Chapter 17 - The Academy and the Chief Court Mage (Lumina's Perspective)
Now then, a sudden question for you all!
Why was I, Lumina Stylus, forced to attend my own older brother's lecture at the very moment my stomach was growling the loudest in the entire school?
"Mages, regardless of their rank, must possess the awareness that they are, in a sense, archaeologists. This is because one must know the ancient languages to wield magic. Up to this point... you are all students of the 'Magic Department,' so some of you may have known this since before enrollment—"
Receiving murderous glares from the girls,
and feeling a pang of guilt over the pungent inferiority complex radiating from some of the boys,
"—therefore, in short, most of the magic currently in existence can be said to be the great wisdom left behind for us by our predecessors. We decipher magic preserved in some form, such as stone slabs or orbs, and apply various improvements to it; this is what we call sorcery—"
Why did I have to endure this?!
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The prestigious Shesta Clove Academy. The premier educational institution that the Royal Capital Grenole boasts of. However, in reality, it is little more than a social venue for the nobility. Seventy percent of its students are wealthy young masters and young ladies, while the remaining thirty percent are those of true ability who have passed rigorous examinations. I, of course, belong to the latter group. Impressive, isn't it?
I could have prepared the sum of money that the Headmaster was so delighted to accept for enrollment, but my older brother surely would not have allowed it. After all, he is Onii-chan. If I had even suggested entering through the back door, Onii-chan would have undoubtedly issued a "one-month ban on risotto" to Elenoa.
I enrolled with reasonably excellent grades.
When choosing my course in my third year, I ignored the many options such as the 'Knight Department,' 'Arts Department,' and 'General Studies Department,' and chose the 'Magic Department' without a second thought. On that day, when I finished writing my choice on the selection form, I was surely shining brighter than anyone else!
I entered the Magic Department in my fourth year at age fourteen, and now, at fifteen, I am in my second year of the 'Magic Department.'
And in the second year, one must gradually begin to apply the fundamentals drilled into us during the first year. As part of this curriculum, they invite distinguished guests to lecture.
These distinguished guests are, above all, distinguished. They are authorities on certain types of magic, or individuals who have created new forms of sorcery. As for the status of these distinguished figures, we students cannot quite grasp it just by being told.
Now then.
I knew that a distinguished figure in magic would be coming for today's special lecture in the Magic Department.
After all, Onii-chan had told me so the night before.
'By the way, someone called the Chief Assistant is going to the academy tomorrow, so please listen to their talk appropriately.'
That's what he said. I didn't quite understand the duties of a position called "Chief Assistant," but I recognized that it was someone of lower status than Onii-chan. I felt no excitement whatsoever.
After the first period, we were moved to the auditorium. Blending in with the surroundings, who were bustling with anticipation over who might be coming, I walked down the hallway.
"Lumina-san, are you feeling unwell...?"
"No. I just find this a bit troublesome."
"Oh my."
The one laughing elegantly beside me was a young lady, a friend from the academy. Her curly black hair was cut to shoulder length and was glossy. She was also cute and had a good personality. She remained friendly even with a commoner like me.
Chatting with her, I entered the auditorium. I had to listen to a lecture for two hours straight until the lunch break. Thinking longingly of the bento box in my bag back in the classroom, I took my seat.
The auditorium was structured like a theater. The seating area had tiered steps, and there was only one desk on the stage at the front.
I wondered what kind of person would come. Would they be kind? I hoped for someone who would forgive me if I dozed off.
While thinking such things, I struggled against eyelids that felt like they were sticking together.
It was about time.
I realized this when all the lights in the auditorium were turned off.
I opened my eyes, stared intently at the side of the stage, and waited. And then, at that moment.
"...Huh?"
The surroundings buzzed, losing their composure. My sleepiness vanished.
The auditorium that had been before my eyes disappeared, and around us was a sky sparkling with stars.
The stage, the ceiling, the walls—all were gone. Only the seating area where we students sat floated in the night sky.
"What is this?" "It is beautiful..." "Is it magic? No, perhaps sorcery." While other confused students gazed at the stars, there were also a few who looked suspiciously at the buzzing students.
"Eh? What's wrong?" "Did something happen?" they asked.
Surely, they were seeing the usual auditorium.
—Ah, could this be.
As if to confirm my conviction, a voice suddenly rang out.
"Those who cannot see the starry sky, please raise your hands."
It was a voice that carried well, though he was not shouting. I recognized it.
The small minority who raised their hands as if invited all stared blankly in the direction where the stage had been. Their raised hands seemed to be trembling.
Thud.
Along with the sound of something hard hitting the floor, the 'starry sky' dissipated like mist.
The surroundings, still in a dreamlike state, gradually turned their gaze toward the stage. And then, they were struck speechless.
The person standing there had placed a staff, as long as his shoulder height, against the floor of the stage. That seemed to be the source of the sound.
Clad in a familiar black robe, with familiar blonde hair, and a familiar face—.
The air in the auditorium trembled.
"Now, those who can still see the starry sky, please raise your hands as well."
Again, hands went up sporadically.
They seemed not to understand what was happening and looked around anxiously.
The guy on the stage tapped his staff once more, making a sound.
And so, their illusions melted away. They brought him into their view and opened their mouths wide in shock once again.
He accepted our reactions with a smile and began his greeting without using any voice amplification device.
"Actually, the Chief Assistant was scheduled to come, but he collapsed on the way here, so I had to change the lecturer at the last minute. It is partly due to my poor management, but I hope you will forgive this as something that often happens with magic-obsessed sorcerers."
Surely, everyone knew who he was. As evidence, some were looking at me.
Even if they gave me looks that said, "Is this for real?" I wanted to ask the same thing.
Because I had not heard that he—the man himself, Onii-chan—would be coming!!!!
"Nice to meet you. I am Louis Stylus, the Chief Court Mage."
The venue grew heated.
"Eh, eh... really?"
"The real one...?"
"Oh my... wonderful..."
"I'm seeing him in person for the first time!"
"I thought it was a lie that the Chief was still so young."
Everyone was astonished even by the way he made the staff disappear from his hand. They were indeed not used to magic. I couldn't do such a thing either, but I was used to seeing it.
A boy in the seat behind me muttered, "That face is unfair." And rightly so. Even setting aside familial bias, Onii-chan possessed an extraordinary appearance and presence.
One can graduate from the academy at seventeen, but becoming the Chief at eighteen is simply impossible. We were overwhelmed by the fact that he was not that much older than us.
House of Stylus is not a noble house, but there are many nobles who wish to take him as a son-in-law to mix their bloodlines. He is a man whom young ladies strive to flatter. A sorcerer of rare talent. That is Onii-chan.
"To think Louis-sama would come to the academy himself."
"It is like a dream."
Onii-chan, who accepted the passionate gazes of the young ladies with a smile, was indeed impressive. Perhaps the flattery of students was merely child's play compared to the women who threw themselves at him, using their adult bodies as weapons.
"A short while ago, I cast a mild dark magic spell. There were those who could not see the illusion of the starry sky, and those whose illusions did not break until the end. Those are the people raising their hands now... ah, you may lower them now."
Those who had forgotten they were raising their hands, captivated by Onii-chan's appearance, hastily lowered them. They hurriedly straightened their postures. Among them, I spotted the black-haired friend who had spoken to me earlier, and I sighed at her state.
If I recalled correctly, she admired Onii-chan.
Covering her mouth with her hand, she looked as if she were about to cry, yet her eyes remained firmly fixed on Onii-chan.
It wasn't that she had approached me for the sake of getting closer to Onii-chan, but I felt somewhat complicated about it nonetheless.
"Those who possess mana have an affinity. And with that affinity comes resistance. This is common knowledge, but since you second-year Magic Department students have yet to have the opportunity to experience it firsthand... I decided to try a little experiment.
Illusions belong to dark magic. Those who did not see the illusion from the beginning possess the dark affinity, which grants resistance to dark magic. Conversely, those with the light affinity have no resistance to dark magic, so their illusions did not break until the end. It is simple, but interesting, isn't it?"
How many years had it been since Onii-chan did the same thing to me? Back then, if I remembered correctly, it was an illusion of a terrifying monster.
I felt that this time, he had done something quite mild.
"By the way, these two affinities are relatively rare among owners, and there are few in the current Court Magic Research Institute. When you students are busy with job hunting, someone from the Institute will likely come to recruit you. Dark and light affinities are particularly targeted, so please be careful. ...Please do not dislike me even if I come."
Most of the young ladies smiled faintly and looked as if they might faint. Some even said drunkenly foolish things like, "I would rather you take me away."
Such ladies did not know.
That Onii-chan's reason for living was to flirt with the housekeeper at home.
"Neither magic nor sorcery is omnipotent. There are many things they cannot do. The most prominent example is 'life.' Not only can one not resurrect the dead, but one cannot even create a single weed from nothing. One can accelerate growth, but—"
When Onii-chan directed his gaze into the air, the word 'Life' appeared in large letters of light above his head.
"Life cannot be created."
The moment he said this, there was a crisp sound of thin glass breaking, and the word 'Life' disappeared.
I, who did not even know what attribute of magic that was, was still very immature.
"And this is also famous: the same person cannot exist in different places at the same time. I believe it was the Chief before the previous one who died, his body split in two, while trying to perfect the illusion of cloning.
I recommend making efforts that are within your means. I also do not attempt the impossible. It is tiring, and one might die."
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And so, we have arrived at the beginning.
Even though the bell for break rang in the distance, there was no break time in this special lecture.
Behind me, I could hear the auditorium doors quietly opening and closing, and the sound of new participants flocking in with the wind. They must have heard the rumors of the Chief Court Mage from somewhere.
The small voices of joy were surely from the senior students of the Magic Department, but it seemed that students from other departments were also interested in the sorcerer hailed as the greatest. An extraordinary number of people had crowded into the auditorium.
"By the way, it seems you will soon be taking lessons on 'Contracts.' It will be theoretical for a while longer, but let us have a little chat. The teachers here will surely explain things several times more clearly and in greater detail than I, so please rest assured."
Contract. One of the spells that mages absolutely wish to master.
"A question. Is a contract magic or sorcery? Please raise your hands. ...Oh, you are quite fast. Then, you there, please answer."
"I-it's magic!"
"Correct. Contracts include types such as 'Mana Contracts' and 'Summoning Contracts.' Because a contract alone uses a large-scale magic circle, it is easily mistaken for sorcery at first glance. However, merely forming a contract is classified as the oldest, traditional magic. This is because it involves embedding only simple elements such as 'Connection' or 'Summoning.'
However, a contract alone is useless, so one must embed elements of binding force or obedience. That turns it into sorcery, but... let us set that aside for now. Then, can anyone state the three principles of contracts?"
Silence fell. Of course, we hadn't even started the theoretical lessons on this yet.
Hesitating in the atmosphere where no one wanted to speak incorrectly in front of the Chief, I met eyes with Onii-chan on the stage.
—He smiled.
Was this... an order to "speak"...!
This was bad. Dozing off was not permitted. Evading the question or escaping into reality was not permitted.
Trembling, I raised my hand, and Onii-chan's eyes narrowed as if to say, "Well done."
"Then, please go ahead."
"A-a contract must be made with mutual consent. One must not abuse the contracted beast. One must take responsibility."
"Yes, correct. By the way, regarding the first principle, a complete contract cannot be broken in the first place because it cannot be formed without consent. Make sure the beast you wish to contract with takes a liking to you."
Onii-chan's pressure was immense.
"I was also a bit curious once, so I tried to force a contract on a fairy who had fallen asleep on my lap. In the end, the contract ritual was rejected, so it seems one must be in a clear state of consciousness. It was a convenient Rank A if I could summon her, so I actually still try from time to time."
Elenoa had been subjected to Onii-chan's strange antics again.
I had been locking myself in my room so as not to disturb the two of them when they became sweet and affectionate at home, but this was a bit much.
I understood that he cherished her.
I also understood that he wanted to be able to summon her at any time.
No matter the method, that was how we siblings showed our love. Until she became willing to be with Onii-chan, we had to keep her within House of Stylus.
Someday, she would marry Onii-chan, and only then would I finally be able to call Elenoa "Onee-chan."
Even if House of Stylus was 'cursed by fairies' due to past mistakes.
Our feelings had not changed in the slightest.
"Hypothetically."
A firm voice brought my consciousness back to the front.
"Even if you reach a contract with a powerful existence, please refrain from disrespectful behavior toward the contracted beast. There are many who become overconfident in their own power, but you must not misunderstand.
It is by no means impossible for a servant to kill their master."
What was expressed in a gentle voice was a warning.
The sudden appearance of the word 'Kill' was too alien. Nevertheless, Onii-chan, who spoke it without hesitation, surely understood its meaning, knew it was too early for us, and yet said it deliberately.
Onii-chan, who could kill an unnamed opponent without even touching them with a single finger, knew best how terrifying his immense power was.
If Onii-chan was the one who created the silence, he was also the one who broke it.
Smiling elegantly, as if finding something amusing. And so, the talk continued.
"It has nothing to do with the presence or absence of a contract, but if you neglect them... they may completely hate humans and hide away with their kin, or in the worst case, it could become the trigger for an inter-species war.
A representative example of the former is the fairies. ...You have learned that this country exists on the sacrifice of fairies, haven't you? As not only the Chief Court Mage, but also as a member of the House of Stylus, I wish to believe in you all."
As a member of House of Stylus, I wish for it as well.
Even if others do not understand, the House of Stylus of the past was surely demonic.
"...I have a peaceful relationship with the fairies I mentioned earlier. With them, a relationship of mutual benefit is likely the best."
The lecture on contracts concluded with those words.
I had not predicted in the slightest the ruthlessness of the female army that would come for me after this lecture,
nor the fact that the relationship between the two at home would shift significantly by the end of the day.