Editor 37
by CristaeCleio Asser, who registered property at seventeen (1)
“No, even without using magic you’re not going to run away….”
“Ah, you’re messing up my magic formula, so stay still, will you. [May our words remain a long-held secret!]”
[Soundproof][Concealment] formula lit up the room, enveloping Cleio and Dione. Behemoth absently watched the magic circle, scratching his belly with his back leg.
“Eooooong, nyaek (They’re making a scene as if they’re debating national affairs or something).”
Within the magic barrier, Dione shouted with a big, ringing voice.
“So now you’ve decided to side with Prince Arthur? Is that your final decision or not!”
“How did you….”
“With the third prince coming and going all the time, how could I not know. I kept quiet because until now you seemed unwilling.”
As Cleio just blinked wordlessly, Dione playfully bumped her forehead against his.
“Why such a forlorn face? I never said I was against it.”
Though the gesture was cute, the bump was actually pretty painful. Rubbing his tingling forehead, Cleio brought up the topic he’d been avoiding.
He couldn’t keep hiding from his partner Dione that he’d decided to get in the same boat with Arthur.
“You know even better than I do—it’s honestly a dangerous path. The third prince lacks both power and wealth and, until now, even a legitimate cause.”
“You always said you hated politics, but now you’re plunging right into the biggest game. You realize your words and actions don’t match, right?”
“Sometimes… things just turn out that way. I’m not thrilled about it either. It could just stir up trouble in a perfectly orderly country.”
“Well, who expected Philip to become king twenty-seven years ago? A horse that comes in first after being last in the betting pays the biggest odds, you know.”
“…Every time, I think you really have a daring nature, Lady Dione.”
“Bet big to win big, that’s the way. Besides, I have something I trust.”
“Something you trust?”
Instead of answering, Dione suddenly let go with both hands, causing Cleio’s head to thud hard onto the floor. While he was still dizzy from the blow, Dione grabbed his right hand.
His feeble attempt to shake her off was useless, as Dione gripped his right hand tightly with both hands.
Dione quickly poured ether in and checked the shape of the stigma that surfaced. A rectangle of deep blue was clearly visible over the veins on the back of Cleio’s hand.
“As expected, you do have a stigma. This is related to ‘foresight,’ right? You just said ‘until now.’ Doesn’t that mean the ‘cause’ might not exist now but will exist in the future?”
‘Why is everyone so sharp? They dig up ten things from a single word. Ugh.’
It was a completely wrong guess, but all Cleio could do was nod.
With the current situation, that was the only reasonable explanation.
“Wow, my business partner is a prophet. There couldn’t be anything more reassuring.”
“It’s not like I can see the future so clearly. Most of the time, things turn out differently from what I saw or thought.”
“What fun would life be if you knew everything! I can handle this much risk.”
With a soft sound, the formula disappeared.
Dione, who had retreated as breezily as she had ambushed Cleio, tidied herself primly and asked,
“So how are you going to send thanks for the gift?”
“To start with… I’ll write a thank-you letter. Keeping it as formal as possible.”
“What about your father?”
“Are you going to tell him about this?”
“Even if I don’t, there are plenty in the manor who can write. A telegram could be sent any minute.”
“Then I’ll just say I had no idea what it was when I received it.”
“Wow, so you mean you have no plan at all!”
“Let’s call it flexible response.”
The clock tower, lecture halls planted in the middle of a thick forest. Dormitories built along the riverside.
Returning to school after two months felt new.
Deng— Deng— Deng—
The bell ringing to mark the hours was the same as ever. It sounded just as it did the first day he’d woken up in this world.
Now he knew; that bell was a famous feature of Lundane. The clock tower’s chime, made of magic stone, rang out clearly even at a far distance.
‘How can all this feel so welcoming and nostalgic…?’
So much had happened during the break, it felt more like two years had gone by instead of two months.
When the carriage door opened in front of the dormitory, Behemoth leaped out and disappeared into the forest on campus to inspect the territory he’d neglected.
Cleio went up to his room, took out the safe and put it in the closet, and left the wine packed in the suitcase.
He then requested a meeting with Dean Zebedi and declined the offer to skip a grade. He needed to stay in the same grade as Arthur now.
The dean looked regretful, but seemed glad to have more time to teach a student who’d reached level 3 during the summer vacation at seventeen.
By the time he left the dean’s office, it was already evening.
Not all students had returned from home yet, so the dormitory cafeteria was quiet. He took a seat in a corner and scooped up some warm beef stew.
‘It’s been a while since I ate here.’
The fancy food at the manor was good, but the simple tasting stew from the school cafeteria’s big pot was special in its own way.
Halfway through his stew, the dorm porter brought the evening paper he’d requested.
Cleio’s hand stopped as he opened the newspaper out of habit. The spoon slipped from his grasp and fell with a clatter.
‘!!!!’
Cleio began reading the article with an intensity that could burn a hole through the paper.
But he couldn’t focus for long. Small hands began pulling at his hair.
“Cleio, you’re like an old man.”
“You are an old man.”
“Why are you reading the paper while eating?”
“My dad does that. But Cleio, you’re only seventeen.”
It was the twins, Rifi and Leticia.
Each girl set her tray down on either side of Cleio and kept nudging him as he got absorbed in the newspaper.
‘I really am an old man to you guys….’
“That’s a bit harsh, you know….”
“What’s so harsh about it.”
Grumbling, Rifi adjusted an ivy-leaf-shaped hair clip on her head. Both girls had nicely tanned skin and seemed to have gained some muscle on their arms.
‘Wow, they really look tougher now, these girls…’
“How was your break?”
The twins pouted their lips out half a foot.
“Wasn’t good. It sucked.”
“Just did sword training.”
“School’s better than home.”
According to the draft, the Angellium Viscount house was also an old martial family from the southwest.
It looked like the twins had a very rough vacation at home, and they honestly scrunched up their faces as they shared their feelings.
“The only fun was at Novantes. Ate lots of good food, didn’t practice fencing.”
“Why didn’t you even see us before you left?”
At that point, reading the paper was hopeless.
Cleio was beset by the twins harassing him from both sides.
“I had urgent business… guys, let’s just eat first and chat after.”
“Hmph.”
“Hmm. Well, okay.”
“Now that school’s started again, you can’t get away from us.”
Finally, spoons in hand, the sisters began eating their stew, pecking delicately at their bowls like birds, backs straight and lips poised to the spoon.
Really, they were twins raised with strict discipline.
“Hey, why do you guys welcome me like this anyway? I’ve never done anything for you….”
“That’s because, Ray, you’re strong at magic.”
“The [Wind] formula you used then was the strongest level 2 magic I’ve seen in thirteen years.”
“Strength is cool.”
“It’s admirable.”
“That’s all it is?”
Cleio’s shoulders slumped in defeat. The twins, unaffected by his feelings, tucked into their stew.
“That’s not ‘all.’ Viscount Angellium’s family insists only the strongest child becomes heir, so they haven’t adopted a boy. To those kids, strength is the most important value.”
Putting down her tray in front of Cleio, Chel grinned. She was as sleek and good-looking as ever.
“Ray, you look even paler than before?”
“Maybe because the break was too long…?”
“Yeah, if you were running around buying land all that time, I guess your cheeks wouldn’t have had a chance to plump up.”
“News travels fast.”
Reaching past Trey, Chel tapped the folded headline of the newspaper.
“Of course it does. Is there anyone in the capital who doesn’t know about the new train station in the east? It’s big news. Even I’ve been made a messenger.”
“A messenger?”
“A messenger to pass on a message to you. My mother wants to see you.”
“Really?”
“Why would I lie? Why are you so happy?”
“Because I am.”
Cleio’s face broke into a smile more blissful than ever before.
From across the table, Chel crossing her arms haughtily, seemed like an angel come to deliver good news.
“What do you think the news is about?”
“I think your mother only has one thing she’d want to discuss with me.”
Squinting at Cleio as if studying his intent, Chel let out a small laugh at his still-confident attitude under her unguarded scrutiny.
“Ha, when my mother said she’d found the real owner of that Oreils property, I honestly couldn’t believe it… To think there was such cunning hiding behind that naive face—what a twist. So you are a child of House Asser.”
Cleio had asked Dione to hide the owner as much as possible to avoid troublesome attention, but there was no hiding from Katarina’s eyes.
‘Of course, I never planned to fool Katarina.’
“Haha, say what you like. So when can I meet your mother?”
“As soon as possible, whenever you’re ready.”
“And where?”
“I’ll tell her you accepted. She’ll contact you herself.”
“I’ll be waiting.”
Forgetting even the stew, Cleio gulped down watered wine. He felt ready to fly.
Before he knew it, the Angellium twins had finished eating and were begging him to show them magic formulas or circles.
“Can you show us the [Wind] from the finals again?”
“We were going to ask at Novantes!”
Their olive eyes sparkled with hope.
Now he saw, that was surely the reason the twins had trailed after him since before break.
‘Kids, honestly.’
Now a level 4 mage, Cleio could easily fill half his formula slots with [Wind] and [Float].
“That’s easy enough. So, if you’re all done eating, shall we go to the drill ground?”
“Wow!”
“Yayyy!”
“Ray, you’re the best!”
‘Why not, I’m in a good mood!’
Thanks to Katarina’s declaration, Cleio was in high spirits tonight.
The two girls scampered around him, giggling, one before and one behind.
Their twin braids bounced lightly as they moved.
Cleio, who lagged behind, unable to match the kids’ speed, was swept up in this relaxed, strange feeling.
“Are you really this excited?”
“I am.”
“There wasn’t a single mage in our estate. It was all so amazing.”
“Thank you, Ray!”
“Thank you!”
The way the girls sincerely offered thanks was so cute, Cleio felt the walls around his heart dissolve.
‘Well… If I’d gotten in trouble in my last year of high school, maybe I’d have kids like these. It’s funny though—I’ve never even been married, but here I am letting kids ride on my floating spell.’
Cleio deployed a circle and floated the twins’ light bodies into the air.
That night, the drill ground’s circles never went dark, and the twins’ laughter as they soared lingered until late into the night.
The first class of the second semester was ‘Magic Fundamentals II.’
“Did everyone have a good break?”
The top students in the front row, like the Angellium twins and Isiel, answered briskly, but those in the back row did not.
Arthur, Cleio, Nebo, etc.
Cleio, worn out from being harassed by the twins until nearly bedtime the night before, didn’t even try to answer, just nodded off.
Arthur, sitting right beside Cleio, was completely sprawled out, breathing steadily as he slept.
Professor Zebedi clicked his tongue.
“Tsk, those kids in the back row are hopelessly lazy. Didn’t even look at a magic formula all vacation, did they.”
He made no effort to hide his displeasure. It was surely a sign of a mountain of homework to come.
“That’s not true, sir. Please don’t give us a surprise assignment.”
As always in magic class, Nebo, whose eyes were half closed, pleaded in a thunderous voice.
“The more you say that, the more I want to assign homework. Don’t you get it?”
“Ugh—.”
“Before we start, let me introduce a repeating student who’ll be joining you this term. If you don’t train properly, this could be you next year. Stand up, Francis Gabriel Hyde-White.”
‘What? Francis?’
Cleio, who had been dozing off with his textbook open, snapped his eyes open at the suddenly called name.