Drip drip drip—
A midsummer shower poured outside the restaurant where Epherene, depressed, nibbled on her food.
"Why does life sometimes go awry like this? I can't go back in time to fix this."
"…"
"If despair comes, one would think the hope to overcome it would swiftly follow afterward, but reality is never that easy. There can never be enough compensation for this much melancholy."
She twirled her chopsticks around her food and eventually dropped them on the table. Teardrops were welling in her eyes.
"What's wrong? Isn't it delicious?" Sylvia's maids, Lete and Endell, were flustered. The steak was delicious enough for them.
"She only likes a certain pig." Sylvia ate her meal nonchalantly. It didn't matter to her whether it was rice balls, fried rice, pigs, or cows.
"Why… Why did it have to be today…" Epherene murmured, her misery caused by the [Pig's Flower]'s decision to not open today.
She thought about the reason behind it as hard as she possibly could but nevertheless couldn't figure it out. In the end, she decided to ask Julia about it later.
"Stupid Epherene." Sylvia stood up. Her lips curved upward, finding the evening quite satisfying.
She didn't have the strength to respond.
One of the three maids left the shop with Sylvia, and the other two remained behind; they sat and talked to Epherene, who looked exhausted.
"This is a first."
"… What?"
"My lady's never brought a friend over before since her mother passed away."
"Ah…" Epherene smiled bitterly.
The truth was, Sylvia was so famous that most information about her and her family was public. Hence, people from the tower and even ordinary undergraduate students at the university knew that Sylvia's mother had passed away.
Such was the problem that accompanied fame.
"So, you don't know how happy I was when Ms. Epherene came. You even willingly went all the way to the mansion."
"Ahaha… it was indeed voluntary, but…"
She was actually just hanging around its vicinity when she was dragged inside because she looked conspicuous. After that, the attendants treated her so well that she even took a shower without realizing it…
"No, really, this is the first time. Everyone finds the lady difficult to handle, but she even twisted your nose. That's never happened before."
"… I-is that so?"
"Of course~ That's why we were wondering if… you could continue being friends with Lady Sylvia in the future as well?"
It was hard for Epherene to answer that request. They weren't aware of it, but the relationship between Iliade and Luna couldn't even be considered good.
"Can't you…?"
"… What? No, no, we should get along well, of course."
Grinning, Epherene picked up her fork and knife and started eating the steak again.
*****
Sylvia came back home before the evening grew too deep since she had a lot to prepare. Deculein's test was already next Friday, after all. There was also her application, which she deemed in need of revisions.
"Daughter."
However, in the middle of the mansion's unlit living room, an unexpected guest was waiting for her.
Glitheon.
"Oh. My Lord, when did you—"
"Lete, go outside."
It was a rather cold atmosphere. Even the air itself felt heavy.
"Ah… Okay. I understand."
Lete was worried but soon went outside, leaving the young lady behind.
Sylvia approached him and tilted her head.
"What's the problem?"
"…"
Glitheon tapped the application form on the desk silently, causing Sylvia's eyes to widen.
"Why did you look at it without my consent?"
She rushed to take it, but her hard-faced father blocked her.
"Are you really thinking of applying to be under Deculein's command?"
"… Yes. Only for six months."
Glitheon clenched his jaw as he stared at his younger daughter, who looked exactly like his deceased wife.
"… Sylvia. I had hoped you would grow up only listening and seeing the good of the world, unlike me."
His gaze moved to his wife's picture frame at the corner of the living room.
She passed away a long time ago, but Sierra's smile remained radiant in the photo.
"The conflict between the Magic families. The providence of the cold-blooded beasts known as wizards. I thought it was too early for you to learn of such a world."
Glitheon's expression slowly collapsed.
He wasn't acting.
Even though he sometimes did, he couldn't suppress the emotions currently flaring up within him.
"What do you mean?"
"… Do you know about the history between the Yuklines and the Iliades, Sylvia? Do you know of our ill-fated relationship with them?"
She didn't answer. Having taken off his usual mask, he became unfamiliar, which scared her.
He thoughtlessly stared at her as she took a step back.
"Sierra."
The name of her mother, the person she loved the most in the world, caused her shoulders to faintly tremble.
"She was a beautiful woman and a good mother. I was undeserving of her."
He stood up and approached her. Grabbing her shoulders to prevent her from running away, he looked into her eyes.
"Listen carefully, Sylvia."
Though he looked like he was chewing something, he continued speaking clearly.
"Your mother was… was killed by the Yukline."
Her eyes widened slowly, her father's fury forming on her growing pupils.
At that moment, her world felt as if it was moving away from her, abandoning her. Sylvia couldn't hear anything but the fearful beating of her heart. Glitheon no longer seemed like himself. Rather, he looked more like a raging flame.
"Deculein killed Sierra."
Those words brought her back to her senses, reminding her she was no longer a child. She shouldn't be paralyzed by fear.
"Our families have that kind of relationship. You should know that—"
"Liar."
He stopped talking, realizing there was already some 'faith' inside Sylvia's mind.
"…"
She pushed away his hand that grabbed her, causing his expression to distort.
"I know. I know the reason why mom left her hometown."
"What?"
"Mom hated dad."
"… Sylvia."
"But dad lied then, too."
"…"
Glitheon smiled hopelessly.
Deculein's face came up in his mind, looking like he was the only noble of any importance as he looked down on the world itself.
And the Yukline before Deculein, that fucking cunning serpent.
Their whole family incited his fury.
"… I'll ask him myself."
Her tone was gelid.
"He can't claim my words to be false."
He looked at Sylvia, who grew suspicious of him. She stared at her own father like something was wrong with him.
Like Sierra did before.
"After you've asked him yourself, you'd know how stupid you've been—!"
He tore Sylvia's application apart as he roared.
Up until now, he had never shown this side of his to his child.
Shocked, Sylvia bit her lips.
"Once you feel it in your heart, you'll know."
He then left the mansion, opening the front door, seemingly with the intention of breaking it. The restless servants outside could only bow to him.
Glitheon ignored them and went straight to his car.
—… it'll be alright.
A small voice flowed in from a crystal ball in his possession. Breathing deeply, he replied, "I let my guard down. No matter how peaceful the times are, I should have honed her character harshly."
—Isn't that too cruel an education, brother? She's still a child. It would be difficult for her.
"Ha."
He thought about his past. At only seven years old, he almost became a tiger's meal, and when he was thirteen, he was coerced to kill his best friend. At twenty, he went to war and lost his mother.
"If you can't overcome that much, you're not an Iliade."
Glitheon didn't blame his fate.
Instead, he considered hardship and suffering were the Iliades' essence. Their ambition was a rage that engulfed their entire lives like firewood incinerated by hellfire.
"You don't have to worry. Sylvia won't disappoint me. Even if she makes a mistake once, she'd eventually soar again."
Just like that, the anger in Glitheon's eyes slowly subsided…
*****
Friday, early morning.
"Kuuuuung~"
Yawning, Epherene went out of the dormitory.
She had now completed most of her exams, including mandatory subjects such as [Destruction Series Utilization] and [Assistance Series Transition], and even liberal arts subjects such as the [History of the Empire] and [Pursuit of a Crime].
As far as she knew, she perfected all of them.
The only one left was Deculein's [Understanding Pure Elements].
"It's the most important of them all."
The final exam for a 5-credit class. She couldn't even put the value of it into words.
'I shouldn't screw this one up. Even if I get A+ on three other tests, it wouldn't be enough to cover up for such a demerit. For the Solda exam and the professor's recommendation, I have to at least get 2nd place…'
Solidifying her determination, she saw yellow hair in the distance.
No, yellow felt lackluster and insufficient to describe its elegance. Sylvia's hair was that special.
Its sparkle was a mixture between pure gold and sunlight, its luster flowing naturally like a waterfall.
The Iliade's blonde hair, one of their symbols, was the most beautiful in the world. Men and women of all ages envied them for it.
"Sylvia!"
Epherene called her name as she approached her. Sylvia flinched, her face showing her usual disdain.
"Today… Huh? What's wrong with your face?"
"…"
Sylvia's current look startled her.
She was haggard. Dark circles enveloped her eyes, and her cheeks were hollow.
"Did you do poorly on the exams? No, it's not that. You got a perfect score on everything. The rumors are already going around."
She silently brushed past the dubious Epherene, but she continued to tail her.
"40th floor, right?"
They rode the elevator together, with Epherene pressing the button for the 40th floor. Even then, she didn't say anything.
"… Are you ignoring me? This upsets me. You're not even going to say, 'Arrogant Epherene'?"
"…"
She pouted in disappointment.
Every 10th floor of the tower was known as 'special floors.' They were normally off-limits to Debutantes.
Among them, the 40th floor was an artIficially made natural landscape called 'Locale Forest.'
Ding—!
The door of the elevator opened, the scene catching them by surprise.
Before them was a forest that stretched as far as they could see. Its vegetation gave off a fresh color, and the broad sunlight shone down on it brilliantly.
"Wow… So this is a special floor."
The two stepped inside the forest.
After some walking, they could see the debutantes. Among them were nobles like Lucia, Beck, and Jupern and the members of the commoner's club.
"Ifi!"
"Julia!"
Epherene ran and hugged her subconsciously. The nobles stared at them, but they paid them no mind.
"You discovered it too, Julia!"
"Yeah! I barely did, though. It took me about… two weeks, I think?"
As they exchanged conversations, Epherene glanced at Sylvia. She looked like nobody in this space interested her.
"Nice to meet you."
Startled by the familiar voice, the debutantes straightened their postures.
On top of the forest's hill, Deculein looked down at them.
"Congratulations to the one hundred seventeen debutantes here for finding the examination ground."
"…"
Sylvia's vacant gaze on him caused Epherene to shake her head with a bitter smile.
"The theme of today's test is the fusion of theory and intuition."
That theme was difficult no matter what angle they looked at it. The wizards swiftly became nervous, but they maintained their focus.
"I've said this before, and I'll repeat it as many times as I have to. Without theory, intuition wavers, and without intuition, theory is just an empty shell."
Deculein cast [Ductility], creating a luxurious chair out of a mixture of soil and wood.
His magic never ceased to amaze their beholders, no matter how many times they witnessed it.
"In this forest, magical disasters capable of making your theoretical and intuitive skills tremble will occur from time to time. Your goal is to complete your tasks without wavering. Allen?"
Deculein sat on a chair after providing instructions, at which point his assistant professor appeared. He was smiling as always, but he somehow looked exhausted.
"Okay, everyone, take your test papers~"
[1. Manifest and seal the three spells recorded below by order.]
[2. Gather and seal the eight attributes of pure elements.]
[3. Describe the mana phenomenon that you have observed in the Locale Forest.]
[4. Interpret and manifest the following mana catastrophe.]
[5. Demonstrate the reactivity of the following pure elements in this place.]
A total of five questions.
Epherene sighed as soon as she saw it. The other wizards reacted no differently from her.
However, mental management was more essential at times like this. What she found difficult was also difficult for others. She needed to adhere to that mindset now more than ever.
"Some magic may need materials to manifest, but you can get all of the requirements here. Be careful, however! The Locale Forest is a special floor! They're labeled as such due to the dangers they possess!"
"What about the time limit for the test?" Epherene asked.
Achooo—!
Allen sneezed once before answering.
"Ah, excuse me. Anyway, there's no time limit! Moreover, if danger arises, ask Head Professor Deculein for help~"
He then hopped up the hill, spread a piece of cloth beside Deculein, and modestly sat down on it.
"Professor~ would you like a cup of tea?" Epherene heard a somewhat tiny voice asking.
*****
Sylvia, sitting by the riverbank, glanced at the Head Professor on top of the hill. He was reading a book as always.
'Deculein killed Sierra.'
Glitheon's words played back in her ears endlessly.
Every time she looked at Deculein, her father's rage-filled expression overlapped with his image.
"…"
Sylvia shook her head.
A lie.
'I'm sure it's a lie.'
Sylvia repeated that line in her head over and over again.
Perhaps the Iliades and Yuklines' bad relationship was true, but the rest had to be a lie. Her father always exaggerated and fooled her anyway.
"… Test."
Focusing on the test, she crouched down and looked at the questions.
Tak—!
A cold pain soon hit her head, however.
"Ah."
Applying pressure to the painful section on her head, she looked up, finding hail pouring from the sky.
She quickly built a tent to counter it.
[1. Manifest and seal the three spells recorded below by order.]
She began to solve the first problem earnestly.
'Manifest and seal the three spells.'
It wasn't difficult.
However…
'… I'll ask him myself.'
'He can't claim my words to be false.'
"My head hurts."
Sylvia tearfully murmured as she caressed her head.
Her conversation with her father refused to go away.
Deculein, her muse, was within her sights, albeit standing afar.
The one she yearned for… Perhaps even liked.
Her father told her he killed her mother.
"… That's right."
'You got a perfect score this time again, Sylvia.'
Sylvia nodded despite her troublesome thoughts, deciding to ask him after hearing those words from him at the end of the test.
At that point, she thought he would definitely say it was a lie, allowing her to tell Glitheon that there was a misunderstanding.
"I can do this."
Making up her mind, she resumed answering the first problem.
It was too easy for someone of Sylvia's caliber, but only 5 minutes later, she realized that she missed a crucial point.
"… Ah."
[1. Manifest and seal the three spells recorded below by order.]
Contrary to the instruction, Sylvia 'fused' the three spells.
Ironically, that mistake was due to her talent and mana being too brilliant.
The reaction of three mid-scale magic being merged abruptly was obvious.
"No—"
Paaaaaaaaaa—!
Her spell, a combination of the wind and water elements, released a powerful and magical water torrent that immediately swept her away, giving her no time to escape.