Chapter 52: The First Letter (52)
Chapter 52: The First Letter (52)
Midday at the Academy was peaceful, as always.
As was my habit, I bought a drink from the tea house located in the Student Union Building. I leaned back against my chair, sipping through the straw.
The fragrant aroma of tea wafted up. It was a refreshing sensation, the kind of scent that provided fresh vitality to a brain exhausted by long hours of training and study.
This was my routine. A solid daily schedule that hadn't faltered once in my three years at the Academy. And usually, during these moments, one of two people would be by my side.
Celine Haster, or Reto Einstein.
Today was no different. A man with slightly curly brown hair and tired-looking green eyes sat across from me.
It was Reto, my childhood friend and one of my closest companions. He was currently staring at me with a look of utter disbelief.
"So, what did that Yurdina brat have to say?"
"Nothing, really. Her face just went cold and stiff, and she didn't say a word until we parted ways."
"Good grief..." A sigh escaped Reto's lips at my words. He wiped his face with both hands. Seeing his reaction, I could roughly grasp the situation.
I had messed up. Sure enough, Reto immediately began to nag.
"Hey, even if you couldn't reassure her...! You're going to end up in big trouble later if you keep this up."
"...Big trouble?"
At my bewildered question, Reto leaned forward as if sharing a deep secret. He whispered to me, "When a woman's obsession gets serious, there's no telling what she might do."
Reto shuddered, perhaps recalling some terrifying memory. Of course, his warning didn't move me in the slightest.
Seria Yurdina?
She was the girl who had shown openings even during our duel because of her aversion to violence. Even if things went south, how bad could it really get?
I let out a hollow laugh and shook my head.
"Don't worry, that won't happen. Seria is such a kind girl... Besides, it's probably just because I'm her first friend. She'll get better once she makes more friends."
Despite my rebuttal, Reto continued to watch me with a dubious gaze. He crossed his arms, closed his eyes, and let out a long, low groan.
He tilted his head left, then right, before finally speaking in a hesitant voice.
"Hey, you... Sigh, fine. Let's just say that's the case."
Cutting himself off, Reto looked at me with an oddly benevolent expression. He began to nod to himself.
"Right, you learn by getting burned. I'm rooting for you, buddy."
"I don't know what you mean by that, but sure. Whatever."
Reto and I enjoyed the midday peace, engaging in our usual unproductive banter.
Lately, there had been far too much going on. It felt like an incident occurred once or twice a week ever since I lost my memories.
I just wanted to graduate from the Academy, yet somehow I had become a celebrity here.
It felt a bit strange, but more than that, it was exhausting. I had been through so much lately, both mentally and physically.
One of my main concerns recently was Celine.
I decided to probe Reto for information.
"By the way, how has Celine been lately?"
At my question, Reto let out a hearty laugh. He looked at me with a gaze that seemed almost proud.
"So, you are a little worried about her?"
"No, it's just that I ran into her yesterday, and she was incredibly cold."
When I confessed yesterday's encounter in an embarrassed voice, Reto began to snicker. He seemed to find the idea of Celine and me fighting quite amusing.
It was a typical spiteful attitude for a magician who spent his life cooped up in a back room. I let out a heavy sigh.
When I ran into Celine on the street yesterday, she was colder than ever. She glared at me, then stuck her tongue out with a "Bleh!"
That was it. She just huffed and walked away.
I wondered if this was how a winter tree felt when struck by frost. Bitterly, I had to etch the feeling of being abandoned by a girl who was like a younger sister into my heart.
However, unlike my complicated feelings, Reto didn't seem worried at all.
He observed my gloomy complexion and chuckled. He set his cup down on the table with a clack and shrugged.
"Don't sweat it. She's probably just feeling very anxious right now."
"...Why would Celine have any reason to be anxious?"
When I asked back in confusion, Reto simply clicked his tongue. He pointed at me and said, "It's because you're like this that she's anxious."
In the end, I could only shrug. My younger sister had taught me when we were children to dodge questions that were difficult to answer. She had quite the talent for business, so her advice was usually right.
Reto just shook his head at my silence, as if he had expected it. He fell into thought for a moment, then seemed to remember something he was curious about.
He asked me as I sat there silently sipping through my straw. It was a question born of pure curiosity.
"Hey, by the way, I heard you're participating in the Hunting Festival?"
"Huh? Oh, yeah. That's right... I'm planning to enter with Seria."
I stuttered for a moment at the sudden question but soon nodded in confirmation. It wasn't something I needed to hide. In fact, I was in a position where I actively needed Reto's help.
Reto tilted his head, still looking like he couldn't follow my train of thought.
"What are you doing about your team members?"
"Well..."
I stole a glance at Reto. He was sharp—uncannily so. There was no way he wouldn't realize the intention behind my gaze.
Reto's brow furrowed instantly. His eyebrows twitched, reflecting his discomfort.
"Don't tell me... I'm not one of them, am I, you crazy bastard?"
"Reto..."
I looked at Reto with desperate eyes. Reto shuddered as if having a fit. Regardless, I appealed to him with a gaze full of trust.
"...We promised to live and die together. Let's go."
Reto's reaction, frankly, was not good. Harsh words immediately flew out of his mouth.
"No, you lunatic! I'm a theoretical magician!"
"But what can I do? You're the only one I can trust!"
Just as Reto had guessed, the candidates I had in mind for the team were him and Celine.
I was worried about the friction between Seria and Celine, but even so, they were the only people I could trust to watch my back.
And above all, participating in the Hunting Festival meant potentially putting one's life on the line. It was hard to find anyone else with enough loyalty to follow me under those conditions.
We might even have to hunt a Named-class demonic beast. I couldn't share the burden of risk with just anyone. I couldn't even properly explain the reasons why. I needed comrades who would trust me even when my words lacked a solid basis.
However, despite my persistent urging, Reto's fit continued. He shook his head violently.
"No, no way... I can't do this, no matter how much you ask."
I smacked my lips at Reto's desperate refusal. I couldn't let things get derailed this early. I spoke in a soothing tone.
"Even if you're a theoretical magician, you can still use magic if you have enough time, right?"
"The problem is that it takes a goddamn long time, man! Besides, do you have any idea how much preparation goes into magic circles and circuit configurations? Do you think I can respond to every little thing in the heat of battle? There's a reason why combat magicians and theoretical magicians are categorized separately!"
Is that so? I had no choice but to sigh at Reto's words.
In truth, even though Reto was a magician, he was far removed from combat. He was the type known as a 'Theoretical Magician.'
These people were primarily interested in research, magic circles, and artifacts. They were the ones who applied magic to daily life and led the field of magic engineering. Most advisory magicians for powerful nobles also belonged to this category.
However, they had one fatal flaw. Because they were so immersed in research, they weren't particularly effective in actual combat.
One couldn't exactly afford the luxury of leisurely drawing magic circles in the middle of a fight. Of course, theoretical magicians could exert great power in large-scale wars, but such conflicts had been rare since the Empire's war of conquest.
That was why magicians specialized in combat had emerged: the 'Combat Magicians.'
They were specialized to respond to various situations using high-speed chanting and a wide array of spells. Since they could also project the massive firepower characteristic of magicians if given time, they were welcomed everywhere.
However, being welcomed everywhere meant that demand was high, making them difficult to recruit.
I was in the same boat. Even if I knew a few combat magicians, we weren't that close. That was why I had been trying to recruit Reto as a last resort.
If he refused this adamantly, there was nothing I could do. This was a matter of life and death. I couldn't force a choice on him using our friendship as leverage.
A shadow fell over my face. A lamenting murmur escaped my lips.
"Damn, what should I do then... I really need at least one magician..."
Perhaps feeling a bit guilty, Reto cleared his throat and avoided my gaze. It felt as if my gloomy mood was contagious.
Silence hung between Reto and me for a moment. As I was mentally sifting through the connections I had built up so far, Reto's voice suddenly reached me.
"...Hey, there is one."
I turned a questioning gaze toward Reto. A strange light was now dancing in his eyes. It meant he had come up with a brilliant idea.
He even looked a bit excited, struggling to suppress a snicker as he spoke to me.
"You just do exactly as I say. If you do, you'll be able to get a magician."
"...?"
In the end, I decided to follow my best friend's advice.
Thud.
The sound of a student being shoved against a wall in a corner caught my eye. Standing before him was a girl of petite stature, with two burly men waiting on either side of her.
The student pinned against the alley wall looked absolutely terrified. I could tell just by looking at his trembling body. He was a scrawny fellow, and judging by his lack of muscle, he definitely wasn't from the Swordsmanship Department.
The petite girl almost looked like a doll. Her brown hair, blue sapphire eyes, and fair skin all contributed to that impression.
However, this lovely girl was wearing a cruel smile that didn't suit her appearance in the slightest.
"Hey, do I look like a joke to you?"
Her voice was low and threatening. Her lips were curved into an arc, but her eyes were anything but smiling.
Those eyes, gleaming with hostility, held a murderous light as if she were ready to tear the man before her apart at any moment.
The man let out a shriek and pressed himself further against the wall. Seeing this, the lovely girl let out a hollow laugh of disbelief.
"Just because I showed a pathetic side in front of others once, you think Elsie Lainella is a pushover? 'Bedwetter'? You piece of... I've been trying to be patient, but you're really asking for it!!!"
She had seemed to be trying to speak calmly at first, but at some point, she apparently couldn't contain herself anymore, and a scream erupted from her throat.
The girl's body trembled. Her hand roughly grabbed the man's collar. The man's upper body was jerked forward.
Staring into the man's eyes, which were fluttering with fear, Senior Elsie gnashed her teeth.
"You think I'm some scrub just because I got trashed once?! You think I can't take care of someone like you, huh?!"
"N-no, that's not it..."
"Then why the hell did you say that shit? You want to get fucked up, is that it? Ahaha... I'm seriously losing it."
The girl wiped her face with both hands. Her eyes betrayed an unmistakable weariness and pain. It seemed the past few days had been a great ordeal for her.
With exhausted eyes, she conjured a crackling current of electricity in her hand.
The terror in the man's eyes deepened. He trembled violently, trying to escape the girl's grasp, but despite her small frame, the girl's strength was beyond imagination.
Even magicians were people who lived on life-and-death battlefields. Though their bodies were weaker than those in the Swordsmanship Department, they could still strengthen themselves to some extent.
A magician as skilled as she was could easily overpower a weak-willed adult male. Though, of course, she would be crushed in an instant if she ran into a swordsman of a similar level.
Unfortunately, the scrawny man was no swordsman, and thus, there was no way for him to escape her grasp.
The girl flashed a bright smile. It was a cute and lovely smile that would make any man's heart skip a beat—if not for the foul words coming out of her mouth.
"Just because I lost to that bastard once, you're calling me a bedwetter and all that shit... Hey, do you think I'd lose if I fought that guy again?"
"N-no, ma'am!"
The man shouted as if that question were his only lifeline. At that, the girl let out a deep breath.
"Really? You know your stuff. Then just bear with it for a bit."
"...?"
The man stared at her blankly. The girl gave him another beaming smile.
"From now on, I'm going to fry your nerves with this current. As you know, mana control is crucial for a magician... and I happen to be incredibly good at fine-tuning it. It's going to hurt. A lot. But don't you dare scream, okay?"
The man's eyes filled with despair. He was trembling so piteously it looked like he would collapse on the spot. But he wasn't even allowed to do that.
With a look of disgust, the girl shoved the hand that had been holding his collar. The man almost fell, but the two brutes standing by her side caught him by the arms.
"Exactly ten seconds. You'll feel like you're dying... but endure it, okay? If you scream in the middle..."
The girl slowly walked up to the sobbing man. The electricity in her hand glowed a brilliant blue. Crackle.
"...We start over from the beginning. Keep that in mind. I always keep my promises."
"U-uuuaaaaaagh!"
Even as the man struggled and screamed, there seemed to be no way to escape the violence. Tears streamed from his eyes. Seeing his desperate movements, the girl's lips curled up in amusement.
Yes, this is how it should be. This is how people should act when they see me.
That thought was reflected in her eyes. I couldn't stand to watch any longer.
"...Senior Elsie."
At my low call, Senior Elsie turned around irritably. She spun around with a fierce glare and shouted at me.
"Which blind piece of sh—"
She froze right then and there. The blue electric charge in her hand dissipated instantly. Her wide-open emerald eyes spoke of the shock she was currently feeling.
Silence fell. The student who had been threatened by Senior Elsie looked bewildered, and the two brutes holding him also stiffened upon seeing me.
I fell into thought for a moment. What was it that Reto told me to do? Right.
Without a word, my hand moved toward my waist. Senior Elsie's legs began to tremble violently. It was an instinctive reaction.
Soon, a hand axe was drawn into my hand.
Senior Elsie let out a small hiccup. Her eyes shook wildly, and even her upper body trembled piteously. She looked so precarious that she might collapse at any moment.
Eyes drenched in terror, and a face so frightened it looked like she would burst into tears.
She was afraid of me—far more than necessary.
So, to reassure her, I gave her a deliberate, gentle smile.
"Shall we have a little chat?"
Senior Elsie's face turned deathly pale.