NOVEL NEXT Ch. 34
Chapter 34 - A Stroll in Endinium (1)
Arien Ortega was born as a being closer to the truth than anyone else in this world. Of course, the methodology for unraveling that truth was, naturally, magic.
It is said that an ordinary person can see one thing and know one thing.
It is said that a talented person can see one thing and know two things.
It is said that a genius can see one thing and know ten things.
Confined to the category of magic, Arien Ortega could see one thing and know hundreds…… or even thousands. If so, how should one properly define such a girl’s talent?
Perhaps the closest expression would be an ‘unprecedented genius.’ Or perhaps even that was too modest an expression.
Arien was born under such a star of intellect, yet there were still so many things Arien did not know. Including about her own past.
Arien lacked memories of her childhood.
Though she could see through the components of the world, she did not know what she herself was made of.
Arien wanted to reclaim her past. It was not a wish born from any emotion. She simply wanted to fill her own contradiction, her own defect.
However, the being designated as her father, Tyrion Ortega, never gave the girl a single hint about her past.
Instead of letting the girl reclaim her past, the girl’s father had her prepare for the future.
And the work of preparing for that future…… was accompanied by considerable, no, absolute control.
It wasn’t that Arien felt pain in that situation, or that she wanted to escape. For the girl, it was all too natural.
It was just that Arien, who possessed a brilliant intellect, was able to reach a quick conclusion.
That it was impossible to reclaim her past by herself.
It had been four years since she had lived with that resignation. A void still remained in her heart, but by then, even the wish to reclaim her past was fading.
And on the day such a girl entered the academy, her father delivered a message.
-Daughter, I hear there is a child at the academy who can use Origin Magic like you. Make sure to form an intimate relationship with that child.
In summary, that was the content. Of course, Arien was not the type of person who was particularly interested in friendships.
Not only did she never have the time to be interested in friendships, but she was also of the opinion that it was more valuable to engage in magical inquiry than to spend time on such things.
However, the words added at the end of the message made it so that the girl had no choice but to follow the story.
-If you become truly intimate with that child, I will tell you about your past.
In a life lived as nothing more than a beautiful doll, the only light she had been searching for was shimmering before her eyes.
Who would not reach out their hand?
***
It was the first weekend since the semester started, but there was no time for me to catch my breath. There were things I had to do today as well.
Previewing next week’s lectures was a given, I also had to check if Yuna had properly done the homework I assigned her, and I had a promise to train with Serene in the evening.
But among them, the most important task was to process the B-grade Magic Stone I received as a prize from the last practical test and turn it into a weapon.
For that, I first had to go to the workshop, the processing place that Regina had introduced me to.
‘The city center of Endinium, huh.’
The workshop Regina arranged was located in the downtown area of Endinium, the city where Archenia Academy was located.
As expected of a place arranged by the princess, from the perspective of a modern Korean’s real estate eye, it was located on a considerable piece of prime land.
Since I planned to do some sightseeing in the city while I was at it…… it might have a bit more of a leisure aspect than usual.
Of course, since I was currently a complete beggar without a single penny to my name, my leisure activities wouldn’t amount to much.
Anyway, it was a rare outing, but I dressed in my student uniform as usual.
It wasn't because I had no money…… but because the academy regulations required students to wear their uniforms even when going out. Maintaining dignity?
Well, from my perspective, who was struggling to even buy decent clothes after being practically abandoned by the Enlight family, it wasn't so bad. I did have some clothes I brought from the mansion, though.
“Time to get going.”
Anyway, I muttered so and opened the door to leave.
The luxurious exterior of the dormitory, the Aurora Hall’s corridor, came into view as usual.
Was it because it was a dormitory where top students or children of Imperial Contribution Families (prestigious families, in name) resided?
Well, from my perspective, who got to use a good dormitory for free, it was a good thing, but……. I couldn’t understand why they emphasized that everyone was equal within the academy if this was the case.
Anyway, as I was leaving the dormitory with such idle thoughts, I saw a familiar back in the lounge area near the entrance.
‘It’s Arien?’
It was only her back, but I could tell at a glance from her distinctive sky-blue hair.
I didn’t think I’d ever seen her using this lounge when coming and going from the dormitory.
As I was thinking that, Arien suddenly whipped her head around towards me.
“You’ve arrived, Mr. Rain.”
“……If you say it like that, it sounds like you were waiting for me.”
“You have seen correctly. That is a fact.”
“……?”
I tilted my head. Why, on this holiday?
“As you seem to have a question, I will answer first. Mr. Rain, you mentioned during lunchtime yesterday that you would be going out on the holiday to process a magic stone.”
“I did.”
“Referring to that information, I was waiting to suggest we go out together when you leave.”
Setting aside her characteristic machine-like speech, the content was quite bewildering. I didn’t know why there had been so many bewildering things lately.
“……”
It wasn't a bad thing. My goal was to build a friendship with Arien, and being invited to go out together like this was actually a good situation.
However, the same question as yesterday was just circling in my head.
Why on earth was Arien the one to suggest getting closer to me? In the main story of
“Is there something you have to do outside?”
I asked in the stiff tone that still carried traces of the original Rain Enlight.
The answer that came back from Arien was even more astounding.
“I do not know much about the lives of ordinary people. For this reason, my thought was to supplement my knowledge in this field through an outing. And to deepen my friendship with Mr. Rain.”
It was true that even in the game, Arien was interested in the lives of ordinary people…….
Well, if that was the case, it wasn’t bad.
As I had mentioned in passing sometime before, Arien's story was about filling her lacking humanity. And that began with paying attention to the lives of ordinary people.
Anyway, we decided to go out together, but there was one problem, which was that I was a complete pauper without a single penny to my name.
Getting to the city center was fine since there was a tram run by the academy itself, but after that, I couldn't do any activities that required money, like eating a meal.
Well, it wasn't a date, so it wasn't like money was absolutely necessary, but since she wanted to know about the lives of ordinary people, it felt a little strange to discuss it without mentioning money.
When I told Arien this fact, Arien replied like this.
“Let us eat at the student cafeteria before we go.”
It was a very rational conclusion.
***
It bears repeating, but the food at Archenia Academy’s cafeteria was quite delicious, even for me who had experienced modern food.
Though I wondered what it said about us, eating at the school cafeteria before going out. But what could I do?
In any case, after eating, we took the tram to the city center of Endinium.
I wondered what we should talk about on the way, but surprisingly, Arien sat in her seat and just stared endlessly out the window.
It wasn’t that I didn’t feel like starting a conversation, but seeing Arien staring out the window with somewhat transient eyes, I didn’t feel like interrupting.
Therefore, I too sat on the tram seat and looked out the window.
Airships floating in the sky, Victorian-style architecture, and carriages and magimobiles—cars powered by mana—passing on the roads came into view.
Seeing cars powered by mana and carriages coexisting on the road made me chuckle. The reason why carriages still survived in the world of
Horses were as fast as cars, and had as much stamina.
Well, in a world where humans as fast as bullets existed, it wasn't strange at all for horses as fast as bullets to exist.
Still, from a modern person’s perspective, it was funny.
Anyway, I was lost in such idle thoughts.
“……Mr. Rain, you said you had not been to Endinium before enrolling in the academy.”
“Yes, well……”
“In that case, please direct your attention to that clock tower over there.”
“……?”
At those words, I turned my head and looked out the tram window.
There, a beautiful and grand-scale clock tower stood tall at a perfect angle.
“Is that clock tower something……”
“That clock tower is the largest in the Empire, and its official name is the Cardinal Clocktower. It is known as a famous landmark of the Empire and is one of the structures that symbolize the revival of Endinium. Construction began in Imperial Year 1630 and was completed in Imperial Year 1643. It chimes once every hour. In history, its chime has only been stopped once, and its total height reaches 120m. The architects who participated in its construction are……”
“……?”
Wait, wait. What did you say?
Something was very, very wrong.
Yes. The clock tower was certainly quaintly beautiful, but, uh……. A WiXipedia-style guide is a bit…… a bit something, isn't it?
No, I was so flabbergasted that my mental vocabulary deteriorated. This is not good.
“In Imperial Year 1697, for some reason, there was an incident where a large number of monsters were generated from within the clock tower, and after that, a mana detector was placed inside the clock tower. The name Cardinal Clocktower was given because the church is known to have contributed a significant amount of funds to the construction of this building. Perhaps for that reason, religious styles are quite prominent……”
“……”
I’m dizzy. I’ve had a lot of dizzying moments recently, but this one is particularly dizzying.
Especially that endlessly serious and unwavering expression.
Normally, I would try to change the subject somehow, but when someone is that endlessly serious, you can’t even butt in.
Arien’s too-much-information talk showed no signs of stopping, and in the end, I had no choice but to just listen until we got off the tram.
Ah, the expression ‘until we got off the tram’ was a misstatement. Because even after we got off, the talk continued with another visible building as the topic.