The Weight of a Dream
His hands and feet trembled uncontrollably. Togun sat rigidly in the chair, his eyes wide as he stared straight ahead. He looked exactly like someone waiting for the final interview at a major corporation.
What, whatwhatwhatwhatwhatwhatwhat on earth did they call me for?!
Unlike the other professors, Magnus was famous for never summoning students for personal matters. Of course, Togun—who had only been at the academy for a little over a month—didn't know all the details. Still, the fact that the stern-faced Professor Magnus had specifically called for him was more than enough to fill him with dread.
Did I do something wrong?
That was why he had rushed over the moment he saw the message. Togun arrived at Professor Magnus's office, his breathing ragged from breaking his personal running record. When he knocked and stepped inside, his tension doubled upon seeing not only Professor Magnus but Professor Karlsen as well.
"For that reason, I'd like to ask for your help. Is that possible?"
Togun listened stiffly to Magnus's words, sweat pouring down his face, unable to even touch the juice the professor had casually offered. Only after Magnus finished explaining did his tension ease slightly, as if relieved.
"Oh, so you mean the 'Mana App'?"
"It's not 'Mana App.' It's Mana Up. If you write out the full name, it would be 'Mana Up App.'"
Or perhaps the name "Mana Up" itself was a playful twist on "mana application," just as Togun had said. After all, the students had come up with the name themselves, and the naming sense of today's children often held a creativity that adults could never imagine.
"If it's too much of a burden, you can refuse."
Following Karlsen's playful explanation, Magnus spoke in his characteristically serious tone.
"Ah, it's fine. I'll do it."
It wasn't particularly difficult. All he had to do was report to the professors if he discovered an app that hadn't been installed before.
"But if that's the case, wouldn't it be better to ask other students too?"
Waiting around for the app to be installed on him alone wasn't a rational plan. Wouldn't it be far more effective to involve a larger number of students?
"We can't ask too many students."
Karlsen answered with a troubled expression.
"The culprit is a dark mage. And if they're hiding this thoroughly, their guard must be extremely high."
Unlike Karlsen, who operated openly, most dark mages working in the shadows were classified as public enemies of the continent. These were people accustomed to spending their entire lives evading the authorities. Moreover, a dark mage operating in the Ellemental Kingdom—where the arrest rate for criminals was high—would possess even greater caution and wariness. The fact that the professors hadn't even been able to confirm the culprit's existence until the app had spread this far among the students was proof of that. Someone like that might notice even the slightest change in the academy's atmosphere and flee immediately. Since they couldn't expect the students to put on an act, a small elite team was the only option.
"Of course, I agree with Togun's point. I would have preferred to recruit a few more first-year students if possible."
But Magnus would never allow that. According to his teaching philosophy, this was clearly a matter the professors had to resolve themselves. He refused to drag students into it.
"Even suggesting we ask Togun for help took courage. You should have seen how fiercely Magnus glared at me. I nearly wet myself."
"There is a student present. Please refrain from such crude language."
"Ah, my apologies."
Togun finally understood why Professor Vivaldi always sighed whenever Karlsen's name came up. Magnus glanced at Karlsen and swallowed the sigh that threatened to escape, then turned back to Togun.
"As Karlsen said, I personally would prefer that students not be involved in this matter."
He didn't want them to worry about adult affairs. He wanted students like Marily and Arina to focus solely on their studies and personal growth. That was what an academy should be, in Magnus's mind. A place where those who came to learn magic could simply learn magic. Professors existed to create an environment where students could study magic and to pass on knowledge.
"But why me, specifically?"
Togun understood the situation. Karlsen wanted to resolve the incident quickly and was willing to use the students' help to prevent more victims. Magnus believed students' only duty was to study and refused to let them concern themselves with adult matters. The compromise born from the clash of these two professors' values was to ask for help from just one person—him. But why him?
Before Magnus could answer, Karlsen spoke first.
"Second-years and above wouldn't be able to properly judge who received or used the app even if we asked them. They might act suspiciously and get discovered by the culprit instead. Since we don't know what kind of rules the Inner World the culprit activated might have, any careless approach is absolutely forbidden."
"That leaves the first-years. And among them, I thought you would be the one most desperate for mana."
Togun Masao. Or more formally, Masao Togun. He was a direct descendant of the Masao family, which had fled from a remote island region on the border of the Fan Empire to the Ellemental Kingdom long ago. The reason the Masao family had sought asylum was simple: an posthumous curse left on their family by a dark mage who had died in the past. Combined with the innate curse passed down through their bloodline, the imperial family of the Fan Empire had rejected them out of discomfort and fear toward the heirloom they had created to overcome that curse.
If the Ellemental Kingdom hadn't accepted their asylum, the Masao family might have vanished from this world entirely by now.
"A Mana Rejecter. It may be a painful topic for you, but your condition makes you an ideal target for the culprit."
A constitution that inherently rejected the accumulation of mana within the body. They weren't completely unable to store mana, but it required nearly twice the effort of others to accumulate even a small amount. It was a curse akin to a disaster in this modern era where academics reigned supreme. In the past, the reason mages had accepted their asylum was largely due to intellectual curiosity about this unique constitution. The research into their curse—which seemed to erase innate mana affinity—had led to the creation of the mana restriction cuffs used to capture criminals. Of course, they still hadn't found a way to lift the curse itself.
"……"
A bitter smile formed on Togun's lips at Karlsen's words. Information about the Masao family wasn't well known in the Ellemental Kingdom. The Fan Empire had erased records about them, and the Masao family themselves were extremely reluctant to let their name spread within the kingdom, fearing further rejection. That was why the students hadn't found anything strange about his surname, but it seemed the professors already knew everything.
Then Professor Magnus also……
Togun's eyes shifted slightly as he glanced at Magnus. As expected, the professor's expression remained unchanged—he already knew.
Yet even knowing Togun's circumstances, he hadn't mocked his dream of becoming a Majoan like Magnus himself.
"All students are equal before me."
Magnus answered Togun's moved gaze as if it were nothing special.
"Regardless of talent, if you have a dream, I will unconditionally support and encourage it."
A professor was someone who gave wings to a student's future, not someone who crushed their potential in advance. A professor's role was simply to assist and support the path the student desired. Judging whether that dream was possible or not was beyond a professor's domain.
"……Thank you."
Togun's fists trembled with a different kind of emotion than when he had first entered the office. The sob he had desperately swallowed added a tremor to his voice.
The hardships he had faced when entering the academy flashed through his mind. The family curse of being a Mana Rejecter. From a young age, he had heard stories of the Majoan and dreamed of becoming a great mage like him, only to be met with scorn and ridicule. They told him he could never become a high-ranking mage. They poured out words meant to make him give up his dream, disguised as pity and sympathy.
Even so, he couldn't abandon his dream. That was why he had entered Benedict Academy. And now, having left his family behind, he had met someone other than his mother—the only one who had ever affirmed him—who was affirming his dream for the first time.
"I'll do it. No—please let me do it!"
He wanted to be of even the slightest help to this person. Watching Togun's passionate transformation, Karlsen turned to Magnus with a surprised expression.
"You have more influence than I thought, Professor Magnus."
Ignoring him, Magnus looked straight into Togun's burning eyes and answered.
"There won't be anything particularly noteworthy you need to do. Just let us know if a suspicious app suddenly appears one day."
"And on top of that, we'd appreciate it if you could also keep an eye on the atmosphere and rumors among the first-years. If you hear that another student has the app, that would be ideal."
"……"
What, are you giving the student even more work? Magnus shot Karlsen a look filled with that complaint, but Karlsen replied shamelessly.
"The reason we're asking Togun in the first place is because he's the first-year most desperate for mana, isn't it?"
If he happened to overhear rumors, he could investigate whether the app actually existed and whether he could obtain it himself. Among the first-years, no one would arouse the culprit's suspicion more than Togun if he actively looked into the app. That was why they were making this request. If they were going to use him, they might as well use him to the fullest.
"Unlike other students, Togun can investigate freely without any restrictions."
"But even so, this is a busy time with assignments and such. Asking him to do this now is……"
"It's fine! Please let me do it!"
"……"
Faced with the person's own enthusiastic insistence, Magnus couldn't bring himself to continue his objection. If the student himself wanted to do it, he couldn't stop him.
"Haa."
After Togun left, Magnus let out a deep sigh as he watched Karlsen beaming with satisfaction that everything had gone according to plan. Dumping a professor's work onto a student……
I'll have to repay him somehow.
Giving him special treatment during class was impossible due to fairness issues with the other students, but Magnus resolved to find some other way to compensate him.
"Hmm."
Meanwhile, Karlsen stopped smiling and fell into thought. Perhaps because of his gloomy face, the sight gave off an oddly ominous feeling.
"I suppose I'll have to move up the class schedule a bit."
Assuming the culprit really was a dark mage, it wouldn't hurt to let the children experience what dark magic truly was a little sooner, just in case.
"Well then, I suddenly have business with Professor Clara! I'll be on my way! Thank you for your hard work, Professor Magnus!"
Watching Karlsen's characteristically languid retreating figure, Magnus let out another deep sigh. Asking Karlsen for help—had that really been the best choice?