Ignorance
Ignorance
Tak, tak, tak.
My footsteps echoing through the silent corridor of the Magic Tower were rhythmic.
"......."
I stopped walking and slowly lifted my left hand.
The Platinum Ring firmly settled at the base of my index finger.
It was an item that Master had personally placed on my finger, claiming it helped with mana circulation and served as proof of being the Tower Master's direct disciple.
Wung, wung—.
A light flickered inside the ring for a brief moment before vanishing.
"......Master?"
I murmured the name in a low voice and stared at the ring.
Uung.
I tried focusing my magical power again, but the ring was merely emitting the clean mana characteristic of an artifact.
"......Was I imagining it?"
What Master gave me was just a top-tier artifact to protect a disciple's mana circuits; nothing more, nothing less.
Harboring unnecessary suspicion toward the only benefactor who had taken me in was, in itself, an act of disrespect.
After clearing my thoughts, I resumed walking.
Tadak, tadak.
At the end of the corridor, the massive brass door of the First Research Lab, where the new apprentices were waiting, appeared before me.
It was the place where Licia Lowell, the girl who would receive my teachings as my apprentice starting today, was waiting.
The bold, red-haired top apprentice who, at yesterday's banquet, had left hundreds of sages behind and pointed accurately at me on the podium.
Dalkak.
As the door opened, the intense heat filling the room struck my face roughly.
Traces of Fire Mana were twisting the air in the room like a heat haze, to the point of neutralizing even the air purification magic.
And at the center of that heat, a girl was sitting boldly on top of the magic circle installed in the middle of the spacious research lab.
Seueuk.
As I entered, the girl slowly lifted her head.
The first thing that entered my field of vision was her short, red hair, which looked as if it had been embedded with actual burning flames.
It wasn't a style with long, flowing hair like typical noble ladies of the Empire, but a style cut short and cool, revealing the nape of her neck.
Even though she was wearing a pure white apprentice robe, there was no sign of fear to be found in her.
Rather, it was an atmosphere that reminded me of a bold new recruit in the Knights Order... an atmosphere, though I hated to admit it, just like Serin's childhood.
Licia Lowell stepped lightly off the magic circle and stood before me.
Tak.
"I've been waiting, Mage Rion. No...... should I call you Master now?"
Licia raised the corners of her mouth smoothly and smiled brightly.
Her voice carried the same boldness I had seen at the banquet yesterday.
I adjusted the hem of my blue uniform and met her gaze calmly.
"Licia Lowell. Your behavior at the banquet yesterday was reckless. Even if there was a rule of the Magic Tower, I want to hear a justifiable reason for why you singled me out, even at the risk of displeasing the Tower Master."
At my dry question, Licia's golden eyes sparkled as if she found it interesting.
"Reckless, you say? I merely made the most fateful choice of my life."
She retorted firmly with a clear voice.
"A fateful choice?"
"Yes. My Innate Flame Mana is dozens of times hotter and rougher than others, so it couldn't be tamed by the control methods of most mages. Even the people of the Lowell family couldn't handle my constitution and just clicked their tongues."
Licia spread out her palm.
On her palm, an uncontrolled red heat haze flickered grotesquely with a sizzling sound.
It was certainly an out-of-spec talent.
"Back then, what saved me was the 'Early Mana Circuit Control Theory' and the 'Mana Backflow Control Formula' that you, Master, published 12 years ago. I studied those papers over hundreds of times to master my flames."
In those burning eyes, a light of intensely fervent admiration and worship was overflowing.
"From then on, I made a resolution. If I were to enter the Magic Tower, my master would only be that one genius mage, Rion. Furthermore......."
Licia stepped one step closer to me.
"I was also watching all of those great strides you made as an adventurer after leaving the Magic Tower."
"......My strides?"
An ominous alarm bell began to ring deep in my chest.
"Yes! The breakthrough of the ancient ruins in the eastern part of the Empire, the rescue of the Beastkin Union's Great Chieftain, and even the subjugation of the Abyss Dungeon that even the Imperial Knights had given up on! At the center of those legendary heroic tales achieved by the 'Dawn's Light' party, you, Master, were always there as the leader!"
Licia's voice rose an octave due to excitement.
She puffed out her chest, blushing like a fanatic who had truly met the hero before her eyes.
"Others might praise the Holy Knight Serin, the Sage Elina, or the Beastkin warrior Miu, but those who know magic all know the truth. The real hero who perfectly coordinated those party members from behind and took responsibility for their safety was none other than the leader, Rion-nim!"
"......."
"I was a fervent, die-hard fan of yours, Master! Every time news came that the Dawn's Light party had cleared a dungeon, I would lose sleep from joy. So when I heard the news that you were returning to the Magic Tower after finishing your ruin exploration, I thought my heart was going to explode!"
Licia laughed boldly and tapped my shoulder lightly.
It was a sign of her characteristic affectionate and easygoing friendliness.
"So my choice is a natural result. When I can receive teachings from the leader who leads a hero party, there's no way I would go under those stubborn old sages, right?"
She didn't know anything.
Even here in the Magic Tower, the heart of Imperial magic, the specific details of what ugly ruin the 'Dawn's Light' party had met had not been conveyed.
It was a top-secret matter known only as Rion returning to the Magic Tower after the Great Expedition with the Holy Order, and Dawn's Light taking a temporary rest at the Holy Order.
That is why she was reciting those women's names in front of me so purely, so brilliantly.
"Holy Knight...... Serin."
A voice like dry sand leaked out between my lips.
"Yes? Ah, as expected, your eyes change when I talk about Serin-nim! She's a Holy Knight and your long-time childhood friend, right? You are both truly amazing people."
Licia, without noticing the change in my complexion, continued to speak with a bright expression.
"I heard that Elina-nim and Miu-nim also cherish you terribly, Master. Since it's a bond tied by a Vow of Oath, it must boast a stronger solidarity than anyone else! Ah, they must have all performed amazingly in this expedition too, right? Are they coming to this Magic Tower to see you, Master, as soon as they finish the Holy Order's purification ritual?"
"......Stop."
"If I were to walk the corridors of the Magic Tower with them, I'm sure all the apprentices would be dying of envy. Serin-nim's noble armor, and Elina-nim's staff......."
"I said stop."
"......Huh?"
Licia's bold smile stiffened instantly.
The moment her golden eyes met my face, the girl's shoulders began to tremble noticeably.
My vision was flickering grotesquely.
Wung, wung, wung, wung—.
Tinnitus pierced my ears.
"......Mas, ter?"
Licia stepped back one step with a terrified voice.
"......Get out."
"Ye, yes......?"
"Get out of my sight...... right now, Licia Lowell."
My unfocused eyes stared straight into Licia's golden eyes.
"Ah, Master......? Why, why are you doing this...... what, what did I do wrong......."
Licia reached out her hand urgently. That pure white, clean hand that was trying to support me.
"Don't come near me!!"
I screamed without realizing it and roughly slapped her hand away.
Jjak—!
Breaking the silence, the sharp sound of skin hitting skin roughly wrapped around the inside of the research lab.
Licia's hand froze in mid-air, and her head turned to the side powerlessly.
"......Ah."
Licia's lips trembled. Her fingertips, rejected by me, shook helplessly in the air, having lost their place to go.
She is not at fault.
The cold reason that barely remained in a corner of my head scolded me.
She was a child who knew nothing.
There was no way this child could know how the 'Dawn's Light' that I had built up for 10 years had crumbled down.
"I, I just...... thought that you, Master, and...... the party members were amazing...... so I thought it was an honor......."
The girl's voice became damp as if it had soaked up water, and trailed off.
She seemed restless, afraid only that I would be disappointed.
The sight of her looking up at me with eyes reddened as if she were about to burst into tears overlapped with the face that had held onto me before I came to the Magic Tower, making me feel nauseous.
"......My physical condition is not good right now. It's because the fatigue hasn't subsided yet, so it's not your fault."
Ttuk. Ttuk.
The transparent teardrops hanging from the tips of Licia's long eyelashes finally couldn't overcome their weight and fell to the floor.
"Mas...... ter......."
Licia mumbled as if she had water in her mouth, watching my reaction.
"......It is my, problem."
My cracked voice broke the silence of the research lab, which was filled with an alien heat.