The storm-like weekend had passed.
Forced into manual labor, Ruana declared in disgust that she would never come back.
And yet, when Leila told her to visit again, Ruana froze for a moment before promising she would return, practically wagging her tail like a puppy.
Aion watched until her retreating figure disappeared into the distance from the cabin, then quietly looked away.
Thanks to Ruana’s help, the cabin repairs improved by the day.
One collapsed wall had begun to take shape, and the creaking doorframe no longer made a sound.
With Leila assisting with the nails while Aion positioned and hammered the planks, their work speed had visibly increased.
And in the process, he completed one of Yggdrasil’s Quests and gained Stamina.
‘Though I have no idea what grueling physical labor has to do with the body’s ability to withstand magic....’
Yggdrasil had judged it so, therefore he simply followed.
Well, an increase was still an increase.
More than that, though, there was one thought that continued to occupy Aion’s mind.
Xien, the Great Spirit of Wind.
Aion had not seen Xien since that day.
Instead, he had developed a habit of checking the area around the cabin. He never knew when that Great Spirit might appear again.
If Xien showed up again, how was he supposed to send him away...? No suitable method came to mind.
‘As long as I live here, I suppose I’ll have to keep worrying about him....’
All he could do was sigh.
There was another matter.
Dark Matter.
Aion decided to put the matter of Dark Matter out of his mind for the time being. He possessed none of the materials, nor did he know where the key was.
As the Terminus of Life had said, it was best to forget it for now.
‘There are also things I put off because of the fire incident.’
Catching up on the lessons he had missed. And the newly assigned course.
Lost in thought, Aion stopped when he reached the end of the lecture hall corridor.
He stood before the classroom for Basic Magical Combat.
***
Aion pushed open the classroom door.
The room was already packed with students.
‘It’s strangely quiet.’
As he searched for a seat, he surveyed the room.
Unlike an ordinary classroom, the seats were not arranged in tiers.
There was a wide, flat floor, a platform in the center, and seats arranged in a circle around it. It resembled a small amphitheater.
And then there were the students.
At a glance, none of them looked ordinary. Even sitting still, each of them seemed to give off a distinct presence.
‘...They’re strong.’
The atmosphere reminded him of the third floor of the Arcanum Library.
Creak—
Just as Aion found a seat—
“Hey, newcomer.”
The voice was low.
Aion turned his gaze.
One student was leaning lazily in his seat and looking up at Aion.
He was part of a group. Three or four students occupied the seats in the back, and the boy at the front was the one who had spoken.
“You’re Aion Iskar, right? The guy who came back alive from the fire.”
Aion did not answer immediately.
Snicker—
The student laughed.
“Seems like I’m right. ...Don’t misunderstand. I’m only asking because I’m curious.”
He paused for a moment.
“Did you start that fire?”
“...What?”
“Maybe you held a grudge against Exion because of that whole improper-admission controversy.”
Aion’s gaze fixed on him.
The boy continued without pause.
“Or did you really want to become a hero? If you have no talent but want to make a name for yourself, I guess that was your only option.”
A brief silence followed.
Then Aion spoke.
“In a way, I envy you.”
The boy’s eyebrows twitched.
“With an imagination that impoverished, I doubt life will ever be boring for you.”
“...What?”
The atmosphere instantly turned cold.
At that moment—
Snort—
A laugh escaped from somewhere.
It was quiet, but it rang clearly through the classroom.
An unmistakable laugh of ridicule.
The boy’s eyes snapped toward the source.
Middle row on the left.
A girl had a hand over her mouth. She wore an old, wide-brimmed hat atop her black witch’s robe.
Beneath it, orange-tinted hair cascaded down in thick, wavy locks.
She had a youthful face with round cheeks, and her golden eyes brimmed with amusement.
When their eyes met, she gave him a small wave.
“Sorry, I... pfft... I simply cannot stop laughing. I am a person with much laughter... pff....”
It seemed she truly could not stop.
The boy’s expression hardened.
The female student was openly mocking him.
Then quiet voices began to rise around the room.
“...That’s Dorothy.”
“Dorothy? Granbell van Mayer’s granddaughter enrolled at Exion?”
“Th-that girl is Grand Mage Granbell van Mayer’s granddaughter?”
At the whispers, the boy’s expression shifted subtly.
“...Tch.”
Only then did he clamp his mouth shut.
He had only embarrassed himself, and the rest of his group did not look pleased either.
At the very end of the group, seated in the least conspicuous spot, one student stared at the scene.
His gaze was quiet and cold.
Then it slowly shifted to Aion.
He simply watched.
Without saying a word.
Bang—
The door opened.
“Sorry, I’m sorry! Am I late!?”
A professor rushed into the classroom, both arms full of a mountain of papers.
She moved so quickly that the stacks swayed precariously back and forth.
She slammed the papers onto the desk on the platform, caught her breath, and beamed at the students.
“Hello, everyone. We meet again, don’t we? I’m Professor Donabel, the instructor for Basic Magical Combat.”
The professor looked young.
She had a soft, fluffy sort of impression, her cheeks still rosy. She looked so youthful that it was hard to believe she was an Exion professor.
“I’ll take attendance first.”
Donabel found the attendance sheet among the papers and opened it. Calling out names one by one, she eventually paused.
“Aria di Valera?”
There was no response.
The professor looked around the room.
One student raised a hand.
“Um... Professor, I heard Miss Aria is on her way to Exion after finishing a performance schedule in the Imperial Capital, Calion. She probably has not arrived yet.”
“Really?”
Her eyes widened.
“Oh dear... Miss Aria must be disappointed too.”
“...Pardon?”
“She must be eager to join the class as soon as possible.”
Laughter escaped from all around the classroom.
“Ha... haha....”
One student said, trying to suppress his laughter, “Professor, I’m sorry, but I do not think Miss Aria would ever feel that way.”
“What? Why not?”
“Well, Miss Aria is one of the Empire’s leading primas, known as the star of the Imperial Capital, Calion. Even in Calion, the most glamorous city of all, she is always surrounded by flowers and gifts....”
“Exactly. What does that have to do with whether Miss Aria is having a wonderful time?”
Donabel cut him off.
Her head tilted slightly to one side.
“She is a mage, isn’t she?”
The classroom instantly fell silent.
“......”
“Well, it cannot be helped. It is unfortunate, but we are running late, so let us begin.”
Thump—
Donabel closed the attendance sheet. Then she picked something up from among the piles of papers and looked at the students.
“Basic Magical Combat.”
Her voice had changed.
She was no longer the professor who had rushed in breathlessly. It was a calm but firm voice, weighted with authority.
“Have any of you ever witnessed a true battle between mages?”
No one answered.
“The magic they use. The magic with which they try to overwhelm their opponents. Their razor-sharp intent, and the countless moves and countermoves.”
As Donabel continued, her eyes shone like stars.
“Fortunately, records from the past allow us to glimpse fragments of such battles.”
She walked slowly across the platform.
“Before the Lavatier Empire took its current form, there was an alliance whose power rivaled that of this great beast. Does anyone know it?”
A brief silence followed.
One student cautiously spoke.
“The Three Kingdoms Alliance.”
“That is right.”
Donabel nodded.
“Three neighboring kingdoms: Kaluak, Asina, and Valden. Their kings were all powerful mages, and their military forces were formidable as well. Lavatier fought them for a long time and suffered greatly because of them.”
Like a stage actress, she made a dramatic half-turn and addressed the opposite side of the room.
“But they, too, met their end.”
Donabel’s voice lowered further.
“During the division of the Three Kingdoms, the kings of the three nations had to abandon their kingdoms and flee in hopes of rebuilding one day. Pursued by the Lavatier Empire, unable even to tell friend from foe amid utter chaos.”
She stopped walking, her expression changing.
“At that desperate moment!”
The students were drawn in by her storytelling.
“They met on the Bosco Plains.”
Professor Donabel’s voice softened dramatically, her control of pace impeccable.
“Two kings fleeing their respective kingdoms: the King of Kaluak and the King of Asina. And they even had the exact same party composition. Does that not sound like fate playing a cruel joke?”
Donabel raised one finger at a time.
“Two knights. Two guards. And one king.”
Even those who had heard the story before focused on her words.
“On the Bosco Plains, the two Grand Mages fought an incredible battle, and the record of that battle was passed down intact to later generations. All the way to us.”
Donabel slowly swept her gaze over the students.
“My class is simple.”
She paused just long enough for the students to swallow.
“All of you will return to that day. To the Bosco Plains—to that fateful battle, at that very moment.”
The classroom was silent.
No one spoke. It was so quiet that it felt as though one could hear them blink. All eyes were fixed on Donabel.
“Well, not literally.”
Donabel added.
“Time magic is forbidden, after all! We are simply going to put ourselves in that situation together.”
Laughter spread through the classroom.
“Now, during the last class, I asked you all to rank the students you would least want to fight if you had to battle in this classroom, correct?”
Aion’s eyebrows rose.
‘There was something like that?’
Aion had missed the previous lesson. He had been recovering after getting caught up in the fire incident, so he had been unable to attend.
“I will not reveal the full rankings, but the top eight in the vote will each take the role of a King in the Battle of Bosco.”
Murmurs filled the room.
“Eight Kings?”
“Then what about everyone else?”
“The other people who were present that day.”
Donabel answered.
“Each match will involve two Kings, four Knights, and four Rooks.”
She held up all ten fingers.
“Then will each King take turns competing once?”
A student asked.
“No?”
Donabel shook her head.
“There will only be one match.”
“Wh-why? Shouldn’t there be a fair evaluation?”
“What do you mean?”
She sat on the edge of the platform and looked at the students.
“By watching you compete just once, I can understand every bit of a student’s ability. How much thought you put into it, and how well you are becoming a mage.”
The student who had asked could only open and close his mouth, unable to say anything.
“And merely receiving a high grade in my class does not mean you will graduate from Exion—much less become a fine mage.”
Donabel continued.
“My class and evaluations are only small signposts on the path toward becoming a better mage. Do you understand?”
“...Yes.”
“Good.”
Donabel stood.
“Let me explain the rules of the Battle of Bosco again. Knights may only attack. Rooks may only defend. Kings can do both. No weapons other than staffs are permitted. Simple, right?”
Ahem....
She cleared her throat and continued.
“After last week’s lesson, I gave the eight Kings time to choose the retainers of their kingdoms. Their answers arrived recently.”
Donabel lightly waved her hand.
Flutterrrrr—
The papers on the desk all rose at once, scattering through the classroom and landing precisely in each student’s hand.
“Professor, I have a question.”
A student who had checked his list raised a hand.
“I asked for Aria to be assigned to my kingdom.”
“I assigned overlapping selections at my own discretion.”
Donabel replied briefly.
“For reference, most of the Kings wanted Miss Aria. She was very popular.”
“...I-is that so?”
Tch—
Short clicks of tongues sounded from around the room. They appeared quite disappointed.
Aion looked down at the paper in his hand.
At the top of the list was a single name.
Cassius de Servang.
Below it was a list of the kingdom’s retainers.
Aion found his own name. Then he looked over the other names above and below it.
Aria di Valera. And two names he did not recognize.
Aion’s gaze returned to the top of the list.
‘Cassius de Servang... Who is that?’
But why had Cassius chosen him, when he had not even been able to attend class?
“All right. Until class ends, divide into your kingdoms and get to know one another. The evaluation will take place in three weeks, so you will be seeing each other for quite a while.”
***
Step—
When Aion arrived at the location written on the list, three people were already there.
He studied them closely.
First was the person who appeared to be Cassius de Servang.
His blond hair fell past his shoulders, and he stood with his arms crossed, gazing somewhere far away.
He was extraordinarily handsome.
But something else drew even more attention.
His clothing was unusual.
He was half-naked, wearing only a pair of boxers.
‘...He’s insane.’
If so, perhaps it made sense that he had chosen Aion.
Another person was not looking at Aion.
A female student had a large teddy bear resting on her lap. Since she had turned her face toward the doll, Aion could not see her expression.
The last person looked relatively normal.
At first—
“N-n-n-n-nice to meet you....”
Aion revised his assessment.
The kingdom he belonged to was made up of strange people.
None of the three spoke to one another.
Even after Aion took a seat, silence continued for a while.
Then the blond student slowly lowered his gaze.
His eyes traveled over Aion, from bottom to top, then top to bottom.
And he spoke.
“Oh.”
His voice carried admiration.
“My kingdom’s retainers.”
He uncrossed his arms and spread them wide.
“At last, we meet. I am called Cassius de Servang. I sensed tremendous potential in all of you. From the very moment we first met, it was clear that we would overwhelm our enemies and leave them soaked in terror.”
From now on, this man was the King of Aion’s kingdom.
“First, you! That overwhelming fire magic of yours will color the world with the end—”
“I-I-I-I can’t use f-f-fire magic....”
Silence.
Cassius blinked.
“...Yes, if you had learned fire magic, that is. I was speaking hypothetically.”
The male student shut his mouth.
Cassius’s gaze then moved to the student sitting on the floor.
“And Claire. That mysterious aura of yours—”
“......”
Claire’s doll raised its head.
The large teddy bear’s mouth moved.
“I’m Vera.”
The voice was low and dry.
She was clearly using ventriloquism. The sound had come from the female student.
“Vera.”
“...The doll?”
“Me. ...I’m not Claire.”
Cassius repeated the name.
“...Vera. I see. Vera, your—”
“That is enough.”
The doll lowered its head onto her lap again.
Finally, Cassius looked at Aion.
“And!”
His voice rose.
“Oh! The hero of the Lumenia fire incident! I have always admired your heroic actions. Yes, Aion... uh... What’s-His-Name.”
Aion stared at Cassius for a moment.
It did not seem like Cassius had always admired him if he could not even remember his name.
He looked down at the list again.
“Why did you choose us?”
Cassius opened his mouth to answer.
“I saw tremendous potential in all of you. We will overwhelm every kingdom in this classroom and leave them trembling in fear!”
Just then—
“Cassius?”
Professor Donabel’s voice came from behind him.
Cassius closed his mouth.
Holding the attendance sheet, she walked over and spoke.
“Cassius did not submit a list by yesterday, so I formed your kingdom’s roster myself. How is it? Do you like it?”
The classroom instantly fell quiet.
Cassius answered with a sullen expression.
“...No.”