Chapter 28
Once Ena's presence was confirmed, there was no time to waste.
Acel immediately told Plum he would go with her, and she started moving after recovering from her surprise. Acel followed behind her.
The academy's main building was located in the center of the city. Although not many students remained inside due to the ongoing vacation, some students living in dormitories were still around. Girls sitting on benches and chatting quietly tilted their heads curiously as they saw Plum running urgently.
"Assistant Professor Plum? Where are you going in such a hurry? By the way, do you know what that lightning just now was?"
"I'll tell you later!"
Plum dismissed their questions and ran into the academy building. Assistant professors and student assistants preparing for the semester greeted her, but instead of answering, she made it clear she was busy as she went up to the upper floors of the building. As a result, their expressions became awkward.
Plum had no choice. She had never met Ena directly, but she had often heard rumors about her temperament.
A monster who frequently participated in devil subjugation wars and labyrinth explorations, greatly increasing her magical power at the cost of morality and humanity. A cold-blooded person who never hesitated to take a life and didn't give affection to anyone. A superhuman who prioritized violence over dialogue.
The headmistress always spoke of Ena like this, and Plum's perception of Ena naturally became negative.
"No...!"
Such a person was in the same place as the headmistress. Although Fride was also a powerful mage, she wasn’t at a level that could compete with Ena. She would be roasted and rolling on the floor before she could do anything. That had to be prevented at all costs.
"Headmistress!"
Having reached the top floor, Plum didn't hesitate to burst open the door of the headmistress’ office and rushed in.
"Quickly, run away! For now, I'll..."
Plum started shouting but trailed off as she saw the scene inside the headmistress’ office.
"...?"
As expected, there was an uninvited guest. A girl in a pristine white shirt and black skirt, with an unfamiliar appearance, was sipping tea while glancing at Plum. Judging from her snow-white hair and blue eyes, she must be Ena. She was beautiful like a doll, but also had a cold impression like one, as well.
Opposite her, the headmistress was sitting in a demure posture, sweating profusely. She didn't seem to be injured, but signs of discomfort were breaking through her smiling face.
In the corner, Fernan was prostrate with his head buried in the floor.
No matter how one looked at it, it was a scene of bullying. Although not a positive situation, it was much better than the murder scene Plum had anticipated. However, it took some time to accurately grasp the situation and think of a way to resolve it.
"Who are you?" Ena asked Plum, who was lost in thought.
Plum's contemplation was forcibly interrupted.
She answered with a startled expression, "Y-yes! I'm P-Plum! I'm an assistant professor in the Magical Studies department and assist the headmistress!"
"Is that so?" Ena replied indifferently as she put down the teacup she was holding on the table.
Then she spoke in a cold voice towards Fernan, who was trembling, "If you tremble one more time, I'll shove lightning directly into your head."
At that, Fernan's trembling stopped as if by magic. He remained prostrate in a fixed position, then moved his lips when he saw Acel's face, who had followed Plum in. Although no voice was heard, Acel could clearly read his lip movements.
[Save me.]
Acel's face wrinkled.
"Acel."
Following Fernan, Ena opened her mouth while looking at Acel. Acel turned his head towards her.
"Master."
"Mm. Have you been well?"
"I've been fine. More importantly, why are you here, Master...?"
He asked out of courtesy, although he knew.
Fortunately, Ena answered without any particular suspicion as she stood up, "I heard you fainted? I came because I was worried."
"Worried? After acting like you were about to execute me and Fernan just now?"
Ena lightly ignored Fride's words and approached Acel.
"Are you hurt anywhere?"
"Ah, I'm fine. There are no after-effects."
"Magical power depletion isn't a symptom you can brush off with a smile so easily."
Ena dismissed Acel's banter and began to slowly feel his body.
She massaged his arms while sending magical power into his body, and ran her fingers over his entire upper body once. It was a procedure to check if there was any strain on his core or body. Physical contact was essential to check the condition of another mage.
"..."
Although Acel knew this, he couldn't help but feel somewhat embarrassed by her touch. It might be understandable if they were alone, but doing this in a place with so many eyes watching was a bit awkward. Fride was looking this way with eyes as if she had seen a ghost, and Plum was also trembling her eyes slightly with both hands covering her mouth.
"Um, Master?"
"Mm? What is it?"
"...Nothing. Please let me know when you're done checking."
Acel was about to say it might be better to stop, but seeing Ena's innocent eyes, he smiled bitterly and gave up.
She's checking with good intentions, if I tell her to stop, Master would feel awkward too.
In the end, the physical examination only ended after about 10 more minutes. Ena nodded with satisfaction and removed her hands from Acel's body.
With a slightly reddened face, she said, "You seem to be alright. Everything's fine."
"That's a relief."
"It truly is a relief," Fride uttered with a sincere voice.
But Ena paid her no attention at all. Instead, she picked up a cookie and ate it while looking at Fride.
"Are you having fun?"
"...No, why are you speaking so frighteningly..."
"Since Acel seems to be fine, I'll withdraw for today. But remember one thing. If something like this happens again at the academy level, it won't end just like this. Either you die, or the academy gets shut down. One of the two. Remember that."
"...Aren't you being too overprotective?"
"What?"
"I said I understand," Fride said with a slight smile.
Ena clicked her tongue and stood up.
"You get up too."
"Yes, ma'am."
Fernan quickly got up. Judging from the clear red mark on his forehead, he must have been prostrate for quite a long time. Acel looked at him with pitying eyes, then got up as Ena patted his shoulder.
"Let's go."
"Where are we going?"
"Home."
There was no time to answer. Ena and Acel instantly became a streak of lightning and disappeared from the headmistress’ office. The interior of the office shook greatly from the aftereffect of their movement, but regardless, Fride leaned back in her chair with a sigh of relief.
"I survived another day..."
"You're acting like you went to war," Fernan muttered quietly as he brushed off the dust on his clothes.
Fride retorted towards him, "Shut up. If you had been more moderate in the first place, this wouldn't have happened. What kind of professor uses Imagery Release on an exam participant? Didn't I clearly tell you to do just enough to rank the exam results? You must be completely insane. You're getting a pay cut."
"What? There's no such law! I only did as I was told! And if you're going to do something, give me a suspension instead! At least let me rest!"
"There's still too much to do for that. Let's work at a cheap price for half a year."
"Old elves don't understand human hearts!"
"I'm still young."
"Is 700 years old young? Then all those young and perky elves must have been newborns!"
"Wah wah."
"Oh, for fuck's sake."
Plum shook her head as she listened to the banter of these two people whose combined age exceeded 740 years.
***
Acel couldn't yet use magic to transform his body into lightning. But with Ena's assistance, it was a different story. If she formed the spell formula on Acel's behalf, and Acel projected magical power, it was possible to manifest magic, albeit at about half the power. This proxy chanting was common among master-disciple mages who used the same type of magic.
Thanks to this, the journey from the academy to Wyheim was very comfortable. There was no need to ride a carriage or sleep outdoors. Instead, because the speed was slower than if Ena moved alone, they needed to stop at inns in villages along the way to spend the night.
Today was the second day. The second night since leaving the academy. Acel rested his chin on the window of the lodging and looked outside.
Shupen, a village too small to be called a city, but maintaining a cheap tourism industry based on a large lake.
Due to its fame as a tourist destination, many people were walking around in the short distance. Guards wearing chain mail armor could be seen here and there, and merchants were continuing their solicitation with stalls set up.
Perhaps because it was a room secured at an expensive price, the entire village could be clearly seen from inside the room. Acel quietly admired the night sky reflected in the lake with a faint smile. He quite liked environments where he could quietly immerse himself in appreciation like this.
"I'm done bathing."
As he was doing this, Ena came out of the bathroom, shaking her hair. She put on the shirt and pants she had roughly folded, and used magic to remove all the moisture from her body. Then she approached Acel's side and poked her head out the window.
"What were you looking at?"
"I was looking at the constellations reflected in the lake."
"Do you like constellations?"
"Yes. I quite like them. I sometimes look at them alone."
"Hmm... Is that so?"
Ena chewed her lips as she said this, then sat right next to Acel.
"Then will you teach me too? About the constellations."
"Would that be alright?"
"Yes. If my disciple likes it, I should take some interest too."
Acel laughed out loud at Ena's words and pointed to the sky with his finger. He wasn't an expert on constellations either, so he didn't know much, but he could explain simply to some extent. What the name of the brightest star was, which constellation shines brightest at this time of year. Acel smiled as he explained in a low voice next to Ena.
As the explanation was almost over, Ena carefully opened her mouth.
"Um... Acel."
"Yes?"
"Since it's come to this, shall we go look together outside?"
"Uh... Isn't it a bit late for that? We should go to sleep soon if we want to arrive early tomorrow."
The current time was 11 PM. To arrive in Wyheim before tomorrow evening, they needed to go to bed at least before midnight. Ena wouldn't be unaware of this fact. Acel inwardly pondered why she made such a suggestion.
"...Is that so?"
A slightly disappointed look mixed into Ena's expression. Acel found the answer in that expression.
The New Year's festival they had looked around together in Wyheim. It seemed that memory had remained as a good reminiscence. So when they could move around without any worries like now, she wanted to act together.
It was what Acel wanted too. Although getting to Wyheim quickly would be good, memories with Ena were more important than that. Unless she had urgent business in Wyheim, there was no need to hurry. Thinking this, Acel grabbed Ena's hand as she was about to get up.
"Acel?"
She turned her head and looked at Acel's face. Acel smiled brightly as he held her hand and stood up.
"But personally, I'd like to walk with you today even if we're a bit late. If it's alright with you, I'd like to look around the lake together, is that okay?"
"...You noticed."
"What do you mean?"
"Pretending not to know."
Ena smiled bitterly and snapped her fingers with the hand not holding Acel's. Two robes hanging on the coat rack landed precisely on her and Acel's shoulders. At the same time, Ena opened the already open window wider and threw herself towards the lake.
Crackle!!
Ena's body became a streak of lightning, cutting through the night sky. Because they were holding hands, Acel moved with her. The two smiled at each other as they instantly reached the front of the lake.
The lake at night was closed to outsiders. Thanks to this, only the two of them were at the lake.
The lake surface full of moonlight and starlight became a painting in itself. The cloudless night sky illuminated the ground, and creatures in the lake wriggled, causing ripples on the water surface. Acel and Ena walked on the lake while slowly admiring this scene. It wasn't difficult to walk on water if one laid a simple barrier under one’s feet to give it physical force.
The lake became brighter towards the center. As if standing under a stage setup, moonlight brightly illuminated the very center of the lake. The two stood at that center and gazed at the sky reflected on the water surface.
"It's beautiful," Ena murmured.
Acel turned to look at her with a smile.
"Master, do you remember what you said last time?"
"...What?"
"When I asked if there were any pretty lightning magic, didn't you say there weren't any so I should make one myself?"
"Ah, that. I remember. Why?" Ena asked, tilting her head.
Instead of answering, Acel brought his palm to the water surface and drew up magical power.
[Lightning Flower Resonance]
Crackle!!
Lightning that bloomed from Acel's hand quickly raced in all directions. Instead of going down into the water, the lightning that moved right on the water surface condensed in their respective places. Soon they changed their appearance into small flowers. Ena's eyes widened at this sight.
"This is..."
"It's still not practical, and at most it's just magic that creates flowers of lightning that electrocute when touched. It takes a long time to cast, and there are many shortcomings for use in battle. But still..."
Acel trailed off and looked around.
The bloomed flowers continuously scattered currents while rotating. When they meet other flowers, they shone brighter and disappeared. As if flower petals were flying, currents raced through the air, dyeing the entire lake in a bright blue light. Acel stood at the center of this and smiled brightly at Ena.
"Isn't it nice to look at?"
"...It is," Ena muttered this as she picked up one flower rotating right below.
Perhaps because she was also a lightning mage, far from electrocuting her, Ena continued speaking as she watched the slowly blooming flower.
"It's beautiful. Extremely," Ena said with a bright smile.
Acel smiled back and looked at the lightning flowers floating on the water.
Time passed like this, and by the time the two returned to their lodging, the sun had already risen.