“……Pisty?”
“………….”
“Chloe Pisty, student?”
In the classroom of the Field of Magic at Grandis Akademi.
In the introductory magic course for Rank 4, a class that only a handful of top students could enroll in.
Privately, she might have been daydreaming, but during the lecture, Chloe, who usually displayed a model student demeanor, was completely zoned out.
From the professor’s perspective, it was outright disrespect, but Chloe Pisty was no ordinary student.
She was a Rank 5 Mage and the pupil of the Empire’s Magic Tower’s Grand Mage. Moreover, she had always been the epitome of a model student.
The professor, thinking she must be quite tired, switched targets to another student and continued the lecture.
During the ordeal, thoughts ran through Chloe’s mind.
“Good grief. Ugh.”
“………….”
“Is having a pretty face all that matters? Acting all cool just because you’re on staff? Seriously ridiculous.”
“At least try to sound a bit more amusing?”
“That’s a sneer, a sneer. Don’t tell me I’m going to fall for such obvious flirting in the future? No wonder I get so flustered in front of Adam.”
Chloe was having a one-sided conversation with her adult self.
It wasn’t the usual magic lessons or inquiries about the future, nor was it some subtle mental battle.
Rather, it was Chloe just venting to her adult self.
“Anyhow! You think I might fall for that little moment? Don’t worry, I keep my promises. I absolutely won’t fall for Adam, not while I’m like this!”
“……So you’re calling him Adam now?”
“Uh, um?”
“You used to just call him the Finance Director. It sounds like you’ve switched to a different title.”
“Well! If I want to get closer to Adam, even if I don’t want to, I have to build some rapport, right? It’s just part of that! I have absolutely no ulterior motives!”
Even amidst her explanations, adult Chloe’s teasing left her visibly flustered.
Still, it was Chloe who was composed, while adult Chloe looked increasingly annoyed.
After stammering a series of justifications, Chloe cleared her throat and turned her attention to the adult Chloe.
“Anyway! The one who should be asking questions is me. Weren’t you supposed to be by Adam’s side during that little fireworks thing? Didn’t you lead me to that spot for that purpose?”
“That’s not wrong. It’s just that I had something even more important to deal with.”
“Something important? Did you find something more important than Adam?”
“Nothing much, I just changed one of the futures I knew. But it’s not a bad thing.”
Changed the future, huh.
Adult Chloe was a spirit but had reached the edge of Rank 7 as a Mage. She likely held some unawareness about how much influence she could exert, perhaps using methods Chloe didn’t know of.
But more than that…
“Hmm, is that so?”
“……What?”
“I was just thinking, is changing the future really more important than meeting Adam? … Ah.”
“Where did the girl go who just said she wouldn’t fall for Adam?”
“I wouldn’t fall for him! I mean! It’s only that you know what? Since your goal ties to Adam, meeting him is essentially changing the future! It’s a matter of efficiency!”
As adult Chloe’s voice sounded like she was clicking her tongue, Chloe’s worries grew louder.
After a few more back-and-forth exchanges, the sound of a bell suddenly drew them away from their mental chat.
The lecture had ended.
“Well then, ahem! There’s no next class… so…”
“You want to go see Adam?”
“Why? I’m just trying to help you quickly.”
“Well, I didn’t say you had to. Anyway, go fix your makeup and tidy up your clothes.”
“Of course I should.”
With no time for the usual courtesy greetings to her professor, Chloe dashed off to the nearest bathroom near the classroom and quickly fixed her makeup and outfit using magic.
She made her hair flow nicely, touched up her dark circles and slightly rough skin, and kept her makeup subtly light.
Having finished her grooming quickly, Chloe used her transfiguration magic to step outside the lecture building.
“Where would he be today?”
“At this hour, he’s probably working. But he also spends about 2 out of 10 days working outside at this time.”
“Last time it was the professor’s research building; the time before that, it was the club headquarters. Should I sneak over to the professor’s research building again under the pretext of meeting Dean Villend?”
“First, let’s scan the area with detection magic.”
As if she was used to it, they chatted about Adam while continuously using detection magic.
Since working together with Adam on the summoning ceremony a month ago, Chloe and her older self had established this daily routine.
However, despite the effort, Adam spent most of his time in his office, yielding little to no results.
Nevertheless, it did grant her the opportunity to meet Adam during the hair-loss incident.
“Nothing’s coming up… Today seems like a bust.”
“You’re being more proactive than usual, huh?”
“What do you mean? This is all for the sake of our agreement, right?”
“You used to show signs of annoyance or grumbling about it, but those things seem to have vanished since that last festival day.”
“…It’s just your imagination.”
In any case, it was merely a figment of her imagination. There was no way she could have truly developed feelings for Adam.
She simply thought of him a bit more often, remembered the face she saw under the fireworks, and revisited the words he said every night.
Just that much, and calling it love? Was that why her future self seemed so shy? She was probably as inexperienced as it got in love.
Of course, given her current self had no romantic relationships or love experiences, she thought that way.
Thus, the reason she felt a bit down was not because she missed Adam. It was just a chance occurrence.
After scanning all the places Adam frequented, Chloe frowned as she stepped onto the nearby street.
Suddenly, she sensed a disturbance around her.
“There’s something off…”
It felt like deja vu.
When she noticed a gathering of students in one area and teleported up to the rooftops around them.
“……The Headmistress.”
“Curiously, this is similar to last time.”
With an eerie voice from adult Chloe.
Chloe recalled the day she met Ruth due to a dream. Reflecting on it, Ruth Spero insisted that it was just a bad dream and told her to erase the memory, but perhaps that was all intentional?
Regardless, he was a Rank 6 knight and a reincarnator from the future. Having previously disguised himself to target her, she needed to be cautious.
However, showing too much wariness might raise suspicion in the opposite direction, so she thought it best to avoid any accidental encounters rather than clumsily act.
For that reason, she had been learning distance vision and stealth magic from adult Chloe.
In the midst of pondering how best to deal with the reincarnator, adult Chloe’s thoughts remained unchanged.
“What an annoying fool.”
“Let me ask this, is your reaction because you lost Adam to the Headmistress?”
“Much more complicated than that.”
“Complicated my foot. But how is that even possible?”
“What’s not possible?”
Even with the somewhat irritable response from adult Chloe.
Chloe pressed on, questioning her prior curiosity.
“Is it true? Were Adam and the Headmistress really in love? For real?”
“…………….”
“Logically speaking, with the age difference… uh… you know.”
Of course, there weren’t any legal age restrictions or the like. But it raised questions of common sense.
Right now, the Headmistress was from a generation before Chloe’s mentor, the Grand Mage. She was literally from a hundred years ago.
Could someone that old fall for a man in his early twenties? And would he accept it?
Unless it was a calculated move, how could it be anything but pure love?
Even someone as naively innocent as Chloe found it difficult to comprehend.
“And besides, the Headmistress is Adam’s boss, the one who makes him work late nights and all-nighters. How could she say she loves someone like that…? When I was at the magic tower, I wanted to smash the heads of my seniors.”
“What I’m trying to say is, I feel bad for Adam who’s had to put up with that nonsensical garbage from that Headmistress! She should know her place…!!”
Of course, telling a Rank 1 commoner like Adam to know his place was absurd. It was rather directed at the Headmistress of Grandis Akademi, a hero of the kingdom, Rank 8, and one of the richest people alive.
It seemed questionable, but Chloe understood it naturally. After all, she couldn’t just let Adam be swept away by someone like the Headmistress.
This wasn’t a princess being kidnapped by a monster level of issue. Considering their age difference, it was almost a child molestation problem.
As Chloe and adult Chloe continued their tirade against the Headmistress, a voice suddenly came from behind them.
“Chloe Pisty, is that you?”
“……Headmistress.”
“It’s my first time meeting you. I never expected Pisty to have such a student.”
Just a moment ago, the Headmistress had been walking alone, surrounded by students.
Even if she was lost in thought, she had easily walked up to Chloe and adult Chloe, unfazed by their Rank 5 and Rank 7 Mage status.
The peak of strength one can attain individually is Rank 8. Not to mention, she was the unique martial artist throughout the continent.
It raised questions why she dressed like a Mage, but if she were doing it on her own accord, it made some sense.
Moreover…
“The Master asked me to send his regards to you.”
“Did Pisty say that? Please tell him I’m grateful. It’s been a long time since we crossed paths on our travels, so it’s nice to remember.”
She spoke respectfully to the pupil of the Grand Mage, who the Master himself addressed with the utmost respect.
Of the ten Rank 8s that exist in the Empire, the Grand Mage was among the top three in terms of influence. With his white hair and beard, he appeared benevolent yet also commanded respect from other rank 8 individuals. He treated mere mortals as if they were emperors.
…However, the truth was that the Headmistress’s influence didn’t match that of an imperial emperor. The Grand Mage’s extreme respect seemed to stem from past trauma, reflected in a bruise on his wrist that had not faded in decades.
Until moments ago, she had been contemplating the very same person, and yet now being face to face, all she could feel was overwhelming pressure.
The Headmistress bore no ill intentions against her.
But, that was only for Chloe.
Adult Chloe’s sentiments were something else entirely.
“How delightful. You must be a bit short on sleep?”
“What? What do you mean?”
“You don’t need to know details. To put it simply, I’ve sent her a special gift. She must be feeling overwhelmed at this point?”
A gift to the Headmistress, that monster?
Was that audacious or just arrogant?
Feeling the vast gap separating them, rather than feeling overpowered, adult Chloe just laughed.
With newfound courage, Chloe faced the Headmistress.
“This is an opportunity.”
“Excuse me?”
“A chance to get closer to Adam!”
The Headmistress was Adam’s boss and almost the only one who could issue orders to him.
She likely knew about Chloe assisting Adam since they had seen each other in Professor Kirke’s research lab.
However, Adam was pushing Chloe away (?). To be precise, rather than having her nearby, he was making use of her somewhere else entirely, such as construction sites or searches.
And with the Headmistress’s assistance, they could swiftly close that distance.
“It would be best if you did not.”
“Why? Are you jealous that the Headmistress might take notice of me getting closer to Adam?”
“………….”
“Now that’s just nonsense. I know you dislike the Headmistress, but that’s just over the line.”
At the very least, from Chloe’s perspective, there was no reason for the Headmistress to be jealous of her. After all, the presumption that the Headmistress was in love with Adam was just laughable.
For reasons unknown, adult Chloe remained silent, while Chloe decided to speak up with a triumphant smile.
“Would it be too forward to make a request of you, Headmistress?”
“Students’ struggles are also my burdens. Speak freely.”
“Well, the other day during the festival, I met Adam, um, the Finance Director…”
“……Excuse me, what did you just say?”
“Oh, to be precise, it was the last day of the festival. I happened to bump into the Finance Director while watching the fireworks from the roof…”
As she tried to lead into the story about the fireworks she saw with the Finance Director, she suddenly found herself unable to continue as the Headmistress froze mid-sentence.
Instead of the somewhat hostile look in the Headmistress’s eyes, her lips spoke.
‘…That’s a trace of Adam, isn’t it?’
‘I told you. That loser is the worst.’
This was because her detection magic had reacted.
Detection magic found traces rather than individuals. Finding specific targets required high-level magic of Rank 6 or above, so it was outside Chloe’s current capabilities.
Meaning, if the detection magic reacted, Adam had made contact with whatever it was and not just a fleeting sense.
And the detection magic only responded to strong impressions; the last question to ponder was why it was reacting from the Headmistress’s lips.
It was a simple inference.
“…………….”
“………….”
On the rooftop.
The gazes of the Headmistress and Chloe locked onto each other.
Eyes filled with suspicion and hostility.
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