Chapter 14
The night sky of Wyheim was more beautiful than any other place on the continent.
Countless starlight was maintained even more vividly through constellation magic, and floating islands roamed various parts of the night sky, scattering radiance. Starlight flowed everywhere, and magic expanded. It was a sight that anyone, mage or not, would like.
Although one couldn't come for sightseeing as they pleased, it was a city famous as a tourist destination.
The place where mages resided was so mysterious.
Although he had become somewhat accustomed to it, Acel still liked Wyheim's night sky. There was no reason to dislike it, so it was natural. It seemed Ena felt the same way as she sat at the edge of the bed, looking up at the sky beyond the window.
Every year, for about ten days after the new year began, a festival was held in Wyheim as well. It was a unique kind of festival called the Night of Mages, where various mages were allowed to use all magic except destructive acts within the city.
Thanks to this, the streets visible in the distance were not dark at all, but sparkling with various colors.
As if a high-ranking mage had appeared, a long dragon made of smoke writhed in the sky, with a mage sitting on top of it, smoking a pipe and laughing. Parnin glided freely through the sky carrying his contractor, and gem mages and elemental mages set off fireworks with all kinds of magic.
Ena watched this scene quietly, then noticed people gathering around the lightning rod installed for her and wiggled her finger. She willingly did as they wished.
[Lightning Strike]
Boom!!
White thunder struck various parts of the lightning rod. It was Lightning Strike that had been modified to be used in multiple bursts by adjusting its power. Mages who felt the eerie remnants of destruction cheered and turned their eyes towards Ena's mansion. Ena, with her chin resting on her hand, let their gazes of respect and reverence slide by.
At that moment, someone knocked on her door.
"Master."
It was Acel.
Ena answered immediately, "Come in."
"Then excuse me."
With permission granted, Acel gently opened the door and entered Ena's room.
Although he had been in and out several times, it was a room that felt empty every time he came. A bed was placed alone in the corner, and magic books and artifacts were scattered on the desk. There were no special features other than this. There was a clothes rack, but even that was less than half full.
It was too bleak a room to be called a woman's room. But Acel thought this was just like Ena as he approached her side.
"Sit down," Ena said, glancing at Acel.
Acel sat down next to her with a bitter smile.
It was a slightly open distance. Ena frowned and tapped the seat right next to her with her hand.
"Sit here."
"...Isn't that too close?"
"What does it matter?"
I see.
Acel scratched his head and sat where she had tapped. After confirming that he had taken his seat, Ena turned her gaze back to the window. Acel also watched the festival unfolding in the streets.
They had a moment of silence. But it wasn't awkward. Neither Acel nor Ena were particularly talkative, so their tongues didn't itch. They just stared outside with comfortable hearts.
How much time had passed like this?
Ena opened her mouth while looking at the huge blue gem adorning the sky, "Do you want to go to the academy?"
Ena's way of speaking, getting straight to the point without beating around the bush. There was no confusion, as it was familiar. Acel nodded slightly with a bitter smile.
"I didn't think it was a bad proposal. To be honest... I do want to go."
"Why?"
"As you know, Master, to achieve magical accomplishments, one needs to leave Wyheim and experience the world. You know how different magical achievements built on theory alone are from those built on practical experience, don't you?"
There was no answer. Ena was still looking out the window. But her eyes were staring directly at Acel's face reflected in the window.
"The academy is a special place where you can take care of both theory and practice in this aspect. Of course, it might not be as good as rolling around in dangerous situations, but the risk is also less. It has its own advantages."
"..."
"And... I would have left this place someday, anyway. As I said, experiencing the world helps a mage's achievements, doesn't it? Even if not the academy, I would have surely belonged somewhere. I have no intention of settling for my current position."
It was a statement made with firm will. Acel looked straight at Ena, and Ena also turned her head towards him with a sigh.
"I'll be honest. When I first took you in, I didn't think much about the future. But as time passed, as your talent bloomed and you achieved results quickly, my greed grew."
"..."
"I want to watch you more closely. I want to see with my own eyes how far you can go. I want to interact with a mage who has learned the same type of magic as me. I want to see for myself what kind of magic and imagery imbued with your uniqueness you will acquire in the future. Such thoughts started to come to me at some point."
"Those are all things we can do."
"If you stay by my side, yes."
Ena held Acel's hand tightly with a bitter smile.
"Experiencing the world as a mage. I know well how important that is. I also wandered the continent for a while and participated in wars and devil hunting. I know well how those experiences influenced my magic and imagery. You also need to have experiences like mine."
"..."
"But... human hearts are like this. When I think about the dangerous things I went through, I hope you don't go through such things. I sometimes think, can't you just stay here with me, researching magic, and gaining practical experience through occasional sparring?"
"...Master."
"My disciple. When did you come so deep into my heart?" Ena said this in a soft voice as she stroked Acel's head.
"I know it's unreasonable. So I won't throw a tantrum. Do as you wish. I give you permission not as the person Ena, but as your master, Genesis."
"..."
"If your decision is truly made by your own will, there's no need or reason for me to interfere. I called you here to tell you this."
"I see."
Acel smiled slightly and added strength to his hand still held by Ena.
"Thank you. For respecting me."
"It's only natural. No need to thank me. Rather, I'm sorry. I made quite a scene earlier today, didn't I?"
"It's fine. It was cute. You looked like a puppy when you got angry, being so small."
[Lightning Release]
Crackle.
Weak lightning shot out from the fingertips of Ena's hand holding Acel's. Acel slightly frowned at the tingling sensation.
"Ugh."
"That's the price for teasing me. Take it gracefully," Ena said this and then jumped up from her seat.
"This conversation is over now. Let's enjoy ourselves until you enroll in the academy."
Acel nodded with a smile, holding his tingling hand.
"Then shall we go to the festival together tomorrow?"
"...Festival?"
"Irina said you've never attended before. So how about going together this time? Tomorrow is the last day of the festival."
Ena thought for a moment, then smiled slightly and tapped Acel's forehead with her fingertip.
"Alright."
***
The next day.
After midnight, Ena and Acel went out together to the streets of Wyheim. Acel was dressed in a simple shirt and pants, while Ena had changed her hair color to black using a magic tool. The reason was that she didn't want to attract attention.
"It's hard to enjoy if people keep greeting us as we pass by."
It was a reasonable point. Acel smiled and walked with her through the night streets. Everywhere they went, skilled mages were captivating the eyes of passersby by showing off their magic. Acel and Ena stood in front of a handsome gem mage and watched his magic.
"Gem spell demonstration! Secret technique! Diamond Shower!"
He scattered gems into the air with a refreshing smile. Then the transparent diamonds glowed brightly, soon decomposing into small dust particles to form a sparkling snow storm. It was magic created purely for visual pleasure, with no practical use at all.
Acel exclaimed in admiration at the beautiful fluttering of these gems, "Are there such pretty spells in lightning magic too?"
"No. Our magic is all specialized for killing."
"That's a pity."
"Then create such a spell with your own hands and show me," Ena said this and walked forward with a grin.
Acel followed her.
They bought chicken skewers of a suitable size from a nearby street vendor and ate them. Ena, being a light eater, couldn't eat much, so she ate about half and gave the rest to Acel. Acel cleanly finished both his portion and what Ena had left.
As they were watching the mages like this, an enormous shadow fell over the sky. When they looked up, they saw a floating island slowly moving and scattering rain infused with magical power.
A liquid that didn't wet what it touched and could be adjusted in form according to the mage's will.
It was an excellent medium often used in experiments and a substance loved by spirits. Perhaps because of this, spirits attached to spirit mages flew up and laughed cheerfully as they were hit by the falling rain.
As spirits of all sizes and colors played in the sky, they formed a beautiful light cluster. Parnin, the monstrous bird Acel had seen when he first visited Wyheim, was also buried in that light.
"Yaaah! Parnin! We need to prepare for the next event! We don't have time to be doing this here! I've already received the deposit, so if we cancel, I'll have to pay it all back!"
[Be quiet, contractor. More importantly, hmm... today's water is quite disappointing. Ask them to mix in some lava.]
"Aaaagh!!"
The spirit mage riding on Parnin screamed while tearing at his hair.
A genius who had mastered spirit magic while also being a fire mage belonging to the Ignis Magic Tower. Sierra von Kleier. Although they had never spoken, she was famous as a pyro-maniac arsonist and spirit enthusiast, and was known as an oddball even within Wyheim. Thanks to this, Acel had also heard her name many times.
"Shall we greet her?"
"Don't. Everyone pretends not to know her."
Following Ena's words, when Acel looked around, indeed all the passersby were turning their heads as if they hadn't seen Sierra. Seeing this, Acel also turned off his interest in Sierra, following them.
"Is there anywhere else you'd like to go?"
"Hmm... not particularly. Let's just walk," Ena said this and moved her steps at a slow pace.
Acel also walked following her, then spotted a nearby street vendor and his eyes sparkled. He told Ena he was going to the bathroom for a moment, then ran to the street vendor.
The owner of the stall was an old man with a hunched back. The items for sale were accessories with simple magic imbued in them, and Acel pointed to a brooch with a sapphire embedded in it and said, "How much is this?"
"Five silver coins. Do you know what kind of magic is imbued in it?"
"Yes. It's luck, isn't it?"
"Oho. You have good eyes. Those who recognize the magic only need to pay one silver coin."
"Thank you!"
Acel handed the old man one silver coin and took the brooch. Ena, who had been sitting on a nearby bench swinging her legs and watching people, spotted him and stood up from her seat.
"You're back?"
"Yes. By the way, Master. This is a gift for you."
"...A gift?"
Ena tilted her head. Acel grinned and handed the brooch he was holding to Ena.
A brooch with a sapphire embedded in it, similar to the color of her eyes. It wasn't particularly high quality, but Ena looked down at the brooch placed on her palm with a blank face.
"I bought it because I thought it would suit you."
"..."
"...Do you not like it?" Acel, who had misunderstood Ena's silence, muttered while scratching the back of his head.
Ena immediately shook her head, tightly grasped the brooch and pulled it to her chest.
"No, I like it. Very much."
She looked at Acel with a bright smile.
"Thank you, Acel."
It was the brightest smile among the smiles Ena had ever shown.