Robert's Laboratory.
With an uncharacteristically serious expression, Robert stared at the document in his hand.
This was a report about the Fred family territory, a place Robert recently visited.
Although he had initially approached them for something else, it unexpectedly led to a more significant discovery: the connection between Levian and the Fred family.
The Fred family had been crafting magical tools since ancient times.
Naturally, crafting such tools requires magic circles.
In this process, a link to Levian, a master of these circles, was discovered.
Among the findings was Levian's research material stored within the Fred family's archives.
And this wasn't just any regular research.
"Damned fiends..."
Robert muttered under his breath.
Prominently mentioned in the documents was something deeply unsettling: human sacrifices and experiments related to magic tool creation.
Instead of conventional methods, they had tools crafted by sacrificing humans.
Details revealed that Levian's name was involved, indicating his participation in this disturbing research.
The timeline of this research began approximately three years before Levian's disappearance and concluded precisely on the day he vanished.
Robert though deeply.
The magic book that Luna possessed from Levian.
Could it possibly be a result of this research?
However, there was no definitive proof.
The essential parts of these research materials were encrypted, making it difficult to understand the exact nature of the work.
From what he could piece together, after fleeing, Levian ended up in the Railer family territory without anything other than the magic book Luna now holds.
Meanwhile, the Fred family aggressively looked for him.
Piecing all of this together, the only plausible conclusion was that Levian had run away with the results of his research.
"But something doesn't add up..."
Assuming Levian had run away with the research results, why didn't the Fred family have their own copies?
The research logs showed that Levian wasn't working alone; there were traces of the Fred family's involvement.
Logically, the Fred family should've been able to reproduce the research results on their own.
Yet, they hadn't.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64ce79d606107d003c23ea27", id: "pf-5140-1"})Instead of pursuing the research independently, they only pursued Levian.
While it was understandable they might be wary of Levian potentially leaking the research, it was strange that the Fred family hadn't created anything themselves.
Even if Levian held some unique knowledge, he'd disappeared almost 7-8 years ago.
With the resources and expertise at their disposal, the Fred family should've been able to continue and possibly complete the research.
But they didn't.
They abandoned the research the moment Levian disappeared.
Robert wondered: why would they make such a choice?
And then…
"Why did he say that to me?"
'You, who couldn't overcome your curiosity and greed, using human lives for magic. You cannot be my disciple.'
The words Levian had once said to him.
Right after the funeral of his own son, he said those words.
That moment was roughly a month before Levian disappeared.
Levian wasn't the only one who dabbled in the forbidden magic that took human sacrifices.
Robert had also tried his hand at it.
As a result, Robert lost his noble title, his mentor, and his son.
In a short span, he lost everything.
To live and to shake off his grief, he wandered battlefields.
There wasn’t a battlefield teeming with monsters where Robert wasn’t present, anywhere blood was spilled, he was there.
In such dire times, it was his friend Cromwell who came to his aid.
Thanks to Cromwell's suggestion, Robert could join the academy as a professor, allowing him to stay there till now.
With McDowell’s help, he managed to keep his past a secret.
But the widely-known incident involving his once-famous son couldn't be kept a secret.
Still, Robert accepted this calmly.
He knew he was to blame for his actions.
"Haah…"
Robert set down the documents with a heavy exhale.
Levian's face flashed in his mind.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64cc9e79c7059f003e4ad4b0", id: "pf-5109-1"})His mentor, who had once abandoned him.
To think that he did something similar...
No, something even worse than what Robert had done, made anger course through him.
"That damn fool…"
Robert's words were filled with anger, sorrow, and a profound sense of loss.
The day before the entrance ceremony.
"Senior~."
Yuni approached, calling out my name.
"How do you always know where I am?"
I frowned as I addressed Yuni.
I was at a training ground on the outskirts of the academy.
A place seldom visited.
I had chosen this secluded spot, thinking it would be spacious enough to practice magic.
But, as always, Yuni effortlessly found me.
"Well, I have my ways,"
Yuni said with a playful smirk.
I stared at her, then looked around.
"Why do you keep coming here if you're just going to run away when Rie shows up?"
"Ah, I won’t be running today."
I narrowed my eyes at her statement.
Yuni, noting my expression, pointed towards the academy's main building.
"Sis is meeting with Cromwell right now."
I frowned at her casual tone.
"Regardless of how close you are, refer to him as 'Vice Principal.' Calling him without his title is a bit disrespectful, isn’t it?"
She pouted,
"What's with 'Vice Principal'? His name is Cromwell, so I call him that."
While I felt her point was somewhat valid, it still felt proper to show respect.
"But shouldn't you at least use an honorific? Rie addresses him formally, you know."
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "663633fa8ebf7442f0652b33", id: "pf-8817-1"})"Nah, I like my way."
She stuck her tongue out slightly.
Though I was tempted to give her a gentle knock on the head, I held back, considering the repercussions of handling a royal body in such a manner.
"But I’ll keep calling you 'Senior*' since you seem worthy of respect!"
"Thanks," I said.
I wanted to ask, 'What do you know about me to deem me more respectable than Professor Cromwell?' but refrained, realizing it would only lengthen the conversation.
"Anyway, stop visiting so often. You always come and just... watch."
I grumbled at Yuni.
Lately, her frequent visits meant I developed a habit of postponing tasks until after she left.
It was more efficient that way, given how distracting Yuni could be.
"Can't I just come to see someone I like?"
She tilted her head, wearing a mischievous grin.
"Stop lying. It’s obvious."
As I said this, Yuni slowly walked towards me.
Stopping right in front of me, she looked up directly into my eyes.
"What does 'liking' even mean? Isn’t it just what one feels?"
She asked with a playful smile.
I just shook my head.
"It's not that simple."
"Can you define love, Rudy?"
"I can't define it, but I'm sure what you're feeling isn’t love."
Upon hearing my words, Yuni pouted and stepped back.
"You're quite the heartbreaker, aren’t you? Even when a girl expresses her love like this, you continue to reject her."
"Think whatever you want."
As I tried to end the conversation, Yuni stopped pressing the issue, seemingly losing interest.
Regardless of whether Yuni was watching, I returned my focus to my original task.
After a while, Yuni, looking slightly tired, took a seat on a nearby bench.
From there, she attentively watched my every move.
After a significant amount of time had passed,
"Phew..."
I finished preparing the magic.
A spell that uses mana stones as a medium.
Although it's an expensive spell—consuming one mana stone for a single use—its effectiveness is undisputed.
I was in the midst of testing it out.
Typically, all you needed for this spell were a mana stone and your own body.
However, I brought along some protective gear and some items just in case, causing the preparation to take longer than expected.
Having completed all preparations, I stole a glance behind me.
Yuni was on the bench, curled up with her legs folded.
Despite yawning and wiping away a tear, probably out of boredom, she remained in her spot, continuing to watch me.
I doubted the magic would affect Yuni, given the distance between us.
After all, this was a summoning spell.
I began to channel my mana, wrapping the mana stone with it.
The mana stone was encased once, then twice, and again and again.
Soon, the multi-layered mana stone began to emit a radiant glow.
But as it grew brighter, cracks started forming on its surface.
Timing it perfectly, I chanted,
"I Summon thee, Behemoth."
Just as the sea has Leviathan, a demon governing the waters, the earth has Behemoth, a demon governing the land, capable of utilizing abilities related to all minerals, soil, and terrain.
Behemoth was one of the higher-ranking demons that could be summoned through dark magic.
With Professor Robert's guidance, I managed to get a rough understanding of it.
However...
"Ugh..."
A powerful gust of wind suddenly blew, and the ground cracked open to reveal Behemoth emerging from the rift.
The figure of Behemoth emerging from the torn ground...
"Pwoo.."
"Oh my, how cute."
...was a tiny elephant.
The very elephant that had protected us during our battle with Vice Principal Oliver.
Its true identity was none other than Behemoth.
But instead of the colossal form that Robert had previously summoned, what stood before me now was an elephant no bigger than the fist of a grown man.
“...Is this considered a success?”
“Pwoooh~~~!!”
However, the elephant's reaction seemed off.
It appeared to be stomping its foot as if it were angry.
I slowly approached the behemoth.
And then I spoke.
“What's bothering you?”
“Pwoooh! Pwoooh!! Pwoooh!!!”
What is it saying?
“How dare such a weakling summon me! Someone of your caliber has no right to call upon me!”
From behind, Yuni spat out these words. I turned to look at her.
“...What are you doing?”
Yuni didn't respond to me but just kept staring at the elephant... no, the behemoth.
“Pwoooh! Pwoooh!”
“Summoning me, of all beings! It's a disgrace to our lineage!”
Yuni seemed to be interpreting the behemoth’s cries.
Rubbing my chin, I looked at Yuni and asked,
“You can understand what it's saying?”
I pointed at the behemoth as I spoke.
Yuni looked at me with a puzzled expression.
“No? I just tried guessing. How could anyone understand what ‘pwoooh pwoooh’ means?”
Yuni replied as if it was obvious.
“...”
All I could do was stare blankly at her.
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Another one later. ('-'*ゞ
*hmm I decided that when she calls 'Senior Rudy' it'll just be Rudy, but when she calls him by just senior but no name, I'll have it as senior.
