Chapter 154
Chapter 154
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 154
Chapter Title: Coincidence, or Perhaps Inevitability (2)
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Drag.
The sound of a chair being pulled back echoed softly.
Chloe picked up her chair and took a few steps backward. She felt the need to put some distance between herself and the guest sitting in front of her.
'What a terribly suspicious person.'
Chloe's normally round eyes sharpened intensely. She had pegged the woman in front of her as some kind of con artist, and it didn't seem like a wrong judgment at all.
'She shows up out of nowhere insisting I look like someone, then acts like she knows me the moment she hears my name...'
Chloe wasn't one to suspect people easily, but this was too much. There were too many red flags. That was why she was on guard, but...
'...She doesn't exactly look like a con artist.'
Her appearance made it hard to see her that way at all.
"Hmm..."
Chloe chewed on her lower lip and shot a sideways glance at the woman seated across from her.
She was beautiful. Incredibly so.
Her demeanor didn't exude overt elegance, but the aura she gave off was utterly aristocratic. There was an inexplicable air of dignity about her. She looked just like the noble ladies from the romance novels Chloe loved to read.
'The ball's protagonist, a noble lady...'
Someone who drew every eye just by being in the room.
Wherever she went, wherever she stood, she seemed destined to be the star.
Her blue eyes were like a serene lake.
Her neatly braided ash-gray hair looked as soft as silk. Every time the breeze stirred those strands, it seemed to carry a pleasant fragrance.
'Con artist, con artist...'
As Chloe stared at the woman, entranced despite herself, the object of her gaze tilted her head and spoke.
"...What are you staring at?"
Chloe's eyes widened in surprise.
She jerked her upper body back from where it had been leaning forward. For a split second, she'd almost been captivated. Chloe cleared her throat with a quick "Ahem."
"Oh, it's nothing."
Just like a con artist.
She clearly knew exactly how to charm, deceive, and entice people. Let her guard down even a little, and Chloe would be an easy mark.
'This woman is a con artist.'
Chloe nodded firmly to herself.
'Just hold out until Old Man Cardy gets back...!'
She steeled her resolve.
2.
'...What's up with Ann all of a sudden?'
Raniel tilted her head.
She couldn't make sense of the girl's reaction. The girl had backed away to keep her distance, only to lean in moments later and stare right through her. Unpredictable in every way.
'Are Hero candidates just weirdos by nature?'
It felt like a pretty reasonable suspicion.
Raniel eyed the girl suspiciously.
'Next Hero candidate, Chloe.'
She had first heard about this girl a few months ago. Raniel recalled the information she'd gotten from Kalt.
A Hero candidate on the verge of awakening.
Her armament hadn't been determined yet since the awakening hadn't happened, but she was expected to be a special kind of Hero.
There were all sorts of other details—like receiving protection from the Black Mage Tower or national safeguarding—but what stuck strongly in Raniel's mind was something else.
'The first Hero with the Wizard class.'
An unprecedented case.
The first in hundreds of years of history.
'Heroes have learned magic before.'
But no Hero had ever been born with the talent of a true mage. The mana accumulated in a Hero's body wasn't suited for casting spells in the first place. It developed toward physical enhancement.
Superhuman physical prowess.
Weapons blessed by the stars.
Heroes were existences that rampaged across battlefields wielding those. That was how it had been for centuries. But the girl before her was different from any Hero Raniel had seen.
'...Her body is frail.'
No calluses on her hands. No telltale habits or stances from weapon training. She had never wielded one.
Yet, in its place... this girl possessed something no Hero ever had.
'Alien mana.'
An unfamiliar mana flowed around the girl.
It resembled the starlight mana Kyle wielded, yet felt profoundly different—extremely alien. Even Raniel couldn't quite grasp how to handle it.
Why had she been assigned as this girl's instructor?
Looking at that mana, Raniel thought she understood why the Black Tower Lord had made that choice. It was mana that couldn't be handled by 'conventional means.'
'That's why it has research value.'
Raniel's blue eyes gleamed.
"...Interesting."
"Pardon? What did you say?"
"Nothing. Don't mind me."
'It's all I can think about...'
Seeing Raniel smack her lips right in front of her, Chloe felt an inexplicable chill. After a brief silence, Chloe spoke up.
"...You said you know me just now?"
"Yeah."
"I don't think I've ever seen you before today."
"Probably. First time for me too."
"Then how do you know me?"
Raniel answered curtly.
"You're enrolling at Aphria, right?"
"How did you..."
Chloe's eyes widened slightly.
Raniel pointed at her own face.
"I'm a professor at Aphria."
She rummaged in her suit pocket and placed something on the table. Chloe's eyes went wide at the sight.
'...Aphria access badge.'
It wasn't like Belnoa's.
This was the kind issued to professors, not students. Chloe looked back and forth between the badge and Raniel.
'She's not... a con artist?'
Apparently not.
As Chloe's pupils shook, Raniel continued.
"You're transferring in for the second semester, right? Names of transfers stick in your ears. So I know your name, even if not your face."
"Uh, umm..."
"Anyway."
Raniel let out a small chuckle.
"Still wanna keep your distance while we talk?"
"N-No..."
Chloe dragged her chair forward again.
Drag. The sound rang out loudly. She asked cautiously—a question that even she felt was very belated.
"Why would a professor come to a place like this...?"
What was the purpose of her visit?
Raniel answered Chloe's question.
"To meet someone."
"Belnoa?"
"Not her. The shop owner."
"Old Man Cardy?"
"Yeah. Guess where he went."
Chloe shook her head.
"No idea where, but he asked me to watch the shop for a bit, so he'll be back soon."
"Good enough."
"......"
Silence fell after those words.
There was nothing more to say, and Chloe was too busy gauging Raniel's mood. Her eyes darted around nervously.
'What can I ask? Her name? What she teaches? Or something about Aphria...'
Now that the suspicious guest had been revealed as an Aphria professor, Chloe saw the woman in a slightly different light.
'...A professor, no less.'
On the day her enrollment at Aphria had been moved up by half a year, Chloe had run around the Black Mage Tower whooping with joy. She'd tried on her pre-ordered uniform in front of the mirror several times a day. Her expectations for life at Aphria were sky-high.
And who was sitting right in front of her?
A professor from that very Aphria Academy.
As someone connected to Aphria, she surely knew all sorts of things about the academy. Chloe had mountains of questions and stories she wanted to hear.
"Um, hmm..."
But it was hard to strike up a conversation.
Chloe kept stealing glances at Raniel. She still felt a bit scared of the guest. The con artist suspicion was gone, but that was it.
'She's incredibly violent.'
And somewhere, a bit unhinged.
A first impression worthy of the worst possible label. She wanted to say something, but the woman still felt intimidating.
As Chloe chewed her lip, perhaps taking pity on her constant peeking, Raniel broke the silence.
"Second semester enrollment means pretty soon, huh."
Chloe seized the moment and nodded.
"About a month from now. Dormitory a little earlier..."
"Got your uniforms already?"
"Yes! Uncle Yetual made them himself. Though it feels like he added some weird functions..."
Weird functions.
Coming from Yetual, who had inscribed top-grade mana seals, it was enough to bring tears. Raniel smiled wryly and tapped the table.
"Well, whatever."
She smiled.
"Guess we'll be seeing a lot of each other once school starts."
"...A lot?"
"You'll be in my class."
Chloe flinched, her shoulders twitching.
"I-I heard I'd have special classes."
"Special classes?"
"Not regular ones, but with some amazing professor..."
"Hmm."
Raniel rested her chin on her hand and let out a faint laugh.
"You'll still end up in my class."
"I don't want classes from someone as rough... no, violent as you, Professor."
"Violent? Me?"
"You tried to hit me the moment we met..."
Chloe muttered in a shrinking voice.
Raniel shrugged and asked the girl casually.
"Got any other classes in mind then?"
As if she'd been waiting for that question, Chloe's eyes lit up.
"I'll take classes from someone very elegant."
"Classes aren't elegant or not."
"But I heard that person's classes are full of grace and elegance, hard to understand but enlightening..."
"Who said that?"
"Here."
Chloe pulled a crumpled newspaper from her pocket.
It was from a few months ago, covering Aphria's first public class.
「Rising star professor appears like a comet.」
「Lania van Trias.」
「Professor Lania's class was elegant, brimming with dignity, and delved deeply into the fundamentals that all mages overlook...」
Elegance, dignity, enlightenment.
The newspaper had red circles around those words. Frayed from being folded and unfolded countless times, Chloe proudly spread it out.
"I'll take this person's class. Not one from someone as violent as you, Professor!"
Raniel's mouth twitched.
Unable to hold back the laughter bubbling up, she covered her mouth with her palm. Chloe blinked at the sight of her head bowed and shoulders shaking.
"...What's wrong?"
"Ahem, nothing. I just know her well."
Not understanding, Chloe tilted her head.
It looked exactly like she was holding back laughter. Chloe felt like she was missing something. She furrowed her brow.
'Oh, come to think of it, something...'
Ash-gray hair, blue eyes.
And suspiciously young for a professor.
She felt like she'd seen the features of the person before her somewhere. Very recently. Chloe alternated between the newspaper and the guest.
"Ah."
That was the moment.
A possibility she hadn't considered until now flashed into Chloe's mind.
'...No way.'
Chloe's pupils shook.
"P-Professor? What's your full name...?"
Just then, with a jingle, the door opened.
3.
Creeeak.
Belnoa nudged the door open with her toe, hands full of packages. The hinges seemed extra squeaky today, but it opened fine anyway.
Jingle. The bell on the door rang.
As she pushed the door, Belnoa glanced back.
"Old man, where do I put this?"
"Come a bit further in."
"It's heavy."
"Just a few more steps. Stop whining."
Thud. The old man pushed Belnoa's back.
Belnoa shuffled into the shop, propelled forward. Dissatisfied with her sluggish pace, the old man clicked his tongue at her.
"Seriously, can't you move a bit faster? A young thing like you being so slow..."
"You're the one who bought too much. What do you even need all this for? Honestly..."
Thump. She set the box down.
Straightening up, Belnoa patted her lower back. Then she turned her head and spoke to the girl who should have been waiting for her inside the shop.
"Oh, Chloe, sorry. The old man sent me on an errand, so I was a bit late..."
Mid-sentence, Belnoa blinked.
Chloe wasn't the only one sitting in the shop. There was another very familiar face. The woman waved at Belnoa.
"Hey, Belnoa."
The woman with ash-gray hair.
Belnoa tilted her head at the woman sitting across from Chloe. Why was she here?
"...Professor Lania?"
The moment Belnoa said the name.
Thud!
Chloe slammed her forehead onto the table.
It hit hard enough to make a loud noise.
'...What's her deal now?'
Belnoa had no idea what was going on.
Author's Note Fumbling Chloe