#80 Librarian Ernest – Top Student of the Aldridge Academy

Eris did not clearly remember her parents’ faces.

Because she was an orphan.

However, Eris didn’t feel particularly sad about this.

Although she didn’t have parents, she had a great teacher who more than made up for it.

A national treasure of Ravelossia.

A Grand Magician of the 6th Circle, a rare individual across the entire continent.

Many people respected and praised her teacher, and each time, Eris felt a sense of pride, as if she herself were being complimented.

The great magician had many disciples, but even among them, Eris’s talent stood out.

People looked at Eris and said,

A genius.

The direct disciple, personally chosen by the Grand Magician.

The Master, too, would offer such praise to Eris upon seeing her efforts.

“Well done. Continue striving like this, and you will prosper.”

More so than the boisterous accolades of others, the Master’s simple praise brought Eris a profound joy.

Even the arduous magic training, the demanding acquisition of knowledge, all could be endured with but a single warm word from the Master.

…It was a tale relayed by a herald who visited the Master one day that heralded change into Eris’ life.

The herald spoke.

They wished to invite the Master as an external lecturer to instruct a certain ‘student,’ and inquired as to whether he would consider accepting.

Eris and the other disciples felt a sense of bewilderment.

Those who wished to learn magic under a grand mage such as their Master were as numerous as pebbles underfoot.

Not only within the country, but even from foreign lands, people arrived bearing lavish bribes, begging to be accepted as disciples, only for the Master to hear that he himself was expected to travel to teach. It was absurd.

However, what perplexed them even more was the Master’s reaction.

To the herald’s preposterous request, he readily nodded his assent.

The disciples voiced their concern regarding the Master’s decision.

The one who sent the invitation was none other than the Ijeiren Empire.

A great power incomparable to Ravelosia. They worried the Master was being unwillingly drawn into their dominance.

The Master, with a smile, dismissed the disciples’ worries.

“I am merely going to visit a friend in the Empire. He speaks of the Imperial Prince, that he finds teaching, ‘both a joy and a torment’. I’m curious to see this person.”

The Empire offered to provide a residence where the Master could stay with his disciples, if he wished, but the Master declined.

Since he was only making a brief visit, he reasoned, there was no need for so many to go along.

The Master, with an air of nonchalance, boarded the carriage prepared by the Empire, and Eris and the disciples awaited his return.

The Master’s return came approximately three months later.

His homecoming, far earlier than expected, caused the disciples to whisper amongst themselves.

Too brief a time to properly learn magic.

Surely the Imperial Prince had no real intention of studying, but simply desired the prestige of having studied under the Master.

Since he had said that he was going to meet a friend, his role as teacher must have been merely a formality.

Despite the disciples’ questions, the Master offered no answer as to what had transpired in the Empire.

Eris was concerned for the Master.

His face, upon returning from the Empire, was noticeably somber.

Moreover, he was increasingly prone to staring blankly into the void, or sighing.

Had the Royal Family also become concerned by the Master’s demeanor?

The Right Hand of the benevolent lord—also a long-time acquaintance of my mentor—came bearing fine spirits.

Eris, overhearing their conversation by chance, finally understood the source of her mentor’s distress.

“Is it so? Was the Imperial Prince of such exceptional talent that you lament this greatly?”

“Exceptional falls short. Words fail to capture it.”

Lost in drink, a disheveled state Eris had never before witnessed, her mentor continued, lamenting.

“Magic, as a discipline, he possesses the potential to elevate to unparalleled heights. The Empire’s agonizing whispers are not without cause. Talent that should be solely devoted to magic, squandering time and effort on swordsmanship and the art of kingship! How can one not call it a waste?”

It was none other than the Imperial Prince, after all.

To ignore the myriad external affairs, purely dedicating oneself to magic, was inevitably impossible.

That, he sighed, was the true tragedy.

As if to comfort him, his acquaintance spoke,

“Now, now, calm yourself. You have many fine pupils already. What was her name? Ah, yes, Eris. You boasted of her brilliance just the other day.”

Hearing her own name, Eris involuntarily held her breath.

The fact that her mentor praised her in her absence filled her with a swell of joy.

“Haa… That child is not enough.”

And that joy plummeted, crashing into the abyss along with her mentor’s deep sigh.

Had he been his usual, kind, and considerate self, he would never have uttered such words so easily.

No, before that, he wouldn’t have failed to notice the presence of his lurking disciple.

But profound dismay and the intoxication of drink had made the great archmage more careless than usual.

“Eris, she is indeed talented. Diligent, bright. In terms of raw talent, she is the best pupil I have ever taken.”

But, her mentor continued, that was all.

“Amongst the ordinary, she is judged exceptional. But she is a prodigy who cannot reach the realm of true genius. That is Eris.”

“Isn’t that a rather harsh assessment for your most prized student? I thought you considered her like a granddaughter.”

“Fondness and overestimation are two different things.”

“I pray you never speak such things in her presence.”

“I wouldn’t, even if asked. Spare your needless worry.”

The two old men continued their conversation, but Eris could no longer hear them.

Suppressing the tears that threatened to spill over, merely escaping from that place unnoticed was all she could manage.

That was the end of it.

Perhaps unburdening his heart over drinks had been effective. The mentor, who had seemed so melancholy, regained his usual countenance, reassuring the other disciples.

“Splendid, Eris. Truly, you are my pupil.”

Eris’s mentor was unfailingly benevolent.

To all appearances, he never betrayed even a hint of disappointment or dismay toward Eris or any of his other students.

Yet, now that Eris understood his true feelings, she couldn’t simply bask in his praise as she once had.

His lament over the Crown Prince’s wasted potential, the evaluation he’d made of Eris as a prodigy on that very day, continued to burn in her heart.

A viscous, smoldering flame of jealousy.

*

The accomplishments of Ravelosia’s sagacious king were numerous, but the most frequently lauded was his educational reform.

Decades prior, education in Ravelosia was fundamentally, exclusively, private.

Nobles and wealthy merchants might employ tutors to instruct their children, but dedicated institutions for learning simply didn’t exist.

Taking cues from various powerful nations, the king established educational institutions where students of appropriate age could acquire diverse knowledge and skills, encouraging both nobles and commoners to utilize them.

For if these institutions, christened “Academies,” fostered outstanding talent, it would inevitably benefit the nation.

Educational institutions supported by none other than the king himself, even drawing from the royal coffers.

Naturally, the students attending them would possess a burning passion for their studies…

‘…hardly.’

Eris’s cynicism simmered within her.

Whatever the benevolent king’s expectations, whatever the expectations of nobles eager to curry favor with the throne, it was youths in their prime who were actually engaging in their studies.

And these were youths who had been forced into ascetic lives since childhood, compelled to keep a tight schedule lest they fall behind other nobles at the academy.

To expect such students to diligently apply themselves, liberated from their stifling homes and surrounded by peers, was nothing short of an overblown expectation.

Conversely, common-born students, while burning with the ambition to “succeed just to spite them” toward the noble students, who seemed to be enjoying the privileges of their position and yet showed resentment to commoners, had an unpleasent side effect. Most of the students achieving high marks accumulated a deep-seated animosity toward the nobility, which was hardly ideal from a national perspective.

Whatever the case, it was none of her concern, Eris decided, extinguishing her interest in the matter.

After all, whatever fate awaited this flowery academy, it was hardly of any real importance to Eris.

Her sole concern lay in the eligibility for admission to the “Celestial Academy,” an advantage reserved only for students with outstanding grades within the academy.

A place of learning whose influence was considered to be more than significant nations.

The training grounds was situated in the heart of the continent; only a handful of geniuses from all across the surrounding countries was admitted to the academy, which made for further competitions and conflicts inside those walls, and precisely that was where Eris could prove her worth in a true battle.

“Eris, I heard! You got perfect scores in every subject on the last exam, didn’t you? That’s amazing!”

Oblivious to Eris’s inner thoughts, a girl approached her with a beaming smile, showering her with praise.

Eris’s mind was screaming “Yes, and you scored below average in almost every subject except one. How does it feel to throw your tuition fees down the drain?” However, alas, the criteria for an ‘exceptional student’ needed for the Celestial Academy encompassed not only grades but also social skills.

No matter how unparalleled Eris’s scores were, if she was perceived as unable to get along with other students, her chances of entering a higher education institution would be ruined.

Therefore, Eris had no choice but to utter words that were devoid of sincerity.

“Just luck, I’d say. Though it seems Pyrene has really improved her defensive spells, wouldn’t you agree?”

“It’s all thanks to Eris teaching me a thing or two last time! Father was on my back something fierce, so thankfully I managed to dodge a scolding this time around!”

To cease his reprimands for a pathetic showing in every other subject, based solely on passable defensive magic… truly, a benevolent father.

Though, perhaps it couldn’t be helped.

In the first place, few noble students seriously delve into magic or swordsmanship.

Nobles are the sort who hire and command capable individuals; they believe they have no need to wield such power themselves.

Even Eris herself – without the title of apprentice to the Grand Magus Delphinarius Wayneheart, she likely wouldn’t even be afforded such equal conversation.

‘The graduation exam is only half a year away, was it? I wish time would hurry up.’

Having learned numerous spells as the Grand Magus’s prized student, the knowledge taught at this academy was mostly just a rehash of things Eris already knew.

Subjects like mathematics, history, and general studies were somewhat new, but even those she’d already completed through diligent preparation and revision.

She endured, regarding this period as a skill check before reaching the main stage of the Sky Academy, but frankly, she couldn’t shake the feeling that it was a waste of time.

“Oh, speaking of which, Eris. Do you know that black building east of Aldridge?”

“Are you talking about the ‘Unopening Mausoleum’?”

“Yes! That one! Apparently, the Brown Trading Company bought the building and the surrounding land recently, and they say the building opened yesterday! It’s supposed to be a library inside.”

“Hmph.”

A spark ignited in Eris’s eyes.

Fundamentally driven by a thirst for knowledge and advancement, she viewed books as a means of acquiring new information.

Having already exhausted every book within the academy, the prospect of a new source of reading material was naturally quite enticing.

‘…Should I take a look?’