"How did this happen...?"
McDowell lay on the bed, his expression heavy.
Standing before him was Cromwell, gazing intently at McDowell's arm.
Specifically, where McDowell's forearm should have been, but wasn't.
The elbow was cut clean off, and a bandage was wrapped around the stump.
"Haah..."
For a wizard, hands were of utmost importance.
Of course, they were essential for swordsmen and ordinary folks as well, but to a wizard, they had a unique significance.
A wizard's hand was a conduit, a focal point for spells.
Most spells required the caster to gesture with their hand in the direction they intended the magic to take effect.
Although there were a few exceptions, the majority of spells relied on this directional cue.
Therefore, losing a hand meant more than just physical loss.
It symbolized the inability to wield magic as they once did.
Yes, McDowell still had his left hand intact, but it wasn't as simple as just switching hands.
People have habits, and switching dominant hands for casting was not easily done.
"Heh, at least I managed to save the child."
He referred to Yeniel.
Yeniel's condition had been dire, but thanks to Cromwell's quick application of healing spells and first aid, her life was no longer in immediate danger.
The real concern now was McDowell, with his severed arm.
"Principal..."
"I wasn't the only one who got hurt. Don't worry about me."
Cromwell exhaled deeply.
Then, with a grave expression, he asked,
"Was it The Rebels?"
"Yes. I faced off against their leader. He wields time magic."
"...Time magic?"
McDowell gave a nod, then continued,
"Let's first go over the situation. Given my current state, can you draft a report and send it to the palace for me?"
He gestured with his severed arm, hinting at his inability to write.
"...Understood."
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64ce79d606107d003c23ea27", id: "pf-5140-1"})And so, McDowell began recounting his confrontation with the leader of The Rebels.
After deciding to head to the North, I immersed myself in paperwork.
I spent most of my time in the student council room, diligently working through the piles of documents.
Surprisingly, the pace of processing was faster than I anticipated.
This was thanks to Luna.
"Rudy, I've finished all of it!"
"Already?"
Next to Luna was a towering stack of paperwork.
The volume of which would have taken me two to three days.
Yet, Luna managed to finish it all in just one day.
And she did this while also serving as an assistant in Professor Mcguire's research lab.
I knew Luna was quick with paperwork, but witnessing her efficiency firsthand was something else.
It wasn't as if she was being careless either.
Whenever I checked the papers Luna processed, everything was perfectly organized.
And so, a week went by with us immersed in paperwork.
"What's all this…?"
Rie looked at the mountain of papers stacked in the student council room.
That wasn’t a pile of pending tasks.
Those were all the documents we had processed.
Various reports and forms were piled up, occupying a corner of the room.
"Ah, Rie's here?"
I looked at Rie with tired eyes.
Rie sighed after seeing my worn-out state.
I had been so focused in the paperwork for a while now that I looked utterly drained.
While I knew heading North would also be challenging, my current workload made me long for the open expanses of the North.
But I wasn't the only one feeling this exhaustion.
"Ru... Rudy, this is the last document…"
Luna was also hard at work in the student council room.
Even when I told her she didn’t have to, Luna stayed, tirelessly sorting out the papers.
I wasn't sure what she meant by that, but seeing Luna gradually wear down was heartbreaking.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64cc9e79c7059f003e4ad4b0", id: "pf-5109-1"})For a week, from the end of our classes until nighttime, we processed documents together.
But having Luna by my side made it more bearable.
"So, are we almost done with the paperwork?"
I mumbled to myself as I looked around.
"Heh… Finally, it's over."
Luna seemed relieved, practically melting in her chair, her energy completely drained.
Rie sighed as she observed both Luna and me.
"So, are you finally going to tell me? Why all this paperwork?”
"The North."
I replied with a faint smile.
"I'm going to apply to go to the North."
"And what about you, Luna?"
"… I'll be heading to the North too."
I stared at Luna in surprise.
Avoiding my gaze, Luna cleared her throat awkwardly.
"From the looks of it, it doesn't seem like you two plotted this together."
Rie crossed her arms and looked at us.
"So, you're planning to dump everything on me and disappear? All three of you going off to have fun?"
"…Three?"
I looked at Rie with a confused expression.
"Locke is there, too."
"…Oh?"
I then remembered, Locke was indeed with us.
Locke was the son of Count Lucarion.
In retrospect, Locke's participation was pretty much a given.
I hadn't taken that into account.
So, I was essentially leaving everything to Rie.
"Um… I'm sorry…"
"You just realized?"
Rie squinted at me.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "663633fa8ebf7442f0652b33", id: "pf-8817-1"})Luna and I guiltily bowed our heads, sneaking glances to gauge Rie's reaction.
For a while, Rie silently stared at the two of us before finally speaking.
"Alright, go on then. You're going because of the grades, right?"
I blinked in surprise at Rie's unexpected approval.
"…We can go?"
"You were already planning on it anyway, weren't you? And all the paperwork is done."
Rie sighed and sat down on a chair.
"I figured you might do this, so I've already found a few people to take over."
"You knew we'd be heading north?"
"At this time of year, and seeing how hard you two have been working, it was obvious."
I was genuinely impressed with Rie's foresight.
Indeed, while we had most of the paperwork ready, there were other responsibilities.
The mid-term camp for first-year students.
An event we'd attended ourselves.
We needed people to handle that in our absence.
I'd been scouting potential candidates, but hearing she'd already done so impressed me even more.
"Rie…!"
I was deeply moved by Rie's words.
Luna seemed equally touched, mirroring my expression.
"You're incredible, Rie! Always thinking a step ahead!"
As I praised Rie, Luna gathered her hands, chimed in,
"You truly are the best, Rie! So smart and beautiful!"
"Hmm…"
Rie, trying to hide her slight blush, turned away.
Clearly, our flattery wasn't entirely unwelcome.
"The prettiest Rie in the world!"
"The wisest Rie in the entire empire!"
Luna and I continued showering Rie with compliments.
"Okay, okay, enough!"
Blushing, Rie backed away, waving her hands dismissively.
As our praises continued, the door to the student council room opened.
"Ah."
Luna and I froze, spotting the newcomers.
They probably heard our enthusiastic compliments.
"Um, hello?"
"…What are you doing?"
Emily and Kuhn entered the student council room. Emily gave an awkward, flustered smile while Kuhn looked at us with disdain.
"Ah…"
After an awkward silence and a series of explanations, we finally cleared up the misunderstanding - which wasn't really a misunderstanding at all.
Persia Territory.
In the main office of the estate, Astina was processing some documents.
Her father, the current head of the family, stood before her.
"Heh, at this rate, I might as well hand over the family affairs to you."
It had been quite some time since Astina began handling the responsibilities of the family head.
For the first month, she simply observed her father's work, but after that, she took over, managing the family affairs on her own.
Even without guidance, she was capable of handling everything.
Her inherent charisma made her popular among neighboring families, and she consistently represented the family at central* meetings, displaying all the qualities of a proper heir.
Because of her impeccable work, other nobles had begun to see her as the rightful successor of the Persia family.
The fact that her older brother Harpel was no longer around also solidified her position.
Astina smiled gracefully.
"It's all thanks to the guidance you've provided, Father."
The head of the Persia family looked at her with pride, a warm smile on his face.
He chuckled as he walked out of the room,
"Alright then, I'm off to rest. Take care of those documents."
"Yes, Father. Rest well."
Once her father left, Astina continued her work, processing the documents one by one.
As she did, she found herself gazing absentmindedly out of the window.
"I wonder how everyone is doing at the academy."
Not long ago, she heard that Rudy had become the student council president.
Rie was elected as the vice president, and Luna had also joined the council.
Hearing that news made her long to see Rudy's face.
It had been months since their last meeting.
She had been too busy before to miss him, but now, with things a bit more relaxed, she found herself wanting to revisit the academy, curious to see Rudy in his new role.
Just then, her secretary entered the office.
"Miss Astina, a letter has arrived."
"Oh? Let's see."
Astina took the letter from her secretary.
Upon seeing the royal seal stamped on it, her eyebrows furrowed.
Though termed a 'letter', it resembled more of an official document.
Typically, letters with such a prominent royal seal were for official matters, not personal correspondence.
Drawing a letter opener from her desk, Astina carefully opened the envelope.
The contents related to the northern region, specifically about an impending beast invasion there, with a request for support.
"The northern region..."
Upon hearing 'northern region', she immediately thought of Locke.
Though they hadn't spoken much, he had been a part of the student council during her tenure as president.
He was a diligent worker, dedicated to his duties.
While they weren't too friendly initially, by the end of her term, she had grown quite fond of him.
"It's his territory. I must provide proper support."
Astina pondered deeply, contemplating the best way to assist.
She finally made a decision.
“Riche.”
“Yes?”
Astina called her secretary and flashed a sly smile.
“Could you ask my father something for me?”
“What would you like to ask...?”
Astina lightly tapped the letter she was holding.
“Ask him if it’s alright for me to personally go there.”
Astina was becoming quite impatient.
She had been enduring the same daily tasks and putting on insincere smiles for months now.
She longed for a break to relieve her stress.
The letter mentioned that students from the academy were helping, so perhaps Locke might also return to his territory.
If that was the case, she could ask how Rudy has been doing lately.
She chuckled, all while being completely unaware that Rudy was headed to the North.
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*it was said before that the palace/capital are located in the central territories. So central, is just a faster way to reference that.
