novelraw Chapter 33
Chapter 33
Chapter 33
Outcast Artel
Time passed, and deep night arrived.
Lying on my dormitory bed, I activated the Mob and contacted Banshi.
-Uh. Hello.
-What are you doing?
-Just here?
-Yeah?
-Why? Is there something you want to say?
As expected, Banshi clearly remembered what I had said before she went out.
Before getting to the point, I sank into thought for a moment.
It was obvious that the Mob had been tampered with, and Etar and Former monitored the Mobs of all students.
It had started as a hypothesis, but since every trace lined up, it could now be called a confirmed theory.
I didn’t know who had begun meddling with the Mob Master had created, but I wanted to use this chance in reverse to send a firm warning to Former and Etar.
-I’ve been curious about something ever since I first got into 1st Class and listened to the History of Mages 2 lecture.
-What is it?
-That person named Archis Eimer, the former Archmage.
-……You shouldn’t say that name carelessly.
Banshi was still acting, still matching my tone perfectly.
Feigning surprise, she hesitated and warned me cautiously.
Then I let out the words I truly wanted to say.
-Well, whatever. It’s not like the teachers would eavesdrop on the Mob, right?
-…….
Now then, Etar and Former, who were surely listening in on this Mob.
I was really curious to see how you would react.
You targeted me and even changed the school rules entirely, so I would also give you my own declaration of war.
You were the ones who crossed the line first.
So I would cross it just as much as you did.
-So what exactly are you so curious about?
I had already said everything I wanted to Etar through the Mob, but Banshi hadn’t caught on that far and pressed for more details.
That actually worked out well.
Ending things here had felt a bit lukewarm, but thanks to Banshi, it seemed I could cross the line a little further.
-I was just thinking… maybe Sylarid, who was called the Sorcerer of Carnage, really did try to break his seal? That thought suddenly came to me.
-You wouldn’t think that for no reason. Why are you suddenly saying such strange things?
‘Yeah, good. Keep pretending you don’t know anything.’
Banshi was the only one in this school who knew I was Archis Eimer.
Because of that, the conversation flowed naturally.
-No, it’s just—when I rethink the lesson, something doesn’t add up.
-I don’t know what you mean.
-They said the reason he broke Sylarid’s seal was simply because he went insane, right?
-They did.
-But they never said what exactly he did after going insane. Even when I study alone there’s nothing about that.
-They said… he tried to break… the seal of Sylarid.
Banshi intentionally blurred his name.
-No, before that. For example, killing other mages, influencing the Swordmaster society, things like that. He wouldn’t have tried to break Sylarid’s seal right away.
-……I can’t keep talking to you. This is scary.
-What is?
-You say names of mages that shouldn’t even be spoken like it’s nothing. If we get caught, it’s expulsion, you know?
-That won’t happen. If we get expelled, that means the teachers are listening to the Mob, and if that gets out, do you think the students would still want to attend this school?
This was also a message directed at Etar.
Whatever your reason was, if you were planning to expel me, the conversation I had with Banshi couldn’t be used as evidence.
So rack your brain as painfully as you want.
-Anyway, that’s all. Even I think I said a lot of weird things at night. Sleep well.
I hurriedly wrapped up the call.
Clasping my hands behind my head, I stared up at the ceiling.
So, starting tomorrow, how will you act, Etar?
You heard everything, didn’t you?
The next morning, Former received a summons from Etar and hurried to the Headmaster’s office.
Outside, the scenery showed lava surging like waves along the cliff.
Sensing this wasn’t a pleasant summons, he maintained his tension as he entered the office.
Etar was in the same state as always—sitting in his wheelchair with the Mob activated.
“Here? Listen to this.”
-That person named Archis Eimer, the former Archmage.
-……You shouldn’t say that name carelessly.
-Well, whatever. It’s not like the teachers would eavesdrop on the Mob, right?
It was a recording of two 1st Class students, Artel and Banshi, talking through the Mob.
The words Artel said afterward were a series of shocks from Former’s perspective.
It was the first time he had encountered a student who questioned whether Archis Eimer had truly gone insane.
There was no precedent for such a thing—not just in the Ed Branch School, but across all the branch schools combined.
Students normally entered before they even turned ten and were taught under a thoroughly brainwashing system, giving them no chance to harbor doubts.
They perceived everything said in class as correct, and like Artel, ‘Is that really correct?’ was a thought they never learned to have.
This was a common trait of both common-born mages and family-raised mages.
To Former, Artel spoke as if he already knew the truth.
“The other student is Banshi. Were those two always this close, enough to talk about all that?”
“To my knowledge, Banshi said she liked Artel.”
“Well, fine.”
Etar gave a faint chuckle.
He dismissed their closeness as unimportant and continued.
“But listen. The part we should pay most attention to is ‘It’s not like the teachers would eavesdrop on the Mob, right?’ I really don’t think that’s something a fourteen-year-old would normally say.”
“……I also felt the same.”
Which student would dare doubt the Mob?
He must have had some reason—something that let him speak without hesitation.
Former wondered what that reason was.
“It feels like he’s completely certain about everything he says. Questioning Archis Eimer as well. As if he knows the truth himself.”
“So you felt that way too, Headmaster.”
“And he seems quite clever. Will the expulsion plan proceed smoothly?”
“Don’t worry. The preparations are flawless.”
Etar held Former’s gaze for a moment, then closed his mouth.
After several seconds, he looked away, nodded, and spoke in a meaningful tone.
“I trusted you, Vice Headmaster. But after living long enough, I realized the world was full of too many unforeseen anomalies. So of course I’d be worried.”
“I would remember that.”
“If you judge that Artel overcomes our interference too smoothly, you are permitted to take bold action at any time.”
“Yes, I would do my best while avoiding the eyes of Draco’s watcher who already infiltrated the Headmaster’s school.”
“You always give such reliable answers.”
A faint smile of a father briefly appeared on Etar’s face.
Several days had already passed since I had contacted Banshi at night.
But strangely enough, Etar and Former still showed no movement at all.
There were no additions or changes to the revised school rules, and everything had been proceeding exactly as originally announced.
‘Was using the Mob for surveillance just my overthinking……?’
For a moment such a thought came to mind, but every circumstance told me that they really were using it for surveillance.
If so, that meant they hadn’t made an issue of the last thing I’d said to Banshi.
Using a student’s Mob for surveillance.
They didn’t want that to be exposed.
And so about twenty-five days passed, and the day before the monthly sparring class arrived.
“Hey, Artel.”
But out of nowhere, people stopped me on the day I was heading back to the dormitory to rest. They were the students of the fire element.
Every fire-element student except Hei and Banshi blocked my path.
“What is it?”
“Follow me for a moment.”
The student who acted like the leader of the group was the sole mage from a noble family, Nohill Hapert.
He gave me an aggressive look, said that, then turned his back and began walking off somewhere.
The moment I tried to ignore him and head for the dormitory, the other students surrounding me still blocked the way.
“Didn’t you hear? Hapert told you to follow.”
I suddenly wondered what reason these students—who had never even glanced at me before, who had never thanked me for earning them a huge amount of points—had for creating such a heavy atmosphere.
For now, I followed Hapert.
Hapert dragged me deep into one of the school corridors.
In front of me stood only Hapert, and behind me the other students still blocked the passage with their bodies.
As if they feared I might run away, that was the impression they gave.
“Hey, you’re a double-caster.”
At last, Hapert opened his mouth.
That was the moment he revealed why he had brought me here.
“And?”
“There’s sparring tomorrow. If you so much as sit in the fire-element section, you’re dead. Seriously. Sit in the darkness-element section.”
The moment I heard that, all I could muster was, ‘Huh?’
Surely the reason he didn’t want me sitting in the fire-element section wasn’t that childish reason I was thinking of?
“Is it because you think I’ll make you all take first place again because of me?”
“We’re spending ten times the points because of you. If we keep burning points like this, our ranking will fall. How are you going to take responsibility?”
Instead, Hapert whimpered unreasonably as he got angry.
“But that’s the same for me too, isn’t it?”
“If someone has to suffer, it should be you alone. How dare a mage born from an orphanage cause harm to a mage of a noble family?”
Fwoosh!
Hapert conjured two Fire Balls to threaten me.
“Wow, you really resemble someone.”
I meant Russel.
The common trait of the Mihael and Nohill families was that neither was particularly large.
So they weren’t prestigious families.
Somehow, mages from those families all had the same personality, differing only in name and affiliation.
“I’m warning you clearly. If you sit in the fire-element section tomorrow, I don’t know what I’ll do to you.”
“I don’t think anything you do will actually work on me.”
“Looks like you forgot your place just because you’re a double-caster. But no matter what, you’re just a commoner with no backing.”
“Pfft, status……”
I burst out laughing entirely unintentionally.
There wasn’t anyone in the Magical Society who could beat me with status.
Well, I had no intention of explaining that, so I let it pass.
“And even if you’re a double-caster, do you think you could handle us if we all gang up on you? I’m telling you nicely—go to the darkness-element section tomorrow.”
I glanced over my shoulder.
Counting Hapert, there were four fire-element students here.
It really seemed like these students believed that if they stayed at the top of the rankings this early in the semester, graduation would be difficult, so they were trying to threaten me.
They were young, so I understood how they only looked straight ahead.
Their field of vision was extremely narrow.
“Even if I don’t sit in the fire-element section, Banshi is still there. Does this even mean anything?”
“You’re the biggest problem.”
Hapert brushed past me and deliberately bumped my shoulder.
“Remember that, if you want your school life to go smoothly.”
This brat, seriously?