Chapter 72
And the woman before us was the latter.
A dragonkin in human form, a Draconian.
"Follow me."
Without introductions, the Draconian immediately ordered us to follow.
Is she from the same school as Viola?
It was said that mages were thorough egoists.
Are genuine Explorers all bound to be incredibly self-centered?
Though I'm not sure if this dragonkin is an Explorer or not.
As guests, we followed our host's instructions.
Following the dragonkin, I observed our surroundings.
Doors lined both sides of the long corridor at irregular intervals.
Those must all be experiment rooms or duty rooms.
Some rooms had glass windows allowing views from outside, filled with incomprehensible equipment at a glance.
The dragonkin's office was at the corridor's end.
Here I realized this dragonkin's position.
Using the innermost room as an office meant they were the department head.
Among Golden Intellect's eight branches.
This dragonkin must be one of the branch heads.
"Sit."
True to being an alchemist.
The dragonkin's office, like the rooms glimpsed through glass windows, had strange equipment boiling, freezing, and shaking in incomprehensible processes.
Even with magic vision, nothing seemed particularly impressive.
"What's that?"
My thoughts slipped out verbally.
Maybe I caught something after meeting so many self-centered people.
As I tried to think of how to smooth things over, surprisingly, the dragonkin answered normally.
"Humidifier."
"...That?"
But it's boiling and freezing?
"The ice is for storage. Too bothersome to change separately."
...Fair enough.
"Um... Teacher, maybe introductions first...?"
Finally unable to bear it, Leaf stepped in to move things along.
Making Leaf take action—perhaps this was part of a teacher's grand plan to fix Leaf's shy nature?
"Didn't she tell you?"
"Introductions should come from oneself."
"Hmm, true."
Responding perfunctorily to Leaf's words, the dragonkin pulled something from their pocket and put it in their mouth.
Then with a finger snap, a spark lit whatever was in their mouth.
"Ssss Haa..."
Smoke spread through the room.
Though I initially wrinkled my brows and turned away, the smell was surprisingly pleasant.
The motion was exactly like smoking a cigarette.
But rather than discomfort, it seemed to bring a refreshing clarity to the mind.
Into this cleared mind, the dragonkin's voice etched itself, "Costin Balaur."
"I'm Roman."
"I know."
After cutting off the conversation so abruptly, Costin took another drag and suddenly said, "The Quintessentia folks would love you."
"Quintessentia?"
What’s that, an alchemist group?
At my question, Leaf whispered from beside me, "One of Golden Intellect's branches."
"Formal name Adepti Quintae Essentiae. The Adepts of the Fifth Essence. They aim to create completely new substances that don't exist in nature, so they're quite interested in otherworldly beings such as Devils."
Exuding the aura of an explanation enthusiast, Costin continued, "Conversely, our side doesn't like Devils."
Is that earlier setup just to say this?
Costin looked at me with distaste.
"Leaf, too close."
"Ah, yes."
Though Leaf moved her face away, still not satisfied, Costin personally lifted Leaf and moved her to sit beside them.
"Better."
"Teacher?"
"Anyway, I heard about you all. A Devil Sorcerer and a lion beast-folk."
As the eyes that were on me turned to Rei, Costin made a "hmm" sound.
A gaze that felt like an appraisal swept Rei from ear tips to toes.
A strangely sticky gaze.
Enough to make even Rei shudder.
"This one... exceeds expectations."
"W-what?"
"Excellent. Though immature, the potential rivals Leaf's. Upper part's lacking, but lower part's nearly perfect already."
The too-explicit gaze made Costin's words sound like a body evaluation.
But Costin's eyes held no lust.
Instead, they seemed to appreciate Rei like a critic before an artwork.
Still, how the recipient felt about such a gaze is another matter.
"Ugh...! What are you saying!" Rei shouted, jumping up.
But Costin didn't even twitch an eyebrow and continued their assessment, "I like it but... too weak."
"Huh?"
"Senior rank at best. Considering potential, might quickly reach Expert, but not yet. Same for the Devil Sorcerer beside you. Seems you've formed pacts with high-ranking Devils, but your own skill is Regular at best. Before using Devil magic to destroy enemies, you'll collapse first."
Costin's assessment was scathing.
Or rather, perhaps they were rating us highly?
Whatever the case, Rei and I were just newly initiated Novices.
Yet comparing Rei to Senior rank and me to Regular rank seemed like an unbiased, cold analysis.
But there was a blind spot.
Costin's evaluation ultimately couldn't escape their personal experience.
Self-destruction using Devil magic?
Such a thing doesn't apply to me.
"If that's your judgment, this is more disappointing."
If I hadn't met Viola before meeting Costin, I might have been overwhelmed by their pressure.
But I'd at least seen the surface of Viola, a walking natural disaster.
Though Viola backed down when Arthur mentioned Devil Sorcerer handicaps, she initially recognized me as a worthy opponent.
A Pioneer, against a Novice.
At least she saw more in me than Costin before us.
Whether experientially or intuitively.
Either way, one thing was clear.
Costin was inferior to Viola.
"I had expectations since you're a Golden Intellect branch head, but now I'm not sure we can get what we want."
At my provocation, Costin's expression grew drier.
Not from anger cooling it, but truly from having no thoughts.
As if they'd heard such remarks enough to be used to them.
"Weak provocation."
"Of course. Because it's sincere."
Costin silently met my eyes.
"Sincere?"
After echoing that, Costin snorted.
"You don't understand. The weight of Leaf's identity."
"No. I do."
I understand it best.
If my secret—using lost spatial magic freely without paying Devil magic's price—were revealed publicly, I too would become hunted.
Devil magic without a price approached omnipotence.
I didn’t need to use my own mana, and I had no need to calculate and construct complex mana formulas.
Honestly, I've been lucky.
The only reason I could still walk around like this was because I was lucky.
Though there was some effort involved too.
Those I revealed myself to, judging them as trustworthy and beneficial to secure as connections, kept their word as I thought.
They did their best to keep my secret.
Still, I think it was a fluke.
If discovered, like Elves seeking High Elves, I'd be hounded by those after my power.
In that sense, we were kindred.
Whether we wanted to be or not.
Every member of our team is being chased by something.
"This is for your sake."
Separating Leaf to protect her.
As a Golden Intellect branch head, protecting Leaf shouldn't be difficult.
Being one of the eight pillars moving the massive organization of Golden Intellect.
Even if Elves cause trouble, barricading behind Golden Intellect's massive walls left them few options.
Terrorizing Golden Intellect would be like making the entire city an enemy.
"If you want to refuse, you should prove you're qualified to refuse."
Stubbing out their smoke, Costin returned with something from beside the so-called humidifier.
"Mana concentrator."
The name alone tells its purpose.
"After saying all that, you're not afraid, right?"
The mana concentrator had two points that seemed to be for inputting mana.
Some kind of mana tug-of-war?
I smiled.
At this rate, I lack confidence…
Confidence in losing that is.
I placed my hand on the mana concentrator without hesitation.
"By the way, Branch Head Costin, what's your relationship with Leaf?"
"You don't know?"
Leaf hadn't told me separately.
She just said they were her training teacher.
"Sisters. Leaf's mother and I."
Sisters?
Leaf's mother was human.
That was an undeniable fact.
But sisters with Costin, a dragonkin?
In that moment, rather than disbelief, understanding struck like a hammer.
Cordelia wrote in her book.
For my sister—she wrote.