Chapter 87
Chapter 87: Librarian Ernst (8) - Invitation for a Walk
When the boy and Lafer first began their duel, the disciples' thoughts were generally the same.
'Getting angry over something like this and lashing out with force is unbecoming. But after taking such a serious insult, I can't just stand by either.'
'Lafer's youthful blood is useful at times like this. If he steps in, it might be easier to brush it off as just a senior-junior matter, unlike if one of us went.'
'It'd be nice to put that arrogant brat in his place, but if he goes too far, he might end up drawing Master's displeasure instead. Lafer needs to keep it moderate.'
Though their directions differed slightly, they all took Lafer's victory for granted and looked forward to seeing the boy hurt.
Even if the youngest disciple acted a little snappish toward his seniors, that could be overlooked as childish. But if he came out with an attitude like, 'You're the one who can't do anything and still nags,' what senior wouldn't get angry?
There were protective spells installed in the sparring hall by Delphinaris for the disciples' training, so in any case there would be no danger to life.
Still, it was also true that they could feel some degree of pain, so Lafer spoke before the match began.
"If you apologize now for your insolent words and swear to show basic respect to your senior fellow disciples, I can end this here."
"Then start already. You talk too much."
Lafer's neck veins stood out as he swung his staff in one swift motion.
-Fwoosh!
Seeing the huge blaze that had formed around Lafer compress into the shape of a sword, the other seniors' eyes widened slightly.
"That Lafer guy's really improved."
"Is he around the edge of the third tier? At that level, he'll reach the fourth tier before long."
There are as many kinds of spells as there are histories of magic, and many different systems of classification have been devised to make them easier to understand.
Among them, the two classification systems commonly used on the continent today were broadly two.
One divided them according to power, and the other according to casting difficulty.
Those who had not learned magic in any systematic way—in other words, those who entered the path of the mage mainly through spellbooks and the like—preferred the former.
That was because the standard was quite clear: if it could threaten a single-digit rank, it was low-grade; if it could threaten a double-digit rank, it was mid-grade; and if it could threaten a triple-digit rank, it was high-grade.
But the more systematically one had learned magic, the more one objected to that power-first grading system.
Even if two spells were the same spell, their power could swing wildly depending on the user's skill, magical affinity, and the environment, so classifying them solely by their final power output was, they argued, not the right way to sort spells.
They combined the mana consumption, concentration, and difficulty of learning required for each spell into a grading chart, and while it was more accurate than judging a spell's rank by power alone, unfortunately it never completely became the mainstream method despite that accuracy.
Because the power-based classification system had been used longer, it simply continued by custom; and the grading chart itself circulated only within mages' communities, so it wasn't well known to the general public.
And the 『Magic of Wielding the Sword of Fire』 that Lafer had just cast was a third-tier spell, one of the harder ones among them.
Its attack range was relatively narrow, but its raw power was enough that even fourth-tier knights would have to fear for their lives if hit head-on.
"You brought this on yourself...!"
As if he had no intention of dragging the duel out, the fire sword, following the swing of Lafer's staff, sliced through the air and flew toward the boy.
"Oh, that's pretty cool."
But before that sword could pierce the boy, another fire sword that appeared before the boy's eyes stopped Lafer's attack.
"What?"
"What in the world!"
Seeing the two fire swords counter each other, the spectators' eyes went wide.
It was surprising enough that the boy used a spell rated as one of the highest-difficulty spells even within the third tier so easily, but the fact that its power matched Lafer's spell was astonishing as well.
No, it wasn't even matching it.
-Fwoosh!
The boy's sword grew larger and larger as if it were devouring Lafer's sword, then split Lafer's sword cleanly in an instant and shot toward its owner.
"Ugh!?"
Lafer instinctively leaped away to evade the attack, then immediately created ice arrows and fired them at the boy.
Even reacting with a counterattack in an instant under such sudden circumstances proved that he was not merely some hot-blooded youth, but this time he had picked the wrong opponent.
Crack!
The ice arrows created by the boy shot down every one of Lafer's ice arrows and then charged straight at Lafer.
"Th-This is impossible!"
Lafer tried to overwhelm the boy with every spell he had, as if thrashing about in desperation, but the boy used the exact same spells with greater force and overwhelmed Lafer instead.
Pushed farther and farther into a corner, Lafer finally dropped his staff, and the boy slammed mana bullets into his stomach and throat in quick succession.
After confirming Lafer had fallen, the boy said with an unconcerned expression.
"Was that the end of the lesson? I learned a lot."
Silence fell.
The disciples rubbed their eyes or exchanged glances with the people beside them, wondering if they had seen something wrong, but that did nothing to change the result that had already occurred.
'It isn't unheard of for people to build up some magical skill outside before coming to Master. But even so, this...'
Lafer's skill was around the middle of the pack among all the disciples.
So if the boy had simply won against Lafer in a normal way, the disciples would have been surprised, but they would not have denied reality.
But simply winning and copying the opponent's specialty magic on the spot to overwhelm him with even greater force were entirely different matters.
In other words, he had essentially won while fooling around.
"Then, is there no senior here willing to give me a new lesson?"
At the boy's declaration, some of the disciples looked indignant, but none of them stepped forward easily.
Those who were weaker than Lafer, or not much different from him, naturally lacked the confidence to step up, while those who were clearly strong enough to be well above Lafer were mostly elderly men, so taking part in a situation like this was awkward in itself.
Lose, and you're a moron.
Win, and it's only natural.
If you even drew or fought fiercely, you'd be treated as being on the same level as the youngest and hear complaints about being unseemly for your age, so how could they easily step forward?
However, one person was an exception.
Among the disciples, there was someone around the boy's age who also possessed top-tier skill.
Eris was not unaware of the gazes gathering around her.
It was just when she was gathering her resolve and about to speak.
"That's enough, all of you."
Delphinaris, who had remained silent until now, stepped forward.
She quietly approached Lafer, who had fallen in a corner of the sparring hall, and ran a softly glowing hand over his stomach and head.
"Ghk, cough! Cough!"
After soothing the recovered Lafer a few times, Delphinaris rebuked the boy, Marik Grimlun, with a rather stern expression.
"You may compete in magic. You may quarrel with one another. But where on earth did you learn the manners to leave your fallen opponent there after the match and immediately look for your next one?"
"That was, um..."
Marik frowned for a moment, then obediently bowed his head.
"I'm sorry. I think I got too excited. The fact that I could receive instruction from seniors I admire..."
Delphinaris's eyes fixed steadily on the crown of Marik's head.
In the old archmage's eyes, various complicated emotions surfaced and then faded.
In the end, Delphinaris sighed and said.
"Apologize for your rude behavior toward your seniors. And you all, don't be too harsh on the youngest."
"Yes, Master."
"Understood."
Answers came back from both sides, but it was clear neither side was sincere.
Eris glared.
'There's no way this will be resolved like this.'
Marik's apology was hollow, and the other disciples' resentment had not disappeared either.
Even if they let it slide and let it all drift away like this, nothing would be solved.
"Master. Then─"
"─Eris."
Eris had not even brought up any main point yet.
But as if cutting her off, Delphinaris shook her head.
As if telling her not to say anything more.
Eris, who had instinctively tried to object, could only stop after seeing Delphinaris's eyes.
'...Why are you looking at me like that?'
If it had been anger at immature behavior, she would have understood.
Even if it had been a plea for help, she would have understood.
But neither of those things was in Delphinaris's eyes.
Her master was looking at her with nothing but worry and concern.
Eris's sharp mind immediately understood the meaning of the emotion contained in her master's eyes.
No, she had understood it.
Eris's master was certain that if she and Marik clashed, Eris would lose.
Eris's tightly clenched fist trembled.
Even she herself couldn't fully understand what emotion she was feeling right then.
"...I'm sorry. I'm not feeling well, so I'll head back first today."
Having delivered that one-sided verdict, Eris turned away.
There were voices around her, flustered or trying to stop her, but no one forcibly held her back or came after her.
After moving as if fleeing for quite some time,
She finally got far enough away that the mansion was no longer visible, and flopped down onto a suitable rock.
'What a miserable mess this is.'
A dreadful sense of self-loathing surged through her.
She had thought she would earn her master's recognition.
She had thought she would overwhelm that new disciple or whatever he was and prove that she herself was the real thing.
But what if that had all been nothing more than Eris's own thoughts?
What if her master had not expected anything from her and had long since given up on her, looking for someone else to replace her?
What if the 'true genius' her master had wanted had finally appeared, and Eris, being nothing more than a halfway talented prodigy, was no longer needed?
Her thoughts ran wild in a negative direction.
The faint reason still left in her pointed out that she didn't need to think of everything in such a bad way, but there was nothing she could do about the emotions spilling over.
She had hoped alone, worked alone, burned alone with competitive spirit, fled alone, and ended up miserable alone.
How ridiculous was that.
How pathetic was that.
How much would people laugh at this sight.
"At this rate, I'm completely a clown."
A lament slipped from her lips without thinking.
The weak sound that slipped from her lips, from beneath the mask of a top student she'd always worn, drifted into the empty air without reaching anyone─
"Well, that's something we'll have to wait and see about, isn't it?"
─didn't disperse.
Eris, who had been looking down, slowly turned her gaze toward the voice.
The blond hair that always shone only under the library's artificial lights was now being tousled by the outdoor breeze.
His suit was, as always, rumpled and out of shape, and he smelled of dust and ink.
With sharp eyes ill-suited to hospitality and a face without the slightest hint of a smile, he looked down at Eris with unreadable emotions.
Eris muttered in a dazed voice.
"Why are you here?"
"I'm out for a walk. If you keep sitting and reading books all the time, it'll be bad for your body, so you need to get some exercise once in a while."
The librarian who had tossed out such an unfunny joke looked at Eris's bloodshot eyes and blurted out.
"First, shall we walk together?"