Chapter 54

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Translator: MadScientist

Chapter: 54

Chapter Title: Trace

-----------------------------------------------------------------

In the end, Professor Juery never showed up before the weekend was over.

The graduate students had no idea where she was, either. Classes were being covered by teaching assistants instead.

I remembered Professor Juery saying Professor Plma was trustworthy, so I went to him and asked.

"Oh, Professor Juery? She's probably already at the field trip site. It's a big one, so there's a lot to prepare. They need advance scouts for that sort of thing."

"Ah... I see."

That was Professor Plma's answer.

It wasn't impossible. It could happen.

But if it was Professor Juery, I felt like she would've told me before leaving.

Did Professor Plma get tricked by the taboo mages and have false information?

I posted on the gallery and headed to the club room.

What the hell? How am I supposed to know the situation from this alone?

How am I supposed to know what those bastards are plotting?

But I've got archmages on my side.

Just set it to auto-hunt with a click, and they'll figure it out themselves.

Meanwhile, I'll cool my head with some nice flying practice.

Of course, this wasn't the time for that.

But honestly, my head was such a mess I wanted to focus on something else, even just for a bit, to rest.

So much had happened in such a short time—it was scary, and my head hurt.

If I didn't manage my mental state now, it felt like I'd run away.

"Hello."

I entered the club room and looked for Roer first.

Roer was sitting blankly in the corner, watching the other members.

The others were busy carving flight devices or researching magic, but Roer had no flight device, so there was nothing he could do.

I tossed him the leftover canoe parts from making the broomstick.

"You used it well, junior."

"Ah, aaaah...! My half-year masterpiece...!"

Roer saw the flight device separated into a canoe and collapsed to the floor, sobbing.

It was all his own doing. And the broomstick was thin, so it hadn't used much material.

"Sigh... Still, add a bit more wood and it'll be fixed in no time. More importantly, Ian. You really planning to fly on that thing?"

The club president said while watching Roer sob.

"Yes. Gonna practice a bit."

"I'm telling you again, that's no joke. You could die, so be careful. It'll probably fail anyway, but practice properly first."

"Got it. Don't worry."

The president warned me repeatedly and even gave me a protective artifact.

It's pretty expensive, he said. Better not need to use it.

"Alright, I'm off."

I slung the broomstick on my back and went outside.

On the way, I checked the gallery to see how the sleuthing was going.

Not really a conclusion, more like suggestions on what I could do.

Basically, search the academy inside out for clues.

I agreed. Evidence was too thin right now.

Maybe fly around Professor Neyk's lab or the dean's office while scouting.

Would be great if I could investigate inside, but probably ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠impossible.

Head that way first.

"Made the crotch comfy, so added some leather padding."

I grabbed the broomstick in midair and mounted it.

Sitting straight on a thin wooden stick would've wrecked my groin, so I'd wrapped soft leather in the middle.

It acted like a saddle, making the broomstick pretty comfortable.

Still, it felt less stable than the canoe.

Unlike the balanced hull shape, the sides were open.

But no speed or romance could match a broomstick.

I started computing the magic.

A heavy buoyancy lifted my body.

Output control was still good. No sudden launches.

But my body kept wobbling side to side.

The broomstick kept spinning for some reason. I forced balance with body tension.

"...Should I just land?"

The thought slipped out when I'd reached the third floor of a building.

Unlike the canoe, the broomstick wouldn't balance.

Relax even a bit, and it'd flip.

Of course, clinging tight would keep me from falling.

Was this too Power Mage thinking?

But I could hold it with strength for now. Just try moving a little.

With that resolve, I decided to inch forward.

My inner thigh muscles ached from balancing, but it was bearable. Go slow once; if not, quit.

With that in mind, I started propulsion.

Very gradually. Adjust output to walking speed.

But,

Wobble—

Propulsion with buoyancy doubled the balance difficulty,

and in that instant of shaking, I lurched over on the broomstick.

"Waaahhh!"

Didn't fall, luckily. But the world spun.

I was hanging upside down from the broomstick in midair.

That alone would've been fine, but panic broke my focus.

I accidentally cranked the lightly controlled output—fwoosh!—way up.

And with that, the broomstick rocketed—pwang!—forward.

-Kiyaaaaak!

A Muggle's desperate scream echoed over the academy skies.

Once lost, output fluctuated wildly, and the broomstick's balance, barely held by body strength, shook violently from irregular buoyancy.

"Kiak—"

Whoosh—a academy building grazed my arm.

A bit closer, and it'd have been smashed.

Swoosh- swoosh- swish-

At uncontrollable speeds, I frantically repeated turns to dodge disaster.

Needed to regain composure and stabilize, but not easy in this mess.

A broomstick wasn't shaped for buoyancy to begin with.

Stick form just scattered it every which way.

Should've listened to the president and gallery. That regret hit late,

when I was already hurtling toward a building.

Shit, can't dodge this.

Boom—

I squeezed my eyes shut and activated the president's artifact.

A huge air bubble formed in the air, softly enveloping me and the broomstick.

I released all buoyancy and output magic, slowly descending to the ground.

"Huff... haa... fuck."

Almost died. Gotta listen to Mom.

My heart wouldn't stop racing from the shock.

"Fuck. Explain that shit next time."

So that's how it was. Makes sense—the canoe's flat bottom is buoyant-friendly.

Broomstick shape sucks for buoyancy, so that method failed.

Wouldn't have tried if explained. Though I'm the idiot.

"Hng... Ow, hurts. How far did I fly?"

More importantly, where was I?

Looking around, I saw buildings I rarely visited.

Time to get up.

I pushed up from the flower bed next to the building.

But something hard caught my hand on the ground.

Thought it was a rock, but surprisingly, it was a manastone.

Sparkle sparkle—

A beautifully crafted thumb-sized one that looked valuable.

Unusual shape—must have some function.

Yeah, life's like that.

Even a crash landing yields an unexpected beautiful manastone.

If I hadn't flown the broomstick, I never would've found it? Total Lucky Bikini City?

Life's all about perspective.

Turn crisis to opportunity. Everything happens for me.

This enlightenment rivals archmages. Learn from my positivity, you lot.

I immediately posted a brag on the gallery.

Heh heh. How's that, you guys?

Life ain't just logic.

But the comments on that post were weird.

"What... what's this?"

Is it something big?

I took zoomed photos and posted them on the gallery.

While zooming, I spotted initials engraved on one corner of the manastone.

"J...?"

A single letter J, barely an initial.

I recalled from lecture: manastone artisans and artifact makers engrave identifiers on their work.

And I knew one who used J: Professor Juery. She always marked her crafted manastones with J.

A pieces-clicking thud hit me, and I urgently checked the gallery.

"Video... record?"

I froze reading FlapFlap's comment.

A chill ran down my spine.

I hurriedly grabbed the manastone and broomstick and ran from the flower bed.

I'd crash-landed just before hitting a building.

So what building was this?

One of the professor research buildings.

I checked the list of professors with labs here.

And right in the middle, the name I'd suspected was clearly listed.

"Professor Neyk...!"