I wasn’t sure if it was true, but they said she was one of the few people to have the blood of both a human and a Noble Spirit. Her body had the distinguishing features of both races; while she was about as tall as Liz, unless I was hallucinating, the upper part of her ears were pointed. There were very few Noble Spirits in the capital, yet I never heard them talk about the person before us.
Zebrudia’s miraculous flower, a Magus said to have been handpicked by the emperor, Rodrick Atolm Zebrudia himself. She was a human, yet not a human. She was Seyge Claster, the Undying.
I guess you could say she had an overwhelming presence. She wasn’t glaring at me or anything, but I still felt intimidated. I quickly looked around before offering a greeting.
“Hey. G-Good morning?”
What in the world is happening?
Lucia’s instructor ignored my panicking and said, “Sitri, I’d suggest you quit feigning slumber. It seems Lucia’s descriptions of you were quite accurate.”
“Urmmmm,” Sitri groaned as her arms constricted around me.
I understood. I accepted. I sighed.
“I get it now...”
Though she had been talking like a Thief, this really wasn’t Liz. It was just Bad Sitri. It appeared that today’s Sitri was Bad Sitri.
Lucia! I should’ve let Lucia catch us before we got into the tower!
But it was too late for regrets. With nothing else to do, I put on a half-hearted smile.
“We will now commence the trial, Lucia’s brother,” Seyge said in a chilling voice. “You’ve been charged with nearly destroying this lauded academy. What do you have to say in your defense?”
Numerous stabbing gazes were directed at Sitri, who was still pretending to sleep, and me. I felt like our best starting point would be, as it always was, to assess the situation. But once again, I was clueless as to what was going on.
What basis did Lucia’s instructor—Seyge, that is—have for suspecting me of wrecking the academy? All that damage had been caused by that tree. I know I had terrible luck, but I didn’t appreciate the assumption that I had called that fiend over. If anything, wasn’t it much more likely that a Magus at a certain institute had conducted some strange experiment or something? From what I had heard, the academy wasn’t as bad as Sitri’s Primus Institute. But from my perspective, that of a harmless bystander, neither could be called good.
The looks I was getting were much craggier than when I had first come here with Lucia. Back then, my sister had just turned fifteen, meaning she had just become an adult, and the gazes were more curious than anything else.
Hmmm.
I stayed silent, uncertain what to do.
“According to our investigations,” Professor Seyge said, maintaining her flat tone, “the Level 8 hunter, Krai Andrey, the Thousand Tricks, sent the source of a dangerous creature, one of extraordinary mana absorption capabilities—a dire threat to a school of Magi—into our midsts. As a result, of this academy’s fabled 127 barriers, 115 were completely destroyed. A quick reading of imperial law will find that this may well constitute three crimes and one of the ten capital crimes. That would be ‘Municipal Destruction-Class Possession of a Magical Creature.’”
Oh. I see. By “Krai” maybe you don’t mean the Thousand Tricks, but instead the Thousandfold Theurgics?
Even after hearing it in such austere terms, it wasn’t ringing any bells. I decided it would be best to sit still and listen. And when was Sitri going to stop making sleepy noises and return to her usual self? Was the magic circle doing this to her?
“Of the 127 barriers,” Professor Seyge continued, “some of them have never been broken, and some of them utilized methods now lost to time. Those barriers have now been destroyed.”
“Like frail glass,” a Magus next to her added sternly.
The other Magi were all quite old, making Seyge look like she was someone’s grandchild or something. I knew Noble Spirits aged slowly, but just how old was this professor?
Seyge nodded in agreement. “Indeed, like frail glass. Some of the barriers were outdated, but they had scholarly significance. Thanks to the concerted efforts of the Abyssal Inferno and our Magi, the magical creature has been turned to ash. However, our faculty, of course, and many of our students have been forcefully drained of their mana, and some are yet to recover from the deprivation. This was a clear act of animosity. Even if perpetrated by a Level 8, we cannot overlook what happened here.”
Ah, I get it.
Let’s say I was guilty of this crime. Were they going to forgive the Abyssal Inferno? That old lady scorched a good chunk of the castle, and while I was playing with a hot spring dragon while on vacation, hadn’t she been trading fire with Akasha in the streets? Shouldn’t she have been prosecuted first?
What was weird was that these people seemingly had no uncertainty regarding my guilt. I don’t know what investigations they had done, but calling this a trial was ridiculous.
Seyge’s voice was cold, and her face was almost devoid of expression. She was never very hospitable to me.
“And despite all this, Lucia’s brother, I hear you want something in exchange. There’s no telling how great the chaos may have been if the Abyssal Inferno hadn’t arrived and stopped that fearsome magical creature before it could get through all the barriers. If that had happened, it’s possible it may have escaped the grounds of the academy and brought ruin to the imperial capital.”
I looked around at the dozens of Magi surrounding us. If they had been granted a seat here, they must have been among the best in the capital, though I didn’t know any of their names. It’s anyone’s guess how so much wisdom could be gathered in one room, yet nobody came to my defense. And I didn’t want anything in exchange; Sitri did.
At least I had Franz. Franz would help me. Unlike Sitri, he never became Bad Franz. I decided to ask for his help over the Sounding Stone once I got the chance.
“Why don’t you say anything?” Lucia’s instructor asked suspiciously. “If you have any objections, then we’ll at least hear you out. If not, in accordance with imperial law, you’ll be prosecuted under the rules of the academy.”
So the academy has extraterritoriality?
I recalled hearing something about this from Lucia. In case any Magi ever lost control and caused an incident, the academy was allowed self-governance.
I had ended up here out of sheer coincidence, and look at the trouble it had gotten me in. She said I could object, but when had anyone listened to my claims of innocence? I wanted this to get resolved smoothly, but would that happen?
One of the surrounding Magi raised a hand, then spoke.
“However, Professor Seyge, he is Lucia’s brother. Would it not pose a problem to prosecute him without Lucia’s permission?”
He looked quite serious about this.
The other Magi began to speak as well.
“The Avatar of Creation’s talents are comparable to those of the Abyssal Inferno. And while Rosemary is feared for making oceans of fire, Lucia conducts herself quite properly. She’s even developed a number of new spells.”
“It would be a problem if prosecuting the Thousand Tricks had some deep effect on Lucia. We might face backlash from all the students who adore her.”
Hearing this from her fellow professors, Seyge furrowed her brow. It appeared my younger sister was very popular.
Lucia, your brother’s so happy to see what a wonderful person you’ve become. Keep at it! Really, keep at it, I thought while pinching Sitri’s knees as she continued to hug me and catch fake Zs.
All the while, the debate intensified before my eyes.
“For one thing, the Thousand Tricks was previously selected to guard the emperor. Even if we’re permitted to run our own courts, we shouldn’t be too hasty to do so. Prosecuting this man is too risky.”
“There’s no questioning this man’s guilt. We repay both kindness and antagonism in kind. That’s the way of the Magus.”
“It was Lucia who brought the item in. It would defy all logic to only punish the Thousand Tricks and not her as well.”
“If that’s the case, then Anna’s careless handling of the staff is also worth noting.”
“And one could hardly blame us for considering the poor management of Professor Seyge’s tower?”
“Perhaps this was done out of spite for Lucia missing the advanced compound spirit staff qualification exam for which she had received a recommendation?”