The Great Mana Energy Deluge (2): Celine's Letter

Erika cheered as she rummaged through the mailbox and found Celine's letter. It had arrived just when she had been waiting anxiously. Celine was the daughter of a minor noble house connected to the Lichtenburg family's branch line. Since she couldn't keep an eye on Schluss Heinkel during Combat Magic Studies, Erika had instructed Celine to send reports, and true to her word, the letter had arrived even during the practical training.

"It probably isn't anything major..."

Schluss was always meticulous and never let his emotions show on his face. There was no way this would contain any groundbreaking news. Even so, the thought of hearing from him after so long brought a smile to her face.

"Urgent dispatch. Sent via falcon express for fastest possible delivery. Last night—meaning the first night of the practical training—Schluss had a nosebleed, and then... huh?"

Erika's eyes widened as she sipped her tea, and she ended up spitting it out onto the floor. A nosebleed followed by vomiting thick blood? What was going on?

"Schluss only claimed it was a chronic condition and didn't explain in detail. The ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠judgment is left to Lady Erika..."

As Erika read on, small cookies kept disappearing into her mouth. It seemed she couldn't calm down unless something sweet was going into her mouth. The attendant watching from behind simply sighed, thinking, "Here we go again." Once Erika entered this state, she wouldn't stop until she'd finished an entire box of cookies.

"It's exactly the same as what I saw last time..."

Of course, she hadn't witnessed the blood vomiting directly then. All she'd seen was blood smeared on the floor and Schluss looking haggard. But this letter detailed how Schluss had vomited blood, how his complexion had worsened in an instant, and how he'd been carried away while being ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠supported. Schluss had said it himself—it was a chronic condition. That was probably no lie. If it was a chronic illness he'd obtained by selling his lifespan...

"Could it be Mana Energy erosion?"

Certain areas of Wist Forest had extremely high concentrations of Mana Energy. Erika had suspected Mana Energy poisoning, but after reading the letter to the end, she concluded it wasn't that. Professor Sergei had personally stated that no residual Mana Energy had been detected.

"Schluss wouldn't have wanted anyone to see him like this..."

There was nothing to gain from letting others know his lifespan had shortened. So Schluss must have gone to great lengths to hide this symptom of vomiting blood. The last time she'd caught him, it was because she'd recklessly broken into his single dorm room. But this time, it had happened in front of countless students.

"It's getting worse and worse."

He could no longer control it. Schluss's end was drawing nearer. That meant time was running out. If things continued like this, he would sacrifice himself to save others again. And once more, Schluss would die a hero.

"That can't happen!"

Erika cried out and slowly read the final part of the letter. Her pupils dilated. An unbelievable passage was written there.

"Schluss has a large quantity of Mana Energy antidotes...?"

Mana Energy antidotes. They were reasonable supplies to bring if heading into Wist Forest, where Mana Energy concentrations were high. Of course, that was assuming it was only a bottle or two. But if it was enough for ten bottles, the story changed. It was as if he'd known about the Mana Energy deluge in advance and prepared to save people. If not...

"Ha! This crazy bastard!"

Or perhaps he planned to artificially trigger the Mana Energy deluge himself. The latter possibility felt more plausible to Erika. In an extreme situation like a Mana Energy deluge, having a massive stock of antidotes would give him countless ways to become a hero and die. Thinking that, she even began to suspect that incidents like the Magic Day terror attack or Henderson's dorm intrusion might ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠have been Schluss's own doing. No, that couldn't be right... They'd been verified by Director Alexia, Professor Sergei, and Professor Ludwig.

"Still, I have to confirm it!"

"Oh my!"

"Ah, sorry."

When Erika suddenly stood up and turned around, she bumped into the attendant carrying the cookie basket. She gave a half-hearted apology and dashed out of the room. Every second counted.

"To the Imperial Academy!"

"Uh..."

Erika, who had left the house alone and boarded the carriage, shouted. The coachman had been about to say that she needed an attendant to go out, but—

"What are you doing? Hurry up!"

"Y-yes. Understood."

He sighed and started the carriage. There was no point in a mere servant lecturing ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠her—Erika wouldn't listen anyway. With the family head absent, Erika was practically the ruler of this mansion. Taking the noble priority road, they reached the Imperial Academy quickly. The moment they arrived, Erika leapt from the carriage and disappeared inside the main gate in an instant. The coachman watching her sighed deeply enough to make the ground sink.

"Ah, Lady Erika. Hello..."

"Hello hello! Nice to see you!"

"...?"

Normally, she would respond politely to classmates who spoke to her, but she had no time for that now. Erika quickly reached the dormitory building, climbed the stairs, and stood before a door.

—Iris von dem Flechette

That was written on the nameplate. Knock knock knock!

"Iris! Are you there?"

"Mmm...? Erika?"

"You are! Then open up! Hurry! I'm in a rush!"

"If it's the bathroom, the shared one is..."

"That's not what I mean!"

A sigh could be heard from inside. Soon came the sound of unsteady footsteps, and the door creaked open. When Erika looked inside, she couldn't help but be slightly surprised. Iris looked different from usual.

"What? Were you studying?"

"Yes, well..."

Iris turned her head slightly, looking embarrassed. Instead of her usual nun's habit, she wore a loose T-shirt and shorts. And glasses. Her impression was completely different from normal.

"It's embarrassing if others see. Come in quickly."

"Yeah! Sorry!"

Erika hurried inside. Even as children, she'd rarely seen Iris like this. So this was what happened when you visited unannounced. Erika felt a twinge of regret for not staying in the dorms instead of commuting.

"So what's going on?"

"I need you to look into the future for me!"

"The future?"

Iris pulled her head back and made a strange expression. It was fine that Erika believed she had future sight, but... she hadn't expected Erika to come asking for a favor to fulfill her own selfish desires.

"I'm sorry, Erika. I've decided to only use this ability to save people. For making money or harming someone—"

"No no! It's not that! It's about Schluss!"

"Schluss?"

Only then did Iris's expression change to one filled with curiosity. Erika felt a slight pang of disappointment and jealousy at the same time. It seemed like Iris had never shown that much interest in anything except Schluss.

"You might already know, but... Schluss actually has an illness."

"An illness? What kind?"

"I don't know. But I'm certain it's something that won't let him live long. I've confirmed it twice now—Schluss vomited blood and collapsed."

"Vomited blood...?!"

"So I've been suspecting that Schluss sold his lifespan to a demon in exchange for power... but that's just baseless speculation, so forget it. What's suspicious is Schluss going to Wist Forest this time. Very suspicious."

"Suspicious how?"

"That's hard to explain... Anyway, he's suspicious. So I need you to look at Schluss's future right now."

To explain how she knew Schluss had a large quantity of Mana Energy antidotes, she'd have to mention Celine. Iris clearly wouldn't approve of planting a spy in another class, so Erika decided to keep quiet.

"By suspicious, you mean it seems like he'll be in danger."

"Yeah, yeah. That's right."

"I'm sorry. My future sight doesn't show the future just because I want it to."

"Then how do you see it?"

"I don't know either. There's no discernible pattern, so for now, we can only assume it's random."

"Haa..."

She couldn't see the future when she wanted to. Erika felt slightly disappointed in Iris's future sight. Did that mean she'd have to camp out in Iris's dorm until the future appeared? She was pondering this when—

"Huh?"

"What's wrong?"

"I see it. The future."

Iris stared into empty space with vacant eyes. This was future sight! Erika watched in slight awe and grabbed Iris's hand.

"What do you see? What is it? Huh?"

"Could you be quiet for a moment...? If I lose focus, it cuts off."

"Ah! Yeah! Sorry!"

Erika dropped her hand and shut her mouth completely. She stayed perfectly still, not even moving a fingertip, trying not to make any noise at all. The claim that it would cut off if she lost focus had been a lie. Iris glanced at Erika with half-closed eyes and chuckled softly before looking back at the scene future sight was showing her.

"A carriage is returning."

"..."

"It's the carriage that went to the practical training. The Combat Magic Studies students are getting off."

"..."

"Oh?"

Iris's expression hardened. Erika couldn't hold back any longer—she was itching to speak.

"What? What did you see?"

"A coffin... One coffin is being carried down by Professor Sergei, Ainz von Wigenstein, and the green-haired student. The future sight ends here."

"Aaaah! Did it cut off because of me?"

Erika tore at her hair in self-reproach. But the future sight hadn't been cut off by Erika's interference. It had simply shown up to that point this time.

"So Schluss is the one who died. Right?"

"..."

Iris couldn't answer Erika's question. She wasn't at the stage where she could say anything for certain. After all, she hadn't seen the coffin being opened. But it was true that Schluss hadn't been among the procession. And if an emergency serious enough to cause a death occurred, Schluss was the type who would readily sacrifice himself alongside Professor Sergei. Since Professor Sergei was alive, the one who died was naturally...

"Should we go after them?"

"We can't. Even if we left now, we'd be too late..."

Iris bit her lip. The future seen through future sight wasn't absolute. It could change—she'd confirmed that several times recently. But not this time. To change the future, someone who knew about it had to intervene. But Schluss, who knew nothing, was in Wist Forest, and they were here at the Imperial Academy. The future wouldn't change.

"All we can do is pray. That it's an empty coffin."

Iris had no choice but to helplessly accept a future where someone died.