Chapter 50
"I heard about the magic eyes," Irina said.
She blew out cigarette smoke through the window, then took out a small case from her chest and threw it at Acel. Acel's head was directly hit by the incoming case and he fell backwards.
"Gack!"
"Die."
Ena, who was sitting next to him, reacted immediately. She glared at Irina while instantly sparking electricity in her hand. Irina shook her head with a disgusted expression.
When will that overprotection and obsession get better?
They say late-blooming love was scary, but she was acting like she'd give her liver and gall to a disciple she took in at an old age. It even felt like it was getting worse as days went by.
I'll never be like that if I take a disciple.
Irina inwardly resolved this and put her pipe on the table, then approached Acel's side. Ena glared at her as if to kill her, but Irina paid no attention and sat next to Acel, who was rubbing his philtrum.
"Open it."
"What is this?"
"You can't open your eyes properly now, right? That's something to help with that."
Acel let out a thoughtful sound at Irina's words and opened the case.
With a clicking sound, the opened case contained glasses of a suitable size. An impressive form with lens and frame that weren't too thick. Though it had no vision correction function, it was a type of tool that blocked magical power from passing through on both sides based on the lens.
"Wear those for the time being. Then you'll be able to open both eyes and walk around without problems."
"Oh..."
It was as she said. Acel put on the glasses and exclaimed in admiration at the much clearer vision than before. Judging by the lack of any formula specially engraved on the glasses, it seemed the material itself was chosen as a mineral with high magical power shielding rate.
Just as minerals with high magical power conductivity were expensive, materials with high shielding rates also belonged to a price range that was not cheap. These glasses too, if priced, would probably be worth dozens of gold coins.
Acel expressed sincere gratitude to Irina for gifting him such a precious item.
"Thank you. I'll use them well."
"Sure, sure," Irina replied, then stood up and put her pipe between her fingers.
And looking down at Acel, she asked in a serious voice, "So. What exactly happened?"
"..."
"You entered the Academy just days ago. But why did you suddenly return as a bloody mess? It doesn't seem like Academy seniors could bully you. Considering the timing, is it about the first assignment?"
"...How do you know the Academy schedule?"
"I briefly worked as a professor before. Not anymore though."
Anyway.
Irina said this and tapped tobacco leaves into the end of her pipe.
"It's the first assignment, right? What happened there?"
Before answering, Acel first checked Ena's face. The necromancer's words calling her sister stuck in his mind. He wondered if speaking carelessly might just give her another burden.
But Ena had a face that looked like she was itching to find out right away. In the end, Acel pondered for a moment, then spilled everything that had happened that day.
The two who heard the story kept silent for a while. Both their expressions weren't very good.
After a long while.
Irina sighed deeply and opened her mouth first, "It's probably Virsia Claisen, known publicly. Of course it's an alias, and she even made an organization called Virsia using this name. It's a trash group that gathers all kinds of criminal mages and lets them do whatever crazy things they want. It's been on the continent's subjugation list for a long time."
"..."
"I didn't know such a bitch... was hiding in the mountains researching synthesis formulas. Even forcibly obtaining a second talent by grinding up lives? At least tens of thousands of lives would be needed for that."
"...The numbers are quite accurate. It seems this has happened before."
"It was common."
Irina continued speaking with a disgusted voice, "Awakening talent in exchange for life. As soon as that fact became known, a bloody wind blew across the continent. It was commonplace for an entire country to be destroyed or disappear from the map almost every day."
Right after the devil of possibility was born, there was no place on the continent that wasn't dyed red. Most of the dungeons and labyrinths remaining today were created to process the rituals that took place at that time more efficiently. Or they were means to seal transcendent beings who had abandoned human ethics.
Either way, countless sacrifices were needed to create them.
A present world more hellish than hell. Irina, who was born at that time, still remembered the mountains of corpses and seas of blood that could be seen wherever she went.
"Now it's strictly controlled so it doesn't happen often, but it's different in lawless areas. Virsia probably forced the ritual in a lawless area too."
Lawless areas referred to blank lands where no country had been established. Places that had become uninhabitable due to magic beasts swarming and all kinds of natural disasters and monsters. Lands of survival of the fittest ruled by swords and spears in hand rather than laws written in books. That was why criminals and devil worshippers often hid there.
What happened there never became known to the outside. So people living outside lawless areas had no way of knowing how many people living there died, or how.
Virsia's ritual was the same.
"If necromancy is combined with synthesis formulas... it won't be easy at all. I'll have to report this separately to the Alliance."
"..."
"And touching a Witch Association mage must be paid for," Irina said in a low voice while putting the pipe in her mouth.
"From today, I promise that Virsia Claisen will be officially designated by the Witch Association beyond the Alliance, and support for subjugation will be spared no expense as the top priority 'disposal' target. Is that alright? Ena?"
To Irina's question, Ena immediately nodded.
"It was an ill-fated relationship I should have dealt with in the first place. If I had killed her then, this wouldn't have happened, but I let her slip..."
"Don't blame yourself. You know and I know what the situation was like back then. We didn't have the leisure to catch and kill Virsia too."
"...Still, I don't like it. That past ill fate still affects things now."
"Enough. Let's stop the heavy talk here," Irina said and burst into laughter while blowing out smoke. "More importantly, you're amazing too. You used a teleportation formula there? And a teleportation formula that uses a medium as power on the spot? There's probably no one who escaped like that among those who clashed with Virsia?"
"I'm a bit," Acel answered with a small laugh.
Irina's mouth corners twitched at that response.
"Oh my, look at this kid? He's become arrogant in the short time I haven't seen him? Ena, how are you educating your disciple?"
"Shut up. Don't insult Acel."
"No, it's a joke..." Irina said in an embarrassed voice, but Ena cleanly ignored her and sat between Irina and Acel, leaning her back against his body.
Then she forcibly pulled Acel's hand and placed it on top of her head.
Acel quickly realized what she wanted and gently stroked her head.
"Harder."
"Yes, yes."
He stroked her hair with a bit more force as Ena requested. Only then did she seem satisfied, purring like a cat and enjoying Acel's touch.
Watching this scene, Irina said in an incredulous voice, "What situation is this now? I had my doubts, but have you decided to continue a forbidden relationship without living up to your age?"
"What are you saying?"
"Ena! Think of our age! Acel should go to younger and firmer women than you!"
"Shut up."
Crackle!!
Electricity bloomed from Ena's fingertips.
At the same time, the locked door clicked open, and from beyond it, a purple cat jumped in and pounced on Acel's face.
"Ugh!"
"Kid! I heard you almost died!" the cat said.
Acel recognized the owner of that voice and mumbled.
"Lady Bell."
"Who did it! Who bullied our kid! These fucking sons of bitches not worth chewing. Just tell me! I'll kill them all!"
"Before that, some air..."
"Nyaaaang!!!" Bell roared.
Acel glanced at Ena for help while spitting out the fur entering his mouth. Ena chuckled and grabbed Bell by the scruff of her neck, pulling her off Acel's face.
"Calm down, Bell. It's good you came to visit, but Acel is still a patient."
The news that Acel was in critical condition had already been spread to the Witch Association. Irina had urgently circulated the news to prepare for any contingencies.
Fortunately, the situation she worried about didn't occur. Acel regained consciousness and had no particular aftereffects. Still, there were some who wanted to visit him, so only they were specially informed of the location of the cathedral where Acel was staying.
Bell was one of them. She hung her body down while being held by Ena's hand.
"I feel like shit. I hate it most in the world when my people are touched."
"Was I your person, Lady Bell?"
"Of course! We're close, aren't we!"
"This is the first I'm hearing of it. Were we that close?"
"This bastard?"
Bell twitched her brow and threw a fist towards Acel's face.
"Nyang nyang punch!"
Acel burst into laughter as he was hit by her cotton-like fists.
***
"It feels so good," Elena muttered while standing on the deck facing the sea breeze directly.
One of her group members watching her from a distance said in a low voice,
"She's cute."
"Wake up. She's not someone a country bumpkin like you can dare to covet," Ketlyn, the alchemist, answered while rummaging through a sea monster's organs.
The majestic sea spread out behind the principality. The sea monsters living deep below make quite good catalysts for alchemy. The giant shark with three heads they hunted, led by Elena from the combat department and Davey the archer, was the same.
Sea monsters basically contained a cool and clean energy unique to the sea in their hearts. If refined, this could be used to make all kinds of antidotes as well as potions that allowed breathing underwater or withstanding water pressure.
The potion Ketlyn was trying to make was also that kind. A potion that completely eliminated resistance in water. As much as the ingredients were tricky, if made, it could automatically receive a high score.
Ketlyn said as she crawled out of the shark's split belly, "To date Elena, you'd have to break through the defenses of all kinds of vampires starting with the duke ruling the principality, can you handle that?"
"...Why say it like that? I just said she's cute."
"Lower those raised corners of your mouth first. Forget it and come carry this heart."
She threw a dagger at Duke. Duke caught the dagger with a surprised face.
"You crazy bitch! Why throw this dangerously!"
"It's not dangerous so just come. Anyway, you're just being carried along in this assignment. If you don't want to remain in Elena's memory as a maggot who couldn't do anything, help with the butchering."
Elena's group was quite balanced with two non-combat department students and two combat department students. But since the non-combat students Ketlyn and Duke were divided into alchemy department and magic engineering department respectively, they had to choose one of the two. So the alchemy department that Ketlyn belonged to was chosen. Duke from the magic department hadn't done anything in this assignment.
At most, he had just investigated sea monsters until his hair fell out. Even that was a drop in the bucket compared to Elena who had much experience sailing the seas. So his voice carried less weight than Ketlyn's.
"...Why should I, a noble, do a slave’s task?"
"Who's a slave? Shut up and cut the blood vessels."
"Since I can't cut your blood vessels, I'll obediently follow orders."
"You're fucking annoying."
Ketlyn slapped Duke's back. Duke screamed and slipped into the monster's belly.
Though she spoke like that, Ketlyn quite liked Duke. Although he was a noble, he felt uncomfortable with an atmosphere of being served, and his occasional jokes made it hard to completely dislike him.
And if talking about status, Elena, who had the highest status in the group, was also similar to Duke.
A country girl-like personality of a princess who didn't put her status forward to order others around, wasn't authoritative or overbearing.
Elena was like a female protagonist from a book appearing in reality. It was impossible not to like her regardless of gender.
"What are you doing?"
"Ah, Ketlyn."
Elena smiled brightly as she looked at Ketlyn approaching her side. Then she leaned on the railing and looked down at the vast sea.
"Just sightseeing. It's pretty, isn't it, the sea."
"I heard vampires die if they enter flowing water?"
"That's a lie! We play swimming when it's hot too! We eat garlic, aren't affected by crosses, and the closer to pure blood, the less affected by sunlight! All false rumors!"
Who on earth spread such rumors.
Elena added this and slumped her body on the railing. Ketlyn burst into laughter as she looked at the Academy grounds' port starting to appear in the distance.
"It's over now, the group assignment too. It was a pretty good team."
"Yeah... I was worried because Acel seemed to really hate group assignments, but it was a better experience than expected."
"You mean Acel the magic department top student? You seem really close?"
"Ung! I'm closest with Ellen and Acel! We took the entrance exam together, and eat meals together too!"
"Is that so?"
Ketlyn said while giggling, "Then which one do you like more?"
"Um... I like them both..."
"But if you had to choose just one person? If they both fell in water and you could only save one, who would you save?"
"I'd probably save Ellen since she can't swim? Acel seems like he'd come out on his own with levitation."
So the Hargelin young lady can't swim.
Ketlyn burst into laughter imagining that cold-impression girl floundering in water.
"Then you like Ellen more?"
"That's not it. I like them both!" Elena said and threatened Ketlyn while baring her fangs. "More importantly, stop these questions now! It's not fun!"
"Alright. Then a different question. Do you have someone you like?"
"I don't?" Elena answered with a calm expression.
Ketlyn realized her words weren't a lie and nodded. She had been worrying what to do if a bad man's name popped out of her mouth. It seemed there was no need to worry.
"How about me?" Duke shouted as he suddenly popped out of the shark's mouth.
Elena immediately shook her head.
"I don't like you! Dad said all men are wolves!"
"Acel is a man too!"
"Acel is a good wolf! A handsome wolf!"
"Damn this world. It's about looks again," Duke grumbled and went back inside the monster.
Meanwhile, the ship kept moving forward. The water gradually became shallower, and now the port looked larger than the sea.
Screech!!
Not long after, the ship docked. As it was a sailing ship operated by the principality, the sailors politely moved the monster to the port.
After that, they separately removed only parts that could be resources for alchemy, including the monster's heart, and sent it to the magic beast dismantling workshop. They received 1 gold coin in return. Elena and her group used the money received to have a commemorative meal at a nearby restaurant before returning to the Academy.
But for some reason, the Academy looked more chaotic than usual.
"Please identify how many people have not yet returned. The group assignment needs to end now."
"The four survivors including student Saya are currently being treated in the Academy medical department. We've received a promise that people will be sent from the order by tomorrow."
"These three students—Saya, Quill, and Warren—are suffering as much mental stress as physical injuries. It seems they're having a hard time emotionally since the student who saved them is missing. Not to mention student Gorsel, whose entire group died except himself. He's periodically crying and having fits."
Just from the faint conversation content of professors running through the corridors, it was clear that something unusual had happened. Just as Elena, who had just returned, tilted her head at such a busy atmosphere, one of the magic department professors spotted her and quickly ran over.
"You're Elena, right? Good to see you back safely. The other group members... are all safe too. That's a relief."
"Yes... But is something happening? Everyone seems really busy..."
"Ah... about that."
As the professor was about to answer Elena's question, a shout was heard from the end of the corridor.
"So you're saying Acel is missing? After fighting an 8th rank necromancer? How can you call that missing?! He's dead! You're just using the word 'missing' to sugar-coat it as much as possible!"
"...I understand the Academy side reviewed the request. Despite that, the fact that this happened means it's the Academy's fault, doesn't it? If you want to use the word 'missing' at the very least, shouldn't you take responsibility and make efforts to find Acel? But why is everyone just running around here? Acel was one of the people I considered a close friend. If someone like that went missing due to the Academy's mistake, and the Academy doesn't even try to find him... the Hargelin family will be extremely disappointed in the Academy."
The voices belonged to Celine and Ellen respectively. Celine, who was speaking in a high tone as if to tear into them, and Ellen, who was arguing in a suppressed voice, had different tones but the anger contained within was the same for both.
But the content of their arguments didn't even enter Elena's ears.
Only the cause they were arguing about pierced into her ears.
"...Acel is missing? Dead?"