“What do you mean by that?”
“He hung around the gang of thugs that kidnapped the princess, yet he was the only one alive when they were murdered. He testified that the thugs were killed by an assassin of unknown origins, yet he also claimed that the one who defeated the assassin was none other than himself.”
“I see. That is indeed suspicious.”
“The investigation was terminated after he was declared Her Highness’ savior. If only I had made that brat confess...” Charles’ face twisted even more as the irritation from that time resurfaced. He refilled his metal glass with liquor and gulped it down.
“It sounds like you and that boy are fated rivals.”
“Haha! If today’s tournament had been a real battle, I would have cut him down without a thought.” The alcohol seemed to be taking its effect on him, making Charles boast cheerfully. Reiss turned up his lips in a faintly joyous smile.
“That is impressive indeed. Let us use that spirit to turn the tides against Duke Huguenot,” he said as he exchanged a toast with Charles.
◇◇◇
The day after the tournament, Celia had prepared special tea and snacks to celebrate Rio’s victory after class. As she was making her way from a middle school class back to the research lab, she spotted Rio in a connecting hallway and opened her mouth to call out to him.
“Oh! Rio...”
Her words trailed off when she realized he was walking next to a female student.
It wouldn’t have been an exaggeration to say that Rio was at the very bottom of the Academy food chain. That was why he was very rarely seen with other students — if he was, then it was usually because he had been dragged into some kind of predicament. It was even rarer for him to be seen with a female student.
Her encounter with such an unexpected scene made Celia’s thoughts cease for a few seconds; in that time, Rio and the female student walked off together. They seemed to be moving to somewhere more isolated.
W-What should I do... He hasn’t been dragged into something weird again, has he? Celia glanced around nervously. Once she had confirmed that there was no one else around, she quietly snuck off after the two.
They had relocated behind the library tower. Rio and the female student stopped walking once they arrived at the deserted area.
“U-Um! P... Please read this!” The female student suddenly took out a letter and awkwardly offered it to Rio.
“...Sure, I can do that. What’s in it?”
“Y-You were really cool in your match yesterday!” At Rio’s inquiry to the contents of the letter, the female student blushed and blurted out her words in a rush.
“Oh, right. Thank you very much.” In the end, he still had no idea what the letter was about, but Rio thanked the girl in confusion anyway.
“T-The rest is written in the letter. Bye!” Unable to bear the awkwardness between them, the girl rushed off without waiting for Rio’s reply.
“Huh? W-Wait!” Rio called after her in a hurry, but she made no attempt to stop.
“Okay then...” Rio muttered with a troubled face.
The envelope in his hand felt strangely heavy. Perhaps it was a love letter after all, considering the circumstances... Would he have to read it and write a reply? The thought of having more stress pushed onto him made him feel slightly weighed down.
“Umm. Hey, Rio...” Just then, Celia appeared out of nowhere.
“Professor... Were you watching that just now?”
“A-Ahaha. I knew it was a bad thing to do, but I thought maybe you were being dragged into more trouble... I-I’m sorry!” Celia admitted, bowing her head deeply in apology. She could have gotten away with it if she had quietly left the scene, but the guilt of eavesdropping had made her reveal herself.
Rio gave a small forced laugh. “Please raise your head. You were worried about me, weren’t you?”
Celia hesitantly raised her head at Rio’s words. “Y-Yeah. And... I actually wanted to celebrate your victory...”
“...Huh? Oh, wow... you shouldn’t have.” Rio responded with reserved gratitude, his eyes widened at little at Celia’s hesitant words.
“N-Nonsense, just participating in the tournament was an honorable feat... Anyone would celebrate such a thing, so you have to as well, Rio. Moreso since you won — now, come on!” Celia said. She grabbed Rio’s hand on the spur of the moment and started to briskly walk away.
“W-Wait, Professor—” Rio was pulled along into walking with her. They continued to hold hands.
Celia’s pace was faster than usual, and she seemed to be acting a bit odd. Her hand was also kind of sweaty — maybe because she was nervous. A silence fell over them for a while as Rio curiously observed Celia’s face from his position diagonally behind her. He noticed that her cheeks were slightly red.
“Do you have a fever, Professor?” Rio asked her worriedly.
“Huh? N-Not that I know of, why?”
“Your face seems kind of red. And your hand is a bit warm,” Rio said, squeezing her hand gently.
“Ah! Umm, sorry! You probably don’t like that, right?” Celia pulled her hand away, flustered.
“That’s not true. I just don’t want you pushing yourself too hard.” With a faint look of surprise, Rio smiled softly and shook his head.
“R-Right. Thank you. But I’m fine, really.”
“If you’re not feeling well, you should rest.”
“I-I’m fine! Come on, let’s go.” Celia hastily walked off again.
Her steps were even faster than before, and the side view of her face was redder too.
The two of them eventually arrived at Celia’s research lab, and Rio went about his usual motions to prepare the tea. There was a simple kitchen in Celia’s lab, and with the tea set, she was able to drink tea any time.
“I’ll prepare the tea you chose for today, then.”
“Yes, please. It’s Amur tea.”
“That’s quite the high quality item you prepared for today, Professor.”
Amur was a place famous for producing tea; the tea leaves made there were regarded as the highest class of leaves possible.
“Of course. We’re going to toast to your victory in the tournament, after all. I also prepared some cookies to go with the tea, so that’s something to look forward to!” Celia said in a lively voice.
She seemed to be back to her usual self. Rio beamed with a huff of laughter, and continued to work silently for a while. Once the tea was done, he placed the teapot and heated teacups onto a tray and carried it to the desk in the center of the room. Just as he sat down, Celia spoke.
“Thank you for always doing this.”
“No problem. More importantly—” Rio stared at Celia intently.
“W-What is it?” Celia asked in a high-pitched voice after a few seconds of their stare-off.
“You’re looking a lot better now.”
“...Huh? O-Oh, right. Yeah. Maybe.” Celia blinked blankly for a moment before reaching up to pat at her cheeks in a fluster. “I-It was nothing, really. I’m not even sure what came over me... I was just lost in my thoughts. Don’t worry about it.” Celia gestured wildly in her denial.
“Is that so... All right, then.” Rio tilted his head and watched her.
“So about that girl just now — did she confess to you?”
“Yes, probably... I guess. I was given a letter, but...” Rio seemed rather bashful about the sudden change in topic.
“Good for you! That means girls are paying attention to you, no matter what everyone else is saying about you. Are you going to start off as friends?” Celia asked, glancing at Rio’s face to gauge his reaction. Underneath her words, she could feel a dull, prickling pain stab into her chest.
However...
“No, I don’t believe it’s a good idea to form those kinds of relationships.”
“H-Huh? Why not?” Celia was taken aback by how plainly Rio answered.
“Any girls that get close to me would end up ostracized by th
e others.” With a bitter smile, Rio picked up the teapot and poured the tea. Soon, the steaming cups lined side-by-side were releasing a fragrant scent into the air, tickling at their noses.
“Here you go.”
“...Thank you.” Celia thanked him and took a sip of her tea before continuing to speak. “...But don’t you think that she might have wanted to be your friend anyway? Wasn’t that why she wrote the letter?” she asked with an earnest gaze.
“There’s no way our surroundings would allow that.” A troubled smile played at Rio’s lips. His decision was rational and realistic... Celia had a worried look on her face.
“Well, I guess... but still. Aren’t you curious at all? You’ve reached that age where boys want to get closer to girls. And there are lots of cute girls in this academy.”
“That kind of thing is difficult for me — I’m just not interested.” Rio smiled bitterly, shaking his head without hesitation.
Based on his reaction, Celia could see he was truly uninterested. Nevertheless, it shouldn’t have been that easy to cut off all interest in the opposite sex, especially at Rio’s age. Even Celia would sometimes find herself daydreaming about her ideal love, just like any other person... Yet the boy in front of her seemed so sure of himself.
Puzzled, Celia wondered why. Was he really just apathetic? Or did he have someone else on his mind that turned him off from every other girl?
Does Rio have someone he likes? The thought suddenly came across Celia’s thoughts, but she couldn’t think of anyone who would fit that bill. Rio didn’t even have friends at the academy.
The only one he talks to is me, after all.
Right, Rio didn’t have anyone other than Celia to talk to. Her focus on her research meant that the reverse applied to Celia too — but she shelved that thought away for now.
When Rio wasn’t in class, eating, or sleeping, he was either in the library or practicing with his sword outside. He was alone every time she saw him. There were no signs of other girls around him besides Celia, which was why she couldn’t imagine Rio having an interest in someone. She didn’t even consider it a plausible possibility.
Rio wasn’t the type to speak up for himself, however, so it was hard to tell what he was thinking. Was he oblivious to the kindness of others, or had the negativity from his surroundings caused him to lose trust in people? Either way, Celia thought it was a very sad thing to bear. While it wasn’t her place to interfere, Celia was the only one who knew how hard Rio had worked these last five years.
That was why she wanted him to be happy.
The reason she had been so shaken earlier was because of... protective maternal feelings rising up.
Yes, that had to be it.
Celia told herself this as her chest fluttered uneasily. She sipped at her tea and took deep breaths to calm herself down.
“Come to think of it, it’s almost the season for the outdoor drill. What kind of drill will you be doing this year?” she casually changed the topic.
The outdoor drill was a practical exam designed to test the prowess of their military training at the Academy. The drill and location of the exam varied each year, but the team battle system remained constant. The fifth and sixth years formed several squads focused around the sixth years and would undergo the exam together.
The lands outside of the humans’ jurisdiction were overrun with monsters, bandits, and other savage creatures, making safety the utmost concern, as most of the participants were royalty and nobility. Prior to the exam, the test zone would be scoured in advance to drive out all of the dangerous entities. Off-duty knights would then guard the border during the exam.
“We’re going to march through the mountain forest.”
“Eww. The mountain forest... That’s impossible for me. I have enough trouble walking to class from here.” Celia slumped across the desk as if the thought alone was enough to wear her out.
“You need to exercise more, Professor Celia,” Rio said with a dry smile.
Celia rarely left her research lab outside of her classes. Even for a noble daughter, her lack of exercise was alarming.
“Ahaha. Maybe once my research settles down.” Celia evaded the suggestion with a forced laugh.
Chapter 6: The Outdoor Drill
While the day of the outdoor drill was fast approaching, Rio was currently attending one of the elective classes for fifth and sixth years. The name of the course was “General Theory of Sorcery” — and Celia was the class instructor. It was a course that was typically avoided, as it was difficult with no practical use. And yet, because Celia was the one teaching it this year, there were more students enrolled than ever before.
Despite turning seventeen, Celia’s outward appearance had stopped progressing beyond middle school-age, making her indiscernible from her students. On top of that, her alluringly cute appearance, coupled with her friendly personality, meant her popularity as an instructor was through the roof. As a result, many of the students in the room — particularly the male students — had selected the class not because of their burning desire for knowledge, but because Celia was the one teaching it.
There were currently forty students — including Rio — in the classroom. Among the female students were Christina and Roanna, as well as Flora, who was from the year below the others.
“First, I’d like to ask everyone for their definition of sorcery. Let’s see... how about Princess Christina. What do you think?”
“Sorcery is a technique that manipulates magic essence and spell formulae to cause a variety of phenomena to occur,” Christina said, immediately offering her own interpretation.
“Ooh, what a wonderful first response. Brilliant, Your Highness.”
“Thank you, Professor,” Christina answered modestly with a cool expression.
“Sorcery can be defined from many different perspectives, but the definition Princess Christina gave is the most general. There are also definitions that focus on the activation process of sorcery, but what kind of process is that exactly? —Mr. Stewart?” Celia called on Stewart, who eagerly stood up to answer.
“Yes, Professor. Sorcery is activated by pouring magic essence into a spell formula.”
“Close. I’d give that answer 80 out of 100 points. What do you think you’re missing?”
“I’m... not sure.” Lost for words, Stewart frowned in frustration.
“Rio, then. What about you?”
“If the formula for essence control cannot be created, then there’ll be a need to control the essence being poured in. Sorcery will not activate if that control fails.”
“Correct. 100 points.” Celia gave a satisfied beam at Rio’s smooth answer, while Stewart’s expression quietly darkened.
“So what is spell formulae? Miss Roanna.”
“Yes, Professor. Spell formulae are said to be formulae that can alter the world.”
“Correct. Wonderful answer.”
“Thank you very much, Professor,” Roanna said, blushing happily at Celia’s compliment.
“Sorcery is activated by controlling the magic essence within our bodies to manipulate formulae, which can alter our world. It’s almost like the work of god, right? Well, the formulae themselves were created by the Six Wise Gods, so that’s not entirely wrong to say.”
Every student in the classroom was hanging onto Celia’s words.
The Six Wise Gods were the beings that the people of Strahl worshiped. They credited these gods for contributing to the history and development of the region. Even Rio knew of the Six Wise Gods, but unfortunately, his life as an orphan meant that his belief in them was extremely weak.
“You may already know this, but essence control is also markedly related to the formula contract that is needed to acquire and use magic. Lower class magic can be grasped simply by instinct, but a high level of essence control is essential to acquiring and using magic of a higher difficulty.”
“Professor!” Stewart raised his hand to ask a question after Celia’s evenly-word
ed explanation.
“Yes, Mr. Stewart?”
“You mentioned that essence control is related to formula contracts for acquiring magic. Does this mean that those with inferior essence control cannot acquire magic at all?” Stewart looked at Rio with a mocking grin. This caused the students around him to giggle, but Rio coolly ignored them.
“That is incorrect. Compatibility with formula contracts differs from person to person, so there will be magic you cannot acquire no matter how efficient your essence control is,” Celia said with a delicate frown.
The art of magic involved storing the formula inside the body, to be activated at will by chanting its spell name. Simple rites known as “formula contracts” were necessary to store the spell formula inside the body. They were performed by using a special catalyst to draw the contract formula on the ground, standing on it, chanting the spell, then manipulating the essence. If the ritual was successful, the formula would be stored inside the body, which would allow the sorcery to be verbally activated without the need to draw the formula.
Essence capacity had the tendency to be passed on through genetics, and there was a noticeable difference in the power of those who could and couldn’t use magic. This meant that those who could use magic were able to receive special privileges more easily, leading young royalty and nobility to believe that magic was limited to the chosen elites. Furthermore, while it was discovered that Rio had sufficient amounts of essence to acquire magic, for some reason, he failed to form any kind of formula contract and was yet to obtain a single magic. His fellow classmates had been growing envious because of the flawless ease with which he accomplished everything, so the focus of all the ridicule directed towards him suddenly shifted — Rio’s inability to use magic proved he wasn’t one of the chosen ones.
“I see. So only the chosen ones can acquire magic. Thank you very much, Professor.” Stewart sat down smugly, despite the fact that Celia had refuted his statement.
“...Now, back to the lecture. In the first place—” Celia resumed her teaching with a small sigh. The rest of the lecture proceeded smoothly from there until the end of class.
Kingdom of Lies Page 13
