Chapter 20 - The Strange New Student (3)
Londinium Magic University.
The top floor’s electrical magecraft department research lab.
Having just finished a class, Professor Magni sank into a chair and let out a deep sigh.
The vigor had drained from his daily routine. Not due to his aging body, but as if someone had abruptly flicked a switch.
The professor knew the cause better than anyone.
Turning his head, there was a chair where a little brat had once swung his legs, and later sat firmly planted, engrossed in study.
Until this very spring, the nameplate read ‘Edan’. He had tried filling the assistant position, but lacking any students with the right tenacity, it remained vacant.
Not that he had demanded particularly stringent conditions.
All he asked for was a spirit of adventure undeterred by losing a finger or two during experiments, passion as if the world might end tomorrow, and the ability to easily comprehend the academic content he conveyed.
-Knock knock knock-
Someone rapped on the research lab door, disrupting his melancholic reverie.
He had three hours until his next class. There was no one who would particularly seek him out.
But he didn’t need to ponder who might be on the other side.
“Elsa?”
“……”
That smoothly delivered, utterly nonsensical utterance.
While Londinium had its fair share of eccentric individuals, as far as he knew, there was only one human whose leaps of logic defied interpretation.
“The door is open, so come in.”
“Thank you, pardon my intrusion.”
Slipping inside and taking his familiar seat, Edan was not empty-handed.
“And what might that be?”
“A disciple cannot visit his mentor empty-handed, can he?”
He set the box he had brought onto the table. It was filled with snacks.
Having served as an assistant for no short time, they were loaded with the sugary chocolate treats he favored.
“Please accept all the cookies.”
“Very well, enjoy them.”
And as the saying went, to receive, one must give. Having secured cookie clearance, he had no reservations.
After briefly rambling about some research he had done and proclaiming himself the deity who invented the air conditioner, Edan opened his mouth when the timing felt right.
“Professor, I have a request.”
“What is it?”
“Considering our history together, could you perhaps leverage your connections?”
It was a request that might seem discourteous at first glance, but it had been the agreement from the start.
In exchange for dedicating his time and body as an assistant, he would be rewarded accordingly. Having literally exchanged his physical being, the weight of that promise could not be taken lightly.
“I’ve heard Freyja assisted you diligently as well. So something of that extent is the least I can do.”
“Ah, thank you. I’ll deliver an air conditioner to the lab tomorrow. The personal units are still prototypes with limited power that occasionally malfunction, but I’m sure you could easily repair them, Professor.”
“You’ve been enrolled in the club for quite some time, but I haven’t taken you to the clubhouse often until now. Let’s go together this time.”
If the matter of mid-term enrollment and catching up with the curriculum could be resolved with a few words, it was only natural to do so.
“So tell me the details.”
“I’m sponsoring a child to enroll in the East Londinium public school this time.”
“I see.”
“Her name is Freugne, and she’s quite clever.”
“What brought about this sudden whim?”
“Well, you know. Doing charity work is quite fulfilling. If I make a lot of money later, I might establish the Edan Scholarship Foundation.”
“You do you. But for now, observe her closely. Once she hits puberty, oh, the rebelliousness that awaits. Tsk tsk.”
Professor Magni then proceeded to lament at length about his shut-in daughter whom he hadn’t seen leave her room.
And the next day.
Bringing Professor Magni along, Edan sat down with the public school’s principal at the clubhouse, beginning with ‘This young fellow here is quite promising these days-‘ and ending with ‘Oh yes, I entrust him to your care’, completing the adults’ dark ritual of a conversation.
Having good peer relationships meant having many close friends.
On the agreed day to depart with Edan, the children from the orphanage seemed to have made a pact, clustering together at the front gate.
Whenever former friends had left for other places in the past, Freugne had stood in that very spot herself.
This would likely be her once-in-a-lifetime experience of viewing that scene from the departing party’s perspective. To ensure she wouldn’t forget, Freugne paused for a moment to etch the sight into her memory – it would undoubtedly become a cherished recollection to revisit later.
“Take care, and don’t forget to visit sometimes!”
“It’s not like I can’t go out at all, so I’ll still see you occasionally.”
“Here, take this! It’s a gift.”
It wasn’t an officially established event, per se.
Simply a natural custom born from the orphanage children’s instinctive realization that, through aging, finding new jobs, or like Freugne, securing a patron – however rare those instances might be – there was a chance they might never meet again.
And when she was certain she had committed everything to memory, she slung on her light bag.
After all, she didn’t have many belongings left after the factory fire.
A new bag received from the headmistress, a notebook where she recorded her visions of the future doubling as a diary, and the parting gifts from friends – that was the extent of it.
The orphanage where she had lived for over a decade had been her home, for better or worse.
Her heart could not be as light as the bag she carried when leaving.
“Are you ready?”
“Yes!”
And yet, Freugne did not show any despondence.
As her friends had said, she wasn’t merely going to work at another factory, but rather to a better place. Additionally, though unknown to anyone else, it was a path to preserve her own life.
Freugne boarded the carriage Edan had summoned.
Until the orphanage disappeared from view, she waved to the other children.
The enrollment period for all schools in the kingdom was generally around September.
With about a month remaining until the start date, Edan had judged that Freugne would need time to acclimate to her new surroundings.
And so, they traveled not quite to the outskirts, but the eastern part of the city.
In typical fashion of Londinium’s catastrophic naming sense, this administrative district was called East Londinium.
The carriage rolled to a stop at Edan’s residence located in the central downtown area of East Londinium.
Freugne hopped out first, surveying the exterior of this unfamiliar abode. At a glance, it appeared to be an ordinary household.
“How many floors will I be using?”
“The first through third floors, all of them. Some rooms might be occupied with various devices or materials for my experiments, but there should be plenty of vacant ones as well.”
It seemed a brief house tour was in order.
With those words, Edan grasped his belongings in one hand and took Freugne’s hand with the other, leading her inside.
“I keep a spare key under the rock beside the front door, just in case.”
“Understood.”
“Now then, let’s see. Which room should you use…?”
This was the start of her new beginning.
And this would be her home from now on.
Freugne glanced up at Edan as he diligently explained.
Even mere beasts knew gratitude, so how could humans be oblivious to it?
If she persisted diligently, she was certain she could alter the fate she had witnessed.
Seizing the moment when their hands met, Freugne activated her ability.
From her recent frequent usage, it felt like the vantage point of the future visions had somehow risen higher.
Pushing herself to the limits by rapidly attempting it repeatedly, she could withstand up to three uses if her condition was favorable.
Growing stronger was a positive sign, indicating room for further improvement.
It would be wasteful for precious opportunities to be squandered on random, insignificant details like someone’s lunch menu for the next day.
“Mister.”
And the future she had once witnessed resurfaced.
She was reaching out to him, inviting him to join her in something, though she didn’t know what exactly. The very moment she had attempted to re-witness over thirty times.
Was it because her ability had progressed slightly? Or had she simply attempted it enough times to finally glimpse it?
Putting such doubts aside for now, Freugne focused intently, determined not to miss a single word or subtle expression.
Her proposal, Edan’s refusal – up to this point, it remained unchanged.
And if it were the first time, she might not have questioned why she did nothing despite having witnessed this future.
“Is that so? I suppose those would be your words indeed……”
“As if you were already aware.”
“Ahaha, of course. How could I not know?”
“What is the meaning of-”
Edan slipped his hand into his coat. The barrel of a well-maintained gun glinted.
And before he could even hook his finger on the trigger, someone forcefully seized his right hand from behind.
The gun fell powerlessly, clattering across the floor. With a mixture of shock and bewilderment, Edan exclaimed,
“You, you…!”
“I’m sorry, but this is the only way I can proceed.”
A handkerchief was then placed over Edan’s mouth, and his struggling ceased.
The hand he had been trying to conjure magic with, sparking with electricity, went limp. At least his chest was still rising and falling, so he wasn’t… dead.
“But you also bear fault for driving me to such lengths……”
“What should we do?”
“Take him away. When he wakes, he can contact me again.”
After relaying those words to the giant who had restrained Edan, Freugne promptly vanished with him beyond the alleyway, away from prying eyes.
What was that.
“Freugne?”
Seriously, what did I just witness?
“Freugne? Are you alright?”
“…Huh?”