What Are You Doing, Sis? (11)
What Are You Doing, Sis? (11)
Basic Magic-Stone Studies. The subject I hated most.
Thanks to the know-how I'd picked up after rolling around like a pebble under Professor Haspelt for three years, there wasn't much left to learn about magic stones. But that was the reason the Magic-Stone Studies lectures were *boring*, not the reason I *hated* them.
What was the reason I hated them?
The professor.
"...Hm. Today, we'll replace the lesson with a self-guided tour of this place."
To begin with, the professor was like this, so the class wasn't any fun. Actually, a lack of fun I could handle. The content itself had walked out the door.
"Um, Professor. Are we not taking attendance?"
"I have decided not to include it in your grades."
The defining feature of the Basic Magic-Stone Studies professor was laissez-faire education. To put it nicely, he let students study on their own initiative; to put it uncharitably, he was a wage thief.
"I have a colloquium, so I'll be going now. If you have any questions, please ask the TA..."
With that, Professor What's-His-Name departed from our midst. He had turned into a wisp of wind and defected.
[This is some serious shit, damn.]
I gave silent thanks to the Hardcover Book for cursing him out on my behalf.
He'd been legendary since two weeks ago, but today he showed greatness enough to render even the Second Prince and Rosemary speechless. Couldn't we just make this guy the final boss?
"...What was the professor's name again?"
"I don't know. He never told us during orientation."
"It's not on the syllabus either?"
"I don't remember..."
"Huh."
A sigh escaped me on its own. At this rate, I felt like I could fire a Hydro Pump from blood pressure alone.
"How can something like this be a required major subject?"
"My point exactly."
For once, Rosemary was making sense. How bad did it have to be for even her to act like this?
"Sis, am I the only one who doesn't get this? Colloquium or whatever—if the situation forces you to leave a lecture empty, isn't it common sense to cancel class first and schedule a make-up later?"
"That's right."
"Then why..."
"Lady Saliere, there exist humans who deviate from common sense."
People like this had existed back when I'd been in university. Somehow, it seemed every department had at least one.
"This is why humans are..."
And what was this one overextrapolating on now?
"He must be from a noble house, yet an attitude this irresponsible—truly the worst!"
"If Saliere's saying this, it really is serious."
"Right? Did someone hold a staff to his throat and threaten him into enrolling at Tillet?"
"Hey, would the Iliad accept a transfer right now?"
With the lecturer gone, the class fell into chaos in an instant. It was only thanks to class president Meyril and Rote barely getting things under control that some semblance of order returned.
We roamed around inspecting the magic stones for a while. Since the teaching assistant was still here, it didn't look like anyone had declared self-study and taken off, but...
...Wait a moment.
"Hey, guys. Do you know where the TA went?"
"Now that you mention it...?"
Ah, how dizzying it was.
**
This large, seven-story museum located inside the academy doubled as a logistics depot.
Here, one could rent or receive numerous magic stones for experimental use or as teaching materials, and if desired, one could even purchase them without paying the full price. It was akin to a form of special privilege.
In particular, when a student belonging to a club wanted to purchase magic stones, the school covered most of the cost, which meant you could practically rob the place up to a certain limit.
For this reason, even after a significant number of students had fled, several others and I remained at the museum.
"Excuse me. I'm a student from the Alchemy Hall club. May I obtain some necessary magic stones? For research and item production purposes."
"Of course."
When I presented my club registration certificate, the staff member readily approved it.
Come to think of it, I'd received help here when making Flare too. I'd borrowed the Gauntlet of Gargantua and used it as a target. This was the first time in the half year since then that I was buying something.
"Here you are. Steel, mythril, orichalcum, aluminum, titanium oxide, black iron ore, purple spinels... Is this quantity sufficient?"
I'd have believed it if you'd told me this place was a dungeon. Smiling brightly like a sun conducting nuclear fusion, I descended from the third floor to the second.
"Good heavens, it's an entire bundle."
"What are you going to use all this for?"
Instead of answering, I brought my finger to my lips and made a shushing sound.
Right on cue, my eyes met Rosemary's. Her eyes, gleaming blue like the luminous sea, were fixed on me intently.
But our staring contest was short-lived. It got buried under Clion's grumbling.
"Truly boring. A slave wench could handle a class like this."
The Second Prince clicked his tongue at the hopeless reality of Tillet's education. The proverb about a broken clock being right twice a day really was true.
At any rate, the speaker and the message must be judged separately. I was just nodding my head along with the prince's words for the first time in my life. Clion closed the distance with me, acting all high and mighty.
"Do you not think so as well?"
"Um, I'd really appreciate it if you maintained a one-meter distance."
"How cruel."
Just as a deflated Clion was about to return to his spot.
"Indeed. Was that not excessively cruel, Your Highness?"
A fan studded with black feathers flicked back and forth. Rosemary chuckled with her mouth hidden behind the fan. The prince, meeting Rosemary's eyes, sighed as if there were nothing he could do.
Clion raised his voice and spoke.
"Th-that's right. Lately, I've let it slide without incident, and it seems impudent to try crawling up...!"
Maybe because it was such bad acting, I didn't even get angry. Rote and Frey, seemingly feeling similarly, glared at the prince with apathetic expressions before turning their heads sharply away.
"Let's go, guys."
Today's class was a disaster. Well, some days are just like that.
"...Hm?"
As I rounded the corner, an unfamiliar mirror stood planted conspicuously before me.
Strange. According to my memory, which held the location of every exhibit in the museum, a different mirror should have been here instead of this one.
That mirror and this one were a similar size. However, this mirror was about five centimeters taller. It was unmistakably a different mirror.
Right. This was what I'd been looking for.
Just then, Frey, who had been following behind me, smacked her head into my back and let out a yelp. Fixing her large witch hat, Frey grumbled and asked.
"You startled me! Why'd you stop all of a sudden?"
"I think my hair got caught on the bag."
I smoothly glossed over the situation with a hastily cooked-up excuse. I turned the situation over in my head while I straightened my tangled hair.
The name of the mirror lying before my eyes was the Mirror of the Inner Self. It was an Active Item that allowed me to probabilistically recover the memories of the real Aether, not 'me'.
Here, the term 'probabilistic' included the word 'partial.' It meant that even if I looked at this mirror and recovered memories, I might only recover a portion of them. The source of this information was, of course, the elf.
The game that formed the stage of this world, <Darkest Academia>, was full of probability-based elements. It meant that the tide of battle could flip from a single roll of the dice. Which was why they'd told me to avoid interacting with gambling-type items as much as possible.
That advice was nothing more than advice, however. Some problems couldn't be solved if I only viewed this world as a game dependent on probability.
Like now, in a state where I could no longer make Flare, I had to respond fluidly.
Fusing with another self to explore alternative research plans. That was the optimal course of action I could take right now.
[Isn't this a little dangerous?]
It was probably dangerous. But the advantage outweighed the risk.
[I know you're in a hurry with the research, but this might be disadvantageous in the long run. Even for the distant future, it might be better to be a little more cautious....]
This decision was the result of careful deliberation. According to Vermel, the original Aether had acted similarly to me, so it likely wouldn't be particularly dangerous.
If she'd had a dangerous personality in the first place, she wouldn't have struggled to erase her memories and blend in among humans, would she?
[We're in trouble! After going through grad school twice, this person's completely lost her marbles...!!]
I gestured for my friends to go on ahead.
"I'll fix my hair and catch up."
"If you're late, come to the cafeteria!"
It was only a fleeting moment, but I confirmed that Rosemary's face brightened. She didn't take her eyes off me until she had stepped outside.
Like a tiger eyeing its prey, I crept toward the mirror. In the flawless mirror, smooth as a placid pond, a girl revealed herself.
Just like last time, it was a silver-haired, golden-eyed girl.
The girl smiled.
I smiled back.
And then....
**
I awoke in a space reminiscent of a black hole.
The surroundings were filled with darkness. The atmosphere perfectly suited the English word 'Darkest.'
Still, it wasn't completely pitch black. There was a single light scattered down from somewhere in the ceiling, though even that was all there was.
An unseen hand pushed against my back. Like the N and S poles of a magnet pulling toward each other, my body lurched forward without my realizing it.
Dragging my feet, I somehow managed to reduce my speed. By the time I finally came to a stop, I was standing in the center of the light.
The sensation was similar to the dream I'd had last time. I couldn't control my body at will except to stare somewhere.
Where was this?
Why did it have to be a place like this?
While I was caught up in these meaningless concerns, the light began to flicker like Morse code. It flickered. Flickered. Flickered.
-Ah.... Aaaaaa....... Aah....
A scream rang out every time the light went dark. The space, which was just a mundane liminal space while the light was on, transformed each moment the light vanished into a place saturated with shrieks.
-Ah.... Aaaaaa....... Aah....
Black. White. Black. White.
Scream. Silence. Scream. Silence.
-Ah.... Aaaaaa....... Aah....
White. Black. White. Black.
Life. Death. Life. Death.
-Aaaaaaaaaaaaaagh──!!!!
The beam of light, which had been flickering on and off for a long time like a fluorescent light at the end of its lifespan, eventually flew off somewhere. Because of that, its original spot was dyed with darkness, and the clamorous sound haunted my ears like an auditory hallucination.
I had to run.
I ran frantically. To escape from this hellish scream. Unable to stand hearing this horrifying sound, I ran with every ounce of my strength toward where the light was shining down.
How long did I run?
With barely a few meters left to go, the light source stopped abruptly. Then it illuminated the surroundings with a brilliance greater than before. Before I knew it, the sound that sang of death had vanished beyond the boundary.
I quietly uncovered my blocked ears and looked straight ahead. Where the light source shone, a single, lavishly decorated throne sat conspicuously alone.
And seated upon it was a black-haired girl.
[...You've come.]
A girl exuded an overwhelming pressure on a completely different level from Rosemary's as she directed her Flame Speech at me.
[This is your grave.]
There was no mistaking it.
The original owner of this body had revealed herself.