Hadekain’s castle.
Yeriel picked up the necklace on the desk. It seemed to be an artifact, specifically an accessory that recorded a certain scene.
“Take a look,” Jolang suggested with a hand gesture. Yeriel still had her suspicions about him, but she soon infused her magic into the crystal ball of the necklace.
—You only need to carry out your mission. No matter what the outcome is, Yeriel will be kept imprisoned in the estate.
Hearing a familiar voice, she began to watch the video in silence.
—That’s all she’s good for.
Jolang observed her expression carefully, but she wasn’t sloppy enough to show her agitation in front of her foes.
—I’m certain of it. Her every move remains insignificant, yet she’s even added surveillance to her list of duties.
Along with his voice, it partially reflected Deculein’s figure. He was sitting on a fancy chair at their mansion, swirling a glass of wine with a frown on his face.
—If she’s going to do something stupid…
Deculein looked at his company. She couldn’t see who it was, but their red hair stood out.
—I’m certain you already know what to do even if I don’t say it.
The video ended. It was short, but according to the date of the recording, it happened last year.
Jolang smiled.
“I think you as a wizard can confirm the authenticity of this artifact better. That’s not all.”
He then held out a piece of some sealed paper.
“Red hair isn’t common, so I looked it up and found out that…”
Jolang obtained certain documents by mobilizing all his connections in the adventure guild, demonstrating his power to break through even those that prioritized trust and loyalty above all else.
“Look at the target.”
Yeriel checked the paragraph he pointed to in the Ganesha-Deculein contract.
──[Guild Submission Agreement]──
◆ Overview: The Red Garnet Adventurers faithfully must fulfill the mission assigned by Deculein von Grahan Yukline.
◆ Target: Yeriel von Delun Yukline.
◆ Content: Verbally delivered for security.
(*Client has paid for the first-class confidentiality fee, preventing the details from being written in this contract.)
◆ Seal /—–/
───────────────────────
“I don’t know what kind of mission it is, but with you as its target, it’s obvious—”
“Moron.”
“… What?”
However, Yeriel’s reply was far beyond what Jolang expected. Looking at him, she smiled.
“Nothing. I was just wondering if you only learned of our poor relationship now.”
“… Haha. Really?”
“The way you talk would make anyone think I devoted myself to the estate’s work because I like Deculein so~ much. Enough. If your business is over, just piss off.”
Much like her, Jolang wore no expression as well. Instead, he spoke calmly.
“If so, then you understand what I want to say even better.”
“Even better, my ass. Are you really a complete moron? You can’t even seem to understand the words ‘piss off.'”
He displayed a soft smile when she cursed, but when she spoke again, his face hardened.
“Freaking dickless bastard.”
“…”
He clenched his fist hidden under the desk as lines of humiliation and shame ran through his eyes. Jolang trembled. Yeriel just twisted the corners of her lips upward.
“What are you looking at? I said piss off.”
“… You’ll regret this one day.”
After leaving that threat, Jolang slammed the door shut.
Yeriel, quietly staring at his disappearance with the knights of the Imperial Palace, immediately shifted her gaze to the necklace and contract on the desk.
“Miss.”
When her butler entered the room, Yeriel looked out the window quietly.
In the passageway, she could hear loud sounds coming from Jolang’s explosion of anger, but the night itself had finally regained its peace.
She stared at the starry sky.
“Hey.” She muttered, her voice filled with sorrow.
“Yes?”
“I think Deculein never intended to keep his promise from the beginning.”
She traced the contract and the necklace with her finger, admitting he had successfully fooled her until now.
He told her he’d even swear an oath on the surface but actually performed such dirty deeds behind the scenes. Though he reassured her repeatedly, it was all part of his plan to use her and throw her away at some point.
“Is that so?”
Deculein only promised verbally, possibly already knowing she would reject his notion to take an oath since they were still members of the same family in the end. Believing his words, she received nothing but betrayal in return.
That damned bastard.
“What should I do?”
She knew, at the very least, not to tell him any of this. She shouldn’t show even the slightest sign of her being aware of his plans.
Jolang wouldn’t speak to him first anyway. He came to her to prevent Deculein from gaining more power than necessary, after all.
“… We— No, this estate has long been on your side.”
Those words were reassuring, but Yeriel felt a sense of sadness she couldn’t quite grasp in the corner of her heart.
Did she still desire to become closer with the one she called older brother?
“Thank you. You may go back.”
“Alright. Rest well, miss.”
As soon as her butler left, Yeriel turned off all the lights, allowing the light of the night sky outside the window to pour into the lord’s office. In the darkness, she played the necklace’s video again.
“…”
Listening to Deculein’s cold words and looking at the contract more intently, Yeriel secretly wiped away her tears.
*****
… Students began returning with their suitcases, the rivalry and cheers between the knights occasionally resounding. Likewise, the dormitories and shopping streets returned to their ordinary lives.
From the campus’s atmosphere alone, it could already be inferred that the reopening of the Imperial University was imminent.
“Head Professor!”
Students heading back for college from their hometowns or other countries enjoyed a peaceful break while waiting for their classes to begin, but their educators spent their time quite differently.
Both the undergraduate professors and the magic professors busied themselves with class preparation.
“Here, I found it!” Allen said, approaching me. She was about to leave at the end of the last semester but seemed to have decided to stay a little longer.
“These are the old plans you mentioned before.”
She held out a pile of documents. Epherene’s father, my still-veiled friend, had previously written a lesson plan proposal.
I intended to consult it for my second-semester class.
“… Hmm.”
I read through the papers.
[Lecture Title: Pure Use of the Four Major Elements]
Its essence was to enable the students to handle elements in a purer manner, but it was obvious why Deculein didn’t accept it.
After all, it was a theoretical lecture so advanced it should be taught to, in modern terms, master’s and doctoral students instead of undergraduates.
“I think it’s going to be a pretty advanced course.”
“Ah! Advanced?!”
Allen’s eyes widened in surprise. I nodded, causing her to fill up with awe.
I thought of changing its scope to a more appropriate one in a way that suited my aptitude, perhaps along the line of [Pure Use of the Four Major Elements: Manipulation Series] or [Pure Use of Earth and Fire].
Deculein’s talented with the manipulation series, and his attributes were earth and fire.
“Okay. Good work. You may go back.”
“Oh, this one’s for you as well. It arrived earlier.”
Allen handed over an entire sponsorship package. It would probably contain just one letter from Epherene again, though.
“Then, I’ll be going~”
After Allen left, I opened it.
[To my sponsor.
I am Solda Epherene.
As you might have already noticed, I’ve been promoted to the next rank now. I’m not a Debutante anymore, but… I feel unhappier now than before after I volunteered under the guidance of a vicious professor named Deculein. Of course, I did it of my own will, and I have no regrets about it, but that blue snail is far more vicious than I (omitted) thought…
… Because of him, I, unfortunately, had no choice but to use most of your precious donations in an instant. As far as I know, I paid for several Knowledge Copyrights, but all that registered in my mind was that my budget disappeared like a snail gnawing on wood.
Regardless, I, Solda Epherene, promise you that I’ll surpass that blue snail one day, sponsor. I will become a wizard great enough to prove your choice to support me wasn’t wrong.
Until then, I’ll be shortening my letters.
With kind regards,
Solda Epherene.]
“A blue snail….”
I folded it up and put it in the drawer. Afterward, I turned on a crystal ball that displayed the interior of the [Teaching Assistants’ Lab].
Whoong—
Through the hologram, I saw Epherene studying and Drent in the middle of research.
“It feels empty.”
That room could easily fit dozens of people together and had a lot of high-end equipment. Even its desks, chairs, air purifiers, and thermostats were all top-notch.
However, it was only occupied by two people.
If only Sylvia were sitting with them.
But this was better. Class attitude, comprehension, talent… she was perfect at everything.
“… She must be doing well on the floating island.”
Moreover, the Yukline and Iliade were enemies. If we stayed together longer than we already did, I didn’t know what kind of insanity Glitheon would do.
Coming to terms with it, I walked out of the office.
Today’s job was an investigation as the head of the Financial Planning and Coordination Office. My first destination was Louina’s office on the 43rd floor. She consumed the most money these days, after all.
Ding—
“…?”
As soon as I got out of the elevator, I frowned. There were way too many wizards in the hallway.
“Oh, welcome, Chief Executive Officer,” Louina said, having noticed my appearance.
“… There are quite a lot of teaching assistants here.”
“Oh, them? I’m holding an internship period.”
“Internship?”
“Yes.”
“How many interns do you have?”
“A hundred. There were too many. Even after careful examination, I only managed to narrow them down to 100 people.”
Her voice sounded indifferent.
Honestly, I didn’t care at all.
Any ten of her interns wouldn’t be as good as Drent, and even if one were to combine all 100 of them, they still wouldn’t be as good as Epherene.
“This floor seems infested with cockroaches.” I blurted out before I could hold it back.
At that moment, the chattering in the crowded hallway stopped. All of Louina’s one hundred teaching interns looked at me almost simultaneously, but they immediately rushed back to their work when our eyes met.
She crossed her arms.
“Cockroaches? That’s going too far.”
“… Just give me the report.”
“Here. I have it all sorted out.”
She swiftly handed me a document, almost as if she had been expecting me.
I glanced through it and put it in my briefcase.
“Oh, right. Chief Executive Officer. I heard you took the Luna family kid under your guidance.”
“I did.”
“She does have talent. What are you going to do with that child?”
Our gazes met in silence.
Now that I thought about it, I realized she was our classmate back then.
Deculein and Epherene’s father. She probably knew even a little about their relationship.
Louina continued.
“Well, that’s the Head of the Financial Planning and Coordination Office to take care of. Anyway, here. This is an invitation to a Locralen conference.”
[We invite Professor Deculein to the Locralen Society! Welcome!]
Locralen Society. Above that sentence, a quest popped into the air.
[Main Quest: Bizarre Locralen Society]
◆ Store Currency +1
◆ Mana +50
Locralen, considered as one of the main quests of wizard players.
I received their invitation.
“Are you coming too?”
“What? Oh, I’m busy with work. That Locralen ticket gives you three more people to take with you, so feel free to take anyone.”
*****
“Oh, Sylvia, you came.”
Rose Rio greeted Sylvia, who now lived on the Isle of Wizard’s Wealth.
Today’s meeting place was the Penta Hall, the most famous and spacious library on the floating island, on the 10th floor of the Megiseon. Sylvia had long wanted to enter it since it was known for having a ‘collection of all the books in the world.’
“Take this. It’s your daily pass.”
Only 5th rank, Lumiere, wizards or higher could enter it, but 2nd rank, Etheric, or higher could control access to it. Accordingly, Rose Rio had the power to allow Sylvia into its premises.
“Thank you.”
“Sure. Let’s go now~” The Etheric wizard opened the door, her body language saying she was used to it.
Upon entering it, Sylvia blankly admired the scent of books and this vast expanse that utilized the entirety of Megiseon’s 10th floor as a library.
“It’s spacious.”
“Right. The archmage’s barrier magic even further magnifies this place’s size. It might even be larger than the continent at this point. That said, almost every book in the world is here. And not just the magic books. We have common books too.”
“Can I borrow any of them?”
“Only three volumes. You’ll also have to pay for the knowledge copyrights of those with authorship attached to it.”
“Knowledge Copyrights.”
“Yeah. Exactly.”
Sylvia nodded, realizing Rose Rio was unable to utter complex pronunciations.
“This is a leisure center. If you’re looking for something, just ask that kid. He’s a library addict.”
Arriving at the library’s information desk, she pointed to the robed wizard.
Silva tilted her head.
“Library addict.”
“Yes. There are many addicts here, but that guy’s the most useful. He knows which books are in this library and where they are. It’s almost as if his brain has turned into the Penta Hall itself.”
Sylvia nodded and walked over to him.
“Do you have any of Deculein’s books?”
“There are ten of Deculein’s writings here, two of which are under protection.”
Rose Rio’s eyes widened.
“Why are you looking for his works? Almost all of his literature are garbage except for these three.”
She waved her hand in the middle of the library and pulled out the [Assembly of Pure Elements], [Complexity of Four Major Elements], and the [Elemental Creation Method].
“After these three, Deculein lost it. He has returned from the dead now, though. Anyway, these three are the achievements that helped him become the Head Professor the most. By then, I must have been in my mid-teens or something.”
“I still don’t believe he wrote it. Even now, with him achieving great success, many people still think those three theses are his greatest creations.”
Sylvia turned around upon hearing another voice, finding Gindalf stroking his beard.
Rose Rio pouted.
“What are you doing here, old man? Why did you have to come and interrupt my explanation?”
“Won’t Sylvia soon be on par with us? I just came to see her for myself.”
Gindalf smiled kindly and looked at the Solda-ranked wizard.
“Coming to the floating island was a good choice. What you can learn at the tower is far too limited.”
“Oh, Sylvia, did you know he fought against the Yuklines for the Iliade family?”
“Ahahaha. There’s no need to tell her that.”
Gindalf sided with them during the Iliade-Yukline clan war in the past since he grew up with their support, but also because he didn’t like the other faction’s former Head.
“Thank you.” After expressing her gratitude, Sylvia looked at the addict at the info desk again.
“Which one is Deculein’s most recent work?”
“This one. [Yukline Revision: Understanding Pure Elements].”
A book popped in the air as soon as the addict stretched his hand out, but it caused Rose Rio to smile bitterly and shake her head.
“Oh. You can’t rent that.”
“Why?”
“Because Deculein sold it only to a limited number of people.”
“Yes. Only 17 people were given a copy, and all of them provided great reviews. Even I couldn’t read it, but there was praise from Lumiere Kreto saying it’s the best textbook that combines the basics of pure elements with advanced courses.”
“Kreto?”
“Yes. Astal, the addict in charge of reviewing it, also included it in the [100 Theory Books the Isle of Wizard’s Wealth Must Preserve]. Simultaneously, he praised Professor Deculein, saying, ‘It opens the possibility for an era where the vague concept of pure elements can be firmly established.'”
Rose Rio pouted as she heard those words.
“I mean, it’s weird. If it was that great, why didn’t he sell it to the public? That’s why only a few know how impressive its contents are in the first place. Honestly, even I want to read it.”
“Can I borrow it at least?” She asked again.
“No, You can’t—”
“Yes, you can, Solda Sylvia.” The addict refuted Rose Rio’s words, causing her to frown.
“Huh? Why? How can this kid borrow it if even I can’t?”
Like a machine, his head turned to look at her.
“She’s on the list of individuals Monarch Deculein’s authorized to read it.”
“… Her?”
“Yes.”
Rose Rio looked at her, finding her blank expression. Behind them, Gindalf stroked his beard with interest.
“Did you know about this?”
“No.” She shook her head blankly.
“Would you like to borrow it?” The addict asked.
“Y-yes. I do.” As she stuttered, [Yukline Revision: Understanding Pure Elements] landed in her small hand. She stared at it, fiddling with its soft cover.
Rose Rio licked her lips.
“Can I take a look at it too? No, tell me what’s in there later. I’m curious— Hey! Where are you going?! You’re so mean!”
Not wanting to hear more, Sylvia turned around and ran away.
*****
… [Teaching Assistants’ Lab], late evening.
“I can’t do it! How can I finish all of these before classes start?!” Epherene yelled.
She was already about halfway through her third book, the [Harmony of the Four Major Elements].
“Are you okay?” Drent asked in a concerned tone. He had been experimenting with magic sensitization using mana stones right beside her.
Epherene took a deep breath.
“Why did you apply as Deculein’s teaching assistant? Were you threatened, as the rumors say?”
There was a lot of gossip about the reasons why he chose the Head Professor despite having a bright future ahead. No, it was almost a theory that Deculein threatened him.
“Threatened?”
Drent shook his head as if it wasn’t true at all.
“I came here because he corrected my mistake right away. I still feel bad about you, though. I guess I went crazy back then at the practical exam.”
“… It’s okay. Well, I mean, that just means my idea was that appealing.”
“Haha. Yes, it was. I’m sorry.”
“Don’t worry about it… Anyway…”
Epherene looked at the piles of books on her desk.
There were thirteen of them in total, but if they were to be converted into volumes with regular lengths, there’d be around sixty of them since each of them had around 700 to 800 pages.
“I have 13 difficult tomes to study. This doesn’t make sense.”
And because of their Knowledge Copyrights, she ran out of sponsorship money. At this point, she thought she would never be able to eat Roahawks for the rest of her life.
Drent laughed bitterly.
“Can I help you with anything?”
“No… The Professor left, right?”
“Yeah. Two hours ago?”
“Oh~ then I’ll leave too. I need to rest.”
“Yeah. Bye.”
Since Drent seemed to have a lot of work left, Epherene left him behind and went out of the room.
However, as she was about to get on the elevator, she looked at the door at the end of the hallway.
[Head Professor’s Lab].
“Gulp.”
She swallowed hard without realizing it.
In the past, her father told her he hid his research records in Deculein’s laboratory.
Since Deculein was closely monitoring his research to make sure he didn’t take it out, he had no choice but to stay in there. Hence, he progressed with his research using only the dimmest lamp…
“He said he left two hours ago.”
Epherene looked around the 77th floor, which had already been engulfed in darkness.
There was no way someone other than them would be here at this ungodly hour in the first place.
She slowly sneaked into the [Head Professor’s Lab] with her heels up, taking her three minutes to reach a distance that could normally be covered in 30 seconds.
With cold sweat running down her forehead, she grabbed the doorknob and pushed it slightly, causing the door to open.
“…!”
Epherene was terribly surprised.
It wasn’t locked.
No, or it was locked, but the moment Epherene touched it, it opened.
Could it be that her father arranged it that way for her?
“…”
There was only darkness inside the laboratory. Surveying the surroundings, she found nothing suspicious in the empty darkness.
Epherene crawled silently like a slug through the tiles, following her father’s word about his papers being hidden under one of them.
‘Once you touch it, you’ll know.’
‘Where is it? Which tile was he talking about?’
“…”
‘It’s definitely not this one.’
She conjured mana in her palm to use as a source of light since she couldn’t see anything and kept going.
Soon enough…
Her hand touched something hard.
‘I found it!’
Epherene grabbed its pointy part, but no matter how much she shook it, it did nothing.
“…?”
Upon closer inspection, she noticed it looked like some kind of footwear.
What was it?
Epherene looked up, puzzled.
“Ah…”
In that instant, her brain stopped functioning, and her body stiffened.
“…”
Malevolent blue eyes were gazing down on her in a straight line.
Epherene realized it too late.
Her father made no arrangement for this laboratory’s door.
“What are you looking for?”
It was just that the owner of the lab hadn’t left yet.
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