The Name of Your Kind (3)
“Ugh… mmm….” Freya let out a low groan as she opened her eyes. The first thing she sensed upon waking was the smell—a dry, bitter, acrid scent. The next thing she felt was the cold, hard texture of the stone floor beneath her.
“…Where am I?” Freya looked around. At first, there was only darkness, obscuring everything. But as her eyes gradually adjusted to the gloom, the outlines of the room began to emerge. As her vision sharpened, she caught sight of someone lying beside her.
“Senior?” Freya sat up. The person lying next to her was Valeria. The hair tie that had neatly bound her black hair had come undone, leaving strands scattered across her face. She was momentarily startled to see the student council president—whom she respected so dearly—collapsed, but after confirming the girl’s thin but steady breathing, Freya let out a sigh of relief.
“You’re awake.”
At that moment, a voice came from behind her. Freya recognized it instantly.
“Senior Karl? Is that you?”
“I didn’t expect our head of the disciplinary committee to end up here, too.”
Karl, the top student of the Swordsmanship Department. As a member of the student council, Freya had met him a few times at award ceremonies, so they were acquaintances. He was sitting with his back against the wall. The sleeve of his uniform was torn, and his face was covered in severe bruises.
“Senior Karl… what happened to you?”
“Who knows. As soon as I arrived, they snatched my sword and beat me until I looked like this. I didn’t even have a chance to resist.”
“That’s terrible… Do you happen to know where the others are?”
“Over there.” Karl gestured lightly with his chin into the darkness. In the direction he pointed, there was another girl huddled with her knees pulled to her chest. She was draped in Karl’s coat, sitting motionless as if asleep. Her head was bowed, hiding her face, but the green tie—the symbol of the Alchemy Department—was faintly visible. Freya felt she knew who it was.
“Senior Ellie?”
The girl’s head lifted slowly. Her hazy gaze focused on Freya.
“That voice… Lady Nihilit?”
“Yes, are you alright?”
Ellie shook her head slowly. Unlike Karl, she had no visible injuries. However, the environment itself seemed too much for her; she didn’t look to be in good condition. Freya, mindful of how difficult it was for Ellie to even speak, didn’t press her further. Instead, she continued her conversation with Karl.
“Senior Karl, do you have any idea where we are?”
“If I knew that, wouldn’t I have already escaped?” Karl gave a bitter smile. “How long has it been since we disappeared from the outside?”
“It’s been two days.”
“Two days, huh….”
“Have you found anything out in that time?”
Karl shrugged. “I don’t know much either. Only two people have come in and out of this cell so far.”
“Do you know who those two are?”
“No.” Karl shook his head. “One was a large man. He didn’t speak, so I don’t know his name, but he had brand marks on his body. It looked like he’d undergone enhancement surgery.”
“What is his rank?”
“0-Class. But because of the enhancement surgery, he’s stronger than me even with his bare hands. These bruises are the proof.” Karl tilted his head to show the bruise on his jaw. “I couldn’t even think straight after one hit.”
“And the other one?”
“That one is the real problem. I could handle the big guy if I had my sword, but the other one was a 1st-Circle Mage.”
Freya rested her chin on her hand, lost in thought. A 1st-Circle Dark Mage and an enhanced 0-Class superhuman. Even if Karl was the top of the Swordsmanship Department and an aura user, he was still just a student. Facing a 1st-Circle Mage while disarmed was nearly impossible.
“Have you tried to escape? I thought you might be able to break the lock using your aura.”
“Unfortunately, I tried that too. But as you can see, I ended up like this.” Karl shook his head and pointed to the floor. Freya lowered her gaze. Even with eyes adjusted to the dark, it was hard to see, but there was something finely scattered across the stone floor. When she swept her finger across the floor, a fine powder clung to her fingertip.
“This is?”
“Opium dust.” Karl sighed. “It’s scattered on the floor in powder form, and it’s drifting in the air, too. It’s not a big problem just from breathing, but if you take a deep breath, your head gets fuzzy. Because of that, I can’t use my aura.”
Freya’s expression darkened. Just as magic requires knowledge and symbolism, aura requires meditation and willpower. That is why aura is often called the ‘Fool’s Miracle’—because even if you aren’t smart, you can use it if you have the will. However, this miracle has a fatal weakness. To draw out aura, one must first meditate and regulate their breathing. It requires calming the mind, taking deep breaths, and focusing one’s will into a single point. While a master can draw it out in a single breath, a student like Karl needed a long, steady rhythm.
“I tried to raise my aura to break through when the guard opened the door, but my vision started swimming after just two deep breaths. My legs gave out before I could even gather my strength.” Karl pointed to the large bruise on his face. “That’s when I got this.”
Freya’s gaze shifted back to Ellie. This was why Ellie was so listless despite having no physical wounds. Karl must have given her his coat and seated her as far away from the dust as possible for that very reason. Freya bit her lip.
“Then how are we supposed to…”
That was when it happened.
“Mmm….” Valeria opened her eyes, letting out a low groan. She sat up. Freya reached out to support her shoulder, but Valeria raised a hand slightly to signal she was fine. She leaned her back against the wall and swept her disheveled black hair back with both hands. The student council president bit the loose hair tie, tied her hair back with practiced movements, and then pulled it tight to check the knot before looking around. Her gaze shifted from Karl to Ellie, from Ellie to Freya, and from Freya to the iron door. Seemingly satisfied, Valeria nodded once and opened her mouth.
“Another Dark Mage?”
“‘Another’?”
“Ah, the head of the disciplinary committee wouldn’t know. The Academy’s high school division has incidents like this once every three years. It’s a grim world, after all. Kidnappings for the ransom of noble children happen occasionally.” Then, looking at Freya, Valeria suddenly gave a bitter smile. “Come to think of it, you’re the only noble in this room, Disciplinary Chair.”
Valeria shook her head lightly to finish tidying her hair. “Student Karl. Could you tell me about this place?”
Without a hint of annoyance, Karl repeated exactly what he had told Freya. “…That is how it happened.”
“Thank you, Karl. It seems you’ve already told the Disciplinary Chair as well.”
“Yes, President. But may I ask you one thing?”
“What is it?”
Karl asked Valeria, “How did you and the Disciplinary Chair end up here?”
“It’s probably similar to you and Student Ellie.” Valeria turned to look at Freya. “Lady Nihilit was the first to notice the anomaly. When you two were absent for two days, she thought it was strange and immediately informed the homeroom professors.”
“What did the professors say?”
Valeria’s eyes narrowed. “They didn’t seem very interested in the disappearance of commoners.”
“I figured as much. That damn status hierarchy.” Karl gave a bitter laugh. Neither Valeria, nor Karl, nor Ellie were the type of top students welcomed by the school. There were many high-ranking people who didn’t like it when commoners outperformed nobles through sheer skill.
“Haha….” Knowing that background, Freya, as the only noble lady in the room, gave an uncomfortable laugh. Karl bowed his head hurriedly, saying he hadn’t meant it that way.
“I didn’t mean it like that, Lady Nihilit.”
“It’s alright. I feel the same way.”
Valeria continued her explanation. “Anyway, the Disciplinary Chair was the first to notice your disappearance. But since the school showed no intention of moving, the student council investigated it ourselves.”
“The President and I went to your dorms first. Your belongings were still there, but both of you were nowhere to be found.”
“So, the President and I expanded our search to the area around the dorms. We were passing through the hallway leading to the laundry room when—.” Valeria shrugged. “Suddenly, I felt dizzy, and when I opened my eyes, I was here. I assume the circumstances of how we arrived are similar to yours?”
Karl nodded at Valeria’s words. “Actually, Ellie wanted to experiment with my clothes using a laundry detergent she made. So we were kidnapped on our way to the laundry room together.”
“So the hallway to the laundry room was a trap? But that doesn’t make sense, only the two of you went missing….” Valeria tilted her head. What on earth was the common denominator among the kidnapped? For a moment, the keyword ‘Director Shun’s scholarship student’ flashed through her mind, but she shook her head. As far as Valeria knew, Freya had no connection to Director Shun. A half-elf director wouldn’t support the wealthy Nihilit barony, so the thought of Director Shun must have been a mistake.
“Still, I don’t know.”
“I thought at first they were only targeting Director Shun’s scholarship students, but seeing the Disciplinary Chair here, I’m not so sure anymore.”
“….” Freya kept her mouth shut and glanced at the other students’ eyes before slowly moving to a corner. A moment of silence followed. Unable to find a common denominator, the conversation died out. Valeria changed the subject.
“Karl.”
“Yes?”
“When did you get so close to Student Ellie? I remember thinking your first meeting was the worst possible encounter. Now you’re even lending her your coat and going to the laundry room together.”
Valeria’s gaze shifted from Karl’s torn sleeve to the coat draped over Ellie’s shoulders. The tips of Karl’s ears turned red.
“…It’s chivalry.”
“Really~?”
“….”
Valeria chuckled. Freya laughed softly as well. She knew this wasn’t the time for laughter, but in a dark, cold prison, such brief moments of levity were necessary. Otherwise, it would be too hard to endure this situation. But that, too, was brief. Valeria wiped the expression from her face and spoke.
“Anyway, how do we get out of here?”
Valeria returned to the main point. Karl shook his head first. “As I said before, it’s hard to use aura in this space. Because of the opium dust.”
“What about magic?”
“That will be difficult too. There are no symbols or catalysts at all. There’s no way there’s anything here that can be imbued with magical meaning.”
Valeria nodded. Karl’s words were sound. This empty cell was maintained with an obsessive, colorless, odorless environment, as if they had anticipated even a mage might be trapped here.
“Ice magic… would be difficult.” Valeria briefly considered ice magic based on the symbols of cold and gloom, but she soon shook her head. It was due to the lack of a catalyst.
At that moment, Freya walked toward the iron door without a word. She knelt and stared intently at the lock. Karl said from behind her, “Disciplinary Chair. I tried to unlock that, too….”
Click.
The lock Freya touched opened. Karl’s jaw dropped. Valeria’s eyes widened slightly. Even Ellie lifted her head, looking dazed. Freya stood up and turned around.
“It’s vision magic, so it’s difficult to explain in detail, but I’ll just say it’s a magic strong against these kinds of magical locking structures.”
Having finished speaking, Freya pulled two items from her inner pocket. One was a self-defense sword. Clack. When she pressed the lock on the folded hilt, the blade, which had been folded inside, unfolded in three segments. When a blade the size of a straight sword popped out from a handle barely larger than her palm, Karl’s eyes went wide.
“Lady Freya. That is?”
“It’s a self-defense sword. Nobles carry one around.” Freya handed the sword to Karl. “Since you’re good with swords, Senior, you should use this.”
Karl took it reflexively. He gauged the weight of the sword in his hand and then sliced the air a couple of times. The sound of steel rang briefly in the hallway.
“Not bad. The center of gravity isn’t bad either. But what about you, My Lady?”
“I have this.”
Freya then showed him her self-defense pistol. “Ah,” Karl said, finally understanding. “How many rounds do you have?”
“Ten ordinary rounds and one special bullet.”
“A special bullet?”
“I’ll use it on the Dark Mage. Since it’s a special bullet, it should work on that Dark Mage, too.”
Freya recalled the story she had heard from Erika in the past. The story of how she had defeated a 2nd-Circle Dark Mage with a consecrated silver bullet. Since a gun doesn’t become weaker just because of who fires it, she should be able to handle a 1st-Circle Dark Mage with her silver bullet.
“President, you have self-defense items, too, right?”
Valeria nodded and pulled a wand from her robes. Once they were out of the cell, Valeria would no longer be a helpless mage. “I’ll support Student Ellie.” Valeria stood up, pulling Ellie’s shoulder up. Ellie leaned on her weakly.
“Disciplinary Chair, do you have a plan?”
“Senior Karl, do you know how many guards there are?”
“It seems the ghouls handled by the Dark Mage are acting as guards. I can handle that much without aura.”
“Then please handle the guards as much as possible, Senior Karl. I think we should use the gun and magic only as a last resort.”
“Leave it to me.”
After receiving confirmation from Karl, Freya placed her hand on the iron door handle. Karl stood in front of the door, gripping his sword. I’m ready. Karl nodded, conveying that meaning. Freya pushed the door.
Creeeeeak.
The sound of rusty hinges echoed through the darkness.
***
At the same time the students were escaping the prison. While the students were carefully climbing the stairs and quietly dealing with the guards. If you went further up the stairs, you could see a room used as an old office. And inside that room—
CRASH!
The desk was split in two. Wood splinters flew from the broken desk legs, and documents were scattered across the floor.
“God dammit, what the hell is this situation?”
The one who had slammed the desk was a giant of a man with a black-skinned, shaved head. The black brand marks densely etched from his left face to his forearm writhed in accordance with his rage. In the corner of the room, a man leaning against the window frame with a cigarette in his mouth slowly lifted his head. The man, with a thin frame and sunken eyes, calmly scanned the giant. A hoarse voice flowed from the man, whose face seemed half-eaten by the shadows under his eyes.
“…What.”
“I’m talking about the ones newly summoned to the prison below. I saw the black-haired one, but did you see the silver-haired brat lying next to her?”
The thin man shook his head without taking the cigarette from his mouth. The giant leaned forward, resting his hands on the broken desk.
“There was a crest on her cape. Do you know what that means?”
“….”
“She’s a noble, you bastard.”
The tip of the thin man’s cigarette trembled slightly. “Are you sure you saw it correctly?”
“Man. I spent a long time on the battlefield before coming here, you know? I spent years cleaning up after those bastard nobles back when I was a mercenary, so you think I can’t distinguish the crests on their cloaks?” The giant pointed to his left eye, which wasn’t stained black. “This eye is still perfectly fine. That crest is definitely from a barony. I don’t know which one, though.”
“….”
“Those fairies you use. What the hell were you doing with the job? Didn’t we promise to only bring in Director Shun’s scholarship students?”
“Hoooo….” The thin man exhaled a long plume of cigarette smoke. The smoke swept across the moldy stone ceiling and vanished. Then, the thin man slowly shook his head. “Magic is absolute by nature. It never lies.”
“Then why did a noble get dragged into this?”
“Listen. The Fairy Ring is a spell that filters targets based on conditional statements. I set it to bring in people with Director Shun’s signature on them.”
“Then why did a noble lady get caught?”
“Magic is absolute. But it’s ultimately a person who sets the conditions for that spell.” The man flicked the cigarette ash onto the floor. “That lady must have signed some contract with Director Shun, or perhaps a check flowed into her hands.”
“Dammit. So you’re saying your magic fished up the wrong person.”
“I’ll call it my mistake for not excluding the possibility.”
“It’s the same thing, damn it. You’ve got a long tongue.” The giant spat on the floor. While he was clearing the scattered wood splinters into a corner with his foot, the thin man asked the giant a question.
“So, what did you do with that lady?”
“What do you mean, what did I do? I ran straight up here before she even opened her eyes.”
“Did she see your face?”
“I was worried about that, so as soon as I confirmed she was a noble, I ran. I didn’t even get to properly search her belongings.”
“That’s fortunate, at least.” The thin man nodded slowly. He took one more drag of his cigarette and said, exhaling the smoke, “Let’s pull out.”
The giant’s eyes widened. “What?”
“Capturing Director Shun’s scholarship students was fine. They’re commoners. Even if there’s fallout, our backers can handle it, and in the worst case, we can negotiate with the merchant guild.” The man crushed the cigarette against the window frame and continued. “But it’s different if a noble gets involved. Even if the Baron just looks for us, things get complicated.”
“Can’t we just fight? Didn’t the two of us take down a knight last time?”
“A barony is at least 3rd-Circle. It’s a different dimension from a 2nd-Circle knight.” The man looked up at the giant. Deep exhaustion was visible in his dark-circled eyes. “Nobles are not something we can handle.”
“Then we go back empty-handed? You think that crazy bastard Belgian is going to stay quiet?” The giant gripped the handle of his great hammer and scratched the back of his head vigorously. Rather than fear, it was an attitude of being fed up with something. At this, the thin man chuckled.
“That guy has been a has-been for a long time. Ever since he was dealt with by Director Shun, he’s been a half-wit who can’t even use his curses properly. He might be 2nd-Circle, but practically speaking, he’s barely clinging to 1st-Circle now. What could a guy like that do to us?”
“Then what about the elders? You know, the old men who were making a killing by meddling in the succession dispute. They were making the infertile head of the house have an heir through a mistress, and having fun with that, weren’t they?”
“Now that you mention it, those people were there.”
“Ah, those old geezers. Their faces were beet red and they were making a fuss at the last meeting. They won’t leave us alone either, will they?”
“Then we’ll blame it on Belgian.”
The giant’s eyebrows went up. “Blame it on Belgian?”
“It’s the truth, isn’t it? From the start, the information Belgian handed over regarding Director Shun was full of useless things. The Fairy Ring spell was sloppy, too. It was because of that sloppy spell that the lady got dragged into this.” The thin man exhaled smoke. “It’s the responsibility of the side that didn’t provide enough clues. We don’t owe anything. We’re even.”
“…You’ve got a tongue that works well. Is this the average for mages?”
“If you want to survive as a Dark Mage in this business, your tongue has to work at least this well.”
The giant blew his nose. Whether he was convinced, or whether he saw that even if he wasn’t convinced, there was nothing more to argue about—either way, no rebuttal came.
“Fine. Then are we going to burn this place down?”
“That would be the cleanest way. Not leaving any evidence—”
CRASH.
At that moment, a sound came from the floor below. Both men turned their heads at the same time.
“Damn it…” The giant clicked his tongue and held his forehead. “Was it a mistake not to handcuff them because they were sacrifices? It was a job just to save those things, too.”
“Don’t regret the sacrifices.” The thin man stood up and said calmly. “As long as you’re a human living in the light, the connections to use as sacrifices will eventually appear again.”
The man took a folded cloth from his pocket and wrapped it around the lower half of his face. “The commoners must have seen your face, so take care of them. As for the lady… focus on not letting her see your face.”
“They say if you call a pigeon, it circles over your head. Why do they have to escape at a time like this?”
“It’s not a pigeon, it’s a crow.”
The giant grumbled as he pulled his hood over his head. The thin man stood up. The two men pulled their hoods over their heads and walked toward the door. And just before stepping out of the room, he lightly flicked the cigarette he was holding in his hand. The ember flew in a parabola and landed on the documents scattered on the floor. Flames bloomed over the pile of documents. The broken desk pieces became kindling.
“Ignus.”
Immediately after the thin man’s short incantation, the sound of wood burning rang clearly through the empty room.
“Let’s go.”
The thin man did not look back. Neither did the giant. While the sound of their footsteps descended the stairs, the flames in the office began to climb the walls.