A month rushed by like an arrow.
To be precise, it flew by as I worked like a madman, and suddenly the festival was right around the corner.
Even though the festival wouldn’t officially start for another two days, the streets were packed with students. Merchants were hawking all sorts of wares, while parents and visitors had already arrived, staying in the designated dormitories.
A small parade was taking place, excited students were engaging in duels in their youthful exuberance, magic was erupting everywhere, the Guard Force was on the move, buildings were collapsing, and the academy itself was in shambles, damn it.
It was such a financially disastrous sight that I pulled the curtains shut.
“Ha….”
In the dimmed office, with blackout curtains drawn, I decided to check the report one last time instead of looking at the waste of money called the festival budget.
The most important document stored at Grandis Akademi, stamped with a top-secret seal.
It contained the names of the Headmistress, myself, and Kirke.
[Little Hair Project]
So, there was a secret plan ready to put an end to this festival.
‘I’ve done everything I needed to.’
For the past month, I had been busy preparing for the potential problem if the festival only lasted a day or two before being abruptly canceled.
I gradually added hints of hair loss agents to Kirke’s research to ensure there was enough.
I ended up buying supplies with a clause in the contract stating, “If the festival is deemed to be unavoidably interrupted for unavoidable reasons, refunds will be issued,” instead of using a cheaper option.
I had allocated the dormitory for visitors as close to the exit as possible for quick evacuation.
The hair loss agents were prepared to rapidly vaporize, having a weak effect but lasting at least a day carried by the wind.
Ah, to prevent physical complaints and dissatisfaction directed towards Kirke, I even set up a barrier around her research lab under the excuse of her studies.
I had also prepared countermeasures for various other issues.
Now all that was left was…
Pop.
To set it off.
“…Finance Director? Why is it so dark in here? Why are your fists so tightly clenched?”
“Nothing! By the way, Isajangnim, what brings you here? I thought the final report regarding the festival was just submitted.”
“Ahem! Well, even if it’s called the final report, it’s all information we already know, right? I’ve finished everything, including that.”
The Headmistress, barging in without knocking, approached me with an uncharacteristic pout for her age.
What’s going on? I felt a strange sense of pressure.
“Um, the festival will end on the second day, right?”
“If students are ready to embrace hair loss, they can enjoy it a bit more.”
“There’s no way any student would do that. Anyway, um…”
While the Headmistress might be done, I still had things to finish, so I was hoping she would say whatever she needed to quickly.
Or could it be…?
“Why do you keep twisting in your seat? Did you arrange another gift exchange?”
“Of course not! It’s not that kind of thing I want to say….”
Then what is it?
Should I ask her to leave because she’s my superior, or should I just tell her to get lost?
Maybe it’s because I’ve been awake for three straight days, but my brain felt a bit foggy.
Anyway, I had to work for two more nights before the festival finally arrived, and I was about to ask her to leave when—
“F-Finance Director!”
“Gah! What’s wrong?!”
“Um, would you like to go watch the festival with me!?”
…Huh?
Did I hear that right?
Did I hear the same words I heard a month ago?
More importantly, what?
“Isajangnim, just because it’s a festival doesn’t mean we can enjoy it like the students. It’s going to be even busier, not less—”
“Don’t worry about that! I’ve handled everything!”
“…Excuse me?”
“I’ve already taken care of about half of the Finance Director’s work, and the rest was conveniently mixed in with other departments!”
“…”
Are you serious? So you just passed off your responsibilities to other staff without telling me?
Is the Headmistress a god?
“At the very least, you can go home today! Of course, you’ll have to work on festival day, but… considering how slow you usually are with your work, I’m sure you’ll be free by evening.”
“Oh.”
I didn’t catch the rest; just the fact that I could leave work today hit me like a ton of bricks.
Does that mean I can actually sleep? Not just for ten or twenty minutes, but for over three hours?
Is the Headmistress a deity? Didn’t I have that thought earlier as well?
“So, if you’d give me some time…”
“Let’s go!”
“Finance Director…!!”
“If we just have the time, it’s fine!”
It’s not like I should be the one to say this when I was the one trying to end the festival, but if I were no longer working, I’d want to enjoy the festival to my heart’s content.
It was a festival that I hadn’t really enjoyed in three years at the academy. It’s ironic that it would be the first real one I’d attend since becoming a staff member but whatever.
“Really? You’re not joking, right? You’re serious!?”
“Have you ever seen me lie?”
“…Too many times.”
“Then this time I won’t.”
“You promised!”
Why is she so happy over just going to see the festival for a little while?
…Still, thinking back, I can see why.
‘There’s no one else the Headmistress can relax around other than me.’
The Headmistress had seen numerous festivals over the decades. If she wanted, she could’ve roamed around under the cover of anonymity all she wanted.
But isn’t it far more enjoyable to wander around together during a festival rather than alone?
In that regard, there was no one else she could go with; the Academic Director treated the Headmistress like a goddess, and the other department heads were intimidated by her.
Given her image as a resilient, authoritarian figure, it’s no surprise the Headmistress couldn’t show a comfortable demeanor around them either.
Thus, I was the only one she could engage in relaxed conversation with and stroll around.
‘Last year I was too busy to even think about enjoying the festival.’
Perhaps this year would be the first true festival the Headmistress could enjoy.
That thought made me feel oddly sad. I mean, how old is she anyway?
I immediately placed a hand on her shoulder. It looked like her eyes were getting a bit teary.
“It’s fine, Isajangnim. From now on, isn’t it okay to enjoy it?”
“Finance Director…? W-Why are you suddenly touching me?”
“I understand everything. Let’s definitely go see the festival.”
“Um…?”
What must the Headmistress feel, asking a kid who’s over six times younger than her to go to a festival? It’s like me asking a three or four-year-old to go with me.
I felt an old Confucian spirit awakening within me. Of course, we must respect our elders.
It’s akin to a grandmother asking her grandson to accompany her to a senior citizens’ center party. I might have been too focused on work.
Now, let’s leave the gift exchanges behind… no, I still can’t excuse the amount squandered over two years. It would only be fair to work for two years to make up for it.
Anyway…
“I’m looking forward to the festival, Isajangnim.”
“Yes!”
So then.
Can I really clock out right now…?
*
“Is this right?”
Chloe looked up at the sky, muttering to herself for the hundredth time.
Originally, she would have seen this view from her dormitory room or training facility.
But now it was a bit different.
Boom!!
“Hey! Build over there! Make the angle a bit steeper!”
“The gap between these stalls is narrowing; we need to widen it…”
“Quickly move those materials!”
“………….”
Dust was flying, sweaty workers were bustling about, and materials like logs and stones were piled high in the construction site.
Chloe found herself right in the middle of it.
‘…I thought I could just approach slowly as I was asked for help by the Finance Director.’
Having been rationally denied her date request to the festival a month ago, Chloe now faced the harshness of reality while hoping to gradually get closer by working together.
──What do you mean? You’re to head toward that construction site from now on.
──Me? I need to process paperwork in the office. Wasn’t it supposed to be a joint effort? How can you have a student handle the academy’s internal paperwork?
──Don’t worry. I’m sure Chloe will perform splendidly. You’ll get volunteer points and even a small scholarship!
Thinking back, the Finance Director did only say he needed help, not that they’d be doing it together.
Logically, it made sense to send Chloe, a mage, to where her skills could be utilized, rather than having her do generic paperwork.
To this construction site.
“Hey Chloe! Move those materials!”
“…Yes, yes.”
“Just as I thought, a student from Grandis Akademi!”
Using magic to move heavy materials, assemble, refine, and secure.
It wasn’t like there weren’t mages among the workers hired by the carpenter’s guild, but there wasn’t another mage on Chloe’s level.
While her lack of experience was a problem, after a month of work, it hardly mattered. They weren’t building a proper structure; it was only setting up stalls for the festival or a temporary performance space, so Chloe could easily adapt.
Initially, the workers had been a bit difficult with her, but they were now jokingly calling her “Cl” as a nickname.
Of course, knowing Chloe’s personality, she wouldn’t allow them to joke like that.
‘Keep it together. Hang in there.’
If anything went wrong here, it would immediately reach the Finance Director’s ears.
For the sake of a deal with the grown-up Chloe, she had to hold it together desperately.
‘Good, stay composed.’
‘Can you please stop irritating me even more!?’
‘Have you forgotten everything I taught you?’
‘…That’s exactly why I’m enduring this.’
Let alone the past month, the grown-up Chloe had kept her promise. The promise to teach Chloe magic.
She wasn’t a genius, just a prodigy, yet the lectures given by her future self were unparalleled.
It was like traversing a path no one knew about only to suddenly hit a well-paved road.
Following that path, Chloe’s abilities surged dramatically in just a month.
‘If I can just keep this up for another year…’
‘I could likely reach Rank 6. Multi-casting would become possible too.’
‘Insane.’
Rank 6. She had thought she’d need at least ten more years after graduating from the academy to achieve that.
That’s a different realm altogether. Reaching Rank 6 within ten years would be considered extraordinarily fast by imperial magic tower standards.
And Rank 6 was now just a year away.
…Suddenly, she thought of Ruth Spero.
‘Would that guy have even dreamed of Rank 6 if it weren’t for his return?’
‘The Ruth Spero I know was always at the bottom of the class. He graduated at Rank 4.’
‘A return… it’s impressive.’
Just learning from her future self yielded this much, what would it be like if the future her returned to the past?
At this moment, Chloe Pisty at the brink of seven is casually attending the academy. That would shake the entire imperial magic tower, let alone the academy.
Honestly, it might not be an exaggeration to say that unless she’s the Grand Mage, no one in the tower could surpass the grown-up Chloe.
‘Anyway, are you not going to tell me what happened?’
‘What do you mean?’
‘About the things that happened in the future. I get the Finance Director, but you seemed friends with Ruth Spero too.’
‘…If I knew, I’d know.’
‘What on earth happened?’
According to Grown-up Chloe, she was killed by the Dark Sword. Ruth Spero’s doing.
Just that information alone didn’t clarify if Ruth Spero suddenly snapped and killed her, if he had a reason, if they were enemies, or even if it was just an accident.
Moreover, why had she come to like the Finance Director so much? They’d spent years together, so why didn’t she return to the magic tower and stayed with him?
What had initially brought them together?
Chloe was curious about all of it, but—
‘Didn’t I already tell you? I can share much, but it won’t be good for you.’
‘…………’
‘You and I, despite the differences, are still Chloe Pisty. Our meeting happened through convenience and luck, not through proper reincarnation. Problems are bound to arise.’
‘So, those problems are why my mental state is deteriorating?’
‘More accurately, it’s about merging. I keep saying think endlessly. We may be the same Chloe Pisty, but we are fundamentally different beings.’
‘Ugh.’
Ultimately, Grown-up Chloe and Chloe were essentially the same entity. It is impossible to exist as two distinct consciousnesses in time.
Seeing the embarrassing form of Grown-up Chloe made Chloe think that “she is different from me,” but if she doesn’t keep thinking that, they’ll inevitably merge.
Ultimately, the very existence of “me” in the same timeframe became an issue. Grown-up Chloe had caught on during that month and warned Chloe.
She needed to view Grown-up Chloe and her current self as separate entities and stop prying into the future.
Even if it’s the future, it’s still the future Grown-up Chloe experienced. The more Chloe learns, the closer she grows to Grown-up Chloe mentally.
Then eventually—
‘You’ll lose yourself. Right now, you are still too immature.’
‘That’s frustrating.’
‘And even if that happens, there exists a gap between the body and the mind, so I’ll likely vanish soon. In the end, only a fool will be left behind.’
‘That’s terrifying.’
‘If you don’t want that, then stop asking questions and just focus on your training. As your level rises, I’ll be able to share more about the future without the risk of merging.’
‘…I get it.’
The conclusion is simple. Chloe, as she is now, must reach beyond Level 6 and strive towards Level 7, or even approach Level 8 closely.
But that’s easier said than done. The number of people who have even reached Level 7 among countless individuals on the continent is incredibly small.
But above all—
‘But how can I change the future without knowing anything about it?’
‘I’m not asking for much. Just ensure that my future experiences don’t repeat as they were.’
‘So you mean to prevent the Headmistress and Finance Director from dating?’
‘For starters, that’s the goal. But how the future plays out remains uncertain.’
‘So you were trying to do something about it, hence asking for insight into the future. It’s giving me a headache.’
Chloe sighed again. But she continued to work with magic, refining materials with one hand.
She had gotten used to multitasking like this. Being accustomed to handling multiple tasks or thoughts simultaneously is necessary to achieve multi-casting.
As she conversed in her mind with Grown-up Chloe while tweaking materials, a girl’s figure rushed past.
“…Huh?”
Turning her head towards a student running frantically to the side of the construction site, she noticed something amiss.
It was just an ordinary student, yet something felt off.
‘What’s going on?’
That girl had a strange aura of magic swirling slightly around her.
Like…
‘The Dark Sword?!’
‘Yes, that!’
The cursed power held by Ruth Spero while disguised as an assassin.
…That ominous, foreboding magic.
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