Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Every two years at Partes,

An academic conference is held where the eight schools showcase their research achievements.

The conference has two primary objectives…

First, to proclaim to the world that Partes is the premier academic institution.

Second, to demonstrate that Isilia is a neutral nation providing education without national discrimination.

As a country that built its wealth through intermediary trade, they could never afford to betray the trust of other nations.

Of course, these were merely Isilia’s goals.

The eight schools, the true protagonists of the conference, were fanatically obsessed with emerging as the victors of the competition.

While the fact that budgets were allocated differently based on research results played a part, it was also because they loathed the humiliation of losing to a rival school.

And today’s conference was set to be more special than any other.

This was because Queen Ekaterina II of Isilia herself would be in attendance.

Before the conference officially commenced,

Ekaterina II was engaged in a private conversation with someone.

“How has school life been for you?”

Her tone was infused with warmth.

At the sound of her voice, the other person smiled broadly and replied,

“It’s fun. And there are more dangerous elements than I anticipated.”

A hint of warning lingered in the voice of the one speaking with the Queen.

Without losing her composure, Ekaterina calmly asked another question.

“…In what way do you find it dangerous?”

“You will see quite a lot at this year’s conference. And the students from other countries will surely utilize the knowledge gained from their schools for the benefit of their own nations.”

“That sort of thing happens all the time, so I am not concerned. More importantly, is there anyone who caught your eye?”

“…Based on my observations, there are three people of interest.”

“Who are they?”

The figure held up one finger and spoke.

“One is Lily, often referred to as the Second Princess. Her academic performance is exceptional, and she is hailed as the ace of ‘Lux Lunae’. She’s currently facing ridicule and criticism because she accidentally let slip that she isn’t a noble. The issue would be easily resolved if she joined a faction, but she refuses to do so. She is the top priority for recruitment in neutral Isilia.”

“Hearing you speak of her like that, I have high expectations.”

Encouraged by the positive response, the figure gave a faint smirk and held up a second finger.

“The second individual is Kalliant.

Though he only recently entered Partes, his grades are ranked first, tied with that Deses-poir. Furthermore, ever since he joined Onyx Square—which had no other members—he has been showing steady improvement. Although, his personality does seem a bit violent.”

After speaking, the figure thought to herself,

‘Well, calling him a bit violent is accurate, right? He seemed to have a scuffle with those Sceletus School kids recently, though it wasn’t a massive incident.’

Watching this, the Queen burst into a light laugh.

“Hohoho, it has been a long time since I’ve seen you so uncertain of your own judgment.”

“To be honest, I think my eyes keep drifting toward him because I’m anxious he might cause some kind of trouble.”

“And who is the last one?”

At the final question, the figure’s gaze took on a different kind of seriousness.

“…Deses-poir.”

“As I thought. You’ve been wary of him since last year. What specifically stood out?”

“He has many colors. He possesses the traits of both a tyrant and a wise ruler, and he is expanding his faction’s influence as quietly as a shadow. Even the head of the Sceletus School, to which he belongs, seems to be falling under his influence for some reason.”

“It is highly unlikely for the head of Sceletus to fall under a brainwashing spell, so that is quite peculiar.”

“That just shows how overflowing Deses’s charm is. His academic and magical abilities are already on par with the professors, so his attendance in class is erratic. I’ve only caught glimpses of his face a few times over these past three months. He almost never attends lectures.”

“Will he show his face at this conference?”

“I’m not sure.”

“I see.”

Ekaterina II seemed to accept the figure’s words.

“Did you know about him?”

“I viewed him through a slightly different lens. To me, it felt as though he had no color at all.”

“…”

The figure fell silent at the inscrutable words, but Ekaterina continued the conversation regardless.

“I am not saying you are wrong. I simply mean that he is someone who leaves a different impression on everyone.”

“I suppose I am observing a rather dangerous individual then.”

The figure grumbled to the Queen for the first time.

“You can tell me whenever it becomes too difficult. I would welcome it if you said you were quitting.”

At the Queen’s calm tone, the figure looked troubled, as if she had been caught in a trap.

“I’ll pass. I’ll do my best.”

“I am always watching over you.”

“…”

At Ekaterina II’s words, the figure’s pupils trembled slightly before she turned and vanished into the distance.

* * *

In the square, the eight schools were gathered in their respective camps for the conference.

At the Sceletus School camp.

Currently, the students here were too busy whispering to worry about their presentations.

One of them asked Ariel with an anxious expression,

“Is it really okay to do this, Ariel? What if the Audit Committee finds us?”

Ariel spoke as if he didn’t have a care in the world.

“How on earth are they going to find us?”

They had caused a commotion last night.

The location of the incident was the Onyx Square research lab.

Led by Ariel, they had trashed the research materials prepared by Professor McCally and left a warning message before departing.

This was a very serious matter, and if caught, they would certainly face expulsion.

However, Ariel was confident.

“If they want to find evidence, they might. But all we have to do is deny it until the end. Do you know why?”

“Wh-why?”

“Because we have Deses on our side.”

It was a shameless answer, indicating he intended to leave the cleanup of his own mess to someone else.

Yet, the expressions of the Sceletus School students brightened as if they had heard an absolute truth.

Deses-poir.

No one knew his family name or his background, but his influence was enough to dominate not only the professors but also a portion of Partes itself.

Because of that, the faction following Deses grew larger, and some of them committed excessive, malicious acts as a matter of course.

Ariel pulled his hands out of his pockets and shared his thoughts with those around him.

“Those with power don’t even need to ask for forgiveness. Even if they commit a crime, far from being punished, they can turn the victim into the perpetrator. In that sense, we’ve picked the very best side to be on.”

“B-but, Ariel.”

“What?”

“Does Deses know about this?”

“No. As long as we don’t get caught, it doesn’t matter anyway.”

“…”

At his words, the faces of the surrounding students turned pale.

If they did something to offend Deses, it would be difficult to escape his wrath even if they were in the same faction.

While Deses would protect his faction even at a loss if they were in trouble, he also handed out corresponding penalties to those who recklessly used his name to show off their power.

“Oh? Look, McCally is here.”

Right then.

McCally arrived at the Onyx Square camp with a dark expression.

Looking utterly exhausted in both mind and body, she was clutching a bundle of research papers, her face filled with despair.

Having lost a lifetime of research in a single night, the sense of futility must have been immense.

Ariel snorted and said,

“Hmph, serves her right. Her life was ruined the moment she took that idiot as a disciple.”

“Thinking about it, Onyx Square has just been eating up the budget without producing any results.”

“Exactly. If that research budget had been given to Sceletus instead, we would have made much better use of it.”

The students began to mock her with delighted expressions.

Then, Ariel furrowed his brow without realizing it.

‘Why hasn’t that guy shown up?’

The image of a man that crossed his mind was reminiscent of a red lotus.

Eyes of burning crimson.

The gaze, filled with unyielding stubbornness, was so intense it seemed to know no compromise.

Khal.

This mysterious transfer student, who had tied with Deses for the top spot, had committed the outrage of punching Ariel in the face the very first time they met.

Even now, the memory of the pain he felt then made him so angry he couldn’t sleep.

If so, what would be the best revenge against Khal?

If he recklessly picked a fight, he couldn’t avoid expulsion.

Even if he tried to strike from behind, there wasn’t enough justification for his peers to cooperate with him.

It was obvious that Deses would just say, ‘Why don’t the two of you have a duel?’

‘It’s a loss if I lose, so there’s no need to go that far.’

After much consideration, Ariel had decided to eliminate the place where Khal belonged along with Onyx Square.

“I guess he ran away because there was no other way.”

That was fine in its own way.

Since he would be seen slacking off right in front of Queen Ekaterina II,

Khal would have to take responsibility for it.

“This is going to end more boringly than I thought.”

Ariel stepped forward with a group of students, a smile of mixed disappointment and joy on his face.

* * *

A short while later, in the square of Partes.

The conference officially began in front of everyone.

Ekaterina II, who had come to observe, walked gracefully while wearing a veil and took her seat in a chair.

Gulp!

Watching her, McCally lowered her head.

While the pain of failing to meet expectations was great, McCally didn’t even have anyone by her side to comfort her.

“It’s better that he didn’t come. If he had, he would have just barked in anger, asking how I couldn’t even protect that much.”

However, she couldn’t help her eyes welling up with tears.

With the command of the moderator presiding over the conference, each school presented their research results.

“Elemental Spirit.”

With the call, magic of fire, wind, water, and earth harmonized to decorate the square brilliantly.

Subsequently, five schools presented innovative results.

And then, the name of the school that was effectively guaranteed to win this conference was called.

“Sceletus.”

Rumble.

Students shrouded in dark mana performed black magic simultaneously.

Murmur, murmur.

As it was the most sinister form of magic, the people attending the conference watched with uneasy expressions.

Whooooosh!

Beyond the black flames, a massive Skeleton King emerged.

Boom!

When the Skeleton King stepped into the square, the ground even trembled slightly. People could not contain their admiration at the overwhelming sight.

‘As expected, is learning black magic better for our homeland?’

‘It would be really useful if utilized in war.’

As if enchanted, people shouted in admiration at Sceletus’s research results.

“…”

The moderator, who had been dazed by the sight of the Skeleton King, snapped back to reality and called the next school.

“Last, Onyx Square!!”

“Ohhh! Is it finally the finale!”

“Onyx Square? Which school is that?”

At the cheers of the people filled with expectation, McCally squeezed her eyes shut.

‘…I didn’t exactly plan on being the finale.’

As things were delayed and delayed, the end had finally come.

Murmur, murmur.

When the people’s gaze focused on her, McCally felt dizzy and almost collapsed.

Thump.

At that very moment.

“If you’re my teacher, don’t collapse pathetically in a place like this.”

Khal, appearing out of nowhere, placed a hand on her shoulder and then walked past her.

Thud, thud.

“Uh? Oh.”

The flustered McCally reached out to grab Khal, but…

Ssssss.

Khal ignored her and began to emit red mana from his entire body.

“What? It’s only one person?”

“Is he just walking?”

The reactions of the watching crowd were divided into two: curiosity and disdain.

‘What on earth is he planning?’

Lily, who was participating in the event from the Lux Lunae camp, swallowed hard and watched Khal.

At the moment when everyone’s attention was focused on Khal.

Whooooosh!

Red mana blanketed the entire square.

Twitch.

Khal, who had succeeded in awakening the mana attributes within his body, muttered a single sentence under his breath.

“…It’s complete.”

Immediately after he said that.

Crash! Bang! Boom! Crash! Bang! Boom! Crash!

The spells being showcased by each school began to shatter.

“Wh-what?! Why is there a Mana Break!”

The heads of each school could not hide their bewilderment.

The strange phenomenon did not end there.

Swish!

The Skeleton King, reacting to Khal’s mana, began to launch an attack on its own, ignoring the will of the Sceletus students.

“Huh? Oh! We’ve lost control of the Skeleton King!”

The students were all thrown into a panic, but the Skeleton King didn’t care and threw a punch at Khal.

“Get lost.”

Seeing that, Khal swung his arm with an annoyed expression…

Kaaaa-boom!

A wave of red mana swept through the Skeleton King and shattered it in an instant.