5.5 Interlude: Gold and Silver (15)
The academy, which returned after a long time, was still there.
The streets full of youth, students sweating, and magnificent buildings and familiar shops located here and there depict familiar scenery.
It was a place that was like another home to me.
Wasn’t it the first time in my life that I left my hometown and lived there?
Traditionally, the word ‘alma mater’ used to have a special resonance that could not be expressed in just two syllables.
However, I couldn’t even afford to enjoy the welcoming air of my alma mater.
It was because there was something I had to do right away.
I headed straight to the building where my best friend would be residing.
The academy’s great library.
It was a place where all the knowledge of the Empire, the Holy Kingdom, and the Southern Ten Kingdoms was gathered.
It was a somewhat exaggerated evaluation, but the number of books stored in the Great Library was staggering.
I heard that the estimated amount is in the millions of volumes.
There must have been tens of thousands of books that could not be identified by number.
It was the result of gathering knowledge from all over the continent for hundreds of years.
And in such a place where knowledge is gathered, those who seek the truth gather.
The Great Library was always crowded with scholars, and my friend, who was walking the path of sorcery, was no exception.
Leto Ainstern, my most trusted advisor and friend.
It didn’t take long before I found him.
It was because he was a rare handsome man.
Even in the sea of books and humans, Leto’s appearance shone.
I almost dragged him along and left the library. Leto was startled and tried to resist, but as a mere mage, it was impossible for him to overcome my strength.
At first, he had only one option.
Having a conversation with just the two of us.
In the end, Leto had to sit in front of me with a disgruntled look in his eyes.
I wasn’t sorry. Because I didn’t even have time to look at him.
I took it all out and got to the point.
“Leto, did you hear? The news that Celine is missing.”
“I heard.”
Leto’s attitude towards me was very cold.
He looked so busy that he didn’t know why he had to deal with me.
At least it didn’t seem to welcome me.
Nevertheless, I pounded on the desk and expressed my argument again.
“No, Leto… Did Celine disappear? Why are you so carefree?!”
“Did Leah tell you?”
Leto’s eyes were just indifferent.
It was a half-question that he spat out as if tossing it out.
But I couldn’t answer casually like Leto.
Something is strange.
Looking back, I wondered why Leah even came to see me. Originally, it was normal for Leto to contact me first.
Leto cares for Celine like a younger sister.
In other words, Leto was the first person to turn to when something went wrong with Celine. At least there was no way he could keep his composure like he is now.
When I shut my mouth with a puzzled look, Leto clicked his tongue.
“Ian, aren’t you too indifferent to Celine these days?”
“… … I?”
Even as I answered that, I swallowed my saliva and fell into agony.
Have I ever cared about Celine lately?
It was a problem that didn’t even need to be pondered.
I had to bite off my awkward smile.
“Is it so?”
“Is it? It’s not… Are you crazy? You haven’t even been looking for Celine lately!”
At Leto’s point, I cleared my throat and averted my gaze.
It was as it was said.
I haven’t been to Celine in recent months.
Conversely, if Celine comes to visit me, I don’t know.
It was a point that I was not even aware of until now. Having been close friends for so many years, I took it for granted that Celine and Leto were by my side.
Celine and Leto’s existence was like air to me.
Those who are absolutely necessary in my life, but are always by my side even if I don’t have to worry.
I might have been fooling around with that favor.
Celine and Leto also have their own lives.
While I had time to repent, Leto let out a long sigh.
His eyes sunk deeply. Even a slight hesitation was visible in those eyes that looked back on the past.
He seemed to be at a loss as to what to say.
“Are you having a hard time these days?”
That was what Leto said after thinking about it.
“Are you having a hard time these days?” was a question that was nothing more than a conventional greeting.
But I knew. The fact that deep fatigue emanated from the bottom of that voice.
I hesitated for a moment, but in the end, my head broke a couple of times.
No matter how much I thought about it, I couldn’t come up with an amazing line.
It was best not to hide his true feelings in front of Leto.
“To be honest, it is difficult… I can count on one hand the times I’ve taken a break in the past few months. If you catch your breath, another incident will happen… … .”
“The kids who follow you are having a hard time too.”
Leto declared in a heavy voice.
Its content was also very common sense.
“It is especially difficult for some people. Even if it’s hard, you’ll move forward somehow, but a person who lacks talent can’t even grow as he wants. There is a gap that cannot be followed even with all one’s might.”
“Is Celine like that?”
“Celine has been thinking a lot over the past few months.”
It was around that time that the drink I ordered at the teahouse came out.
The clerk, who appeared to be a young woman, glanced at me as she set down her drink. It was as if he had found a rare spectacle.
No, it wasn’t just that.
Everyone around me was looking at me.
Among the whispers, there were quite a few conversations about me.
This clearly revealed my status, which has changed over the past few months.
Ian Perkus, the second son of a country viscount, is no more.
Only Ian Perkus, the god of the Empire and the rising hero of mankind, was left.
A lot of blood was shed for this, but it was not something anyone could follow.
I was just lucky.
Conversely, someone might just be out of luck.
I sipped the drink in front of me without saying a word.
Cool liquid passed down the esophagus. So that you can feel the sweat droplets clinging to your skin better.
“It must have been difficult. You know, the people gathered around you are so great, aren’t they? As a result, I sometimes wield a sword until my hands get blistered… There’s no way I’ll become stronger right away, but lately I’ve been seeing hallucinations and even hallucinations.”
“Hearing hallucinations? hallucination?”
At Leto’s words that followed, my eyebrows narrowed at once.
Auditory hallucinations or hallucinations are often symptoms accompanying serious mental illness. I never imagined Celine would feel that much pressure.
If I had known, I would have dried it somehow.
You don’t have to force yourself to follow me.
Leto clicked his tongue as if he knew that.
“Arthur, Arthur. Then the disease only gets deeper… And it’s still pretty good. After a little meditation, the symptoms go away again.”
My body flinched as I was about to go find Celine.
Come to think of it, Leto didn’t look particularly worried when Celine disappeared.
It did not take long for the cause to be revealed.
“That was a month or two ago. When the pressure gets high, I go to catch my breath… Lia must not have known Celine since she hadn’t seen her in a long time.”
“but… … !”
“And you wouldn’t have known because you weren’t interested.”
In the end, I swallowed my groan and expressed my will to surrender.
I had nothing to say.
How Celine had reached that point, and how she hadn’t known that.
Because it was all my fault.
Looking at me depressed, Leto snorted.
“Don’t be too depressed. Because it can’t be helped.”
Instead of answering, I sighed.
I felt like I wanted to hit my head in frustration.
Leto’s calm advice continued.
“Now you have work to do. Just think about it for now.”
“And what if it’s too late?”
“No one is late.”
Leto’s voice did not waver as he answered a question whose subject was unclear.
On the contrary, he even slightly tilted his upper body forward.
The emerald eyes held a serious light. It was a rare sight for me.
“To that end, everyone is struggling and struggling. Trying not to be too late… you do what you have to do We’ll do the rest.”
I do what I have to do.
It was a fair word.
On my shoulders lay a burden that only I could carry.
He sees a letter from the future and saves the world that is running towards destruction.
It was undoubtedly a mission that should take precedence over anything else.
Even so, I couldn’t erase my bitter heart, so I was going to say a word.
Suddenly, his eyes landed on the title of the book Leto was reading.
‘Hypothesis and review of time travel theory applying space-time relativity’
Leto, not even noticing my gaze, was congratulating me.
“And you heard about Lady Alpenhauser, right? She doesn’t seem to remember Celine anyway, but she came looking for you. As you know, my older sister is famous for looking down on others… … .”
“Leto.”
Come to think of it, there was still plenty of time until the exam period.
It meant that there was no reason for Leto to look so tired.
Funny enough, I just realized that now.
“Are you having a hard time too?”
With that one word, the mouth of a close friend who had been chattering without rest was closed.
The silence didn’t last long.
Leto immediately said ha, bursting into laughter.
“You don’t have to know, kid.”
It was a really leto-like answer.
I muttered to myself while holding back a bitter smile that I do not know how many times.
Lady Alpenhauser, you have come to visit me.
If so, it would have been more polite to go out to meet him.
Like a junior.
In addition, you can also ask about the last conversation you had with Celine.
Leto said it was okay, but my intuition was sending me a strange warning.
The hallucinations and hallucinations that Celine was experiencing.
It wouldn’t hurt to find out about him.
**
Emma used to pinch her cheeks whenever she opened her eyes these days.
“… … it hurts.”
Emma’s eyes were hazy as she murmured in such a hazy voice.
It was a face that was still wandering in the land of dreams.
But Emma’s eyes soon lit up with vigor.
The smile on her face was proof of her joy.
sick.
In other words, it is not a dream.
Confession shared on a snowy night.
Even the kiss Ian shared and his warm embrace.
There were no lies anywhere.
All those memories became warmth and warmed Emma’s cheeks.
Covering her flushed face with her palms, the woman smiled wryly.
It was rare.
Emma was a sincere and diligent person. There were not many times when I woke up in the morning and was immersed in the afterglow of sleep.
But suddenly, in bliss, it was like wagging on the bed.
Even my friend who shared a room with me was shaking my head.
But what can I do?
Love can turn someone’s world into ruins, but there were also times when it turned it into a flower garden.
The world of a woman whose first love is fulfilled will definitely be closer to the latter.
Of course, sincere by nature, Emma did not spend long hours in bed.
There was no way to deal with the corners of her lips that kept rising, but she had enough time to get up and wash her face.
It was just as I was about to leave the room.
It started when the friend who had been in the lead in opening the door flinched and stepped back.
Only then did Emma feel strange and her eyes widened. Suddenly, a cone-shaped hat appeared in front of her.
The identity of the uninvited guest was a small girl.
At first glance, she looks as lovely as a doll, but in the academy, no one is ignorant of her notoriety.
It was Elsie Rainella.
While Emma inadvertently hesitated and stepped back, Elsie took a step forward.
And with a bang, in an instant, he grabbed Emma by the collar and pulled her.
In the end, Emma had to bend her upper body in a sloppy position.
There were glowing blue eyes right in front of him.
Emma unknowingly gulped and swallowed.
Dangerous.
I wanted to shake off my hand like this, but the opponent was a high-ranking aristocrat.
She, a mere commoner, had no chin to resist.
Elsie wasn’t a woman who was prudent enough to hesitate.
“Hey, you want to talk to me.”
A hard face and a cold voice.
Emma thought as soon as she heard Elsie’s words.
This is an order disguised as an offer.
Leto is such a bro man, my actual favorite character in this novel