Chapter 156 : Chapter 156
Chapter 156: The Academy’s Great Sage (2)
Who is he?
Narrowing his eyes, Emilio wondered.
A man had approached them. A face one might find anywhere along the roadside. Perhaps around fifty. A protruding belly bulged through the gap in his worn wool cloak, and a balding scalp gleamed between sparse strands of hair. He looked more suited to a midnight tavern than the daylight of CIAR.
“Um…….”
Emilio stepped forward.
It sounded as though Dietrich had murmured “Father,” just now.
They did seem acquainted. The man and Dietrich were facing one another. Even so, Emilio spread his arms and stepped between them.
“Wait.”
There was only one reason he was being so wary.
It felt like he was seeing an afterimage. The man’s body wavered, half-transparent.
“……Who are you? State your name.”
<Emilio Mackenzie.>
Emilio asked, and the man shrugged.
Instead of giving his own name, he discerned Emilio’s.
Then, brushing his palm down his face,
<Cia-Harphe Academy, third year of the Department of Elemental Studies.>
He whispered while taking on Emilio’s appearance.
What? Emilio muttered under his breath, his expression stiffening. The man’s features shifted in an instant. Perfectly identical to Emilio’s, as if reflected in a mirror. It did not feel like the result of a spell. He had not sensed any sign. A transformation spell should have required a complicated preparation.
<Your peer relationships are not very good.>
The man simply smiled.
With mischief lingering at the corner of his mouth, he continued.
<I wonder why I have no friends. It seems I fell asleep last night while turning that question over and over. You do not need to worry. Dietrich seems to regard you as a good friend.>
Emilio’s face flushed faintly.
Why do I have no friends? It was true that he had fallen asleep thinking that. How did he know? Emilio bit down on his lower lip and swallowed.
<Or is that not it?>
The man did not mind.
He stroked his chin and leaned forward.
Bringing his face close to Emilio’s, he murmured.
<Do you want a friend other than Dietrich?>
A big friend, he said, and the man took on the form of a large-built young man.
Or a cheerful friend, and he laughed in the shape of a smiling boy.
If not that either……, he muttered softly, then—
<Do you want a pretty friend?>
The man asked in the form of a girl.
Every face was familiar to Emilio. The large young man, the boy smiling brightly, and the girl fidgeting with her sleeves before his eyes were all classmates from the same year as Emilio.
“Father.”
Suddenly, Dietrich spoke.
Leaning back in his wheelchair, he bowed his head.
“Emilio is soft-hearted. He also seems to have been sick recently. Please refrain from cruel jokes.”
<I see, Dietrich.>
CLAP.
The man clapped his hands.
<It is pleasant to see you being considerate of a friend. Perhaps you needed a friend yourself. Thanks to that, you have become quite human. It truly makes me happy.>
“You flatter me. For what purpose have you come to CIAR? My brother left last night. He said he would inspect the north and then return.”
<I know. I already spoke with Lizer. The perennial snowfields of the north—meeting the Spirit Kings dwelling there will be good study.>
This feels unpleasant.
Frowning, Emilio thought.
The man chattering away in the form of a girl irritated him. Was that really Dietrich’s father? Emilio found it hard to believe. He had never heard anything about their father from Dietrich, or from Lizer either. And he had been caring for Dietrich for over two years now.
“……Did you come to see me?”
<No, Dietrich. I am afraid not.>
Above all, discomfort.
Emilio shuddered with a vague sense of revulsion.
Everything about the man felt unpleasant. His speech was polite, yet seemed tinged with spite, and even though he wore a girl’s face, there was not a shred of affection in the way he looked at Dietrich.
<That is not the case, Emilio.>
The man addressed Emilio.
As if he could clearly see through his thoughts.
<Lizer and Dietrich are both my sons. It is only natural for a father to love his children. One would need many grounds to affirm such affection, but proving my feelings to you seems a little difficult.>
But I am grateful.
At least I can prove gratitude, he whispered to Emilio.
<Not long after you enrolled at CIAR, you lost consciousness and were carried to the infirmary. That must have been how you met Dietrich. It seems Dietrich’s condition was poor that day as well.>
From then on, you have continued to care for Dietrich until now.
You help him go on walks by pushing his wheelchair, and you assist with his meals, even though he struggles to move not only his legs, but even his arms.
He is useless, really.
How did he even manage to enroll at CIAR?
It would not be strange to think such things, and yet—
<You have not thought that way even once, have you?>
“Are you reading my thoughts?”
<I am not reading them. I merely saw them.>
“Then how…….”
Emilio took a step back.
Two steps, three steps, retreating as he glared at the man.
He had never heard of a spell that read another’s thoughts.
Perhaps black magic could do it. Even so, an Apostate should not have been able to use a spell without any sign.
“Emilio, it is all right.”
Dietrich whispered to him.
Soothing the frightened Emilio, he continued.
“Father has no ill intent.”
<That is right. Do not fear me.>
“He is simply an exceptionally gifted mage.”
<Indeed. I am a very gifted mage.>
“Märchen Blackmore.”
<Why do you call me, Dietrich?>
“I did not call you.”
I thought it best to say your name.
For Emilio’s sake……, Dietrich murmured softly.
“……Märchen?”
Emilio’s eyes trembled.
“Märchen Blackmore?”
He knew the name.
The sage among sages, Märchen Blackmore.
The sole superior of the Five Magic Tower Lords standing on the brink of the end of magic, and their most feared rival. There was no subject of the Empire who did not know the name Märchen.
<That is right, Emilio.>
Yet only the name was known.
Nothing concrete was known about Märchen.
Or rather, it was muddled. Because she had achieved too much, because her actions were impossible to predict, fact and rumor were hopelessly intertwined. That was likely why some enthusiasts even regarded Märchen as a fictitious being.
<My name is Märchen Blackmore.>
Perhaps that was true.
Emilio thought so. Märchen standing before him looked unreal. She wore the face of a girl, and her body wavered, half-transparent.
<So please do me a favor.>
Märchen spoke calmly.
She brushed her face and transformed into another form.
<Someone you know.>
Dark silver hair, as if soaked in ash.
And eyes of dark blue-black, like a mire.
<Cia-Harphe Academy, professor of the Department of Theology, Abel Argento.>
Märchen spoke the name of the person whose face she wore.
Smiling with Abel’s face, she asked Emilio,
<Will you take me to him?>
***
<──Ah, so that is why!>
Abel rested his chin on his hand.
He stared ahead with an indifferent expression.
Across the round table in the center of the office, Märchen sat in a chair and chambled on without pause. Strictly speaking, she was floating, merely appearing to sit.
<A holy knight corrupted by the environment of the Demon Realm was in terrible agony. He kept repeating his daughter’s name. The Clerics tried desperately to purify him, but there was no way it would work. So I suggested it—would it not be better to kill him outright? To ease his suffering.>
He had been polishing his weapons.
It was a peaceful afternoon he had not enjoyed in a long time. With freshly laundered towels piled high, he had pulled his arms from Subspace and was wiping them down. There were no other engagements, and it would be enough to oversee Monika’s training in the evening.
<That was when I thought of you.>
So noisy.
Brushing his hair back, Abel thought.
Märchen’s appearance irritated him. She had taken Abel’s form, mixing laughter into Abel’s voice as she babbled on.
<What would Abel Argento have done?>
Meanwhile, Fabien carried in teacups.
Emilio and Dietrich stood to one side of the office. He offered cups to the two who were staring blankly at Abel. Then, tilting a teapot heated by magic, he poured black tea.
[I hope it suits your taste.]
He offered a brief greeting, and—
“……Thank you.”
“Me too…….”
Emilio and Dietrich replied softly.
It did not seem like a situation where they could raise their voices. Märchen’s voice was loud, but more than that, the presence emanating from the silent Abel was far from ordinary.
<You would have already killed him.>
Clear killing intent.
Killing intent was leaking from Abel.
<If it were Abel Argento, there would be nothing to say. You would have killed him in a single stroke.>
Is that not so?
Märchen asked, but—
<Why are you not answering, Abel?>
Abel did not respond.
He merely looked at the weapons scattered across the round table.
From among them, he picked up Vanessa Bernstein’s repeating crossbow.
<Am I wrong?>
CRACK.
The sound of a bolt tearing through the air.
Without a word, Abel pulled the trigger at Märchen.
<Why are you shooting? It will miss anyway.>
CRACK again.
The bolt pierced through Märchen’s forehead.
<Stop it, Abel.>
CRACK, CRACK, CRACK.
Abel continued to pull the trigger in silence, but—
<You are wasting bolts.>
At last, he let out a sigh.
Bolts were useless against Märchen. They simply passed through her and lodged in the wall beyond.
“……I heard from Iris.”
That a damned mage would come looking for me.
Abel muttered.
<That is right. I came running because I wanted to see you. There is a mountain of things to talk about. If I told you everything I experienced wandering the world, even several nights would not be enough—>
“Enough.”
Get to the point.
Abel snapped coldly.
“There is information you need to share with me.”
<Oh dear. You are far too impatient. Would it not be fine to be a little lazier?>
CLICK.
The sound of a bolt being loaded into the repeating crossbow.
<All right, all right. Do not be like that.>
Märchen waved her hands and smiled.
<Of course, there is something I must report to you. But wait a little. We need another listener besides you.>
The Chancellor.
CIAR’s Chancellor.
Märchen shrugged and whispered, quiet enough that only Abel could hear.
<I need to have a conversation with him.>
Because unless it is me, no one will be able to communicate smoothly with a Dragon.