Schutra Magic Academy (2-10)
I grumbled as I stepped out through the school gates.
"Ugh… what a pain. Can't they just let us wear our uniforms?"
"It's the rules. Nothing we can do about it."
A voice like the soft fragrance of tulips drifted from behind me, and I turned to look at its owner.
Long silver hair swaying gently, violet eyes, and a dress so dazzling it seized every gaze around her — that was Luna.
I looked her over and said,
"…That's not exactly study-session attire."
"You're hardly one to talk, Su-ho."
Truth be told, I was dressed just as extravagantly as she was.
The outfit I had on was the one Sonya had bought me back when she introduced me to her husband.
I had wanted something more ordinary for going out, but it had been a while since Luna and I had gone anywhere together, and I didn't want to greet her in plain clothes.
The most reasonable option would have been the uniform, but Shutra strictly forbade wearing the uniform outside the campus.
Apparently there had been enough incidents in the past that the rule was now ironclad.
In other words, I simply didn't have anything appropriate, so I'd been stuck with this.
"I didn't have anything else to wear. I had no choice."
"Neither did I."
Originally, the reason I'd suggested going off campus today was so we could walk and talk about the exams — a medieval-flavored study session, basically.
But looking at the two of us, we already looked like we were heading out on a date.
I just wanted a walk, but now I'm worried.
Finish things off with dessert and conversation at a café and call it a day?
If I actually ended it like that, I was pretty sure I'd hear Luna's affection for me shatter with my own ears.
One way or another, I had to keep her from getting bored until evening.
Well, we both got overnight passes just in case.
Come to think of it, Luna was something else herself.
I'd clearly only suggested a walk, but when I checked today, she'd gone and gotten an overnight pass.
To stay out with me…
She really doesn't know how the world works.
I looked at Luna, who was studying me intently, and held out my hand.
"Let's go."
"…Could you be a little more formal about it?"
"In that case…"
I extended my hand with proper courtesy and offered her a refined smile.
"Lady Luna Stadtfeld, would you do me the honor of spending this day with me?"
"Hah… very well."
Luna seemed pleased. She lifted her chin, lightly rested her hand atop mine, and smiled.
And the guards watching us looked thoroughly unimpressed…
"Please don't do that in front of the school."
"…"
Way to kill the mood…
Luna and I ducked our reddened faces and made a quick exit.
Schutra.
Until today, I'd thought of Schutra as nothing more than a magic academy. That notion was about to be completely overturned.
The city that sprawled out from the academy at its heart — that was Schutra.
As we strolled the splendid avenues, Luna filled me in on all sorts of things about the place.
"Schutra is the kind of city where famous merchant houses and nobles from across the continent scramble just to get a foothold. Even royalty…"
Any merchant house with a name for itself poured astronomical sums every year just to plant a single branch office here. Nobles flocked in because simply owning land in Schutra was a mark of prestige.
But money and outside reputation were utterly useless when it came to getting in.
There was only one way to establish yourself in Schutra.
"Connections."
"…Connections?"
That was unexpected.
I'd figured there would be some grand method. And it was just connections…
"You mean you need someone you know inside a Schutra branch office?"
"No. One person. A single connection."
"…?"
"The Archmage Ludwig Lifenstein — the headmaster."
When I just stared blankly, Luna shook her head and went on.
"You really did come here purely to learn magic, didn't you, Su-ho? Most of the students who come here are different."
She fixed me with a pointed look.
"A diploma from Schutra Magic Academy is the single best way to forge that first connection with the headmaster."
"Ah…"
Hearing that, I understood.
The man who had blanketed this entire world in perfect peace.
On this continent, the headmaster was the equivalent of Jesus or the Buddha in the world I came from.
And that figure wasn't a legend — he was alive and present?
People would gather around him just for standing still. Organizations would form. Nations would rise.
And that was how Schutra came to exist.
Setting foot here was the same as setting foot in money, prestige, and power all at once.
"That's why everyone claws their way in to enroll at Schutra. Learning magic is honestly secondary."
"I see. I had no idea."
"Su-ho…"
"…?"
Luna trailed off, then murmured quietly,
"Did you really come here with no ambition like that — just to learn magic?"
"Hmm… yeah, I guess so?"
"…That's genuinely impressive."
Judging by what Luna was saying, I was clearly an odd case.
Among all the students currently enrolled at Schutra Magic Academy, there was probably not a single one who'd come purely for magic alone.
Well — that included me, actually…
What if I told her, "I came to seduce you!" How would she react?
…
What? That is my goal. Embarrassed about it?
Luna kept explaining Schutra as we wandered, and I listened to her long-overdue chatter as we continued our walk.
As we were sightseeing, her gaze snagged on something and she spoke up.
"Ah — that's the instrument shop Karl Friedrich runs."
"Oh…"
It was a massive stone building of brown and gray.
It looked about five stories tall, and the entire structure was devoted to the instrument business.
Luna looked up at it and smiled.
"Want to go in?"
"Sure."
Studying was already a lost cause. Since things had turned out this way, I decided to just enjoy myself as much as possible.
I gave a helpless little laugh and went into the instrument shop with Luna.
A clerk greeted us immediately, and we began browsing the instruments while listening to his explanations.
Holy hell, these are expensive…
Given how renowned the establishment was, the instruments on sale inside carried prices that were anything but ordinary.
I hadn't come in intending to buy anything, but staring at those enormous figures still made my chest tighten.
We were looking around when a middle-aged man of distinguished appearance approached us from across the floor.
"It's been some time. I trust you've been well?"
Karl Friedrich — Sonya's husband.
Food was set out on a garden table, and at the same time Karl began to apologize.
"I do hope I haven't imposed on the two of you."
"Not at all. We're the ones who should thank you for such a warm welcome."
Luna and I had found ourselves invited to Karl's mansion almost before we knew what was happening.
We'd been about to look for lunch anyway, so the timing was a stroke of luck.
Ironically, though, Sonya wasn't at the mansion.
"Sonya has been terribly busy of late, so she's at the academy."
"I truly hope she makes Assistant Professor."
"Thank you on her behalf. I know it must be inconvenient without her here, but please make yourselves at home and don't stand on ceremony."
And so the three of us began an awkward meal.
Awkward as the start was, it wasn't long before Karl gathered up the scattered threads of conversation and began conducting them with practiced ease.
He really was a man of both commercial and musical talent.
"That I was able to put down roots here in Schutra at all is entirely thanks to Sonya."
"Ah… so you weren't originally a citizen here, Karl."
"That's correct. As I'm sure you both know, settling in this place is hardly something an ordinary man like myself can even contemplate."
Even in Sonya's absence, Karl spoke of her with such praise that it was almost a sermon on how deeply he loved her.
And Luna responded as warmly as she could, elevating him in turn.
"You're remarkable yourself, Karl. I'm sure Professor Sonya considers marrying you a stroke of fortune."
"Sonya…"
Karl swallowed the smile he'd been wearing, furrowed his brow, and said,
"She never should have married a husband like me."
"…Pardon?"
"…"
Luna was thrown by the sudden shift in atmosphere. I looked at Karl and felt a pang of sympathy.
Poor guy… It's not like he has some weird fetish, and yet last time he still gave us permission to sleep together, didn't he?
Karl Friedrich showed no sign of any strange sexual proclivity whatsoever.
He was perfectly normal — he simply had erectile dysfunction.
No fetish at all, and still he wanted the woman he loved to be held by another man.
For Sonya's happiness.
They likely endured a great deal along the way. From our perspective we only saw erectile dysfunction and sexual frustration, but the two of them must have suffered over this problem for a very long time.
As Armonia said, looking only at the fragments could lead to strange misunderstandings — but once you roughly knew their temperaments and their past, sympathy was inevitable.
Karl read the mood between the two of us at once, shook off the gloom, and offered a bitter smile.
"Forgive me. Speaking so abruptly like that…"
And Luna smiled at him and began to offer comfort.
"It's all right. Everyone has their circumstances. But Professor Sonya would never regret meeting you, Karl."
"No. Simply being with me is already…"
"No."
Luna's expression hardened, and she spoke with firm resolve.
"I don't know what the two of you are going through — but the fact that Professor Sonya loved you is certain."
"…"
"Please don't put regret into the beginning of love. That would sadden the professor as well."
Karl listened to every word, closed his eyes, and was silent for a long while before he opened his mouth to apologize.
"…I'm sorry. I was careless."
"I'm the one who should apologize. Speaking without knowing either of your circumstances…"
"No. It was truly valuable advice. Thank you."
And with that, the atmosphere cleared again, and we were able to continue the meal in brighter spirits.
The moment the meal was finished, Karl made arrangements for our convenience and told us we were free to stay as long as we liked.
"You're welcome to study at your ease in our garden."
"Thank you."
"If you need anything at all, simply call one of the staff and they'll take care of it."
Having granted us the run of the house, Karl said he had work to attend to and headed back to the instrument shop.
I wasn't sure how well I'd be able to concentrate on studying on a full stomach, but at least the date hadn't completely fallen apart. That was a relief.
Thank god we ran into Karl.
Did you have somewhere else in mind after the instrument shop?
If all else failed, I was going to take her to a motel and get busy.
…Meeting Karl Friedrich was an enormous stroke of luck, then.
Why? What's so bad about cuddling up in a motel?
Beside me, Luna started looking at me with a blunt expression.
Wondering why she'd suddenly put on that face, I asked,
"What is it?"
"…There's something I want to know."
"Sure. Go ahead."
"…How did you end up in that kind of relationship with Professor Sonya?"
"…"
A fastball she had never thrown before.
It was a genuinely difficult place to start from.
Tell the truth and there was a problem; lie and there was a problem.
From Luna's perspective, none of the people involved would make any sense.
Me, Sonya, Karl…
Me, who'd slept with a married woman. Sonya, who'd cheated despite being married. Karl, who blamed himself without even knowing.
From Luna's point of view, all three of those things would be a complete mystery.
I was silent for a long time before I finally managed to speak.
"Luna… I can't tell you right now. It's not just my problem alone."
"…"
Luna took that in with a wounded look and began staring endlessly at a cumulus cloud hanging at the far edge of the sky.
After gazing at it for a while, she spoke with a sorrowful expression.
"I have a request."
"…"
"Please don't make me regret the fact that I loved you."
"Tha—"
The moment I started to say something, Luna cut me off and continued, still looking toward the edge of the sky.
"You can cheat. You can turn your eyes to other women. But…"
"…"
"Please don't leave me and make me regret that I ever loved you."
With those words, Luna looked at me. I nodded and smiled.
"I'll keep that firmly in mind."
"…"
Luna smiled, scooted her chair right up against mine, rested her head on my shoulder, and said,
"I have things I haven't told you either. I'll tell you someday. But… I never want to go through the person I love leaving me again."
I brushed the bangs from Luna's forehead as she leaned against my shoulder and spoke as if making a vow.
"That much I can absolutely promise. No matter what happens, I won't leave you."
"…Thank you."
We sat in the garden, looking up at the high sky, and quietly kissed.