EP.154 Coincidence, Perhaps Destiny (2)
Scrape.
The sound of a chair being pulled resonates softly.
Chloe moves a few steps back, lifting her chair. She felt the need to keep her distance from the guest in front of her.
“This person is really suspicious.”
Chloe’s normally round eyes sharpened sharply. She regarded the guest before her as roughly a con artist, and she felt there was nothing wrong about that assumption.
“Showing up out of the blue and saying I resemble someone, acting like they know me as soon as they hear my name…”
Although Chloe rarely suspects others, this was too much. There were multiple suspicious elements. Hence, she remained on guard but…
“…but they don’t really look like a con artist.”
She really couldn’t shake that feeling due to the person’s appearance.
“Hmm…”
Chloe pursed her lips, glancing sideways at the woman seated opposite her.
She was a stunning beauty. Truly.
Although there was no grace in her demeanor, the atmosphere surrounding her felt noble. There was an inexplicable dignity that made Chloe think of the noble ladies in the romance novels she loved to read, perfectly embodied by this woman.
“The protagonist of a ball, a noble lady…”
Just being in the same place drew attention to her.
She seemed destined to be the star no matter where she went or stood.
Her deep green eyes resembled a tranquil lake.
The neatly plaited ashen hair appeared as soft as silk. Every time the wind blew, it felt like a pleasant fragrance wafted through.
“Con artist, con artist…”
Just then, as Chloe gazed at the woman as if mesmerized, the woman turned her head slightly, opening her mouth.
“…What are you staring at?”
Duh! Chloe’s eyes widened in surprise.
She suddenly leaned back, preventing herself from getting entranced. “Um, it’s nothing.”
She was indeed con artist-like.
She undoubtedly knew how to enthrall, deceive, and lure others. It was clear that even the slightest negligence would lead her to be taken advantage of.
“This person is a con artist.”
Chloe nodded vigorously.
“I’ll hold out until Cardi arrives…”
Chloe steeled her mind.
2.
“…Why is Anne acting like this all of a sudden?”
Raniel tilted her head in confusion.
She found it hard to understand the girl’s reactions in front of her. The girl stepped back to keep distance but then quickly leaned forward, staring at her intensely… it was a girl who was all over the place.
“Is it likely that heroes are all peculiar?”
It seemed like a pretty rational suspicion.
Raniel looked at the girl with a dubious gaze.
“The next hero candidate, Chloe.”
She first heard of this girl a few months ago. Raniel recalled the information she received from Kalt.
A candidate for a hero on the verge of awakening.
Since she had yet to awaken, her armaments had not been decided, but it was predicted that the hero would be special.
There were various bits of information about her being protected by the Black Tower, national protection, and so on; however, what remained strongly in Raniel’s mind was something else altogether.
“The first wizard-class hero.”
A remarkable case.
It was the first instance in centuries of history.
“Heroes have learned magic before.”
But, no hero had ever been born with talent as a mage. Generally, the mana that accumulates within a hero is not suited for spellcasting. It develops more toward enhancing strength.
Superhuman physical capabilities surpassing normal humans.
The bestowed armament blessed by the stars.
Thus, heroes have roamed the battlefield with that strength for centuries. However, the girl before Raniel was unlike any hero she had seen before.
“…Her body is frail.”
There were no calluses on her hands. No notable habits or body angles. She had never wielded a weapon.
However, in compensation for that… this girl possessed something that no hero has ever had.
“Strange mana.”
An alien mana flows around the girl.
It is similar, yet different from the starlight that Kyle possesses, an exceptionally peculiar mana. Even Raniel was at a loss as to how to handle it.
Why had she become the girl’s instructor?
As she observed that mana, Raniel seemed to understand why the Master of the Black Tower made such a choice. That mana couldn’t be handled by “conventional means.”
“That’s why it’s valuable for research.”
Raniel’s blue eyes sparkled.
“…How interesting.”
“Excuse me?”
“It’s nothing. Don’t mind it.”
“But, you only seem to be concerning yourself with it.”
As she observed Raniel licking her lips in front of her, Chloe felt an inexplicable chill. After a brief silence, she spoke up.
“…You just said you know me, right?”
“Yeah.”
“I feel like I’m meeting you for the first time today.”
“That’s true. This is our first time meeting.”
“But how do you know me?”
Raniel replied briefly.
“You’re enrolling in Apuria, right?”
“How did you know that…?”
Chloe’s eyes widened slightly.
Raniel pointed to her own face.
“Because I’m a professor at Apuria.”
She rummaged through her suit pocket, pulled something out, and placed it on the table. Chloe’s eyes widened in surprise at what she saw.
“…Apuria access pass.”
It was different from Belnoa’s.
It was not a student’s but a professor’s access pass. Chloe looked back and forth between the access pass and Raniel.
“This doesn’t seem like a con artist… does it?”
It appeared to be the case.
As Chloe’s pupils shook intensely, Raniel continued to speak.
“So you’re starting in the second semester, right? Names of transfer students tend to get around, so I might not know your face but I do know your name.”
“Um, um…”
“So.”
Raniel chuckled lightly.
“Should I keep my distance when talking again?”
“Ah, no…”
Chloe dragged her chair forward again.
Scrape, the sound of the chair moving was quite loud. She cautiously asked a question. It seemed rather late to ask it.
“Professor, why are you in a place like this…?”
What is your reason for visiting?
Raniel replied to Chloe’s inquiry.
“I’m here to meet someone.”
“Did you come to see Belnoa?”
“Not that kid, the store owner.”
“Cardi?”
“Yeah, do you know where he went?”
Chloe shook her head.
“I’m not sure where he went… but he said he would be back soon since he’s running errands.”
“That’s fine.”
“……”
Then silence fell between them.
There was nothing more to talk about, and Chloe was busy keeping an eye on Raniel. Chloe’s pupils darted around.
‘Can I ask something? Like her name? Or her subject? Or maybe about Apuria…?’
As the identity of the suspicious guest was revealed to be a professor at Apuria, Chloe began to see the woman before her in a different light.
‘…She’s a professor.’
On the day Apuria’s entrance was approved half a year earlier, Chloe had danced joyfully around the Black Tower. She even tried on her uniform several times a day before the mirror since she was eagerly anticipating her life at Apuria. Immensely.
But who was this person right in front of her?
She was none other than a professor of the prestigious Apuria Academy.
Being part of Apuria, she undoubtedly had a wealth of knowledge about the academy. Chloe had countless questions to ask her and tons of stories she wanted to hear.
“Um, uh…”
But it was hard to break the silence.
Chloe was continuously gauging how to approach Raniel. She still felt a sense of fear toward the woman sitting before her. The suspicion of her being a con artist vanished, but that was all.
“A rather violent person.”
And perhaps someone whose head is a bit off.
It was arguably the worst first impression imaginable. She wanted to strike up a conversation, but the woman still seemed quite intimidating.
Just then, as Chloe was muttering to herself, Raniel broke the silence with her voice.
“You’ll be enrolling in the second semester soon.”
Chloe perked up at that moment, nodding vigorously.
“I think I’ll start in about a month. I might move into the dormitory a bit earlier…”
“Have you gotten your uniforms and everything?”
“Yes! Yetual made them for me himself. Though he seems to have included some strange functionalities…”
Strange functionalities.
From Yetual’s perspective, it was a story worthy of tears. Raniel bitterly smiled as she tapped her finger on the table lightly.
“Well, whatever.”
She smiled.
“We’ll be seeing each other often once the semester starts.”
“…Often?”
“You’ll be attending my classes, of course.”
“I heard I’m going to receive a special lesson.”
“A special lesson?”
“Not an ordinary class but one taught by an amazing professor…”
“Hmm.”
Raniel rested her chin on her hand, her smile faint.
“But you will still end up in my class, right?”
“I-I don’t want to attend the class of someone as violent… um, rough, as you.”
“Violent? Me?”
“You were trying to hit me the moment we met…”
With a voice barely above a whisper, Chloe muttered.
Raniel shrugged her shoulders casually while teasingly asking the girl before her.
“So do you have any other preferred classes in mind?”
That question lit up Chloe’s eyes as though she had been waiting for it.
“I want to take classes from someone very elegant.”
“What does elegance have to do with classes?”
“Still, their class is said to be full of grace and elegance, and though it might be difficult to understand… there’s wisdom to be gained from it!”
“Who said that?”
“It was said here.”
Chloe pulled out a newspaper from her pocket.
It was several months’ old, covering Apuria’s first public class.
“A newcomer professor who appeared like a comet.”
“Rania van Trias.”
“Professor Rania’s classes are elegant, graceful, and deeply delve into basic magic that every mage tends to overlook…”
Keywords like elegance, grace, and enlightenment were circled in red. The newspaper was worn out from being folded and unfolded multiple times, and Chloe proudly waved it in front of Raniel.
“I’m going to be taking this professor’s class, not someone as violent as you!”
Raniel’s lips trembled.
She couldn’t hold back the laughter that was trying to escape, covering her mouth with her palm, trembling her shoulders as she did. Chloe blinked at the sight of her.
“…Why are you doing that?”
“Ahem, oh nothing. Just a professor I know well.”
Without any clue, Chloe tilted her head in confusion.
She looked as if she were trying to hold back a smile. It felt like she was missing something entirely. Chloe furrowed her brows.
“Ah, thinking back, something seems… off.”
The ashen hair and those blue eyes.
And the oddly youthful professor.
It felt like she had seen the traits of the person sitting right before her somewhere, quite closely. Chloe alternated between the newspaper and Raniel.
“Oh.”
And then it hit her.
Suddenly, an unlikely possibility arose in Chloe’s head.
“…Could it be?”
Chloe’s pupils shook.
“Um, Professor? What’s your name…?”
Just then, Ding, the door swung open.
Squeak.
Belnoa, laden with items in both hands, pushed the door with the tip of his foot. The hinges creaked loudly today, but nevertheless, it was not obstructed from opening.
The bell at the door chimed with a ding.
As Belnoa pushed the door open, he turned to see behind him.
“Old man, where do you want me to put these?”
“A little further in.”
“They’re heavy.”
“You only have to take a few more steps, don’t whine.”
With a thud, he set down the box.
He straightened his back and rubbed his lower back before turning to the girl who was waiting for him inside the shop.
“Oh, Chloe, sorry. The old man sent me on an errand, so I’m a bit late…”
He paused, blinking in shock.
It wasn’t just Chloe sitting in the shop. Someone he recognized was there too, seated in front of Chloe. She waved at him.
“Oh, Belnoa.”
The ashen-haired woman.
As Belnoa looked towards the woman sitting across from Chloe, he tilted his head in confusion. Why was she here?
“…Professor Rania?”
Just as Belnoa spoke her name, Thud!
Chloe slammed her forehead onto the desk.
It was so hard that it made quite the loud thud.
‘…Why is she doing this again?’
It was a situation Belnoa couldn’t understand.
