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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Yuziro
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“He’s a bit… unique, isn’t he?”
Her evaluation ended there.
He was dressed unusually, as she had said, but that was only by the standards of this academy.
Outside, there were plenty of people dressed strangely.
The fact that his magical power was barely perceptible was also quite unusual, but Rain, who was fair in such matters, seemed to accept it without any particular suspicion.
“May I say a word?”
“Of course.”
As she stepped onto the platform, she took another look at the man who had caught her eye earlier.
She didn’t recognize the face wrapped in bandages, but his height and physique seemed familiar.
However, she didn’t speak of it.
There were many people in the world with similar builds and heights, and there was a possibility that this man hadn’t maintained his former physique.
“Cadets, welcome to the Academy of Hidin.”
Her voice, though not infused with magic, echoed throughout the vast auditorium.
As she spoke the name of the nation where the academy was located, the cadets once again realized where they were.
“The unfortunate allegations of corruption have been completely quelled by my direct ascension to the position of headmaster.
Therefore, I hope that all of you will find your talents here, join the organization of your choice, and become heroes whose names will be known throughout the continent.
“The academy’s faculty, including myself, will do our utmost to help you cultivate your talents.”
Rain, who didn’t like long speeches, ended her words with a simple “That is all.”
The sparse applause that followed could be seen as a lack of courage compared to those who would be called heroes.
But that wasn’t the case.
Rain’s eyes glinted.
The cadets who overcame the pressure of her voice, infused not with magic, but with her presence, and still managed to clap, were promising seedlings with ample talent.
The vice-principal, also noticing this, looked around at the applauding cadets.
Her eyes stopped at one point.
It was the strangely dressed man from earlier.
He was standing normally, withstanding the pressure, and clapping normally.
Everything came into Rain’s sharp vision.
The unique scar on the man’s little finger.
It resembled a rose.
She knew the person who had that unique and special scar.
It was from the attack by Moljin, the commander of the third legion.
He had pulled her back, preventing her from being hit, but he himself was grazed by the attack.
It had been an attack imbued with a curse – not easy to endure, but he had not shown his pain and, as always, had supported the party.
Thinking about it made her chest ache again.
The warrior, the wizard, the priest, and herself – they had all received so much from him.
It was more than she could count on her ten fingers.
She would repay him somehow if she could, but he would probably… no, definitely find it burdensome.
The man himself, unaware that Rain Garden, the headmaster and first hero, was looking at him, stood there blankly.
No, if he was the person Rain knew, he would surely be pretending not to notice even though he did.
‘It’s been a long time, and there’s nothing much to talk about anyway.’ he would think, trying to move on without much thought.
Rain, without prolonging her speech any further, stepped back.
There would be plenty of opportunities to observe.
As she retreated, the vice-principal stepped onto the platform again.
She was quite nervous, her forehead beaded with sweat that reflected the light shining down.
The vice-principal, after greeting the younger Rain courteously, cleared her throat and began to speak.
The tedious speech began once more.
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The Magic Tower.
A place where those who pursued magic gathered for research.
However, due to its strict meritocracy, it was a space where those who failed to produce results gradually lost their privileges.
One person occupied an entire floor of this tower with their research lab: Al Sora, one of the first heroes and an archmage.
Al Sora, a genius and an eccentric who developed her own magic every few days, regardless of its practicality, had been holed up in her lab for over two weeks.
Even the arrogant and indifferent mages were quite worried about Al Sora’s behavior, with a few occasionally inquiring about her well-being.
Each time, Al Sora would snap, “Get lost!” And so, within her lab, which was quite large for her physique, she muttered to herself for the first time in a while.
“…Found you.”
Her eyes, once so intelligent during her time with the first hero’s party, were now clouded over.
Her voice was so hoarse that it was a wonder she could speak at all.
Her eyes, like blazing flames, were aflame as if she had found what she desired.
However, it wasn’t a hopeful emotion like passion or zeal, but rather a bottomless feeling like a swamp.
─Bang!
Sora, with an urgency that contrasted with her dull eyes and raspy voice, flung open the door.
The force was so strong that it left a mark on the wooden door, its hinges strained and its ornate carvings marred.
But no one here dared to criticize her actions.
Between fixing a broken door and provoking Sora’s wrath, it was clear which would be harder.
“Ah, Master Al Sora! You’ve finally emerged? What new magic have you…”
“Get lost.”
“B-But, your appearance…”
“Hey.”
At the sound of the small senior mage addressing him, the elderly man stiffened and cautiously looked at her.
He had initially looked at her with curiosity, wondering what kind of magic she had developed this time, but his gaze quickly dissipated like dust upon seeing her expression and hearing her next words.
“I have no more business at the tower.”
“…Excuse me?”
“My lab… anyone can use it. I won’t be coming back here.”
“W-What…”
“Just you wait. Just you wait. You’ll be asking why I disappeared without a word…”
The mage couldn’t help but close his mouth upon seeing her mumbling figure.
He had never seen such a combination of obsession and resentment in her muttering and her expression.
He could only watch as she walked away.
Perhaps he had unconsciously sensed the depth of the obsession that was consuming her.
“…Found you.”
“Found you.”
“Why… why did you leave us… leave me?”
“I don’t understand.”
“Was asking for a memory-erasing spell part of your plan?”
“I have to ask you myself…”
“Before the others notice, you’ll be by my side…”
She had sent letters to Rain, maintaining her usual facade, but it had all been an act.
Her obsession continued to swell within her.
Because of one man.
‘Ron,’ the shadow of the first hero’s party, the man from whom no news had been heard.
She began to chant a spell.
The long, complex incantation, composed of dozens of words, was uttered in less than two seconds.
As she did so, her body dissolved into light.
And with that, she used the highest-level magic, ‘Spatial Transfer,’ to cross an entire country and arrive at the front gate of Hidin’s Academy.
Of course, the academy itself didn’t matter to her.
She had no interest in nurturing successors.
Mages?
Hero candidates?
They were all insignificant.
Rain?
Strictly speaking, Rain Garden, the woman, was a threat at this moment.
If Rain realized that ‘he’ was here, she would undoubtedly become a rival.
While Rain might have been the outward leader of their party, Ron had been their implicit center.
Everyone owed him a debt of gratitude, and thus everyone had held a certain fondness for him.
More than half of the party had been women, and every single one of them had harbored feelings for Ron.
They had made a pact to “keep our feelings to ourselves” but like any verbal promise, it was destined to be broken.
That was why it was dangerous.
They had already engaged in subtle competitions during their adventures, so if they were to discover that he was alive now…
“…No, it’s practically my victory already.”
She hadn’t forgotten Ron in the years since they parted ways.
On the day they went their separate ways, she had held back the words “Let’s go together.” suppressing her aching heart like a tragic heroine, and bid him a temporary farewell.
Why?
Because she knew he would contact her.
But time passed, and no contact came.
She had even asked some of the mages who admired her to gather information from around the continent, but there had been no news of him.
So, she had begun her research to find him.
While inventing useless yet groundbreaking magic, she continued to research magic that could track him down, fueled by an uncharacteristic impatience.
Magic that could track a single person relentlessly.
It was inefficient, unprecedented, and she had to start from scratch.
Magic development was inherently difficult and time-consuming.
Thus, a considerable amount of time had passed.
During that time, Ron remained silent.
And finally, she had succeeded.
She had found him.
It was the result of her love-fueled obsession.
The others would have simply waited.
They might have even forgotten.
But not her.
She had created it.
She had found him.
Just wait a little longer.
This time, she would never let him go.
Al Sora headed towards the academy’s interior.
Some senior students, who were on break, were startled by her appearance.
Those aspiring to be mages greeted her with reverence.
Some, emboldened by the moment, even tried to speak to her directly, but…
“…Get lost.”
“Y-Yes… Yes?”
“Didn’t you hear me? Get lost. I’m busy.”
Hearing her response, as explosive as a volcano on the verge of eruption, they could only swallow their words, their mouths dry, and back away.
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👀👀👀