The Black Death (7)
The Black Death (7)
To Meri.
Family circumstances came up, so it looks like I won't be able to attend school for a while.
But the thing is, the way things stand right now, I've got a feeling I might not be able to return to the academy at all.
If by any chance I don't make it back within three months, I want you to take over my students for me.
I know. It's a shameless request. But you're the only friend I can really trust with this. So please, take good care of the special class students, at least while I'm away.
I'm dropping the formalities to ask this of you. Think of the money I've set down here as compensation for the trouble I'm causing.
I'm sorry about getting angry before, too. You don't have to worry about the Flare matter anymore. I've already let go of all of it.
Once again, I'm sorry. Just like when we first met here ten years ago, let our friendship last forever.
**
My eyes opened early today. I didn't feel like lying back down, so I arrived at the classroom earlier than usual.
About fifty-five minutes before the standard arrival time. At that hour, there should have been almost no one around—students, of course, but teachers too.
Or there should not have been.
Clink, clink, clink.
Ten silver coins dropped in front of me. While I stared at my desk going uh, uh, gold coins came pattering down this time. I was left with no choice but to gawk at the whole spectacle.
[Whoa, money's falling from the sky!]
Professor Herlein spread her hand and shook off the remaining gold coins. My head naturally tilted upward.
"Wh-what is all this?"
"It's an academic encouragement grant."
"An academic encouragement grant...?"
"Don't you think a half-tuition scholarship is pretty stingy for someone who entered as the second-highest ranked student? And on top of that, you released the Flare patent for free after all that hard work. You had plenty of chances to rake in money, but you gave them all up for the public good. It just looked so pitiful."
"...This makes me feel pretty shameless, you know."
This was the sort of thing I had to decline politely. It went against my personal life principle of give-and-take.
I had already received so much from Professor Herlein. She'd pulled me out of the prison named Haspelt, and she'd even indirectly helped with developing Flare. How could I accept anything more on top of that?
I resisted desperately. But Professor Herlein kept stuffing pocket money into my arms. I felt like a politician taking a bribe.
"Now now, when an adult tells you to take it, you take it."
An adult, she said. I might be older than you, professor.
[Ah, seriously! How much do you even have in your bankbook to be holding out this hard?]
Bankbook—the moment that word came out, my resistance weakened rapidly. I'd slammed straight into the wall of reality.
[Let's say you manage to hold out for this semester and next semester. There are still three years left. When exactly do you plan to save up enough money and graduate?]
Ouch, talk about hitting where it hurts.
In the end, I had no choice but to kneel before reality. The words we'd exchanged back when I went to the raw-fish restaurant with the professor suddenly came to mind.
The request to become a great mage and bring prosperity to this country.
"......."
That much would be hard to keep. After I mastered all magic, I was going to leave this place anyway.
But at the very least, I could manage to produce a decisive weapon capable of killing any magic beast. That would be my thanks to the people who had looked after me here, and my parting gift.
Right after Professor Herlein went to the front of the lecture desk, I took my bankbook out of my hip bag and opened it.
[Account Holder: Aether (Surname not registered)]
[Account Number: 101-34158069-71-16001098398]
[Account Balance: 343,708 Lubre]
Aside from the interest payment from the term settlement, there was no particular income. If there was any money I'd earned, it was from tutoring Rote, but I was saving that for living expenses, so calling it next semester's tuition was iffy.
"...Money again, huh."
At the very least, I had to create one more income source before summer break.
That worry didn't last long. My luck was good, because Vermel, who arrived soon after, approached me with a deal.
"About that mosquito-repelling scroll you made the other day."
"What about it?"
"Could I file a patent application for it?"
Right, there was that. I answered that I didn't mind and then waited for the morning assembly.
Because of Rote's clinginess, I was back in the front row again. With Professor Haspelt absent, the reason I'd had to sit in the back since the Flare incident had disappeared.
Come to think of it, I'd taught Rote a lot during that time, and in return I'd learned a lot from her. The method was that I'd teach her Fire Magic theory, and Rote would propose new ideas based on that.
Rote said that she'd been going around to various research labs, planning a new Magic Art that would help with magic beast subjugation, built on the discussions we'd developed that way. When I asked what it was, she wouldn't tell me.
Meanwhile, looking at the back row, I could see Frey, still soaked in alcohol. It seemed she hadn't resolved last night's hangover.
"My head hurts...."
My head hurt too.
I didn't know the reason, but lately every time I woke up, it was hell. It felt as if there was some imaginary switch inside my head and someone kept flicking it on and off. The condition improved after about ten minutes once I got up, but... surely I hadn't come down with some kind of illness?
The trivial morning assembly ended, and first period began right away. Earth Magic time had started.
"What I'm going to teach you today is remote transmutation. It's the single most important technique in solid-type combat magic."
Transmutation required materials. The law of equivalent exchange was the foundation of alchemy, after all. But Professor Herlein hadn't brought any transmutation materials today.
"Showing you directly is better than explaining with words, right? Normally, the key to transmutation is that the person performing it brings the necessary materials, but...."
With a soft thud, part of the stone dust supporting the ceiling transformed into a sharp spike and fell. It looked like a stalactite breaking off, unable to bear its own weight.
At that sight, the kids went "ooh" and marveled. Silent casting—and a Magic Art that tore materials straight from the natural environment to use.
"Remote transmutation is this kind of thing. Used well, you can take someone by surprise from a place they can't even see."
"Then it's mainly used for assassinations?"
"As long as you can pinpoint the coordinates precisely? To use the technique you just mentioned, student, you'd first have to study Magic Mathematics in depth. You'd naturally have to know the method for transmuting that material inside out, and you'd also need the ability to minimize the difference between kinetic energy and potential energy."
"But it's still possible, right?"
"That's right. Let me give you an example."
Professor Herlein turned around and faced the blackboard.
And then, in the next moment, a part of Frey's desk transformed into the shape of a human hand. The hand tapped Frey on both cheeks.
"Ugeeeeeek!"
The little runt, who had slumped over her desk and was heading off to dreamland, sprang up from her seat with an indescribable scream.
"Wh-what the...!"
"Frey, you can't sleep during class. I can smell the alcohol all the way over here."
"Urk."
The watching students' reactions split broadly into two types. Either they burst out laughing at the absurd situation, or they analyzed the Magic Art the professor had demonstrated with fascinated eyes. Rote and I were closer to the latter.
In the midst of that, there were students who belonged to neither group. One was Vermel, and the other was Prince Clion. The two of them maintained uniformly shit-eating expressions, as if there were a link cast between their souls.
For the one who was a possessor, I figured that made sense. But it was impossible not to find it strange that even the imperial prince, who always wore a sly smirk except when he was angry, was making a face like that. He looked exactly like someone who'd picked a fight with Irka and got smacked around.
It wasn't something worth worrying about deeply. I handed a tissue to Frey, who was drooling, and then faced forward again.
"Of course, it's difficult to use this level of Magic Art right from the start. As you learn more complex mathematics and accumulate real combat experience, more of you friends will naturally be able to do it. This is a technique that applies not only to Earth Magic but to other Magic Arts as well, so if you want to become a great mage, prepare yourselves to master it whenever you can, regardless of your specialty."
Professor Herlein's teaching method was like this. She'd perform the experiment first, then teach the underlying theory. It was an excellent way to boost the concentration of students growing tired during morning classes.
Maybe that was why. Professor Herlein's classes had a magnetic pull. I listened raptly, taking notes, and before I knew it two hours had passed. The lesson ended there.
Even so, that was merely the end of first period. When one class ended, the next class was waiting.
Back-to-back classes—I was dying here.
At least the next class was the magic-beast story hour taught by the loud-voiced teacher. The subject commonly called 'Understanding of Magic Beasts.'
The magic-beast stories told by the muscle-head... no, by Professor Alex Noelheim boasted such incredible magnetism that even I in the class listened to them with interest. Then again, his voice was loud. It would have been weird not to pay attention.
But after the break ended, the person who walked in was Professor Herlein. With a dark expression on her face, she gripped both sides of the lectern.
One of the students asked.
"Why are you coming in, professor?"
That was my question as well.
Professor Herlein did teach Basic Earth Magic, but starting recently, she had also taken on the role of homeroom teacher for our special class. So the fact that she came in during another teacher's class period meant she had something to convey as our homeroom teacher, not as a lecturer.
Herlein opened her mouth immediately, without any preamble.
"Today's Understanding of Magic Beasts class is canceled."
"What?"
"Out of the blue?"
"I just heard it myself. It seems Professor Alex is feeling very unwell."
I couldn't comprehend it. That health-obsessed muscle addict professor? Alex, a walking slab of human protein whose every single mitochondrion embedded in every cell constituting his body—upper and lower half alike, evenly destroyed and rebuilt—seemed like it had to be pure muscle, was ill?
...Well, I supposed it was possible. No matter how healthy a person was, a person was still a person. How could anyone beat illness?
"So today is a free period. No one has been assigned to take over the class, so study on your own as you like."
Professor Herlein delivered only those words and then left the room. Right after that, someone stood up with a loud clatter.
It was Vermel. The possessor guy had suddenly launched into a panic.
He looked around with his face twisted into a deep frown. The students nearby cautiously asked what was wrong, what the problem was, but Vermel said it was nothing and sat back down.
Others might not have understood, but I, who could read his face, knew.
That something had begun to happen.
**
─ SYSTEM : Local first-onset case report.
─ SYSTEM : The following pathogen has infiltrated the capital of the nation 'Philiut Empire'.
[Disease Classification Code: T-3USJL-1FLVF8F-03 (Legally Designated Class 1 Infectious Disease) ─ Commonly known as the 'Black Death']
─ SYSTEM : Assigning the Disease Response Manual (Strategy Guide) to the user. All players are advised to respond swiftly to the coming pandemic based on these guidelines.
─ SYSTEM : If the manual is not followed, the world annihilation probability will be adjusted upward.