I stared at Ellin, who was brazenly auditing my class without permission.
By this point, it would not have been strange for her to realize she was unwelcome and leave of her own accord, but she showed no intention of doing so.
“Professor, if what you said is correct, should a Mage not be able to strengthen their body just as effectively as a knight?”
That question had arisen from my explanation that the mana used by knights and the mana used by Mages were fundamentally not all that different.
“That is not the case.”
“Why not?”
As though she had expected that answer, she immediately demanded an explanation.
Since I needed to somehow pry Ellin away from me, I responded with an intimidating air instead of answering.
“What is your name?”
“Iones Ellin, Professor.”
“I do not recall seeing your name on the attendance sheet. Is it not enough that you are attending my lecture without permission? You intend to ask questions as well?”
“That is correct.”
Setting aside how brazen she was, she seemed to have something she was relying on.
Otherwise, there was no way she could answer so confidently.
‘Should I take a harder line?’
I did not want to go this far, but……
Before making a decision, I reconsidered one last time.
In this lecture hall overflowing with chitinous insects, she was the only actual girl as far as I was concerned.
What about Aisel?
A female cockroa—
No, a female insect did not count as a woman.
Ellin, on the other hand, possessed a form that I could actually perceive as human.
And perhaps because she was one of the protagonists, she was beautiful too.
It was a little unfortunate that she was so petite, but her character model had been exceptionally well made. More importantly, I was starved for the sight of a human face, so part of me did not want to drive her away……
My emotional refuge.
Proof that I myself was human……
I shook my head repeatedly in my mind.
‘No. I need to survive.’
If I allowed Ellin to remain near me while her curiosity was running this high, nothing awaited me but an unfortunate future.
In other words, if I wanted to live, I had to drive Ellin away.
‘But can a life spent every day surrounded by chitinous insects truly be called living?’
The sudden conflict that flashed through my mind perfectly reflected how I felt.
Rather than eating nothing but healthy food and living to a hundred, could I not just eat instant food and live until sixty?
It was not as though I were going to live forever anyway.
A beautiful girl.
A beautiful girl.
Everyone else was an insect, some grotesque monstrosity, but she was a girl.
A beautiful girl.
And I was supposed to send her away?
Could I not simply let her stay……
I abruptly came to my senses.
If I let myself sink any deeper into that line of thought, I felt as though I would never escape.
Terrifying……
“I value rules and principles. I have nothing to teach you. Leave.”
After issuing the warning, I was about to resume writing when Ellin objected.
She remained as confident as ever.
Far from being intimidated, her determination seemed to burn even brighter.
“Professor, I am ranked first among all first-year students. I am also the top-ranked student in the Department of Magic.”
“And what of it?”
“The class currently being taught in the Department of Magic is Professor Gerard’s [General Theory of Magic Application]. The subject is far beneath my current level and offers me little benefit.”
She appeared to have quite a bit more to say, so I folded my arms and leaned against the wall as though inviting her to finish.
“I already explained this to the professor in charge. Under the privileges traditionally granted to the overall top-ranked student… the President guaranteed me freedom of attendance and freedom of course registration.”
‘Was there a setting like that?’
I felt as though there had been.
If I remembered correctly, it went even further. As long as she submitted a report afterward, fieldwork could also be recognized as attendance.
They were all systems designed so players would not be chained to academy classes……
‘And now they are coming back to haunt me.’
“So you intend to use your freedom of course registration to attend my class?”
“At the very least, your class appears far more useful to me than the one offered by my own department. Could you allow it?”
Should I simply tell her absolutely not?
…Setting aside whether someone like her would actually leave merely because I said no, I lacked sufficient justification.
Her own department’s class was beneath her level, and she had officially been granted the freedom to choose her courses.
Blocking her without good reason could damage my reputation.
I was only a Part-time Professor. Pointlessly earning a student’s resentment would be troublesome.
‘This is certainly not because of the cockroaches. At least, not only because of the cockroaches.’
I needed to renew my position as a Part-time Professor.
I had to maintain favorable course evaluations…
Therefore, I was absolutely not being swayed by the sight of a beautiful human face.
If I said that was not the reason, then it was not the reason.
“…I cannot give you credit. Your name is not on the attendance sheet. If you want academic credit, go through the appropriate administrative office and have yourself formally registered in the system.”
Perhaps the inconvenience would make her give up.
Since I had no proper reason to drive her away, I resorted to administrative bureaucracy.
It did not have to reach the level of outright bureaucratic dysfunction.
Ordinary paperwork was troublesome enough.
And if something was troublesome for me, it was troublesome for everyone else as well.
That made bureaucracy an excellent shield.
‘Someone who worked at a customer service center once told me that if you make troublesome customers print the proper forms, send them by fax, and mail the physical documents, the number of requests drops dramatically.’
If an actual customer service representative had said so, surely it would work.
Contrary to my expectations, however, Ellin simply nodded.
Judging by how casually she accepted the condition, it did not seem to trouble her much.
She is willing to endure even that?
I marveled inwardly.
If it were me, I would have stopped attending simply because it was too much trouble……
Unless she had some exceptionally compelling reason, there was no reason for her to go this far……
The pen in my hand stopped in midstroke.
My fingers hesitated in the air.
‘A compelling reason?’
Something worth obsessing over for that vicious little honey badger.
‘The rune……!’
She had come looking for me because of the rune.
‘Why did the damned trace have to remain on the coat?’
“Let us return to your question. Mages accumulate mana near the head, while knights accumulate it around the heart. Even if the mana itself possesses similar properties, there are inevitably considerable differences in explosive output and conductivity.”
“If those differences could be compensated for, would that mean a Mage could theoretically strengthen their body as effectively as a knight?”
“Theoretically.”
The word theoretically contained a considerable amount of negativity.
I answered indifferently without turning around.
Perhaps my response stirred her competitive spirit, because Ellin continued.
“I have heard that, in ancient times, there was far less distinction between Mages and knights. Mages were supposedly as formidable in close combat as knights, while knights could engage in magical combat on a level comparable to Mages……”
“I do not know how ancient a period you are referring to, but no such era existed.”
“No. It did. For example, during the era when runes were primarily used.”
She deliberately paused, sounding as though she were testing me, before asking what I thought.
Her gaze was cool and analytical, carefully measuring my reaction.
I silently endured it before turning my head away.
“Absurd.”
There was no reason to indulge her.
I dismissed the question in a single word and continued the class.
Since it was the first lecture, I had only intended to cover the grading criteria and give a basic explanation of Aura, yet her questions had dragged the lesson far off course.
“Time is up. We will end here. Complete the assignment by next week as announced, and I will see you all again at this time.”
I gathered my teaching materials and left the classroom.
Two figures followed me.
One was Aisel.
The other……
“What is it, Student Ellin?”
“I still have questions regarding the lecture.”
“The class is over. Organize your questions and ask them all at once next week.”
Ellin stared directly at me, clearly unwilling to relent.
That did not mean I had to indulge her.
I was about to ignore her and continue walking when……
“The coat. Were you the one who covered me with it, Professor Aiden?”
The coat?
I turned around without thinking.
The instant I did, I realized my mistake.
In my mind, I could practically see Ellin smiling.
‘No. I still have a chance to recover.’
Aiden was not a man whose emotions easily appeared on his face.
Maintaining a solemn expression, I shook my head as though this were all rather unfortunate.
“I am afraid I have no idea what you are referring to. I suggest asking the other students.”
“Professor Prezel said it probably belonged to a male professor, and a rather tall one at that. I am also convinced that the owner is one of the professors.”
Then she looked directly at me.
She appeared quite certain……
“Ah! Now that I think about it, Professor, where did you leave your coat that day?”
Aisel ruined everything.
Ellin’s gaze instantly sharpened.
“……”
‘Haah……’
“What do you want to know?”
Simply pushing her away was no longer the answer.
This girl lived for one thing alone: her desire to become the best.
The instant she saw even the slightest possibility of growth, she would bite down and refuse to let go.
Now that I had practically confirmed her suspicions, denial alone would not be enough.
I decided it would be better to satisfy her curiosity just enough to make her leave on her own.
The moment I yielded a step, Ellin brightened and asked.
“I thought there were Mana Traces from a rune on your coat. I want to ask you about them.”
I stared at her for a moment before turning around.
“…This is not the place for that. Follow me.”
From this point onward, everything depended on how well I could act.
I sat down on the sofa in my office.
I asked whether she wanted tea or coffee, and when Ellin chose tea, I asked Aisel to prepare the same for me.
While Aisel brewed the tea, I slowly began speaking.
“First, that was indeed my coat.”
“Why did you deny it?”
“Is that important?”
When I asked the question somewhat sharply, Ellin shook her head.
Exactly.
That was not what mattered.
We were about to discuss something far more important.
“Good. Then we should begin with this.”
With a simple gesture, I stirred my mana.
Pure energy that, unlike the rapier, I could now manipulate as naturally as my own body.
A small, incomplete feather blossomed into existence in my palm like a budding flower.
It looked loosely formed and almost unfinished, yet somehow natural.
I held it up where she could see it.
Then I snapped my fingers.
The feather ignited in a white flame.
Despite being called a flame, it produced neither warmth nor ash.
The sight of it softly dissolving, as though enveloped by a cloud of smoke, was fascinating in its own right.
Ellin followed the disappearing feather with her eyes.
Her admiration lasted only briefly before her expression hardened.
Words she could not quite utter seemed to linger behind her parted lips.
“This is… surely……”
“Just as Mages obsess over reaching a state of ‘purity,’ there was once a time when I too pursued purity. You could say that this Aura is proof of that pursuit.”
“Then!”
“Sit down. I have not finished.”
I calmed Ellin and crossed my legs.
Pretending to gather my thoughts, I lowered my gaze before continuing.
‘Good. This should make her lose interest.’
Trying to drive her away outright would not work.
Instead, I would lead her to reach the conclusion herself.
If she personally accepted my explanation, she would stop trying to learn more.
Once her interest in me disappeared, she would naturally distance herself.
Ellin belonged to the Department of Magic.
She had no real reason to attend my lecture.
“Ellin, why are modern Mages unable to use rune-based magic?”
I was not asking because I did not know.
I needed her to say the answer herself.
“…Because the original meanings were lost, the pronunciations disappeared, and the vocal organs required to pronounce them deteriorated.”
“You know it well. The answer I can give you follows the same reasoning.”
“But the Mana Traces on your coat……!”
“I tried. I failed.”
I gave her the conclusion first to disappoint her.
I would gradually lower her expectations and force her to accept reality.
“It is a romantic notion. Casting high-level magic through pronunciation alone without cumbersome Spell Formulas, strengthening the body like a knight, and releasing Aura at the same time. It is certainly an ideal worth dreaming about.”
Then I denied that dream directly to her face.
“But as a species, we have already lost the necessary organs. Unless atavism occurs, it is impossible. And even if someone were born with such organs, the manner in which we now accumulate mana has become too deeply fixed for it to work.”
There were groups that deliberately attempted to induce atavism, but I had no reason to become involved with them any time soon.
Mentioning it this much should be safe.
‘There are madmen everywhere in this world. She cannot possibly connect me to people committing atrocities in the name of ancestral reversion.’
“Even so……”
“If you sensed the Mana Traces on my coat, then you must also know that they resembled Ignite, the Rune of Fire.”
After a moment of silence, Ellin nodded.
I clenched and opened my fist, creating another feather.
A pristine white feather.
When I applied force, it shone brilliantly, flickering like an incandescent lamp.
Then, as before, the moment its strength was exhausted, its shape collapsed entirely.
It was swallowed by white flame and crumbled into fragments.
The broken pieces pattered through the gaps between my fingers toward the floor.
Yet even those fragments oxidized before they could reach it.
Everything was merely an illusion created from mana.
Naturally, none of it possessed true physical substance.
Ellin let out a quiet exclamation as she watched the fragments disappear.
“This is the Rune of Fire you thought you saw. Nothing more than a pathetic imitation compared to the genuine article. That is also why I wished to hide it.”
“…But that……”
“I had no intention of showing anyone such an incomplete imitation. A professor would likely have recognized the subtle difference immediately, but……”
Ellin stared at me with a complicated expression.
“You are still a student. It is understandable that you mistook this for a true rune. I do not blame you. But as you can see, this is nothing more than a poor imitation.”
It was not something worth her curiosity.
I declared it with absolute certainty.
As though telling her definitively that there was no reason to remain interested.
“We cannot use runes.”
Ellin lowered her head completely.
I smiled inwardly.
She must have been disappointed.
Good.
Then this should finally……
‘It ended well—’
“Professor, did you lie to me?”
Her lowered head slowly rose.
The look in her eyes was accusing me.
…Lie?