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Chapter 60: Black Death (7)
Chapter 60: Black Death (7)
Chapter 60: Black Death (7)
Dear Meri,
Due to a family emergency, I won’t be able to come out to school for some time.
But you see, with the current situation I have a feeling that I won’t be returning to the Academy at all.
If I don’t return within three months, I ask that you take over my class.
I know. It’s a shameless request. But still, you’re the only friend I can entrust this to. So please take care of the gifted class students while I’m gone.
I beg you to do this for me. Please think of the money here as reparation for the trouble I’ve caused.
I’m sorry for getting angry last time. You don’t have to worry anymore about the situation with Flare. I’ve already let go of it.
Again, I apologize. Just as when I met you here for the first time ten years ago, I pray that our friendship remains.
It was 55 minutes prior to the standard attendance time. There shouldn’t be many teachers, let alone students, at this time.
There shouldn’t have been.
Jingle, jingle, jingle.
Ten pieces of silver dropped in front of me. While I looked down at my desk going ‘uhhh’, gold coins fell this time. I could only watch with a dumbfounded face.
[Whoa, it’s raining money!]
Miss Heerlein opened her hands and released the last of the gold. My head automatically lifted up.
“W-what’s this.”
“Incentive scholarship.”
“Incentive scholarship...?”
“Don’t you think a half-scholarship is too cheap for being admitted as second place? And what’s more, you released the patent for Flare which you worked so hard on. You had many opportunities to rake in money but I felt bad seeing you give it all up.”
“... This puts me to shame, then.”
Something like this should be turned down respectfully, because it goes against my life rule of give-and-take.
I had received a lot from Miss Heerlein until now. She pulled me out of the prison called Hasfeldt and also indirectly helped me develop Flare. What more was I supposed to accept?
I desperately resisted, but Miss Heerlein kept shoving the money into my robe. I felt like some politician taking a bribe.
“Hey, you take it if a grown-up gives it to you.”
What do you mean grown-up? I could be older than you.
[Ah, seriously! How much do you have in your bank that’s got you so resistant?]
Account, as soon as that word came up, my defiance diminished rapidly. It collided against the wall of reality.
[Let’s say that you get through this semester and the next. But there’s still three years left ahead of you so when do you plan to make the money and graduate?]
Ow, hit me right where it hurts, why don’t you.
In the end, I had to kneel before reality. I suddenly recalled the conversation we had when we went to the sushi place.
The request to become a great mage and prosper this country.
“.......”
I couldn’t promise that much since I was leaving after learning all the magic.
But if it was making a battle weapon potent against all Magic Beasts, then I could somehow make that work. That was going to be my repayment to the person who took care of me here, a parting gift.
Immediately after Miss Heerlein went to the lectern, I pulled out my bankbook from the hipsack and opened it.
[Account Holder : Aether (No surname)]
[Account Number : 101-31364184-71-30507798478]
[Account Amount : 343,708 Loubre]
Besides the interest gained from the account balance, I didn’t have any other income. The only money I was making was the tutoring fee from Lotte, but this was being saved up for living expenses so it couldn’t really be called tuition money.
“... Again with the money.”
At the very least I need to have another source of income before summer break.
I didn’t have to think long, because luckily, Vermel soon arrived and offered a deal.
“You know that mosquito repellant scroll you made last time?”
“What about it?”
“Can I apply for the patent?”
Right, there was that. I told him I wouldn’t mind and waited for the morning meeting.
I was back to the front row due to Lotte’s pleading. With Professor Hasfeldt gone, I had no more reason to listen from the back after the Flare incident.
Come to think of it, I taught Lotte quite a few things and also learned a lot in return. The way it worked was I would teach her Fire Magic theories and using that, she’d offer new ideas.
And based on these discussions, Lotte was apparently going around to different labs and planning a new magic that would help with beast subjugation. She wouldn’t tell me even when I asked.
Meanwhile, if I looked in the back I could see Freyr still drunk. It seemed she couldn’t recover from her hangover last night.
“My head hurts....”
So did mine.
For some reason lately, I’d feel crappy whenever I woke up. It felt like there was an imaginary switch in my head and someone was flicking it on and off. I’d feel better about ten minutes after waking up, but... I didn’t catch anything, I hope?
Right after the trivial morning meeting, it was the first period. Earth Magic class began.
“Today I’ll be teaching you remote transmutation. It’s the most important thing in the solids division of Combat Magic.”
Transmuting required materials. The law of equivalent exchange, that was the foundation of transmutation. But today, Miss Heerlein didn’t bring materials for transmutation.
“Instead of explaining, it’s better to just show you, right? Normally for transmutation, it would be key for the person doing it to bring the material, but....”
Some of the stone particles that had been supporting the ceiling turned into a sharp spike and fell with a Puhk. It was like a stalactite dropping because it couldn’t bear its own weight.
At that, the kids let out ‘ooooh’s in astonishment. A magic that was non-verbal, pulling the material directly from nature.
“This is remote transmutation. If used well, it can catch someone off guard from a place no one can see.”
“Then it’s mostly used for assassinations, right?”
“If you can specify the exact coordinates. To use the technique you mentioned, first of all, you have to go deep into arithmagics. You obviously have to know how to transmute the material, and you also need the ability to minimize the difference between kinetic and potential energy.”
“But it’s still possible.”
“Of course. I’ll give you an example.”
Miss Heerlein turned around and faced the chalkboard.
Then in the next moment, a part of Freyr’s desk transformed into a human hand. That hand tapped both of Freyr’s cheeks.
“Egyaaaahhh!”
The kid who had been off in dreamland on top of her desk screamed wordlessly and stood up from her seat.
“W-what the...!”
“Freyr, you shouldn’t be sleeping in class. I can smell the alcohol all the way here.”
“Euegh.”
The reactions of those watching split largely into two. They either burst out laughing at the ridiculous scene or analyzed the magic demonstrated by the teacher with fascinated eyes. Lotte and I were part of the latter.
And even then, there were students who fell into neither category. One was Vermel, and the other was Prince Klion. The two maintained the same agitated expression as if their souls were linked together.
Well, one was a transmigrator, but since the Prince was also making that face when he normally wore a creepy smile except for the times he was angry, I could only find it odd. It was as if he messed with Iluka and got beaten.
But it wasn’t something to think deeply about. I handed a tissue to Freyr who was drooling and faced the front again.
“This is obvious but it’s hard to use a magic of this level right off the bat. There will naturally be more of you guys who can do this as you learn complicated maths and accumulate real experience. Or course, this technique doesn’t apply just to Earth Magic but other ones as well so if you want to become a great mage, then be ready to learn it whenever regardless of your major.”
This was Heerlein’s teaching method. Demonstrate, then explain the general theory. It was a good way to heighten the focus of students who were tired from morning lessons.
Perhaps that was why. Miss Heerlein’s classes were captivating. Two hours had already gone by while I was busy taking notes. And that was how the class ended.
But it was only the end of first period. When one class finished, the next one awaited.
Back-to-back lectures, I was going to die.
At least the next period was about beasts taught by the loud teacher. Also known as the subject ‘Understanding Magic Beasts’.
Gym bro... No, Mr. Alex Noelheim’s lessons about the beasts were immensely engaging that even I listened with interest. Well yeah, since he had a booming voice. If I couldn’t concentrate, that in itself would be strange.
However, the person who stepped in after the break was Miss Heerlein. With a dark expression, she gripped both sides of the lectern.
One of the students asked.
“Why did you come back, Miss?”
I wondered the same.
Miss Heerlein taught us The Basics of Earth Magic, but she also started as the homeroom teacher of the gifted class a little while ago. Hence, the fact that she came in during another teacher’s class meant that she had something to announce as the homeroom rather than the lecturer.
Heerlein didn’t say anything unnecessary and got straight to the point.
“Today’s class on Understanding Magic Beasts is canceled.”
“Huh?”
“All of a sudden?”
“I just heard myself. It seems that Mr. Alex is rather ill.”
I didn’t get it. That fitness-obsessed teacher? Mr. Alex, the human protein equally jacked top and bottom whose cells making up his body seemed to be containing muscular mitochondrias was off sick?
... Well, that could happen. Even a healthy person was still human. How could he win against sickness?
“So no lesson today. There’s no one else to substitute either so you’re free to do independent study during this period.”
With that said, Miss Heerlein left. And right after that, someone shot up from their seat with a Clatter.
It was Vermel. The transmigrator dude had made an abrupt move.
He looked around with his face distraught. The nearby students asked carefully if something had happened, if there was a problem, but Vermel said it was nothing and sat back down.
Others wouldn’t understand but for me who read his expression, I could tell.
That something was starting to brew.