Discharge Drama and Rift Repair
The morning after that nosy neighbor uncle paid his visit, the day I'd been eagerly awaiting finally arrived—discharge day. But... I never imagined no one else would come to visit me besides that creep. Compared to the guy next to me, I'm treated like the perpetrator...
As I stepped out of the hospital room for the first time in ages, I spotted some wilted flowers on the floor. That jerk probably got so many he wouldn't even notice, but why hadn't anyone cleaned them up? Ha, your great future archmage, Kesera herself, graciously picked them up and tossed them in the trash as an example. Do these magic-obsessed philistines have no manners whatsoever?
"Kesera."
That's when Naru appeared right in front of me. What the—? Did she pop up just to block my path?
"What're you doing here? You hospitalized too~?"
"Of course I came for you, Kesera. Congrats on getting out!"
And then she hands me a bouquet, of all things. So damn annoying. She didn't show up when I actually needed visitors.
I was so lonely in that room, you kno— No, who needs pity from these third-rate losers anyway.
"Hmph, you didn't even visit."
"Well... I had a ton of stuff to do, couldn't help it... Oh! Want me to lend you my notes?"
Notes might actually come in han— No. You gotta be extra wary of overly friendly types like her. Look at that—newspaper logo on her badge. Stuck in that room, the only window to the outside world was the papers, and that newspaper company was the most loathsome of them all.
"Hold up~☆ Naru~? You're a Sakura~?"
I snatched her badge. Lucky for me, it was right at hand height. Naru—er, Sakura—freaked out big time, like I'd caught her red-handed.
"Wh-what?! What's Sakura supposed to mean?! Why grab it?!"
"Joined the school paper, so you're here to scoop a exclusive on me, right? All that friend talk was bullshit~?"
"It's not like that!"
"Then what is it~☆?"
My nerves were already frayed, and her showing up like this had me on the verge of exploding. I was heating up to full-on murder mode, just like the rumors said, with curses bubbling right at the back of my throat.
"There's a misunderstanding. I really came because I was worried about you, Kesera. The newspaper thing? My dad's the publisher, he made me join. A freshman like me doesn't even get to do real reporting."
"Aha~☆ Is that so? Then which company are you with?"
"Huh? You didn't know?"
What? Unexpected reaction. Guess I've been ignoring the average losers, but Naru must be from some big-shot family.
"Sigh, fine, lemme explain. I'm Eluna Le Cromi Essentramium, eldest daughter of the Wizard's Daily family."
Wizard's Daily? That's the one Mom reads all the time. Basically the empire's top paper, like a major broadcast network from my past life. Hmm... Out of all the ones I read in the hospital, it was the only one that didn't run stories on me.
So what's her angle in cozying up like this?
"Now that you know, mind letting go of my badge?"
"...Fine."
Somehow I felt bad and released it. Public opinion and all that crap doesn't really concern me anyway. The tabloids chase their own gossip, and the legit papers ran one big front-page splash then dropped it. Ever since I got hospitalized, my name had mysteriously vanished from recent issues. This empire worships magic duels, after all—especially a ranking match at the Imperial Academy. Happens all the time.
"What's with the gloom? That's not the Kesera I know."
"Huh... Nah, I'm good."
"Right, field trip's next week."
"Next week? Already?"
"Yeah, it's party hunting this time, and teams are random. Figured you wouldn't know stuck in the hospital, so I came to tell you special."
"Uh-huh... Got it~☆"
Mana depletion landed me in here twice already. Honestly, screw teams—planning to solo the whole thing myself sounds way easier.
"Thanks for the heads-up, anyway."
"Then... Never mind."
"What~☆? Staring all creepy like that~☆?"
Why's she gazing at me like she's got something to say but won't spit it out? Not that I'm curious. I've got bigger fish to fry than some event a week away.
That crystal orb the president gave me yesterday... Showed how the rift formed, and it was way more tangled than I thought. It's my mess, so I wanna fix it, but those loser profs slapped on hasty patches, making the web of magic circles a nightmare to unravel. Well~☆, easy peasy for me, obviously.
**
Finished discharge paperwork and headed back to the dorm that day, catching just afternoon classes. Naturally, the last one took us to the coliseum. Sparring's always final period, and it runs Monday through Thursday.
And... now that I'm back in class, everyone's avoiding me. Students from all years in sparring treat me like a homicidal maniac, parting like the Red Sea.
"That's the killer over there—"
"Shh! She'll hear."
"Eww... Gives me the creeps."
"She's cute, though."
Whatever, being a loner is par for the course. Back in my past life, it was just a drinking buddy or two and business with fellow researchers. Truth-seekers are always alone. Don't need friends in this world either. Just look at Mom—be the best, and that's all that matters.
"Kesera. Miss Kesera."
"Yeah, yeah. Listening."
Student council prof? Super intimidating-looking guy calls me over. As I approach—he's also the sparring instructor—the academy students go dead silent.
The prof whispers just loud enough for me:
'Miss Kesera, the president's summoning you. Head to the site, please.'
"Gotcha~☆ On my way."
"Miss Kesera, this way. Come with me."
Oh yeah, that TA was around too. TA sis? 'Senior' doesn't roll off the tongue. Hate that word. Who the hell's my senior?
"Miss Kesera."
I ignored her.
"Miss Kesera, you were amazing. Calling you a murderer is just half the story—they don't get it."
Couldn't ignore that.
"Whatcha mean~☆?"
"You controlled your magic right up to the end, holding back to keep from killing him. That intent was clear."
Felt unconscious on my part, but it looked that deliberate? Chatting idly with the 7th-year TA, we arrived to find the guidance prof already there. His suit from behind always reminds me of a crow.
"Professor, Kesera's here with me."
"Miss Seris, Miss Kesera. Come in."
Seris, huh? That's her name? Not that I care, but maybe pay more attention to folks around me...?
"Steel yourself. We're heading to the site."
"Pfft, no need to brace~☆"
Already ran all the calcs in my head. Fingers crossed they didn't slather more weird spells on it in the last day.
Anyway, arriving at the ranking match site, a sealed rift in pretty bad shape greeted us. Space wasn't just warped—it was torn in spots, black spiderweb cracks turning the whole area into some otherworldly hellscape.
"Think you can solve it?"
And multiple profs had poked at it, making the sealed zone even bigger than when I first saw it. Like I scribbled a clean proof on the board but left it unfinished, then someone smeared chalk all over it.
Up close, the initial rift spell I caused was no biggie. But the profs' "cleanup" made it worse.
"Sigh... Losers, no wonder it got tangled."
Still, I see it. Amid those rifts and the "restorative" magic circles they layered on, one perfect solution shines through—the simple, elegant answer they were too chicken to try.
"Uncle~ Open it up."
"...Got it."
The moment nosy uncle unsealed the space, the warp lunged at the world like a predator, revealing its pitch-black core—like the distortion itself was alive.
I whipped out my Platinum Wand from my pocket. Unlike crude wooden ones, this custom job's synced perfectly to me. Mom made it special—the grip alone feels worlds apart.
"Time to vanish, huh?"
I swing the wand at my handiwork rift, tracing one precise magic circle from my calculations in the air. My fully restored mana forms a void shape, shooting toward the distortion.
"Derivative"
A simple incantation, and the void magic pierces the warp's core. Coreless, the distortion shrinks rapidly.