Lucia and I were headed to her new instructor. The Zebrudia Academy of Magic, or ZAM, was considered the best place in the empire to learn magic. The academy never turned down someone with talent, regardless of their origin. They had a variety of admission options, from general admissions to more specialized routes.
Lucia had been allowed to enter because they saw the potential she had as a Magus, a path lots of notable hunters opted for. I had a feeling that her academics and hunting were going to keep her very busy. But she wasn’t a child anymore; she had made her decision, and there wasn’t much I could do to stop her.
“I-I see,” she said. “So you caused that explosion?”
“Synthesis isn’t something you can suddenly bring to a halt.”
The interviewer and Sitri had both turned pale as ghosts. If we hadn’t run the experiment in a special room, we would’ve been blown to bits. But I’ll just say that room was built for incidents like mine, and there was no point in crying over spilled milk.
Lucia gave an exaggerated shrug. She had started acting awfully precocious lately.
“Brother, please don’t do anything weird while you’re here.”
“I’m just here to give my regards since this professor will be looking after my little sister. Look, I brought a gift.”
I wasn’t much of an older brother, but with our parents far away, looking after Lucia fell to me, so I had to do my best. And it’s not like I had tried to be weird back at Sitri’s place.
The renowned Zebrudia Academy of Magic was just as resplendent as the Primus Institute. If the mentor in our hometown hadn’t described Lucia as a savant, I can’t imagine she would have been allowed to transfer to such a major academy.
The students walking around all appeared older than my sister, which made me a bit worried. But amid the traffic, I spotted a girl even smaller than Lucia. She had silver hair and wore a Magus’s robe that was a bit scruffy. I assumed she was somewhere near her midteens. She didn’t appear particularly sociable, but perhaps she would become Lucia’s friend.
She seemed like a good person to ask for directions. I took a deep breath, then said in a hard-boiled voice, “Excuse me, you there.”
“Hm? Do you mean me?”
She turned my way as I jogged up to her. She had golden eyes and strikingly attractive features. Even now, she was terribly pretty; I was sure she’d be a real beauty once she grew a bit. Though maybe not as much as my sister (doting brother talk).
“Terribly sorry. We need to get to a certain research building. Special transfer, you see. Would you be able to tell us where it is?”
“No, I—”
“No need to be shy. Here, I’ll give you a chocolate bar.”
There’s no such thing as a human who dislikes chocolate. I pulled the bar I had been keeping on me and pushed it into her palm. She gave me a look you’d reserve for suspicious people.
“We’re looking for Professor Seyge’s research building. Do you know where it is? I’ve heard rumors she’s a bit of an oddball, but also a half-Noble and incredibly good-looking—”
“O-Of course I know where it is,” she said after a few coughs. “But I thought the new student was a girl—”
“It’s my little sister who’s entering. I’m just her guardian. Lucia, what’s the matter?”
My sister was staring at the student, the blood draining from her face. How come this was happening when she had just started to overcome her shyness? They were going to be studying at the same place, so she might as well at least say hello.
“Sorry about that, my sister’s a bit shy. But she’s a really good person. I’d be delighted if you could be her friend.”
“Frien— V-Very well. I’m headed to that building as well. I can show you the way.”
“Oh?! That’s a coincidence. Thanks! Are you by any chance also a student of Professor Seyge’s? You see, I brought her a homemade spellbook as a gift, but do you think she’ll accept it?”
“Brother?!”
“A-A homemade spellbook?!”
I wonder what sort of person Professor Seyge is. I can’t wait to meet her.
I was trying to appear nonthreatening. The student’s cheek started twitching, and she clenched and unclenched her fist. Then she snapped her fingers, causing a geometric magic circle to appear on the ground. Thus, we were transported to Professor Seyge’s building.
✦ ✦ ✦
The Church of the Radiant Spirit was the dominant force in healing. When people talked about healing powers, they were generally referring to rites that borrowed the powers of the Radiant Spirit. Any town of a decent size was guaranteed to have a church dedicated to this god.
At least one person capable of using healing abilities was considered a necessity for any party that fought dangerous phantoms and monsters. In Grieving Souls, Ansem Smart fulfilled that role. Back in our hometown, he had trained to be a knight who utilized the powers of the Radiant Spirit—a Paladin.
Being a Paladin generally meant playing the party’s leading role. Wearing heavy armor and using healing spells to protect their party, Paladins were usually people trusted by their comrades, and were frequently leaders as well. In that sense, someone quiet but honest like Ansem was perfect for the job. Even if he was incredibly soft on his sisters.
Ansem had received from the branch in our town a letter of recommendation to the church in the imperial capital. He said his initial plan was to pay them a cursory visit, then only resume his training once his hunting work had steadied out.
Being the biggest city in the region, I was told the imperial capital’s church was of a size few could match. Though watching Ansem’s labors had dissuaded me from thinking I could be a Paladin (not to mention I had also been told in big red letters that I couldn’t do it since I was skittish and irreverent), I saw nothing wrong with paying the church a visit and seeing the place for myself.
“And then the student, right, it turned out she was Professor Seyge! Can you believe that?”
“Mmm.”
As we walked, I told him about how I had tagged along with Luke, Sitri, and Lucia over the past few days. I sure hadn’t expected that small student to be Professor Seyge. Not only that, Lucia recognized her too.
Regardless of how it went, I was just glad my sister had been able to successfully find her professor. Plus, I had been able to give her the spellbook, and I was sure her youthful appearance would make it easy for Lucia to get along with her. If there was one thing I regretted, it was that I had told Lucia I wouldn’t be weird, but I had been weird enough to really make her angry.
That aside, I was eager to see how Lucia would grow under the tutelage of a Half Noble.
“So only Liz is left?” Ansem asked.
“Nah, Liz said I don’t need to bo— I-I’m joking. Don’t give me that look!”
I gave up the moment I saw the light leave Ansem’s eyes. His usual warmth just made that dead look all the harder to endure. Not that I didn’t already know this, but he really was too protective of his sisters. Of course I wasn’t going to ignore Liz. If anything, she was the one I was worried about the most!
It wasn’t just Lucia that I was excited to see grow. The same went for Luke, Sitri, Ansem, and, of course, Liz. They were making rapid progress along the road to success in the hunting world, all while shouldering the burden that was me. I wanted to see what would happen once their skills were honed even further.
“By the way, Ansem, what sort of person is your mentor?”
“Mmm. They were once an active Paladin. They excel at both healing and defending.”
It was a concise answer, but I could tell by the look on his face that he had great faith in this person. He was originally on the small side, but he had gone through a real growth spurt recently and was developing a physique befitting his role. With the right teacher, I had no doubt that someone as serious as Ansem could become a great Paladin.
Well, I don’t like to admit it, but he needed to become good at his job. For one reason or another, Grieving Souls’s hunts were much more brutal than those of other parties. Ansem’s powers were the party’s lifeline.
“I don’t like being the leader anymore,” I said. “I think I’ll give that job to you.”
“Hm?! No...”
“I don’t like it either.”
After a pause, Ansem said, “My mentor has been asking me what sort of adventures we go on and in what direction I want to improve. I think he’d like to hear an outside perspective.”
I looked at him, shocked to hear him become so talkative.
This is a huge responsibility. I can barely remember the last time I had a leadership job that wasn’t dangerous. I gotta do this right.
“What direction? That’d be all of them, wouldn’t it? Strive to become the best Paladin in the world!”
“Mmm...”
It wouldn’t be easy, but I was sure Ansem could do it. We went way back, and I had learned a lot during that time. I pumped myself up, then pushed Ansem along, a troubled look on his face.