What She Desired Most (2)
The next morning.
[This Month's Interest Payment: 18,032 Sterling]
"Was the interest this high?"
The moment I woke up, I checked the notice slipped under my dorm room door and let out a hollow chuckle. I had to wonder what kind of people worked at the bank—how the hell did they track down my every move and deliver these damn things so precisely? A whopping 18,000 Sterling drained from my account every single month. That was more than enough to cover a commoner's family living expenses for nine months. For interest alone, it was an absurdly terrifying amount.
If I'd known it would come to this, I never would've skimmed those endless terms and conditions just because I needed quick cash. And with several precious fortuitous encounters pledged as collateral on this loan, no less.
"Haa."
To keep those treasures from being auctioned off, I had to scrape together this massive interest payment in just a few days.
"Not easy."
Of course, if I nailed this commission, it wouldn't be an issue. Knock knock!
"Come in."
I did have more pressing matters to wrap up within the deadline anyway.
"Good morning, Mr. Karl!"
"Hello, Ms. Elia."
As Elia stepped into the room, I folded the nauseating notice in half and chucked it toward the trash bin where it belonged. Whatever, the interest would sort itself out somehow. Worst case, I could just declare bankruptcy. I could always fetch new fortuitous encounters with Winwitch if those got seized.
"Ready for training today?"
"Yep!"
Having dumped the trivial debt headache on tomorrow's me, I now focused on the big picture: training with Elia. It was the only way to keep that already unstable Astria's mental health from crumbling further.
"Alright, today's training..."
Unlike yesterday's session in the dense forest, today we trained in a wide open meadow.
"Let's take a quick look at your magic skills."
That was the plan—assess Elia's magic firsthand. Pushing her through intense physical conditioning like yesterday wouldn't yield big gains anyway, even daily. Better to properly gauge her spellcasting.
"Cast any spell you like."
"A spell...?"
"Yeah, your best one."
"It's kinda embarrassing."
Her face flushed red as she fidgeted with her feet, shy about showing off to others.
"Elia."
"Y-yes?"
"No need to be embarrassed."
I tossed her some encouraging words to ease her nerves.
"You'll do great."
"Okay!"
Heart melted by the praise, Elia gripped her wand, chanted the incantation, and began gathering mana.
"Spiritus mundi, date mihi vires et sinite me a vobis mutuari..."
As expected of a beginner, her stance looked a bit awkward. Textbook academy freshman posture, I guess. Even I, no magic major, could tell it felt off.
Hmm.
Still, the sheer volume of mana she gathered couldn't be dismissed. Purely in terms of quantity, it surpassed even that jerk Hans from my class.
But handling that much was key, so I kept watching.
"Hoo."
Elia took a deep breath, tensed her arm, then unleashed the gathered mana in a burst.
Boom!
A massive mana explosion erupted right in front of her.
"Oh ho?"
Aside from her shaky hand at the end, it was impressively solid. Definitely not D-Class trash level.
So why was someone like her stuck in D-Class...?
Some things never change there.
Obvious reasons, really.
"How was I, Mr. Karl?"
Snapping me from my thoughts, Elia popped into view with a tense expression, asking for feedback.
"Perfect."
"Really!?"
No real flaws, and her skill was solid, so I showered her with praise.
"Of course. At this rate, you'll hit A-Class in no time."
"Hehe."
Blushing, Elia beamed like she might float away.
"Never heard words like that before."
Obviously. Before the academy, she'd probably been sweet-talked and beaten down by her mediocre mage father. Even after scraping in, she'd felt crushed by prodigies like Astria. No wonder praise was foreign to her.
Poor girl.
Her entrance exam scores and that display proved she wasn't worthless, so a twinge of pity stirred in me. I wanted to heap on more compliments, but...
"Still, you need to fix that arm shake."
Pure praise would slow her growth, so I shelved the urge. Speeding her progress was the goal.
"Tense your arm like this to keep the wand steady."
I grabbed her arm, corrected her form directly, and dove into instruction.
"Elia? You listening?"
"Y-yeah! I am!"
Despite that, her head was so inflated with praise she could barely focus.
"A bit more concentration, please."
"Yep!"
The night sky hung dark, the moon a faint sliver. Back at the dorm, I undid my long brown hair, letting it cascade free, and flopped onto the bed.
"Haa."
I raised my right hand to my face. For some reason, it felt hotter than usual.
"Ugh..."
The warm sensation mingled with my jumbled thoughts. Dominating them all: that man. The one with the black bobbed hair.
"Why am I like this?"
To avoid disappointing Father, I needed to boost my magic fast. But the more I learned from him, the less I focused on lessons—my mind wandered elsewhere.
"Haa."
The man called Karl was utterly inscrutable.
—Elia, absolutely do not get involved with that man.
—That bad?
—Yes. That guy's—what he did in just one year at the academy...
Hans sunbae's words from the day we first met painted him as a monster who belonged in prison. And even kind Astria sunbae hated him. Case closed.
Yet.
What I'd seen myself clashed completely.
—Are you alright?
Helping a total stranger like me, then offering his hand.
—You'll do great.
Encouraging me when I trembled just to cast a spell. He seemed like a good person.
"Haa."
I thought getting closer would help me understand, but the more time we spent, the more mysterious he became. Slap! Slap!
"Elia, snap out of it."
I smacked my cheeks to refocus and sat at my desk. No time for this. Only days left until next semester. In that short window, I had to reach B-Class.
"Alright, practice time. Practice."
Minutes after entering my room, I grabbed my gear and headed out again.
"Hoo."
The cold night air stung my nose. Exhaustion weighed heavy on my eyelids. Still, practice waited for no one. I steadied my stance and gathered mana like earlier today.
No shaky hands. Focus.
Recalling Karl's advice, mana flowed smoother than usual. The better it went, the greedier I got. Double the normal amount. Triple. I wouldn't stop.
Just a little more. A little more.
Was it the desire for approval? I craved pushing past my limits, reaching new heights.
Then.
"Huh? Wh-what?"
The mana in my body suddenly surged, enveloping me. It condensed abnormally, sucking in every scrap of ambient mana nearby.
"Kyaaah!"
Agonizing pain hit. It hurt. Torment everywhere, like my body was ablaze.
"Kyaaah! Kyaaaa!"
Consciousness faded. Vision darkened. Was this death?
"Eli—"
As pain and primal fear of death gripped me.
"Are you alright!?"
That man's gentle voice reached my ears.