The Explosive Welcome
"That one's going to get caught on camera."
Erika rested her chin on her hand and let out a smirk. On the very first day of the semester, the person Schlus had run into was none other than Iris—the so-called Saintess of Flechette.
Schlus had committed two major faux pas within a minute of meeting her. First, he had refused her offered hand and forced a handshake instead, completely disregarding the authority of the Saintess officially appointed by the Holy See. Second, he had casually switched to informal speech. Even Iris would have been deeply offended by that. The corners of her smiling eyes had visibly trembled.
Those who slighted Iris never met a good end. Though she was always benevolent, she was famous for showing no mercy to those who opposed her. Perhaps Schlus would soon vanish without a trace. It was clear he had made some kind of deal with a demon and was feeling confident, but he had picked the worst possible opponent.
Kugung······!
"Huh?"
At that moment, a powerful tremor knocked Erika's posture off balance. The epicenter was the podium. When she turned her gaze toward it, she couldn't hide her shock. A black sphere was rising, trembling, as it pushed through the pile of mana stones. She had seen something like this before. Yes—during the height of the war with the Trude Kingdom. It was undoubtedly one of the artifacts her father had purchased in bulk.
An artifact that absorbed all surrounding mana before exploding.
'No one else seems to recognize it. I need to guide everyone to safety before panic sets in······!'
Erika shot to her feet and scanned the room. There were still several dozen seconds before detonation. Even if she couldn't evacuate everyone, she could at least get most of the students out of the lecture hall.
Just as she drew a deep breath to shout, someone else spoke first.
"Hup—"
"Damn it! Everyone run! It's an explosive artifact!"
"Oh, for crying out loud······."
Erika dropped her head in despair. Terror and panic instantly flooded the entire lecture hall. The noble heirs abandoned all dignity and order, shoving one another as they rushed toward the exit. Yet the door refused to budge no matter how hard they pushed.
It was over. Evacuation was no longer an option. The only choice left was to destroy the artifact.
"What are those two doing······?"
As Erika turned her head, her eyes landed on a corner of the room. There stood Schlus, his arm wrapped around Iris's waist to support her. What on earth was he doing in this situation? A faint blush rose on Erika's cheeks. She shook her head to clear her thoughts, then leapt over the desks and onto the podium.
"Hup!"
Using telekinesis with practiced ease, she landed lightly on the stage. Then she began gathering mana and weaving a spell—the one that could shatter the explosive artifact into pieces.
"Haaah!"
A white flash appeared before Erika's outstretched hand and shot forward. A light-attribute magic bullet—the strongest penetrating spell she could cast. She had closed the distance for a point-blank shot to maximize its power.
Ting······!
"No!"
Yet the bullet ricocheted off the artifact without leaving so much as a scratch. The device had already begun glowing orange, its tremors growing more violent by the second.
It was too late. She had no choice but to use the forbidden magic passed down through her family—the secret art that converted all life force into mana. Even if it cost her life, she had to destroy the artifact. That was the duty and responsibility of a noble.
Erika closed her eyes and steeled her resolve, extending her hand. Just as she was about to activate the forbidden spell—
"Huh? Wha—?!"
Erika's body suddenly floated into the air. Someone was moving her with magic. No, this wasn't telekinesis. The control was too crude and forceful. It had to be gravity magic.
The spell carried her far from the podium before—
"Hah!"
—abruptly dropping her without warning. Erika rubbed her stinging rear as she stood up. Shame at having rolled across the floor so disgracefully, fury at whoever had done this to her, and despair at losing her chance to stop the explosion all crashed over her at once.
"Aah······!"
The artifact shone brightly, turning a vivid yellow. Less than three seconds remained until detonation. Realizing it was truly over, Erika squeezed her eyes shut.
In the very next instant, a deafening explosion shook the room.
Kwaang······!
"Ugh······ Huh?"
But something was wrong. The expected aftermath never came. There was no blast of wind, no shrapnel striking her body, no searing heat—nothing at all.
Had she reached heaven before even feeling pain? Erika opened her eyes in confusion.
"······Ha?"
A sigh escaped her lips. The sight before her was simply unbelievable. The flames and countless fragments spreading outward from the artifact were being pulled back toward the center, unable to escape the podium. With a sound like an explosion played in reverse, the crimson flames formed a massive sphere and were sucked inward. The sphere gradually shrank until it condensed into a single point.
Finally, the flames died down and silence returned to the lecture hall.
Kwoong!
A massive lump of stone crashed onto the podium. It was a tangled mass of the torn chalkboard, the stage floor, and fragments of the artifact.
"······."
"······."
The students who had been crowding the exit fell silent. Everyone in the room stared at the scorched, circular mark on the podium with their mouths hanging open. How much mana would it take to suppress an explosion of that scale? Thirty thousand? Fifty thousand? No, surely more. As if sharing the same thought, the students glanced at one another, searching for the caster. Gawain, the greatest mage and knight, had possessed thirty thousand mana. Who could possibly—
Kwaang!
At that moment, the lecture hall door was ripped off its hinges with a thunderous crash. Through the smoke and dust, a tall figure in a long robe appeared. Many students recognized the silhouette immediately.
"The nobility really are good at making a mess of things."
His eyes were filled with contempt, as though the students were nothing but trash. It was Ludwig von Wehrmannstein, the empire's greatest mage and the chief professor of elemental magic at the Imperial Academy.
"Professor Ludwig!"
"Did you stop the explosion, Professor?!"
"······."
The students rushed toward him in excitement, but Ludwig merely looked down at them with an irritated expression.
"Class is canceled for today. Get out."
"Y-Yes, sir!"
The students quickly formed orderly lines and filed out of the lecture hall, as though their earlier panic had never happened. Disgusted by the sight, Ludwig turned his head away sharply.
'Lichtenburg······?'
A lone girl stood before the podium. Ludwig recognized her and frowned—not only because she had been standing near the blast zone, but because she was staring blankly in one direction, completely dazed. Following her gaze, Ludwig's brow furrowed deeper.
"These damned fools—"
An utterly embarrassing scene was unfolding before him.
"Damn it—"
But my meager mana reserves wouldn't allow it. The moment my mana hit zero, the spell collapsed, and Erika dropped straight down from a meter in the air.
"Hah!"
"······."
It wasn't my fault. Erika was simply too heavy. If she had been even ten kilograms lighter, I could have set her down gently without issue. Avoiding her tear-filled glare, I lowered my head slightly.
"Ugh."
My body swayed, refusing to obey. Mana exhaustion had set in. I couldn't afford to collapse here.
'Selection and Concentration. Apply to mana.'
The moment I activated the skill, strength returned to my limbs.
My mana surged endlessly, reaching a hundred thousand. More than three times what Gawain had possessed at his peak—and comparable to Alexia's reserves.
Now for the next step······
I simply executed the plan I had simulated countless times in my head. I constructed the gravity magic spell within three seconds and poured every last drop of my hundred thousand mana into it. Then I used the spell to suppress the explosion. That was all.
"Ha······."
I did it. Just as a sense of accomplishment washed over me, my body pitched forward. Mana exhaustion had returned. I hadn't accounted for this. My desperate struggle proved futile as my face plummeted helplessly toward the stairs.
Thud—
"······?"
But instead of the hard edge of a step, my face met something soft and yielding. As if trying to explain what had happened, a gentle voice reached my ears.
"I asked why you came, didn't I?"
"······."
"I saw this future. The future where you save everyone. So I came. I wanted to see it with my own eyes."
"······."
Iris's voice flowed into my ears, threatening to melt them. So this was what it meant to be a saintess. I really couldn't help but fall for her······ in a purely religious sense, of course.
"That······ you can tell me that?"
"You already seemed to know anyway. If anything, I'd like to ask you something. How did you know I can see the future?"
"It's a secret······."
"Hehe. I thought you'd say that. I saw this moment too, after all."
Truly, there was no winning against this woman. Still, it was a relief that she seemed to recognize I meant no harm. If Iris had turned against me, I would have been expelled from the Imperial Academy without even realizing what had happened.
"I wonder how this happened. I never told anyone that I can see the future."
"······."
"I'm not interrogating you, so don't worry. I'm actually happy. Finally, there's someone who knows my secret—someone I can confide in."
"Is that so······."
"So I'll allow you to speak casually with me. After all, we'll be together for a long time, won't we?"
"······."
How far into the future had Iris seen? I didn't know the details, but one thing was clear—she was favorably disposed toward me. Whatever future she had witnessed, it at least wasn't one where I lost my bet with Ludwig and got expelled.
"How long do you plan on staying like this?"
"Ah?!"
A deep voice sounded beside us. Startled, Iris released my shoulder and dropped me. I barely managed to prop myself up on trembling arms and leaned back against the stairs.
"Leave. Class is canceled today."
"I'll rest here for a bit before going. My legs gave out from the shock."
"······."
"Is that not allowed?"
"······Do as you please."
It would take about five minutes for my mana to recover enough to move. After five minutes of rest, I should be able to walk out. Iris gave me a small smile before ascending the stairs. Soon, only Professor Ludwig and I remained in the lecture hall. Erika, who had been standing dazed near the podium, had also disappeared at some point.
"Schlus Heinkel."
"······Yes."
"Then perhaps you'll explain how this all happened."
"······."
Shit. He saw everything.