The Sword Star's Judgment
Serena had been rescued from what wasn't even a real crisis by none other than the Sword Star Hakodate Karin.
Serena was grateful for the save, but she couldn't help wondering how her savior had ended up there in the first place. "How did you get here…?"
"I was just passing by and saw it. Some weed-haired punk caught my eye, and lo and behold, there was something mimicking my disciple in the most irritating way."
Mimicking. Seeing the wooden puppet split in two, Serena pieced together what had happened. But the thing that had given her so much trouble just moments ago hadn't been a mere imitation—its appearance had been eerily spot-on.
"Th-that's… a pretty good imitation, isn't it?" Serena glanced at Karin, curiosity burning in her eyes. How had she cleaved through something that looked so much like her disciple in one stroke?
Reading Serena's gaze, Karin smirked and took a drag from her pipe before pulling it away. "You're quite far gone yourself, child of the Dragon Star."
"P-pardon…? Wh-what do you mean…?"
Serena feigned ignorance, but Karin just chuckled lightly. Her knowing attitude made Serena's face flush crimson. That adorable reaction prompted a thought from Karin:
'If this girl properly conveys her feelings, that peculiar taste of hers will sort itself out soon enough.'
Convinced she'd been right to send him down the mountain, Karin gazed at the blushing Serena like a fond niece. Then she answered her question.
"No need to overthink it. Anyone could see it was a crude puppet aping my disciple. It mimicked his swordsmanship and looks, sure, but look closer—it's all wrong."
Karin stated it plainly. "And had it been my actual disciple, he would've sensed this master's presence and turned his attention right away. The fact that it didn't proves this thing's nothing but a fake."
"Ah…."
Serena inwardly conceded the irrefutable truth. Karin prodded the wooden puppet with her sword.
"Which is why it was fine to smash it to bits."
"Yes…."
"A puppet impersonating my disciple, eh? Whoever's behind this has some nerve."
Karin eyed Serena and pointed to the bisected puppet. "Do you know who's responsible?"
"We're… still investigating that ourselves."
"Hm."
Pondering briefly, Karin picked up the severed puppet. "Guess I'll pay a visit to the Demon Star."
"The chancellor?"
"Indeed. She'll know whose hands crafted this doll."
"Oh, right."
Serena nodded, and just as Karin turned to leave—
"Serena junior!"
A somewhat familiar voice called from afar. Serena recognized it instantly and shouted back. "Yeonhui senior!"
It was Yeonhui. Clarice stood beside her—likely summoned beforehand on her way to Serena.
"Serena junior, I heard Hyunjin junior took down the assailant… Huh? Could that be…?"
"Sword Star Hakodate Karin…!"
Yeonhui reacted upon spotting Karin holding the puppet, and Clarice confirmed it with conviction. She dropped into a deep bow, forehead nearly kissing the ground, and greeted Karin formally.
"Eldest daughter of the Levatein Duke, Clarice Levatein, at the service of Sword Star Hakodate Karin!"
"I-it really is… the Sword Star! It's an honor to meet you!"
"And who might these children be?"
"Ah, these are…."
As Karin looked to Serena for an explanation, she briefly introduced the two and explained how they were all searching for the culprit behind the assaults alongside Seong Hyun-jin.
"Hmm, so friends of my disciple, eh? I like the sound of that."
Karin was quite pleased with the situation. Every one of her disciple's friends turned out to be pretty girls.
'At this rate, those twisted desires he shows me will fade away soon enough.'
Imagining her disciple heading in a positive direction, Karin smiled faintly. "You lot."
"Yes?"
"Yes."
"Get along well with my disciple from here on out."
Her words carried a clear note of concern for Seong Hyun-jin. Yeonhui, Clarice, and Serena all nodded slightly, sensing it.
"As for this incident, you can step back now. I'll handle it, so rest easy."
"Pardon? But…."
"…We can't do that."
Serena looked troubled, but Yeonhui spoke up firmly. As Karin regarded her quizzically, Yeonhui replied calmly.
"We've come this far—too close to the answer to stop now."
"But wouldn't it be faster if this master took care of it?"
"Of course it would. If the Sword Star steps in, it'll resolve quicker than we could manage. But as you know, the academy is a place for experience and learning."
Yeonhui continued. "I believe academy students should see things like this through to the end themselves."
"…Hm."
Karin studied Yeonhui silently. Realizing it wasn't mere stubbornness, she asked, "Where's my disciple now? I heard he went off with you."
"Hyunjin junior headed to the chancellor's office first."
"I see."
After a moment's thought, Karin handed the puppet to Clarice. "I figured adults should handle this, but if you're so set on it, take it. Solve it yourselves."
"Ah, y-yes…!"
Having passed it on, Karin addressed the three. "Don't let my disciple overdo it."
"We won't."
"…We'll support him properly."
Serena chimed in, and Karin nodded, expressing her trust. She encouraged them as she turned to leave.
"Do your best."
True to her word about passing by, Karin resumed her original path. The moment she departed, Clarice lifted the puppet Karin had given her, tears streaming down her face.
"Th-the Sword Star trusted me…!"
"Why are you crying…?"
"Juniors, this isn't the time! Let's hurry to the chancellor's office and meet up with Hyunjin junior!"
"R-right!"
Serena, Yeonhui, and Clarice all headed straight for the chancellor's office, where Seong Hyun-jin was supposed to be. But they had no idea he was already gone.
#
"Siela senior."
Seong Hyun-jin was walking to the Teraport Building with Siela. Upon reaching the entrance, he turned to her. "Don't you think it's time you told me? What's on your mind, senior?"
Siela had said a single word from her might not be enough to stop things. Hyun-jin figured it was time he learned why she thought that.
Sensing as much, Siela didn't dodge the question. With a light sigh, she began explaining to Seong Hyun-jin.
"…Junior, do you know about the 'Magic System Principles'?"
"No clue."
Siela chuckled softly at his blunt response. "Yeah, figured as much."
"You testing my common knowledge or something?"
"Nah. The Magic System Principles are the top-priority directives that mages must embed when developing a magic system."
Listening, Seong Hyun-jin recalled his past life's memories.
'Like the Three Laws of Robotics?'
His guess was spot-on.
"Article 1: The magic system prioritizes the creator's safety above all. Article 2: Article 1 must be upheld under any circumstances. Article 3: Articles 1 and 2 persist until the magic system is terminated."
"Article 1's the core—putting the user's safety first…."
"Exactly. Magic systems sometimes exceed even the creator mage's expectations, so these prevent the system from seizing control in reverse."
"Like a runaway prevention clause."
"Spot on."
Seong Hyun-jin tilted his head at Siela's confirmation. "That makes it even more confusing. If this is all from Shamash Prophecy going haywire, shouldn't one word from you fix it?"
"…Remember what I said earlier? All principles exist to protect Article 1."
"Yeah."
He answered casually, but a thought struck him. Every assault target so far had been second-years. He'd been targeted today, but prior victims were all second-years—no first- or third-years at all. Which meant they were all somehow connected to Siela Teraport.
"…Siela senior."
"Yeah?"
"Bit of a delicate question, but… are you getting bullied or something?"
"Not really. But…."
Siela spoke bitterly. "…I do get hurt a lot."
"…That's unexpected."
"That's why I vented to Shamash—no one else to tell. Guess that set it off."
Seong Hyun-jin now understood why she'd explained the principles and hinted her word alone might not stop Shamash Prophecy.
"So Shamash Prophecy… is doing all this to protect its creator—you."
"Seems like it. We'd need to check to be sure, but…."
Siela sighed deeply. "In the end, it's my carelessness that caused this."
"…I kinda glossed over it last time since it was complicated, but Shamash Prophecy is an insanely advanced magic system, right?"
"You glossed over it…? Anyway, yeah."
"So it's not so much your carelessness—more like it was too brilliant for you to predict."
Siela's eyes widened at his words. In a hesitant tone, she asked, "You really think that?"
"That's just how it is."
"If I'd managed it properly, this wouldn't have happened…."
"That's hindsight. Who could've known? I was just venting my frustrations, and the magic system goes off on its own."
Siela stared at him with wide eyes. After a long gaze, she let out a soft chuckle. "…Maybe Shamash got one thing wrong."
"Huh?"
"Nothing."
Siela asked, "Shall we go in?"
"But… something still doesn't add up."
Ignoring her suggestion, Seong Hyun-jin pointed to himself. "Why use a puppet mimicking me? If it needed a target, plenty of others hurt you more…."
"Shamash mentioned it once. Said I'd get hurt a lot because of you, junior."
"Huh?"
Seong Hyun-jin looked baffled. "Why me…?"
"Beats me. I didn't even ask it to prophesy about that."
Siela gave a hollow laugh. "Thinking back, that was a sign too. It looked into you on its own, without orders."
"…What'll you do?"
"Have to scrap the runaway magic circle. That's the rule."
Siela sighed in resignation. "Took years… but no choice."
"…Since you made it, you can just remake it if you want."
"Think so?"
"Yeah."
Feeling his genuine comfort, Siela smiled faintly. "Hearing you say that makes me think I can."
"So for now, let's just focus on stopping the culprit."
"Got it."
Siela steeled her resolve. "I'm prepared."