NOVEL NEXT Chapter 14 - Academy? (3)
The night sky of Wiheim was more beautiful than any place on the continent.
The countless starlight was maintained even more vividly through constellation magic, and floating islands cruising through various parts of the night sky scattered radiance. Starlight flowed and magic expanded everywhere. It was a sight that anyone, magician or not, would like.
Although one couldn’t come for sightseeing freely, it was a city famous as a tourist destination.
The place where magicians resided was so mysterious.
Although he had become somewhat used to it, Asel still liked Wiheim’s night sky. It was natural since there was no reason to dislike it. It seemed Ena felt the same, as she was sitting on the edge of the bed, looking up at the sky through the window.
Every year, for about ten days after the new year begins, a festival is held in Wiheim too. It’s a festival called the Night of Magicians, a unique kind where magicians of all kinds are allowed to use any magic within the city except for destructive acts.
Thanks to this, the visible streets far away were not dark at all, but sparkling brilliantly in various colors.
As if a high-ranking magician had appeared, a long dragon made of smoke was wriggling in the sky, with a magician sitting on top of it, smoking a pipe and laughing. Parnin was gliding freely through the sky carrying its contractor, and gem mages and elemental mages were setting off fireworks with all kinds of magic.
Ena watched this scene quietly, then when she saw people gathering around the lightning rod installed for her, she wiggled her finger. She willingly did as they wanted.
[Lightning Strike]
BOOM!!
Snow-white thunder strikes various parts of the lightning rod. A lightning strike modified to be used in bursts by adjusting its power. Magicians who felt the chilling aftermath of destruction cheered and cast their eyes towards Ena’s mansion. Ena, with her chin resting on her hand, let their gazes of respect and reverence slide off her.
At that moment, someone knocked on her door.
“Master.”
It was Asel. Ena answered immediately.
“Come in.”
“Then excuse me.”
With permission granted, Asel gently opened the door and entered Ena’s room.
Although he had been in and out several times, it was a room that felt plain every time he came. A bed was placed alone in the corner, and magic books and artifacts were scattered on the desk. There were no special features other than this. There was a clothes rack, but even that was less than half full.
A room too bleak to be called a woman’s room. But Asel thought this was just like Ena as he approached her side.
“Sit down.”
Ena said, glancing at Asel. Asel sat down next to her with a bitter smile.
There was a slight distance between them. Ena frowned and tapped the seat right next to her with her hand.
“Sit here.”
“…Isn’t it too close?”
“What does it matter?”
Is that so.
Asel scratched his head and sat where she had tapped. After confirming that he had settled in, Ena shifted her gaze back to the window. Asel also watched the festival unfolding in the streets.
They had a moment of silence. But it wasn’t awkward. Neither Asel nor Ena were particularly talkative, so their tongues didn’t itch. They just gazed outside with comfortable hearts.
How much time had passed like this? Ena opened her mouth while looking at the huge blue gem adorning the sky.
“Do you want to go to the Academy?”
Ena’s way of speaking, getting straight to the point without beating around the bush. There was no surprise as it was familiar. Asel nodded slightly with a bitter smile.
“I didn’t think it was a bad proposal. To be honest… I do want to go.”
“Why?”
“As you know, Master, to achieve magical accomplishments, one needs to leave Wiheim and experience the world. You know how different the magical achievements built only on theory are from those built through practical experience, don’t you?”
There was no answer. Ena was still looking out the window. But her eyes were staring directly at Asel’s face reflected in the window.
“The Academy is a special place where one can take care of both theory and practice in this aspect. Of course, it might not be as good as rolling around in dangerous situations, but the risk is also less. It has its own advantages.”
“……”
It was a statement delivered with firm resolve. Asel looked straight at Ena, and Ena also turned her head towards him with a sigh.
“I’ll be honest. When I first took you in, I didn’t think much about later. But as time passed, as your talent blossomed and you achieved results quickly, my greed grew.”
“……”
“I want to watch you more closely. I want to see with my own eyes how far you can go. I want to interact with a magician who has learned the same branch of magic as me. I want to see for myself what kind of magic and imagery imbued with uniqueness you will obtain in the future. Such thoughts started occurring to me at some point.”
“Those are all things we can do.”
“If you stayed by my side continuously, yes.”
Ena held Asel’s hand tightly with a bitter smile.
“Experiencing the world as a magician. I know well how important that is. I also wandered the continent for a while, and participated in wars and demon hunts. I know well what influence those experiences had on my magic and imagery. You too will need to have experiences like mine.”
“……”
“But… human hearts are like this. When I think of the dangerous things I went through, on one hand, I don’t want you to experience such things. I sometimes think, can’t you just stay here with me, researching magic, and gaining practical experience through occasional duels?”
“…Master.”
“My disciple. When did you come so deep into my heart?”
Ena said this in a soft voice while stroking Asel’s head.
“I know it’s forceful. So I won’t throw a tantrum. Do as you wish. I give you permission, not as the person Ena, but as your master Gaebyeok.”
“……”
“If your decision is truly made by your own will, there’s no need or reason for me to interfere. I called you here to tell you this.”
“I see.”
Asel smiled slightly and added strength to his hand still held by Ena.
“Thank you. For respecting me.”
“It’s only natural. No need to thank me. Rather, I’m sorry. I made quite a scene earlier today, didn’t I?”
“It’s alright. It was cute. You looked like a puppy when you got angry despite being small.”
[Lightning Release]
Crackle.
A weak lightning bolt is fired from the fingertips of Ena’s hand holding Asel’s. Asel slightly frowned at the tingling sensation.
“Ugh.”
“That’s the price for teasing. Take it gracefully.”
Ena said this, then jumped up from her seat.
“This conversation is over now. Let’s enjoy ourselves until you enter the Academy.”
Asel nodded with a smile while holding his tingling hand.
“Then shall we go to the festival together tomorrow?”
“…Festival?”
“Irina said you’ve never attended one. So how about going together this time? Tomorrow is the last day of the festival.”
Ena pondered for a moment, then smiled slightly and tapped Asel’s forehead with her fingertip.
“Alright.”
The next day.
After midnight, Ena and Asel came out together to the streets of Wiheim. Asel was wearing a simple shirt and pants, while Ena had changed her hair color to black through a magical tool. The reason was that she didn’t want to attract attention.
“It’s hard to enjoy if people keep greeting us as we pass by.”
It was a reasonable point. Asel smiled and walked with her through the night streets. Everywhere they went, high-level magicians were showing off their magic, captivating the eyes of passersby. Asel and Ena stood in front of a handsome gem mage among them and watched his magic.
“Demonstrating gem magic formula! Secret technique! Diamond Shower!”
He scattered gems into the air with a refreshing smile. Then the transparent diamonds shone brightly, soon decomposing into small dust particles to form a sparkling snow storm. Magic created purely for visual pleasure, with no practical use at all. Asel exclaimed in admiration at the beautiful fluttering of these gems.
“Are there such pretty spells in lightning magic too?”
“No. Our magic is all specialized for killing.”
“That’s unfortunate.”
“You make one and show me.”
Ena said this, then walked forward with a grin. Asel followed her.
They bought chicken skewers of a suitable size from a nearby street vendor and ate them. Because Ena doesn’t eat much, she ate about half and handed the rest to Asel. Asel cleanly finished both his portion and what Ena had left.
As they were watching the magicians like this, a huge shadow fell across the sky. When they looked up, they saw a floating island slowly moving and scattering rain infused with magical power.
A liquid that doesn’t wet when touched and can be adjusted in form according to the magician’s will.
It was an excellent medium often used in experiments and a substance loved by spirits. Perhaps because of this, spirits that were attached to spirit mages flew up and laughed giddily while bathing in the raindrops falling from the sky.
As spirits of all sizes and colors played in the sky, they formed a beautiful array of lights. The strange bird, Parnin, that Asel had seen when he first visited Wiheim was also buried in that light.
“Yaaah! Parnin! We need to go prepare for the next event! We don’t have time to be doing this here! I’ve already received the deposit, so if we cancel, I’ll have to pay for everything!”
[Be quiet, contractor. More importantly, hmm… Today’s water is not good at all. Ask them to mix in some lava.]
“Aaaaargh!!”
The spirit mage riding on Parnin screams while tearing at her hair.
A genius who mastered spirit magic while also being a flame mage belonging to the Ignis Magic Tower. Sierra von Kleier. Although they had never conversed, she was famous as an oddball even within Wiheim, known as a pyromaniac and spirit enthusiast. Thanks to this, Asel had heard her name many times.
“Shall we greet her?”
“Don’t. Everyone pretends not to know her.”
When Asel looked around after hearing Ena’s words, indeed, all passersby were turning their heads as if they hadn’t seen Sierra. Confirming this, Asel also followed them and turned off his interest in Sierra.
“Is there anywhere else you’d like to go?”
“Hmm… Not particularly. Let’s just walk.”
Ena said this and moved her steps at a slow pace. Asel also walked following her, then spotted a nearby street vendor and his eyes sparkled. He told Ena he was going to the bathroom for a moment, then ran to the street vendor.
The owner of the stall was an old man with a hunched back. The items for sale were accessories with simple magic enchantments, and Asel pointed to a brooch with a sapphire embedded in it and said:
“How much is this?”
“Five silver coins. Do you know what kind of magic is imbued in it?”
“Yes. Isn’t it luck?”
“Oho. You have good eyes. Those who recognize the magic only need to pay one silver coin.”
“Thank you!”
Asel handed the old man one silver coin and took the brooch. Ena, who had been sitting on a nearby bench swinging her legs and watching people, saw him and got up from her seat.
“You’re back?”
“Yes. By the way, Master. This is a gift for you.”
“…? A gift?”
Ena tilted her head. Asel grinned and handed the brooch he was holding to Ena.
A brooch with a sapphire embedded in it, similar to the color of her eyes. It wasn’t a particularly high-quality item, but Ena looked down at the brooch placed on her palm with a blank face.
“I bought it because I thought it would suit you, Master.”
“……”
“…Perhaps you don’t like it?”
Asel, who had misunderstood Ena’s silence, muttered while scratching the back of his head. Ena immediately shook her head, tightly grasped the brooch and pulled it to her chest.
“No, I like it. Very much.”
She looked at Asel with a bright smile.
“Thank you, Asel.”
It was the brightest smile among all the smiles Ena had shown.