Chapter 15

Chapter 15

Chapter 15. Meeting the Headmaster

“Five magic stones embedded in the ceiling have cracked and were deemed unusable. In addition, roughly thirty windows were shattered, the statue of ‘Archmage Alexander’ was completely burned away, and soot spread throughout the main building.”

Tesca Academy’s main conference room.

An administrative employee finished reporting to the professors gathered around the circular table.

“That concludes the Academy’s damages. The contaminated areas have been cleaned with Cleanse and purification magic, but the magic stones and statue cannot be restored.”

“That’s unfortunate. I liked that piece.”

The Academy’s vice-headmaster and a master of illusion magic.

Valeria smacked her lips.

“Well. Should we call ourselves lucky that this was all? The battle was quite loud, but the damage wasn’t severe.”

“Wasn’t severe?”

Across from her sat the man with the perfectly even five-to-five hair part.

Oracle ground his teeth.

“The greatest damage was Tesca Academy’s honor being dragged through the dirt.”

“Honor?”

“No one noticed such blatant disguised enrollment. Just imagining that barbarian wandering openly through the Academy makes my insides twist.”

“We strengthen security every year, but it’s difficult to stop people who prepare that thoroughly. They even create Circles just to conduct espionage. How are we supposed to stop that?”

“That’s why I said we should only accept people with verified lineages. This mess happened because we accepted commoner trash of unknown origin...”

Spin.

Oracle abruptly fell silent mid-complaint.

He had noticed Valeria’s pupils rotating like dancers.

“Professor Oracle. Are you saying Headmaster Dorothy’s policy is wrong?”

“That’s not exactly...”

“If you have complaints about administration, please file a formal objection. And...”

Valeria’s pupils returned to normal.

Then her eyes curved into crescents.

“You keep speaking informally to everyone. Please show the other professors some respect, as I do.”

“...Ahem.”

Oracle shifted uncomfortably in his chair.

‘Crazy bitch.’

She acted elegant and cultured on the outside, but Valeria was the most insane professor here.

Oracle knew that, so he stopped arguing.

“Ha-ha! This is all the result of my own lack of virtue.”

At the center of the circular table stood a miniature soldier.

Headmaster Dorothy rotated its creaking body a full 360 degrees and met each professor’s eyes.

“Professor Oracle. Don’t worry so much! If we had missed the spy, that would be one thing, but wasn’t he captured?”

“That bothers me too. We didn’t capture him ourselves. Some unknown party did it.”

Early that morning.

An employee who went to disable the main building’s security screamed.

They had discovered a charred corpse lying on the floor.

Tesca Academy was thrown into chaos.

Scheduled classes were all canceled while most professors gathered in one place.

“Ha-ha! The opponent was a Sword Expert. Personally, I’d be delighted if one of our students did it. Imagine how bright the future would look!”

“Headmaster!”

“Accepting commoners is inevitable. It would be wonderful if the Illumina Empire’s finances were always abundant, but sadly they are not. Commoners gain opportunities, and we gain relief from financial pressure. Some risk must naturally be accepted.”

“But...”

“How about this? For the rest of your term, we redirect all of Professor Oracle’s salary into Tesca’s finances. Then perhaps we can screen out one or two suspicious commoners. Ha-ha!”

Oracle instantly fell silent.

Even he couldn’t work without pay.

Just like that, Headmaster Dorothy reduced Oracle to someone with nothing but a mouth.

“An internal investigation into last night’s incident is already underway. The Academy will devote its full strength to tracking down whoever caused it. We are grateful they eliminated the spy, but that area remains a ‘forbidden zone.’”

“I sincerely hope you catch them. I’ll look forward to it.”

When the meeting concluded, the light vanished from the miniature soldier’s eyes.

Seeing that, the professors all rose from their seats.

“Terrifying bastards. Now they’re even making Circles.”

Crunch.

A tall dark elf with silver hair repeatedly bit her nails.

Valeria gently rubbed Morvael’s narrow shoulders.

“Don’t worry too much, Morvael.”

“Valeria.”

“He died at the scene, so Tesca’s information probably wasn’t leaked. Astallon must have realized Tesca isn’t an easy target either.”

“Right? That’s right?”

At Valeria’s reassurance, Morvael bared snow-white teeth.

The innocence unique to elves.

A fragile, exhausted mind.

And emotions impossible to predict.

Morvael possessed every trait commonly associated with dark elves.

“Then why did you do that to Oracle? I speak casually all the time too.”

“Professor Oracle hasn’t lived for three hundred years like you.”

“Hehe. True.”

The silver-haired dark elf smiled innocently.

But Morvael soon pouted.

“What a shame. Today was supposed to be my first-year class. And now it’s canceled.”

“Oh my. Don’t freshmen usually hate classes? Haven’t you said that yourself?”

“Most do. But one freshman appeared who actually makes teaching worthwhile.”

“Oh?”

Valeria’s pupils rotated once.

Considering what Morvael taught, she could already guess who that freshman was.

Rune Language.

Not merely a subject she taught, but the ultimate truth she had researched for over two hundred years.

“Now I’m curious. Who is this brilliant child?”

“That kid’s name is...”

* * *

“Kawin. Kawin.”

Walther Franken’s voice pulled Kawin from his thoughts.

“Why are you just sitting there grinning in the middle of eating? You’re scaring me.”

“Was I?”

Kawin chuckled and picked up his fork again.

He was in such a good mood that smiles kept appearing even when he did nothing.

Because he had defeated a Sword Expert?

Because he still hadn’t been caught?

Neither.

The reason Kawin’s heart floated like a balloon was,

‘It grew again.’

The enormous Circle forming the foundation of his magic.

The energy of his Orbis had strengthened once more.

Whoooom...!

The white sparks around its edge writhed even more vigorously.

Its thickness looked twice what it had been at first.

Which meant Kawin’s mana had doubled.

It wasn’t because of his Challenge with Frasel.

Today’s scheduled second Challenge had been canceled due to Academy circumstances.

He hadn’t fought any spontaneous Challenges with other students either.

Instead,

‘I did fight a swordsman.’

Bain, the spy from Astallon.

He possessed mana, but at his core he was unquestionably a swordsman.

Someone only one step away from Swordmaster.

During last night’s battle, Bain had not used magic even once.

Yet Kawin’s Orbis had grown fiercer.

‘Which means...’

The ability that stole strength from opponents.

Electric Predation did not react only to mana.

The Aura used by Swordmasters could also nourish the Orbis.

It was an unexpected gain even Kawin had never anticipated.

‘Probably because he even used Requiem.’

The strength he temporarily gained by burning his own life force.

That power had become permanent nourishment for Kawin.

An enormous stroke of luck born from coincidence overlapping with the grimoire’s ability.

Overflowing with satisfaction, Kawin muttered something he really shouldn’t have.

“I hope another spy comes.”

“You crazy bastard...!”

Walther jumped and hurriedly covered Kawin’s mouth.

But,

“Kawin Anper.”

An administrative employee entered the dining hall and delivered a message with a blank expression.

“Once you finish eating, report to the headmaster’s office. Headmaster Dorothy requests a private meeting.”

“Huh?”

The employee left without another word.

Kawin and Walther turned at the same time and met each other’s eyes.

“Looks like you’re fucked.”

“What did I tell you! I told you to watch your mouth!”

“Does the dining hall have some kind of listening device?”

“Then why say something that suspicious in the first place...!”

Kawin looked around while Walther lowered his head and clutched it.

* * *

To start with the conclusion, there was no listening device.

Headmaster Dorothy had not summoned Kawin because of his careless remark.

Yet that only made Kawin more nervous.

If it wasn’t because of what he had said, why would the headmaster personally request a private meeting with a mere student?

There was only one answer.

“Thank you for doing our job for us, Kawin Anper.”

Purple light flowed from the miniature soldier’s innocent eyes.

Even through a puppet, the mana was thick enough to feel oppressive.

In a different way from Kawin, Dorothy did not tolerate lies.

Pretending ignorance is pointless.

Kawin decided that immediately.

This was not an opponent he could bluff his way past.

“How did you know?”

“Ha-ha! Thank you for being honest!”

The miniature soldier snapped into a comical salute.

“The other professors suspect a fire mage. The soot makes sense, and more importantly, the statue was completely burned away.”

“I assumed they would.”

“But there exists magic in this world harder than earth, sharper than wind, and stronger than flame.”

“!”

Goosebumps rose across Kawin’s entire body.

Dorothy’s words matched a passage from the grimoire Kawin had read exactly.

“Kawin Anper. How much do you know about Lord Dharma?”

Archmage Dharma.

A name erased from every record of Illumina’s history had just left Dorothy’s mouth.

Kawin did not answer.

If Dorothy belonged to the force that had oppressed Dharma, he too could be in danger.

“There’s no need to be so nervous. Lord Dharma lived hundreds of years ago. Unless I were an elf, it would be impossible for me to have any personal grudge or debt with him.”

“You seem to know more about him than I do already.”

“Ha-ha! You have a way with words, Kawin. This conversation is enjoyable.”

The miniature soldier mimed clutching its stomach in laughter.

Perhaps it was Kawin’s imagination, but the purple mana seemed to fade slightly.

“Very well. I didn’t summon you to interrogate you, so let’s stop confirming facts here.”

“You’re... not punishing me for killing Bain?”

“Ha-ha! Why would that be a crime? You punished an Astallon spy. That deserves a reward. Entering the forbidden zone is unfortunate, but I’ll overlook it this time. Your merit outweighs your wrongdoing.”

“Then why did you summon me? Even arranging a one-on-one meeting?”

“Those who earn merit deserve rewards! I wondered why Student Kawin entered the forbidden zone at all. And I reached a conclusion.”

Snap!

The miniature soldier saluted again.

“Free yourself from fixed ideas, Kawin. Like a proper mage. Grimoires are the most mysterious objects in this world. Their form and size have no restrictions.”

“No restrictions... on form or size?”

Kawin’s blue eyes trembled.

Dorothy’s hint crashed into his mind like thunder.

A grimoire.

Form and size.

If those restrictions didn’t exist, what object in this Academy best fit the concept of a grimoire?

‘Right...!’

Blue fire seemed to ignite in Kawin’s eyes.

Now he knew exactly what he had to do next.