55
“Why did you come out all of a sudden?”
My voice trembled with surprise at the sudden appearance of Han Seyeon.
“You left your smartphone, so I came to give it to you.”
“······.”
As I took the phone she handed over, Han Seyeon stared at the Phoenix with widened eyes.
“But, what’s with that bird? It’s emitting blue flames from its body, fascinating.”
“···Maybe it’s not flames?”
“I don’t think so.”
“······.”
Hey, little one, can you put out the flames quickly?
Knock! Knock!
Busy nibbling on the ruby gemstone, the Phoenix paid no attention to this side.
From Noble mtl dot com
“Hmm.”
Approaching the Phoenix, Han Seyeon’s eyes sparkled.
“Hey, it’s dangerous······!”
I tried to warn her. Our Phoenix had a very foul temper; if touched while eating, it would immediately breathe fire. However.
“······Huh?”
“Sizzle!”
Instead of nibbling on the ruby gemstone, Han Seyeon leaped onto her shoulder and pecked at her head.
······What’s going on?
I blinked at the sight of Han Seyeon pretending to be very close. Seyeon seemed surprised, briefly widened her eyes, then quickly smiled.
“She’s good at following people.”
She’s not like that… Even a passing dog would make her lose her mind, a dirty creature that bites at the sight of it…
“Sizzle!”
But, sizzle? Did she even know how to make such a sound?
She was chattering so much that I doubted if she was not a phoenix but a crow chick…
“Heh.”
Seeing the bird putting on airs, I was so amazed that my mouth fell open.
Fortunately, unless Seyeon summoned Mordor, she wouldn’t engage with a phoenix. Seyeon herself was a bit special, not just an ordinary human.
It seemed like Seyeon didn’t realize that she was a phoenix.
Understandably, the phoenixes in the media were always grand, dignified, and serious, while our phoenix was far from dignified and, being a chick, it was difficult to match.
Moreover, their characteristics were slightly different.
Usually, phoenixes are described as ‘fire’ themselves, whereas our phoenix could only generate fire from its body when needed, not constantly engulfed in flames.
But since there was a chance Seyeon could notice, I quickly summoned the phoenix.
“Hey, not coming out soon?”
“Seems like wanting to stay longer?”
“Sizzle!”
Ignoring my words as if she didn’t hear, Seyeon reached out her hand, and the phoenix, Blue, jumped up and moved.
Feeling somehow betrayed by the fact that she followed Seyeon better than me, her owner, I fed her, put her to sleep, and leveled her up, so how could she act like this?
“You have no loyalty left.”
At that moment, while Seyeon was patting Blue’s head, she asked, “What’s her name?”
“Blue.”
I blurted out as it came out of my mouth. I couldn’t openly say she was a phoenix. Blue glared at me for a moment. What do you want?
“A fitting name.”
“Sizzle!”
Praising from Seyeon, Blue nodded her head and chirped.
I just watched them in disbelief.
***
Fortunately, Seyeon never realized that Blue was a phoenix until the end.
Since the Phoenix family was extensive, many things remained unknown even after coming to the modern era, and Blue had been careful in her actions, so there was no worry of being exposed.
However, it was quite surprising how well Blue, not a phoenix, but Blue, followed Seyeon. It turned out she just liked any woman she saw.
Even at the park where she was taken, like a regular bird, she became very fond when passing women petted her.
Seeing her particularly obedient to Seyeon, it seemed like she had a taste for new subjects.
Anyway, although there was an incident where Seyeon witnessed the ‘true face’ of the phoenix, it luckily passed without much trouble.
…From that dizzying moment to a week later, our class festival preparations went quite smoothly.
Hakjong quickly stacked up the kids, Amelia handled the performance, and Seyeon took care of the agents, so my tasks were just helping out occasionally with the lack of hands.
But, this was no ordinary cultural festival; with magic infused, the scale was truly enormous.
While regular festivals decorate the stage with pictures or decorations, in Eternity, they brought real wood and stone to use as the backdrop.
At the edge of the student square, serving as the stage.
A giant tree adorned with decorations as splendid as a Christmas tree, surrounded by scattered rocks. That’s all the work of our Class 1.
The entire class went into the field to fetch the tree, and the effort was not in vain.
Of course, not everyone was as enthusiastic. It was a project initiated by Amelia, self-proclaimed director and team leader.
“But what’s the significance of that tree?”
“A thousand cranes will perch on its branches, starting a spectacular flight at the climax of the stage. It symbolizes blessing the future of the students to come.”
Can’t you feel the excitement just by imagining it? Amelia’s eyes sparkled as she spoke.
“Well, it will certainly be splendid.”
Feeling the excitement, I nodded. The sight of a thousand cranes with colorful magic lanterns flying around was undeniably magnificent.
And when those folded cranes were opened, each contained a beautiful quote or saying.
Initially just a small prop to be scattered on the stage, the cranes suddenly rose to prominence as Amelia took charge of the production.
Although it meant each student had to fold twenty-five cranes, no one opposed it.
A reward was promised to the whole class if they won first place in the joint performance: a certain amount of funds and magical tools.
By the way, Amelia, who was grumbling next to me, was dressed as an elf with pointed ears.
Given the use of the tree, the theme was ‘elves’.
Amelia’s direction was so enchanting that victory seemed assured.
While all students participated, only the main actors would stay on stage until the climax.
So, I would sit back, receive funds, and get my hands on magical tools.
There was no goose laying golden eggs. Unlike some bluebird.
“Wow, this is lovely.”
As I put energy into the melon bread I carried around like a habit, a big smile bloomed on Amelia’s face.
To think such a cost-effective treat only cost a thousand won, there’s no better deal out there.
“Well, the thing is…”
Amelia said, nibbling on the melon bread.
“We have a problem. We need to use flame magic to make the paper cranes fly, but it’s proving more difficult than we thought.”
Elaine was supposed to control a third of the paper cranes.
She was inscribing a spell on each crane to control them like familiars, but it was proving challenging due to the vastness of the student square.
“I want to help, but I’m already overwhelmed with the cranes I have. So, I thought, Hye-sol is good at flame magic, right?”
“Flame magic?”
Ah, she must be referring to Pyroblade.
“I can do something similar, so you’re asking for my help?”
“Yes, if it’s too much, you don’t have to. We can seek help from another class…”
“Got it.”
Perhaps Amelia thought it would be hard to convince me, but I readily agreed, and her eyes widened.
I might have considered it if it seemed troublesome or difficult.
But moving the cranes? That was no big deal for me.
＜Pyroblade＞ Level 6
I’m quite confident in this area.
“Making the cranes fly is quite fun, in a subtle way.”
Even if we set aside these reasons, it’s subtly burdensome for a person to do nothing but play and eat. Even though I wanted to try the class officer duties as a bit of a pastime, Hahn Seyon had already handled everything, leaving me with nothing to do. So, it should be okay to lend a hand at least once.
Moreover, if the other class gets support, our class’s scores will drop, won’t they?
That’s absolutely unacceptable.
“You don’t have to do everything on your own. Just help out with the feeling of assisting Elaine.”
I turned my head slightly. Behind the stage, where the performance preparations were in full swing. Elaine, dressed as a young elf, was sweating profusely as she wielded a teddy bear and performed the “Feast Magic.”
However, the paper cranes controlled by Elaine would fly briefly before abruptly plummeting.
That’s why they can’t fly properly even in the World Tree (Amelia’s self-proclaimed domain).
“Shall I help out a bit?”
I raised my sword towards the falling paper cranes.
“Huh…?!”
Elaine, who was diligently performing the Feast Magic, was startled.
The paper cranes that were about to fall suddenly broke free from control and started flying around on their own.
Moreover, they soared well beyond the 4-meter height that she considered the limit, continuing to rise.
“W-What’s happening here?”
The bewildered Elaine stomped her foot and, as she looked around, saw Yihaesol walking towards her from a distance.
It was then that Elaine’s eyes widened with realization of who was behind this.
In no time, she forgot about controlling the paper cranes and simply gazed absentmindedly at the paper cranes floating around in the sky.
Clusters of paper cranes scattered in all directions like fireworks in the square.
The festival-goers, who had been chattering, were suddenly in awe of the spectacle unfolding before them.
***
…May, the middle of the month, with summer just around the corner.
The laughter of students filled Infinity Correction, where the midterms had just ended.
At the student plaza, the Founder’s Day of Infinity (read as Enrollment Day) was in full swing.
Crowds of citizens, journalists, graduates, and various organizations’ representatives flocked to the student plaza to explore the open academy, where from stalls to magic experience booths, concerts, and other events captured people’s attention.
“The joint performance starts at 3 p.m., so don’t forget.”
9 a.m. First-year, Class 1.
Amelia, our class leader, gathered the students who were about to leave to enjoy the festival and reminded them of the joint performance time.
“Oh no, this is bad. I haven’t even finished practicing my sword dance yet.”
Eungaye was extremely nervous about having to perform the sword dance alone in front of so many people.
To me, she seemed flawless to the point where I couldn’t tell what she hadn’t finished, but perhaps she was experiencing stage fright.
“Well, everyone worked hard preparing for the stage for a week. Let’s disband and meet at 3 p.m.”
Students shouted in response to Amelia’s disbandment declaration and rushed out of the classroom.
A few students remained in the empty classroom.
Me, Amelia, Eungaye, Han Seyon, Chun Woojin, and Elaine. Just the six of us.
We hadn’t stayed back to enjoy the festival together; rather, we had gathered to successfully finish it. If we leave this seemingly exciting festival unattended, we might face a crisis without even properly passing the morning.
“When I went to the plaza fountain as you mentioned, there really was a bomb.”
Amelia, confirming that all the students had left, took out a black box from the spatial magic pouch. It was a simple plastic box that seemed to have no distinguishing features at first glance.
However, the other five, excluding me, must have felt the immense magic condensed inside it.
“Hmm…”
“Wow, it was real.”
Everyone’s expressions stiffened.
It was understandable, as the current Academy was in a situation where bombs like mine were planted all over, taking advantage of the free flow of logistics due to the festival.
“Must be the Mines’ doing?”
“No.”
This wasn’t some terrorist act by the Mines.
It was just a nuisance trying to blemish the Academy’s reputation.
“The work of the Reactive Molecules.”
“I’ve heard they’re crazy, but this is beyond imagination.”
Eungaye nodded at my words.
‘Reactive Molecules’ referred to those dissatisfied with the superhuman society revolving around Korea.
And what they despised the most was the Eternity Academy at the heart of Korea.
The ones attempting terrorism this time were mercenaries gone wild, wanting to make their presence known to the global media by targeting such an academy and trying to make some money in the dark underworld.
“Shouldn’t we inform the professors?”
“Then the festival would be immediately canceled, right?”
I immediately rejected Elaine’s suggestion.
The mere presence of planted bombs was reason enough to halt the festival.
In such a scenario, not only would the efforts of the students preparing for the festival go to waste, but I, who needed to catch anyone approaching Han Seyun under the pretext of being a ‘Class Officer,’ would lose my justification.
Unless it was an unavoidable situation, there was no need to tolerate such risks when holding information that could prevent the terrorism.
“It seems we have to handle this ourselves.”
“Yeah, we’re capable enough to defuse the bombs on our own.”
Nodding at Cheon Woojin’s words, I pointed to the ‘bomb box.’
“Can you break it without setting it off?”
“At that level, it’s definitely possible.”
Drawing his sword, Cheon Woojin cleanly split the black box resting on the table in half. I clicked my tongue at this sight.
‘As expected of the protagonist.’
He neatly severed the bundle of magic that would explode if mishandled. It was Cheon Woojin’s gift to cut through anything.
Having received confirmation that Eungaye and Han Seyun could also handle it to some extent, I stood up from my seat.
“Let’s go defuse the bombs then.”
“Sounds good.”
“To cover the entire school before the performance, we need to move quickly.”
With Amelia’s words, we left the classroom. And I thought that perhaps time was even more pressing than Amelia’s words suggested. This time, the bombs were not only planted in places but also in people. Planted surreptitiously without the victim’s knowledge.
“If those go off, it’ll be truly horrifying.”
So, I had to move as quickly as possible.