Chapter 256
Chapter 256
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 256
Chapter Title: A Different Sky (6)
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“Competition isn't just a system to determine who comes in first. It's a process of discovering yourself by clashing with countless philosophies. Obsessing over rank is foolish.”
Olivia looked at Dante with pity.
There was no lie in Shirone's words. Changing the world was on a completely different level from taking first place at the magic academy.
Mcclain Guffin, called the most powerful mage in human history despite his existence never being confirmed.
And Adrias Miro, the successor he had chosen.
Even they had to make great sacrifices to protect this world.
“Can Dante… become as strong as Shirone?”
“Everyone will become stronger. All the students here.”
Olivia closed her eyes.
With this, the contest was over. And her long, tangled connection with Alpheas had finally come to an end.
“I lost. I will step down as headmaster and leave the academy.”
Alpheas spoke with a sly smile.
“You could just stay as you are, you know.”
“What are you talking about? My term is almost over anyway.”
“Stay at the academy and help me out. It's getting tough to do things alone at my age. In other words, I'm asking you to be this school's vice-headmaster.”
Olivia's eyes narrowed to slits.
Asking her, a former headmaster of the Royal Magic Academy, to be a vice-headmaster. And under the horribly detestable Alpheas, no less.
She had intended to just let it go. Since she couldn't beat this old fox no matter what she did, she had tried to forget and move on.
But it seemed Alpheas couldn't resist tormenting her to the very end.
Of course, she could guess his intentions. If Jerome Olivia were the vice-headmaster, the academy's reputation would soar in an instant. Besides, she had accomplished no small number of innovations during her time here.
All the more reason to refuse.
She couldn't fall for Alpheas's ploy to catch two birds—reputation and ability—with one stone.
“Vice-headmaster? Am I crazy? Why should I help you with something like that?”
Without hesitation, Alpheas played his trump card.
“That night… when you came to see me…”
“Stop! Please, just stop!”
Olivia squeezed her eyes shut and screamed.
How could anyone in the world be so cruel? What grudge does he possibly hold against me?
When the man who hadn't contacted her in over ten years suddenly appeared, she had thought it was her chance for revenge.
But now, her failure to turn him away coldly on the day he arrived was a regret that would last a lifetime.
Tears welled up in Olivia's eyes.
“You… are truly selfish.”
Alpheas dropped the joking tone and spoke seriously.
“Don't be like that. Stay. When we have free time, we can have tea together and tend to the flowerbeds. And… you can say hello to Erina.”
A murderous glint filled Olivia's eyes. To tell her to greet his deceased wife, knowing full well her feelings.
Why must I endure such humiliation?
She had only loved him. What had she done wrong for this man to try and drag her down to the depths of hell?
“You really…!”
Olivia, about to raise her voice, stopped when she saw the look in Alpheas's eyes. A different emotion from before was visible in his pupils.
“You, don't tell me…”
Alpheas shook his head. He knew Olivia would be disappointed, but he couldn't hurt her a second time.
But it was also an undeniable fact that things were different from thirty years ago. Perhaps it was so.
“Don't misunderstand. Yes, I know what you're thinking, but honestly, I'm not confident. I might not be able to let go of Erina until the day I die. I can't promise you anything.”
Olivia's gaze turned a little colder, but not as cold as before.
“Then why are you doing this? What can you possibly gain from me while keeping your dead wife in your heart? What, my body? Are you getting older and feeling the loneliness in your bones?”
Alpheas looked up at the sky.
“Maybe so. This wasn't a rational decision. I just felt that if not now, I wouldn't get another chance. That's all.”
Olivia wore a dazed expression. Alpheas gave an awkward smile. Even he thought it sounded ridiculous.
“Is this a bit selfish?”
Olivia shook her head.
“No. You know what's truly selfish? The fact that this is the first time you've ever been honest about your feelings.”
“I'm sorry. I couldn't help it. That's how it was back then. You know that, don't you? That I couldn't help it.”
Olivia let out a long sigh and fell into thought.
“So what are you really asking me to do? To cling to you again at my age? On the off chance that you might accept me?”
“I don't really know my own heart yet either. No matter how long I live, I can't figure these things out. But I'll try.”
Olivia fought back the tears that threatened to spill.
She should have been angry at his selfish proposal, but the moment she heard him say he would try, she felt all her previous anger melting away. The sight of her own reaction was pathetic and miserable.
Olivia sighed deeply. She was beginning to understand Alpheas a little. Honestly, she didn't want to live a calculated life anymore either.
A Grade 2 Archmage. Having achieved all there was to achieve, what was there to fear in life?
All she had to do was let her body go where her emotions moved, where time flowed. She thought she was old enough for that.
“Show me the library. We can start with tea, I guess.”
This time, it was Alpheas who looked surprised. His wife lived in the library. He already knew she was a foolish woman, but he hadn't expected her to let go of everything once again.
Reading Alpheas's thoughts, Olivia wagged her finger.
“Don't get the wrong idea. This doesn't mean I've accepted your offer.”
“Then why the library, of all places?”
Olivia recalled an event from long ago. The memory of defacing Erina's portrait in front of Alpheas was a nightmare that still haunted her.
“To Ms. Erina… I have something to apologize for.”
A smile finally spread across Alpheas's face.
“Anytime. Shall we go, then?”
As Alpheas led the way, Olivia glanced at the other teachers, cleared her throat once, and trotted after him.
The teachers were utterly dumbfounded.
They hadn't heard the details of the conversation, but they had expected that with the contest over, something disastrous would happen to one of them.
But to see the two, who had just made their students fight to the death, walk off to the library side by side left them speechless.
Meanwhile, Killain, who had been riding high on Dante's interviews, was in despair. One could see it as the birth of a new star, but the problem was her own future.
Until now, she had monopolized the star named Dante. But he had ultimately faded, and now it was Shirone's world.
From now on, countless correspondents would be scrambling to get a hold of Shirone, so the competition would be fierce.
Moreover, their first target for elimination would undoubtedly be her.
As she racked her brain, Killain's eyes gleamed. Things having come to this, her only option was to score a huge scoop and lay the groundwork for her future.
While everyone else tries to get Shirone, I'll bet against the grain and aim for an exclusive.
Killain walked over to the video archivist. But when she arrived, she found the video recording device lying on the ground.
Watching in disbelief, she asked with a cold gaze.
“What happened? Why is this knocked over?”
“Oh, well… all the bracelets shattered, you see. The video recording device is linked to them. That's how it can film the battle. Then, at the very end, it just went *pop* and fell over.”
The video archivist shrugged as if to say it was unavoidable.
Killain was about to unleash a torrent of curses but took a deep breath to calm herself.
The Oscura was a delicate object, at risk of breaking from even a slight impact.
“Check it, quickly! The Oscura, I mean. Without that, we can't publish anything.”
“Ah, right away.”
The video archivist opened the main unit and inspected the interior.
After rummaging inside for a good while, he turned his head with a sigh of relief.
“It's fine. The Oscura is safe.”
Killain's heart rate finally returned to normal.
“Phew, that's a relief.”
Having safely sent the students off, Shina finished her duties and approached them.
“What's going on? Is there a problem?”
The video archivist let out a hearty laugh and said.
“Ahaha, well…”
Killain suddenly shouted.
“This can't be!”
It was an act born from a correspondent's instinct.
As the video archivist and Shina turned to her with quizzical looks, she feigned a sorrowful expression.
“There's a crack in the Oscura. A damaged Oscura can't play back video. In the end, we couldn't capture anything.”
Shina also sighed in disappointment. Today's battle was of such a high level that it could have served as teaching material for countless students.
The breaking of the Oscura, containing the complete battle between Shirone and Dante, was a loss for the entire kingdom, beyond mere personal disappointment.
But in a way, she also felt a sense of relief.
She had heard that Headmaster Alpheas had instructed Thadd to destroy the black box.
Of course, what was on the Oscura was merely a video, but since things had turned out this way, it was better to be thorough.
“Oh dear, that's too bad. I'm sorry to hear that.”
Shina offered words of comfort, half sincere and half not, before departing.
As she walked away, the video archivist turned to Killain with a look that said, *What are you doing?*
But her eyes saw nothing. Only one thought filled her mind.
The best correspondent in the Teachers' Society will always be me.
‘Hehehe! A scoop, this is a scoop!’
The Revealed Truth (1)
A week had passed since the duel between Shirone and Dante.
Olivia was still serving as the interim headmaster, and rumors circulated that she would be reappointed as vice-headmaster starting next semester.
For the students, the news was shocking.
Olivia was a Grade 2 Archmage.
They could understand if she returned to the Royal Magic Academy, but to work under Alpheas was something they could never have imagined.
But if the rumors were true, it was truly exciting news.
With the virtuous Alpheas at the helm and Olivia, the kingdom's top teacher, also at the academy, the school's prestige would leap.
Perhaps for that reason, even though it was a time when things should have been chaotic with only a month left in the semester, the students' academic atmosphere was excellent.
Olivia often went for walks with Alpheas.
The two still disagreed like fire and water, but no one had ever seen it escalate into a major fight.
Olivia would lash out like fire, but whenever Alpheas said something, she would clam up as if doused with cold water.
Based on this, the teachers and students concluded that Alpheas must have some kind of leverage over Olivia.
Today, too, Olivia was spending a leisurely time strolling through the campus with Alpheas.
Most of the curriculum had been revised during the semester, so only the teachers were busy.
“I'm going to plant roses over here.”
Olivia said, spreading her arms as if measuring the width of the flowerbed.
Students passing by saw her and greeted her.
“Hello, Headmaster Olivia!”
Olivia welcomed them with a warm smile.
“Hello. Are your classes all done?”
“Yes. We're heading to the library now.”
“I see. But it's the practical training period, shouldn't you be at the training grounds?”
“Ah, we had the Two-Thousand-Swings class today. We're trying to manage our condition. We didn't realize it before, but since the Two-Thousand-Swings class was introduced, it seems tough when it overlaps with the practical training period.”
“I can see how that could be. I'll bring it up at the teachers' meeting.”
“Huh? Really? Thank you!”
The students, overjoyed, headed off toward the library.
Olivia's educational policy was to respond swiftly to increase efficiency rather than adhering to grand philosophies.
“Headmaster!”
Thadd came running from a distance, shouting. From his expression, it seemed something major had happened.
But Alpheas and Olivia, who had been through thick and thin, didn't worry prematurely.
“What is it, Mr. Thadd?”
Thadd, panting for breath, swallowed and pulled out a magazine tucked into his back.
It was , the magazine published by the Teachers' Society.
Olivia belatedly grasped the situation.
Indeed, with an unknown student defeating the kingdom's top prodigy, Dante, she could imagine the level of exaggeration without even looking.