Chapter 33
It was right to respect one's preferences. Acel gave a brief nod to Celine and immediately left the library.
"Hey, hey! Wait a moment!"
Her shout was heard from behind. Acel turned to look at her. Seemingly not used to physical exertion, Celine was already panting after running just a short distance as she looked straight into Acel's eyes.
"It's not like that."
There was no need to ask what wasn't like that. He glanced at the book in Celine's hand and nodded with a slight smile.
"Okay."
At this response, Celine's face flushed red. She tucked the book into her chest and rolled her golden, shimmering eyes.
"I'm telling you it's not!"
"I said I understand."
Acel gave a perfunctory answer and continued walking. Celine followed behind him, grumbling, "I just picked this for fun. There was no ulterior motive at all!"
"No, I said I understand, okay? Why do you keep clinging to me?"
"Because I'm worried you might spread some strange rumor! Like, 'Celina from Aurora Magic Tower is actually a weird girl who likes being dominated by others'!"
"Aurora Magic Tower?" Acel muttered those words and turned to look at Celine.
That phrase caught his attention more than what followed. Although he had seen her face during the entrance exam, this was the first time he heard her name and affiliation.
Acel knew quite a bit about Aurora Magic Tower. Constellation magic that handled the power of fixed stars. A prestigious magic tower that specialized in researching and developing it. Although less well-known than other magic towers dealing with elemental magic, it was a monstrous group that easily ranked in the upper tiers when it came to the tower's military power.
Constellation magic required long preparation, but when manifested, its destructive power was far superior to other magic of the same level. As it handled the power of stars, its might was truly beyond imagination. It wasn’t for nothing that mages from Aurora Magic Tower often participated in wars or large-scale subjugation missions.
They were just less noticeable because there were fewer of them than fire mages. But they were welcomed talents wherever they went. The magic was also visually spectacular to watch.
Of course, just because someone could use constellation magic didn't necessarily mean they belonged to Aurora Magic Tower. To enter the tower, one must be able to handle the type of formulas they dealt with at a certain level and passed an exam. This applied equally to other magic towers.
This was why Acel hadn't thought Celine was affiliated with a magic tower. Since she couldn't do anything against magical interference and just got overpowered, he thought she was just a mage who could only use magic. It seemed her skills were unexpectedly excellent.
Realizing this, Acel began to see Celine a bit differently. Although he had no intention of being selective about making friends, it wouldn't hurt to approach a tower mage first. Acel smiled faintly and matched his walking pace with Celine.
"If you're affiliated with a magic tower, there's no need to come to the academy, is there? You could learn there, and get practical experience by taking requests handled at the tower level, right?"
"My master forcibly submitted an application for admission. Said instead of always being cooped up doing research, I should go out and make friends."
"..."
A master who valued human relationships over magic research? It was unusual but not rare. However, the method of forced enrollment seemed a bit much.
"But well, now that I'm here, it's not so bad. It might be better to stay here than be under the interference of old people."
"Aren't there many young mages in the magic tower?"
"Not for us. Isn't it the same for you? If you're Genesis' disciple, you're affiliated with the Witch Association, right? What's it like there?"
"Similar," Acel answered like that and turned his feet towards the dormitory.
Celine walked beside him with quick steps.
"By the way, how did you know I'm Lady Ena's disciple?"
"You're already famous. Almost no one knew before the entrance exam, but now probably the whole academy knows? You were shooting lightning all over the place."
"...I don't know if that's good or bad."
"Isn't it bad? The professors will all be gunning for you. Genesis' reputation is no small matter. The magical studies professors are probably already dying to get their hands on you."
It wasn't welcome news. Acel sighed and fiddled with the bracelet on his right wrist. As he did so, a thought suddenly occurred to him.
He met Celine's eyes and asked with a curious expression, "Come to think of it, what happened during the entrance exam? I had a test with Lord Fernan, but I don't know what happened to the rest."
"...Weren't you there when we gathered?"
"What gathering?"
"After the exam. The supervisors gathered all the participants and explained, didn't they?"
"...Really?"
Acel scratched his cheek with a skeptical expression. He had left the tent as soon as he was feeling okay, but it seemed the supervisors had conveyed something after that. If he had known, he should have stayed a bit longer.
Celine giggled at Acel's reaction, then stepped slightly forward and spoke, "First, the four people who dueled with Lord Fernan automatically passed the entrance exam. Their grades are all top-tier, so they're moving into Weizel. So right now, the combat department people living in Weizel are just you four: you, Grace Bydel, Elena von Valdemia, and Ellen Hargelin."
"..."
"And among the remaining participants, those who stayed in the exam site until the end are also confirmed for academy admission. These confirmed people were divided by grades through a practical exam, and most moved into Fiolen. Me too."
"Then what about those who gave up or failed during the exam?"
"They take both written and practical exams, and if they pass the cutoff, they're admitted. These kids were all assigned to Gale and Wimble."
Compared to the entrance exams of Luminus Academy held so far, this was quite an exceptional case. It meant there were many variables in this exam.
"Who's first and second place then?"
"I don't know that. They said they'll tell us on the day of the entrance ceremony. But... people who should know probably already do."
Celine pointed at Acel and continued speaking, "You're first in the magical studies department. Grace is first in the knight department. Second place would be Elena and Ellen, respectively."
Ah, their names were annoyingly similar, Celine grumbled like that and let out a deep sigh.
"If it weren't for Elena, I would have been second..."
"On what grounds?" Acel asked with a slight smile.
Celine answered, her brow twitching as if irritated, "There were no mages who performed exceptionally in this exam except you, right? Then among the rest, I'm the strongest, so I should be second!"
"That's ridiculous."
"What did you say?"
Celine retorted like that and walked with bouncing steps.
Then at the fork in the road dividing into Weizel and Fiolen, she muttered in a slightly subdued voice, "So... you won't spread rumors, right? I answered all your questions and didn't get annoyed..."
"I said I won't."
What kind of person does she think I am?
Acel shook his head and moved his steps towards Weizel.
Celine shouted loudly at his retreating back, "I trust you!"
Acel waved his hand casually in response.
After returning to the dormitory, he washed up and immediately shut himself in the research lab. The simultaneous manifestation of fire-natured and ice-natured magical power that he had vaguely grasped today. He wanted to achieve some results before this inspiration disappeared. Although he was tired, he could manage to endure.
After completing about half of the research like that. Acel got up from his seat, rubbing his heavy eyelids.
Should I stop here for today?
There was still plenty of time until the entrance ceremony. Since he planned to go straight to the library when he woke up, it seemed good to sleep at this point today. Thinking this, Acel left the research lab and threw himself onto the bed.
Falling asleep was instantaneous.
Similarly, waking up was also instantaneous.
Acel woke up early in the morning, washed up, went down to the dining hall to quickly eat a piece of bread, and headed to the library.
Perhaps because it was morning, there were fewer people in the library than yesterday. There were plenty of seats available, and the number of flying books was noticeably different. It had become much more pleasant. Acel smiled with satisfaction as he brought books on magical fusion theory and looked for a suitable place.
Not long after, he found Celine tucked away in a corner.
"Ah."
Acel's eyes slowly turned towards the title of the book Celine was reading.
[50 Ways to Train Her 2]
Acel raised one corner of his mouth and smiled openly.
Celine's face turned bright red.
***
Drugs were a gift from God. The moment one consumed them, one could realize all the principles of the world and feel as if one had become a god. This was created by God to bestow His senses upon humans, so all humans should happily indulge in drugs.
Orders that prohibit this were heretics rejecting God's will and should be rightfully punished. We must drink their blood, tear off their flesh and bury it in the ground, and grind their bones and organs to make drug ingredients. This was God's will and the will of me, God's messenger, so there was no shame in my killing.
Jerbil shouted this to everyone.
But the devil worshippers actually listening to this all had contorted faces.
"...Is that your reason for entering the kingdom's grand cathedral and committing mass murder?"
"No? I just swept them away because they were annoying. They kept following and bothering me."
"This crazy bastard, really."
A man stood up with veins popping on his face. Jerbil covered his mouth with both hands, making a "Huk" sound.
"How scary. Are you going to kill me?"
"That's enough," One of the devil worshippers said to the sneering Jerbil.
The man who had popped his veins gritted his teeth and sat back down, and Jerbil shrugged his shoulders and tilted his head side to side.
"That's a shame. I was curious what would happen if I turned devil worshippers into corpses."
"Enough with your petty provocations, benefactor. Just state your reason for coming and get out quickly."
"Should I? I didn't want to stay long either."
Jerbil smiled brightly and stared at the gray-haired old man.
"I want to make a proposal. As you know, I've been rampaging like crazy recently, right? And in the process, I left traces of the marks or rituals or whatever you people use."
"...What did you say?"
"Oh, I recently happened to get a devil worshipper's brain from the black market. When I transplanted part of it, I was able to figure out part of the ritual you use. Anyway! This isn't the important part—"
"You fucking bastard! So it was your fault that devil worshippers were reported to be rampant recently!"
"No, that's not it, but."
"Shut up, you damn bastard. I'll cut off your head and use it as a sacrifice for the ritual."
The man drew the sword at his waist and strode towards Jerbil. Jerbil sighed deeply and looked at him.
"Really. This is why I hate impatient ones. They don't even try to listen."
"Shut up!" the man shouted and swung his sword towards Jerbil's neck.
A swordsman who had reached Master level a few days ago through human sacrifice. The aura blooming on his blade shot out as if it would split the world. But there was no change in Jerbil's expression. He brushed off the stone dust on his face and glanced at the swinging blade.
Crackle!!
That was the end. The swordsman's sword cut through space along with Jerbil's neck. The magic enveloping the hideout was bisected, and black blood gushed like a fountain from Jerbil's neck. The swordsman clicked his tongue as he watched this.
"Damn mage bastard. Even your blood is filthy."
"That's too much. Those words just now were a bit hurtful."
"...!"
A voice that shouldn't have been heard was heard. The swordsman opened his eyes wide and unconsciously swung his sword. But as his shoulder was pulled back, his arm turned into rotten flesh and fell off with a thud. The sword fell from his arm that had lost muscle and nerves, and he gritted his teeth in extreme pain.
"Keuuugh...!"
"Be quiet."
A voice flowed from Jerbil's head rolling on the floor. Jerbil's body carefully picked up that head, and he continued speaking with a bright smile.
"I'm talking, aren't I?"
"...!"
As he uttered this, the swordsman's tongue and jaw rotted and crumbled. His mouth was instantly sealed. The swordsman hurriedly tried to grasp the sword with his intact hand, but his brain being crushed was faster than that. The swordsman died on the spot, dripping brain matter and blood from his ears, eyes, and nose.
A tragedy that occurred just from exposure to condensed murderous intent, without any magic.
Although it was a level reached through human sacrifice, he was still a swordsman who had officially ascended to Master. He could face an army alone, and if he wanted, he could crush an entire city.
He killed such an opponent with just his aura. There was no need to explain how unbelievable this act was.
"To continue what I was saying," Jerbil said this while rubbing his severed head back onto his neck.
The elderly man swallowed hard and listened to his voice.
"Since I've been leaving traces of devil worshippers often, the Alliance, Empire, and Order are suspecting that I might have become a devil worshipper. So the Alliance even formed a subjugation team. They say they need to kill me before I summon a devil or something. I'm not even interested in those devilish idiots."
"..."
"Anyway. The important part starts now. Honestly, a subjugation team? I don't care either way. If I hide in my territory, even Lady Ena couldn't enter recklessly. So I'm barely paying attention to that side. What's important is you people, the devil worshippers."
Jerbil continued speaking while raising the corpse of the swordsman whose brain had been crushed, "Maybe because rumors spread that I became a devil worshipper, I've been getting contacts from various devil worship groups recently. You people have been quite active lately, haven't you? So maybe that's why, I keep getting proposals to join from places suffering from lack of manpower or needing large amounts of sacrifices."
"...So?"
"So! Before I kill them all, spread the word. If they make any more proposals to me, I'll turn them into corpses along with the devil they serve," Jerbil said this with a still smiling face.
The old man frowned and answered, "...Is that all?"
"Huh? Of course. Why?"
"You invaded this place, killed all our comrades, killed the sacrifices, and even stole the sacrifice ritual just to ask for that?"
"Yes. The owner of the brain I transplanted belonged here. Is there a big problem?” Jerbil asked, blinking his eyes.
The old man's face contorted. But he didn't open his mouth. Compared to Jerbil, the old man was no different from a newborn baby. He could lose his life with just a gesture from Jerbil.
No matter how much of a devil worshipper one was, life was still precious. The old man forcibly suppressed his boiling anger and clenched his fist.
"...I'll do as you say."
"Good. I'll consider your lives left intact as payment. Ah, I think you know better than I do what will happen if the task isn't carried out properly," Jerbil said and got up from his seat, but suddenly remembering something, he turned to the old man and said. "Ah, I have a few more orders. One is to find a country that seems okay to devour, and the other is..."
Jerbil continued speaking, stretching the corners of his mouth.
"The rumor that Genesis has taken a disciple. Find out if the disciple in that rumor was picked up from the slums of the Kidwin Kingdom."