Chapter 38 - 3

Chapter 3:

Cliff and the Institute of Magic Student Council

THAT DAY, Cliff visited the teachers' office. Graduation loomed on the

horizon, so it was time for the special students to submit their research reports.

The subject of Cliff's report was "Research into the Suppression of Curses via

Magical Implements." The teachers immediately started poring over the report

and passing copies around, all while giving Cliff glowing praise. The submission

soon sparked an impromptu Q&A session and debate, whipping the staff room

into a fervor. Cliff even heard one teacher say that the results of his research

would make history. But the head teacher, Jenius, had something else to say.

"I apologize that I cannot do more in light of such groundbreaking

research…but the valedictorian has already been selected."

This year's valedictorian would be someone named Brooklyn von Elzas

from the Duchy of Neris. Cliff knew that name; it was someone he'd spent the

past few years competing with over test scores. Cliff recalled that he'd never

once lost to Brooklyn.

"I'm sorry. Perhaps this might not be the place to speak of it, but you held

the most outstanding grades out of the entire graduating class. You should be

proud."

Cliff's only response to this news was an "all right, I see," before leaving

the staff room. The old Cliff might have thrown an almighty fit at the teachers,

but the past seven years had changed him. Furthering his studies, making new

friends, and working as a priest had given him many new experiences. From

those experiences came maturity. The school had their position to consider.

Running a university wasn't cheap. Countries were powerful. People were not

equal. You had to accept your lot in life and press on.

Besides, Cliff didn't see much value in the "University of Magic

Valedictorian" title. Cliff had friends who lacked titles but were no less amazing.

One in particular currently had the title of "Right Hand of the Dragon God," but

that wasn't a job he'd applied for. It was simply the outcome of his actions.

Absolutely. The fruit of experience. Thinking about it, Cliff couldn't help

but laugh at how foolish chasing mere titles was.

He sighed aloud.

If he had one misgiving, it was that his research wasn't finished. His thesis

was called "Research into the Suppression of Curses via Magical Implements."

If he could have tweaked it just a bit, if he could have replaced "Suppression"

with "Removal," then Cliff would have had no regrets. But sadly, his incomplete

research meant he couldn't speak in absolutes. Still, he'd accomplished

something. Both Elinalise and Orsted had thanked him for easing their curses.

But the end goal still eluded his grasp.

"…"

Cliff sidled up to the windowsill and stared outside. The grounds of the

University of Magic had hardly changed in the past seven years.

You know, he thought, I was a lot cockier when I first came here.

Back then, Cliff knew absolutely he was a genius. But the years had

beaten him down, making him painfully aware that he was nothing special. Sure,

compared to other students, his grades were exceptional. The old Cliff might

have lorded it over others with a smirk. But the current Cliff didn't feel like

boasting or demeaning himself. The past seven years had been so rich for him,

filled with so many once-in-a-lifetime experiences. His marriage with Elinalise,

his research on curses, the bizarre doll in Rudeus's manor, the battle on the

Demon Continent, the Demon Eye he was given, the birth of Clive… There was

just so much that had happened, so many things that he had to face with his

whole heart to overcome. It was those challenges that made him the man he was

today, not any inborn talent. Remembering that kept him grounded.

His experience might have been why Cliff was so well-regarded by his

congregation when he worked as an apprentice Millis priest. They said that

despite his youth, he had extraordinary empathy. Sometimes they even told him

he'd grow up to be a fine priest. When the priest in charge of the Sharia church

gave Cliff his priest certificate, he also gave him his blessing by saying, "You'll

do fine anywhere you go." The priest would never have said that if Cliff were

still the same boy he was seven years ago.

"Phew…"

A smile bubbled up from within Cliff. He still hadn't become the man he

once dreamed of being—he was better than that man. He preferred this version

of himself.

"Now, where to go from here…"

His research report was submitted, and there was now little time left until

the graduation ceremony. Cliff had told Rudeus that he'd give an answer by

graduation, but he had yet to settle on one. He wanted to return to Millishion.

But he had a wife and child now. Cliff's parents had died in a power struggle

within the Millis Church. Specifically, his grandfather's power struggle as the

Millis pope. Returning to Millishion would absolutely put Elinalise and Clive in

danger. And then Rudeus dropped a solution into Cliff's lap. He wanted Cliff to

assist Orsted as a member of the Millis Church. To forge an alliance. If he could

do that, then Rudeus would offer all the help needed for Cliff to rise through the

ranks. He'd see to it that Elinalise and Clive were protected.

It was everything Cliff could ask for and more. But past arrogance aside,

Cliff didn't see himself being worth that kind of support now. Certainly not from

someone as amazing as Rudeus—Cliff may have had his doubts about Rudeus

when they first met, but he was sincere and a hard worker. And it was no

exaggeration to say that most of Cliff's "once-in-a-lifetime experiences" only

happened because of Rudeus. Someone that extraordinary asking Cliff for help

was probably a show of friendship more than anything else.

Still, this was everything he could have wanted. Elinalise and Clive would

be safe, he'd have Orsted's formidable backing, and the road to the top of the

Millis Church hierarchy would be wide open. It was everything Cliff wanted.

And yet, something about it felt subtly off. Cliff didn't yet understand why that

was.

What should he do? What did he want? Every day he agonized over it

until it was time to go home to Elinalise and stop thinking.

"I guess I'll hang around for a bit longer."

Cliff had planned to go straight home after submitting the report, but he

turned sharply on his heel. If he went home now, then the day would end like all

the others did. That wouldn't be good.

Saint Millis once said, "If childbirth be the duty of people, then shun it

not, but indulge in it not." Saint Millis also once said, "Let thyself anguish, and

do not flee from thy anguish." That meant that it wasn't right to flee from his

anguish and indulge in Elinalise. The phrase "Always let thy heart be at ease"

was also in the teachings of Millis, so fraying his own nerves over this was no

good either.

But he had to make a decision soon. A decision on how he would answer

Rudeus's request.

"What do I do…"

Cliff had said that he'd decide after discussing it with Elinalise, but

Elinalise had no comment either way. All she said was to think for himself. She

said it not to abandon Cliff, but to give him a gentle push. If that was Elinalise's

stance, then Cliff felt obligated to work this out on his own. Elinalise would live

a very long time—many times longer than Cliff would. In fact, their child likely

would as well. Compared to her experience, Cliff was a baby. Yet Elinalise

never treated him like a child; she saw him as her beloved husband. Elinalise

respected him, so Cliff wanted to return the favor.

"I can do this. I am a genius."

That phrase slipped out like a habit. It was once something he believed

without question; now, it was a mantra to motivate him to action. He knew full

well by now that he was no genius, but it cheered him up to repeat those old

words and remember believing that they were true.

"I'm…we…should…!"

"Hm?"

Cliff faintly heard the echo of arguing voices from down the hall. Fights

weren't particularly rare at the University of Magic. At any other time, Cliff

would have ignored it. But in this moment, Cliff found himself drawn to it and

descended the stairs. Among those voices was one Cliff recognized.

"That's what I said! We're the ones who should be doing this!"

"Exactly! We can't expect other people to wipe our ass! We've gotta

protect this school ourselves!"

A number of students were shouting while gathered around a petite girl.

They weren't threatening her, though; it seemed she was some kind of leader, so

the others were pleading with her to make a call. And that girl was someone

Cliff knew well.

"Please, President!"

"You have to let us go, President Norn!"

It was Norn Greyrat. She stood scowling, surrounded by the other

students.

"Norn, what's wrong?" Cliff called out. "Is there some sort of problem?"

All of the students, Norn included, turned to face Cliff. Her expression

relaxed a bit, but other students stepped forward before she could respond.

"Who d'ya think you are?!"

"This is student council business!"

Standing in Cliff's way was a girl about as tall as him and a beastman who

might have been twice his height. Cliff recognized the two of them as well; they

were current members of the student council.

"Hey, guys! Could you move, please?"

Norn wedged herself between the two and pried them apart so she could

wriggle through. It was the kind of motion that Rudeus, if he were here, would

have said a dumb pun to himself for, like "Wow, Norn's really come between

you!"

"I'm sorry, Cliff," Norn said. "Everyone here's just a bit worked up."

"Cliff Grimor… This kid? The one from the Demonic Circle of Six?"

"He's not just a 'kid.' He's someone I owe a great deal to!"

"Oh… Sorry."

The beastman muttered an apology, but kept his glare. The old Cliff might

have responded to that look with hostility or fear. The current Cliff had seen

worse. Things that would strike fear into any reasonable heart merely by

existing. Compared to Orsted or Atofe, this beastman was a puppy.

"So, what happened?" Cliff asked. "Could you tell me, if it isn't too much

trouble?"

"Well…" Norn began. "The truth is, there are rumors that a ghost is

haunting the school."

"Hmm."

Cliff had heard those rumors as well. Every night, people would hear

moaning voices or rattling noises, or they'd see a translucent figure in the hall…

so the stories went. In fact, there were even students who'd collapsed, sapped of

all their mana. But it was far from uncommon at the University of Magic to see

students passed out from excessive practice, and ghosts were a common rumor.

Or so Cliff thought…

"So, next, well… When we went to investigate, we found a door deep

within an unused underground storehouse that had a strong seal placed on it.

When we opened it, Skeletons came out."

Norn fumbled over her words as she explained to Cliff. It was like she was

hiding something. Cliff was sure she was, but he chose to let it go.

"Yeah, it sounds like you messed up. If something's heavily sealed, then

whoever sealed it probably had a good reason for doing so."

A loud "Guh!" was heard from among the student council. It came from a

feisty-looking girl with pigtails; she was probably the culprit who lifted the seal.

"For now, we got a teacher's help to reapply the seal," Norn continued,

with a tone suggesting that this was where everything went wrong.

The door was sealed with Saint-tier barrier magic. A Wraith had slipped

through that Saint-tier barrier and appeared outside. That meant it was probably

a high-level Wraith lurking in that underground storehouse.

The university contacted the Magicians' Guild and requested professionals

who could exterminate it. Or, that was the plan, but it'd hit a snag. Beginner-tier

divine magic was more than enough to take down a typical Wraith, but highlevel Wraiths were different beasts. If it was an A-rank Deadly Wraith inside

that storehouse, they'd at least need Advanced-tier divine magic. Unfortunately,

there weren't any Advanced-tier divine magicians in the Magicians' Guild.

The university gave up and contacted the Adventurers' Guild in the hopes

of obtaining an Advanced-tier divine magician, but alas, this wasn't Millis;

Advanced-tier divine magicians weren't exactly on every street corner here in

the Northern Territories. To make it even worse, the Magicians' Guild

complained about the idea. They'd have to call in a divine magician from a

different town's branch. Borrowing a magician from the Adventurers' Guild

would hurt their reputation, they said. But even if the school could get the divine

magician from another town to come, they wouldn't show up right away.

And so, the days passed…until the first victim appeared.

The cause was uncertain; maybe the seal hadn't been reapplied correctly,

or maybe it'd been faulty since its first application. The victim was an unnamed

female student who fell into a coma after the Wraith attacked her and drained her

of her mana. Her only symptom was simple mana exhaustion, not anything lifethreatening. She was back in class the next day.

But ever since, the victim count steadily climbed.

For the moment, it appeared that the Wraith was still warded within the

seal and could only escape outside to attack students at a particular time of day.

But Wraiths would steadily power up with each feast of human mana they

consumed. If it continued to attack students, it would soon grow strong enough

to break through and bring an army of Skeletons with it. The potential fallout

could be catastrophic.

"That's why some among the student council have suggested that we

should go down there and defeat the Wraith before that happens…" Norn

concluded.

"I can at least use Beginner-tier divine magic!" chimed in one student.

"I bought some weapons from the workshop district that are strong against

Wraiths!" chimed in another.

"This is what we've been studying magic for!" added one more.

"President, please, give us the word!"

Wraiths were by no means impossible to fell by methods besides divine

magic. Normal attacks had some small effect, and magical items or implements

would inflict damage. In that sense, a divine magician was not strictly necessary

to exterminate a Wraith.

"Hmm, I see," said Cliff. "Well, what do you think?"

"I'm against it," stated Norn. "If this monster were something we could

handle on our own, then the Magicians' Guild and the teachers surely wouldn't

be waiting on some divine magician."

"You've got that right," agreed Cliff. Divine magic might not have been

the only method, but it was far and away the most effective. A seasoned

adventurer wouldn't even try to fight a Wraith without a divine magician or a lot

of preparation. They were that dangerous. And this was a high-level Wraith, to

boot; underestimating it could easily get them all wiped out.

It was there that Norn deflated.

"But I can't just stand by and watch more students be harmed…"

Norn couldn't totally oppose taking action while students were getting

hurt. And caution aside, many of the students making up the student council

were the cream of the crop. They were proficient enough to make even Norn

consider that they might have a shot. At the same time, she couldn't deny that

she had a long way to go compared to people like her brother, which made her

waffle on making a decision.

"What should we do?" wondered Norn as she furrowed her brow.

"Come now, you could just… No, wait, you have a point."

Cliff almost asked why she didn't just consult Rudeus, but he stopped

himself. He started to realize what Norn was feeling.

Absolutely, Rudeus could solve this problem in a snap if Norn told him

about it. He was no master of divine magic, but his skills at offensive magic

were Imperial-tier. If anything, Cliff speculated he was on the cusp of Divinetier. Taking out a Wraith or two would've been nothing for him. But it just

wouldn't have been right. To Norn, it was out of the question. She couldn't

explain in words why that was, but given Cliff's own dilemma—which he

needed to solve himself—he understood.

"All right, let's try this," said Cliff. "If you're all right with it…"

"…?"

"I'll give you my help."

"Huh?" Norn said in surprise. At Cliff's suggestion, she went from

inattentive trance to suddenly present. "That's right, you can use Advanced-tier

divine magic…"

Cliff had reached Advanced-tier divine magic. Divine magic at

Intermediate-tier or above couldn't be taught without permission from the Millis

Church, so it wasn't taught at the University of Magic. They didn't even have

staff who could teach it.

But Cliff was the pope's grandson. Millis made an exception for him and

gave permission for him to learn divine magic. As such, the University of Magic

invited a special instructor to give him Advanced-tier lessons. Cliff was just

about to graduate, so that instructor had departed. It was on him.

"President, this is a job for the student council! Sir Cliff might be a part of

the Circle of Six, but we still shouldn't involve regular students!"

"That's right! We're the ones who should do this! If not, people are gonna

say the student council is too incompetent to do anything themselves! They'll

say that our president is powerless!"

The two students who had stood in Cliff's way earlier objected loudly to

the idea. But Norn's spine straightened. She glared them down.

"Stopping the attacks matters more than our pride!" Norn sternly rebuked.

The two students shrunk back. "And besides, what if something happened to you

guys? Any of you could be next."

"President…"

"President Norn…"

Norn turned back to Cliff and looked him in the eyes. Her eyes were steely

—nothing like the eyes she had when she first visited Cliff or when Rudeus left

for the Begaritt Continent. Those had been the eyes of a lost lamb, eyes that

trembled in fear and uncertainty. Looking at Cliff now were eyes that had gained

determination with each passing year.

She'd visited the church where Cliff worked whenever she needed to talk;

all those confessions and complaints must have made a difference.

"Cliff, are you up for this?"

"Yeah."

Cliff had heard Rudeus say with glee that "Norn had really grown up"

every now and then, but Cliff hadn't seen it given that he'd only ever heard her

complain and do confessions. But now, he felt like he was seeing a glimpse of

that girl Rudeus was talking about. It also delighted Cliff to hear Norn ask him

for help instead of her brother.

"All right, council," she said, "we'll be infiltrating the underground

storehouse! But if it ever turns into more you can handle, retreat immediately!

Are we clear?"

"Y-yes!"

And so, Cliff and the student council ventured down into the underground

storehouse.

***

The underground storehouse lay before them.

The University of Magic was a distinguished institution with over two

centuries of history since its founding. I couldn't put number on its age, but I'm

certain that Cliff or anyone in the student council could produce it if you asked

them. Anyway, the University of Magic's building had gone through plenty of

extensions and reconstructions since its founding, building it into the mammoth

of a school we now knew. The elegance of the building's layout speaks to the

characters of the capable administrators and architects who first laid these

buildings' foundations. But no matter how much effort first went into the tidy

facades of the buildings, waves of repeated renovations combined with the

battering of time left some buildings that a generous eye might glide over while

admiring the campus's beauty. One of the buildings was this very storehouse.

There were a number of these storehouses arranged on the periphery of the

building, and they were all stuffed with the University of Magic's history. Magic

wands from two hundred years ago, scrolls from one hundred and fifty years

ago, a principal's century-old family toupée—anything that might have any use

at all was tossed in here when no immediate use was obvious.

In short, it was a dump.

Once Norn took office as student council president, she decided that it was

time to take out the trash. If the junk were cleaned out from the storehouses, the

school would have more space. So, she suggested a plan to renovate them into

student locker rooms. Garbage cleanup in an unused room; it was the kind of

practical albeit inessential little project that suited Norn.

But recently, the student population had grown too large. It became a

pressing reality that the school was running out of personal lockers to offer

students.

There were teachers who weren't on board. They said that everything in

those storehouses was an artifact of history, some of them valuable. You

couldn't toss everything indiscriminately. But Norn shut those complaints down

by saying, "If they really are valuable, then that's all the more reason why they

shouldn't be abandoned in the corner of a storehouse."

In the end, the student council appropriated the necessary funds, hired

assistants within the school, and began work on clearing out the storehouse. This

project was received relatively positively, and many students eagerly joined so

they could earn a little cash.

But as the work continued, a few of those student workers met the Wraith.

"That was how this all began, so we feel some responsibility as the student

council," Norn explained to Cliff as she held a lamp in one hand.

"Well, as far as I've heard, the student council shouldn't have any need to

feel like they're at fault."

In retrospect, victims popped up once in a while before cleaning had ever

started. Even with the barrier reapplied, the attacks kept increasing in frequency.

This was proof that the Wraith in the storehouse was growing more powerful.

Even if the student council hadn't taken on this project, the Wraith would have

broken free from that barrier sooner or later. If anything, the student council

helped everyone discover the Wraith even quicker, so there was a silver lining

here.

"Ooooh…"

Groaning at Cliff's words was a girl, the same pigtailed one who'd clung

to Norn earlier. Both her fists gripped her fifty-centimeter wand as she glared at

the pitch-black stairwell leading to the underground storehouse. Her teeth were

clenched and her body shook. She was the one who'd found the sealed door in

the dark. The one to peel away the seal was, also, her.

The first time she opened that door, a Skeleton had leapt out. Its surprise

attack caught and injured one of the other students who'd followed her down.

The cleanup job turned into a clash. They barely managed to destroy the first

Skeleton, but immediately it resurrected. The rest of the student council rushed

to the sound of the commotion. They'd managed to hold the door back with

Beginner-tier barrier magic long enough for a teacher with Saint-tier barrier

magic skills to arrive, but that friend of the girl who'd broken the seal was still

badly hurt. If they had been a little less lucky, the collateral damage could have

been far worse.

She might not have known that a Wraith was behind that seal, but she

couldn't deny that she removed it partly on a whim. That would typically be

grounds for expulsion. However, Norn had covered for her. She tied the incident

to the recent ghost stories and told the lie that they had bumped into the

storehouse's door and accidentally disturbed the seal while searching for ghosts.

The fact that the Skeleton continued to resurrect and attack until divine

magic pulverized it to dust proved that there was a Wraith controlling it. There

really was a Wraith there, and it really was attacking students, so Norn hadn't

fabricated everything. The girl who'd opened the door must have been sick with

guilt regardless.

"It sure is creepy," said Cliff as he followed her lead and peered into the

darkness. The sealed door was somewhere in there. The Skeleton scare had put a

halt to the storehouse cleaning project; the area was declared off-limits by the

student council's authority.

Cliff recalled the last time he'd been in this position. It was when he

joined Rudeus to search the building that would eventually become his manor.

Back then, Cliff was shivering just like the girl who stood beside him now.

"Hey, what was your name, again?" asked Cliff.

"Huh?! M-me?!"

"Yes."

"It's Sheila, okay?"

Sheila glared at Cliff as though to say, So? What about it? It reminded

Cliff so much of his old self that he couldn't help but laugh.

"Sheila, have you ever done things like… That is, have you ever

adventured into a forest or a dungeon before?"

"Uh, no, I haven't! But I'm sure a Demonic Circle of Six member like you

has soooo much experience! So? Who cares?!"

"Oh no, I have almost none," Cliff said. Sheila eyed him with suspicion.

He continued, "It's just that there's something I once heard from someone who

did have that experience. He said that when beginners try to take on too much,

they end up unable to handle any of it. Focus on doing one thing, and doing it

right."

Was that from the time when he tagged along with Stepped Leader on an

adventure? No, it had to be from when he searched that manor with Rudeus a

few days later. Cliff recalled that Rudeus gave him a single order: "If we run into

an enemy, use basic-level divine magic to attack them." Cliff kept that order in

his head, and when the doll did attack, he was able to fend it off with divine

magic. Right. Beginners can't handle too much.

"Is there anyone in here who's used to fighting monsters or has worked as

an adventurer?" Cliff asked the group.

Of the seven student council members, two hands went up in response.

One belonged to the beastman, and the other belonged to a human. Many

beastfolk grew up in forests, where they'd fight their share of monsters. The

human probably had a history as an adventurer.

"All right, I'll have you two give the orders. For everyone else, let's

decide on your roles beforehand."

"Hey, Cliff," came a gruff voice.

"What is it?"

"I wasn't gonna push you too hard on it since the President said she owed

you a lot, but you ain't our boss," the beastman from before said.

Cliff stopped for a few seconds, but he soon realized that anything he said

wasn't going to get through to this guy.

"Fair enough. Then Norn, please take the lead."

"Huhhh? It doesn't matter who's in charge, does it? It's not like I know

much about fighting monsters, anyway…"

"But you're the president!"

"Well, that's true. Okay, I'll talk with Neadle to assign roles."

Following Cliff's suggestion, Norn walked over to the student with the

raised hand and discussed everything in detail.

"Neadle, you used to be an adventurer, right? I'll tell you everyone's

strengths, so I hope you can give me advice on who'd be a good fit for what job

—"

Cliff looked back at the beastman who'd raised his voice. Of course. This

was why he'd follow Norn and not Cliff. Norn was in her element assigning the

party's roles. She recalled every detail of who was good at what magic and who

had useful non-magic skills as she efficiently assigned the roles. If the old Norn

were handed a leadership role, she might have panicked and worried about what

to do before hanging her head in resignation. But this time was different. She

wasn't exactly perfect, and she still seemed plenty panicky, but she was able to

work together with those around her to take care of a responsibility, even one

thrust on her as suddenly as this one. She didn't naturally know her ass from her

ankle, but she was getting it done.

"All right, that should settle it," Norn said. "Are you ready, everyone?"

"Yes!"

With the roles decided, Cliff and the student council members walked

deeper into the darkness of the underground storehouse.

***

The door was stone. The magic circle carved into its surface emanated a

pale blue glow—a Saint-tier barrier spell. The University of Magic only had one

teacher on staff that could use Saint-tier barrier magic. When any of the barrier

spells set throughout the school needed adjustments or maintenance, he was the

one who did it.

"The magic circle doesn't look like it's worn off," Cliff said while

investigating it. His barrier magic expertise only went up to Intermediate-tier,

but studying curses, developing the Zaliff Prosthesis, and manufacturing the

Magic Armor had made him quite knowledgeable on magic circles. If nothing

else, he could tell at a glance that the magic circle was working properly, and it

didn't take much longer to figure out how to temporarily turn it off. If he spent a

little more time decoding it, he could probably learn how to use this Saint-tier

barrier spell himself.

But of course, Cliff was a man of order. He always followed the rules,

even if he was capable of breaking them. If Cliff learned this Saint-tier barrier

magic, it could land the teacher who maintained this seal in hot water. He had no

intentions of doing so.

After all, he realized, he could study anything he wanted once he returned

home to the Holy Country of Millis.

"I can switch it off. We can get in."

"Understood," said Norn. "Everyone, are you ready?"

The student council members readied their weapons in response. Some

took a deep breath, some had a glimmer in their eyes. There were humans,

beastfolk, halflings, and demons. Norn's student council certainly had a lot more

personality to it than the all-human staff that Ariel had during her tenure. It was

probably the first time in the school's history that so many non-humans had been

gathered onto a single student council.

"All right. Open it, please."

At Norn's request, Cliff made a single incision into the magic circle. And

suddenly, the magic circle's light faded into nothing. The lanterns held by the

student council members were now the only lights left illuminating that stone

door.

The beastman came up to the door and gripped its handle.

"Ngh… Graaaaagh!"

With a roar from the beastman, the stone door slowly scraped open,

screeching every inch of the way.

The doorway only opened wide enough for one or two people to squeeze

through at a time. First was Neadle, the former adventurer, who craned and held

his lantern in on front of him before sliding a foot inside. The other students

followed after. Once they were all inside, the beastman gripped the door once

again, and with that same terrible scraping noise, pulled the door partially shut.

Not all the way. If the door were fully shut, the student council risked having

their exit resealed by a teacher who came to check up on them. As a precaution,

they left it left ajar just wide enough for a single person to slip through. The offlimits sign just outside the underground storehouse's entrance was still up, and

they plastered a notice that said "Under student council investigation! Please

refrain from reapplying any seals for the time being" on the stone door as well.

If Rudeus were in this situation, he'd just wing it and manage to get

himself sealed in. But many of the student council members were the kind of

nerds who got locked inside places by pranksters or bullies, so they'd learned to

take precautions.

"…"

The underground storehouse fell silent. They strained to listen, and in the

dark, the students heard the faint sound of rattling from closer than they'd like.

There were Skeletons in here with them.

"All right, let's stick to the plan," said Norn. At her command, the

beastman and a halfling boy took their places at the front. Both of them held a

steel mace in their hands. Skeletons were all bone, so blunt weapons were more

effective than edged ones. All of the student council members were equipped

with either magic wands, staves, or maces. The plan was to fend off the

Skeletons with strikes and spells while the ranged attackers in the rear aimed for

the Wraith that controlled the Skeletons.

"Grr! President, stand back!" shouted the beastman sharply.

The rattling grew louder as the lantern cast its light onto white shapes. A

figure made of bones—only bones, no sinew or muscle to hold them together—

nevertheless stood upright.

A Skeleton.

It shuffled towards them. This clean-picked corpse caught a look at the

student council members, then lifted the stick it held high over its skull. As it

did, the rattling grew into a chorus as numerous others like it shuffled into the

light.

"No retreat," Norn declared. "Everyone, prepare to counterattack!"

At Norn's order, the beastman and the halfling swung their maces hard.

The Skeleton swung its stick, but its movement was sluggish. A Skeleton's

abilities in death are proportional to what they were in life; this skeleton didn't

belong to a warrior.

"Hmph!"

The beastman shattered the Skeleton across the ground with a single strike

from his mace. However, the bones on the ground rattled as they began to

reassemble. The Skeletons would continually resurrect until the student council

defeated the Wraith that controlled them.

"Forward!" Norn commanded. Following her orders, the student council

members beat aside the Skeletons as they advanced inwards. Fortunately, none

of the Skeletons were particularly dexterous, so they couldn't resist the council's

charge.

Onward they moved to the deepest room. There, they found a single altar.

Of all the things that could atop an altar, this one had absolutely nothing.

Nothing, that is, except the translucent figure above it.

A figure without any legs.

"WHY… WHY… WHY…" it whispered.

It was the Wraith.

"WHY… WHY… WHY…"

The Wraith's tattered robe fluttered as it slowly turned to face the

students. What remained of its gaunt, half-rotted face still showed some signs of

youth. Surprise flitted across its face for just a moment, but once it

comprehended the shapes of Norn and the other students, it unleashed a hairraising shriek.

"Kyyyiiiaaaaaaaaargh!"

"Wh-whoooa!"

"I-it's the Wraith!"

The Wraith's shriek was enough to make a few of the students shrink

back, and as they did, the numerous bones strewn around the altar floated up and

assembled into more Skeletons. Worse: the Skeletons destroyed earlier, behind

them, resurrected into a fresh attack wave. The student council members were

flanked between armies of Skeletons in the front and the rear.

All according to plan.

But.

"Ouch!"

One of the students suddenly felt a pain in her ankle. When she looked

down, she saw a tiny bone, maybe twenty centimeters long.

It was a rat.

It was a rat's bones.

It was a rat's pearly white bones, and it was scurrying around and biting

the students in their ankles.

"Whuh, rah, ah, aaaaaghh!"

In her desperation to get the skeletal rat off of her, the girl screamed and

shook her leg, swinging her wand arm as she did. And it wasn't the only

Skeleton Rat—dozens more scuttered across the student councils' feet and

writhed about their ankles.

"Huh?! Whoa!"

"Eeek!"

Their formation fell apart.

"C-calm down, please!" shouted Norn. "First we'll focus on the…human

Skeletons? No, er, maybe we should retreat?"

Norn attempted quell the wave of panic, but with no clear idea of what to

prioritize, she found herself overwhelmed. She could only swing her mace at the

monsters leaping at her feet. While she struggled, the human Skeletons closed in

on the students.

"…"

The rest of the party might have been panicking, but Cliff held it together.

The rats are a problem, Cliff thought, but the Skeletons are slow, and it

doesn't look like this Wraith is all that tough…

If this were an A-rank Deadly Wraith, it would have buried the party

under a hail of magic as soon as it finished summoning the Skeleton Rats. Or

maybe it would have closed in on them to suck out their mana. And yet, it did

neither; it just floated above the altar and continued to shriek. Its voice wasn't

even that scary. Compared to that boneheaded demon king he'd met on the

Demon Continent, this Wraith sounded like a schoolgirl.

Wait. What if this Wraith is actually weak?

That thought hit him like a bolt. If this were the old Cliff, he might break

formation, disobey, and put everyone else in danger. This one wouldn't do that

on a hunch. Of course, that only applied when it was a hunch alone. Cliff

realized there was something he could do to turn that hunch into a certainty.

"Eye of Identification!" Cliff shouted as he pulled up his eyepatch. In an

instant, his field of vision was filled with words, words, and yet more words. He

waded through the headache-inducing wave of information until finally, he

arrived at the information he needed.

He saw it. He saw the line of text displayed upon the Wraith.

"Hm… Ah!"

This was power of the Demon Eye. He'd been granted it from the Great

Emperor of the Demon World, Kishirika Kishirisu. Cliff hadn't slacked on his

training, but he was still nowhere near as adept as Rudeus was when Rudeus

used his. He'd need many more years of practice to reach that level. But if

nothing else, he'd practiced enough to use it in a crisis.

"I'm going in! Someone cover me!" Cliff shouted as he leapt out of the

crumbling formation. His target was the Wraith. Standing in his way were two

Skeletons.

Cliff made a wide swing with his mace toward the Skeleton on his right,

slamming it right into its hips. The Skeleton's pelvis shattered before it crumpled

to the ground.

"—Exorcise!"

From the back, someone finished their incantation, and a white light blew

past Cliff and crashed into the Skeleton to his left. The single strike of divine

magic turned it into dust on contact. He didn't need to turn around to check. That

voice had been Norn's.

Cliff ran a few more steps, planted his feet, and began his own incantation.

"I call upon thee, God who blesses the land which nurtures us! Deliver

divine punishment to those foolish enough—"

Suddenly, a Skeleton jumped out from Cliff's blind spot into the light. It

thrust the sharpened edge of its stick straight toward Cliff. He jerked his body in

an attempt to dodge it, but it all happened too quickly, and it struck him in the

ribs. The searing pain shot up his spine. Cliff gritted his teeth, pulled himself

together, and focused on his enemy.

The Wraith was right there.

"—to defy the natural ways! Exorcise!"

A mass of white light shot forth from Cliff's wand. It flew toward the

Wraith with more than enough speed…

Direct hit.

"Gyeeaaagggh!"

The Wraith's death throes rang out as it disintegrated. Its translucent body

tore to pieces, each shred burning like a cinder before snuffing out. A half

second's delay and the Skeletons crumpled to the ground—puppets with their

strings cut.

"Huh?"

"Did we…do it?"

Unsure of what had happened, the student council members peered around

at the scattered bones. Cliff examined his surroundings for more vengeful spirits

before grasping his ribs and collapsing to a knee.

"Guh…"

"Cliff! Are you all right?!"

Norn rushed to him and began the incantation for a healing spell. A faint

light washed over Cliff's wound, and suddenly, it closed.

"Phew," sighed Cliff in relief as he wiped off the sweat that drenched his

hairline.

"Thank you so much," said Norn. "Honestly, I don't even know what…"

"No, it's not your fault. Nobody expected those Skeleton Rats. The Wraith

being low-rank was what saved us."

"How could you tell that the Wraith was low-rank?"

"Because I've got this," Cliff said as he tapped the surface of his eyepatch.

The one line in the sea of text that he found when he used the Eye of

Identification was simple and sweet: Yep, thassa Wraith. Ain't too tough neither.

Still, Cliff made a gamble when he stepped out of formation. The eye

might have said the Wraith wasn't too tough, but a Beginner-tier divine spell

could have failed to kill it. If Cliff's strength hadn't been enough, or if the eye's

idea of "not too tough" was measured by the standards of the Great Emperor of

the Demon World, Cliff could have been killed by the counterattack. Cliff could

guess from other cues that it was a low-rank Wraith, but there were no

guarantees. A gamble.

"Well, it worked out. We managed to exterminate it," said Cliff.

"That we did. Thank you very much. Still, it's strange. From what we

discussed, there should have been a high-rank Wraith here that was strong

enough to break through a Saint-tier barrier."

"Thank goodness there wasn't. If this was what a typical Wraith put us

through, we might not have made it out alive against a high-rank one."

The student council, previously stunned as they processed the encounter,

were rattled sharply awake by those words. But the truth was the truth, so they

couldn't deny it. A swarm of Skeleton Rats was enough to make them fall apart.

If the Skeletons had been controlled by a high-rank Wraith, then they would

have moved more swiftly, to say nothing of the barrage the Wraith itself would

have unleashed. If the situation had been different, the student council could

have easily ended up as the newest Skeletons down here.

"But it really is strange. Maybe we should investigate a bit?" said Cliff.

"Good idea… All right, everyone, please look through this area. Keep an

eye out for other Skeletons or Wraiths."

With the Wraith gone, it was time for the investigation to begin.

***

It turned out the Wraith had been escaping with the help of mice. The

students found a wide-open mousehole in the corner that, upon further

investigation, led right to the surface. The Wraith must have leaked through it to

attack those students.

As to why there was a Wraith here to begin with, a tattered journal found

lying in another corner of the room shed some light there. It wasn't a pretty

story. This room was apparently used to store one of the University of Magic's

most prized magic items. But at some point, they moved it somewhere else. With

the room now empty, a teacher ordered a few students to clean it. But shortly

after they got started, they found themselves locked inside.

From the students' perspective, it seemed like a malevolent plan by the

teacher to lock them away. But maybe the teacher forgot about the cleaning,

locked the door, and just…left. The truth of what happened here was lost to

time.

The students did try to escape. But these were just first years who'd barely

gotten their bearings, or perhaps this grunt work fell to students who'd been held

back a year. None of their attempts to escape proved successful. And so, time

passed…and so did they.

The weapons the Skeletons held all appeared to be the remains of cleaning

utensils, and the number of skulls they found perfectly matched the number of

students locked in. That settled it—they were as close to knowing what'd

happened as they were ever going to get. But the student council felt like

speculating, and this is what they came up with: perhaps the teacher returned

days after the students had died. This teacher fearfully opened the door and

discovered the bodies of those dead students. Fearing responsibility for such a

tragedy, they made up some reason to justify sealing it (or at least, get someone

else to do it).

The incident was buried, and at some point, the students became undead.

Centuries later, mice burrowed deep enough to reach the underground

storehouse, which is when the attacks began…

That was what student council guessed, at least.

So many years had passed since this storehouse was last used that it was

likely that the teacher responsible for this and relatives of the students involved

were long gone. Cliff gave the students' bones a funeral and proper burial. He

figured it was the one thing he could do as a Millis priest. The student council

members all attended; they at least wanted to offer a prayer. They dug graves for

each student and recited scripture for them. They did all of this in pensive

silence.

"How will the school handle this incident?" Norn wondered.

"It sounds like they'll go public with it," said Cliff. "It happened centuries

ago, and they can't find their relatives anyway, so they figure it won't hurt their

reputation much."

"I see… I thought they'd cover it up."

"Head Teacher Jenius really pushed for announcing it."

"Ah, yeah. Mr. Jenius is an honest guy."

Cliff knew Jenius himself. He considered him a decent, understanding

man. In fact, ever since Jenius became head teacher, there'd been a huge

reduction in racial discrimination against the staff. The fact that he had a strong

sense of justice and treated people equally probably played a part.

"Ah, right. By the way, Norn, may I ask a question?"

"What is it?"

"You may find what I want to ask you rather upsetting…"

"Wow, if you're saying that, it's gotta be pretty bad… Can you give me a

few seconds? I need some mental preparation."

Norn took a deep breath, lightly smacked her cheeks, and said "all right"

to pep herself up. Then, she turned to face Cliff.

"Hit me."

"Why didn't you consult Rudeus about this?"

"Huh?" For a moment, Norn looked dumbfounded.

"Well, if you'd asked Rudeus instead of me, I think you could have solved

this whole problem without this kind of risk…"

"Oh… Ah, right, that."

"I take it you did have your reasons, then?"

"I mean, yes, I'm trying to avoid relying on my brother for every little

thing. When it comes down to it, I figure if there's something I can do myself, I

should do it." Norn chuckled at herself over that one. "But you're right, I should

have just asked my brother for this one. I made the wrong call."

Norn said she'd made the wrong call, but Cliff remembered it differently;

Norn was opposed to doing this at all. She knew that they couldn't handle it on

their own, so she tried to stop the students from rushing in. If anything, it was

Cliff's sudden intrusion into their business that caused her to make the wrong

call.

If I hadn't shown up, Cliff thought, then there's a good chance that she

would have asked Rudeus for help…

"I apologize for the weird question."

"Oh, no worries…"

Before the two had realized it, the rest of the student council members had

gathered around them.

"Cliff!" called a thick voice. It belonged to that beastman who'd had a

problem with Cliff before. The pigtailed girl was next to him, too. The beastman,

his intimidating face contorted with emotion, suddenly and sharply bowed.

"We would have been in serious danger were it not for your assistance! I

ask you to please forgive my rudeness from earlier that day!"

"I'm sorry too!" said the pigtailed girl as she bowed her head in turn.

"Oh, it's no trouble. You weren't that rude, after all."

"No, I was rude! I judged you because you were a part of the Demonic

Circle of Six! I can't apologize enough!"

"Me too, I kinda figured you were gonna be like Linia or Pursena…"

"That…is pretty unfair, yeah," said Cliff, pinching his temples at the

thought of that sneering cat and dog. If that was what he was being compared to,

then their caution was warranted.

"Still, I'm glad we solved that problem," Norn said with a small nod of

her head. "Thank you, really."

"Now nobody'll have to call the president incompetent!" joked the

pigtailed girl.

"I swear, you're always going on about that!"

"Am I, now? But it's the truth that her grades aren't that great, isn't it?"

"Grades have nothing to do with one's performance on the job. And our

president is excellent at hers!"

"Ugh, of course, you beastfolk always get like this! Always waggin' your

tail for your dear widdle pwesident like you're her pet."

"Pet?! Where the hell do you get off—"

As the two started to fight, the rest of the student council members came

over to get a piece of the drama. Each of them inserted themselves into it in their

own ways—some egged them on, others played peacemaker.

Norn watched over them with a smile. They were just playing around;

they were all friends here. No need to step in. Cliff, suddenly, felt curious about

where life would take them. The beastman and the human girl, what would they

do after they'd finished school?

"Apologies out of the way: I have something I'd like to ask you two. May

I?"

"Huh?"

"What do you plan to do after graduation?" Cliff asked. In response…

"I wanna head back home and work in my village. They're short on

mages!" said the once-antagonistic beastman. Not all beastfolk grew up in the

Great Forest; this one hailed from a small farming village in the Northern

Territories. He and his family were the only beastfolk in the village, which…to

be blunt, meant that they'd faced a lot of prejudice. One of his goals was to

prove that prejudice was wrong, and he decided the best way to do it was with

his own hard work.

"My family's actually nobility, but I was thinkin' of maybe becoming a

knight," said the human girl who'd been butting heads with the beastman just a

moment ago. Graduation was a long way in the distance for her, so she hadn't

given much thought to where she'd go afterward. But even if her goals were a

little unfocused, she was trying find a profession that would make use of her

education from the University of Magic. She didn't want to live the soft life of a

lady and get married off to some other noble; she wanted to be a knight, where

she'd have plenty of chances to use her magic.

"I think I'll go into business. A classmate of mine who graduated last year

asked me to join his," said a demon boy. He'd be graduating next year, so he

was working at a trading company in between his studies to learn the ins and

outs. Knowledge of magic proved to be surprisingly handy in that line of work,

so there were quite a few graduates aiming to become merchants.

"I don't have a single clue myself. I guess I'll just go adventuring."

Of course, there were some students who were far from graduation and

thought that way. Many of the older students were groping around for some

direction in life—but they were looking. But for the most part, the closer that

graduation came to each student, the more focused and serious their plans were

for life after school.

Hearing about all of their plans gave Cliff a thought.

They're all different, huh?

"But you all have a lot of respect for Norn, right? Have you considered

working for her after graduation?"

"Well… If President Norn said she wanted me to, then I'd think about it,

of course, but she hasn't told us what she wants…"

All eyes turned toward Norn.

"Huh? You mean me?"

"That's right, I'd like to hear your future plans as well."

Norn rested her chin in her hand and took a moment to think.

"It's still far off, so it's not like I've given it a lot of thought…"

"Just whatever comes to mind."

"Right. Well, I want to find a job that I'll be able to handle around the

time I graduate. One that suits me."

"Oh, you've got this all figured out, then." Her plan was honest, practical,

and above all, a little…simple. Just like Norn. "Don't you have something you

want to do?"

"Want to do?"

"Well, in your case, you could ask Rudeus and get whatever job you

wanted."

Norn pouted for just a moment, as if Rudeus's shadow was passing over

her and she didn't like it. Cliff realized his mistake, but before he could

apologize, Norn gave her response.

"I've learned so much at this school. And I want to learn what coming

here has made me capable of. That's why whatever decision I make, I'll

probably make it just before I graduate. For myself, by myself."

Those words pierced right into Cliff's brain. It all came to him. What he

was really worried about, what he really wanted to do.

She was right. If he let Rudeus do as he promised, then Cliff would indeed

rise through the ranks of the Millis Church. Given that he was also the pope's

grandson, he'd surely be able to reach a fairly high position without breaking a

sweat, if not without lifting a finger. And when that time came, Cliff would think

to himself:

What was the point of those seven years?

What did I study during those seven years for? What did I work for? What

did I have those once-in-a-lifetime experiences for?

Did any of those once-in-a-life-time experiences in those seven years have

any meaning?

Yes, I gained a once-in-a-lifetime friend in Rudeus. Wouldn't that mean

that not a single thing about me changed during that time?

That was it.

He wanted to know.

He wanted to be sure.

He needed to know what he learned and what he gained were worth those

seven years.

"Norn."

"Huh? Oh, what is it?"

"Thank you. You've taught me a valuable lesson here."

Page 56 Goldenagato | mp4directs.com

Norn seemed a bit confused by Cliff's sudden gentle laugh, but she soon

responded with laughter of her own. She crossed her hands in front of her,

straightened her posture, raised her chin, and said, "No, I have you to thank for

teaching me so much over the years."

And with that, she gave her a small bow of her head.

Norn had relied on Cliff for help many times when Rudeus wasn't around.

It might have seemed like she sat idly by listening to Cliff's words, but Norn was

grateful for it.

As her senior and a follower of Millis, Cliff had listened to her grumble,

taught her how to be strong, guided her in her studies… Cliff wasn't the only

person Norn relied on then, but she still considered him a great influence.

"It's a bit early, but congratulations on your graduation. Thank you for

everything. I mean it."

In response to Norn, the student council members bowed their heads and

said "Congratulations" together. They might have thought of it as following

Norn's lead, but true, clear respect rang through their voices.

"Well, um…"

Cliff was a bit flustered, but he wouldn't shrug it off. Instead, he broke out

into a smile.

"Thank you."

***

That evening, Cliff thought over the afternoon's events while he was in

bed. Next to him lay Elinalise, and next to her snoozed Clive. Elinalise's eyes

were closed, but she was awake. Cliff could tell because she was continuing to

lovingly caress his body.

"Lise," Cliff whispered so as to avoid waking Clive up. Elinalise didn't

answer, but she stopped her hand and pressed her forehead against his shoulder.

Cliff understood without her needing to say a word.

Cliff turned his head to see her beautiful face right before his eyes. Cliff

believed picking a partner based on looks didn't work. But even so, he thought

she was beautiful the moment he laid eyes on her. Despite his ideas about what

made a good partner, he'd still wanted her. She wasn't the woman he imagined

for himself. No—she was more far beautiful, body and soul and attitude alike.

"I decided on the answer I'll give Rudeus," said Cliff. Elinalise wrapped

her fingers around Cliff's hand in response, gently.

"You see, I'm grateful to Rudeus. Thanks to him, I think I've really grown

up. Not enough to feel like I can call myself a man, though."

Elinalise said nothing. When Cliff spoke, especially about serious matters

like this, she always stayed silent to lend him an ear, just like this.

"I think it's half thanks to him that we've been able to have a child and

live this blessed life together. I'm sure he'd say otherwise, of course. He thinks

too much of me for some reason. He'd say it was just the result of my hard

work."

"That's been the thing, Lise. If Rudeus is ever in trouble, I want to help

him. Whenever, however many times I can. My strength might not match what

Rudeus has in his pinkie, but I figure there might be something I can do. There

must be things he can't do that I can.

"But if I simply do the same things as him, if I put myself under his

protection, then I don't think I'll ever develop another skill that he can't already

do. If I want to be there for him as his friend, then I think I need to walk on my

own two feet, to reach out for what I want with my own two hands, to protect

what's mine with the strength in my own arms."

The words tumbling out of Cliff's mouth weren't some grand, wellformed philosophy. They were simply what he felt to be true.

"I want to feel something real."

Something real. Yes, Cliff wanted to feel something for himself.

To feel that he could do it. To feel that he was a real man. To feel how

much he'd grown in these seven years. To feel that he could protect Elinalise

and Clive on his own. He wanted to test himself in the daunting hierarchy of the

Millis Church.

Of course, this was pure vanity. If he put Elinalise and Clive's safety first,

then accepting Rudeus's help from the start and gaining Orsted's backing would

have guaranteed that. But that wouldn't be the end of the story. If Cliff made that

choice, he'd surely lose his confidence somewhere down the line. When the time

came to face a true crisis, he'd freeze up without Rudeus's help. He'd await the

direction of an authority who should instead be his friend and peer, and he'd let

some crucial moment slip away.

Cliff couldn't put into succinct words why he thought this would happen.

All he had was the vague prediction that he'd turn out that way, and he hated the

idea of meeting that fate.

"So that's what you think, Cliff?" said Elinalise. She understood.

"Am I wrong?"

"No. But one thing: you already have me within arm's reach. I can be a

sword to strike down your foes or a shield to protect you from harm. No point in

not using the weapons you have."

"Ah, you're right."

They say that weapons and armor are extensions of your body. Elinalise

took that to heart; she wanted Cliff to treat her as though she were a part of his

own body. Not in the sense of using her like a tool, but to consider her presence

to be as natural as his own arms and legs. This was Elinalise's way of being

there for her husband.

"Still, you spent so long thinking about it. What made you decide all of a

sudden?"

"Oh, well, there was this thing that happened with the student council

members today…"

Cliff talked about the day's events. He explained about Norn's concern,

how they exterminated the Wraith under the school, how he asked the student

council members about their futures…and last, about how Norn thanked him and

curtsied with a smile.

"Hey, sounds like you had a good day."

"Yeah… But there's one thing that's nagging me."

"Oh?."

"Yeah. It's just a thought that I had today…"

"Could I ask you to share it with me?"

"I mean… Okay."

"Don't worry, I won't laugh."

Elinalise's voice was gentle as Cliff fumbled over his words. However, the

ends of her mouth were curled in a slight smirk. When Cliff started fumbling

over words like this, it was usually because he wanted to say something nice

about a woman. He didn't want to sound like he was cheating. Elinalise adored

that part of Cliff. He stumbled because he couldn't bear the idea of her ever

hating him.

"Well, uh, I'm not sure it's something I'm supposed to say to you, but…I

think, maybe, potentially, Norn might like me."

"Oh, heavens! Cliff, you aren't cheating on me, are you? You dog! You

cad!"

"N-no, I'm no—"

"Shh. Cliff."

Up to now, this was how it usually went. Cliff would be in a panic to deny

it, and then Elinalise would tease him some more, and in the end, she'd say she

was just kidding as they hugged and made up. But tonight, Elinalise decided to

be a bit more serious.

"There are a lot of men who would hit on me, but there aren't many who'd

even think of starting a family with me after learning what kind of woman I am.

Frankly, I wouldn't either.

"But you looked through that. You saw this woman you didn't know the

first thing about and took her at her word. You tackled the challenge of lifting

my curse head-on. Those aren't things that just anyone would do. That's why I

fell for you. My heart is yours, Cliff. If I had to step outside of our marriage and

sleep with someone else to stay alive, then I'd gladly accept death at the hands of

my curse. That's how good of a catch you are. There's nobody I'd rather be

with."

"Oh, er…I mean, I don't think I'm that great…"

Unsure of how to take such a heavy compliment, Cliff turned beet-red as

his eyes swirled in their sockets.

"Now that I've made myself clear, you're free to believe or not believe the

words I'm about to tell you."

"S-sure."

Cliff loudly gulped down his own saliva, but Elinalise cut in without

giving him a moment's pause, "She's not into you."

"…"

"My curse has made me quite perceptive to every subtle coil of a woman's

heart. So, I'm quite certain."

These ruthless words left Cliff speechless. But Elinalise soon snickered at

her husband and continued in a teasing tone.

"But maybe, and I do mean maybe, I'm speaking out of jealousy… Maybe

I'm lying to tear you two apart because I don't want Norn carrying you away…"

"No…I know that's not true. Right. I-I knew that. That's why I prefaced

my thought with a 'maybe.' It's just that, if she really does harbor some feelings

for me, then that'd be, you know, a problem…"

"Sure, dear."

Cliff scrambled for excuses despite his beet-red face. Elinalise looked on

with affection. She didn't quite mean to test his loyalty, but the fact that Cliff

would get this flustered proved his loyalty. He was so sweet.

"Wuh… Waaaaagh… Aaaaaawgh…"

And just then, Clive started crying. Maybe Cliff was being too loud, or

maybe Clive was sick of his parents flirting, but he was grumpy.

"Oh dear, seems we got a bit loud."

"Guh, sorry…"

Elinalise sat up, leaned over the baby bed beside her, and took care of

settling Clive. Cliff sat up as well, his hands uselessly pawing the air in the

hopes that he could do something to help, but Elinalise had quieted Clive before

he found a way to be useful.

"There, there," said Elinalise as she gently rocked her body to calm the

baby down. Cliff watched as an indescribable joy welled up inside him…and an

even greater sense of commitment to the path he'd chosen.

Chapter 4:

Cliff and Zanoba's Graduation Ceremony

LIFE SPED PAST, and before I knew it, it was already time for the Ranoa

University of Magic graduation ceremony. The ceremony took place in a large

lecture hall. Cliff sat among the rows of the newly minted graduates. Zanoba

was actually there too, in one of the back rows. I asked if they could let him join

the ceremony even though he dropped out, so they decided to make an

exception. He was an exceptional student, after all, and he barely took any

classes to begin with. Considered in another light, you could say this was

Jenius's mercy at work.

Not that Zanoba himself seemed to care about the graduation ceremony.

But hey, it means something to participate in these sorts of functions. Life's

rituals matter.

The other attendees were the same old people. Seated beside the five

hundred graduates were the two or three hundred members of the teaching

faculty. Roxy had seemed a bit distant from her colleagues the last time she was

in that spot, but this time, she fit right in. Perhaps she'd gotten used to it. Her

short stature didn't set her apart from the other faculty; if anything, her

uniqueness made it clear how she belonged.

The only non-graduates present were the student council members. Norn

headed the group with a scowl that seemed frozen by nerves. Lined up with her

were demons, beastfolk, and more. The student council under Ariel's presidency

was very human-centered, but I suppose that when the leader changes, the

people working under them do too.

I'd thought this during last year's entrance ceremony too, but Norn

seemed to be particularly well-liked by the demon and beastfolk students. I'd

never heard a bad word from the rest of the students, either. She didn't inspire

the same level of fanaticism that Ariel did but being seen as a reliable student

council president was plenty good enough. As her brother, she did me proud.

I had gotten Jenius's permission to sit with the student council in one of

their empty seats. Ah, graduation ceremonies! I'm a sap for them.

"Representing the graduating class, Brooklyn von Elsass. I present you

with your degree and your D-Rank Magicians' Guild certificate!"

This year's valedictorian wasn't Cliff. I hadn't heard of the dude they

picked instead, but his last name did ring a bell. I recalled that it belonged to a

royal family in the Duchy of Neris, one of the Magic Nations.

The Ranoa University of Magic might have carried "Ranoa" in its name,

but its funding came from all three of the Magic Nations. Putting their nobles

and royalty first was probably an unspoken rule.

"I, Brooklyn von Elsass, humbly accept!"

"May you find your way upon the path of magic!"

Cliff looked on with melancholy in his eyes. If it were the old Cliff, he'd

probably be throwing a fit over not being the valedictorian. Honestly, if you

went by grades alone, none of the other graduates would touch Cliff; his final

grades were Advanced-tier in the four branches of attack magic, Advanced-tier

healing, Advanced-tier detoxification, Intermediate-tier barriers, Advanced-tier

divine. Plus he'd done that research report on curse suppression. He didn't quite

reach Saint-tier, but nobody else was even close, maybe not even if you searched

back into the school's history. The only person who might be able to compete

was Roxy. Maybe.

Me? All I learned in college was healing and detox, so I wasn't in the

running.

On top of his excellent grades, Cliff had also become a certified Millis

priest. You'd think that spending every morning and night servicing Elinalise

would have made him too busy to keep his grades up, but they didn't drop at all.

He'd learned everything this school had to offer, and now he was an adult in

body and soul. Plus, he nabbed himself a hot wife and they'd popped out a kid,

all domestic and stuff.

A real normie-kinda excellence.

So, what about that sad expression? It probably didn't come from grief

over how he wasn't valedictorian. It was melancholic, one rooted in deep

thought. Maybe he was still considering my proposal from a couple months

back. But if he was still thinking it through, that would have been fine by me.

There weren't a lot of decisions worth making that could be thought through in

just two months.

With the graduation ceremony now complete, I started by meeting up with

Zanoba. He was accompanied by Ginger, who was dressed in formal wear, and

Julie, who trotted along behind with a bouquet in hand. Nobody else appeared to

be following suit, so maybe it was a Shirone Kingdom custom.

"Congrats on graduating, Zanoba," I said.

"Oh! Master, thank you ever so much!" Zanoba exclaimed. He was

wearing his Ranoa University of Magic uniform. Its design was a bit youthoriented, but it suited him a lot better than Shirone Kingdom formal wear.

"I see that you put in a good word or two regarding my graduation… I

must say, I was astonished when I received that letter from the University."

"Hey, no big deal, right? Showing up to this stuff helps put it behind you."

Yeah, it's always a safe bet to attend ceremonies. Sylphie always seemed

a little regretful that she didn't go to her own graduation ceremony. Then again,

Zanoba might've seen a ceremony as nothing more than a hassle. He was

royalty.

"Or was it just a pain?"

"Not at all. I thought it was a bother at first, but surprisingly, it wasn't all

that bad once my turn came…"

Zanoba's voice trailed off as he looked over his surroundings. Graduates

were being surrounded by their underclassmen, greeted by teachers, all that good

stuff. The kind of sight you get misty-eyed over once some time has passed.

Well now, was that group over there centered around Norn? A boy—he

looked like a demon—was holding her hand with a beet-red face. Seeing that

Norn looked a bit uncomfortable while her fellow student council members were

grinning ear to ear, I had a feeling it was the classic love confession. Or perhaps

it was more wholesome, where an admirer of the student council president just

begged to shake her hand.

A Norn meet-n-greet. If I bundled Norn handshake tickets with the

Ruijerd figurines, her diehard fan club would probably buy tons of them. Wait, I

wasn't trying to turn a profit, so maybe I shouldn't…

Over in another direction was Roxy, who was surrounded by girls. About

five schoolgirls were bowing their heads to Roxy with tears welling in their eyes.

Roxy gently smiled and told them something; suddenly, the dams broke, and one

of the girls started wailing out of sheer emotion while clinging to her. Roxy

seemed uneasy, but she gave the girl some tender pats on the back. The rest of

the girls were moved to tears and began bawling as well.

There were plenty of other graduation clichés happening around the

campus, all with that sappy, tender atmosphere that you could only find at a

graduation.

Not that anyone was coming near me or Zanoba. I knew I wasn't exactly

Mr. Popular here, but it still felt kinda lonely.

Well, them's the breaks.

I had a reservation at a pub after this. Me, my family, Linia, and Pursena.

Maybe I'd call Nanahoshi over too, that way we could all have a little party.

Orsted wouldn't be able to join, but I'd already gotten his congrats. I might have

felt all alone in this sort of place, but it wasn't like I didn't have my friends. It

was time to put this behind me and head on home. Or so I thought.

"Mr. Rudeus."

A lone man approached me. He had fluffy blond hair and looked to be

about twenty. He seemed vaguely familiar… Who was this guy, again?

"A pleasure to meet you. My name is Brooklyn von Elsass."

Ah, the valedictorian guy. I saw him earlier today, didn't I?

"Congratulations on graduating as valedictorian," I said, bowing my head.

"Thank you very much," he replied as he gracefully returned the favor.

"But it was only due to the influence of my family that I was able to take that

spot. My test scores have always been second to Cliff's."

"Come now, you're too humble…"

I felt myself about to break out in a cold sweat. I didn't wanna say it, but

I'd been thinking it.

"Still, regardless of my family's circumstances, I proved victorious over

Cliff in the end. Anticlimactic as it is…"

True, he was the valedictorian. Couldn't argue with results. It probably

wasn't the kind of victory you could boast about, though.

"Which…brings me to you, Mr. Rudeus," said Brooklyn as he looked

right at me. The look in his eyes was resolute. Jeez, why? Maybe this was some

romantic confession. He had to defeat Cliff before he could ask me out? Is that

what's up? But oh, but heavens, I belong to another! I have my wife, my other

wife, my other other wife, and my children to think about…

"I wish to challenge you to a duel."

So. I'd been a little wrong.

A duel, huh? Ever since word got out about me being Orsted's second, I'd

been approached by a handful of chumps asking for one, but…what did beating

Cliff have to do with dueling me?

"Why?"

"Right. For a while, I've become interested in ascertaining just how strong

I've become. In the past few years, I've become aware that my strength is

exceptional by the standards of the average person."

Exceptional? Well, he was the valedictorian. Technically. It made sense he

was a cut or two above the average mage.

"But you, Mr. Rudeus, have reached far greater heights."

"I…suppose."

"I've long wished to challenge you. Ever since the moment I saw you

defeat the Demon Lord Badigadi."

Brooklyn clenched his fists tight as he mentioned that moment.

"I come from a family of warriors. When I return to my home country, I'll

succeed the family, hire subordinates, and be in a position of commanding

others. Once there, I'll surely lose all remaining chances to test my strength."

"Yeah, you can't act on a whim once you've got a position to maintain."

"Exactly. That's why I'd like to take this final chance to challenge you!"

Brooklyn bowed his head with force.

I understood perfectly. Every man gets curious about how strong they

really are. He knew he was above average. He knew there were people above

him. He knew he had a slim chance at victory, but he wanted to challenge me

anyway. I understood where he was coming from. Except for one part…

"Where did the 'defeating Cliff' part come from?"

"Huh?" Brook seemed to be surprised by that question. "I heard that

nobody could challenge you without defeating the Demonic Circle of Six first.

Ms. Linia, Ms. Pursena, and Ms. Fitz have already graduated, Mr. Badi has

left…and I've already defeated Mr. Zanoba…"

"…"

The…Demonic Circle of Six? That was a thing, wasn't it? Beats me as to

who started it, though. Defeating all of them to challenge me? Talk about a

stickler for rules…

"So, you won against Zanoba?" I asked.

"Yes. I've bested him numerous times during mock battles as part of our

classes."

"Uh, you don't say."

I glanced over to Zanoba. He looked away.

…Well, in a battle using magic alone, Zanoba probably would lose. But

this guy couldn't win against Cliff this whole time, which is what drew this

whole thing out until now. He knew he hadn't really bested Cliff, but graduating

without challenging me would mean letting his last chance slip away, so he came

now to ask anyway.

I get it. A graduation memory, huh?

"I suppose I really must defeat the ones who've graduated as well?" he

asked.

He probably wanted to make a memory here more than he wanted to win.

To put this behind him. Like asking out a crush who's way out of your league.

"Nah, it's fine. Let's do it."

No matter what the world, people want to make their graduation special.

"I… Thank you very much!"

Brooklyn responded with another aggressive bow.

"Hey, Zanoba, could I ask you to judge?"

"Understood, Master."

I handed my coat to Zanoba. The thought of using the Magic Armor

flashed across my mind…but I figured that was best left on the sidelines.

***

The whole thing took about four hours.

No need to keep you in suspense: I won. I didn't spend those daily training

sessions with Sword King Eris and Dragon God Orsted twiddling my thumbs.

Our duel wasn't remotely close; I knocked him down. I figured Brooklyn

wouldn't want me going easy on him; given the relieved smile he later thanked

me with, it seemed like he also knew how this was going to end.

That part was fine.

After that, a number of other graduates who'd been watching from the

sidelines started coming one after another, each challenging me to test their

strength. They claimed they'd beaten Zanoba in an eating contest, or beaten Cliff

in a race, or any other excuse I couldn't fact-check. The onlookers gathered in

droves, and suddenly, I was the center of a crowd.

I was starting to enjoy myself. Bring it on. Hey, it was graduation, and I

wasn't the one who made up that Circle of Six stuff anyway. Even Norn

restrained her usual nagging and spent her energy directing the student council

members to manage the queue. She resigned herself to the task of preventing

chaos without stifling the normal rowdiness of kids at graduation. Sorry,

President.

"Phew…"

And so, my duels with about twenty other people had ended. All my

training might have toughened me up, but even I was a little wiped out.

Everyone seemed satisfied; every face had this slight look of contentment on it.

I hoped I'd helped make memories for the kids headed back to their homelands.

Eventually, the crowd cleared. Norn had to clean up the assembly hall, so

she told me to head home without her before she vanished. The only ones left

were Zanoba and his attendants.

"You certainly are popular, Master."

Zanoba seemed exhausted from all that judging. He was a real glass

cannon, no stamina.

"I must say, I'm simply enervated… And you, Master? Are you not a tad

tired?"

"Nah, I'm fine. I think we got a bit dirty, though. We ought to get changed

before the party later."

"Hmm… A fair point," Zanoba said as he looked down at his clothes.

They were covered in dirt and sand that the shock waves from those magic spells

had splattered him with. Of course, that went double for me, the one those spells

were aimed at.

"Then let us return to our homes for now. What of your sister?"

"Norn said she'd join us, and she already told the people at the hall about

it, so she should show up on her own."

"I see. Well then…"

For a moment, Zanoba's gaze flitted to something behind me, just a little

above my ear. I turned around to search for what he was looking at.

Found it.

A head of short, dark-brown hair was looking down at us from the rooftop.

Standing next to him was a head of blonde ringlets rustling in the wind.

"Julie, Ginger," said Zanoba.

"Yes?"

"Apologies, but could I ask you to return home ahead of me and prepare a

change of clothes for when I arrive?"

"Understood."

The two nodded and left. I thought they'd decided Ginger wasn't a servant

anymore, but she was acting pretty subservient to my eye. Guess old habits die

hard.

"Now then, Master, let us go."

"Sure."

I nodded at Zanoba and we entered the school building.

"I saw it all, Rudeus. You cleaned up."

Cliff commended me with a tired expression when we arrived on the roof.

Elinalise was to his side, standing off a ways. I was aware that she had come to

the graduation ceremony; she dropped off Clive at our house beforehand, after

all. I wasn't aware that she'd come in her schoolgirl uniform, what with her

dropping out and all. I refrained from asking what she wore that uniform for,

however.

Hey, today was a graduation ceremony. Whatever floats their boats, so to

speak.

"You mean how I showed 'em why they call me the Right Hand of the

Dragon God?"

"Don't be ridiculous. You could have easily done that before you ever

fought Orsted."

"Fair enough."

Cliff rested against the rooftop's railing.

"So, Cliff, what're you doing up here?"

"No reason," said Cliff as he gazed up at the sky. "Just felt like going

somewhere high."

Just felt like it, huh? Hey, we've all got times like that. I wasn't great with

heights, so my melancholy usually brought me to Paul's grave.

"Well, congrats on graduating, Cliff."

"Thank you."

I walked up to his side and rested my own body against the railing.

Zanoba joined on Cliff's opposite side. Elinalise stood a bit further away,

watching over the three of us.

Man…we were totally nailing that "YA protagonist, 'gazing out into our

futures'" aesthetic. Come to think of it, Cliff had his whole future ahead of him.

Twenty-two, married with a kid, and fresh out of university. And with that new

chapter in life, new challenges were sure to emerge… Wait, no, I was being

silly. Time to get serious. Focus on what really mattered at a time like this.

We needed to talk about the afterparty.

He'd said he was coming before, and it'd be a bummer if one of the stars

of the show flaked out.

"Cliff… What'll you do after this?"

You know, what time would he get there? Would he come with us right to

the party, or would he need to go, uh, pregame with Elinalise beforehand? That

was what I meant with that question.

"…"

Cliff responded with silence. Was he getting shy? Did he and Elinalise

still have some schoolgirl roleplay to get down to?

"I…did some thinking. I talked it over with Elinalise, too."

Cliff paused for a few seconds before his next words.

"One more year. Can you wait for me?"

For a moment, I didn't know how to process what I'd just heard. Our

reservation at the pub was today. They'd make us reschedule for sure.

"Until your child grows just a bit older, you mean?" asked Zanoba.

Oh, right. Reality! Cliff had said two months ago that he'd give an answer

at the graduation ceremony. Hey, I hadn't forgotten or anything. We just had the

graduation and the afterparty today, so I didn't wanna press him until after that.

"Yes. Clive is still so little. I'd like to at least watch over him until he's

done weaning."

Cliff looked stern as he gazed down upon the Magic City of Sharia. The

city stretched out under us. I couldn't tell if it was because of the green roof, but

man, my house sure stood out like a sore thumb…

Come to think of it, this rooftop wasn't here when we first enrolled. Three

years ago, before the last renovation, they sent out a survey asking what the

building needed. I asked for a rooftop, but this was the first time I realized it'd

actually been built.

"It will take nearly two years to travel to the Holy Country of Millis from

here. However, Rudeus, if I use the teleportation circle in your home, I could

shorten that time. I don't know by how much, but I should have at least a year of

leeway."

Cliff seemed to think it was his duty to return home within two years of

graduating. Always keeps his word, huh?

"You'll let me use the magic circle, won't you?"

"Of course."

"I appreciate it."

The teleportation circle was taboo. Using it not for an emergency, but for

personal convenience was surely something that weighed heavily with buttonedup Cliff.

"Also, Rudeus. About joining you…"

"Yeah?"

Cliff hesitated to say it. It sounded like I was about to be rejected. I at least

wanted to hear his reasoning so I could persuade him one last time…

"I'd like you to wait for that as well."

"Oh, wait?"

"Yes. It is true that having the backing of the Dragon God Orsted would

allow me to reach a high position within the Millis Church."

That was for sure. Orsted knew a lot about the internal workings of the

Millis Church. If nothing else, he'd probably learned about what weaknesses of

which officials mattered when during his many long loops.

"But I feel it just wouldn't be right."

"…"

"Part of me wants to know how far within the Millis Church the efforts

I've made can take me…but I also don't want to sit in a seat that someone else

handed me."

Cliff clenched his fists as he spoke. I guess I understood. He was just like

the guys who challenged me to those duels. He wanted to test his strength. It was

the part of Cliff that made him a man.

"If those efforts bring me to the top of the Millis Church, then I will

become your ally."

Hmm… I certainly would've liked it if Cliff could do it on his own, but

there was always the chance that he couldn't. If it ended with him losing his

position, then I could live with it. I'd find another avenue to reach the Millis

Church while I hired Cliff to be Orsted's personal helmet designer or something.

But that wasn't the only way it could go. The thought of his life ending in an

assassination made me sick. He could die. But if it was the path Cliff chose, I

wouldn't talk him out of it.

"Incidentally, Sir Cliff," said Zanoba in my stead. "Do you plan to travel

alone one year from now? What of your family?"

That was right, what did he plan to do about Elinalise and Clive? Cliff

looked pained, a mixture of anguish and shame flooding his face. At the same

time, he was resolute.

"I'll leave them."

"For…how long?"

"Until I'm a real man. At least."

A real man, huh? Which was to say, he didn't know how long it would be.

I looked at Elinalise; her eyes were closed and arms folded in front of her

stomach. She had no illusions.

But was this okay? Elinalise surely wanted to be by Cliff's side if she

could, to watch over him and give him the support he needed. The curse

mattered, too. Cliff's magical implement could lighten the curse's symptoms,

but it wouldn't do so for years on end. But it wasn't my place to interject, here.

Cliff had made this decision with his wife.

Cliff was at a crossroads, and he'd decided.

"I understand," I said.

Respecting Cliff's wishes came with its risks. If Cliff died somewhere

outside of my control, then I'd lose my only connection with the Holy Country

of Millis. I'd also lose someone who could research curses. As a risk, though, it

could pay dividends. Cliff would get more chances to grow if he struck out for

himself. That growth would make Cliff a formidable ally when the time finally

came. I couldn't say if it outweighed the risks, but it was certainly possible. As a

logical move, it wasn't bad.

Cliff made his decision, and Elinalise agreed. I had to respect that.

"Well then, I'll see you again one year from now."

"Yes. As will I."

Cliff held out his hand. I grabbed it and nodded deeply.

That said, if I had to wait until Cliff became a real man, that was three

years of not knowing if Cliff would join up. That meant I had to put Cliff to the

side and focus on something else.

As for what… Well, saying hi to Ariel would be a good start. Zanoba just

started with the figurine sales, and I had to make sure the Mercenary Band kept

recruiting. To accomplish both of those, I wanted to expand into the Asura

Kingdom. Perhaps I'd use this year to plan how to conquer Asura. I was gonna

be busy.

But first…it was time to party.

"All right, Cliff. Enough of the heavy talk, let's spend the rest of the night

havin' the time of our lives!"

"Yeah… Let's do it!"

And that was Zanoba and Cliff's graduation.