“It feels strange.”
It was the day before the vacation ceremony.
In the corner of the Hydrangea Garden, I finished the last lesson of the sester with White.
After explaining the assignnts for the vacation, we sat on the stone bench and talked while looking at the lake.
“Thanks to you, Senior Isaac, I’ve gotten noticeably stronger. It was like being taught by an archwizard. It’s an opportunity you couldn’t get even for a thousand gold coins…!”
“I wanted to get you to at least master 4-star magic.”
“Ah, is that so…? I was such a pest, right…?”
White suddenly beca depressed.
“No, I’m worse than a bug… I’m sorry for being such a worthless student…”
“That’s not what I ant.”
I ant that I’m sorry for not being able to teach you better.
I patted White’s head and smiled.
“Thank you for following along so well. You did great.”
Every ti I patted her head, White’s sad expression gradually softened. She felt comforted by my touch.
“Senior Isaac, you’re going to stay at the academy, right?”
“I’m planning to, but I might go out for a while to get so fresh air.”
I had to go to Düpfendorf for the coronation ceremony and visit the Whiteclark Duchy for the Council of Kings.
At the academy, I was planning to get special training with the help of the Stone Turtle, Gormos.
Also, if Calgart the Necromancer had already been resurrected, I was planning on hunting him down during the vacation. Although the Phantom Cat, Cheshire, hadn’t returned yet from gathering information.
The destination, Baron Ropenheim’s territory, was too far for my [Clairvoyance] to reach. Even if it could, it would still be difficult to locate the Phantom Cat.
I was worried about the Phantom Cat, but Alice reassured that she felt there was nothing wrong with him.
“Then, Senior Isaac, please visit Viyans whenever you have ti.”
Viyans was the capital of the Zelver Empire.
“It’s alright even if it’s after you graduate. We’ll treat you very well.”
“Thanks, I’ll think about it. Also, about the watch… it was unfortunate.”
“It’s alright. It’s nothing new anyway…”
I had already explained to White the true nature of the pocket watch.
The watch was taken by the Imperial Court and was being thoroughly investigated by the Imperial Tower.
White was shocked when she first heard my story.
She thought it was the only decent gift given by her mother, who had tried to assassinate her until her death, but it turned out to be the most dangerous of all, a hidden trump card.
She looked down for a few days, but she quickly accepted the truth as it was not the first ti.
“I was foolish to almost fall for a dead person’s trick… Now, I’ll just try to live diligently.”
Putting the past behind her, White smiled and held out her small fist to .
“I’ve received so much grace since coming to the academy. Thank you, Senior Isaac. I’ll miss you during the vacation.”
“You too. You’ve worked hard this sester. I’ll miss you too.”
I fist-bumped White.
***
“We will now begin the Märchen Academy Vacation Ceremony.”
The blue sky was clear during the last day of the first sester of my sophomore year. All the students were gathered in the Academy Square, and the vacation ceremony began.
The Student Council President’s retirent ceremony was also held. When elected as the Märchen Academy Student Council President, you would need to serve for three sesters before stepping down.
On the stage, Alice Carroll gave her retirent speech, which was very straightforward, nothing special. At the end of it, she bowed and the students applauded.
The retirent ceremony was conducted according to tradition during the vacation ceremony, but Alice would still serve as the Student Council President until the end of this vacation.
However, Alice told that it wouldn’t be burdenso as she only had to handle very minor tasks in the final stage.
When the next sester started, an election for the new Student Council President would be held. The movent of the Four Constellations, a student faction involved in academic administration, was already unusual.
Before long, the vacation ceremony ended, and the academy gates were fully opened. Many students boarded carriages and traveled to the continent, but I stayed at the academy.
An imposing Imperial carriage arrived at the gate, escorted by guards. I sent off Snow White and rlin.
When I asked rlin if it was okay not to see her sister, she answered that it was fine because she was here to perform her duty as an escort knight.
“I’ll get going, Senior Isaac! See you later!”
When I said goodbye to White, for so reason, the Imperial guards bowed to politely.
It seed like a friendly gesture from the Imperial Court, so I didn’t pay much attention to it.
I also spotted Tristan Humphrey passing through the gate, but he pretended not to see and boarded his family carriage.
Afterward, I spent ti with Kaya.
Without the personality of Dark Kaya, she had beco very timid, but her indecision about whether to kiss my cheek was quite cute. I patted her shoulder and told her to be careful, then saw her off.
Then, while I was walking through the empty training ground, thinking about taking it easy.
“Hey.”
“…?”
A female student called out to , and I stopped.
Her short blue hair flowed like waves, and she had a petite fra.
It was Ciel Carnedas, the 3rd ranked student in the Magic Departnt.
Judging by her casual attire, she seed to be leaving the academy soon as well. It felt like her half-open sleepy eyes were open just because they could be.
A bright smile spread across my face because Ciel was also an official heroine in ❰Magic Knight of Märchen❱, so I felt so affection for her.
“It’s been a while, Ciel. How does it feel? Must be sad to lose third place to , huh?”
“You make want to start a bloodbath the mont I see you.”
“You said you’re taking Ian?”
“Seems like you picked that up sowhere.”
It was now ti for Ian to obtain the legendary ultimate weapon of light, the Luminous Sword, with the help of Ciel.
Ciel must have offered Ian a special training environnt in exchange for the opportunity to study his Divine Power. They must have discussed how to conduct the research as well.
Ian would have readily accepted Ciel’s proposal to strengthen his relationship with the Carnedas family and to beco stronger.
While training at the Carnedas Mansion, Ciel would pass down the family’s long-standing promise to Ian.
She would show him the token of their promise, persuade him, and then take him to the divine realm where the Luminous Sword resided.
Fortunately, the trial to obtain the Luminous Sword was not a regular battle but a test of ntal strength, so there was no need to worry.
The Ian I know is ntally strong.
Ciel continued speaking in her usual calm and emotionless tone.
“Well, whatever I do with Ian Fairytale is none of your business. More importantly, I have sothing to tell you.”
“What is it?”
“It’s a trade secret. You understand, right?”
It was about the end-of-sester evaluation last year, during the first sester of our freshman year. I rember her ntioning trade secrets when we were having a hard ti looking for Fell Cards using mana perception.
I had forgotten about it, but the mory suddenly resurfaced like a flashback, bringing a smile to my lips.
“So?”
“The Carnedas Family welcos you. Other families will do the sa, trying to impress you in every way possible. They’ll try to marry off their daughters to you, and all sorts of diplomatic gifts will pour into Düpfendorf. The world will revolve around you.”
Ciel shrugged her shoulders as she recited fluidly in her emotionless voice.
It was a forewarning.
I was only strong during combat, not during regular hours. I couldn’t always detect and prepare for danger in advance.
“Get to the point. You want to make a deal, right? And your family will fulfill such a role.”
“Correct.”
Ciel pointed at with her index finger and nodded.
“Our family is infamous for that. Thanks to this, we hold the weaknesses of many families. You won’t regret it.”
“Then, what do you want from ?”
“To back the Carnedas Family.”
It was easy to understand.
Ciel wanted to graduate safely under my protection and also secure benefits for her family.
For either of us, it wasn’t a losing deal.
“I’ll think about it.”
“I hope you give a favorable response.”
I passed by Ciel but stopped as sothing ca to mind.
“Ah, Ciel.”
“What?”
“I’ll leave Ian and Amy to you, make sure they don’t get hurt.”
I could feel Ciel’s gaze on the back of my head.
Her voice was wary as she realized sothing suspicious.
“You… knew, didn’t you?”
“Who knows.”
“…”
With that, I headed to the training ground.
* * *
The Carnedas Family carriage picked up Ciel, Ian, and Amy. Ian was brimming with enthusiasm, imagining how strong he would be with the Carnedas family’s help over the break.
Amy, finding Ian’s excitent adorable, smiled but couldn’t help but be mindful of Ciel.
Ciel covered her yawning mouth with her hand and slightly lowered her head, seemingly deep in thought. Amy debated whether to speak to her but decided against it, not wanting to interrupt.
Where did you get that information?
Ciel recalled her conversation with Isaac.
– I’ll leave Ian and Amy to you, make sure they don’t get hurt.
– You… knew, didn’t you?
– Who knows.
Isaac seed to be aware of the secret promise passed down through the Carnedas family.
The promise to take the Child of Light to the divine realm.
An archwizard with incomprehensible abilities.
Had Isaac already deciphered that promise from an unreachable level?
Or maybe…
Taking Ian to the divine realm might have been Isaac’s intention all along.
While Ciel believed no danger would befall them…
She resolved to protect Ian if anything did arise.
After all, it was her decision to follow the family promise and take Ian to the divine realm. If she didn’t take responsibility for Ian’s safety from start to finish, she would only feel more unsettled.
Especially if protecting Ian aligned with Isaac’s goal of protecting the world.
Ciel planned to graduate from Märchen Academy under Isaac’s protection and live proudly.
With these thoughts, Ciel ended her contemplation.
“...It’s ti for a nap.”
She muttered to herself as she looked at her watch. Her drowsiness was creeping in. Napping at the sa ti every day was crucial for her.
Ciel pulled out a pillow that could make anyone fall asleep from her magic pouch and laid down. The special design of the Carnedas Family carriage, with seats as spacious as beds, beca evident.
“You two. I need to take a nap, so no talking.”
“You’re going to sleep here…?”
Ciel soon drifted off to sleep.
Ian and Amy, seeing her sleep soundly despite the bumpy ride, were taken /genesisforsaken
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