28. I Have a Boyfriend (4)
First Main Tower, Vice Principal's Office.
Vice Principal Akiheiden smiled warmly at the cadets seated across from him.
Eizel, Selien, and Flame.
Promising talents who had proudly placed their names among the Twelve Rising Stars.
Even for Stella, it was rare to produce as many as two in a single year once the 'guaranteed attendees' were excluded, but this year there were no less than three.
It truly could not be called anything but unprecedented.
Only two people from a single school were supposed to be able to participate, and the number of Rising Stars had historically always been fixed at twelve.
The fact that even the old-fashioned Magic Elders' Council, the Mages' Assembly, and the Magic Tower Union—organizations that strictly followed principles and precedent—had been swayed meant that Flame's paper had to be considered something truly remarkable.
"Flame. I am proud of you."
"…Thank you."
Flame lowered her head, doing her best to hide her displeased expression.
'So I really am going to this…'
The Aslan Seminar was important enough to be treated as one of the main episodes too, but even if she didn't go, Eizel had originally been meant to resolve the incident there on her own.
Well, even so, it wasn't bad.
From everything she had experienced so far, there was no knowing how the future might change, so it would be more reassuring to witness the episode with her own eyes.
"At the seminar as well, show an excellent performance and bring even greater glory to Stella's name."
"…Yes."
Watching Akiheiden say that so shamelessly made her want to laugh in disbelief.
Vice Principal Akiheiden.
He was one of the central evil figures who had infiltrated Stella and was manipulating dark mages from the shadows.
Up until now he had been keeping quiet, but Flame knew what horrific things he would go on to do in the future, so even standing in front of him now, she could not feel at ease in the slightest.
Unlike her, Eizel looked up at Akiheiden with shining sky-blue eyes full of admiration.
A great mage who, despite coming from the lowly background of a street beggar, had risen through sweat and blood to finally reach the position of vice principal of Stella.
That was the 'backstory' of Vice Principal Akiheiden.
Of course, most of it was fabricated, so all Flame could feel was pity for the Eizel who had been deceived by it.
"There are several other cadets in this school who possess guaranteed attendance rights. Are you aware of that?"
Hong Biyeon of the Adolevit royal family, Jeremy of the Scarlven imperial family, and several other students attended Aslan already holding guaranteed attendance rights.
The same was true of Baek Yuseol, who had inherited the Atalek ducal family's attendance right.
"There are especially many attendees this year. I feel as though it may be a thing never to happen again in history. You truly are something Stella can be proud of."
Akiheiden spoke with a gentle smile, but inwardly, he was not pleased at all.
He found it deeply inconvenient that some insignificant little first-year cadet had suddenly been added into the Aslan Seminar.
He cast Selien a subtle glance.
She quietly nodded in response.
Selien was still only a second-year, but it would not have been an exaggeration to say her theory and knowledge were already at the level of a specialist professor.
'A genius of theory.'
That was a phrase that could be attached only to her.
Though, because her maximum mana capacity was drastically low, it was nearly impossible for her to live as a proper mage.
The mission given to Selien this time was simple.
At the Aslan Seminar, she was to completely refute Baek Yuseol's paper and strip him of next year's attendance rights.
And if, on top of that, she could destroy Eizel thoroughly enough that the girl would never have another chance to rise again, that would be even better.
For a mage, the Aslan Seminar was truly a place of opportunity, and if Eizel managed to shine there, some very troublesome things might happen.
'Brats like these…'
Selien wore a confident smile.
She had already read both Eizel's and Flame's papers over several times.
Without question, both of their papers were astonishing discoveries, the kind of achievements that could mark a turning point in academic history.
'Which only makes it all the more satisfying to break them completely.'
Astonishing discoveries, was it.
Selien, a genius of theory, truly was exactly that—a genius of theory.
She had more confidence than anyone in her ability to absorb existing knowledge and digest it into her own.
But for her to think up something herself and create a new spell from scratch—that was impossible.
That was why she wanted to trample the magic of those two girls even more thoroughly.
Magic, mana, creativity.
Wasn't it selfish enough that those girls had everything already—did they really have to try and take theory as well?
That was what Selien thought.
"These are handouts containing the seminar schedule. Take them and be sure to read through them."
"Thank you."
"Good. You may go now. Until the day of the Aslan Seminar, continue to strive, and then strive some more, so that you will show nothing but your best there."
"…Yes!"
Eizel's answer was especially energetic.
With that exchange as the end of their meeting, the three girls left the vice principal's office.
"It's an honor to be going together with such famous juniors~ The professors couldn't stop praising your papers. I may look forward to them, right?"
"Ah, yes… of course."
Because Selien had already picked a fight with her before, Eizel did not hold particularly favorable feelings toward her and answered only vaguely, while Flame flatly ignored her from start to finish.
'…Arrogant bitches.'
Selien whipped her head away and disappeared down the opposite side of the corridor.
That left Eizel walking down the corridor alone with Flame.
She kept sneaking glances at Flame from the side.
By now, Eizel had made a fair number of friends, and had become quite sensitive to rumors too.
'Baek Yuseol and Flame are dating.'
A story she had been hearing for the past few days.
This wasn't just some ordinary piece of gossip anymore—Flame herself had directly acknowledged it, making it a confirmed rumor.
"…Haa. What is it now. Why, what?"
"Y-yes?"
"If you've got something to say, say it already."
When someone kept glancing over that obviously, it would actually be stranger for the person walking beside them not to notice.
"…That rumor. Is it true?"
"Yeah. It's true. I'm on my way to go on a date even now."
"Ah… I see. So it really is…"
At Flame's firm answer, Eizel quietly shut her mouth.
Her expression did not change much, so it was impossible to tell what she was thinking.
"Is there some reason it bothers you?"
"N-no? Not really."
"Then why do you look so miserable?"
Eizel stared into empty air for a while, as if about to say something, then ended up closing her mouth again.
"…Mm, I'm not really sure. It's nothing."
In the end, she never properly said what she wanted to say and instead strode ahead first, passing Flame and disappearing down the corridor.
Watching Eizel from behind, Flame had a strange thought.
If things had gone according to the original story, Eizel would have been destined to end up as Ma Yuseong's perfect match.
But after Baek Yuseol, who had defied even the flow of time, appeared and inserted himself into that relationship, so many things had changed.
Eizel, who had been destined to live through an unhappy school life, now got to spend a kind of happy time anyone would envy.
And she was even able to indulge in the luxurious emotion of keeping a certain boy in her heart, if only a little.
And yet—
Baek Yuseol was so devoted, so why had he said that he did not like anyone at all?
Flame did not possess any special ability to judge truth and lies from people's expressions alone, but at the very least, the Baek Yuseol who had answered bluntly back then had not seemed to be lying.
'Ugh, whatever, I give up~'
If she started worrying even about things that did not need worrying over, stress would end up costing her all her hair.
Flame tried her best to forget about Baek Yuseol.
…It was not as easy as she would have liked.
Read only on MugenCodex
After the Day of the World Tree's Birth ended, and even the extra work that needed to be handled afterward was finally completed, Kkotseorin returned straight to the ancient castle and concealed herself there once more.
For the time being…
perhaps even for several years, she might not leave again.
It was dangerous for her breath to remain in the outer world for too long.
That was why all the core personnel who operated the White Castle—namely, the cradle of the Celestial Tree—were all directed and managed by Oranha.
"Investigate Stella's first-year cadet, Baek Yuseol."
"Understood."
Oranha assigned the investigation of Baek Yuseol to Kkotseorin's personal intelligence unit.
Of course, though it was nominally Kkotseorin's own direct force, all information passed through him, so not a single thing would actually reach her ears.
That was only possible because Kkotseorin trusted him completely.
He did feel a little sorry for betraying her trust just a bit…
but if he wanted to win her heart, it could not be helped.
First, he had to set a plan.
It was certain that Baek Yuseol was the divine spirit killer who had taken Iphanel's heart.
But it was still difficult to verify a corrupted soul on the spot.
'Difficult doesn't mean impossible.'
He did not know exactly how the dark mages concealed their mana.
But…
in the end, such concealment would hide mana only. It could not completely hide a corrupted soul.
'The Soul Orb.'
Oranha placed a small piece of white jade on his palm.
This object, also classified as one of the World Tree's sacred relics, possessed the special ability to assess the soul of the one who carried it.
If the soul was good, it would emit a bright white glow.
If the soul was impure, it would grow gray and its light would die.
However, its condition of use was rather demanding:
the person had to carry it on their body for over a month.
If Oranha had brought it with him in advance during the medal award ceremony before, he might have been able to slip it to Baek Yuseol somehow, but at the time, he had not known things would develop this way.
And now, at this point, it would be strange for Oranha himself to directly present the white jade to Baek Yuseol as a gift.
So he decided to make use of someone else.
Knock knock!
When someone knocked at the door of the reception room, Oranha placed the white jade into a wooden case and said,
"Enter."
The door opened, and a single girl with pointed ears walked in.
She looked no older than her late teens, but she was an enormous figure not only in elf society, but on a global scale as well.
'Zeliel, the only daughter of the Starcloud Merchant Company's chairman.'
The only daughter of the merchant company said to be the largest on the continent, a girl recognized as a high elf at a young age, and even currently attending the World Tree's finest magic school, the Byeolkkot Tree Academy.
Even Oranha could not move her around at his convenience.
"It is an honor to be summoned, Aide Oranha."
"To be able to meet alone with the famous only daughter of the Starcloud Merchant Company's chairman—no, the honor is mine. Sit here."
Zeliel walked gracefully and sat across from Oranha.
Warm tea and refreshments had already been prepared on the table.
"May I first ask why you summoned me today?"
"I heard your father was quite disappointed recently at failing to secure the mining rights to the Danadon Mine."
Within Danadon Mine slept a rather special stone known as the Dana Crystal.
It was not that it had particularly great effects, but once crafted into accessories, it could command a very high price.
Even so, obtaining the mining rights there was, fundamentally, a matter for merchants.
There was surely a reason for the king's representative to bring up such a matter.
"He… was very disappointed, yes."
"And if… you were to obtain those mining rights, would your father not be very pleased?"
Zeliel's expression gradually relaxed.
Oranha knew very well that the reason she worked so desperately was for the sake of her father.
So long as one skillfully handled the key word 'father,' one could make her perform a simple errand or two as much as one liked.
'Hmm…'
Naturally, she too understood that Oranha was invoking her father because there was something he wanted from her.
But what of it?
If it meant she could make her father happy, then she was willing to grant even the king's representative one request.
"Are you saying you will sell those mining rights to us?"
"Yes. If you grant me one favor."
"What sort of favor?"
Oranha held the white jade out to her across the table.
"I hear that before long, you are scheduled to meet with Stella's Baek Yuseol."
Baek Yuseol had arranged to hold an 'investor briefing' exclusively for Chairman Melian of Starcloud.
Apparently it was for the purpose of 'luxury branding' an item…
and Zeliel was scheduled to attend that 자리 as well.
"Yes, that's right."
"I do not care what means you use. Make him carry this white jade on his body for at least one month. That is my condition."
"That's simple."
It was not a balanced trade.
To exchange the mining rights to Danadon Mine for such an easy errand?
It was the kind of errand she would happily do a hundred times over.
And because of that, a question arose in her mind.
'This is… the Soul Orb?'
Why would someone who was none other than the Elf King's own representative want Baek Yuseol to carry this white jade?
Zeliel, too, had a fairly deep interest in Baek Yuseol.
He was such a peculiar boy that not even [The Value of All Things] could determine his worth.
"You can do it, yes?"
"As much as you like."
For some reason, Zeliel had the feeling that this 'errand' was going to be rather enjoyable and interesting for her as well.