Episode 12 – Memory (1)

Memory (1)

Endex Garden. The seniors, who have already completed their task, are gathered in groups of close friends.

“Wasn’t this surprisingly difficult? I have a feeling there will be quite a few failures.”

At Asher’s words, Kain twisted his lips.

“If you can’t do this, you’re an idiot.”

“Kyokyokyo- But you guys were slower than me~”

Layla laughed as she teased Kain and Asher.

“……”

On the other hand, Elise remained silent.

This is always the case after any test. They gather together and chatter about the test that has already passed.

It’s annoying and meaningless.

“But honestly, this is too advantageous for you, Layla. You make prisms at your house-”

“Can you be quiet for a bit?”

Elise smiled faintly and glared at Asher.

“……”

Asher bit his lip.

Kain put his golf bag on the ground and asked.

“Hey. But how are you going to get the golf bag? The rat wouldn’t come out.”

“Huh? Ah~ right. I have to wait two hours because of him.”

There’s no way Shion Ascal, or whatever his name is, would pass. With an average grade of D-, not 2 hours, but 200 hours would be insufficient.

“Ah~ I shouldn’t have entrusted him-”

“63 minutes 43 seconds. Shion Ascal.”

“……Huh?”

Everyone reacted to the voice that came from somewhere. Not just Elise’s gang. Gerkhen and Soliette, who were first and second, and everyone else who passed turned to look.

“Wow…… it’s real.”

Asher gave a hollow laugh. Elise frowned.

A buzz cut that seemed to be about 12mm. He shaved off his shaggy hair, revealing his distinct facial features, which actually looked better.

I hate to admit it, but he’s quite handsome.

—……Ah, my hand hurts.

He approached with a golf bag on his shoulder and a golf club in one hand.

“Shion Ascal. Have a seat.”

Shion walked heavily and sat in a corner. The hall was quiet until then, but suddenly he looked at Asher.

“Oh right. I used it well.”

Then he threw the golf bag and driver at the same time.

“……What the hell- Ah shit! Why is this bent!”

Asher caught it by surprise and had a fit. The shaft of the driver was bent. Shion asked as if he didn’t know.

“Wasn’t it for me to use?”

“You son of a-!”

“Shh. Please sit quietly and wait.”

At the teaching assistant’s words, Asher sat down trembling. Kain next to him was also trembling. It was a slightly different meaning from Asher. Kain nostrils were flaring.

Asher bit his lip hard.

“Hey…don’t snap at me. Don’t you understand empathy? Could you keep your cool if you were in my position?”

“How can I treat it as mine when it isn’t? Who on earth told you to entrust it to me, you idiot?”

“This damn son of a bitch.”

* * *

“1:00 PM.”

At 1 PM, the sun in the middle of the sky was shining directly down on the garden. The flowers and grass in the garden were sparkling. The teaching assistant looked at her wristwatch and spoke.

“Evaluation is over. Congratulations. Out of a total of 153 participants, 127 have passed.”

A whopping 127 out of 153 participants have passed.

It’s as expected of the prestigious Endex.

“Congratulations to all of you.”

The teaching assistant looked around the garden and spoke.

“All of you who have passed will receive 2 CP points. Regardless of your ranking, everyone will receive the same 2 points. However, there will be college board advantages based on today’s rankings.”

But suddenly, I feel sleepy.

Is it a side effect of exercising too intensely? The exercise of swinging a golf club.

“Also, I have something to say. Of course, college board assignments are important. Failing it means you cannot apply to universities. However, the universities that you call ‘prestigious’ place great importance on school activities as well. Points, school competitions, and even student records are all crucial. What I mean is, don’t disregard school life while being too focused on the college board.”

I swallowed a yawn and let his words wash over me.

Until the teaching assistant mentioned a certain name.

“The advice was from ‘Theia Esil’, a distinguished professor whom you all know well.”

Theia Esil.

That name stuck in my ears. It burrowed into my brain like an arrow. My eyes widened, and my heart throbbed for a moment.

“Then-”

“Was that person here?!”

Without realizing it, my body sprang up. A loud voice erupted from the bottom of my chest.

“Theia Esil?!”

Everyone looked at me, and the teaching assistant blinked.

“……Yes. The distinguished Professor Theia Esil was watching you all.”

“……”

My thoughts stopped for a moment. The murmuring of the students was dizzying, but soon it became silent as if I had fallen into water. It felt like the whole world was slipping away from me.

……Even I don’t know what I can do.

In that distance, a voice called out to me.

……So don’t assume you can’t.

A gentle yet compassionate voice.

A memory I don’t want to forget even if I die, a memory too precious to forget.

……If you give up like this. You’ll be the only one who suffers.

Even in a life like mine, there was a benefactor.

Even in a messed-up life, there was a precious person.

There was a time when someone who could be called a teacher approached me first.

……Because you are my student.

A person who was always cold and icy to everyone.

Of course, she was cold and harsh to me as well, but occasionally, she showed a soft side only to me.

That’s how you’ve always been.

……You can endure it. You must.

I remember her lips softly curling into a smile as I was going into the operating room.

I remember her clear, childlike eyes as she lay in the hospital bed facing me.

I can never forget.

……Overcome it. Come to see me.

Theia.

Theia Esil.

My old master was here.

“——Sit down.”

“……Pardon?”

“I said sit down.”

The teaching assistant gestured towards me, waving her palm downwards.

“Ah, yes.”

I came to my senses belatedly.

As soon as I sat down, the teaching assistant resumed speaking.

“The next college board is on Wednesday. Manage your condition and show up in good shape. You’re now dismissed.”

* * *

On the way back from Endex to the National University, in the luxury limousine ‘Aurus Phantom SWB’, Professor Theia Esil was reviewing her work. She was revisiting the footage of today’s Endex college board assignment.

“……Could it be a Spectrum?”

[Thud——!]

The guy who smashes the prism with a golf club. The scratches on the prism surface etched by that brute physical force.

It’s curious. If you look at it broadly, it could be considered a shift in perspective.

Prisms are more vulnerable to physical force than magic, but no one thinks of hitting a prism.

However, the result is not solely due to ‘force’. Even if it’s a golf club made of magical fiber, it wouldn’t have enough durability to withstand that kind of impact.

In other words, it implies a 「Spectrum」.

At least one that involves ‘objects’.

“Fascinating.”

Just, fascinating.

That’s all.

No special personality is evident.

To begin with, there are many talents in Endex, such as Gerkhen, Soliette, Elise, and Layla, and not only in Endex, but also in other magic schools, there are countless talents worth noting.

Theia doesn’t have the time to dig into a mere D- grade student.

“…….”

Nevertheless, Theia silently picked up a piece of paper.

It was a document with Shion Ascal’s personal information.

Just a single page, a poor record with no specs to speak of. But right in there lies the reason why she keeps an eye on him.

[Origin: Libra Orphanage]

[Future Aspiration: Knight of Libra]

Libra.

Theia gently closed her eyes. She exhaled a deep breath and clenched her hands tightly. She leaned her head against the backrest and looked out the window.

“Libra…….”

Born from a knight of Libra, raised in an orphanage of Libra, and wishing to become a guardian knight of Libra.

She twisted her lips. She wore an expression that looked like a sneer.

“You guys. You show up even here.”

She spat out, suppressing the emotion deep in her chest.

Theia Esil hates Libra. The most disgusting and detestable existence to her is that wretched lineage.

And she dares to boast: the size of her hatred is likely greater than anyone else’s on the continent.

“Pathetic.”

She set fire to the document. She stared at Shion Ascal’s face, which was gradually being consumed from the edges.

For quite a long time, until her palm was filled with ashes.