Arbiter of Prophecy (2) - Chapter 45
One early morning, as Ciela rose for class, Shamash spoke to her.
"My master, I have something to tell you."
"Yeah?"
"It looks like the guest your master brought last time is heading to the dean's office today."
Ciela tilted her head, realizing Shamash was talking about Seong Hyun-jin.
"Oh, really? But I didn't ask you to report something like that."
"I thought you might need it."
"Thanks for letting me know anyway."
As she headed out, Ciela added, "Still, don't go making prophecies about Junior Hyun-jin on your own. I don't really want to know in advance how he'll act."
"Got it."
With that, Ciela left the dorm, her reaction suggesting she wasn't particularly interested in the info Shamash had shared.
But Shamash knew better.
"She knows she needs it, but I don't get why she's lying about it."
Her master would surely go looking for Seong Hyun-jin. Lately, her top priority—Ciela herself—was all about him. That interest seemed to have grown even more after the Willis Graham incident.
From what Shamash had gathered, Seong Hyun-jin, a first-year at the academy, had been ambushed by Willis, an upper-level Empire knight posing as an instructor—and turned the tables by killing him instead. Even Shamash, who had spied on countless people, had to acknowledge that skill. Ciela must have taken a bigger interest because of it.
So despite her words, Ciela would head straight to Seong Hyun-jin after hearing the info. That much was certain.
But Shamash hadn't shared it to help her. Quite the opposite.
According to Shamash's prophecies, Seong Hyun-jin would indeed assist Ciela in many ways ahead. She'd receive even more help from him in the future.
But Shamash had foreseen something worse. This man who helped Ciela in so many ways... also made her cry—a lot.
It wasn't just tears. Because of him, she'd get angry, hurt, tormented.
It was a fixed prophecy. An unchangeable future.
"Master."
That was why Shamash wanted it.
"You mustn't get involved with that man."
The relationship between Seong Hyun-jin and Ciela hurtling toward ruin.
As Shamash had predicted, Ciela was indeed heading to the dean's office. She was curious if her junior was truly okay after the recent incident, and wondered why he was going to the dean's office where her master resided.
Several staff members spotted Ciela entering the academic building that housed the dean's office and greeted her first.
"Good morning, Miss Ciela."
Normally, students would greet faculty first, but her status as the pampered heir of the Teraport Foundation family—and prized disciple of Dean Eleonora—was enough to flip the dynamic.
"Good morning, everyone. Thanks for your hard work today as well."
Ciela cheerfully returned their greetings and headed up to the fourth floor where the dean's office was. There, she noticed the door was slightly ajar.
'Did Junior get here before me?'
She'd left pretty early herself, so if he'd beaten her, that meant he'd bolted the moment dorm curfew lifted.
"So diligent," Ciela murmured, impressed by her junior's work ethic, as she casually pushed open the half-open door.
"Master, I'm he—"
"Your unworthy disciple spent last night dreaming indecent dreams while imagining this master's noble form once more. I bow my head in apology, this master!"
And then she saw it. Seong Hyun-jin, prostrated flat on the floor, apologizing to the Sword Star, Hakodate Karin.
But the content of his apology was utterly ridiculous.
"It's been so long since I've beheld this master's beautiful form that all sorts of filthy thoughts flooded my mind. Forgive this disciple's disloyalty."
Karin had noticed Ciela entering through the open door, but Seong Hyun-jin, face-down on the floor, hadn't spotted her yet. Karin's face flushed crimson with shame at being caught in a scene unfit for Ciela's eyes, and Ciela's cheeks burned as she caught the lewd drift of the conversation.
Karin shot Seong Hyun-jin a fierce warning glare, like a wolf baring its fangs.
"...Shut up. Close that mouth."
"I understand your anger. How could you not be furious when this disciple has disobeyed this master's explicit command again? But this master, please consider that my body has just entered its growth spurt. With hormones raging, these urges are unavoidable..."
"That's not it—someone else is here, so shut your trap... you hopeless disciple!!"
"Pardon?"
Only then did Seong Hyun-jin lift his head and glance back. Spotting Ciela standing there with a face red as a beet, he turned to look at Eleonora instead.
Eleonora cleared her throat awkwardly. "I didn't call her."
"... "
Seong Hyun-jin briefly pondered the odds of something like this happening by chance, then gave up. It'd just give him a headache.
He turned back to Ciela. Their eyes met, and he greeted her casually.
"What brings you here, Senior?"
"Uh, Junior... I-I wasn't planning to hear about your tastes, sorry...?"
"Senior Ciela, the honorifics are back. And why the formal speech all of a sudden?"
"... "
"Feels like you've put distance between us again."
Ciela glanced at Karin, then back at Seong Hyun-jin.
"...Not my fault, right, Junior?"
"...But from my position, it'd be nice if you considered how I feel too, Senior."
"I don't feel like it right now..."
"... "
Seong Hyun-jin let out a deep sigh and rose to his feet. Then, as if utterly shameless, he declared boldly,
"Then I'll explain until you get it."
"...Huh?"
"Look here, Senior."
He sidled right up next to Karin and pointed at her face.
"First, behold this exquisite jawline and facial contours. What do you think?"
"Uh... very beautiful."
"Exactly. Even a fellow woman can't help but call it beautiful—what do you think a man would feel? Any guy would be enchanted. Just the other day, Grain Senior still hasn't recovered from seeing this master."
"R-Really...?"
It was somewhat true. The day after meeting Karin, Grain had shown up to class dazed, unable to focus. He never snapped out of it, even losing a spar to a far inferior student.
Of course, Seong Hyun-jin hadn't known that detail—he'd just nailed it by coincidence—and pressed on.
"And lower down lies something even more vicious. See this snowy white neck and the graceful curve flowing into her shoulders. What do you think?"
"...Uh, beautiful."
"Yes, stunningly so. To a woman, it's pure beauty. But to a man?"
Seong Hyun-jin clenched his fist tightly.
"This is the fiendish weapon that bewitches men! Every man who sees it yearns to press his lips to that nape, to trail his fingers over those perfect shoulders!"
"...Isn't that just your taste, Junior?"
"No! It applies to all men!"
"Really...?"
Ciela didn't want to admit it, but it was oddly convincing—not because of Seong Hyun-jin's persuasive charm, but because Karin's beauty truly was that exceptional as he described it.
She's the Sword Star for a reason...
Even Ciela, who thought her own master was quite pretty, couldn't claim to compare.
"And if you go lower still, there's her baby fe—er, her massive bosom...!"
BAM—!!
In that instant, Karin's fist slammed neatly into the crown of his head, smashing him into the floor. The dean's office floor cracked under the impact. Eleonora gaped in shock at Karin, but she merely scolded him coldly.
"I watched to see how long you'd spout nonsense, and you thrashed about to the bitter end."
"Urk..."
"Ka-Karin! You can't just break the floor...!!"
"Just repair it."
"Agh, seriously...!"
Eleonora eyed her like do you know how much that costs, but Karin didn't bat an eye.
Meanwhile, Ciela poked at the prone Seong Hyun-jin with her finger.
"Y-You okay...? That sounded like a real thud..."
"...She possesses such powerful allure as well."
"Huh?"
"My master holds such diverse charms. So it's inevitable that this disciple harbors slightly irreverent thoughts toward her."
Seong Hyun-jin popped right back up like nothing happened, blood trickling from his head as he asked Ciela,
"So, Senior? Does it make sense now after hearing me out?"
"... "
He said it with eyes sparkling a bit too eagerly, ignoring Karin's death glare from the side.
Ciela stared at him blankly before replying with a somewhat exasperated look.
"I get that you're totally crazy now, Junior..."
Nina, a second-year in Terastial Academy's Magic Department, wasn't particularly standout in her department—but she wasn't lagging behind either. She'd be considered a prodigy elsewhere, but among the elite gathered at the academy, she was solidly average.
Perhaps because of that, Nina had a habit of envying top students while hanging out with friends. But it stopped there—no direct confrontations, just a few jealous mutters born of envy.
Today, though, she paid dearly for it—way too much.
Nina hadn't eaten at the student cafeteria; she'd grabbed breakfast with friends in Academy City and was heading back. That's when she met "that man."
"Ugh... Who the hell are you...?"
"... "
Not just Nina—her friends too—lay sprawled in the alley, beaten down by the man.
It started with a minor shoulder bump from one of her group, escalating into a petty argument. But he'd deliberately lured them into the alley from the start... and this was the result.
The guy was ridiculously strong. Nina and her friends weren't even in his league—like facing Ciela Teraport, treated as a cut above other second-years.
"Why... us...?"
"Magic Department second-year Nina. Consider this a warning."
"...!?"
She jolted at him knowing her name, but he delivered the warning with an emotionless expression.
"Next time you flap that mouth, think twice before letting words slip out."