EP.172 Madman and Nightmare (2)
Autumn arrives, and the leaves fall.
Chloe’s eyes looking at the changing leaves are dull. Instead of the usual starlight, her eyes are filled with worries and concerns.
“Hoo…”
Chloe lets out a long sigh and collapses onto the desk. With her face buried in the scattered study materials, she recalls the tough days of the past few days.
There’s too much homework.
Way too much.
It felt like swimming in an endless ocean. But is there no law saying she must suffer? The mountain of assignments is finally nearing its end.
“Really, just a little bit more…”
It’s almost over, she mumbles and rubs her forehead on the desk. It’s a habit to tackle any work as quickly as possible. For the last three days, Chloe has been sacrificing sleep to get through her assignments.
‘It would be easier if I split it over seven days…’
But the desire to finish quickly and go have fun is greater.
That effort hasn’t been in vain. With her forehead pressed against the desk, Chloe slightly turns her gaze to the side.
A tower of nightmare-like assignments.
The massive paper tower that has occupied a corner of the desk for the past few days… now has only a few layers left. Thanks to her steady efforts.
‘Just a little more, let’s keep going.’
Chloe gathers her determination.
It’s tough, but she also feels a sense of achievement. She recalls the events of this morning. The way Professor Rania’s eyes widened in surprise when she submitted her work.
“You’ve done this much already?”
You’re quite impressive, the professor had murmured.
Recalling that compliment, Chloe regains her vitality.
‘What if it’s a little hard? It’s all helpful!’
The special lecture she had attended for the first time. The class of Professor Rania, whom she had been looking forward to. Now that she had attended the class, Chloe is convinced that the words published in the newspaper were not just sweet nothings.
Professor glowing in the resplendent starlight.
With shimmering ashen hair and eyes like a mysterious blue lake. The emotionless Rania handling the stars was like a painting.
‘Elegant, enlightening just by looking at—…a very high-level class!’
That article was true.
Chloe nods and pats her cheeks with both hands, a few times. The dullness in her eyes has brightened somewhat.
“Okay, let’s work hard!”
Encouraging herself, Chloe grabs her pen.
It’s tough, but it feels like she can manage. If she can just adjust, life in Apuria shouldn’t be that difficult.
‘And, you know.’
Chloe recalls what she had heard recently from the maids she had become friendly with. They said there are professors who drop homework bombs on the first day of class.
‘Professor Rania is probably one of those!’
It must be so.
Chloe decides to believe that.
There’s no way she would give such an assignment while being sane.
2.
“Are you okay?”
On the way to Apuria, Kalt casually asked me. He was casting doubtful glances at Kelharlem, who was trailing behind us.
“Sure, there are Hounds stationed within Apuria. In case of emergency, we can hold them off…”
“Not so sure.”
Hold them off, huh.
‘He’s a superhuman of the mage class, so he probably thinks having Hounds would be enough to deal with them.’
That wasn’t wrong.
It’s true that mages tend to be weak against melee-trained assassins like the Hounds. However, that doesn’t apply to Kelharlem.
“I don’t think so.”
I let out a wry laugh.
We can hold him off for a moment.
That’s something only someone who doesn’t know Kelharlem would say.
“You haven’t seen Kelharlem break his constraints, have you?”
“…Constraints, you say?”
“Yeah, constraints.”
I nodded my head.
The conditions set upon Kelharlem himself. It’s a method he chose to escape madness… but it’s a fact that they are indeed ‘constraints.’
“Have you ever thought about the price of separating from madness and how much constraint that brings?”
“I’m not a mage, so…”
I spread my fingers wide.
“Loss of hearing, vision, touch, and strength.”
I folded one down.
“Thesis reduction of mana sensitivity. The amount of mana he can handle is only half of his max mana.”
I folded another and then the third.
As I folded the remaining fingers together, I said, “Even the heightened senses that superhumans get are limited. He’s virtually on the level of an ordinary person. He probably can’t even hear us whispering right now.”
“…Is that even possible?”
“Want to hear something even more absurd?”
I chuckled grimly.
“Despite all that, he managed to hold off the Gletus for five seconds.”
Kalt’s pupils shook.
He couldn’t help it. Kalt had also faced Gletus. Hesitantly, Kalt asked again, his voice trembling.
“…You mean for five seconds against that monster?”
“Yeah.”
One second spent tearing through the incoming beasts.
Two seconds spent forcefully closing off the Otherworld that Gletus opened.
Two more seconds using all ten fingers as offerings.
In that split moment where victory and defeat are determined, Kelharlem bought five seconds all alone. Kalt, being a soldier from the battlefield, understands that significance.
“And he did that under constraints. When those constraints are lifted, can you handle it?”
Kalt’s expression became serious.
“In that case, isn’t it even more dangerous?”
He adjusted his waistbelt.
There was a cursed dagger crafted by top alchemists to deal with mages hanging there.
“Shouldn’t we send him back to the battlefield immediately…?”
“That’s possible, but I wouldn’t recommend it.”
I shook my head.
“You know there’s no point in making another superhuman a fool, right?”
“…That’s true.”
“And for now, there’s no need to worry.”
“Excuse me?”
I turned around.
Kelharlem, following behind me, appeared almost like a puppet. With uniform footsteps and breathing. I focused on the sound of Kelharlem’s breathing.
“I can tell if my constraints are fluctuating through my breath. If constraints falter, then my breath gets ragged. Mana leaks out.”
“That’s the ‘warning’ I set up.”
I recalled what I had once heard from Kelharlem when he lifted his constraints and was about to become a madman.
‘Breathing normal, mana stable.’
That meant the ‘shell’ containing his madness is intact.
“If the constraints are intact, then there’s no issue with Kelharlem. I can guarantee that.”
Contrary to the moniker of a madman, Kelharlem was not a troublesome superhuman. People tend to be afraid of his infamous reputation… but at least to me, Kelharlem seems easier to handle.
‘As long as I’m careful of the constraints.’
I moved my gaze forward and opened my mouth again.
“If necessary, I was thinking I’d subdue him right here…”
But there appeared to be no need for that.
“No problem. For now.”
“The fact that you said ‘for now’…”
“There are potential problems. So I intend to settle that certainty here.”
The entrance to Apuria comes into view.
The leaves scattered on the ground crunched underfoot. I stopped walking. Kalt and the trailing Kelharlem halted as well. I slowly turned my body back.
“Kelharlem.”
At my call, he looked at me.
With ashen eyes and bluish hair. I continued speaking while gazing at the mage with colors similar to mine yet different.
“Letting you in here comes with considerable risks. Risks that Apuria shouldn’t have to bear. Do you agree with this?”
Kelharlem rubbed his chin.
He lightly nodded.
“By the principle of the Seven Behaviors, I consider myself a risk factor. According to that principle, I deem your argument valid.”
“You’re bearing a ‘cost’ that shouldn’t have to be borne. Then I should request the right to add to your behavioral principles in a limited manner, right?”
Cost and rights.
It’s a fundamental concept for a mage.
“I demand a contract, Kelharlem.”
Cost, rights, and then a contract.
Upon hearing my words, Kelharlem’s eyes narrowed.
It took him slightly longer than before to open his mouth. After ten seconds, Kelharlem spoke.
“…I find your opinion valid. If your proposed principles are also valid, I shall accept your proposal.”
Good. The first step is set.
“Balance.”
I summoned Balance.
Upon seeing the starlit Balance, Kelharlem’s gaze wavered, but I paid no mind and placed my conditions on the Balance.
A contract between mages.
If broken, the corresponding ‘penalty’ is imposed.
“…You’re.”
As Kelharlem confirmed the conditions I had put forth, he looked at me. There was suspicion in his gaze.
“Something is strange about you.”
He said.
“By my memory, you and I are meeting for the first time. I’ve never met a mage called Rania van Trias.”
“That would be correct.”
“Also, very few know of my principles and constraints, or the ability to modify them through a ‘contract.’ As expected, you cannot be among them.”
“That may be true.”
“…However.”
He pointed at me.
“How do you know all of this?”
“Because I’m a Trias.”
“…A blood relative of the Ashen Mage? That can’t be reason enough. While the Ashen Mage knows about it, it’s a contract only between the Ashen Mage and me, a type that cannot be disclosed to others…”
“So?”
I cut off Kelharlem’s words.
“So what?”
That’s not the point.
I said, “If you think I’m suspicious, and this condition feels like a trap, you don’t have to accept the contract. I’m not forcing you to engage. This is merely a proposal.”
“………..”
“However, if you reject the proposal…”
Kalt touched his waist.
I pulled on my gloves.
“Then I’ll have to send you back.”
“…Do you have the right to do that?”
“A sucker is someone who pays the price without rights. You know that as a mage, right?”
And I had no intention of being a sucker.
‘If I get taken advantage of, I’m done.’
I patiently waited for Kelharlem to speak. For some time, he was silent. It’s understandable for a mage to be cautious when it comes to contracts.
After a little while had passed.
“…Still.”
As he gazed at the tilted Balance, he finally spoke.
“Your suspicion of me hasn’t changed.”
But then Kelharlem said, “Your proposal is valid. It’s a condition I can accept in exchange for staying in Apuria. I will accept the contract.”
He reached out for the Balance.
The tilted Balance straightened out. The Balance transformed into light, with half seeping into me and the remaining half into Kelharlem. It was evidence the contract was sealed.
“Alright.”
I nodded.
Taking a step closer, I extended my hand.
“Welcome to Apuria, Kelharlem.”
An act of reaching out for a handshake.
Kelharlem gazed at that hand, muttering.
“You are certainly an unusual character.”
“Not as much as you.”
“From the perspective of being compared to a madman, you are certainly in the category of a madman as well…”
“Tsk.”
I clicked my tongue.
This one doesn’t know how to shut up.
“Is it a characteristic of the Trias house, or do the members just happen to be unusual…”
Kelharlem reluctantly shook my hand while muttering something that didn’t really warrant attention.
『The contract has been sealed.』
Regardless, the contract was established.
No matter what kind of trap is set behind Kelharlem’s visit… given that the contract is made, there shouldn’t be a descent into the worst-case scenario.
‘For the next 21 days.’
Three weeks, the time Kelharlem decided to stay.
It’ll be a long three weeks.
Suddenly, that feeling dawned on me.
3.
Disguised as a magical item, Kelharlem began to stay in Apuria. No one knew the purpose of his visit, and the Hounds began to take turns monitoring Kelharlem.
Only a few know of Kelharlem’s true identity.
A handful of individuals watch over his actions with bated breath. Thus, a day passes by. Time drifts away, with no incidents happening.
The 21 days turn into 20 days.
On the early morning of the 20th day, Aaron looked at the visitor that had come to him, sweating profusely.
“Are you the head of this academy?”
The Madman, Kelharlem.
“W-What brings you here, Lord Kelharlem?”
Though disguised, Aaron had heard his identity through the Hounds early on. He sweated cold at the presence of the madman.
‘Why is he in the headmaster’s office?’
Aaron gulped, his throat dry.
‘Madman, Madman Kelharlem.’
He had heard the rumors about the madman. When he heard that the madman was visiting Apuria, he lost a few more strands of hair.
“I have one request.”
The madman said plainly.
‘What does he intend to ask?’
As they watched from hiding, even the Hounds monitoring Kelharlem were feeling the tension and sweating coldly, the madman opened his mouth.
“I want to teach a class.”
“…Excuse me?”
Aaron let out a bewildered sound.
“A class, you say…?”
“Yes, a class.”
“What do you mean to… teach a class?”
“This is a magical academy, isn’t it?”
“That is true, but…”
“And I heard I was given a disguise as a capable mage from outside. Why would a capable mage visit Apuria?”
To teach a class, right? With a very reasonable question, Kelharlem continued.
“Also, I don’t believe my knowledge of magic is inferior to the professors here.”
All he said was correct.
“Most importantly, I was the overall head in my home country of Artiya. Do I lack the qualifications to be a professor? If there’s any problem, I would like you to let me know.”
The holy site of magic.
The place where the first academy was established.
The land of education, the city of academies, Artiya.
‘The head of that place.’
In other words, the top educator.
Though a century has passed, he couldn’t doubt that qualification.
“There shouldn’t be an issue…”
“Then I will formally request.”
Kelharlem said.
“I would like you to assign me a class.”
Aaron felt an impulse to tear out the few remaining strands of hair.
