There were many complicated matters, but the trouble with Marquis Bismarck’s heir was resolved…
[Thank you so much…!! I will never forget this kindness…!!]
“Thank him instead; I didn’t do anything.”
As she spoke in a voice mixed with mechanical sounds, Silphier bowed her head repeatedly.
In response to her, Leje glanced coldly at Rudell.
If you think about it, all she did was officiate the duel, so her reaction was only natural.
[Thank you so much… Count Weinstein…!! I can’t believe you went this far for someone like me…]
“Don’t say that; we’re in the same class.”
At her words, Silphier began to bow her head toward Rudell, who waved his hands jokingly.
Helping her was part of his duties as a member of the Student Council’s Discipline Corps, but it was also a personal matter for Rudell.
‘If I make a good impression, I’ll be able to get closer to her a little faster…’
Recruiting her was essential in preparation for future incidents.
As these events piled up one by one, it would inevitably become easier to recruit her.
Anyway, from Rudell’s standpoint, helping her was a win-win situation.
[If there’s ever anything I can help you with regarding machinery or alchemy, please feel free to come…!! I will help as much as I can…!!]
“Thanks for saying that. I’ll see you later.”
Silphier, who bowed her head, moved away, and the people gathered around began to scatter one by one.
A moment later, Rudell and Leje also left…
“Yaaawn… Today is over…”
As he looked up at the darkening sky, Rudell stretched, feeling tired.
“By the way, was that girl a girl?”
“Yeah. Didn’t you know?”
“Of course not! She’s all wrapped up in armor and always writes on paper when she talks.”
“Well… I guess that makes sense.”
Actually, if Rudell hadn’t known the original story, he might’ve mistaken her for a boy too.
“But how did you know she was a girl?”
At his words, Leje narrowed her eyes and asked.
“Uh? That’s just a gut feeling, I suppose.”
He knew because he’d seen the original work.
Not being able to say that, Rudell trailed off in his answer.
“Hmm… I see?”
“What? Why’re you looking at me like that?”
Rudell looked at Leje with a startled expression as she let out a low groan…
“Nothing.”
“…?”
Then she shook her head, as if it were nothing, and began to walk away.
Not realizing that Silphier had settled in as a danger in Leje’s mind, Rudell followed her with a puzzled look.
*
That night. First-year dormitory.
Creeeak, creak, creak.
In a space more suited for a storage room than a dormitory, a girl was working on a large set of armor.
With a noticeably small frame, skin so pale it hardly ever saw sunlight, and disheveled black hair, dark circles sat beneath her deep black eyes.
Her name was Silphier Peleniess.
An A-1 class student, and a girl whose appearance no one at the academy recognized.
“Ahh…”
With a short sigh, she wiped the sweat from her forehead.
Assembling loosened gears, applying oil, and refueling—that was a critical task she didn’t skip every day.
But…
Hiss! Pshhhhh!!!
“Wh-What!?”
With a hissing sound, white steam burst out, and the startled girl quickly reassembled the pipe.
But the steam filled the room in an instant.
As visibility faded in the thick vapor, the girl stumbled to the window and opened it.
The steam from her room began to escape through the window…
“Haah…”
A short sigh escaped the girl’s lips as she watched the scene unfold.
It was strange.
Normally, she would have finished her checks by now and would be getting ready for bed for the next day.
But she still hadn’t completed her checks.
“Could it be because of that incident…”
Lost in thought, the girl muttered and recalled what had happened earlier.
The heir of Marquis Bismarck, shouting and demanding her to descend.
But she couldn’t do that.
If she stepped out of the armor, she felt she would faint immediately.
In that state, unable to move either way, a boy had extended his hand to help her.
“Why would someone like you…”
When most people encountered her, they usually displayed one of two reactions.
Either they would avoid her in fear or they would express curiosity, speaking a few words, only to lose interest in her dull demeanor.
But…
[Don’t say that; we’re in the same class.]
A harmless-looking boy with sparkling green eyes and light brown hair had said those words.
“Same class…”
Muttering the words, as if enchanted by them, the girl let out a short sigh.
To be honest, she didn’t feel any sense of belonging to the A-1 class.
Naturally, no one had ever tried to talk to her, and she didn’t feel the need to approach anyone else.
Existing but not existing.
Living like air.
That was what she had hoped for, but…
Strangely enough, at that moment, it felt incredibly suffocating.
-Why do you look like that!?
-Stop with the pointless things and focus on studying etiquette!
“Ugh…!!”
At that, unpleasant memories began to flood her mind.
Shaking her head vigorously to shake off those thoughts, she rose from her seat and sat on her old bed.
“Haah…”
Once again, she gazed blankly into space, and another short sigh escaped her lips.
What was happening to her?
After pondering for a while, she still couldn’t reach any conclusion.
She had never felt this way before.
Mathematics and machines always yielded certain results.
“Rudellheit… Weinstein…”
Along with an indescribable feeling, she muttered that name without thinking.
*
The northern tower of the academy.
The peculiar tower, which widened as it went up, was often referred to as the “Wizard’s Tower.”
In fact, the subjects taught in the northern tower were magic, mage engineering, and alchemy, making the name quite fitting.
At the very top of that tower, in the department head’s office.
“Hah…”
An elderly man let out an annoyed sigh as he put down the document he had been reading.
His dusty gray eyes had a sharp look.
His thick gray hair and beard, along with wrinkles on his hands, proved that he had lived a long life.
“What on earth is going on…”
The contents written in the documents were all the same.
It reported that organizations set up outside the academy had lost contact within a matter of days.
“Could it be that the kingdom caught on…”
He ground his teeth with a grinding sound.
“No, that can’t be it…”
But, no matter how he thought about it, it didn’t seem likely that the kingdom had noticed.
If the kingdom had caught on, things wouldn’t be so quiet.
If that were the case, the peacekeeping force, the capital’s garrison, and the royal guards would be scouring the Royal Road right now.
Yet, there hadn’t been any reports of their movement.
“Who the hell…”
That meant there was only one conclusion.
Someone was attacking them with some kind of objective.
“How dare…”
His voice was laced with anger as he clenched his fist.
It had been ten years since he had been relegated as a low-ranking professor at the academy due to a power struggle.
How long had he endured waiting for revenge on those bastards who had thrown him into this place?
It was unacceptable for him to be interrupted now, just when he was about to reap the fruits of his labor.
“I have no choice but to bring that out…”
Muttering that, the man rose and waved his hand into the air.
At that moment, the space tore open, revealing a shimmering portal.
Slowly stepping into it…
“I cannot be interrupted by some unknown fool…”
Arriving in a certain space, he looked around.
An indeterminate dark space.
Thick and slender cables sprawled across the ground, leading to large tanks lined up in a row.
And inside, beings that were difficult to describe were curled up.
Creatures that seemed to amalgamate the features of several species.
Anyone could easily guess that they weren’t normal life forms.
“I won’t allow anyone to hinder me…”
A foreboding smile began to appear on the man’s face as he watched the scene…
And from that dark space, a laugh tinged with madness began to resonate.
