.
“Jealous?! It’s just because of her family connections! Had she been a commoner, she would never have reached Monarch. It’s been less than 6 months since she received the label of Solda, yet she’s already a Monarch!”
“…Yeah.”
She roughly agreed with Julia, who was fuming mad, and raised herself up.
“But Ifi, why aren’t you coming to my restaurant these days?”
Julia tilted her head as if she were very upset. Her expensive earrings were dazzling in the light. Epherene let out a sigh.
“Whew~, I want to go too. But, there is so much to study.”
She had no time to eat. To be precise, she didn’t even have the time to leave the tower. In a month, of course, it was impossible to understand the content 100%, but she had to understand, to some extent, the thesis that Deculein offered her.
“We recently started a delivery service.”
“…Really?”
Those words pierced her ears. Julia smiled brightly.
“Yeah. The price is a little higher, but since you’re a regular, the delivery is free.”
“…Really?”
Epherene smacked her lips without realizing it, thinking of eating.
“Then today-”
*
Epherene, who had ordered a Roahawk through delivery, went up to the 77th floor happily.
[Head Professor: Deculein]
She knocked on the office door, fiddling with the papers to be handed to Professor Deculein.
Knock, knock-
There was no response.
“Is he not here today too?”
Epherene muttered and pushed on the door. The door opened naturally, but no one was there. Was it because he forgot to lock up, or was he just away for a minute? Epherene snuck in and placed the papers on Deculein’s desk.
“…Hmm~, hmmmm~.”
She was about to head back, but instead quietly checked her surroundings. Then, she reached out to the drawer of his desk-
—What are you trying to do?
“Ugh!”
Startled, Epherene turned her head towards the voice. A long mirror hung on the wall, and in it was Professor Deculein. She instinctively looked behind herself, but Professor Deculein wasn’t there.
“?”
She looked in the mirror again. In it was Professor Deculein.
“…What? Why are you in the mirror…”
And not outside of it. It was a situation that denied human perception and her cognitive abilities. As Epherene went slack-jawed, Deculein jumped out of the mirror.
“Huh?!”
“…”
Deculein approached calmly and sat down in his chair. The frightened Epherene stepped back, trying not to touch him.
“Why is a wizard surprised to see magic?”
“What… is that magic?”
“It’s mirror magic.”
Epherene looked at the mirror into which Deculein had just left. It didn’t seem like a special artifact.
“Epherene. I’ve often found you in here without permission lately.”
“Ah, because the door was open… and you said that these documents were also important.”
“Three penalty points.”
“…You should lock the door.”
Deculein ripped open the papers, quickly signing them with a fountain pen. Immediately after-
-So!
A loud voice echoed inside the office: Adrienne.
-Hello! This is Adrienne, the chairman!
“What?”
Epherene glanced at the documents Deculein had signed. Its title was [Confirmation of Candidates for the Next Chairman].
—My term is coming to an end! Finally, today, I’ll announce the nominees for the next chairman!
“Epherene, do you have this much spare time?”
“Oh, no. I’m going.”
In response to Deculein’s question, Epherene quickly left. Adrienne’s voice continued to vibrate loudly in the hallway on the 77th floor.
—No. 1 candidate! Head Professor Deculein! No. 2 candidate! The head of the Dukhan School, a high-ranking wizard recognized by the Imperial Family, Ihelm!
Epherene pressed the elevator button. It was about time for her Roahawk to arrive.
—As the chairman, my evaluation criteria is only performance! Other anonymous judges will also evaluate! The successor will be announced this winter or spring! It’s coming soon, right?!
Ding-!
The elevator arrived on the 77th floor. As soon as Epherene realized who the person inside was, she frowned. It was a tall, blonde guy.
“Huh~?”
Candidate number two, Ihelm. Contrary to Epherene’s sullenness, he smiled brightly.
“Hey~, Leaf.”
“…”
“What are you doing standing there?”
Ihelm shoved a foot into the elevator door, which was about to close.
Tsk-
Epherene clicked her tongue and boarded the elevator.
“What are you so dissatisfied with? What did I do wrong?”
“Didn’t I say my name is Epherene?”
“That name is too desertic. Isn’t Leaf more affectionate and nice?”
“…”
Epherene shut her mouth completely.
Whooong—
The elevator descended steeply. In the stillness, Ihelm spoke in a low-pitched voice.
“Leaf. Are you going to let Deculein be the chairman?”
“…”
“Then your father will be buried forever. He will never be recognized.”
“…Gosh.”
Again, talking about her dad, this bastard. Epherene, grinding her teeth, glared at Ihelm. He grinned and continued regardless, however.
“Deculein’s thesis will soon be published, so will he even think of your father, the original author? Rather, he will erase his very existence.”
“Oh, man! Why do you keep talking-?!”
As Epherene began to yell, Ihelm handed her a piece of paper.
“Take it.”
“What is it?”
“Application for Testifier.”
“…I beg your pardon?”
“I plan to have you as a witness at the upcoming hearing.”
Epherene briefly read it over.
[Ihelm, the candidate for the chairman of the magic tower, wants Solda Epherene as… ]
“Forget-”
“I don’t care if you refuse, but just know that you are the only card I can rely on to reverse Deculein.”
“…So?”
With that blunt reply, Epherene grabbed the paper to tear it apart.
“In other words, if you don’t step in, Deculein will surely become the chairman. Then he will bury your father.”
Her hands froze.
Ding-!
Just in time, the elevator stopped.
“Leaf. Why would that bastard Deculein have you by his side? What do you think is the reason?”
“…”
“I just want you to think about it.”
Ihelm peered out of the open elevator.
“Because of the guilt over the subordinate who committed suicide after leaving under him? Is it because he feels sorry for that guy’s daughter? Because of some petty sympathy? No. Absolutely not.”
“…What do you want to say?”
He tilted his head down and looked at her. His soft blonde hair flowed like waves, and his crimson eyes drew a deep arc.
“You are Deculein’s Achilles heel.’”
“What the…?”
“What’s the best way to stop a dagger from reaching your chest? You don’t give that dagger to others; you have to keep it.”
“…”
Epherene left the elevator without a word. Ihelm’s voice followed after her.
“That’s why he has you with him. So that you don’t have any weird thoughts. And if you do have any strange thoughts, he can know as soon as possible.”
At the entrance to the tower, a delivery driver was looking around. Epherene quickly ran to him.
“Roahawk delivery, right? That’s me. How much?”
“300 Elnes.”
Ihelm intervened while Epherene was rummaging through her wallet.
“Should I pay?”
“Come on. You don’t need to, just go away.”
“Really? Well, don’t forget what I said. Testifier application. Make sure you keep it. Because this is the only way you can cut your father’s enemy down with your own hands.”
Ihelm tapped Epherene on the shoulder and left.
“…Here. 300 Elnes.”
Epherene produced 300 Elnes out of her wallet.
“Yes. Have a good meal~.”
She headed back to the elevator.
— That’s why he has you with him. So that you don’t have any weird thoughts. And if you do have any strange thoughts, he can know as soon as possible.
Ihelm’s voice lingered in her ears. Epherene swallowed a sigh.
—If Deculein becomes chairman, your father will be buried forever. He will never be recognized.
She looked at the [Testifier Application]. It was already crumpled like a rag, but…
—Testifier application. Make sure you keep it. Because this is the only way you can cut your father’s enemy down with your own hands.
She couldn’t tear it apart, and instead pocketed the paper.
* * *
「Origin: Mirror」 was a more beautiful reward than expected. Of course, invincible techniques such as reflecting and amplifying attacks were impossible, but I now had the ability to possess phenomena such as refraction and reflection. Thanks to this, it was possible to enter and exit a mirror like a portal. Of course, it was a talent I just acquired yesterday, so I hadn’t learned all the details yet—
Knock, knock.
Someone knocked on my door. I opened it with Psychokinesis.
“Professor.”
It was Primienne with a box in hand.
“Everything related to Sierra has been put together.”
Primienne put the box full of reports on my desk, then picked out one in particular.
“This is a file related to Monarch Sylvia.”
“…Monarch.”
“Yes. Now Sylvia is in the same rank as you. She accomplished the feat of creating an artificial island in the orbit of the Floating Island.”
Monarch Sylvia. I nodded, pondering. I felt no such thing as jealousy at all.
“Read it. In order, from top to bottom.”
Primienne sat down in the chair opposite me. I lifted the file with Psychokinesis and read it carefully, sentence by sentence, without missing anything.
“…”
I closed the file. Primienne was watching me seriously.
“Is this true?”
“I’m just speculating. I think the facts are more familiar to you.”
“…”
I looked at the file again. Among those thick documents, there was a letter scorched by fire. The letter pierced my temple like a dagger, reviving fragments of memories that I didn’t even know existed.
—Did you think that if you died everything would end? Did you think that leaving like this would be the end?
…Two gloved hands strangling someone’s neck.
—This is not just a deal. The life of a fucking bitch like you is worth nothing.
Deculein raged like a madman. His blood-stained face resembled a demon’s.
—I will kill your husband Glitheon and your daughter you love so much.
He yelled. With all his inherent evil, he yelled the words like a curse.
—I’ll chew on it and eat it all!
“…Professor?”
I raised my head again. My eyes trembled at the sudden headache forming.
“Are you okay?”
Primienne looked at me suspiciously, but I waved her off.
“I’m fine. Now go back.”
“No. Today is the day of the [Sylvia Surveillance Team] meeting.”
“…So?”
“Please attend.”
Primienne put her hand on the box she had brought.
“I also listened to your favor. So, now it’s your turn.”
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