With this, Headmaster Jake stood, walked over to the window, and stared out at the scenery.
“They maintain a system of extreme secrecy! Anyone at the academy could be a member…instructors, students, staff…even new students are no exception! And as long as the members all have Demon Relics, their experience as mages is irrelevant—even mages as exceptional as you two could be outdone in an instant if you let your guard down!”
“Yeah, I got it. What a pain.”
“…”
“Right now, there are very few people who I can trust are not a part of the Faith Faction! You two are the prime examples! Please be careful not to be caught unawares by them! I’m counting on you—until the day we are able to eliminate the Faith Faction completely!”
With that, Jake, Crawford, and Darwin brought their secret meeting to a close.
Then, on the way back to the instructors’ lodgings…
“Oh yeah, Darwin. I know it’s a pain, but can I ask you something?” Crawford said.
“What is it?”
“I heard a rumor… Apparently, that Rix kid was able to cut Gordon with his sword while Gordon was strengthened by the Demon Relic. Is that true?”
“It is,” Darwin answered with a disparaging snort. “Most likely, Gordon got overconfident and allowed a gap between his Sphere and his physical enhancement magic to form, and Rix exploited that weak spot. The result of inexperience. So? What about it?”
Crawford puffed at his cigarette as he walked and ruffled his own hair. “Eh, I dunno… Change of subject, but…the Dusk Demon was supposed to be the most powerful mage in the history of humankind. Right?”
“…? Yes, and?”
“Thousands of mages during the Mythical Era—people whose powers were of a totally different level than those of their modern counterparts—tried to defeat the Dusk Demon…and every one of them was easily defeated and destroyed.”
“So the story goes.”
“But in the end, the Dusk Demon was finally vanquished…at the hands of a certain human.”
“…”
“And that human who vanquished the dark lord was, quite unexpectedly…a swordsman. The most powerful dark lord, who defeated thousands of the best mages, was finally defeated by the sword of an ordinary human, not a mage. Sounds pretty fishy, huh…?”
“And where are you going with this?”
“Oh, I dunno… It just got me thinking, you know… With that whole story about Rix…”
Trailing off on a vague note, Crawford looked toward the sky and blew a cloud of his purple tobacco smoke into the air above him.
In the western ward of Estorheim, home of the Estoria Academy of Magic…
…was the third district, more commonly known as Campbell Street.
In this student district were all kinds of shops related to magic, such as those for magic supplies and instruments, magic staffs, and magic texts; almost any item necessary for student life could be found there.
In addition, there were cafés and restaurants, bookstores, and amusement facilities, and on the weekends the district was bustling with students from the academy.
On this particular weekend, Rix and his friends were among the crowd of students who had come out to enjoy the sights of Campbell Street.
“All right—let’s have a toast to our first month at the academy! Good work, everyone! Cheers!”
““““Cheers!””””
Following Randy’s lead, Rix, Annie, Serephina, and Shino raised their drinks.
Presently, the gang was at a café called the Forest Brownie.
It was basically a run-of-the-mill shop with light refreshments aimed toward student customers, but with its classic and stylish interior, it had a lovely, relaxed atmosphere.
The dishes tasted pretty good considering their low prices, and they looked good to boot, which made the shop especially popular with the female clientele.
“The pastries and the tea here are really delicious!” said Annie.
“Indeed!” Serephina chimed in. “Eating sweet foods like this is truly my idea of bliss!”
Annie was happily feasting on a mouthful of raspberry-and-cream cake, and Serephina was daintily eating a bite of apple pie. They both looked quite overjoyed.
“The sweets are good, too, but I really recommend this spaghetti and meatballs. It’s seriously awesome,” Randy remarked as he twirled some pasta with his fork. “Hey, Rix. What did you order?”
“Don’t be too surprised when I tell you…but I got sugar cubes.”
Randy peered over at Rix to see a plate piled tall with sugar cubes in front of him.
“Sorry, I’m already surprised. Of all the things, why’d you order that?”
“…Hmm? I mean, this is the most caloric thing on the menu.”
Rix speared a sugar cube with his fork, brought it to his mouth, and started crunching on it.
“You’ve got that look on your face like ‘What, isn’t it obvious?’” Randy grumbled. “Argh, never mind, just eat whatever you want.”
He decided to give up and focus on his spaghetti.
“Ha-ha-ha, okay, weirdo,” said Rix. “By the way, Shino, how’s yours? Is it good?”
Rix looked over at Shino, who was sitting next to him. She was silently working on a cream puff.
“Whatever. It’s fine,” she said. “Not that I really care, but why am I here anyway?”
“’Cause I invited you,” Rix replied.
“Is it okay for me to be here?”
“If it wasn’t, I wouldn’t have invited you. Hope it wasn’t too much trouble for you.”
“…Not really.”
Shino turned the other way. It sort of looked like her cheeks were turning red.
Rix could tell she was loosening up a bit.
“Oh, that reminds me!” he said. “I got you a present to celebrate opening your Sphere the other day. Would you be so kind as to accept it?”
“…Huh?” Shino looked at Rix, her eyes widening slightly.
Then…rattle, rattle…Rix piled a mountain of sugar cubes onto Shino’s cream puff.
“They’re really good! Eat as much as you like!”
“I should kill myself for expecting anything more from you, even for a second.”
“…I thought all girls liked sweets.”
“This is sweet, but it’s not sweets! You idiot! Idiot!”
“Ow! Ow?! Don’t throw sugar cubes at me! Bwaaah?!”
Randy, Serephina, and Annie stared blankly at the two of them.
“They…suddenly seem more friendly lately, don’t they?” Randy commented, looking entertained.
“Hrmmm…”
“Hmph…”
But Serephina and Annie just glared at Rix and Shino. Randy noticed this and laughed as if to join in with them.
“Ha-ha, never a dull moment when Rix is around, huh?”