For the first time since entering the 1388 class, all grades sat together in the auditorium of Yongryun Hall.
After a simple attendance check, while the process of checking preparations for the festival by class and club continued, Rain, who was in charge of the stage, had to busily play under the podium.
This is why executives at the end of the first year are sad… … When it was confirmed that there was no problem with all procedures, President Madelia stepped onto the podium.
“Nice to meet you, cadets. First of all, I would like to say that everyone worked hard to finish the two exams of the eventful first semester.”
“… … !”
“This festival is a resting time for those of you who have survived the journey, and at the same time an opportunity to fill in what is lacking.”
The festival of ＜Delayten＞ is attended by many prominent figures in the magic world, so it must be because there is an opportunity to show off magic to them.
“Now then, I hope you will hold in your heart the pride of being a student at the top magic university in the empire and make a festival for all visitors to enjoy.”
“Yes, President!”
“Then, the slogan for this festival is… … .”
Madelia’s expression darkened as she received the ceremony from Lane, and her voice stopped for a moment.
With a graceful clearing of her throat, Madelia vigorously raised her hand.
Originally, the president would read the festival slogan and then the cadets would recite it, but it seems that they decided to skip it. Even if it was me
“Now then, raise the curtain on the 1388th seasonal festival of ＜Deleiten＞ with your own hands! Good luck to you guys, and a happy festival!”
* * *
As soon as the school gates of ＜Delayten＞ opened, countless crowds gathered.
The seasonal festival has a lot to see thanks to the various magic performed by the 300 cadets, and the school that prepares the festival has abundant financial resources, so it is considered one of the three major festivals of the empire.
Aristocratic families visited, locals from the countryside came to see the Devil’s View from afar, and a lot of adventurers also visited to find promising party members.
As the number of visitors increased, the number of incidents increased, so during the festival, the student council executives and members of the organizers had to take turns wearing armbands and patrolling the campus.
Fortunately, Lane’s turn was from the third day, so she had time to help with the half-festival in the morning.
“Kuuuaaa!”
“Sah, save me!”
[Audit lecture] When the audience who experienced the class’s ambitious work, ‘The Haunted House,’ fled out the door, the class president clenched his fists.
“hahahaha! Great success again!”
The principle of operation of the magic was simple.
It was just a matter of creating a forest or an abandoned house where not a single moonlight shines through, so it was much easier to build a magic square than during the final exam.
And the disadvantage of the augmented space built with the runes of the world, the formative structures being abstract rather than tangible, in this case worked more as an advantage.
It was because everything was vaguely visible, which aroused even more fear.
When the audience is sucked into Rain’s magic, the [Audience] cadets, who were waiting in ghost makeup, pop out in turn to surprise them.
“Wow, that’s awesome! My heart almost burst.”
“Is this magic?!”
“It’s the level of a rediscoverer of magic! What an awesome experience this is all about?!”
On the way, there were people who ran away in fear, and there were also people who were making a lot of noise with excited faces. Tastes are very diverse.
“If you enjoyed it, please spread the word!”
“of course! I’ll just bring you in droves!”
Seeing such various reactions, I wondered if there was such a way to use the rune of the world, and I smiled involuntarily.
I wanted to send one or two teams like that, but at some point, word-of-mouth visitors came to the point where I had to control the turn.
At that point, the smile was Niimi, and sweat was flowing like rain from the whole body because it seemed like it was going to die. This is 5 star magic.
“How many people are coming?”
“Let’s see, there must be over a hundred people.”
“Who’s the guy who asked me to spread the word?”
“It’s me, Gongja-nim!”
“Come to your work.”
As a result, magic square calculations came to the point where time was running out, but Lane Ludwig was not the only talented person in the [auditing lecture] class.
“You said you would help me one more time, so I’m just keeping my word. Don’t make any weird misunderstandings.”
The eyes of the onlookers widened as the boy, with the sleeves of his school uniform blouse rolled up, unfolded the parchment next to Lane Ludwig and took out a pen and ink at the same time.
“That guy… … Hubert of the Rofinum School?!”
“A disciple of the Eight Great Clan helps the nobility of the Sedo family——?”
“No matter how much they are in the same class?!”
At the last volleyball match, the surprised [auditing] cadets just clapped excitedly. Lane asked in a suspicious tone.
“Did you understand my magic square formula?”
“Are the Rohfinum School good enough?”
There seemed to be a moment of silence, and then the two boys exchanged smiles, and the brush strokes of the one-stroke brush exploded as if they were competing on both sides of the parchment.
“Oh, oh oh oh… … ?!”
“Fast, very fast… … !”
“Even if not as much as Prince Ludwig, he is amazing… … !”
Of course, he couldn’t keep up with Rain’s speed, but the fact that he was drawing the magic square by himself, which the entire prop preparation team had to rush into, is proof of his excellence.
But even with the help Hubert had, it seemed unlikely he would be able to match the visitor’s turn.
As soon as I had that thought, a girl with dark brown hair arrogantly crossed her arms and appeared in front of everyone.
“You look desperate for help? If you’re in a hurry, beg this Christa Warden for help! But I can’t—”
“Help me, quickly, please. I die.”
“—Gee! Rather than servilely beating me, my lifelong rival… … uh? okay.”
When Lane willingly prayed (?) Christa, who hadn’t been able to answer 13 of the 15 lines she had been preparing all night, blankly opened the parchment.
‘weird. I think I’m missing something… … .’
However, even in such chaos, he copied the magic square of the lane next to him at breakneck speed, so it was natural for everyone to exclaim.
“Three magical geniuses!”
“What is it, the theme of the festival is to quickly draw magic squares here?”
“No, but all three are great!”
Maybe it’s because the sweaty performance of the three people attracted more and more spectators, but the ‘Haunted House’ of the [Cheonggang] class ended with a great success to the extent that it was ranked among the top three at the festival on the first day.
By the way, since Cassena and Gertrude were on patrol today, they were able to escape from this hell.
* * *
The second day is the time of the seasonal sports festival, and the four major magic volleyball clubs begin competing for supremacy.
As it was a sport only wizards could play, the magic volleyball match at the dragon pit was a success.
From noble mtl dot com
With Griffinvalor and Snakemast winning their respective blocks, the finals would be held on the last day of the festival. Griffin Valor will win with a 99% chance, but… … .
In addition, events that combine magic and physical education, such as obstacle relay running, magic ball rolling, magic ball throwing and putting into a basket, started with cheers and ended with laughter.
“Now it is my turn.”
The third day was a day to show magic to people by gathering, not by class, but by club.
Lane, in turn, wore an armband that day and toured the wide campus.
I was watching visitors read brochures, stop by clubs they were interested in, and see magic, when I heard a familiar voice.
“lane!”
When I turned my head, I saw an old man with black hair and gray hair that was unique to his family, but still stronger than any business man, with a cane in a moderate movement.
“Grandpa?”
It was so unexpected that I opened my mouth.
It was Skalge, Skalge Ludwig.
My grandfather, who taught Bell Curious to open his eyes. Everyone opened their mouths and whispered, as if that reputation had reached not only the magical world but also criminals.
“Wow, it’s Ludwig the Skalge.”
“The highest authority on magic!”
“The previous generation of magic stars?! Is it real?”
No matter what voices were heard around him, the scalge walked in a straight line without looking at him, and finally put his hand on Reign’s shoulder and gave him strength.
“Proud, really proud. As expected, he is the eldest son who inherited my blood! Twice taking the top spot alone among the golden generation! Hot hahahaha!”
“Grandpa, what are you doing here… … ?”
“Of course, to see the face of the eldest son, what is it? Also submit applications for admission to our magic school chicks.”
Still, it was fortunate that he didn’t rub his beard or stroke his hair in front of everyone, probably because he had been accustomed to being a nobleman for decades.
“Ugh, he’s the student council member! Don’t you know that I shouldn’t disturb you while I’m working?”
At that time, there was a person who made Scalzi’s eyes cold, and it was Chief Professor Marhena. Likewise, he was holding a cane.
“I came down thinking that I must be dead now, but the gods are very indifferent. that’s still alive This is a guy with a long rope.”
“Hey, who’s to say this, Inum?”
At first glance, it might be embarrassing for a commoner to use informal language with a great aristocrat, but it’s not surprising when you know what kind of relationship the two had.
“First of all, I have to get rid of that old witch. Rain, let’s get rid of the long-awaited regrets later.”
Marhena and Scalzi walked towards the main building of the school while chatting with each other, and it was the first time I had ever seen Scalzi smiling so brightly while talking to someone who was not a blood relative.
‘You two are close friends… … .’
If Rin had met the warrior party guys after a long time when she was old, would she have had a similar expression? What would you have talked about with each other?
“You’re not doing what you’re told to do and you’re just fooling around. How big is your liver for a topic at the end of your freshman year, Lane Ludwig?”
The one who destroyed that sad thought was the person who was counted as the No. 1 person whom Lane didn’t want to hear his voice the most in school.
Student President Valencidis.
It’s very funny how he comes close at some point and thinks about what else he can’t mess with.
“I can’t just leave you alone. He’ll be running away somewhere else and fooling around.”
“Isn’t it? Aren’t you going to?”
“I, the president, make the decision. to follow me Keeping it by my side and watching over it will make me feel safe. As a low-level executive, you have no choice.”
If I make fun of that snout one more time, I’ll change my tongue and drink it, you son of a warlock, and I was about to jump at you, but if I did that, I’d become a madman.
Also, if an executive confronts the chairman, people who don’t know the context can see it and gossip about it.
Be patient, you have to be patient… … For now, I decided to follow him obediently as he wanted.
“… … ?”
But something was strange.
I thought he would make me suffer with all sorts of gossips while taking him around, but he only had a faint eye smile from time to time as he took time to carefully examine each of the club’s classrooms.
Do you feel a sense of accomplishment because you oversaw this festival from start to finish as the student council president?
“Oh, Chairman! Prince Lane! hello!”
After patrolling like that, the place I arrived at was in front of the classroom of the [Local Development Magic Club]. Manager Joen spoke to me in a friendly way.
“How is it, did it become a very meaningful festival?”
“Thanks to the president! We were able to show our efforts to many people! Some even offered financial support!”
Valencidis arranged the festival section in detail into an entertainment section and a magic presentation section.
– For those who came to enjoy it, there was no way that local development magic would come into sight.
Instead, the divisions were subdivided and at the same time, the flow of visitors was carefully reorganized.
So that those who come to have fun can enjoy it to the fullest, and those who come to seek useful information or necessary magic can receive such great help.
That efficient achievement was acknowledged by Rain as well… … I should use it similarly when I become the student council president.
While thinking so, Joen suddenly lowered his head to Rain.
“And thanks to Gongja-nim.”
“It’s me? why me?”
“It’s a club and a festival that Confucius kept. Of course you should be grateful.”
For a moment, I was so dumbfounded that I opened my mouth stupidly.
Haven’t you ever thought of that?
Then Valencidis grinned and nodded in agreement, but that smile was slightly warmer than his usual sneer.
“Joen, then try harder. We have a lot of places to turn, so we have to go.”
“Yes, Chairman! see you next time!”
In that way, Valencidis toured numerous clubs, taking Lane with him.
He was warmly welcomed by everyone except for the clubs where the nobility was the main axis, and the more I looked at him, the more I was surprised by the popularity of this swindler.
‘Yeah, that’s right, he’s a swindler.’
In the meantime, the twilight was setting over the Red Mountains, and the twilight covering the ground began to glow enchantingly.
“I guess I’ll start slowly.”
The place where Valencidis stopped was an area located on a fairly high ground within the school building, a place overlooking the campus.
Elin and Caroline, as well as all the professors from ＜Delayten＞, were on a simple podium that had been built in the campus, and people were gathering around it one by one.
The famous fireworks display of the magic festival is about to start.
Fireworks were the ultimate festival magic that only those with outstanding skills in mana control could unleash.
“I told you before. About how to observe people.”
While I was looking down at it with interest, Valencidis suddenly opened up a topic. There was no one around, so I just answered casually.
“It did. But why?”
“In fact, I was trained that way from the moment I was picked up, but it was all because of my choice that my level rose to the present level.”
At that moment, as the university president Madelia’s congratulatory speech ended, the first flames rose and embroidered lotuses in the night sky, exclamations leaked out from everywhere.
“At first, I killed all those who were ordered without question, but at the moment of the tenth murder, I realized the truth in indescribable regret.”
“… … ?”
“There was no reason why they had to die… … The fact that the master’s command is not an absolute truth.”
I turned to Valencidis, feeling a chill run down my spine.
Since he was a dark-hearted guy, he was certain that there was some suspicious motive hidden behind his words.
However, his pupils, illuminated by the second flame that lit up the darkness of the night, were relaxed to the point of embarrassment.
Unlike usual, he hid both his emotions and his inner feelings with a perfect mask.
“From then on, I began to closely observe all those to whom the killing order came. What kind of guy he is, what beliefs he has, and if there really is no other way than to kill him.”
Next, Assistant Professor Kyle and Elin Ludwig fired flames at the same time.
Those sparks seemed to be entwined like vines in the sky, but at the end they merged into a dazzling cluster of flowers that burst into a riot.
The cheers, which seemed to be getting higher and higher, became so loud that the eardrum hurt at that moment and shook the campus.
“Since then, there have been many cases of falsely reporting that orders have been fulfilled. It took me a few more times and I lost quite a bit of trust from my master.”
“Why are you talking about that right now?”
“You’re still an impatient guy.”
“Lee Nam.”
That moment, it was only a moment, but he smiled, which could only be called kind. That smile that Lista and Brim often smiled… … .
“I was just taking a rhyme to say that I was really lucky that I didn’t kill you with just an order.”
It wasn’t an expression a murderer could make. It was an expression that shouldn’t have been made. So, there was more chill in his voice than he had expected.
“What are you doing to judge whether a person can live even if he dies? Smile in front of the families of the people you killed with your good judgment.”
There was a sharp silence between us as one after another echoed the sound of explosions that opened a golden curtain across the sky.
It was a situation, an interval, and a relationship in which even if they were just one step wrong, they could use magic to kill each other.
This tension is not surprising. Because he and I were like that in the first place.
“They say a great cause comes with sacrifice.”
“what?”
“With those words, I have justified the murders that I have done, have to do, and will do, but I don’t intend to do that anymore. It must be a burden that you will have to live with atonement for the rest of your life after the opening of a new era.”
It was a smile that could be described as self-deprecating, a mixture of pain and resignation. That smile terrified Lane.
no more talking
If we talk more, one day we might not be able to deal with him as an enemy.
“You don’t want to go along with the murderer’s confession? If that’s the case, go see the priest. And make sure you pay for your sins.”
I said it sternly and left the seat, but uhm… … The last fireworks launched by President Madelia dazzled the fantastic flower fields in the night sky.
A fire that fills the air.
The acrid smell of flames from the summer wind permeated by the embers, the silence after the explosion and the cheers exploding in the darkness.
“It was an unqualified youth full of lies and deceit, but thanks to you, I was able to finish happily.”
Muttering so softly that you wouldn’t have heard if you’d been paying attention to one of those sensory turmoils, Valencidis disappeared into the darkness.
“Thank you, Lane Ludwig.”
I doubted my ears for a moment at those unbelievable words, and I stopped and looked back at the same time, but Valensidis had already disappeared.
After all, it was summer.