Few people had ever come to the top of the Ivory Tower.
Clase was one of those rare people.
“Phew……”
She stopped at the end of the spiral staircase.
A flawless white wall blocked the way ahead.
It seemed there was no path forward, but the Ivory Tower was not a place where one could trust only what was visible.
Clase tapped the wall.
Fine cracks formed on the smooth surface, and a rectangular section of the wall opened.
Beyond it appeared an unrealistically enormous tree.
Roots like mountain ridges were embedded layer upon layer in the ivory floor. Countless emerald leaves hung sparkling from branches as thick as pillars.
The form of a child sitting on one of the branches hid itself from her gaze.
If that tree had to be defined in one phrase, it was a bonsai World Tree.
Clase found a woman leaning against its base.
“I came at your summons.”
Her hair was the color of summer leaves, its brightness changing with the sunlight. Whenever the World Tree swayed, her hair rippled in many shades as well.
The ears protruding between those locks were far too long to be human.
The Headmaster of the Ivory Tower and an immortal elf.
Eliya.
It was her.
“Clase, your expression is especially stiff before me. Smile a little.”
“Yes, Headmaster.”
“I heard that child made flowers bloom.”
“Yes.”
“What kind of flowers?”
“Lavender.”
“They must have been very beautiful.”
“They were fresh.”
Eliya approached before Clase knew it and rested her chin on Clase’s shoulder.
Her long ear brushed Clase’s neck.
She smelled like a forest.
“A child born with the Arcane Path of Extinction made flowers bloom while his attributes were sealed……”
“Yes.”
“There is a word for a child like that.”
Eliya raised her head and looked into Clase’s eyes.
Clase could not meet her gaze and lowered her eyes.
“A genius.”
“That is correct.”
“Why did a genius like that come to the Ivory Tower?”
“I do not know.”
“Was it for the Fountain of Wisdom? Is he searching for a way to take revenge against the Empire?”
Graduates who left the Ivory Tower at the top of their class were given the opportunity to converse with the Fountain of Wisdom, which held the truth of the world.
“I do not believe so. He did not seem to hold a grudge against the Empire.”
“Then?”
“I do not know. What should we do?”
When Clase asked in return, Eliya abruptly brought up something else.
“Draco blood has always bothered me.”
Eliya rubbed several strands of Clase’s hair between her fingertips.
With the scent of burning, the lower portion turned to ash and scattered away.
Clase shrank her neck.
“He made lavender bloom……”
Eliya touched Clase’s shortened hair and muttered, “I do not like it.”
***
An eventful week passed.
Ever since I shattered the historic relic named Elizabeth at the entrance ceremony, I had felt something was wrong. I made an idiot named Chepin class president, learned an unidentified theory called Theory of Mental Images, fought a lunatic named Obern, and took an unfair Performance Assessment.
And at last, the first weekend arrived.
“F-Finally, we can go out!”
“Let’s get out of here!”
The Ivory Tower allowed students to leave only on weekends.
“I-I’m going to Milk Hall first.”
“What is that?”
“I-It is the most famous confectionery in Ark. The chocolate they make there is delicious.”
“Lumin, that golden chocolate you treasured came from there, right? It was delicious!”
“Y-You ate it all, so I did not get any!”
“Buy more!”
“You buy it!”
“If you buy some, I will only eat a little.”
“Y-You leech!”
“That is harsh!”
While Karl and Lumin began wrestling as usual, I quietly slipped out of the dormitory.
If those two caught me, I would have to give up spending a quiet weekend.
Then, on Ivory Bridge connecting Ivory Island and Ark, I met Marco.
“Armand, are you going out alone? Where are those two?”
“I slipped out. I want to be alone on weekends.”
“Ah, I see. That makes sense.”
It was a meaningless remark, but Marco gave a meaningful smile.
“Because you are Draco.”
What was that supposed to mean now?
“What do you mean by that?”
“Armand has noble blood, so I thought perhaps you had plans that others should not know about.”
They said people viewed the world through the tinted glasses of their own color, and Marco was exactly like that.
This guy seemed to believe that everyone was as secretive and shady as he was.
“It is nothing like that. I told you, my family has fallen.”
Marco grinned as though he knew everything.
“Sure, of course. I understand.”
“I am telling the truth.”
“All right, all right. Then what are you going to do?”
“I am going to the temple to pray.”
“What?”
Marco widened his eyes, exposing his amber irises, before folding his eyes into a smile again.
“Ahahaha, Armand! You really are an interesting guy!”
“Is this the first time you have seen someone go to a temple?”
“Ahahahahah!”
Marco began clutching his stomach and laughing.
I truly did not know what he found so funny.
Still unable to fully calm his laughter, Marco placed a hand on my shoulder.
“Armand, when you go to the temple, please pray for my share too.”
“People pray their own prayers.”
“Hahaha, that is true!”
It seemed like he would keep following if I left him alone, so I quickened my pace.
“I am leaving first. I have somewhere to be.”
“Sure. Have a good weekend!”
Beyond Ivory Bridge, servants stood waiting in a long line.
Because there were so many children of nobles, this happened every weekend.
I heard there was even a district in Ark where servants stayed.
Since I had arranged a separate meeting place with Gerald, I headed to the temple first.
The temple was not far from the Ivory Tower.
After climbing a long staircase and reaching the entrance, a priest dressed in white brought his hands together in greeting.
“Welcome, Brother. May you be at peace.”
“May you be at peace.”
I responded in the same manner.
Whether in the North, the Empire, or the East, temple etiquette was no different.
When I opened the door to the worship hall, the Eye of Darkness , symbolizing God, greeted me.
Within a radiating circle representing brilliance, an eye black as pitch looked down at me.
I quieted my footsteps and sat around the middle of the hall.
Several worshippers were already sitting with their heads bowed and hands together.
I was no different.
Closing my eyes, I recited an old prayer inwardly.
Whether the day is fair or cold, whether I am fortunate or unfortunate, as in the beginning, now and always, forever, watch over all my steps.
If asked whether my faith was deep, I did not know.
I could not call myself very devout.
Finding quiet in a temple was simply an old habit of mine.
It had been the same when I lived at Winter Castle and when I wandered beyond the border.
No disturbance could touch me in here.
When I opened my eyes after the short prayer, sunlight passing through the stained glass painted colorful patterns on the floor.
They depicted the Seven Apostles descending to the earth and carrying out their callings.
Proudly, the stained glass also contained my family’s story.
Our progenitor, Draco.
Staring at the strangely comical image of a black dragon, I found myself smiling.
You were not supposed to smile in a temple.
Then someone stepped on Draco’s wing and passed by.
For some reason, the shoes looked familiar. When I raised my head, I met the eyes of a girl wearing red hair like a cloak.
It was Lulusha.
Why was she here?
Lulusha blinked for a moment when she found me, then silently sat beside me.
Some people prayed inwardly, while others whispered. She was the latter.
“Whether the day is fair or cold, whether I am fortunate or unfortunate, as in the beginning, now and always, forever, watch over all my steps……”
She did not stop with a single prayer. She continued through all sorts of old prayers that I could barely remember.
Her prayers, whispered so softly they were almost inaudible, sounded like the footsteps of a small bird.
Listening to them somehow made me sleepy.
By the way, I had not known Lulusha was deeply devout.
“That is what I should say.”
After we finished praying and stepped outside the temple, Lulusha spoke.
“I have never seen you at the Ivory Tower worship hall.”
“I am not devout enough to pray every day.”
“For someone like that, you prayed very earnestly earlier.”
“I work hard at everything.”
Lulusha tilted her head with a sullen expression.
I tilted my head in the opposite direction.
“Then what were you praying so earnestly about?”
“Is it not rude to ask something like that?”
“Did you make some secret confession?”
“Something similar. I made someone who should never have become class president into class president.”
At that, Lulusha laughed aloud.
It seemed Chepin’s very existence was a joke.
“Yes, that is a grave sin. And I heard that recently, you nearly made someone a eunuch?”
I almost choked.
She said a word like that so casually.
“Where did you hear that?”
“Here and there. There is probably no one at the Ivory Tower who does not know already.”
A rumor had spread that I was someone who fought cowardly.
“I heard you are Frog Class’s hero.”
“Who came up with that disgusting phrase?”
“Marco.”
“Do not listen to anything that bastard says.”
“It seems all right to me.”
“It is not all right at all.”
As we talked in front of the temple, a priest approached us.
“Brother and sister, may you be at peace.”
Like other priests, he wore a gently drawn smile.
“Judging by your uniforms, you are students of the Ivory Tower. It is truly glorious that the Empire’s future pillars are so devout.”
“Not at all.”
“Excuse me, but are you two walking the path of the Arcane Path?”
Lulusha and I nodded.
“Yes, we are.”
“Then may I ask a small favor?”
“What favor?”
“It is not urgent, but the Eye of Darkness has been slightly damaged. The Divine Priest is away, so it cannot be repaired immediately.”
The pupil of the Eye of Darkness, which represented God, reflected no light at all. This color was called darkness-black, and its pigment could only be made with magic.
The magic itself was as easy as Flower Blooming.
Lulusha, whose faith was deep, immediately nodded.
“Yes, of course we should help.”
When we went into the worship hall and checked, one corner of the Eye of Darkness had slightly chipped away.
“The Divine Priest will return in the afternoon, but I wish to give the worshippers who visited for the weekend even a moment beneath God’s complete gaze. I sincerely ask for your help.”
“That is a truly warm thought.”
Lulusha smiled and stirred mana.
The Eye of Darkness turned pitch-black again.
It seemed to have taken a better shape than before.
“Thank you.”
Though it had not been a great effort, the priest bowed deeply.
The worshippers who had watched us expressed their thanks as well.
“Thank you, students.”
“God will watch over you.”
“I pray that you will be at peace.”
I had merely stood there, so this was awkward.
The priest who left the worship hall made an unexpected proposal.
“What are your names? I would like to convey my gratitude for both of you to the Headmaster of the Ivory Tower. Good deeds are done without others knowing, but for those who receive help, expressing gratitude is a virtue.”
“No, we are fine……”
I cut off Lulusha.
“We will gratefully accept your goodwill. Please do.”
Lulusha looked at me. Avoiding her gaze, I continued.
“We are honored that our small act was able to help the temple. Please convey our regards to the Headmaster.”
“Of course.”
This was the Headmaster, of all people.
There was no downside to earning points in this way.
“I am Armand of first-year Frog Class. And this student is……”
Lulusha tugged on my clothes and whispered, “Leave me out.”
“Why?”
“Just leave me out.”
“Fine.”
Everyone had their own circumstances.
“This student is an anonymous student who refuses to reveal her name.”
“Hahaha, understood.”
We exchanged farewells with the priest and started walking.
As we descended the temple stairs, Lulusha spoke.
“My parents do not like that I go to temples.”
It seemed she had hidden her name because she was afraid this would reach her parents.
“I see. You are a Griel.”
“Yeah.”
Griel was a family as infamous as Draco, perhaps even more so.
Draco was known for the Destruction attribute, but those who actually manifested it were rare.
In contrast, Griel had produced countless mages with the Rupture attribute.
If you counted the people each family had killed on battlefields, Griel would surely rank first by far.
“Actually, my parents opposed me entering the Ivory Tower too. So we have almost cut ties by now. Armand, do you have a good relationship with your parents?”
Excuse me, knowing how my family had fallen, was that not a rude question to ask?
But her eyes as she looked at me were clear, so I answered.
“Father has passed away, and I have a good relationship with Mother.”
“Really?”
“I send Mother a letter every week.”
“Armand is kind.”
“What about you?”
“Not good.”
That was why she had brought up the topic.
After thinking for a moment, I asked, “Do you perhaps need comfort?”
Lulusha stared at me as though asking what I meant.
“You suddenly started talking about that.”
“Ah.”
Lulusha nodded.
“Armand is smart, so talking with you is easy. Actually, I do need something other than comfort.”
Could that be……
I blinked, then quickly shook my head.
A danger signal flashed.
“No.”
“Huh?”
“I have a good relationship with Mother, but I do not receive financial support from her.”
Lulusha’s expression darkened.
I had thought perhaps, but was she really trying to mooch off me?
“You are very perceptive.”
“Do not try to get a meal from someone whose family has completely fallen.”
“But you are Draco. Do you not have some emergency funds?”
“No.”
“Not even a little?”
“Not at all. If you do not have money, go back to the dormitory.”
“The dormitory food is not good.”
“It is better than starving.”
“Hmm……”
“Write a letter to your parents before you return. Write politely. Then you will receive an allowance again.”
“I do not want to.”
“You must not be hungry enough yet.”
After descending all the stairs, Lulusha let out a deep sigh.
“Armand, by the way, which club are you going to join?”
“A club?”
The Ivory Tower basically encouraged student club activities.
But I had no intention of wasting time on something like club activities.
“I am not joining one.”
“I see.”
“What about you?”
“I will tell you if you buy me dinner.”
“I am not curious, so go away.”
“Okay.”
“Are you really going back?”
“I do not have money.”
“Fine. Goodbye.”
Lulusha waved to me and began trudging in the direction of the Ivory Tower.
Even as she did, she looked around in all directions as though seeking someone to mooch off.
A Griel who was deeply devout and in dire poverty. She was surprising in many ways.
But she was not the only surprise.
On my way to meet Gerald, I happened to pass an alleyway.
SLAP!
And witnessed Marco making a boy kneel and slapping him across the face.