The Black Curtain Conference
The academy's faculty lounge. A gathering officially known as the "Imperial Academy Faculty Exchange Meeting" was underway. The students had taken to calling it the "Black Curtain Conference" behind their backs, whether they knew the details or not.
Neville Brix, the cold-looking man with neatly combed black hair, spoke first as the Blue Light professor.
"No students managed to obtain a Star's Blessing, then. Is the issue the number of participants, the depth of the domain, or perhaps the very legend and its interpretation about obtaining a Star's Blessing being flawed from the start? Either way, it's a pity."
Emilio Lafer, the white-haired boy who looked like an angel, continued as the White Light professor.
"If the Star Gods' grace were so easily obtained, it wouldn't be revered as proof of a hero. In a way, this outcome is only natural, isn't it?"
"Hmph. Rarity and value don't always go hand in hand. We only expected it to work out at best, anyway."
Neville turned his gaze toward the woman who sat smiling silently, a rare occurrence for him.
"So, how did the original objective fare?"
Istal von Lebenstein, the alluring beauty with blood-red hair, answered as the Red Light professor.
"Not bad. No, I'd say it's quite good. A facility that can endlessly multiply golems without any additional resource investment. As a training ground, it's perfect!"
"The problem of fixed enemy patterns can be solved by introducing new types of golems. Since we only need one unit and can multiply the rest as much as we want, we don't have to worry much about costs either."
"There truly are many remarkable relics from the Asteros era. I can't help but wonder what kind of world it was, filled with the power of the stars. But if the golems keep getting destroyed in large numbers every training session like this time, won't a single replication facility take too long to replenish their numbers?"
At the white-haired boy's words, filled with both awe and concern, the black-haired middle-aged man snorted. Considering the student bets about whether Neville Brix would bleed if pricked with a needle, this was an unusually expressive reaction—but for the one on the receiving end, even polite words wouldn't make it a pleasant experience.
Emilio's lips trembled slightly as he asked, "Was there something strange about what I said?"
"I was merely dumbfounded by the old man's strange misunderstanding. It seems you view that facility as some kind of unreproducible ancient mystery, but the replication magic circle inside can be created as many times as the Empire wants. We simply don't bother because it's meaningless. Those replicas can only maintain their form inside the Star Land. The moment they step outside, they lose their shape and crumble. That's why even in the past, they checked the interior and left it alone."
Mountains of jewels, rivers that could be filled with jewels—everything could only exist within the Star Land. The moment they took even a single step outside, they lost their substance and vanished. Hence, the Shadow Mine.
"Conversely, with a bit of effort, we could multiply replication facilities inside the mine as much as we want."
"Then you could've just said 'We can make more facilities, so don't worry' instead of going on and on... Your habit of dragging things out is the same as ever, the same as ever."
Whether Emilio lamented in a tone and atmosphere that didn't match his appearance or not, the Red and Blue professors continued their meeting among themselves.
"Leaving the golems aside, what about those monster hordes?"
"I've already killed off the ones that grew beyond what the students could handle. The rest, we'll manage somehow."
"Wouldn't it be better to wipe them out completely? That would make control easier."
"That's the opposite of what I think."
Istal crossed her legs and smiled seductively.
"Unexpected variables like that are necessary for the students to maintain tension."
"Variables can escalate into major accidents. You won't always be there to watch over them, will you?"
"That makes it even better. If we, the ones setting up the board, feel uneasy, then the students on the board will understand this isn't a joke."
At the thick scent of blood that accompanied Istal's smile, Professor Neville frowned.
"Hey."
"Ah, my apologies. It's been a while since I used my power. I'm having trouble controlling it."
When she lightly waved her hand, the blood scent that had filled the room vanished as if it had never been there.
As if to clear the awkward atmosphere, Emilio, who had been silent for a moment, raised his hand and spoke up.
"Then how about this! We leave the variables as Professor Istal said, but lower the base difficulty a bit! Even without those giant monsters, things were quite precarious in many ways, weren't they?"
The other two looked at Emilio's innocent gesture with exasperated eyes, but they nodded readily, apparently agreeing that he wasn't wrong.
"This success relied heavily on the performance of a few exceptional talents, so a level where even ordinary students can clear it by mustering their wisdom and courage would be appropriate."
"Hmm... Well, we don't want to encourage dependency either. Shall we lower the standard a little?"
The three, who had adjusted the difficulty from "one slip and you're dead" to "one slip and you're probably still alive, maybe," reached a smooth consensus. Whether the students would be happy about it was an entirely different matter.
"But that doesn't mean we can immediately pull out all the top students. For the first run, we'll proceed as originally planned with a mix of a few skilled students and many ordinary ones. From the second run onward, we should separate those whom others might rely on too heavily. We can lower the difficulty further after that."
"What will you do with the exempted students?"
"A new class is being formed anyway. It's about time they learned about the 'Black' as well. We can guide them to participate in that."
At that moment, Emilio spoke as if he had just remembered something.
"Ah, by the way, have either of you heard anything from the first-year professors? My side has been complaining that the first-years won't listen."
Professor Istal answered, "I heard. They said the first-years are having idle thoughts because they're being handled too leniently, so I gave them some advice."
Professor Neville continued, "I heard as well. When I asked why they were proudly confessing their own incompetence, they gave no answer and just left."
These bastards really have no human hearts. At their completely unhesitant declarations, Emilio Lafer clicked his tongue inwardly. He had received his share of harsh words over his long life, but compared to the people before him, he could confidently say he was on the milder side.
"Hahaha, we're currently second-year professors, but we're also the overall representatives for each subject. Wouldn't it be good to provide some assistance with the first-years' classes as well?"
"Specifically?"
"Joint classes. The first-years are running wild because they won't follow instructions easily due to their high pride. We just need to crush that pride once, don't we?"
Seemingly intrigued by Emilio's proposal, both Istal and Neville fell into thought.
"……It sounds interesting."
"Depending on the results, adding it to the official curriculum wouldn't be a bad idea either."
Having secured their agreement, Emilio turned his head and asked, "What do you think?"
There was no answer to Emilio's question. Only a single black butterfly, appearing from nowhere, fluttered around the room before flying out the window. And that was enough.
Around the same time the academy professors were deliberating over specific class procedures, Chrome was also deep in thought inside a mansion in the Special District.
"Whoa, I knew this was an item dripping with foreshadowing, but I didn't expect it to actually combine."
Chrome had been startled when one of the two fragments he'd stored in his bag disappeared, but using Dantalion's Monocle, he realized the fragment hadn't vanished—it had merged. The description even mentioned it now carried the power of the Star Land where each fragment had been found. On top of that, Chrome had clearly seen with his own eyes what kind of existence the golem that held one of these fragments had been.
'The power to keep a soul that died long ago bound to a golem's body for hundreds of years.'
While many specifics about its effects and uses remained unclear, what it had already demonstrated was more than enough to spark his interest.
'On top of that, just holding it makes my head feel clearer and my mana control smoother.'
It was still a faint sensation, barely noticeable enough to dismiss as imagination, but who knew? If he kept collecting fragments like this, he might gain even greater power.
"Anyway, jackpot. Absolute jackpot."
Professor Neville probably hadn't sent him expecting this, but obtaining it alone made the visit worthwhile. Not that he'd agree to go a second time if asked.
"Midas! Chrome Midas!"
A voice calling him from downstairs interrupted his thoughts. Wondering what was going on, he went down to find Frelia Magnus looking for him with an unusually urgent expression.
"Oh my, what brings the pinnacle of the Spero Royal Faction to such a humble place?"
"If you keep spouting nonsense, I'll stop making your dye potions!?"
She shouted sharply, then asked with an anxious look, "You went to that Shadow Mine place last time, right? What kind of place is it? The other exploration members all said it was peaceful and enjoyable, but I have this ominous feeling..."
She was a girl with truly excellent intuition and wisdom. She wouldn't die easily no matter where she went. Therefore, Chrome answered, "Hahaha, you're being overly suspicious. What benefit would those friends gain from deceiving newcomers? You can go without worry."
"Really...?"
"I'll swear it on my father's name."