The advanced compound spirit staff qualification examination. If I recalled correctly, that was the thing Lucia had needed to skip because of the Supreme Warrior Festival. The thing with the tree wasn’t my fault, but I felt very bad about the exam!
With more and more pointed words directed her way, Professor Seyge glared at her colleagues. “Don’t be stupid! I’m merely using the privileges afforded to me. Do I need to remind you that many of the fabled barriers of our abode were destroyed?!”
“You may call them ‘fabled,’ but they’ve been left alone for the past ten years despite your constant reminders that they should one day be redone. Shouldn’t you instead be glad that they were destroyed?”
“You’re speaking entirely with the benefit of hindsight! What sort of dunce would express gratitude to someone who destroyed their barriers without permission?!”
The “Lucia’s brother” buff was too powerful. If nothing else, I agreed with Professor Seyge more than anyone else. If there was one thing I thought she was wrong about, it was that she seemed to think I had done anything wrong at all. She glared at me, even though I wasn’t the one raising objections.
The Magus beside her, a lady who looked about three times her age, lectured Seyge in a shrill voice. “Yes, but please think about this in a rational light, Professor Seyge. This man is Lucia’s brother!”
Hmph. That’s right. I’m Lucia Rogier’s brother. Sure, it’s tempting to say, “So what?” And, yeah, we’re not even related by blood...
From what I could tell, there were two factions: those who said the Thousand Tricks should be forgiven because he’s Lucia’s brother, and those who didn’t care about that and wanted to punish him. I was waiting for the faction that would insist the Thousand Tricks was innocent.
Unsure when would be a good time to speak up, I sat there and smiled. Seyge gave me a frigid look, one a lot like those I’d get from Lucia.
“Lucia’s brother, the Thousand Tricks, why are you so quiet? Why don’t you speak? Despite what the needless chatter might suggest, Lucia is under my tutelage, so I have the final say in what happens to her. Unlike my colleagues, I won’t bend to earn your favor. Even if you’re the older brother of my beloved pupil, I’ll offer you no special treatment. Your sister told me all about your methods. Under that barrier, you can’t move, nor can you use magic or those Relics you love so much.”
I hadn’t tried to move, so I hadn’t even noticed I couldn’t. The next moment, my eyes flew open as something occurred to me.
“Awfully late to be making that face,” Professor Seyge said with a snort. “Crime warrants punishment, and destroying the barriers of the Zebrudia Academy of Magic is one without precedent. The details of your punishment will be decided after a discussion between the heads of the academy’s various departments, but I’m sure it’ll reflect the scale of this destruction. Brace yourself for the consequences.”
I can’t use Relics or magic. Does this mean Sitri is one of my Relics?
Perhaps bothered by the expression I was making, Seyge’s cheek twitched as she banged the ground with her staff.
“Hey! What are you thinking?! Listen to me! Anna said you wanted the academy’s hidden treasure, but that’s nothing more than a rumor! Do you think a Magus would let word of something like that slip out?! Because everyone bought into that nonsense, we’re being forced to reveal the extent of the damage. Until a formal verdict can be reached, you’re to be confined there! You should reflect on what you’ve done. If rumors start spreading, it’ll affect Lucia as well!”
I wondered if Lucia got her mannerisms from her instructor. Or maybe the reverse?
“Excuse me,” I said, speaking for the first time. I realized that I needed to get home. “I’ll be very inconvenienced if you don’t let me go.”
Back home, I’ve got some cake that’s about to go bad.
“Be as inconvenienced as you like. We’ve got it worse.”
I knew she was having a bad day and all, but that was still cold. I never would have come here if I had known this would happen. I had a bad habit of giving in to pressure, even though I was never any help in resolving problems.
“Goodness, to think we already had our hands full with that prophecy from the Divinarium. Stirring something up at a time like this is one hell of a form of harassment.”
“Oh, you too? What a coincidence.”
“Quiet. I might be Lucia’s mentor, but I’m nothing of the sort to you! You probably already know this, but Noble Spirits aren’t just adept with mana; we also handle curses well. It’s because our wills are stronger. The majority of curses grand enough to qualify as catastrophes were caused by Noble Spirits. Even still, I’m not fond of the bizarre questions I’ve been getting bombarded with.”
Seyge ran a hand through her bangs and gave a slightly overblown sigh. I guess even a Magus handpicked by the emperor and bearer of a title like “Undying” still had no shortage of worries. I empathized with her.
With a shrug, the professor headed off towards the door. I tried to stop her, but found I couldn’t stand up. It felt less like my body couldn’t move and more like it was ignoring the commands from my brain. Though I had enough freedom to move my mouth and pinch Sitri’s knee. These new barriers were really something.
Oh no. This isn’t good. Hey, Sitri, how long are you going to stay like that?
Unable to rely on Sitri, I was close to giving up when the door was flung open. Contrary to my expectations, it wasn’t Lucia.
“What’s this?” Seyge said, her brow furrowed.
“We’ve finished evaluating the damage. There’s something you should hear.”
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a newly arrived Magus walk up to the professor and whisper into her ear. Seyge looked at me like I had wronged her family, but she muttered under her breath.
“Hmmm. Indeed. I see...”
“Sure, but that’s speaking with hindsight...”
It sounded like something unexpected had happened. She started looking at me differently than before. I saw her eyes widen, then her face contorted.
“It was originally the Sword Saint’s? What was that brat thinking?”
“Yes, that’s true. I don’t like the idea of missing out on it...”
“Hold on, there’s clearly something wrong there. How did it come to that?”
Then she fell silent.
What could have caused her to sound so intense? After a bit of waiting in ignorance, the Magus left, and Seyge solemnly approached us. She looked down at us for a moment before giving an exaggerated tsk. She stuck her staff into the magic circle, causing it to fade and disappear.
I blinked in confusion. Sitri was still holding on to me.
“Damn it. You’re free to go, Lucia’s brother. The situation’s changed.”
“Free? What the heck happened?”
Seyge directed a spiteful glare at the other professors before very reluctantly saying to me, “I don’t at all abide by this decision. However, it’s been found that there is a possibility that the ashes of that fiend might make for a very valuable catalyst. Again, I do not abide by this decision, but most of the professors do, and it’s the headmaster’s call. If we were to punish you, it would weaken our claim to those ashes. The scales would be off-balance. By your human standards.”
“Would you share some with me?” Sitri said, finally returning to normal.
Seyge briefly looked at her like she was insane. I couldn’t really blame the professor. What happened to the girl who used to be even frailer than I was?
“Lucia’s waiting below,” Seyge said in a frigid voice, ignoring Sitri’s request. “You shouldn’t give your sister one more thing to worry about.”