Damn Academy chapter 223

223 – Four Swords (4)

As soon as Cecil spoke, Luna quickly turned around and went back on her way.

“Do you hate Luna?”

“Huh?”

“I’m just asking.”

Cecil looks at my expression like a puppy. Her attitude became much more reserved as if she had read my mental fatigue.

However, she didn’t try to force herself to cover up her true feelings.

Cecil crossed her arms and avoided my gaze, grumbling.

“Medi… cine is going up.”

“Why?”

“There are many things you don’t know. Not only did you invade my territory and deceive me, but when we went camping before, you fell asleep… No.”

“What?”

“It’s just something that only women know. You seem to be close to Luna?”

“Luna doesn’t have any real friends except me. I don’t have many friends except Luna either.”

“…Really? Who else is there?”

Cecil’s eyes are strange.

“…Someone you know?”

“Zion?”

“She’s somewhere between a friend and an acquaintance.”

“Then why did you go on a date with Zion at Leaguebed before?”

Is she talking about when I had my fortune told by Zion before? She was really upset about this before too. Is she still holding a grudge?

“Like I said, it’s not a date.”

“Then what is it?”

“Zion’s teacher asked me to spend time with you.”

“Isn’t that a date?”

“I received compensation… Isn’t it a commission?”

Cecil suddenly pressed something against my chest. It was an elaborately decorated invitation adorned with dried flowers.

“Mine is neither a commission nor a demand, nor is it forced. You’ll come or I’ll kill you myself.”

“…Yes. I will attend voluntarily.”

“It’s in a week! An artist from Claridium recently moved to Ligbed and there’s a big event. The art department will be going soon, so you can network and gather information there. I’m going because I have class!”

Cecil turned around and left as if our business was done. Then, as if she had remembered something, she turned back to me.

“But I heard you touched Zion’s leg while you were dating…”

“That’s a rumor.”

“Is it? I thought so. My legs are much better.”

“…?”

Cecil turned around and left. After a few steps, she turned back to me again.

From Noble mtl dot com

“By any chance, do you like clothes that expose your legs?”

***

After dinner, a drizzle began to fall.

Mokum was still glaring at me, and the Demon Sword still seemed unwilling to communicate.

Trisha said she liked the rain, so she wrapped herself in a blanket and sat by my window, engrossed in reading a script.

That day, I finished my chores peacefully and headed to the Forbidden Forest.

Callius was waiting in the same spot as yesterday. He was sitting on a tombstone, flipping through a stack of papers.

“Have you tried talking to the Demon Sword?”

“I did as you said, but it still doesn’t work.”

“Hmm, I see. By the way, all your friends are mages.”

“Not all of them.”

“Do you like women with long hair? Why?”

What is he talking about?

“I don’t particularly prefer them. But that… is that okay?”

“What, you mean me looking through your records?”

Was that what he was flipping through, with saliva on his finger?

“No, I mean the tombstone.”

“Don’t worry about it. If I had died and this guy had lived, he would have been sitting on my grave too.”

“…”

He’s not bound by etiquette or customs. It’s usually the case that people become more attached to such things as they age, but Callius acts in an unconventional manner, even though he held a high position in the Empire.

“Is there a reason why you particularly prefer mages?”

“I don’t prefer them because they’re mages. I became friends with them and then found out they were mages. And I have friends who aren’t mages.”

“Who are they? Tell me their names.”

“…Zion and Cecil aren’t mages.”

“I don’t know. Maybe they were born mages but just changed their career paths.”

“If you twist it that way, you could make even a newborn baby into a criminal.”

Kalios still seemed eager to pry into my personal life.

“Even your teacher was a wizard.”

“Nothing strange about that.”

Kalios shook his head.

“But you have to be careful. I see that you think wizards are the same as humans. You are completely unguarded.”

“Are you saying that wizards are not human?”

“Wizards are born completely different from humans. They just look alike. Their innate nature is completely different.”

“How are they different?”

“Wizards can control nature from birth. They can kill an adult human from birth. In fact, there have been countless accidents like that. Wizards do not age as slowly as elves because they go against nature. Do you think that is a natural trait given to all humans?”

“…”

“Nine out of ten of the highest-ranking wizards are single. Do you know why?”

“Why?”

“The way wizards form relationships is different from humans. Wizards cannot feel love. They are born without that function. Since they are free from aging, they have no reason to have children and preserve their lineage. They have no reason to find a partner.”

“…”

“They may have affection, friendship, and a sense of camaraderie, but it is impossible for them to truly love another person.”

“That seems like a rather extreme claim.”

He was making me feel uneasy. Two wizards who had left a great mark on my life came to mind, but I tried to push them away.

Kalios glared at me and said in a confident tone.

“Do you think I am trying to tease you? Don’t worry, I don’t feel like joking around by insulting my fellow wizards. No one has studied this, but I know. I already have numerous samples in my head.”

“Then are the wizards who get married all frauds?”

“They are half-breeds who pretend to be wizards. Those who are born wizards do not know how to love. The only thing those beings truly love is themselves. Sometimes, during their childhood, they may mistake a sense of camaraderie or friendship for love and act like they are in a romantic relationship based on social context. But that is not love.”

“…”

Kalios glared at me with piercing eyes. It was an unpleasant sensation, as if a venomous snake was slithering through my insides.

“You have fallen in love with a wizard, haven’t you?”

And he saw through me with terrifyingly sharp insight. I didn’t think I had shown any signs of being shaken, but how did he know?

A bitter smile spread across his lips. Like he had dealt with many humans like me.

“Yes, my feelings for Teacher Sylverin are like that.”

“Yes, your teacher will cherish and love you just as much. That’s not what I’m talking about.”

He had seen through me completely.

Kalios’s blade was ripping through my insides. The sharp tip of the blade was stimulating my nerves and approaching my heart.

“Didn’t you go to the temple to train?”

“You’re starting to use your defense mechanisms now. I’m not here to torment you. This is a necessary procedure. Look me in the eye.”

“…”

Kalios had a firm gaze honed by experience, age, and self-assurance.

“I know what you want to say. You want to ask if that woman truly loved you, don’t you?”

I squeezed my eyes shut. What did I want to hear? Honestly, I didn’t know.

“Even if that’s true for all wizards, there could be exceptions, right?”

“That happens as rarely as snow falling in the desert. If the blood of a human is mixed in. The stronger the wizard’s blood, the lower the chances. You want to believe that she was sincere at the time.”

“There is a lot of evidence in my head, too.”

“Ha, they all say the same thing. How cliché! As if they’ve met their soulmate, the one and only person in the world, whispering sweet nothings of love, only to one day suddenly leave as if you were just another person. So cruel and heartless. Do you know why that is? Because they finally realize that their feelings weren’t love! It’s something that poor souls who’ve been bewitched by a sorcerer always go through.”

“…I can tell the difference between truth and deception.”

“Has he offered you his life?”

“….”

“That’s the only way to tell. Has a being who only loves himself ever offered you his life? Has he ever cast everything aside to choose you?”

“There aren’t many situations where one would risk their life. To prove that….”

“But you’ve had the opportunity to find out.”

“…….”

I couldn’t answer.

It felt like my heart was melting, drowning in a pool of pitch-black tar.

Has Liera ever given up everything for me? I didn’t regret it when I was stabbed in the stomach by Race and thrown off the cliff. I had given my all, and I believed it was worth it.

But Liera….

“If the other person has left, it’s one of two things. Either they still love you after the breakup, or they never loved you in the first place.”

“….”

“I think I know which one it is, just by looking at you.”

“….”

“You should clean up your leftover feelings quickly. That tainted oil is dirtying your potential, as well as the power of the Demonic Sword. I’ll come back tomorrow. The real training starts now.”

Callius left those words and disappeared in an instant.

My focus was all over the place. I couldn’t see where I was or what was in front of me.

I wandered through my memories. I revisited every Liera in my memories and asked them one by one.

Did you truly love me?

There was no answer.

And now, I had no more motivation or energy to defend the Liera of the past.