The Ghost of the Divine Tree (2)
Inis finished her tale, her body shuddering at the mere memory, as if it had become a deep-seated trauma.
Eunhyeon offered her thanks along with a pouch of silver coins as fitting compensation, but Inis refused it outright.
To a young lady from a noble house like her, a pouch full of silver meant little. Instead, she expressed her gratitude for listening to her story without dismissal, taking it seriously to the end—it had brought her no small comfort. With that, she left the library.
Alone once more, Eunhyeon and Iliana exchanged thoughts on the eyewitness account Inis had shared.
"The principal of Aiter and all the magic professors dismissed it as the witness seeing things."
"They must have grounds for that conclusion."
"They scoured the entire school with detection spells and every trick in the book, but found no corpse, no traces of magic use—not a thing. If it really was some magical phenomenon, admitting they missed it would prove their own incompetence. You think those prideful noble mages would own up to that?"
Iliana scoffed, mocking Aiter's principal and professors.
Among the kingdom's mages, the pinnacle was the Royal Court Mage Corps, the Magers.
Aiter's principal and professors were either retirees from the Pernias Kingdom's Royal Court Mage Corps, the Magers, or elite nobles of comparable skill.
For them to conduct such a thorough search and turn up nothing—only for a clue to pop up now—would expose their inadequacy.
There seemed to be some strange tension between Iliana and the kingdom's mages that Eunhyeon wasn't yet privy to. Curious as he was, he didn't press her on it.
"What's your take?"
Eunhyeon asked Iliana.
"Hard to say. I don't have enough certainty to commit. Magic like this isn't my specialty anyway. You know more about it than I do."
"Knowing and consulting an expert to boost reliability are two different things."
"Hmph."
Iliana sipped the black tea Eunhyeon had brewed, a smile tugging at her lips—she clearly didn't mind the praise.
"I'll head over and check it out, then."
"Aiter?"
"Yeah, I want to see the scene for myself."
"Fine. Oh, and drop by Riod while you're at it. His knights are tracking her runaway brother right now."
"Got it."
"I'll contact Riod for you."
"Thanks."
"Be careful."
Iliana waved as Eunhyeon left the library office.
He figured investigating firsthand—whether real or imagined—couldn't hurt.
With his destination set, he made straight for the school.
Eunhyeon arrived as midnight neared, the brink of a new day.
Even without the sun, moonlight bathed the school buildings in a bright glow.
He approached, scanning the exterior. Despite the late hour, the main gate stood open, unguarded.
What's with the lax security? he thought, a wry chuckle escaping him.
"Does this school have no concept of security? No wonder a little girl could sneak in."
Even private merchant guilds in the capital bolstered defenses against leaks of confidential documents or intel.
Yet this public institution, funded by the kingdom, was laughably negligent.
Iliana's Merbiss Magic Library ran on royal funds too, but it housed invaluable tomes recording the world's knowledge—protected by her magic, so he'd never given other public security much thought.
He'd assumed they'd have at least basic measures, but this was outright abandonment.
Is this okay for the kingdom's premier educational institution?
"Not my problem, though."
Thanks to it, he slipped in easily, striding through the open gate.
"Hm?"
On his way to the main building, Eunhyeon paused at the beautifully tended garden flowerbeds.
What first caught his eye—what drew his gaze—was the colossal tree towering at the center, amid beds and benches.
It was enormous even for a tree, but the true wonder was the glowing green lights drifting ethereally around it, like fireflies.
They clustered thickest at the trunk's core.
"Mana this dense... forming visible shapes."
Eunhyeon eyed the green mana orbs fluttering about the tree, recognizing its nature.
"So this is the Wish Tree."
Tales of Aiter's Wish Tree were legendary.
Rumors said earnest wishes granted here came true, drawing crowds of students.
Most were kids wishing to become great knights or mages—or for romance, mostly in jest.
Even the kingdom's elder nobles had graduated from this school, so the steadfast Wish Tree, standing since its founding, was both school's and nation's icon.
Eunhyeon dismissed the wish-granting rumor as common superstition.
The capital's plazas had fountains where tossing in a coin sealed your wish—much the same.
Prosperity in business, family health, lovers' success.
No causal link between coin and wish, of course.
But Eunhyeon knew this tree's hidden truth.
The school existed because of Pernias's Divine Tree.
Over two centuries of rebuilds preserved its history and context—the royals wanted to conceal the Divine Tree's true nature from the continent.
A secret passed only among royals; no other Pernias subject knew.
Except Eunhyeon.
Seeing the Divine Tree's reality with his own eyes—long heard of but never witnessed—filled him with emotion.
Despite centuries lived, he'd never beheld this sight.
As curiosity to probe its mystery welled up—
"Hm?"
Eunhyeon sensed eyes on him from somewhere.
Not human.
Sensing some nonhuman presence, he closed his eyes calmly.
Instantly, he unleashed vast mana, blanketing the entire school with his power.
Whiiing!
It was Detection, Eunhyeon's technique to map everything in range by deploying mana—like radar or sonar, but with magic.
Not a spell, but mana mimicking those principles: emit waves, measure reflections for direction, distance, speed.
Twenty years prior, facing tens of thousands of magic beasts in Mirvabilla Empire's palace, this Detection let him seize early advantage—more than even his Apostle powers.
Omnidirectional scans tracked every charging beast precisely; he anticipated all attacks as if eyed from behind, his Thought Acceleration-boosted mind devising counters in godlike fashion.
No Apostle gift—this was his painstaking creation.
Three seconds to blanket the school; two more to analyze all structures and facilities flooding his mind.
Then—he spotted it. Not a person, atop a distant rooftop, gazing down.
A triumphant smile curved his lips.
He turned, facing the rooftop, lifting his gaze.
Their eyes met. It flinched, trembling; Eunhyeon murmured with a grin,
"Found you."
Her first thought upon seeing the man: curiosity.
Silver hair gleaming in moonlight, handsome features.
Early twenties, strikingly young.
No flashy jewels or ornaments—commoner garb, not noble.
Yet crisp fabric and tidy attire enhanced his refined looks without need for adornment.
Sensing her gaze, he turned. Their eyes locked.
Overwhelmed by his blood-red irises, she fled swiftly.
Walls no barrier; she shot vertically between buildings, ascending rapidly.
Atop the roof, safety assured, she prepared to observe again—
Whiiing!
Suddenly, energies around the tree churned.
Unknown mana surged, expanding to engulf the school.
A chill ran through her as it enveloped her.
She knew its source instantly: the man by the tree.
Glancing back—he was staring right at her rooftop.
Too far to hear, but she read his satisfied smile and lips:
Found you.
[Ugh...!]
Eyes met, dread hit.
No one had seen her before; none heard her words.
She'd even tried touching daytime students in the garden—nothing.
No one acknowledged her existence.
How did he?
To her, he was anomalous.
From dawn: he'd appeared suddenly, marveling at the Wish Tree.
Sensing her gaze was new—she'd never been noticed before.
Yet now, it brought no joy—only fear.
Why? His mana coiling around her, dissecting her essence intimately.
Instinct screamed danger; she tried fleeing skyward—but he was faster.
"Don't go."
The voice froze her mid-escape.
Trembling, she turned. He stood by the rooftop door.
First thought: How?
Confused, she checked below—no man by the tree.
Twins?
From garden to here: ten minutes running flat-out.
From his search to her flight: five seconds max.
Absurd—jump? But she'd have seen.
Five seconds for a ten-minute climb? Impossible.
Both unreal. Escape now? Futile—she'd be caught again. She abandoned it.
"Erin Hersha."
The sudden name jolted her.
"Right?"
He tilted his head, puzzled by her tension. Strangely, strength drained from her; she nodded.
"Yeah..."
She surrendered, revealing herself.