Chapter 71
-Screeeeech!!
An unpleasant metallic screech stabbed into my ears.
"Well... somehow it's still alive, I guess."
I leaned my head against the back of the seat and looked out the window.
The Mage Tower's private station platform.
The state of the magic train stopped in front of it was... well.
"Wow—it's amazing it actually rolled in, really amazing."
It was utterly a sorry sight.
The body was blackened all over, marked everywhere by sparks and explosions.
The steel plates were dented, and in places they had even melted down.
Claw marks had been slashed across it at random diagonals.
And on top of that, clumps of dirt from the landslide were still caked all over it.
"Whatever else, I have to admit its durability is the real deal."
I mean, just look at it—it still made it all the way here despite looking like this.
Looks like the Empire and the Mage Tower didn't waste their money after all.
-Hiss.
With a deflating hiss, the door to the rear economy-class carriage opened first.
Soon, passengers poured out in a rush.
"I-I liveddd...!!"
"I-I thought I was going to die!"
"I swear I'll never ride that damn train again!"
Every single one of them was intense.
Some collapsed onto the platform the moment they got off, their legs giving out.
Some hugged each other and bounced up and down.
There was even someone lying face-down and kissing the floor.
Come to think of it, after seeing magical beasts flying past the windows and a mountain collapsing overhead, it'd be hard to stay sane.
"It was a struggle, that's for sure."
More than anyone else, especially me.
I brushed the dust from my clothes—though not a speck had actually stuck—and only stepped onto the platform belatedly after most of the other first-class passengers had already left.
Then the door to the engine room at the very front of the train swung open abruptly.
Haa, haa...
The one staggering out from inside was none other than Dean Raymond.
"Lunaris... student...!"
He was in terrible shape.
His once-elegantly styled hair was a mess, and his high-end robe, layered with all sorts of protective magic, was scorched and torn everywhere.
"You worked hard."
I put on a sympathetic expression toward the dean, cold sweat streaming down his forehead.
"Um... this feels a little awkward to say, but your makeup's kind of patchy."
"Makeup is the issue right now?!"
The dean looked hurt and let out something close to a scream.
"The bastard threatening the engineer... I ended up losing him!"
"Then you should've moved a little faster."
"No! He cut the hostage's throat and bolted the moment I showed up, not even giving me a chance to negotiate—what was I supposed to do?!"
"He must've known there'd be people in the engine room. If it were me, I would've Blinked in and bound him with telekinesis at the same time."
Tch. This is why spellcasters who take forever to cast are such a pain.
"Then Student Lunaris should've stepped in herself!"
"I trusted you that much, Dean. And protecting the passengers was more important."
At my words, Dean Raymond started pouring out his complaints with a sigh.
"That bastard... not only killed the engineer while escaping, he even overloaded the engine before leaving!"
"No wonder the temperature shot up all of a sudden."
"If I hadn't controlled the engine manually, this train would've derailed ages ago!"
"Yes, yes. Thanks to you, Dean, we all survived. And we made it safely to the Mage Tower, after all."
I couldn't help but feel sorry for how he kept pounding his chest like that.
"Wait a second, now that I think about it, I'm kind of pissed. Why am I the one driving a magic train at my age?!"
"But there was no one who could've driven the magic train as safely as you, Dean."
"Ahem! Well, that's true enough. I'm no ordinary man when it comes to ability... No, that's not the point!"
"..."
"I'm asking for sympathy here, sympathy! Not that lifeless, bland agreement!"
Dean Raymond grumbled as he scrubbed his face with a handkerchief.
"Elder Raymond! Are you all right!"
Then, from the other side of the platform, guards and mages ran toward us, pale as ghosts.
"M-my heavens... what on earth happened?"
They could only stare back and forth between the battered magic train and Dean Raymond, unable to speak.
"Are your eyes just for decoration? Can't you tell at a glance?"
The dean's expression changed in an instant.
It was hard to believe this was the same man who'd just been whining and complaining to me.
"We were attacked on the way here."
The air around us instantly turned cold.
"And they came at us with quite a bit of determination."
Mana rode on his low voice, making it sound even more menacing.
"S-so... you're saying magical beasts attacked the train?"
"More precisely, someone tried to tame wyverns and use them to carry out a bombing attack."
"What?!"
"The fact they triggered a landslide right on schedule and even occupied the engine room makes it pretty clearly a planned crime!"
The guards and mages looked at one another and coughed awkwardly, all of them flustered.
"A-any clues about the suspect, perhaps?"
"Was it the work of a black mage? Or perhaps the Resistance that's been running rampant lately..."
"That's your job to figure out!"
The captain of the guard stiffened instantly.
"Y-yes! I'll assemble an investigation team immediately!"
"If you don't find that bastard, I'll formally put the guard budget cut on the agenda for the next Mage Tower council meeting!"
"...!"
That bad-tempered elder was the sort who meant what he said.
And he had the power to back it up.
"Make sure you secure all the relevant materials too, including the surveillance magic records. Understood?"
He had the kind of charisma that took control of the whole area in an instant.
Come to think of it, the dean of the Magic Department was quite an authoritative man too.
He usually acts a little goofy, so I forget sometimes.
*
"By the way, Elder Raymond."
While the train investigation was in full swing,
"I understand you had a rough time in the engine room... but then why are there no casualties among the passengers?"
A tactless mage suddenly picked a fight with Dean Raymond.
"The train is in this state, yet everyone except for a few minor injuries is perfectly fine. It's hard to believe."
"Well—compared to the scale of the accident, the damage is miraculously small, isn't it?"
At those words, the dean's deeply irritated brow slowly smoothed out.
"If I had been alone, protecting the passengers might've been impossible. But!"
The dean covered his mouth with one hand and burst into an Ohohoho- laugh.
At the same time, he subtly nudged my back with his other hand.
"If it hadn't been for my prized disciple, more than half the passengers would've been caught in the explosion and fallen off the cliff!"
I still don't know why he kept calling me his prized disciple.
If I challenged him here, we'd waste even more time on explanations, so I stayed quiet.
"Elder Raymond is right! I saw it clearly with these two eyes of mine!"
The mage named Benjamin standing beside him also chimed in as if he'd been waiting for his turn.
"He crushed those wyverns with a single finger from where he sat!"
He'd been tucked away in a corner when the wyverns attacked. Honestly. He could've helped out then.
"And without casting, too, with zero delay! I've never seen magic like that in my life!"
The mage raised his voice so much that spittle flew from his mouth.
His fussing caused the surrounding crowd to start murmuring again.
"That kid? They look way too young."
"Come to think of it, hasn't word been going around the Mage Tower lately? That Elder Raymond had a disciple he taught separately at the academy, and that disciple has crossed the threshold to Grand Mage."
"Come to think of it, all the mages sent to Elterion Academy ended up staying on there as part-time lecturers."
"Wasn't there a student who could handle the mana of nature as freely as she liked?"
"Could that rumored mage be...?"
Soon, countless gazes stabbed into me at once.
Every gaze carried a different temperature.
The young mages' eyes glittered like Senior Estel's when she discovered a new magic tool.
The old mages in their flashy robes were scrutinizing me up and down with stern eyes.
"I'm tired."
I swallowed a sigh inwardly.
All because I wanted to get one subspace item, I'd walked straight into the den of these magic addicts.
It was the sort of moment that made me want to grab my past self by the collar and shake some sense into them.
I gave a slight nod and tugged at Dean Raymond's sleeve.
"Dean."
"Hm? What is it, Student Lunaris? Perhaps you'd like to give these ignorant mages an impressive speech or..."
"Where did you book the lodging?"
"...Pardon?"
"I'm just going in first to get some sleep."
Anyway, Dean Raymond's condition was only that I come to the Mage Tower with him, right?
So there'd be no problem if I just slept through the whole schedule here, right?
Well... still, since I've come all the way to the Mage Tower.
To win myself a three-days-a-week class schedule beyond even a four-day one, I guess I'll have to get whatever this Grand Mage certification thing is.
*
"Miss Lunaris Evermoon. It won't be easy to recognize you as a Grand Mage."
A firm voice rang through the meeting room.
"Of course, I've received the reports. Your magical accomplishments at the academy... and even the power with which you protected the magic train. Indeed, your practical ability is impressive."
The man seated before me was Deputy Tower Lord Wilhelm, the head of some school or other (he'd told me, but I'd dozed off and missed it).
He looked down at me through a monocle and continued.
"Even so, in my view, there still seem to be many shortcomings."
"What's the problem, exactly?! The results prove everything!"
As I listened in silence, Dean Raymond, sitting beside me, suddenly cut in.
The dean was very angry.
"In terms of utilizing the mana of nature, she's one of a kind, and her world-altering signature magic is more than worthy of being called top class. And yet you still won't accept her?!"
"Calm yourself, Elder Raymond. I understand your fondness for your disciple, but isn't there a first principle that defines a Grand Mage?"
Deputy Tower Lord Wilhelm clicked his tongue and tapped the floor with his staff.
"A Grand Mage is, by nature, someone who understands the laws of nature and becomes one with the world through communion with spirits."
He cast a slanted look at me, saying that excellent magical achievements alone were far from enough to earn the title of Grand Mage.
"However, Miss Lunaris, I can't feel even a hair's breadth of spirit energy from you."
"..."
"I've heard that not only can you not summon spirits, you are even being shunned by them, is that right?"
I suddenly remembered Dean Raymond's four spirits, which had bolted the moment our eyes met.
Did they think I was going to eat them or something? Honestly.
"To trample nature down with force alone instead of serving it—that isn't magic, it's violence."
Suddenly I wondered why I was even listening to this seriously.
"So whether you can use that power correctly, and whether you're qualified, requires further verification..."
"And how exactly do you do this verification?"
"Simple. You just need to complete a few tasks under the observation of myself and the other elders."
The Deputy Tower Lord put on an artificially kind expression and counted off on his fingers.
"Roughly... about a week? You'll stay in the Mage Tower while we conduct an in-depth interview."
"Ah, then I won't do it."
"It would also be great if you could give a few lectures for the other mages during the process... hm? What did you just say?"
The Deputy Tower Lord's eyes widened as if they might burst out through their monocle.
Dean Raymond also turned to me in surprise.
"S-Student Lunaris? What do you mean by that...?"
"I'm not going to be a Grand Mage."
I turned on my heel without hesitation.
If I'd known it would be this much of a hassle, I wouldn't have come to the Mage Tower at all.