The Gift
“The Holy Fire Festival…”
Eline lifted her forehead from mine and began, slowly, to tell me what the letter had said.
A command to enter the Holy Fire Festival and take first place.
And once the festival ended, a meeting with the Magic Tower Master had already been arranged—so she was to return to the estate for the summer.
“…That’s it?”
“Mm.”
“You’re not summarizing?”
“That’s everything.”
When she finished, I felt a little stunned.
Even my mother, when she wrote to me, had at least managed a few formal greetings. Yet here there was not a single word of courtesy—just two bare sentences and done.
And the first of those sentences grated even more.
Win the Holy Fire Festival.
She makes it sound so simple.
No matter how exceptional Eline was, winning the Holy Fire Festival was no easy feat.
Unlike the academy’s other competitions, which were individual affairs, the festival-style Holy Fire Festival was a team event.
Even if Eline herself was strong, without a team to support her the burden would still fall heavily on her shoulders.
And unlike previous years, when the festival-competition had drawn little real attention, this time the Second Prince himself would be attending. The heat surrounding the event was higher than ever.
With top-ranked students pouring in, Eline would face even fiercer scrutiny and interference.
“…It’s the family head’s command.”
Eline spoke calmly.
“I’ll have to take part.”
I didn’t need her to say more; I understood.
In a great imperial house like Payless, the family head’s authority was absolute. I already knew how formidable a mage Lokgurd Payless was. His influence within the family would be overwhelming.
“Lutes.”
“What?”
“…Will you help me?”
If we entered the Holy Fire Festival—and if we aimed for victory—our plans would be upended completely.
First of all, I would have far less time to study for exams.
We would need to recruit teammates and train for the competition.
For Eline herself it would make little difference, but the reason she was worried was clear.
Because of me.
If I helped her, I could no longer pour everything into studying. The plan to climb into Alpha Class on exam scores alone would collapse.
“Eline.”
I took her hand and held it tight.
“Of course I’ll help.”
“…”
Her blue eyes wavered.
“Besides, if we win, a slightly lower exam score shouldn’t matter that much, right?”
Even if it was called an event, the Holy Fire Festival was still a competition.
It was clearly factored into evaluations alongside the exams. An outstanding result there could more than make up for any shortfall in test scores.
“Let’s do it.”
At the certainty in my voice she gave a small nod. The unease seemed to leave her face; she looked a little better. I couldn’t quite put my finger on the difference, but that was how it felt.
“Lutes, can I lean on your shoulder?”
“…Even if I said no, you’d do it anyway, wouldn’t you?”
“Mm.”
I was beginning to understand her a little better.
In the end she always got what she wanted, and she knew it—and used it.
Doesn’t matter anymore.
Yes. It no longer mattered.
Eline fidgeted closer and rested her small head against my shoulder.
She was light.
Ah. Right.
“Eline.”
“…Mm.”
Careful not to jostle the head on my shoulder, I reached into my pocket with my free hand and drew out a small brooch.
“This.”
Eline looked at the brooch in my palm, then quietly took it.
“…You’re giving this to me?”
“Yeah. It’s a gift.”
She lifted the brooch toward the sky, letting the moonlight catch it.
The small golden piece was shaped like a flower, gleaming with elegant light.
A gift I had chosen after consulting a professor.
It wasn’t as flashy as the jewelry or ornaments most students wore, yet the carefully wrought flower looked almost like a living bloom.
“How is it?”
Eline studied the flower for a moment. Then her pupils widened ever so slightly.
A faint smile touched her lips.
“…I like it.”
Thank goodness.
‘If you give her this flower, she’ll truly love it!’
I felt grateful that the professor’s confident words had not been empty.
No wonder she’s a professor.
Eline gazed at it a long while, then carefully pinned it over her chest. The gold that had glittered in the air now shone beside her heart.
…
The first thing ever fastened to her bare uniform was my brooch.
I was happy.
Happy that she liked it.
“Lutes.”
“Mm?”
“Thank you for the brooch.”
She kept touching it, as if she really was fond of it.
“It’s nothing. Just this much.”
Come to think of it, what was the name of this flower again?
I didn’t know much about such things, yet I was certain I had recognized it.
I can’t remember…
I traced the memory carefully.
“Ah.”
Yes. I had it.
The flower whose orange petals layered one upon another in a graceful display.
“…Marigold.”
The flower’s name was marigold.
On the weekend, as exam season drew near, the library began to fill—and so did the sparring grounds, students gathering one by one.
The thick aftertaste of mana, the scent of burning wood, the crack of shattering stone, the chanting of students.
Even in a quiet corner of the sparring grounds, where all of it tangled together, heat was rising.
Aim.
Two unstable magic circles flickered into being.
Fire.
Pssht—
The arrow-shaped spell shot forward, buried itself in the wall beside the scarecrow, wavered, and vanished.
“…Haa.”
Rui let out a short breath.
Not enough.
…
She had only just climbed into Alpha Class. If her scores on this exam were low as well, she would almost certainly fall.
On top of that, she had been kicked out of the team that had spent the entire winter break preparing for the Holy Fire Festival. In truth, she had no choice but to stake everything on the exams.
“I can do this.”
She shook out her tingling hands and stood.
She fixed her gaze on the scarecrow and prepared her magic.
A deep breath.
Relax the shoulders.
She focused with everything she had. As she began the chant, mana gathered around her.
What she lacked was precision.
To push that precision to its absolute limit she poured every nerve into the task. Her blurred vision gradually sharpened.
And the scarecrow came fully into focus.
Now…!
It was possible.
Ping—
Suddenly she heard the sound of something cutting the air.
A sound that should not have existed—she hadn’t even finished the chant.
Her vision wavered; instinct spun her body around.
Crack—
Where she had been standing, a small mana bullet was embedded in the ground.
It wouldn’t have done serious harm if it had hit, but it was large enough to sting and distract—clearly shaped to target a person.
Rui turned her head. Students stood there, smirking.
“Sorry. Didn’t know anyone was there.”
“…”
Rui looked at them with unsteady eyes, but the students only shrugged, as if it were nothing.
“Next time make it a little more obvious you’re here, Rui.”
Then, as though nothing had happened, they went back to chatting among themselves.
It was blatant harassment aimed at her, yet Rui said nothing.
She knew.
She was a commoner, and that was why they mocked her.
The academy was a place of learning open to all ranks, yet it was also a place where one constantly faced the walls of status.
There was no open discrimination, but she had seen countless people draw quiet lines. Especially after she rose from Beta to Alpha, that discrimination had grown far more open.
Some lost their temper. Some cried. Some ran.
Rui—
“I’ll be careful.”
—simply smiled it away every time.
Reacting would only give them the picture they wanted.
She turned, wiped the sweat from her face, and looked at the scarecrow again.
She gathered her mana carefully, formed an arrow, and loosed it—but perhaps she had rushed.
Ting—!
It struck the wall and vanished with a harsh metallic ring.
“Aigoo, so close.”
“Right? Ease up a little more, Rui.”
She flinched.
When she turned, the same students who had fired the spell were still watching her.
“…Yeah. Thanks.”
Rui forced a weak smile and tried to ignore them, but they seemed to have found an entertaining target and kept their eyes on her.
Ting—!
“Try aiming a little more to the side!”
Thud—!
“You are aiming for the scarecrow, right, Rui?”
Crack—!
Every time her aim failed, their sneers grew louder. When her final spell missed, they burst into open laughter, no longer content with subtle jabs.
Rui steeled herself.
I’m used to this. If I just do well, it’ll be fine.
She had to endure. She had to ignore them.
Reacting would let things go exactly the way they wanted.
Focus. Focus.
“Hey Rui, you gonna be okay? Keep that up and you’ll drop straight back to Beta.”
“I’ll teach you. Look, when you aim…”
“Quiet.”
A single voice cut cleanly through the students’ laughter.
The ones facing Rui all turned at once.
Where their eyes landed, seven scarecrows lay smashed beyond recognition. A few of the broken ones glowed blue under regeneration magic, struggling to rise again.
And atop those ruins stood the owner of the voice.
“You’re being a nuisance, you know.”
Yutia Fren.
A fellow Alpha Class student.
Her voice was soft and gentle; the scene around her was anything but.
Whirr—
The moment one scarecrow finished reforming, the girl opened her hand and clenched it tight.
Crunch—
The regenerated scarecrow crumpled as if crushed, iron rods snapping with a sharp crack.
Thud—
It compressed into a dense lump and dropped onto the marble floor.
“It’s exam season.”
“…”
“Good. Let’s all just practice quietly, shall we?”
The students nodded without a word, turned as if their mouths had been sealed, and began whispering timidly among themselves.
Yutia watched them with a cool glance, then stepped out from the wreckage and walked toward Rui.
“…Thank you… Yutia.”
Rui bowed her head. Yutia shook hers gently as she looked at her.
Languid eyes, hair neatly braided.
Her soft pink locks held a careful sheen, as though tended with great care.
As the eldest daughter of Fren—a magic house every bit as prestigious as Payless—her every manner carried a refined propriety that made her difficult to approach casually.
“Rui.”
The gentle voice came closer still. Rui shrank further into herself.
“Yes…”
Yutia smiled softly.
“Knowing your place and stepping down can also be a good path.”
“…”
With a touch as smooth as rippling water she brushed the sweat from Rui’s brow.
“People have the places that suit them, after all.”
She gave Rui’s shoulder one last light pat, then walked out of the sparring grounds.
Rui stood frozen for a long moment, as if nailed to the spot.
…
Then she turned, loosed one final arrow at the scarecrow—
Thud—
—and watched it glance off the scarecrow’s shoulder, waver, and vanish. A faint smile touched her lips.
“…”
There was no strength in the corners of her mouth.
She had thought that if she simply smiled and approached, people would welcome her. Her parents had always said a smiling person was best.
It was hard.
She wiped the sweat that kept coming, gathered her things, and left the sparring grounds.
When she stepped out of the dark corridor, the easy weekend scene met her eyes.
The sky was clear; clouds drifted past.
Were her family back home looking at the same sky right now?
She stared blankly upward, then carefully slapped both cheeks.
She drew a deep breath and forced a smile.
Remembering her parents’ words—that if you smile, good fortune will come someday.
So she would not betray her own efforts. So she would not collapse. She had to keep moving forward.
“I can do this!”
She shouted the words into the empty air with all her strength.
When the hollow cry faded, she felt a little better and started walking again.
Ian should be finishing up soon. We can eat together.
Ian was the friend she had grown close to ever since they both rose to Alpha Class in their second year.
A good friend who always looked out for her, regardless of status.
“…Ian said the third sparring ground, right?”
Rui hurried along with light, quick steps toward Ian. It was the sparring ground right nearby, so she found it easily.
Sure enough, when she glanced around she spotted a familiar figure in the distance.
She could recognize her by silhouette alone now.
“Ian…!”
She was about to wave when she flinched and stopped.
Ian’s expression looked somehow fierce.
And standing with her was another student.
…
Rui halted and instinctively hid.
The atmosphere looked ugly; they seemed to be having a serious talk.
…Oh.
She knew eavesdropping was wrong, yet she stayed hidden.
Abel.
Once the leader of the team that had gathered to aim for the Holy Fire Festival—the very person who had kicked her and Ian out.
Why were the two of them together?
Why?
He had simply announced their expulsion as if it were nothing, leaving her and Ian in a difficult spot.
So why was he talking with Ian again?
Hidden behind a tree, she strained every nerve and pricked up her ears.
“So, have you thought about it?”
“…”
“Think carefully. This is the last offer, Ian.”
Offer. Think about it.
There was only one subject on which Abel and Ian would use words like those.
'…'
One thought began to surface in her mind.
“Will you give me an answer?”
Her heart started pounding hard.