EP.160 Autumn, New Semester (3)
“Welcome, Miss Chloe.”
“H-Hello!”
“Feel free to speak casually, Miss Chloe. If you face any inconvenience during your stay in the Central Academic Hall, don’t hesitate to call for me anytime.”
The maid lightly bows and steps back. Her restrained movements are reminiscent of a finely crafted doll.
“How about taking a brief walk? I’ll ensure your luggage is organized while you’re gone.”
“I-I can do it myself…”
“It’s part of our duties. Leave the luggage to us and please enjoy your tour of the academy.”
It’s hard to refuse such a considerate offer. Chloe nods and begins to move. With a dazed expression, she walks down the corridors of the Central Academic Hall. Everything feels incredibly fascinating.
Living with the assistance of maids? In such a splendid place?
‘This is totally what a noble lady would experience…’
It feels like something out of the novels she enjoyed reading. Noble young ladies who always have splendid servants assisting them. She feels like a character from one of those stories.
“…gulp.”
Chloe swallows nervously.
She shouldn’t be too excited. She needs to behave calmly, like a model student… But just thinking about the view she sneakily glimpsed through the maids makes her steps lighter.
‘This is insane, insane…!’
She’s happier than ever. After spending over a decade struggling in the back alleys, living in the dreary Black Tower for one or two long years… finally, spring has come to her life.
The land of dreams and hopes, Apuria.
Chloe decides she will bury her bones in Apuria. Unfortunately, there is no one around to point out how foolish that decision might be.
*
“Um, Belnoa.”
In the lobby of the Central Academic Hall. Leaving her luggage in the care of the maids, Belnoa sits on the sofa, passing time until someone unexpected approaches.
“Professor Rania? What brings you here…?”
A woman with ashen hair that flows down. At a glance, she looks like a student, her hands stuffed in the pockets of her pants as she tilts her gaze down at him.
“Nothing unusual, really.”
At those words, Belnoa’s spine tingles.
‘Nothing unusual? That’s never a good sign…’
Every time Professor Rania uttered such a phrase, Belnoa had to endure nightmares. She’s a professor whose way of thinking is entirely different from a criminal’s. Whenever she says, “Nothing important,” it usually turns out to be quite significant.
‘What’s it this time?’
As Belnoa braces himself in tension, Rania continues.
“Do you know where your childhood friend, Chloe, is?”
“…Eh?”
“Do you know where she is?”
“Oh, Chloe? She mentioned she would take a brief look around Apuria while her luggage is being organized. She should be nearby.”
“Hmm.”
Rania gently touches her mouth.
“Well, she’ll probably turn up while wandering around. Thanks for the info.”
“…But why are you looking for Chloe?”
“I need to confirm something regarding class.”
Confirm something.
Feeling an unexplainable chill at that word, Belnoa slowly nods. Rania waves her hand and turns to leave.
“I’ll see you soon, Belnoa.”
“Yes, Professor.”
Belnoa stares at Rania’s retreating figure for a while… then turns away. It’s not like anything significant would happen just because they met.
‘They’re professor and student, after all.’
It’s a fate that’s bound to happen eventually. Just because it’s a day or two earlier, does it mean something grand will occur? Besides, Professor Rania is known to keep things reasonable. She wouldn’t make excessive demands of Chloe, who has just entered Apuria…
“…….”
Belnoa falls silent for a moment.
What comes to her mind is all the various adversities and trials she faced over the past semester. Remembering them triggers a rather obvious question.
“Um…”
Belnoa murmurs into the empty space, her eyes vacant.
“Does she… have a sense of proportion?”
It’s an incredibly late question. The water had already spilled.
2.
The autumn breeze rustles her white hair. The weather is pleasantly cool, and the sunlight pouring down is more than welcome.
“Hmph, hmm.”
Chloe hums a tune as she strolls around the academy. Lightly, almost as if dancing. Each step brings her happiness. Chloe glances around as she moves.
‘The Central Library!’
A model student is supposed to befriend the library, after all. Even if it takes at least three days to get her student ID, she can still enjoy the library’s exterior while imagining what’s inside.
Row upon row of magical texts. Students with glowing enthusiasm seated at tables.
Soon, she’ll be one of them. Chloe pictures the noble young ladies she read about in the novels attending prestigious academies.
‘Smart, elegant… absolutely devoted to their studies. That’s why they’re beautiful young ladies!’
Surely, she can become like them.
Calming her racing heart, Chloe continues exploring the academy. Each time she encounters Apuria’s students, her eyes sparkle with wonder, although some glance back at her with curious expressions.
But that’s fine.
Little things don’t matter at all.
“Wooow…”
Chloe gasps in awe as she walks.
The sights differ from anything she ever imagined from the text in the newspapers. She feels a certainty that here, she can begin anew.
An ideal life.
The academy life she had always dreamed of.
This is truly an academy full of dreams and hopes. Chloe can’t help but smile widely. Just as she wonders where to go next, she hears a sound.
Clop.
The sound of footsteps rings out.
Clop, the sound of heels lightly hitting the block echoes softly. Clop, it grows gradually closer. Clop, Chloe’s nerves are on high alert.
The star sings.
Her instincts warn her.
Do not turn back; just run. Escape is the only path to survival. However, not being used to the star’s intuition, Chloe tilts her head curiously and turns back. What could possibly be there?
“Oh.”
And then, Chloe realizes right away.
Why the star sang of despair.
“Oh.”
Someone admires her, looking her way.
That person smiles—an endlessly beautiful, yet utterly chilling smile. She slowly moves her lips.
“I found you.”
That three-syllable sentence echoes in her ears.
“…Gasp!”
Chloe gasps.
Instinctively, she spins around.
Only one thought fills her mind.
‘Run!’
It’s still within the school grounds, and she doesn’t entertain the ridiculous deduction that she will have to face this person someday. For now, she just needs to get away from this situation. Chloe resolves to act immediately.
She’s lived a life of skirmishing through back alleys.
Even though she has been under Belnoa’s protection, she was always in an environment that compelled her to perfect the skill of escaping. And now is the perfect time to utilize that escape skill.
Thud.
Just as Chloe is about to sprint away…
“Hello.”
Suddenly, her shoulder gets grabbed.
“Where are you going in such a hurry?”
A soft whisper tickles her ear.
It’s a very gentle voice. Smooth and sweet, it’s undoubtedly a tone that would disarm anyone’s defenses.
However, for some reason, Chloe feels a chill from that voice.
“Uh, um…”
Chloe turns her head back with a creak.
‘She was surely quite a distance away…?’
How does she get so close? It’s incomprehensible.
In the blink of an eye, the woman has closed the distance of several dozen steps, and Chloe stares at her with trembling eyes. It’s like their first encounter again — a figure who appeared as if summoned by the wind.
“Um.”
She smiles at Chloe.
“This is your second time.”
Flowing ashen hair. Her half-open bluish eyes. A gaze looking at her as if she were an intriguing specimen… like a test subject.
Rania van Trias.
As she firmly grips Chloe’s shoulder, she speaks.
“Shall we have a little chat?”
The academy life brimming with dreams and hopes. A whisper of calamity slips into the ears of the young girl who dreamed of that. Such a thing doesn’t exist. She has definitely taken a wrong turn.
“Y-Yes…”
Chloe stammers, nodding her head repeatedly.
From the very first day she set foot in Apuria, she senses something has gone terribly wrong.
3.
With just over a week left until the second semester starts, Apuria is more bustling than ever. Perhaps it’s partly due to the rumors about the mysterious girl who transferred to Apuria… but there’s one incident attracting even more attention.
“The battle magic department duel schedule.”
It’s all due to a single sheet of paper posted on the academic notice board.
Due to its characteristic emphasis on practical combat, the battle magic department has a unique duel system in place.
“Duel.”
A one-on-one fight that decides the victor and the loser.
Unlike other departments, the battle magic department places high value on duel scores when determining the top student. It’s somewhat of a ranking battle.
A challenge is issued to the top student.
And then, if victorious…
That alone is enough to snatch away the top spot. This is a place that prioritizes practical strength over theoretical knowledge. True to its purpose of training practical battle mages, the conditions are quite radical.
However, now that half a year has passed…
Not a single student has utilized this established system.
There have been minor sparring matches, but not a single real duel has taken place. The reason is simple: the rankings are fairly apparent from sparring alone, and the person occupying the top spot is outstandingly exceptional.
The top student of the battle magic department is Belnoa.
No one has been able to defeat him.
Belnoa’s strength has surpassed that of an ordinary student.
Thus, it’s no surprise that not a single student has dared to jump into a fight with no chance of winning, especially knowing that they would suffer penalties for losing. At least, that was the case until yesterday.
“Challenger.”
Today, breaking the long silence, someone threw down the gauntlet in the duel arena. Students look at the name of the challenger written on the academic notice board. It’s a name they somewhat expected to see there.
“Lac von Grace.”
The second top student of the battle magic department.
The duke’s heir from the North has challenged the nightmare of dusk. It’s only natural that student interest is piqued. Amid the chattering students, someone finally speaks up.
“It’s happening.”
With a flick of his finger against the notice board, Lac says, “This time, it won’t be easy, Belnoa.”
He declares he will take the top spot.
In response, Belnoa nods. A gesture that seems to say, “Go ahead, if you can.” At this provocation, the murmuring among the students grows louder.
The duel has been thrown down.
Now, all that’s left is to determine the victor and the vanquished.
With a week left until the second semester begins, Apuria Academy is reclaiming its fervor.
A note from the author (author’s commentary)
Hyaaa!
