Chapter 15

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Translator: MadScientist

Chapter: 15

Chapter Title: Paper Birds (1)

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Ring-a-ding-ding— Ring-a-ding-ding—

The smartphone alarm was blaring.

Ring-a-ding-ding— Ring-a-ding-ding—

"Ugh..."

A text alarm trying to wake me from sleep.

Ring-a-ding-ding— Ring-a-ding-ding—

"...Argh."

Ring-a-ding-ding— Ring-a-ding-ding—

Writhing in agony, I finally couldn't take it anymore and sat up.

"Fuck."

I reached out and grabbed the smartphone.

It was 2 a.m. on Wednesday.

"What kind of asshole...?!"

I swore, then my eyes flew wide open. My mind snapped awake.

It looked like some crazy bastard, but it was a commission text anyway.

I hurriedly tapped the screen.

A reply came right away.

Several photos came through.

"...Who is this?"

A total of five landscape photos, and an assignment sheet in Latynel: Describe each of the above landscapes in 1,000+ characters. From Tuesday's elective Latynel I composition class.

A bit taken aback, I replied right away.

"Rae, huh."

Not entirely sure.

The texts seemed kinda dumb, though.

Ding-

The smartphone rang again. The client's Latynel sample.

"...Definitely Rae."

Like 90% that girl. My first desk partner when I entered ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Endex as a freshman that year.

The psycho who freaked out and threatened to cut off fingers for drawing a line past the desk edge.

I deliberately jacked up the price.

Whether it was Rae or not, 500 Ren was pocket change for nobles learning Latynel.

I almost gave my account number but held back.

Even if caught, it might not matter, but no point risking it.

The department store gift card barcode arrived instantly. Not 250 Ren, but a 500 Ren one.

"I said prepay 250 Ren."

Did she think prepay was 500 Ren?

Works for me, though.

"...Of all things, Libra Department Store."

Libra Department Store gift card.

My pre-regression habit—boycott anything tied to Libra, no matter how slightly—made it irk me a bit, but I'd decided not to care anymore.

Besides, it was a good thing. The hottest gift card around, cashable with just a 3-4% fee.

I replied, sat at my desk, and picked up a pencil.

3 a.m. A luxurious villa in the cypress woods.

Having finished her daily routine, Elise Petra ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠lounged on the sofa, scrolling her smartphone to unwind.

Kraaa—! Kssshhh—!

Using the shouts from Esher Dread and Kain Traksil's Mana Body sparring outside as white noise, she idly flicked her fingers.

Ballan was the second son of chaebol Rostday, Tyric the youngest son of a congressman, Silvin the eldest son of the Bersio Knight Order captain.

She was networking per her father's advice, but Elise just found it annoying.

She knew what these guys were after.

"Tch."

Mom said people blame beauty as a crime, but it was way too irresponsible and pathetic.

How could all this shallow, vulgar focus on looks—the stuff bugging her—be her fault for being pretty?

Beauty was innocent.

The flies swarming without knowing their place were guilty.

"...Elie. Finished my Latynel composition."

Then Rae Hilton appeared in the corner of her vision, holding out five sheets of paper with a tense look.

Elise raised an eyebrow.

"Already?"

"Yeah. Check if the meaning and translation are right?"

Elise took them. Assignment to describe five landscapes in Latynel, 1,000+ characters each—pretty tedious...

Elise sighed.

"Looks good."

"Whoa, really?!"

"You didn't write it, did you?"

"Gasp!"

Rae clapped a hand over her mouth, startled by the bullseye.

"How'd you know? Obvious?"

"Nah, not obvious."

The language skill, sentence structure, word difficulty weren't high.

"Rae, it's just a smidge better than your level. No ghostwriting suspicions."

"For real?! Awesome! But how'd you know, Elie?"

"You couldn't finish this in one day."

"...Oops."

Rae's talent was exceptional. Honestly, on par with her—maybe even better.

The problem was zero effort.

Among people Elise knew, Rae had the highest potential Spectrum, but was also the laziest and most fun-loving.

Especially hated physical training, her athleticism worse than an average middle schooler.

"Anyway, no suspicions, right~?"

Rae beamed and flopped onto the sofa.

"Yeah. I'd recommend doing it yourself, but... who'd you hire?"

Latynel was the highest-grade and most ancient language. As an artifact of antiquity, countless words remained untranslated, making mastery akin to social power.

Textbooks were pricey for that reason, and just speaking it earned pride from linguistics profs and fallen nobles.

So a ghostwriter good enough for Latynel homework was probably someone Elise knew—

"Asked from a flyer?"

"...What?"

"This one."

Rae held out a crumpled paper.

Elise stared blankly. Rae grinned.

"Try it sometime, Elie~ They're good."

"You're insane."

"Only 1,000 Ren."

"1,000 Ren?"

"Yeah. 500 prepay, 500 on completion."

1,000 Ren. Compared to the hourly rate for Elise's weekly Latynel tutoring—insanely cheap.

"Pass. What could I learn from someone doing trivial homework?"

Elise shrugged.

The result was amateurish anyway. Matched Rae's level perfectly.

"Nah~ I told them to match my level."

"..."

A flicker of interest, but she shook her head and stood.

"Anyway. Heading home?"

"Oh, your ride's here? Drop me off too. Let's go together."

Elise stepped out with Rae.

"You two leaving now?"

"See ya tomorrow~"

On the lawn, two sweat-drenched guys waving.

Elise gave a light greeting, got in the sedan with Rae, and told the driver at the wheel.

"Drop Rae off first today."

"Understood."

"Yaaawn~ Lemme nap a bit."

Rae dozed off as soon as the car started. Elise reviewed her Latynel vocab flashcards, then glanced her way.

A flyer poking out from Rae's pocket.

"...Hmph."

Doing homework with junk like that. Even for Rae, kinda pathetic. When would this girl grow up?

Elise looked out the window.

"..."

Her eyes drifted back to the flyer.

No particular reason.

Just curiosity.

Curious what kind of person would sell Latynel knowledge as a mere errand.

With a sidelong glance, she memorized the flyer's number...

"Hm."

And saved it to her smartphone.

Wednesday.

Unusually tired this morning, but unusually good mood. Thanks to earning 1,000 Ren overnight.

Of course, no time to get carried away.

Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays were College Board assignment days.

Not classes—more like musters. Everyone gathered in Cleam Hall.

"...Quiet."

Cleam Hall at 8:45 a.m. Still time before 9, so hushed. Everyone busy with meditation, study, breakfast, whatever.

I sat anywhere. Unconsciously scanned for a certain head. Endex's only redhead.

Soliet.

Since that day, my eyes always sought her.

Or rather, they naturally did.

She was that special.

Chin in hand, admiring her back view, when the front doors opened.

"Nice to meet you~"

"?"

A chipper voice rang out. Everyone startled, turned that way.

A twintailed woman entered, hugging a box.

"I'm Asilen, the evaluator dispatched from the College Association~ Why not Jedric? We all have schedules~ Four evaluators will rotate assessing you~"

Beaming her intro, she set the 'box' on the podium, then whipped out a file.

"Endex College Board. Last assignment, 26 of 153 quit, so 127 from today on~?"

Indeed, fewer people.

College Board had a national pass rate of 25%, even Endex barely 40-50%—brutal.

"Hmm. 127's still too many~?"

Asilen muttered ominously, checking her watch. I glanced at my phone.

9:03 a.m.

"Anyway. Today's ability test: 'Mana Observation'~"

Snap! Asilen snapped her fingers. A fireball bloomed in midair.

A blue-tinged will-o-wisp.

"First, quick explainer. What's a 'mana formula'~?"

"A formula made of mana."

Instant answer, of course.

Elise.

"Right~ A formula of mana. Can manifest simple mana phenomena. Like this will-o-wisp. So, what's a 'mana spell formula'?"

"A spell made of two or more mana formulas."

Elise again.

"Correct~ A mana spell formula of two-plus mana formulas. Can do way more complex, amazing stuff than a single formula. Like flying airships or expanding space~"

I knew the basics.

A 'mana formula' was a complex glyph of circles and lines tangled together.

Two or more linked made a 'spell'.

Complete in right order, and a 'mana spell formula' manifested.

"What does this will-o-wisp look like to you~? You first, blondie!"

Asilen pointed at me.

Why me again.

"What does this fire look like? Answer."

The shimmering blue will-o-wisp in midair.

"...Fire."

It's fire, duh.

Asilen shook her head.

"Wrong! Anyone know?"

Elise raised her hand.

"Yes, you!"

"A mana formula."

"Correct."

Asilen raised a finger. Mana sprouted like a vine, forming a 'formula'.

"This is the mana formula for Will-o-Wisp."

Asilen turned to me.

"If you wanna truly live with mana, you gotta observe 'phenomena' as 'mana' like this. Accepting phenomena at face value ain't pro~"

She smiled at me.

"Got it?"

"..."

I stayed silent. Asilen bit her lower lip slightly.

"Answer."

"...Ah, yes. Got it."

"Good."

Asilen nodded, smiling again.

"So, how do you observe a mana formula?"

"With the sorcerer's eye."

Elise once more. Asilen gun-fingered her.

"Right~ Tools can help, sure. But tools are limited, yeah? Can't whip out a microscope in a pinch~ Ultimately, naked eye—your eyes~"

Asilen pointed to her eyes, forcing them wide cartoonishly.

"Easiest way is Mana Body. Connect One Belt Four Lines mana passages to the optic nerve and flow mana."

"..."

My blood ran cold.

Down to Mana Body after all.

One Belt Four Lines.

"Flowing mana to the eyes is the easiest part of One Belt Four Lines. Basics of basics."

The basics impossible for someone with blocked dantian.

"So, fail even that on today's test? Automatic fail~"

Asilen gripped the box lid.

"Now, real evaluation starts~"

Whoosh! She flung it open. Paper birds burst out noisily.

Fwwoooosh—!

"Eek!"

"Whoa, startled me!"

"Huh!"

The seniors watched in shock.

The paper birds varied in size and shape, but all flew out the windows identically.