novelraw Chapter 99 : Finally Meeting (1)
Chapter 99 : Finally Meeting (1)
Chapter 99: Finally Meeting (1)
When Former placed a hand on Rezi’s shoulder, Rezi flinched as if a cat had been startled.
“……Who are you?”
But even his voice was different—it was Former.
Rezi did not lower his guard at all, even though this was clearly himself whose appearance had been changed, simply because the stranger even knew his name.
“For now, let’s go inside together.”
Former forcibly pulled Rezi into the tavern.
“By any chance, are you Former?”
In the middle of leisurely wiping a glass, the man—who looked very similar to Rezi—asked without the slightest surprise.
“It’s been a while, sir.”
“Haha, I told you to stop calling me that. Will you have a drink?”
“I’d appreciate it if you give me one.”
Vise smiled kindly and handed Former a glass of liquor.
Former accepted it politely and immediately poured it down his throat.
“But even the world above must be busy. Is it really fine for you to be wandering around like this? Vice Headmaster Former.”
“It’s a historic day. Let’s just call it a special outing.”
“……Vice Headmaster Former, sir?”
But Rezi, sitting beside him, still wore eyes full of confusion.
Former merely smiled faintly at him and made one request of Vise.
“Could you give us the antidote, sir?”
“Sure. It wouldn’t be bad for the two of you to have some time to clear up misunderstandings. You’ll be seeing each other often from now on.”
Vise handed over two antidotes, and when Rezi and Former drank them down, the two returned to their original appearances.
Rezi, with his vivid red eyes and hair.
Former, with black eyes and hair.
It was a truly long-awaited reunion, the moment they met again in their true forms.
“I never even dreamed you’d end up entering the Sculptor. Sir, as expected, your eye for talent is exceptional.”
“Haha, even at my age, I never get used to praise. By the way, the fact that you came together means that brat didn’t handle the Nohill Family mission alone, right?”
Former waved his hands vigorously and refuted it.
“No, I only watched from afar.”
“That’s right! Do you know how much trouble I went through dealing with Head Jick alone! Head!”
Smack!
At the title “Head,” Vise’s sharp palm flew unerringly toward the back of Rezi’s head.
“Aaagh!”
“You still haven’t come to your senses. Have you already forgotten what I told you about using proper titles when you’re in the tavern?”
“……I’m sorry, boss.”
“But still, sir, you’re impressive. How did you raise Rezi so much in such a short time?”
Former did not hold back his praise for Rezi.
“Haha, don’t say things like that lightly. Long, long ago, do you know how Lady Alarize and Lord Arkis answered in situations like this?”
Vise was the only one among the three who had personally seen both Alarize Petra and Arkis Aimer.
Naturally, both Rezi and Former were curious how they had answered.
“I’d like to hear it.”
“We can choose the path for them, but walking that path is entirely up to the student. Therefore, all praise should go to the student who walked the path. That’s what they said.”
“They sound like wonderful people, both Lady Alarize and Lord Arkis.”
“Lady Alarize especially liked to compare things to paths. Perhaps because of that influence, Lord Arkis—her disciple—also always spoke in terms of paths. Signposts, loose stones, and the like.”
“Haha, somehow, even though I’ve never heard it directly, I feel like I can hear their voices ringing in my ears.”
“You’re really good at buttering people up. I can’t tell whether you’re a mage or a storyteller.”
“Thank you. Anyway.”
Former now shifted his gaze to Rezi and extended his glass forward.
It was an invitation to toast.
“Congratulations, Rezi. I was impressed the entire time. Especially that final Meteor—it was truly striking.”
“Ah…… thank you.”
Rezi replied while clinking glasses without quite realizing it.
“Hey, you didn’t drink the Transcendental Water I gave you, did you? You subdued Head Jick that easily?”
But instead, Vise pressed Rezi hard.
It was Vise’s ruthless teaching style.
“Here!”
Overcome with emotion, Rezi pulled out the blue Transcendental Water he had been holding and slammed it down so hard that it made a loud ‘bang!’
“Was Head Jick really that weak? I did hear he was weak, but to be beaten by you when you didn’t even drink Transcendental Water.”
“You were the one who said I was stronger than Head Jick!”
“That was just something I said so I could send you off quickly.”
“Haha, sir. You’re truly terrifying.”
Rezi felt wronged, but his mood wasn’t bad.
A big part of that was because, having been under Vise for a while, he already knew what kind of person he was.
Soon, Rezi’s gaze turned to Former sitting beside him.
“Vice Headmaster Former, there’s something I’ve been wondering.”
“Sure, ask anything. Think of it as a reward for successfully completing the mission.”
Former answered just as readily.
“Is it okay if I ask an awkward question?”
“Of course. I told you—ask anything.”
“……When did you decide to become an adopted son of the Ed Family?”
“Huh? What are you talking about?”
It was something Rezi had been wondering about all along.
But Former felt as if this had come completely out of nowhere.
When Former glanced at Vise, he replied, “I covered it up like that.”
“Why? Just tell him the truth. You already decided to bring him into the Sculptor.”
“Isn’t your matter your family’s business? I’m not a member of the Ed Family, so I don’t want to recklessly spread someone else’s family history.”
“As expected…… sir. You’re very thoughtful.”
“That’s enough. You two keep talking. My head is still spinning.”
Using that as an excuse, Vise excused himself.
In truth, his head really was spinning as well.
After Vise left his seat, Former explained why he was in the Sculptor despite being a mage of the Draco Family.
He revealed everything—that he was actually the son of Ed Etar, and that immediately after birth, he had been deliberately abandoned at the main gate of the Draco Family so he could be taken in as their adopted son.
Upon learning the truth, Rezi’s eyes widened dramatically.
“……No matter what, how can they use their own child like that?”
Rezi was furious at the revelation.
Was it because he had grown up without parents?
He was someone who deeply despised parents who casually abandoned their children.
Former, knowing the environment in which Rezi had grown up, did not bother to argue.
Though it was morally wrong, he swallowed the explanation that it had been an unavoidable choice for the sake of a greater cause.
“Anyway, think of it however you like. And Lord Etar has very high expectations of you.”
Instead, he simply changed the subject.
“Expectations? Are you planning to make me do something else again?”
“Yeah. Since the Nohill Family has been dealt with, from now on, in the Underworld, the enemies you’ll be responsible for are the Light Element constituent families, House Mihael, and…… even the Archmage Royal Guard currently stationed there. That will all be your area.”
“……Does that even make sense?”
At the mention of the Archmage Royal Guard, Rezi shuddered violently, clearly terrified.
I found myself caught between the lethal magic of two women as I tried to grasp the situation.
“Hey, student. Just like you wanted, this is being handled privately, you know? But it’s not because of that insolent advice you dared to give me.”
For some reason, the professor looked utterly furious.
And the magic she was aiming at Banshi was…….
Lava.
With Banshi’s Fire Element magic, there was no way to block that lava.
‘Don’t tell me you’re…… trying to reveal that you’re Flewd?’
She was a thoughtful mage—would she really do something so rash……?
But looking closely, I saw that within Banshi’s Fire Element magic, Flewd was mixed in.
‘My god.’
Because I was Flewd, I could see it, and I could feel it.
“Then what is it because of?”
Banshi asked back in her characteristic tone.
“If you end up in a near-death state from my magic, won’t the students start fearing me? I don’t want to show them that.”
How could something like that come out of a professor’s mouth?
Wasn’t this basically her openly saying she’d kill a student?
‘Banshi isn’t in her right mind either…… but that professor is even worse……?’
I didn’t want to go that far in my thoughts, but…….
When two crazy women came together, it made even me tense.
“Oh, really? That’s fine. That won’t happen.”
“And if you lose to me, you’re expelled immediately! Got it?”
“Yes, yes. You sure talk a lot. Are all mages of the Ed Family like that?”
‘……She was a mage of the Ed Family?’
Only now did I understand why Banshi had been acting as if she wouldn’t even look back.
Banshi was someone who harbored deep resentment toward Ed Etar.
As a result, she considered the entire Ed Family her enemy.
She hadn’t had major friction with Ed Ever, the teacher in charge of Class 1, but this opponent was a professor—a mage of the Ed Family.
Banshi was truly facing her with the intent to kill.
‘No…… Banshi! That’s too soon!’
No matter how much you came here for revenge, the target of your revenge is Etar, isn’t it?!
You have to meet Etar first!
What are you going to do if you exhaust yourself against a Class 2 professor now?!
It was a rash move on Banshi’s part.
It seemed this mess had happened because there was no one beside her to rein in her actions.
“There’s no need for words. Just get expelled!”
As if the last thread of reason had snapped, the professor’s lava flew toward Banshi.
But Banshi scoffed and countered with massive flames.
“You think flames like that will work against lava?!”
“Then keep your promise! If I win, I go straight to Class 4!”
“Beat me first before you talk!”
‘……?’
Wasn’t this supposed to be simple revenge?
It was a professor interview.
But it was different from the professor interview for Class 3.
I had been pondering how to mediate their magic when I heard their conversation and stopped moving.
‘If this is because of the special selection…… I probably don’t need to step in.’
But even if I didn’t intervene, a problem still remained.
Right now, the professor’s magic was lava.
If Banshi blocked that with nothing more than ordinary flames, she herself would come under suspicion.
Soon, just as the professor’s lava was about to engulf Banshi’s body—
Banshi spread the flames she had manifested across the floor and, as if riding on a carpet, slid along the flames to evade the professor’s lava magic.
‘That’s…….’
A sparring style that actively used the body.
It was a method I had often used back in Class 1.
But it wasn’t something you could copy just by watching it a few times.
You had to know what effects the opponent’s magic had, how wide its range was, and how powerful it was.
Only with all that information could you choose this kind of sparring style.
‘……Right. Banshi is Flewd too.’
Flewd, who handled all seven elements.
That meant Banshi, though not to my level, also roughly understood what kind of magic the professor was using.
At this point, there was no reason for me to step in.
I hid my presence even further and moved deeper into the auditorium.
Because their magic was so powerful that its aftershocks might reveal my existence.
“What did you just do……?”
“Can’t you tell? I’m sparring with you, Professor.”
The professor was flustered by Banshi’s style of actively moving her body.
‘At this rate…… Banshi has a chance.’
Banshi didn’t miss the opportunity and continued to distract the professor with provocative remarks.
“You are a professor, right? I thought you’d be amazing, but you’re not that impressive after all…….”
“You’re going too far with your disrespect for a professor!”
At that moment—
Thud-!
“Keugh…….”
Banshi’s magic struck the back of the professor’s head.
She had thoroughly provoked her from the front to draw her attention, then targeted her from behind.
“Yes! One point. You said three points to pass, right? Two left?”
‘……Banshi, were you always such a…… cruel…… student?’
It felt like I was seeing a completely new side of Banshi today.
And it felt unfamiliar.