Chapter 56
Chapter 56
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 56
Chapter Title: Artifact
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“Adel.”
As I returned to the clubroom, I was greeted by Delphine, her dark circles even more pronounced.
“You took first place again.”
It had only been a few days, but her face looked utterly wrecked, like her life had fallen apart.
“To think one of my first disciples is top of the class... I’m so proud of myself.”
Her under-eyes were pitch black, her lips cracked and dry... but her expression beamed with pride.
...Of course, to be honest.
I hadn’t really learned anything from Delphine.
She taught orthodox magic using mana,
But I used magic based on a completely different foundation: natural mana.
The theory was different, the structure different, the methods different.
‘Still...’
You can’t spit in the face of someone who’s smiling at you.
I had enough tact for that.
I played along like a grown-up.
“Lev.”
Delphine’s gaze shifted to my side, and Lev looked up.
“How were the spells you learned over the past six months?”
“...Fun.”
“That’s a relief.”
...They were talking, but the air grew heavier.
A suffocating silence.
I couldn’t take it anymore and slipped out of the clubroom quick.
“Hey, it’s Adel.”
The first to spot me was Klaus.
Charlotte stood beside him.
“Hey, Adel.”
[Yeah.]
“We’re heading to check the rankings. Wanna come?”
I’d already seen them,
But going back to the clubroom was out of the question.
I didn’t want to return to that awkward silence.
[Sure.]
I nodded and started walking with them.
“...If you drop out, where do you go?”
“To the auditorium. Most head back to the dorms to rest or train, though.”
“...I see.”
But... I started thinking this might’ve been the wrong choice too.
Had I wedged myself between them for no reason?
Klaus and Charlotte walking side by side.
A subtle tension hung between them, faint but clear, making me stare at my toes as I walked.
***
“Carnel~ Whatcha doing?”
Violet strode into the student council room and leaned over Carnel’s shoulder.
“Reviewing.”
“Reviewing?”
“If you don’t look back at every moment, you’ll repeat the same mistakes.”
The hologram projector played footage from the final evaluations.
Carnel jotted notes with every scene change, nodding or quietly assigning scores.
“Hang on... This isn’t just first-years, is it?”
“Of course I checked everyone.”
“Whoa... Scary, scary.”
“I’ll take that as a compliment. Violet, you got 63.”
“What’s that even based on?”
“Your voice is too loud. Minus three points.”
“......”
Violet fell silent for a moment, her gaze drifting to Carnel’s lap.
There was something Carnel cradled demurely.
It looked like a plain blanket... but something was off.
“What’s with the blanket?”
“A blanket.”
“I mean the one you’re hugging.”
“It’s a blanket. What else would you call it?”
“Aah... I see.”
Violet furrowed her brow.
Something felt wrong, but she couldn’t put it into words.
And soon... she realized.
“Carnel...”
“What?”
“Why are you only looking for your little brother?”
Carnel’s hands naturally tracked only Adel on the screen.
Even with countless students in the hologram footage, she rewound, paused, and analyzed Adel’s moments over and over, obsessively.
“...This is the student council scouting talent.”
“...Your sister’s already out of reach.”
“Rivers flow.”
“But they don’t flow back.”
“I don’t know that! Salmon swim upstream.”
“That’s salmon. Your brother’s human.”
Violet narrowed her eyes in disbelief.
But... Carnel stared at the hologram with a serious expression, as if the conversation hadn’t registered.
“Jeez...”
Adel had already formed her club, chosen her affiliation, and her odds of joining the student council were basically zero.
She didn’t even seem interested, yet Carnel hadn’t given up.
“...It’s preparing for the future.”
“That future doesn’t exist.”
“The future is always open!”
“Yeah, and your brother closed it himself.”
Carnel pouted, hugging the blanket tighter with a dissatisfied look.
Violet sighed and pointed at it with a finger.
“Sigh... That blanket’s hist too, isn’t it?”
“...”
“How’d you even get that...”
Carnel turned away without a word.
In the scene her gaze followed, Adel swung his sword, knocking out four students in one go.
“...arent't those his teammates?”
“Ahem... It could be. You have to cut out useless teammates decisively.”
“Wow... You get so weird whenever your brother’s involved, you know that?”
Then, Adel got surrounded by S Class students on screen.
Carnel’s face twisted instantly.
“No... No way! Using such unfair tactics!”
Adel dodged around before stabbing his sword into the ground.
Like he was trying to activate something... but it failed.
“What was he going for?”
“Uh... Um...”
Adel reached out a hand.
Space warped, and a flying spear twisted off course, vanishing in a weird direction.
“Huh?”
“Huh...”
Soon after, Adel’s sword pierced the ground again.
A Black wave surged out.
The wave rippling from the blade tip spread out, swallowing everything around it.
And... at its center, a massive dragon rose.
“Whoa...”
Violet’s jaw dropped in awe, while Carnel clutched the blanket tight, was staring silently at the screen.
“A spirit?”
“At that level... It’s at least Spirit King class.”
“Seeing this... Makes sense why your brother took first.”
The footage jumped to the next day.
And... a brilliant line of light slashed behind Adel’s back.
“Gasp!”
Carnel jolted.
Behind Adel stood Klaus, sword gleaming radiantly.
They clashed fiercely right away.
“What? Magic’s not working?”
“...”
Adel had the edge at first, but he started getting pushed back.
He kept blasting spells, but Klaus blocked them effortlessly.
“His magic resistance has improved...”
Carnel’s playful expression vanished, replaced by a serious one as she watched.
Adel seemed to sense it too, stopping his barrage.
“Your brother’s gonna drop out?”
“No...!”
Carnel hugged the blanket harder, her golden eyes never leaving Adel’s movements.
And... Adel reached out.
“Magic again?”
“......No.”
Violet and Carnel’s faces hardened.
“Wait...”
“...Unique magic.”
Black mana bloomed slowly from his fingertips.
The flow tuned with musical precision.
But... the melody it carried was one of emptiness.
- Zzzt... Zzt...
“Huh?”
“Huh...!?”
In that instant, the footage distorted.
Yet behind the warped screen, space expanded infinitely, the boundaries of existence crumbled, and all concepts were erased.
“......”
“......”
Carnel and Violet both fell silent.
They instinctively understood what that magic meant.
“...Mess that up, and you end up like you?”
“...Could be.”
“...A unique magic that erases even the concept of existence... It doesn’t make sense.”
“There’s a chance it’ll be banned... It’s similar to my causality-reversing unique magic...”
Carnel had once been restricted from using her unique magic.
The spell that defied causality by rewinding time was forbidden by the Empire and the Cradle alike.
“No... Hang on.”
Violet’s eyes widened as something dawned on her.
“That’s... unique magic, right?”
Carnel buried her face in the blanket, smirking confidently.
“And he’s only a first-year...?”
“Heh... My genes are flowing strong.”
“Carnel... To be precise, it’s your family’s genes.”
“...”
“And it’s not even certain.”
“Be quiet.”
***
- Knock. Knock.
“Come in.”
Hearing the familiar voice beyond the door, I opened it and stepped into the dean’s office.
There sat Veronica, calm as ever.
[No cool pose like last time, huh?]
“I never did that.”
[Pretty bold, Dean.]
“Whatever. Sit.”
I leaned back on the sofa by the desk.
Then... Veronica narrowed her eyes at me.
“That’s my spot.”
[What’s yours or mine in here, Dean?]
“This is my room, my desk, my sofa.”
[Aren't they the Cradle’s.]
“And the Cradle’s mine.”
Oh, right.
I admitted defeat gracefully and moved to the chair in front.
“So... Learn anything in the past six months?”
Veronica asked, practically lounging on the sofa.
...What I learned in six months.
One clear conclusion rose amid the options flashing in my mind.
[Most nobles are jerks.]
Hopeless cases, their heads full of flowers instead of brains.
They acted like basic manners didn’t apply if it wasn’t their way.
Veronica chuckled.
“That’s nobles for you. Spoiled rotten at home.”
[Too spoiled, if you ask me.]
“Well... Parents want to show their kids only the good stuff. Especially nobles.”
...Grown so sheltered in positivity, they never considered negative realities.
“But don’t hate them too much. By the second year, nine out of ten wise up.”
[And the last one?]
“Gets expelled like Grace.”
Grace.
A familiar name. Rummaging through memories, it surfaced quick.
The lunatic who dumped a tray on me in the cafeteria incident.
Rumors said she lost noble privileges after... But that’s her problem, her own fault.
“So... Why’re you here?”
[Dean.]
The reason I’d come to this devilish den called the dean’s office today.
[We had a bet, remember?]
Veronica had said it clear.
Maintain top rank until first semester grades tallied.
And the prize for that bet...
“An artifact?”
One of Veronica’s personal artifacts.
[Yes.]
Finally.
Time for my reward.