Chapter 42
Chapter 42
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 42
Chapter Title: Top of the Midterms
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I made it back to school around Sunday evening. The moment I arrived, I headed straight for the dormitory bathroom.
My coat and shoes were filthy with dirt from nearly three days on the road, but compared to Pipi's condition, it was nothing.
When I poured warm water over him from the washbasin magic tool, Pipi flapped his wings open and shut excitedly, shaking his rear end in delight.
"Ugh, look at all this grime. Pipi, how long has it been since you last bathed? Two hundred years?"
"Don't know, don't know, don't know."
Sun parrots carried flames within their bodies, so their body temperature ran about five degrees higher than a human's, which was why Fride said they loved hot baths.
It must have been a luxury he'd never experienced while waiting for me. Getting wet from the occasional rain was probably the extent of it.
Not a month, not a year, not even a decade—but a full few hundred years... My chest tightened for no reason.
"From now on, I'll make sure you live like a king. You know who I am? Heir to one of the Empire's most renowned houses. Money's no object."
"Corn, corn, corn."
"Corn? Hey! Fine, I'll just buy you a whole damn field. Heh heh."
"Heh heh, heh heh, heh heh."
"Heh heh heh."
"Heh heh heh, heh heh heh."
"Heh heh heh heh heh heh."
"Heh heh heh heh heh heh heh heh, heh heh heh heh heh heh."
We spent quite a while cackling mischievously(?) like that, splashing water back and forth, until I heard footsteps outside. I wrapped Pipi in a towel and hurried back to my room.
The moment I wiped off some of the moisture, he zipped around the room exploring every corner, then perched on the bookshelf and shook himself dry with a satisfied air.
"Sorry, it's kinda cramped, huh? Hang in there for about three years. Once we're back at the estate, I'll build you your own greenhouse."
"Greenhouse, greenhouse, greenhouse."
"How's that? Sounds good, right?"
What's a high status for if not moments like this?
That's exactly when you're supposed to splash cash generously, isn't it? I changed into light clothes, plopped Pipi on my head, and left the dormitory.
"Curfew's coming up soon, so we can't go out later... We'll get a cage next weekend."
"Now? Now? Now?"
"I've gotta register you first."
Our destination was the academic affairs office in the main university building. There were procedures to follow if I wanted to keep Pipi legally on campus.
"You're... registering that as a messenger bird?"
In <Delaiten>, a "messenger bird" referred to the birds mages used for communication.
While commoners used pigeons or crows, mages typically favored owls for their high mana sensitivity.
So it was no surprise that the office staff eyed Pipi with bewilderment.
"This little guy's smarter than he looks. Peach, mimic what that person just said."
Just in case, I'd decided to register him as Peach. I'd also told them my name was Rain, not Lin.
Pipi landed on the office desk and bobbed his head to a rhythm.
"Oh my, how adorable."
The staffer covered her mouth with both hands in delight. Rain shook his head.
"Not the dance—the mimicry."
"Corn, corn, corn."
"You wanna go there?"
"Cooorrrn."
"No, he's not usually like this... He's doing it on purpose, I swear? He can talk perfectly fine."
The staffer gave Rain a pitying look. Caught off guard in this embarrassing mess, his face flushed beet red.
'Is Pipi deliberately making me look like some doting idiot owner...?'
The staffer smiled warmly but spoke with concern.
"Of course registration is allowed... but isn't it a bit dangerous?"
"Why's that?"
"Well, if it's just a parrot, the owls might eat him. They are birds of prey, after all. And parrots have no mana sensitivity, so he wouldn't be much use anyway."
Right on cue, an owl flew into the office building. It wasn't a student's—it belonged to the school for official use.
As the owl landed on the desk, another staffer began removing a letter from the message tube on its leg.
In that moment, the owl fixed Pipi with a menacing glare from its huge eyes.
True to its predatory nature, it was at least three times Pipi's size. Sun parrots were on the smaller side among parrots, after all.
Pipi met the arrogant stare head-on, then dismissively unfurled one wing.
Fwooooosh—!
A beautiful arc of flame blossomed from the wingtip, taking vivid shape.
The owl startled at the eerie heat, flapping away in a panic, while the staffers' jaws dropped one by one.
"A p-parrot using magic?"
"No way... Is that a sun parrot?"
"A sun parrot? That makes even less sense."
It really didn't make sense. Sun parrots were a phantom species said to number fewer than a hundred across both continents.
There was one house in the Empire that bred them systematically and passed them down as family pets: the northern grand duke of Dueren, whose crest was the phoenix.
But even they could only do it because they'd been raising sun parrots since the dawn of the Tersia calendar...
"It's a sun parrot, alright."
"N-No way! Where'd you get him?"
Rain grinned, and the staffers' eyes sparkled as they wiggled their fingers, dying to touch Pipi.
"Just... picked him up in the Red Mountains or something."
No lies told, no lies.
The staff didn't pry further. They didn't know the smuggling route, but with the Ludwig family's wealth from Richland's nobility, acquiring a sun parrot was plausible.
Assuming one was available on the market, of course...
"This should be fine, then?"
"O-Of course! Um, could I maybe pet him just a little?"
"M-Me too!"
While Rain filled out the messenger bird registration form, Pipi—who was infinitely cuter than any owl—received heaps of affection from the staff.
"All done?"
"Yes, you've filled out everything needed."
"Come here, Pipi... er, Peach. Let's go."
With that overwhelming intelligence, Pipi flew straight to Rain's shoulder. A quick glance, and he adorably cocked his head.
'Pipi’s right by my side.'
Just that fact had Rain grinning nonstop all the way back to the dormitory.
His stamina had improved, but the three-day journey must have taken its toll. As soon as he returned, the tension melted away, and fatigue crashed over him.
He sat at his desk intending to solve a few math problems, then collapsed straight onto the bed.
"Pipi, kill the lights."
As his consciousness sank into darkness, the room went dark, and a warm presence settled beside his face, flopping sideways like a person.
Pipi.
Rain nuzzled his face against Pipi's head, cherishing that warmth as he drifted off.
"Goodnight, Pipi."
"Goodnight, goodnight, goodnight, Lin."
That night was the first since awakening from his long slumber that he didn't fall asleep in the solitude of being alone.
* * *
Monday morning, he rose sluggishly and donned his uniform. The dormitory caretakers handled the uniforms.
Even from waking up to getting ready, Pipi slumbered soundly on the bed.
It was the first time Rain had seen Pipi sleep longer than himself.
'He must be exhausted...'
He'd been on constant alert against intruders, never getting a proper rest in a single day. For over two hundred years. Rain quietly shut the door without a sound.
He left the dormitory and headed for the Dragon Wheel Hall. The exam results were being posted in the auditorium.
Yawning as he walked, he ran into an unexpected person amid the cherry blossoms drifting across the campus.
"Good morning, Rain."
Tall and handsome with a gentle smile—it was Associate Professor Kyle. On his way to the main building, he'd given some instructions to an assistant before approaching Rain.
"You still look worn from the exams—are you alright?"
A bit puzzled, Rain bowed politely as a student should. Kyle smiled faintly, and a breeze rustled the fresh campus cherry trees.
"If things go well, it might start today. Hm, I'm quite looking forward to it."
"Looking forward to what?"
"What else? Student council activities."
Student council?
Was the student council starting up?
Unsure how it related to him, Rain nodded tentatively. Kyle chuckled.
"You must know better than anyone that no peer of yours measures up."
"......"
"Fortunately, there's a senior who might just give you that push, and he's the student council president."
"Student council president?"
"Yes. Here's hoping you two become great motivators for each other. I think you will—I've got a good eye for people."
Kyle flashed a bright smile, patted Rain's shoulder encouragingly, and turned away.
'This is promising.'
If his mentor hadn't fallen ill two years ago—if he'd supervised the exams himself—he'd have given that child extra points too.
'The clash of those two promising talents... Yes, truly exciting.'
Rain watched Kyle's retreating figure in confusion, tilted his head once, then continued to the Dragon Wheel Hall.
Inside the auditorium, Logan waved from the right rear seats. The Chaihak student beside him bit their lip in shock.
Rain sat next to him, and Logan spoke in an excited tone.
"Getting S ranks in every midterm exam—impressive, young master!"
"I heard three others did too."
"What matters is you snatched an S from that Lilian! Anyway, this might land you a first-year student council position."
"Student council? Oh yeah, Kyle mentioned it earlier—what's that got to do with me?"
Logan cocked his head as if to say "don't joke," then explained.
"The reason first-semester midterms matter for first-years is that only the top cadet gets an executive spot from the start... Most council presidents take this route."
The <Delaiten> student council consisted solely of the most promising cadets. Only those in the rankings could become executives.
The chance came only twice: to the top cadet of the first-year first-semester midterms and finals.
If the top was already an executive, it went to second place. Thus, the council ran with two per year, totaling six members.
"Like a club? Do I have to?"
"......I'm not sure?"
"Tch, more work sounds annoying."
"Not joining? That's absurd! So many cadets strive to get in. Talk like that stirs up resentment!"
It was the first time Rain had seen Logan this worked up since the magic duel, so he blinked in mild bewilderment.
"Yeah? Sorry, didn't realize it was such a big deal."
Shortly after, all the cadets were seated, and Chancellor Madelia Page took the podium.
Five assistants followed, carrying a massive poster and pasting it to the wall. Despite advanced magic tools, <Delaiten> stuck to this traditional method for grade postings.
Soon, the scores were public in rank order, and groans echoed through the hall. Strangely, only the top five names appeared on the poster.
"Huh? My name's not there."
Gertrude was 8th, Logan 7th, Weiber 6th, and 5th was Lilian Carline. Nothing above that. No names at all.
He checked the lower ranks too. With apparently 33 expulsions, it only went down to 200th.
Then Madelia Page spoke solemnly from the podium.
"Quiet. I will now call the top four cadets, from top cadet to fourth place, of these midterms."
Nora Ledon.
Christa Warden.
Kaden.
Rain Ludwig.
"The cadets just named, come to the stage."
Amid gasps from the cadets, three rose with their distinctive flair.
Christa stood tall with noble poise, Nora playfully, and Kaden moved with an elegant rhythm that seemed to carry melody in every gesture.
Following his three rivals to the stage, Rain received a thumbs-up from Logan.
'Amazing...'
He'd thought the basic-level exam held no tension, but now his heart pounded powerfully.
Was this excitement?
Standing beside Nora on stage, the thumping of his heartbeat was all he could hear in his ears.
"I will now read the evaluations from the professors who assessed your bonus points."
Madelia Page unrolled a scroll.
"These four cadets achieved S ranks in every midterm exam, proving unmatched excellence in magical skill, understanding, and knowledge."
"......!"
"But among this excellence, one cadet advanced even further—the one with the potential to pioneer magic's future received the highest score."
Rain tilted his head.
Magic's future? What did that mean? Madelia Page rolled up the scroll.
"What <Delaiten> demands of its top cadet is not mere excellence, but uniqueness. The special sparkle of the one gem that shines amid countless raw stones!"
"......!"
"The cadet qualified to lead others with that light—the one worthy of top cadet—is—!"
Kyle, waiting at the back with arms crossed, smiled faintly.
"You seem pleased, Professor Elin."
Elin, who had been chuckling, wiped her smile and gritted her teeth dramatically.
"Not good? I'm furious right now? Imagining how much higher that kid'll climb already makes me nauseous?"
Still so dishonest, Elin. Your mouth's twitching.
The two had been rivals vying for top and second during their <Delaiten> days. Their mentors had dominated the magic world as the twin pillars: Skalji and Marhena.
Elin was naturally Skalji's disciple, Kyle Marhena's. Kyle ultimately won, graduating top...
"Is that so? I'm different."
"Why?"
"I'm thrilled. Feels like I'm witnessing a scene that'll make history books in real time."
"What're you on about?"
"That right here, for the first time, magic's new future revealed itself to the world. Something like that for the article title?"
In the breathless tension, Madelia Page swept her eyes over the four cadets and pointed at one.
The boy had glossy black hair.
The boy had eyes redder than blood.
The boy had once been scorned nationwide as the "heavenly disaster young master." That boy's name was.
"—1388th Class Midterm Top Cadet, Rain Ludwig!"