Chapter 5: Let’s go, to the academy Part 1

Unless there are some exceptions, the staff at the academy consists of professors and teaching assistants, and on a fall day near the entrance ceremony, one of the teaching assistants is given a special task.

That task is to find a talented child and bring them to the academy.

The woman who was an outsider that Ellie encountered at the orphanage right before executing Doloria was the teaching assistant who had taken on that role this year.

Her name was Melrit Shinseergrin.

Her hair and eyes were both gray, and the dark circles under her eyes gave her a strangely decadent appearance.

She was a beautiful woman, though in reality, she was just tired.

A few minutes before Ellie executed Doloria, Melrit walked alone along the forest path and sighed.

“Ha…”

She was suddenly overwhelmed with a sense of emptiness.

No matter how much she walked around, her record wouldn’t connect to anything.

The reason was simple.

It was practically impossible to discover a worthy candidate for the academy.

Magic is inherited through bloodlines, so if a child seems to have talent, their parents will apply to the appropriate magic school for their level.

If the child is good enough to aim for the academy, it’s even more obvious.

The only possibility was for a child who had mana sensitivity, even though their parents weren’t magicians, but the area Melrit was assigned to this year was one of the least likely places to find such a child.

It was a place where no magical activity had been observed for the last five years.

In fact, the last activity was presumed to have been a failure or error in observation due to absurdly high readings.

The probability of finding a gem there was close to zero.

To be honest, if Melrit had waited outside the academy, sipping tea, and reported that she hadn’t found anyone, no one would have blamed her.

In fact, it seemed like the teaching assistants who took on this task the previous years had done that.

Yet, Melrit kept trudging on.

‘Because I have to find them.’

Even if there’s the slightest chance.

She couldn’t just leave them be.

For Melrit, it was just a bothersome step.

However, if by some chance, she found the gem, that child’s life would be completely transformed.

She was just a little unnecessarily diligent.

That was the evaluation Melrit received, and it was also the reason she was entrusted with such a task.

At least, there was just one orphanage left.

Although the local lord was uncooperative, Melrit, as a member of the academy, wasn’t stopped by him.

Except for running into a single carriage, nothing else happened as she walked down the forest path, and soon, the orphanage building came into view.

***

‘Huh?’

‘But were the orphanage children usually all outside like this?’

And inside…

“ELLIIIIEEEEEEE!”

Boom!

A loud, thunder-like scream echoed.

‘What, what’s going on?’

Melrit was taken aback, and the faces of the children and staff outside turned pale with fear.

“I’ll kill you!!! I’ll kill you!!!”

It wasn’t just anger.

It was malice.

A dark emotion that wouldn’t end until a person was killed.

‘I have to stop them.’

But before Melrit could take action, it happened.

Whoooosh.

“!?”

Goosebumps appeared on Melrit’s skin.

That was…

‘Mana, maybe?’

Of course, it was mana.

As an excellent magician herself, Melrit could instantly recognize the movement of mana.

It was as obvious as knowing red is red.

But…

If she was overwhelmed, it wasn’t so obvious.

It was like a farmer who had spent his life digging the earth and suddenly found himself watching a grand parade in the capital of the empire.

The parade was carrying a tall, giant red banner, and if someone asked him what color it was, he wouldn’t be able to answer.

He wouldn’t even hear the question, lost in the overwhelming sight.

Melrit felt the same way.

She was overwhelmed.

Clear.

Transparent and pure.

A thick and vast mana.

‘Gem?’

That was a ridiculous thought.

If this was a gem, then what were most magicians, including Melrit herself? Pebbles?

And then…

“Kyyaaaaaaaak!!!”

The voice, which had been filled with murderous intent just a moment ago, was now filled with fear and pain.

“!!…!!”

A conversation that couldn’t be heard.

Then…

More mana.

“…Ah.”

Melrit’s mind became hazy.

‘Who… is that person? What kind of great magician is inside there?’

Finally, the scream stopped.

It became quiet.

No sound. No mana.

Melrit rushed inside, almost in a daze.

“ot!”

“Wh-who are you?!”

The sounds of staff and children chasing after her from behind.

But that didn’t matter.

Quickly.

She had to hurry.

She couldn’t wait to meet the great magician’s face.

She couldn’t stand it anymore.

Just a few more steps, and she would—

“Everyone.”

There stood a plain girl.

“Don’t worry.”

Her hair and eyes were not the color of a magician, but just plain black.

“I have already eliminated the monster.”

She looked quite cute.

But, on the flip side, that was all.

There was nothing unusual about her except for her confident attitude.

Then, what exactly was it that Melrit had just felt?

‘An illusion?’

No.

That was impossible.

Then…

‘Could it really be a suddenly appeared gem?’

An unbelievable situation.

At that moment.

***

“Ah.”

The girl staggered.

It had come late.

The recoil from using unfamiliar mana.

‘Dangerous.’

If she falls at this angle now, she could get hurt.

Melrit quickly threw herself forward.

She barely managed to catch the girl, and her weight was lighter than expected.

“Ugh…”

She didn’t know what to say, her voice trembling.

“Are you… okay?”

Blink.

The girl’s clear and pretty black eyes met Melrit’s ashen eyes.

And then.

“Thank you, wizard.”

In her smile, Melrit saw something, but…

No, it felt like she saw something, but…

This time, it was surely just a misunderstanding.

‘A star.’

That symbol, used only by one noble family.

It couldn’t possibly be on an orphan.

Of course, aside from that, it was undeniable that Melrit had discovered the potential of a wizard with incredible talent.

She had found the first child who could be brought to the Academy.

Something that had never happened before, and likely never would again.

‘Maybe.’

A thought crossed Melrit’s mind.

Finding this child might be the greatest achievement she ever accomplishes in her life.

“Yes, what is your name?”

At Melrit’s question, the girl blinked for a moment before responding.

“Ellie.”

She smiled playfully.

“I don’t have a last name.”

Well, of course.

Orphans don’t have last names.

Melrit, being a wizard, must have just made a light joke.

But for some reason, she felt something from those words.

Melrit felt… a strange sensation.

She thought it was just a misunderstanding.

So, she repeated the name the girl gave her.

“Ellie, huh?”

“Call me Eli.”

“Alright, Eli.”

Melrit took a deep breath.

“Would you like to go to the Academy with your sister?”

Behind her, there was a sound of someone holding their breath.

The staff and the children, all the same.

***

The Academy.

The weight of those words was most understood by young wizards.

But the greatest dream belonged to people like these orphans, the lower class of society.

Maybe that’s why Eli stayed quietly in her arms.

‘She must be shocked.’

It wasn’t surprising.

So, Melrit waited.

She waited.

She waited…

“Hey, Eli?”

She shook her gently, and Eli, with a faint wheeze, shifted in her arms.

She had fallen asleep.

When Melrit realized it was because of the sudden exhaustion from using magic, Eli was already in her arms.

And when she opened her eyes again…

“…a strange ceiling.”

The bed she was lying on was ordinary, but compared to the decaying straw at the orphanage, it was so comfortable that it made her feel at ease.

“Are you awake?”

The fact that Melrit spoke right away meant she had been waiting by her side the whole time until Eli woke up.

“Thank you.”

Eli bowed her head to the gray-haired sister, and she waved her hand.

“No, no. I’m just doing my job.”

“Your job?”

Now that she thought about it, it was strange.

‘Why did a wizard suddenly appear?’

And before she lost consciousness, didn’t she ask if she wanted to go to the Academy?

“My name is Melrit Shinseergrin.”

The gray-haired sister pointed to herself and said.

“As an admissions officer of the Academy, I would like to invite you, Eli, to be a student at the Academy.”

“…The Academy.”

It was a sudden proposal.

Half of it…

‘I didn’t expect her to find me this quickly.’

When you do something wrong, someone will eventually come.

She hadn’t expected it to be right after Doloria was executed.

‘No.’

If it’s something Melrit was supposed to do, then she must have just been in the right place at the right time.

Still…

“Thank you.”

Even if finding her was part of Melrit’s job, accepting her when she was about to collapse and waiting by her side until she woke up couldn’t just be called part of the work.

So, Eli bowed her head, but Melrit seemed rather confused.

“Uh, um…”

Seeing her awkwardly turn her head, Eli’s intuition whispered.

‘This person is a softie.’

She didn’t plan to say it aloud, but…

“Could you tell me exactly what the Academy is? I need to think if it matches my goals first.”

“It’s not hard…”

Melrit blinked.

“Do you have a goal?”

Then, her expression turned serious.

“Sorry. I’ve heard about the orphanage from the other children.”

“Right.”

It was true.

In extreme environments, it’s hard for people to have long-term goals.

In a place where survival is the daily task, it’s normal not to be able to make plans for next weekend, let alone for a year from now.

However.

“Yes.”

Eli smiled.

“I do have one.”

A goal.

And it was aimed at the highest place.